These past couple of days have been pretty big for the Supreme Court. They've made two big decisions; one that you most definitely have head about, and the other one is much less reported. Lets see what we've got here.

D.C. v. Heller
This case was about a security guard working for a courthouse in D.C. who was issued a firearm for his job. However, he was not allowed to take it home, as he did not have a weapons permit. So he applied for a permit and was denied. The reason for this is that Washington DC has a full ban on privately owned handguns in the city, regardless of your job. Of course, this 'ban' doesn't apply to criminals, who by definition don't follow the rules, and hence DC has the WORST crime rate of any city in the US.
None the less, he brought suit against the city on the basis that he needs a handgun to protect his job yet cannot have one to protect his family at home.
Well, a long story short, it went all the way up to the Supreme Court and, despite decades and decades of unclear lower-court rulings, it finally took a stand: the Second Amendment to the constitution does indeed protect the right of an individual to carry a gun. And therefor the D.C. ban in unconstitutional.
Huzzah! Immediately after the ruling was handed down, 3 more lawsuits were filed in different cities around the country on exactly the same basis. Kiss my ass communism, and hurray for a well defended and FREE Republic!

Kennedy v. Louisiana
The highest U.S. court agreed to hear an appeal by a Louisiana man who is the only person in the United States on death row for a crime other than murder. He is arguing the death penalty for child rape violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In a 5-4 vote, the decision broke right down party lines, the conservatives and liberals staying true to their tune. Boooo, hisssssssss.
It doesn't really weigh in on your soul, until you have a child of your own. If this horrific crime ever befell me, or any other parent's child out there, i'm quite certain we would not hesitate to choke the life out of the criminal's filthy body with our own two hands.
As they said in the old west, "Kill 'em all, and let God sort 'em out."

Total score: 1 to 1
Lets try to improve that a bit, shall we, Mr. Supreme Court?

So I'm sitting in my apartment. In the "valley." Its hot. Its VERY hot, as I'm sure it is every summer night, here, in the valley. But tonight is a bit different. I'm sitting outside on our porch, enjoying the 88F degree weather, at 11 o'clock at night. Why, you may be asking yourself, am I not inside my nice air conditioned apartment? Why am I not in the cool 70 degree comfort of my living room? That would be because the temperature outside is cooler than the temperature inside - silly hot. I'll save you the suspense.
We have no power.
That's right. At 3pm this afternoon, the power went out. No AC. No fridge. No lights.

Crazy.

Yet, somehow, its really peaceful. I am enjoying the quiet, here, with my girl. We are playing a game of chess, under candlelight, whilst sharing a bottle of 2002 Syrah. Could it really get any better than this?

Yea, it could. The temperature could drop 10 degrees....

The Mississippi River is a beast. Over the last week, extremely heavy rain and other crazy weather has caused the levees in Illinois and parts of Missouri to fail, causing sever flooding. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Farmland is flooded. Houses that once overlooked the banks of the river are now swimming in it. Bridges are underwater.






The good news is that this, unlike Katrina, was a slow process, and hence people had time to evacuate. Although i haven't read about any people dying, i'm sure when everything settles, there will be at least a few.





Best of luck out there, folks.

in this

Ey!
In this club.
Ey!
In this club.....

I'm gonna be starting a monthly baby report, at least for a while. So here we go, month #1!
As most of you know, last month was pretty big for me. Details. Now that Sarah's mom, Mrs. B, is gone, things have been a little bit tougher around the house. It's hard to prepare for your first kid. Being a dad is a totally different experience from anything i've ever known or done. The hardest part for me is patience. When he starts crying, and you've tried everything you know, it takes a tremendous amount of self control not to get frustrated. I set him down, take a deep breath, and walk away for about 1 minute. I put in some earplugs and then go back into the fray. It's tough not to take things personally. You tend to question your abilities as a dad when you've tried every trick in the book and he just won't stop crying. Fed? Check. New diaper? Check. Insert 'ANY' soothing technique here. FAIL. It doesn't happen too often, thank goodness, but when it does it can be, um... trying. You may not belive it, but this little guy right here is, literally, what all the fuss is about.



I was reading an article the other day about how the inventor of the Segway has created a mechanical arm to help out veterans who have lost limbs. He calls it the 'Luke arm' and it's fully mechanical with 14 degrees of motion. The story is here. What really got me about it was all the research he did in regards to the number of amputees out there. He specifically recalls one conference about a guy with one arm missing. He was up-beat and positive, and saying that he was the luckiest guy ever because he's right handed and lost his left arm. He recounted how many people he knows lost their primary arm, and it is 1000 times harder for them to adjust. He is thankful for the luck he's had. And then with a smile, he pushes himself away from the table, and shows that he has no legs.

Little Alexander may be hard to deal with occasionally, but he has 10 fingers and 10 toes, and is perfect in every sense of the word. I thank God every day for the blessing he has given to me and Sarah. I am the one that feels lucky today, in my story.

Now where did i put that pacifier.....

Till next time,
the luckiest parents ever

May.
It's always been my favorite month, for many reasons. It's the start of summer. It allegedly brings fresh flowers (after the April showers). It's just a nice month all around.
Well, May 2008 was a wee bit different.
Not to be outdone, ever May was, for lack of a better word, AMAZING.
Lets start from the top.
May 3rd
My very first and absolutely beautiful baby Alexander was born, making me an instant papa. That should be more than enough for anyone...
May 5th
My 5 year anniversary working for The Aerospace Corporation. Can you believe it? I've been in this business since 2003!
May 11th
Mother's day. I got to celebrate this with my momma, my new baby's momma, and my baby's momma's momma.
May 16th
I graduated from USC! Celebration!
May 17th
The 4th annual South Bay Flip Cup Tournament. Will flip for beer takes 3rd place!
Followed by Jamie & Mark's Ice Luge B-day party. Yea!
May 23th
Indian Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comes out! Yay Indy!
May 29th
Because it's my 29th Birthday on the 29th, it makes it a GOLDEN birthday! My lady Sarah planned an awesome surprise Party for me at barnacles with my friends from all over So Cal. Huzza!

And that concludes a most amazing month.

PS - i've just added a ton more pictures! check 'em out!