Greg In The Desert

A map of the 50 states redrawn based on population has fascinated me. Mainly because the state of New Mexico gets obliterated into 4 other new states. It looks like Albuquerque and Rio Rancho get put into Llano Estacdo or “Staked Plains“.

It’s a suggestion by fakeisthenewreal.org to improve the electoral college system.

Rather than replacing a time honored system that, after all, has only broken down three times in over 200 years, the organization of the states should be altered. In 2000, the Census Bureau determined the United States population to be 281,421,906, distributed in 50 states and one federal district. The states ranged in population from to 493,782 (1) to 33,871,648 (2). This Electoral Reform Map redivides the territory of the United States into 50 bodies of equal size – 281,421,906 divided by 50 is 5,616,997. This map shows one possible way to redraw the fifty states (3).

In-N-Out Burger hates Albuquerque. They refuse to build any restaurants in the State of New Mexico. (ok ok, perhaps they are trying not to go out of business by over expanding like Krispy Kreams. whatever). What happens where there’s unfulfilled demand? Knock offs, like Stop-N-Go that was found by KOB in southwest Albuquerque.

While In-N-Out Burger only serves burgers, Stop-N-Go serves wings. This isn’t a bad idea from my perspective. KOB fails to indicate if Stop-N-Go serves non-frozen meat, non-frozen french fries made right from the potato in the store and real ice cream shakes. So far the reviews on Yelp are not favorable.

It’s a bit far from Rio Rancho and doubt I will make it to that side of town unless I hear rave reviews. My waist line is better off in either case.

AMD isn’t the only one that dislikes Intel. Some Jewish persons don’t like Intel too..

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews have demonstrated at Intel Corp’s new electronic chip plant in Israel in protest against work taking place at the site on the Jewish sabbath.

The protesters said on Saturday it was a desecration of the Sabbath, which runs from Friday night to Saturday night.

They were dispersed by police and a company spokesman said the plant was operating within the law and would continue to do so.

Intel, the world’s biggest chip manufacturer, opened the west Jerusalem plant for installation work before its inauguration on Sunday.

Where these people don’t like Intel for religious reasons, some in Coralles, New Mexico think Intel is poisoning them.

Please understand that the new chemicals that are being used up there are causing illnesses as serious as we had in the 1990s. Vison is blurred, eyes are burning and skin is peeling off the eylids. One breath of the toxic air causes choking, coughing and in Patricia’s case gasping for air. The toxins collect in her west side patio and in her house. With me it settles all around my property and comes in the house. This morning my eyes were swollen shut and inflamed I could hardly see. Each day my vision seems to be getting worse

I should note that the State of New Mexico cleared Intel of making people sick in 2004 but that decision was very controversial.

• Intel: Antitrust fine violated human rights – New Mexico Business Weekly: – Intel is appealing the record-setting antitrust fine that the European Union levied in May, saying that the fine violated the company's human rights, the Wall Street Journal reports. The exact arguments aren't known yet, but Intel and other companies who are arguing that the fines violate human rights, base their cases on the fact that a political bureaucrat, and not a judge, levy the fines. The bureaucrat is antitrust commissioner Neelie Kroes of the Netherlands.
• The Truth Behind Secret Recipes in Coke, KFC, Etc. | LiveScience – In his book "Big Secrets," William Poundstone revealed a laboratory analysis of Kentucky Fried Chicken: "The sample of coating mix was found to contain four and only four ingredients: flour, salt, monosodium glutamate, and black pepper. There were no eleven herbs and spices — no herbs at all in fact… Nothing was found in the sample that couldn't be identified." So much for the "secret." In fact, the chicken's ingredient statement is available on KFC's Web site.
• Annual New Mexico Photographers Art Show – Mission: The Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show was created in order to provide an opportunity for the photographers of New Mexico to share, display and sell their images in a premier gallery setting that showcases local artists. The goal in this undertaking is to encourage statewide support of photographic artists and the activities and education of photography. ANMPAS will promote events that will feature the best photographic images from the best New Mexico photographers.

  Who is Eligible: The show is open to all photographers who are currently residents of the State of New Mexico.

• Experiments show ‘artificial gravity’ can prevent muscle loss in space | Science Blog – Now, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have conducted the first human experiments using a device intended to counteract this effect ? a NASA centrifuge that spins a test subject with his or her feet outward 30 times a minute, creating an effect similar to standing against a force two and half times that of gravity. Working with volunteers kept in bed for three weeks to simulate zero-gravity conditions, they found that just one hour a day on the centrifuge was sufficient to restore muscle synthesis.
• Gilbert man stung by scorpion on plane – A Gilbert man was stung by a venomous scorpion stowed away in his carry-on luggage on an Indianapolis-bound Southwest Airline flight. The toxic Arizona bark scorpion and five babies were killed after Flight 2093 from Phoenix landed at Indianapolis International Airport at 12:10 a.m. Sunday, Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said.
• Company Denies its Robots Feed on the Dead | Danger Room | Wired.com – “We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission,” stated Harry Schoell, Cyclone’s CEO. “We are focused on demonstrating that our engines can create usable, green power from plentiful, renewable plant matter. The commercial applications alone for this earth-friendly energy solution are enormous.”
• Teenager wings it with a fake airline – Times Online – A TEENAGE boy from Yorkshire succeeded in persuading British aviation executives that he was a tycoon about to launch his own airline. Using the pseudonym Adam Tait, the smooth-talking 17-year-old told airport and airline executives that he had a fleet of jets. Tait, who said he was in his twenties, even flew to Jersey to attend a 1½-hour long meeting with the director of its airport. Their talks were considered promising enough for a further meeting to be arranged, which was due to be held next week.
• Intel PAC showing no love for former employee, Barela? – It's nice to be incumbent when coming up to an election (Nevada governor Jim Gibbons and Senator John Ensign notwithstanding), and campaign finance reports tend to show that. For example, Congressman Martin Heinrich received $6,000 from Intel's political action committee — the same company that employed Barela. The Associated Press points out, "Intel Corp.'s PAC contributed $6,000. The company is a major employer in the Albuquerque area."
• New SunCatcher™ power system unveiled at National Solar Thermal Test Facility – July 7, 2009 – ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Stirling Energy Systems (SES) and Tessera Solar recently unveiled four newly designed solar power collection dishes at Sandia National Laboratories’ National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF). Called SunCatchers™, the new dishes have a refined design that will be used in commercial-scale deployments of the units beginning in 2010.
• www.KOB.com – APD says it’s swamped with robberies – Albuquerque police say they’re swamped with robbery cases, even though robbery cases overall are down.

The State of New Mexico has $628 Million of “shovel-ready” projects to spend stimulus money on.

According to the New Mexico Indpendent, there are 29 projects. One project that is desperately needed, is missing from that list: The I-25 and Paseo Del Norte interchange. This interchange is located in District 3 and is probably one of the most heavily traveled interchanges in the city. There are only 3 river crossings from the west to east side and Paseo Del Norte is like an expressway so when all the Paseo traffic gets to I-25 it has to merge into a few lanes and stop at the lights. Creating a huge back up.

Here’s a list of all the projects from the NMI:

District 1

I-10, from the I-25 Interchange to Texas State Line; $50 million; Target bid date: May 2009

I-10, NM 404 Interchange Improvements; $7.04 million; Target bid date: May 2009

NM 11, Columbus to Deming; $3.5 million; Target bid date: May 2009

District 2

NM 128, MP 22-38.5; $22 million; Target bid date: March 2009

US 62/180, MP 6-26; $28 million; Target bid date: March 2009

US 380, Priest Gulch Bridge; $2.3 million; Target bid date: Sept. 2009

US 54, Tularosa to Vaughn MP 163-175; $27.5 million; Target bid date: May 2009

US 54, Tularosa to Vaughn, MP 85-96; $22 million; Target bid date: June 2009

US 62/180 MP 16-26 Southbound; $20 million; Target bid date: March 2009

District 3

I-40 Paseo del Volcan/West Central Interchange MP 150-151; $34 million; Target bid date: March 2009

I-25 Tramway to Bernalillo; $70 million; Target bid date: April 2009

District 4

US 64 Raton to Clayton MP 378-390; $30 million; Target bid date: April 2009

US 64 Raton to Clayton, Wetland Mitigation; $250,000; Target bid date: March 2009

US 64 Raton to Clayton MP 360-378; $45 million; Target bid date: August 2009

District 5

US 84/285 MP 187 to MP 189; $12 million; Target bid date: February 2009

US 84/285 MP 186-188; $23 million; Target bid date: February 2009

US 84/285 MP 183 to MP 185; $20 million; Target bid date: April 2009

US 84/285 Pojoaque Pueblo Interchange; $10 million; Target bid date: April 2009

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 67-75; $30 million; Target bid date: May 2009

US 64, MP 141-148.7 $24.2 million; Target bid date: February 2009

District 6

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 15-75 Southbound; $13 million; Target bid date: February 2009

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 59-67; $19 million; Target bid date: June 2009

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 53-59; $19.5 million; Target bid date: June 2009

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 45-53; $15 million; Target bid date: July 2009

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 37-45; $22.6 million; Target bid date: January 2010

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 31-37; $17.7 million; Target bid date: January 2010

US 491 Tohatchi to Shiprock MP 20-31 Northbound; $31.7 million; Target bid date: January 2010

US 491 Navajo 9 to Tohatchi MP 15-20; $7.4 million; No target bid date set

US 491 Navajo 9 to Tohatchi New Bridge MP 17; $1.4 million; No target bid date set

Wikiscanner is a tool to determine who is anonymously editing Wikipedia. Well, not the specific person but what organization the IP address belongs to. For example, the tool shows that some one from Exxon made favorable edits to a entry about the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The Santa Fe New Mexican checked to see what edits were being made by state employees.

But I was disappointed. Doing a WikiScanner search of the name “State of New Mexico,” with the location of Santa Fe, I found relatively little activity from state computers related to politicos.

Most of the edits by state employees appear to be unrelated to politics. No scandal here, move along.

The Rio Rancho City Council has voted to extend Northern Blvd into Corrales. I don’t get how this works exactly, how does Rio Rancho decided if a road is built in another city (town, whatever Corrales is).

I also don’t get how the road will be extended. Check out the end of Northern Blvd as it butts up against Corrales now, I guess there’s some room there somewhere. I do like the concept of having a major road go all the way through, instead of the weird set up we have now. It shouldn’t increase traffic to Corrales, that’s going to happen whether the road is extended or not. Extending the road should improve the traffic flow for when the traffic does increase.

Finally, I think Councilor Mike Williams is on the right track for voting against it. Why doesn’t the city worry about the other road projects that they haven’t completed yet, before doing this one.

“I’d be in support of D-93 if at any point in time I had something in writing from, first of all from the state of New Mexico highway department stating that 528 was going to be done before Northern Boulevard was going to be opened up, also that the City of Rio Rancho commits that Northern Boulevard is four to five lanes all the way to Unser just so it can handle the traffic,” Williams said. “I have no problem opening this leg, but this is not the time, and until we have that etched in stone with 528 and Northern Boulevard, I have no choice but to vote against it.”

On September 29th I finally closed on my house, on September 30th I took possession. Since then I have been spewing cash from my savings getting the place ready to move in. My apartment lease is up at the end of the month, so there’s not much time left. For those considering a foreclosed house, I have some advice for you.

Closing on a foreclosed house is nothing like closing on a normally private owned home. Keep in mind that a corporation owns it. If you work for a big company, think about what it would be like if they were selling a house. There’s a bureaucracy involved. They have their legal requirements to ensure all the “i”s are dotted and “t”s are crossed. Not to mention that the individuals at the company have no personal interest to ensure that the process is speedy.

Next you add on items such as liens and other legal matters that have to be cleared up before the owning bank can sell it. In my case, there were liens that took longer than they probably should have to clear up. The State of New Mexico had s legal interest in the property so official clearance from the state had to be issued saying they weren’t going to take possession of the property after the liens were paid. In this case, the state would only offer those documents via the US postal service, no fedex, no couriers.

The closing officer said my closing went pretty well compared to most. Sometimes liens can be near impossible to clear up, such as those from the federal government. Can you imagine what it takes to get a lien removed from the DEA? The closing officer also said my paperwork wasn’t so bad, he had a guy in the day before with a literal foot high of paperwork to sign.

Take this advice if your looking for a foreclosed house.

• Be prepared to wait, wait and wait some more.
• Be prepared to be disappointed. I looked at several houses, a few that were foreclosed on before this one. In one case the previous deal had fallen through and the house was back on the market. We didn’t understand the problem at first but now I can see how these things can not work out. Most of the hold ups on my house were on the owning banks side. Yet they had the nerve to say that if it wasn’t funded by September 30th they were going to call the whole thing off. I had the approved loan, I was ready the bank needed to get their act together.
• Get a real estate agent. There’s a ton of issues with this sort of house and the un-savvy can get very overwhelmed quickly. It’s not going to cost you anything.
• Find a agent that will work with you. Some agents wont take the time and effort to deal with all the various issues especially considering how long it can take to close. I have to give mad props (as the kids say) to Paul Taylor. He was awesome though all this and took care of everything for me. I didn’t have to deal with the idiocy of the sellers at all.

The State Of New Mexico, the state I’m living in, became an official state this day in 1912. At one point the portion of the country that makes up Arizona and New Mexico was one whole Territory, and was split up into two states. More importantly New Mexico was first and Arizona was second, take that you Arizona scum! Oh wait, I was born in Arizona, DOH!

The incorporation of the modern-day state’s territory into the United States was a gradual process. The northeastern corner was ceded by France in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The remainder of what is now New Mexico was then wholly claimed by the Spanish colony of New Spain and its successor state (after 1810), the Republic of Mexico. The incorporation of this territory into the USA came in three stages: the portion to the east of the Rio Grande was claimed by the breakaway Republic of Texas when it seceded from Mexico in 1836; this territory was transferred to the federal government by Texas in 1850.

Most of the western portion of the state (to the west of the river) was surrendered by Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. Finally, the southwestern corner of the state (the “boot heel”) was ceded by Mexico under the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. The Territory of New Mexico was established on September 9, 1850; under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, slavery was legal in the territory, but does not appear to have taken significant hold there. The eastern half of the territory became the State of New Mexico, which was admitted to the Union as its 47th member on January 6, 1912, the western half being admitted separately as the 48th state of Arizona on February 14, 1912.