Product of the System

I pulled another all-nighter this past night and I cannot believe I am staying up long enough to even post this short update. But, I am so excited because despite everything that is against me right now, I have managed to position ShrinkTheWeb as THE hands-down, most powerful, feature-rich free website thumbnail generator in the world. And, that is not an exaggeration either. There is no other provider that can match all that ShrinkTheWeb does (at least not at the time of this writing) and there are certainly no competitors offering services for FREE that offer even half as much as STW.

So, I’m eager to watch how the market reacts as people continue to discover that my service is not only free but is better than anything else out there and offers more.

YaY! Now, I’ve managed to eliminate the browser chrome, have gotten full-page length thumbnails working, and have a 2nd server able to generate thumbnails. Once I get that server reliably running, then I can go online with 9 more servers to help out! That should help keep up with demand as the company grows. Anyway, I’m off to sleep.

Check out the site here: http://www.shrinktheweb.com

I missed posting yesterday but it was another rather uneventful day for those of you that don’t know me. As for me, I had to focus more on personal issues like helping Jojo plan for her birthday party. I suggested Taurus Restaurant but several people complained it was too far away and too expensive. I can understand if people want to stay local but the price is not an issue. It is only $5 per person more than Longhorn’s would be and the food is sooo much better!

Anyway, Jojo wants to make everyone else happy, so we are going to Cherokee Cattle Co.

Leah and I also had company last night, Ben and Valerie, and we had such a great time. The “MEN” WIN!! hehe. Guys against gals and the guys won… woot woot.

Right after they left for the night and had to get back home, my good friend, Frank, came over the help me with ShrinkTheWeb. He has managed to overcome quite a few problems with the servers I bought for that project and we were able to get a server online. Without being too technical about it, we basically ran into the same problem I’ve been seeing for months. This time, however, Frank and I worked until 3 or 4am and I continued until about 6am in order to isolate the problem.

Now, I can prove that a bug exists in a specific scenario and hopefully someone can fix this and allow me to finally enhance my thumbnail generator service to be the hands-down absolute best in the world. Already, it is growing like wildfire and that will really be the case once I offer everything everyone needs –all for free. It’s exciting to be in a position to collapse an entire niche market on the Internet. If I were charging what others charge, I would be making about $1,000-$1,500 per month, but for once; I just want to accomplish something truly great and give back to the community -no strings attached. That’s tough to do when I have so many financial barriers working against me, but I’m trying.

I’ve noticed that the meds I’m on and the pain I’m in have been making me sleep more and procrastinate more. So, I haven’t really felt up to posting very often. So, today I’m going to begin making more of an effort to stay on top of things. I guess we’ll see how that goes! lol.

Today, I am going to the Technology Association of Georgia “New Business Launch 2008″ reception in Atlanta. This is a reception for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and business owners in the high technology arena.

The purpose of this reception is for people to mingle and meet each other prior to the contest in April whereby semi-finalists will be chosen. The contest is geared towards finding undiscovered business ideas that could bring more jobs and revenue into Georgia. I have submitted my proof-of-concept search engine, Neobus, which is unique in its ranking algorithm, proprietary crawler, and perhaps most notably by its use of website thumbnails -provided by my website thumbnail generator, ShrinkTheWeb.

I feel that Google is still the preferred search engine only by way of “brainwashing” and “propaganda.” I see an opportunity for someone to clean up Google’s mess and provide good results like Google once did back in their first few years. My first round submission was accepted and I will have to submit more details by April 15th to see if I am chosen to be a semi-finalist.

In different news, I am still getting lots of harassing phone calls from DriveTime –even after I have called them back. The next day, they will call again and say that it is “urgent” that I return their call. How lame is that? I simply stopped responding to them. They obviously don’t update their system when I keep in touch with them, so why bother? I just hope they don’t have a tracking device on the car I bought from them, because I need it for just a short while longer. Plus, I’m hoping I can eek out enough savings each month to repay me for the recent $1,250 maintenance bill for maintenance I was promised had already been done. They won’t make good on their promise willingly, so I figure that I will help them make good on it.

I am still putting the word out for a good lawyer to help me with my unpaid Progressive uninsured motorist claim. So, if anyone has any recommendations, I’m all ears. I just want some general advice on what I should ask for in regards to my initial letter to them and then some future advice on how to proceed if they do not settle immediately.

I think that’s it for now…

Ciao!

Although I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt, Progressive has pushed the limit.

I have been more than patient and more than “understanding” but enough is enough. I have always been too kind and lenient and I am always paid back with lies and deceit for my kindnesses. So, I have to draw the line now.

I have been waiting nearly ONE FULL YEAR to be reimbursed for medical expenses and badly needed physical therapy -which I have yet to be able to start. It would seem that Progressive is still giving me the run-around.

Last Friday, Leah and I called Progressive and we were told that they are STILL waiting on medical records that I was told by the Hospital would be sent at the first of the year. Granted, we called the Hospital and they said that they had just sent out the paperwork earlier that week, but this is still taking way too long. This should have been done long ago.

Besides, I am only being impatient now and rushing now because I am in so much pain. I do not want to become addicted to pain pills, nerve pills, and whatever else is required just to take the edge off. This is all just too much.

If only Progressive would’ve taken care of this last year, things wouldn’t be so bad now. Being my typical, easy-going self, I would’ve settled for a few thousand dollars to cover my basic medical co-payments and would have hoped that my severe neck injury wasn’t so severe. However, by pushing me and pushing me to wait, Progressive has given me time to see that my injury is much, much more severe than I had imagined and due to lack of money for treatment has grown considerably worse by the day. Since they have taken nearly 365 days so far, that means it has gotten MUCH worse.

Now, I’m finding it difficult to concentrate or focus. The pain has me repeating things over and over because I cannot remember what I’ve done. My brain is basically “shutting down” on me -it seems. I don’t know. I’ve been ignoring it for months and months because that’s what I do. I persevere through anything that comes my way, but this neck injury is more than I can bear. I cannot fight this without help and Progressive doesn’t seem interested in making good on their end of the bargain. I paid my dues but they won’t pay theirs.

Today, I finally broke down and contacted the insurance commissioners office and they listened to my plight. Basically, I was told that it sounds as though Progressive is hoping to push me past the two-year limit after which they will just tell me to “get lost.” My claims adjuster did mention a two-year limit but told me that they are required to have presented me offers and settled within that period. It would seem she exaggerated in that dragging it out that long works to their benefit.

Anyway, I won’t let it get to that point.

The insurance commissioner spokesperson informed me that it is unlikely that Progressive will come back with an offer or else they would’ve already done so. He said once it’s gone on for this long, it’s up to me to push them. Now, I must write them a letter and set an amount that I would like for reimbursement. My dilemma is what to ask for? How much? What is a lifetime, severe neck injury worth? What is all the additional pain and suffering they’ve caused me worth? I have no idea.

My father instilled in me a sense of not asking for any more than I deserve. And, I think it was society that instilled in me to feel guilty asking for even that much. I have to keep reminding myself that I am the victim here, because I find it a struggle to press on and push people for money. I know I deserve something and because of the way Progressive has treated me and caused me all this extra pain, I think I deserve quite a bit more. Still, I feel guilty in asking.

But, I cannot feel that way any longer. I have to take a stand. I am contacting a lawyer -finally- and will be getting advice on what I should ask. Wish me luck. If anything, I just want to get some physical therapy on my neck to get me through these painful times. Leah says she may know someone who can help me out and I sure hope so. All I know is that I don’t want to suffer -needlessly- for the rest of my life and be hooked on pain meds just because some insurance carrier didn’t want to pay a few thousand off their bottom line. Now, it will cost them considerably more.

First of all, I am so thrilled to have been with Leah for a year now. This has been the best year for me and I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through these recent tough times without her!! I owe a lot to her and give her a LOT of credit for helping me out this past year with both business and personal issues (i.e. crooked cops). She has been an angel to me.

So, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

First, some of you may know that we had a dismal experience on Valentine’s Day at our favorite restaurant, Taurus. I don’t ever expect royal treatment but I also don’t expect to be “forgotten” or disrespected. On Valentine’s Day, that’s how I felt but man, oh man, did they ever make up for it. Read on.

I wrote a letter to the owner/Chef, Gary Mennie, and he called me a couple of days later letting me know that he wanted to show us that it was a fluke and invited us back as his personal guests. We figured that it probably WAS a fluke -since our prior experiences were so positive- and we were eager to put Taurus back in our hearts as our favorite. So, we decided to take a little bit of a chance and go to Taurus for our 1-year anniversary.

Oh my goodness, we are SO glad that we did! I think that the excitement of our anniversary coupled with the amazing experience we had at Taurus could not have been better…

I put on my black suit and green shirt with my favorite black tie and Leah looked stunning in her outfit and high heels. Yeah, that’s all I have to say about that! haha. Wow!

So, back to our night… We had reservations at 7pm and we were cordially greeted and seated promptly –just like we were used to (aside from the last time). So, already, we were off to a good start. We didn’t expect to be treated like royalty but it was clear that this was going to be even better than the already great service we’ve typically received from Taurus in the past.

We were seated in a cozy little booth in the back corner that gave us a good view of everyone and also of the kitchen. This was the table next to the one where we all sat the first night that I had the most magnificent filet mignon of my life about a year ago. Anyway, the spot for us was perfect. We were quickly greeted by, Jonathon, our server and then very shortly afterwards by the general manager, John Gardiner, who poured a couple of complimentary glasses of champagne to start things off.

For those of you who read about our recent Valentine’s Day, this is the same manager who was in charge that night. Tonight, he was very pleasant and interested that we had everything we needed. He also took time to explain each course as he brought it out. I know that Valentine’s must have been a bad night but I would say that Mr. Gardiner rose to the occasion last night. It turns out that on Valentine’s Day, they had several new staff and seemed a little over-crowded. I think those things caused a snowball effect in backing up the kitchen and causing general havoc. I know from friends that the restaurant business can be very daunting but I cannot imagine the stress that Mr. Mennie and his general manager were under on that night. In hindsight, they probably had a worse night than Leah and I did.

But, anyway, that is a thing of the past, because last night was astounding. So, let me move on to the “meat” of things!

A few minutes after the manager greeted us, Jonathon gave us an idea of what to expect in that Chef Mennie had prepared a special “tasting” menu for us. Thankfully they asked if we were allergic to anything (seafood, nuts, etc), because Leah couldn’t have handled the seafood, but one quick mention took care of that and we were underway.

Leah and I talked and reminisced about old times. It was so nice and refreshing.

A short while later, Chef Mennie himself came out to greet us and let us know that our previous experience was anything but typical. He let us know that he would be preparing a special dinner for us -which was an honor in and of itself! So, we were very excited to say the least! Chef Mennie’s culinary background speaks for itself.

Leah was disheartened to discover that they took the “Goat Cheese Tarts” off of the menu but they did have a “Goat Cheese Salad⁽¹⁾” that she enjoyed just as much! So, that was good and I was very glad that our special request for that salad was taken into account.

We had eight courses in total and each one was superb.

Leah and I talked and laughed and sipped on our champagne -which they kept coming by to refill- and we just had a wonderful time together as usual. Before we knew it, we were even feeling a little tipsy. And then they brought out the goat cheese salad. I only asked for the one for Leah but they brought one out for the both of us. Wow. You cannot imagine how happy Leah was at the prospect of having her …goat cheese… and eating it too. She was able to save some for later (i.e. today for lunch) and she couldn’t have been happier. Of course, that made me happy.

Shortly afterwards, the manager brought over a bottle of nice, red wine to go with the next course of the meal -Lamb tenderloin⁽²⁾. Yum! It sounded great but I cannot even begin to express how much better it tasted than it sounds!! All I could say when Jonathon came by was “Oh my gosh”… I couldn’t think of anything better. How sad, I know… haha. We were very impressed. I had tried “Lamb tenderloin” for the first time a few months ago at Fogo de Chao and I remember thinking it was ok but didn’t really stand out to me. This dish that Gary prepared has made a believer out of me! What’s crazier is that it was served with Cauliflower (and I despise Cauliflower –at least until last night) and I could not believe how good that tasted too. I was blown away when I found out it was Cauliflower. I wanted more. More lamb; more cauliflower… more of everything. lol. I suppose this means we will be going back sooner rather than later.

Our fourth course was Duck⁽³⁾. It was seasoned for 10 days and we could definitely tell. The main piece and the leg both tasted exquisite.

Chef Mennie stopped by to check on us and I let him know that this was light-years beyond our previous night there and was more than we had expected. We were truly blown away and honored. Gary gave us a brief overview of the main course and the upcoming dessert platter.

Then came our main course: sliced NY strips⁽⁴⁾ cooked to perfection and a short rib that was so tender that it just fell apart. Both just melted in our mouths. My mouth is watering right now as I write this -just thinking about it. It was that good.

We were offered a complementary, nice cabernet wine by Mr. Gardiner but by that point, we had to cut ourselves off. haha. Although, it was a nice gesture.

Our final course (the Dessert) came out a little while later and gave us just enough time to finish our conversations and enjoy a quadruple delight. Our dessert platter held a scoop of delicious praline ice cream, a mouth-watering tres leches (first time for me) which tasted like a very “rich” cake, an incredible pecan pie, and a praline mousse. They were all so delectable as was our entire experience last night. Then, Jonathon informed us that our entire meal was on the house. I was thinking the drinks might be on the house but not the entire meal. I can confidently say that Taurus will be our favorite restaurant for a long time to come! Everything was perfect. We were very impressed.

This was such a special night for us and we had a fantastic time.

Now, I’ve just got to get back to Taurus again for another one of those filet mignon’s!

If you have a chance to go, I highly recommend them. Their website is: http://taurusrestaurant.com

Be sure and tell them you read “Brandon’s Blog” about them!

Footnotes: Special thanks to Mr. Gardiner for taking time out to help me be more accurate on the course descriptions. Below is just a brief overview and is not meant to be complete. I hope I remembered everything correctly.

^(*)Kobe Carpaccio - raw beef seasoned with lemon juice, crispy shallots, white truffle oil (very rare mushrooms). This first course was omitted for brevity. A quick, interesting note about white truffle mushrooms: This mushroom is $1,400 USD per pound! To find these mushrooms, a pig is specially trained to go throughout the forest and sniff out the truffles! I am not making this up! Wow.

⁽¹⁾The goat cheese atop the salad was pistachio crusted and seared and served glazed with a vinaigrette sauce.

⁽²⁾Lamb tenderloin cooked in lamb ajus and paired with a red wine, Jed Steel Cabernet Franc. Served with roasted cauliflower gratin.

⁽³⁾Duck. Blood orange sauce with a confit leg (seasoned for 10 days!)

⁽⁴⁾American Kobe NY strip, sliced, ginger pomegranate glaze. Paired with a Sequoia Grove, Cabernet, Napa Valley red wine. Short rib, slow-cooked for a whole day in its own juices. Potato and butternut squash gratin (so good!).

This information is here only for reference. If you do not see this on the menu exactly, just know that anything you choose will be delightful. Bon Appetit!

I believe I am actually caught up on things again. This happens once in a blue moon.

I mean, I still have 6 active web design projects and 4 more pending, but generally speaking; I am caught up. The current projects are on-track and new sales are being handled timely. So, that’s great.

What’s even better about being caught up today is that it is my 1-year anniversary with Leah, my wonderful girlfriend. Yay! So, I won’t be as stressed and can relax with her. I know she is just as excited, so I look forward to spending a nice evening alone with her at the Taurus Restaurant (this time with much improved service -especially since we will be personal guests of Gary Mennie) .One of Leah’s cousins and my friend, Brandon, used to work at the Taurus and loved it. When we told him we had been invited back to the Taurus by Mr. Mennie, he was thrilled. He said that we should expect the best meal we’ve ever had and that Gary would exceed our every expectation.

I just thought, “wow.” If Mr. Mennie shines like that (which his background suggests he can), then it will be on my shoulders to write a review for everyone that is up to par. But, I am up for the challenge! lol. Brandon also mentioned that there is a special area reserved for presentations and small, private gatherings. So, I thought that using that area would be an excellent idea for when my European clients make the trip back over here.

I would take some of my local clients as well, but they tend to be smaller projects that wouldn’t justify the expense. However, it could be a consideration to have a group luncheon where I invite all of my local clients and any of their friends to hear a brief presentation on my abilities and enjoy a great, free lunch …on me. I’m just thinking out loud here, but enough about business. Tonight belongs to Leah. I hope that I can make it as special (with the Taurus’ help) as it deserves to be.

I’ve been getting a lot of referrals for web design business lately -which is good for all of my companies. This is because I’ve built several interrelated companies to handle the full web presence scenario from web design to web hosting to web marketing to ROI analysis.

So, some of my other ventures such as LinkSmile and jAvVy have automatically become more successful as a result of this influx of business.

However, I’ve had to invest all of my recent good fortune in to hiring web designers to assist me in taking on the extra workload. So now, I have two web designers to help me out. That’s great that business is up but I’m still in the poor house in having to pay all these new expenses plus my own plus the cost of running my businesses. This is nothing new to me and I’ve done it before the first time I built a fortune, but it is a little stressful to be spending more than is coming in while planning on making more in the long run. It takes a resilient mentality -which I definitely have had to hone throughout my trials and tribulations!

“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”

So, I’m positive in the merits of my business moving forward and I can only hope that the morons running the local government where I live don’t step in -AGAIN- and ruin it for me. Only time will tell, I suppose.

Since I wasted yet another day and a half dealing with this stupid government, I am spending today -what was going to be a day off- playing catch up.

I had a bit of good news in that the European client I have been chasing has agreed to spend a sizable budget with me. This budget is quite large and will give me much needed “pull” with advertising places on the Internet (and some offline too). So, that will be really good. My profit on that is minimal, but since the budget is so large, it should at least pay my bills.

My concern now is that they did not approve my crawler and search engine budget because they want more details and a presentation by me -in person- in Paris, France. Naturally, I have no problem traveling to France, because I’ve never been and would love to go there -even if only for a couple of days on business. Getting them to fund that piece of my proposal would really open a lot of doors for me and alleviate some of this financial hardship caused by this great country (sarcasm, intended). However, the U.S. system is so flawed that a peon probation officer stands between me and this half million dollar contract with potential to double next year. I have been told that I cannot travel overseas to make this presentation.

So, I will have to figure out something.

I have so much anger towards these people, and I think it’s ironic when people tell me that I have an anger problem. If it weren’t for those crooked cops and a flawed system, I wouldn’t have an anger problem. I think the important thing to note is that I do not have an anger “management” problem because I have managed my anger fairly well, I think. I mean, I haven’t killed anyone -even though they deserve it- and I haven’t really done anything destructive at all as a result of my anger. But, I tell you, this system is so messed up. When a little peon can stand between my making my second million and instead forcing me into a life of crime (no other alternative), then there is definitely a problem.

Too bad I didn’t tell my overpaid lawyers before where they could go when they said I should not get the media involved. I should have gone to 20/20 and suggested an expose of the corrupt system here where I live. Perhaps shedding light on these bad people would have helped me more than listening to self-serving lawyers who ended up stealing my money (tens of thousands) and helping the district attorney (my sworn enemy).

As expected, today’s visit was not a pleasant one and was rife with lies and bluffs.

These people are graded on how well they can bluff people into submission. It is the same with lawyers and District Attorneys in the court rooms -at least where I’ve seen. So, I would think that they hire only aspiring poker players to their team.

First off, there is the typical, make you wait past your appointment time and making sure you know that they know you are there. Then, they try to make you feel sorry for them that they have such a tough job –oh, boo hoo.

Then, they lay in with the scare tactics.

Today I was told that I would be going to jail after I provided the requested documents. I told her that was not on today’s agenda because I have never given them reason and she merely stated that I had to give her very good reason why I shouldn’t be placed into custody. In case you missed it, that’s the part where we are supposed to beg for forgiveness. I, of course, chose another route and -perhaps- pushed my luck. I am sorry, but I will not be demeaned by the likes of those people.

Anyway, after some back and forth on the matter, she relented that “I was [this] close to going to jail.” So, “ok, then,” I thought, “let’s move on.”

Throughout the process, she made it seem like I was untrustworthy and blah blah. But, I reminded her several times that I was not trying to evade them and simply had not updated my template. If I were trying to evade them, I would not have bothered going in today and I would’ve disappeared. I think it’s obvious that I am not trying to run nor do I have any reason or incentive to run. It just wouldn’t make sense.

In the end, she updated my file but told me she would recommend that I not be allowed to travel. That would seriously jeopardize my ability to make international sales -like the one I’ve been working so hard on. So, you see a glimpse into ways they keep us down? You see a glimpse of how they push and nudge me to a life of crime? Without making my business work (not even an option for most), I have no choice but to turn to a life of crime. How ridiculous is that?

Anyway, I digressed a bit.

The good news is that she is moving on. She has successfully been a pain in so many people’s butt that she has been promoted. Thank God. In a week, I will be assigned a new officer who will hopefully be less of a stick in the mud. I know that is a lot to ask considering the necessary mentality of those employed in those kinds of places, but I can only hope that this new person will take just one minute to see that I am different from her other cases.

Every incident like this makes my conviction stronger that we should never allow the government to know all they want about us. To some, I realize that may seem shady. I can hear their voices now: “If you have nothing to hide, why hide?”

Well, let me tell you. No, wait, I’ve already told you. There’s a million reasons why. One shady cop or one identity thief with connections could quickly teach you “why” you should “hide” -even if you do not have any reason to hide. The moral of the story is that we all have a reason to hide.

In fact, I am even fighting my inner voice in simply posting to this blog. But, I’ve realized that I am one of those people that ends up being the “voice” for those too scared and unable to speak out against the wrong-doers. So, I will be heard and it has cost me so much to be heard so far. We have “Freedom of Speech” but at what cost?

For me, that cost has been insurmountably high.

“You are only ‘free’ until someone takes away your freedom” -me

Most people will never see, experience, or suffer the way I have due to corrupt officers. So, in many cases, it won’t be necessary to disappear or stay off the radar. But, if anything ever happens or if the government ever finds a reason to find you or spy on you, you can rest assured that it is a very simple process for them. This also means it is quite simple for fraudsters and unscrupulous people -with connections- to find you.

The solution is most likely unpalatable to most but I will never again be easily found.

Saying all of that is the preface for today’s post. The government (i.e. Big Brother) is always watching and monitoring its citizens and if someone is on probation, they really want to keep tabs on them at all times. I suppose I can understand that in some cases, but I was innocent of any crime (and can prove it) and was coerced to plea guilty. So, I tend to resent the way the system is designed to screw me -as if losing my fortune, ruining my credit, severely damaging my reputation, and labeling me a criminal weren’t bad enough!

Yesterday, I got a phone call from someone close to me warning me that they received a very nasty phone call from the Probation Office. They were threatening to issue a warrant for my arrest, because they discovered that I was not actually living at the address I provided. This was true. I had not updated my address on file yet, because I had not had time to mask my true location and will not allow them to track me. Sorry, but my experience tells me that this is the correct course of action when dealing with a flawed system manipulated by crooked individuals.

However, it is important to note that I am not breaking any laws by remaining hidden. I only broke a rule when I had not updated my address for a few months and have been so busy that I had not had time to take care of things. Now, they have forced me to take care of these things, so I have. It came at great inconvenience, but it is a necessary evil.

At any rate, I now have to go out of my way today and show up at my Probation Officer’s office to show proof of residence and blah blah. So, I will. But, to legally get around them tracking me, I have two residences. One is my “safe” house and the other is my “public” house. This causes me quite a bit of extra expense but is worth it to know that they aren’t going to show up at my door without cause and also assures me that no one (i.e. creditors or fraudsters) will be able to locate my true whereabouts without inadvertently giving me plenty of warning.

For certain people who may read this, I must note that I do live at both residences.

It’s really sad that this ass-backwards government has caused me such grief and continues to plague me as a reminder of the atrocious crimes committed against me that went unpunished (so far).

At any rate, today should be cut and dried but I must always keep my guard up because these people are unpredictable and get their “kicks” by messing with people’s lives. So, I have to be prepared for anything they throw at me.

As for readers of my blog who have been patiently waiting for my autobiography, this is another topic I will be adding on “how to disappear” and remain untraceable. It can be done but it is tricky and just one mistake will cause you to show up on their incredibly effective “radar.” I mean, if anyone ever sends you even one single piece of mail to your home, that’s it. You can be found.

So, when I finally have some time to get things out of the way, I will include topics on how to ensure your safety from the government and identify thieves (or worse) as well. These are tips that “Big Brother” does not want you to know. So, if you want to protect yourself, this will be a valuable piece of the puzzle.

“Remember: It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you!” lol

That’s meant more in jest than seriousness, but there is some underlying truth. They may not be looking for you today, tomorrow, or the next day. But, one day, you may find yourself in a position where you wished you had not been so easily found and harassed.

I know that I refuse to be exposed in that way again.

Because of the wrong-doings committed against me by this country, I am no longer a “patriot” of this country. However, I am a “patriot of freedom” (and what this country is supposed to stand for) and I will do whatever it takes to protect my freedom -especially since most people’s freedom is only perceived anyway. In other words, we are not truly free, of course. But with some effort (and at some expense) we can attain some degree of “lesser restrained” freedom.

Maintaining that type of freedom is a constant struggle in today’s society and is frowned upon by those that think they will never become the target of corruption. To those people, I say “best wishes and good luck.”