Seoul is way expensive!

My mom just informed me that Seoul is the 3rd most expensive city in the world for Americans to live in. Considering housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, Seoul is 22% more expensive than New York City. Only Moscow (#1) and London (#2) were more expensive. But I'm not too worried, because the only areas eating my bills will be transportation (gas over there is nearly $6.50 per gallon), food, and entertainment. Clothes over there are CHEAP.
Here's the original article.

Viagra

I read they caught the "viagra spammer". I've also noticed an absence of viagra spam in my spambox now. Amazing that one guy can have such an effect over the whole world. He hijacked bunches of computers, and turned them into "zombies" that worked for him. I guess he's being charged with identity theft or something like that. Now only if they can catch some of these new ones that are coming out. It doesn't bother me too much, because GMail's filters do an awesome job putting them all in my spambox.

Sponsor kids!

Everyone must sponsor a kid. One of the best ways to give to the needy or to invest in the future is to give to kids. They're innocent yet suffering; just born into unfortunate circumstances. By giving them education, nutrition, and healthcare, you are making a huge difference for the rest of their life. You will also keep them out of worse situations. For example, kids are sometimes sold into slavery by a family that cannot afford to feed them, believing the kid would receive better care. Sponsorship can eliminate this!

What's a good way to give? Compassion International. It is highly rated by independent organizations such BBB Wise Giving Alliance which concluded that "Compassion International Inc. (CI) meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability" and Charity Navigator which gave Compassion its highest rating of 4 stars.

It costs just $1 a day ($32 a month), and it goes so far. I've visited 2 sponsorship sites, and the difference in these kids lives is amazing. Here's an article about one of my visits and a highlight of my life.

Me in the news. http://www.llu.edu/news/today/nov2003/sm.html

Such a sweet experience.

And for y'all that believe in the Bible, may I remind you our responsibility to widows and orphans.

Googling Andrew Barnett

So guess what... when you search "Andrew Barnett" on google, you get "Andrew Barnett, M.D."'s website! Sweet, I'm number one! Wait... this isn't me

Andrew Barnett, M.D. 's website

Hope this doesn't cause problems down the road. I can just imagine, meeting someone, whether it be a patient or a date, and they decided to google me later. Boy will they be surprised.
I also found out that Andrew Barnett is a wigmaker and a culinary coffee authority. Well, I have roasted my own coffee in the past. I bought a few pounds of green coffee in Ethiopia, roasted them on the stove at home, and served it right up, super fresh.

F-16's !!!

I just found out I'm being assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea. I'll be working with F-16 pilots, and I'm excited, hoping I'll get some good flight time with them. The F-16 has a 2-seat trainer, which I could ride shotgun. Hopefully Osan has at least one of these. The F-16 was my favorite fighter when a kid. I wanted to be a fighter pilot till my eyes went bad in Junior High.

Taj Mahal

First the highlight of the trip: the Taj. The Taj Majal is a tomb/memorial a king make for his wife that died in childbirth. Many call it the most magnificent monument built out of love.


Actually it's built out of pure marble, not love. As you can see, it shines white in the sun. I guess it used to be even whiter, and because they noticed a color change, India outlawed all industry that produces air pollution in the town of the Taj Mahal, Aggra.

The architecture is Persian, not Indian. This and many other monuments in Northwest India were made when the Persians ruled India several hundred years ago, like 1300's or something.


And it's more amazing that just the architecture. When you get close, you can see precious stoned inlaid into the marble making ornate designs. They have similar pieces of marble with inlayed stones for sale as souvenirs, and just a circle with a 2 foot diameter cost over $100.

I looks deceptively large, but in reality, it is a single room tomb. I always thought it was some huge palace, but when you walk in, it's just one moderate size room with 2 caskets (the King was buried with his wife when he died).


Another amazing thing is the lack of development around this wonder of the world. It sits on a river, and right across the river is an orchard, not some high-end hotel to take advantage of the magnificent view.

How to save the world by making people furious...

How can we...

lower our national debt?
fight global warming?
lessen our dependence on foreign oil?
decrease the amount of traffic?
trim our nation's waistlines?
help people make friends with strangers?
create thriving downtowns in our cities?
slow urban sprawl?

Raise gas prices!

By increasing gas taxes, we could raise money to either eliminate vehicle registration fees, pay off our debts, etc. People would drive less, which would decrease oil consumption and emissions. People would walk/bike more, bettering their health. People would carpool and use public transportation more, helping our individualistic nation become more communal. Cities would become even more popular with housing that is next to work/dining/shopping/entertainment/etc. European cities have such charm, not only because they are so old, but because people actually work, live, eat, and relax there. Fewer people would be rushing into newly developed suburbs in order to have their personal 1/2 acre of grass they have to water to keep alive.

It bugs me so much when people complain about the gas prices, when they are very low compared to the rest of the world. Even though I have 2 high performance cars that run on high octane gas, when the prices go up, I am secretly happy inside. I don't have much of a commute now, but I'm sure I'd feel the same if I did.

Now I know this isn't going to happen. Too many people are nearsighted and don't see the benefits of higher gas prices or gas taxes. No officials have the balls to commit political suicide and implement these taxes now. But I just had to write this, and hope people start thinking and talking it up.

I know this is something that has to happen gradually, or else we would destroy certain industries.

Please leave comments.

del.icio.us links

I added some coolio links I've found over the past few months. They're down over there ---->. The internet is freakin' amazing. Or maybe I should say people are freakin' amazing! Through this thing called the internet we can benefit from the creative talent of millions. Check out the design blogs like TheCoolHunter and Electro^plankton. Comment to this post if any of these links blew your mind.

Next Year

So the Air Force has given me orders for my assignment next year: Osan Air Base, South Korea. I'm excited about this trip for many reasons.
1. It's only a year. I'm pretty sure I'll like it, but even if I don't, I'm there for only a year, and then I can either do residency or continue as a flight surgeon.
2. I get an assignment preferece for the following year. Since Korea is/was an
"undesirable" remote assignment, the Air Force lets you choose your next assignment: residency, Hawawii, Europe, California, etc.
3. It's near Seoul, a BIG hoppin' metropolis. I'm excited to get out of Dayton and getting someplace with more young people, style, events, etc.
4. It's in Asia. I love Asian people and food. And I'll easily be able to visit Japan. Singapore, Thailand, and New Zealand will also be close.
5. F-16s are assigned there; that means I'll have an extremely good chance to fly some in this sweet fighter jet.
But here's the kicker. The Air Force just notified me 2 days ago that they assigned too many flight surgeons to Osan, and so now either me or some other dude have to be reassigned!!! The only spots left are Guam (a desolate tropical island) and Misawa (on the Northern tip of Japan). Both I REALLY don't want to spend 2 years at. So please pray for me, that I won't get reassigned.

Eating Live Octopus in Korea

So I'm moving to South Korea on July 7th. I'll be near Seoul. You'll have one year to visit me there, or if you want, we can meet up in Japan.