Jim du Jour

Old links

2012-01-27T07:48:00.000-05:00

Seems only some things on the internet are "forever".

I was browsing some of my old blog posts from ... well.. the beginning... and momentarily had a political spin going on with the postings. This is probably why I lost interest in the blog as a journal when it comes right down to it. Politics isn't all that interesting to me, and is very frustrating, and just plain doesn't seem productive.

I checked some of the links and... broken. Gone. Some others, well, they're still there. Difficult to make a point to a non-existent post.

Should I remove them? Keep them? Establish a legacy? I wonder if it's at all important or if it's self-indulgent. I think that it is the latter.

Tolerationless

2012-01-27T07:15:00.001-05:00

So as I'm getting older I seem to tolerate less thoughtlessness. I guess I can be considered thoughtless at times, myself, but that's because I am introverted and lack empathy. High-functioning Asperger's, INTJ, and whatever other flavor-of-the-month clinical diagnosis there may be. Or it could just be because I, like many, many others on the planet, am self-centered. The thing that's in it for me is what matters most, most times.

Polite society is history. Civil discourse is a thing of the past. Internet forums can bring out the worst of the lot. Schools are full of minority rule: a teacher takes a significant majority of the teaching time to deal with a constantly disruptive student or two. Poor behavior is rewarded by attention and commendable behavior is overlooked. Expected behavior is left undefined. Self-centeredness and feeding the ego the largest and most important treat.

But back to me.

Thoughtless. I'm just not tolerating it any more. So I'm trying to start with myself as the most logical springboard. Trying to be more thoughtful is like trying to dig out of a hole. The more it is acted upon the more it seems to be lacking. I know, it starts small, extends to immediate family and friends and they all look with wonderment upon the miraculous transformation. Or something like that. More likely all I can do is start with me and not expect too much from anyone else.

People are so thoughtless I can hardly stand it.

Losing the Land Line

2012-01-25T20:18:00.000-05:00

I've had a telephone in the house since I can remember. Lift the receiver and be greeted by a gentle hum of connection to the outside world.

It was a big, heavy thing with a dial on the front. Pick up the hand set, hear that buzz of the dial tone, poke your finger tip, or the eraser end of a wooden pencil, or whatever is handy, into the corresponding hole and turn it clockwise to the little metal stop. Release, while the dial slowly returns to the original position, and repeat for all seven numbers. The phone company counted the pulses and connected to the call to that number. A seriously modern convenience when having an Operator make the connection was still an option. Then came the push button phone. "Touch Tone". We had one for our family room when I was a teen. Light Powder Blue. Leased, like all phones, from the phone company. It cost extra, too, for that fancy service. It sure helped when re-dialing to be "the Tenth caller" on the radio contest. Then dials went away and people could just go BUY their own phone at a store. Convenience!

There were many times that phone numbers were considered only four digits, too. Well, long distance was a luxury, and everyone that you would call would be in the same "exchange", so all that was needed was the last four numbers. "Say, Russ, what's your number over there?" one might say. "1983" might come as the answer. Very easy.

When my grandmother died and the house was sold, my dad disconnected the phone number. It was a sad day to think that someone else could now have that number. It had belonged to one family for over forty years. My other grandma still has her same number, as do my mom and dad. Even though street addresses may change, the phone numbers may not. It's almost as if it should be retired, mounted, and hung on the wall in the family room.

We've moved a few times and had to get different numbers so it's not the same for us, but my dad is considering pulling the plug on his phone number now that they are "snow birds" and use their cellular phones. That will be difficult for me. I learned that number before I began Kindergarten - "4871". All through school, and afterwards, dialing that number, learning the first three, then later adding the "area code" when travelling. Dialing that number late at night when my car ran out of gas. Dialing that number from out of town to give them my estimated time of arrival or information on a schedule change. It's written on many things like books and memorabilia and other such junk. Just like that "special" other person's number that was dialed so many times for late night conversation. These numbers meant a connection, not only a physical, wired, one, but an emotional and psychological one as well.

Yes, when we moved to our current home we had to get a new phone number and, like my life before, everyone's "exchange" is the same so we could pretty much get by on the last four numbers. But quickly and ruthlessly our communications changed.

First the telephone company decided to allow a jumble of ten numbers to stand for a telephone number instead of the organized plan that it once was, allowing both the exchange and the area code systems to run amok. Cellular phones, number portability, free long distance: pretty soon it all became just a string of digits. It's an address on the communication network boulevard. It cheapened the thing in that now it was a force to be reckoned with; and to forget, well, even one digit... Things just got serious.

Now, there are any number of home phones, cell numbers, work numbers, or other digital sequences designed to initiate or respond to a communication request. It's a huge financial commitment now, too. Some cell phone bills are larger than car payments. I've had them larger than our first HOUSE payment. For a communication network. For a phone. For a PHONE! Wires are now a legacy system. Copper is costly. Fiber optics. Bandwidth. It's a huge shift from the day of the dial tone and rotary phone. It's been a short life for me so far, and the fact that change has happened isn't the problem. And even the sentimental ramblings of a mis-placed late cycle baby boomer aren't what's important. See, I've cut the cord, now, as well, and I'm more than a little afraid.

I'm afraid I may go spinning off into space like Major Tom on some one-way odyssey, and that when I'll need to call 911 I won't be able to do it. When I want to call someone to report my power outage, I can't. When I want to call and check on neighbors during a weather crisis, the cell tower will be out. I don't trust the cell service. I don't trust my high-speed wireless connection. I have ALWAYS trusted the telephone. I may be so afraid that I'll eventually have to have one reconnected. After all, the numbers, all ten of them, that we taught our children is now "disconnected or no longer in service".

Refreshening

2012-01-14T10:53:00.003-05:00

Of course the logical fallacy that "everyone does it" makes it true, right? What I mean is the mystical turn of a year, a milestone of a birthday, the beginning of a week, gives most humans hope for a do-over.

Fresh start? (one of my favorite movie lines... in "The Other Guys")

Jubilee.

Bankruptcy.

Forgiveness.

Reset.

CTL-ALT-DEL

The invigorating feeling that results from a successful flush after a questionable beginning and developments of impending doom.

WELCOME 2012.

Welcome.

The Dark Years

2012-01-14T08:48:00.003-05:00

They will look back on this time as "The Dark Years", including melodramatic underscore and etc.

The Dark Years, hereinafter referred to by the acronym TDY, have, so far, lasted their entire lives. They don't know any differently.

TDY began just before they were born. It was the tipping point where the things that turned south gained momentum. It was that moment in time, expressed in years as opposed to singular moments, only visible in retrospective. Something like, say, The Big Red Machine, or The Fifties.

The path was smoothed, paved, by sociological changes to our national self-esteem. One thing learned from history is that revolting peasants make life difficult for the non-peasantry. Feed them, give them drink, give them things to occupy their mind and dull their senses and they are led easily to the milking machines. By milking machine I mean "cash" production.

Revenue production is essential to keep the equipment lubricated. Like trained laboratory experiment animals, push the right buttons and get the treat. This treat is our individual and collective "Feelings" and how important our "Feelings" are and how "Feelings" make much more sense than actually thinking about something.

The perspective will show, to the rational opinion, the beginning of the end was Televison. It was mesmerizing. It fed instead of requiring feeding. It tenderized our collectively toughened brain and made things "Feel" better.

And while already in front of the TV, we will take a brief time-out for a word from our sponsor.

The opportunity to monetize every thing in front of a person is either capitalism or grease for the skids to drag the entire mess along. TV show sponsors, radio show sponsors, all becoming, now, the collective "Media". Then it began, Burma Shave, sports team sponsors... advertisers everywhere. All feeding the perceived need to consume.

Mathematical truth resolves the question of where consumption and revenue production intersect. On the one side of this equation is moderated consumption and increased wealth generation; but on the other side is increased consumption and moderated or decreasing income. The latter situation would be oppressive were it not for the addition of the "treat". The treat makes it all bearable. As long as we're "Feeling" better we'll trundle off to the treadmill and generate some revenue.

The treat is the scaffolding upon which the house of cards is constructed. The omnipresent media. The agreement to accept, willingly, the next layer of going to the next level of "Feelgoodedness". Purchased by easily accessible debt.

TDY. Our country, our state, our neighborhood... and ourselves: All hoodwinked into believing that debt was sustainable in order to get the next fix to make "Feelings" valid.

another year

2011-12-31T13:42:00.002-05:00

seems as if another year has gone by and, judging by the calendar, that's true.

resolutions for the new year? not so fast...

regrets about the past year? well, it's over...

Notes from Walden Pond #2

2011-08-09T12:54:00.002-04:00

and Thoreau also said:

" There is a period in the history of the individual, as of the race, when the hunters are the "best men," as the Algonquins called them. We cannot but pity the boy who has never fired a gun; he is no more humane, while his education has been sadly neglected. This was my answer with respect to those youths who were bent on this pursuit, trusting that they would soon outgrow it. No humane being, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does. "

and I say, here and now, that parents and governments that would rob children of this education make them slave to that government and false protection from things that may harm them. They will grow up with no sense of self preservation nor compassion.

Notes from Walden Pond 1

2011-08-09T12:48:00.003-04:00

Thoreau said it:

" I found in myself, and still find, an instinct toward a higher, or, as it is named, spiritual life, as do most men, and another toward a primitive rank and savage one, and I reverence them both. I love the wild not less than the good. "

How can it be that we must, are called, even, to abandon the savage to pursue the spiritual?

How can a coin be one-sided?

How can a pitcher with one dimension hold water?

Finally moving off of dead center

2011-08-06T20:02:00.004-04:00

Finally!

got my computer recording software working.

This synched the playback so I didn't have to fudge the tracks to make them match up! Almost like it's supposed to work! Yay me!

might try to upload one as a video.. hmmmm...

Blowing Bubbles for My Daughter

2011-03-01T22:06:00.001-05:00

Blowing bubbles for my daughter
early evening, early June

the wind not too brisk but allows
them to float in a meandering stream
from where I sit to where she has chased them.

I wonder if she’ll remember this time
passing like popping bubbles-
her two years having already slipped by
so like my two score plus two

and this ten minutes, or fifteen,
before she gets bored and wants to swing again
or go down the slide again: this piece of time
as the moments vanish like the swirling sphere,
carves a memory in me.

On the Swing Set

2011-03-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

"Can you swing me, daddy?"
-sure I can!

"I wanta swing real high!"
-of course I can!

"The swing is squeaky."
-yes, it is. I’ll get some oil and fix it...

"Can you swing me, daddy?"
-how about this?

Silence as the air blows through her hair
and into her face, her eyes closed listening
to the rush in her ears and feeling
the up and down in her stomach.

And me, just watching, and often pushing.

Poetry Poem

2011-03-01T21:58:00.002-05:00

There is a friend that I have
or rather, a neighbor
not that a neighbor can’t be
a friend
as long as their dog doesn’t crap
in your yard, and they rake leaves
before they blow into your yard
and keep their grass cut
and don’t park vehicles on their lawn

And not that a friend can’t be
a neighbor
part of the good thing about friends
is that they go away
But it’s the returning and leaving again
that makes a friend
“Good fences make good neighbors.”

And this neighbor, a friend, that
has good kids, is a hard worker, has
less of the faults and compulsions
than many, and lets his wife
be in charge - because she does such a good job of it

Has one sinewy thread he follows
not to find the way out, but
in the darkness of dailyness
to the one end- unseen, unknown end:
to find the one end, driven
steady and purposefully, leaving
small stakes in the ground all along the way
tripping half blindly among the clutter of
home improvement projects,
second jobs, third shifts and overtime-
but holding to the thread,
wrapping an arm around to fight off
demons of complacency and rejection
with pen and paper

and whatever else is a lawn for unless you can park on it,
and the grass can wait until the kids get old enough to cut it,
all the while letting leaves blow naturally with the wind,
and dogs, well-
they always crap in somebody’s yard

Never bring a pistol when a shotgun should do the job

2011-03-01T21:50:00.002-05:00

Night.
Chicken Coop.
Skunk.
Flashlight.

1911.

miss? miss again? miss? no way... miss..oh he's turning his tail towards me... miss? miss again??? wtf! he's moving to the flap door!.. miss again?!?!??

arrrgh... i'm OUT with no spare mag (who would need more than one shot for such a close range confrontation..)

go get the shotgun... like i should have in the first place...

...gone..but... blood spots... not all was in vain, but..

really? i can't believe i missed that many times.. so close...no holes in the walls..too low? over-compensating?

Never bring a pistol to do the job of a shotgun.

period.

Models of Corporate Management Hierarchy

2011-03-01T21:43:00.002-05:00

The Three Stooges can teach us many lessons of corporate management styles. Take, for instance, the examples below. I've highlighted some important distinctions of each major category.

Moe:
Visible and perceived leader. Initiator of many ideas. Mostly incompetent except for being the most effective spokesman for the group. Brutal and self-serving, his treatment of subordinates is both harsh and opportunistic. Frustrated by the failure of his many plans, still he values quantity of ideas over quality of ideas.

Larry:
Incapable of making decisions that please his superiors. Vying for the leadership position but ultimately and constantly overruled. When put in charge of subordinates, is usually overly dictatorial to reinforce his position of authority. Ends up taking the blame for the bad plans of his superior, which he then duly passes to his subordinates.

Curly:
Happy-go-lucky subordinate. Content to do the assigned task, however ineptly. Leads mainly by following. Occasional build up of frustrations must be released, but then satisfied to go back to the task at hand. Mainly enjoys going along with the flow with no pressure of leadership or decision making.

Shemp:
Visible and perceived leader but does not share authority well. Only seems effective when in top position, but mostly incompetent. Holds a higher opinion of himself than he ought. Works out well for a while until important decisions are needed and his ideas aren’t used or not valued as highly as he feels they ought to be. Unhappy with subordination and moves on.

Curly Joe:
The Replacement. Never quite as unique as the original. Does not do it the way his predecessors did, but tries valiantly and vainly in order to keep from causing too many problems. Fears leadership and making a mark for himself with originality. Takes a long time to get used to but by that time the shine has worn off and never ends up fitting in properly.

New Year

2011-01-01T10:27:00.002-05:00

Another one has come and gone. Fraught with obstacles and difficulties, the loss of personal friends, financial woes and drama; but also full of new beginnings and opportunities, goals and achievements and the growth of our family.

As years move to separate the drama that unfolded, and we shed the bipolar shell that constrained relationships, moving forward our hope is that, though things may happen through the year, we pray for peace, health and safety.

12/28/1985

2010-12-28T09:29:00.004-05:00

25 years ago already? and it was already five years since our anniversary cruise?

Tempus does indeed fugit.

Happy Anniversary, my dear!

Marriage is a journey, and who you are at the beginning is not where you end up as you go. Only if you can adapt to changes, and if you're blessed enough to have a partner that can adapt as well as you can, will things work out for the long term.

As friends and family members have relationships that wither and die all around us, and as we continue, it's difficult to admit success without sounding like it's gloating over the failures of others.

Selflessness, contentment, and a healthy dash of resignation... or not resignation, but determination that it, this thing, this marriage, will continue and that we will continue as partners regardless of the ups, downs, obstacles, differences and drama. It's just that there is no option for failure and making do with what you have to make it the best that it can be, even though at times it isn't very good and it's very difficult.

All in all, I wouldn't change a thing!

I Love you, Jennifer!

Farewell

2010-12-06T21:36:00.000-05:00

You have shown me
your rocks
your riptide
your shallow ground

I no longer need
to be tied to the mast
or wax for my ears
and sail by with a
fond remembrance.

A Season of Giving

2010-12-06T21:31:00.002-05:00

"It's not all about you"
they always say-
they-
people -
in their altruistic posturing who
say things like that
to make themselves feel better
OR
"Oh I just love giving - it makes me feel
so good" - see? again?
OR
"I've always given 110% to this relationship
and this is what I get in return?"

but, no.
it's not all about me, is it?
no, it's not.

My Favorite Men II

2010-03-20T08:33:00.003-04:00

That was a really dumb post.

Must have been because I just watched Gran Torino.

I just didn't think about it before I wrote it.

I still like Jesus and Einstein.

They were real; along with Tesla, Da Vinci, Newton and Red Skelton.

My favorite men

2009-11-26T14:00:00.001-05:00

Einstein, Eastwood and Jesus

My favorite people-
two of my favorite men: Einstein for
his ability to think things men could not measure,
and Eastwood for
his apparent ability to do things real men could not do.
And Jesus, for doing the same, but
at a time when we didn't have a medium like
film or photography.

Where moth and rust corrupt...

2009-11-26T13:57:00.002-05:00

the old high school papers and books, eaten away by silverfish
and mice, chemistry notes and physics scribbles
no longer valid since quantum mechanics and
string theory and whatever else has happenened along;
notes and cards from old friends, family, neighbors,
girlfriends past and collected trinkets covered with
dead bugs, spiderwebs, mouse droppings stuck on with
mouse piss glue...

such is cleaning out the shed where once cherished items
went; from home to the attic to the shed at the new house: and
such is how the memory goes. Into the waste wheeler,
to the curb, to the dump, to ashes.

Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T08:07:00.001-05:00

The day that many men and women celebrate the fact that they're NOT in the military anymore... and the day that many of the rest of us are glad that you WERE.

Thank you and God bless you and your families.

the "Recession" begins

2009-11-09T12:50:00.004-05:00

Nobody mentions the gasoline price spike year before last, but it was there. Right before the election. Right before the 'official' start of the current economic climate. Gasoline over $4 everywhere for an extended period of time, Oil over $100 a barrel, futures skyrocketing, reserves shrinking, "release the national reserves.." was the cry.. The stock market trading of oil spiked the prices, but instead of a shock to restart a heartbeat, it stopped it.

It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Personal finances teetering on the brink of destruction were brought fully to collapse when it cost 2 hours wage just to commute to and from work each day. Surcharges were added to cover additional fuel costs for transportation services. Grocery and retail prices went up to cover some additional costs, but most importantly, our lust for consumption was broken. Not completely, mind you, but cracked enough to start the roots of conservation.

As the credit card companies raped and pillaged their customers' bank accounts and credit ratings, people realized that they would never get even while paying 24% or 29% interest and were forced into bankruptcy or paying cash: which leads them to the next step of conservation, which is not living above their means.

Automobile companies gave away next month's sales to those that would take the bait, but their cars still cost enough to be a major investment, not the appliance they were once considered.

Yes, though our government spends more money than they can print, many Americans have seen a glimmer of realization.

Now if we can just get past the "Value" versus "Cost" argument.

What a waste of time

2009-09-22T12:29:00.000-04:00

if we had all the hours back that we spent waiting on Microsoft to download, upload, reload, install, de-install, upgrade or repair one of its issues;

not to mention patches, bug fixes and work-arounds, virus detectors, eliminators, adware, malware and spyware issues;

what a waste of precious time in the name of productivity...

Thanking My Mother

2009-06-22T14:17:00.003-04:00

I know it's not Mother's Day. I still am awed when I think that she 'required' me to take Typing my senior year of high school. The foresight into thinking that it may benefit me some day in the future can't be underestimated. Who, at that time, knew that the QWERTY keyboard would become ubiquitous in the subsequent 30+ years.

It was about 15 girls and 3 guys, me and two freshmen. Both of them were total cut-ups and I doubt recall much of their timed typing tests other than the fact that, if you roll a new piece of paper in your IBM Selectric, do NOT get up for any reason. The guy next to you will shut off your typewriter and press a key. Then, when you turn it back on, the key will strike and you will need a new piece of paper for the test.

One would think that after the first dozen times this would be a lesson learned. But, no.

As it is, I have people nearly as old as I am that cannot navigate a keyboard. Hunt and peck is their mode of survival. At least I can nimbly hammer away at about 80 words per minute (only about 25 correct, though) when I get on a roll. I think these people must have either not taken a typing class or behaved in a similar manner to the two freshmen.

I doubt I would have had the discipline to follow Mavis Beacon to completion. Mrs Abel was much more patient and good looking.

I still wonder about the two 'freshmen' that took the class with me and how they can possibly keep up with their internet chats or comments...

You Read It Here First About Government Healthcare

2009-06-22T08:46:00.003-04:00

Yes, this is the first place you'll read this, I'm sure. I'm also sure nobody else will think of it until months after it happens but by then it will be too late.

Government Healthcare will bankrupt doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals by LIMITING THEIR INCOME POTENTIAL.

That's right, The Government will limit how much doctors can charge for their services. Doctors with huge student loans to repay, offices to rent, staff to employ and equipment to purchase.

Nurses that are accustomed to working three 12 hr shifts in a row, off-shifts and weekend shifts, will be told by The Government that they now can't make what they've previously been accustomed to making, even though they will still have to work the same horrible hours doing the same jobs.

This will permeate the entire healthcare system, and somehow, magically, the failed systems of Canada and Britain and France and Russia and other Socialist states will not be a pattern for the new "The Government" system. Many new jobs will be available for data entry clerks, telephone operators and paper generators. This, of course, will make things much better.

I really can't wait until The Government tries to limit the income potential of Personal Injury Attorneys. I'd really like to see how that turns out.

Idiot Proof

2009-06-12T09:56:00.002-04:00

We’ve been making things idiot proof for so long that idiots are fast becoming a protected species.

As with any other protected species without a predator (in this case, their own stupidity and consequences of their actions) they flourish and can become invasive like the snake head fish, the zebra mussel, the Japanese beetle, emerald ash borer… etc, or they can overpopulate and then cause a nuisance, like whitetail deer or raccoons, and cause property damage by opportunistic grazing or structural damages, and eventual physical injury to innocent people.

Often, the humans in this subspecies congregate in places that provide haven for this kind of protection (like larger metropolitan areas) and modify the habitat to their choice (like the housing projects or trailer parks) and begin their over-feeding (welfare, food-stamps-for-candy, and panhandling for cheap wine).

After they have climbed a rung or two up the ladder of affluence, they can acquire an automobile for three fitty ($350) which apparently does not require the usual safety equipment, licenses or insurance. Into this vehicle they put sound equipment capable of powering a small auditorium, including speakers and crossovers and remote controls. This equipment is usually “purchased”, allegedly, but no total cost is available.

They also decorate themselves with metal jewelry, old automobile hubcaps or dinner plates, and tattoos. This ensures they are attracted to only their own species and have developed a common language that includes words like "Ink", "Gauge", "Tat", "tramp stamp" and "Ho".

Their recreation of choice seems to be amateur chemistry. "Meth" is a concoction of chemicals that slowly kills the user but apparently gives great pleasure all the while. It does not, however, prevent them from procreating.

All in all, it doesn't look like these species will be removed from protected status any time soon, like the Bald Eagle or Wolf, so we will just have to continue to be careful of their proliferation and influence.

100th post

2009-06-10T20:17:00.002-04:00

LoL whut? 100 posts? hm.

anyway,

You should not, absolutely, permit an optimist to become a realist. Pessimist converts have a much higher success rate, if such a thing could be studied, since it's a step towards the positive.

Optimistic or otherwise happy people, especially “morning people” should not be subjected to realities of life and living. When people take advantage of them, hurt them or otherwise treat them like dirt, never, under any circumstances, claim foreknowledge or indicate in any way that it's likely to happen again the same way.

Oftener than not, this will build resentment in ones relationship with the optimist. They will begin to see things differently if they are brighter than most, or at least they will be a little more shy than they had previously been.

The pessimist, on the other hand, see people for what they really are and it's a best case scenario that a pessimist becomes a realist because he's encouraged that so much of his predictions have come forth that it becomes a kind of game, and this has caused many pessimistic people to skirt the edges of mirth and perhaps get some glee out of the entire affair.

As is shown, the optimist has been hit, beat up, run over and dragged behind causing their generally jovial manner to become battered, often beyond repair. The pessimist has seen their darkest observations come to light and is usually the only one smiling when things go horribly amok.

This, then, is the path towards being a realist. You must start with pessimism and angst, which will generally mellow to realism. This movement is similar to the transition from liberal to conservative. The contrary is a beaten down, destroyed optimist who faces each day or hour with dread only to watch with horror the previously unconscionable acts playing out in technicolor and 3D. This would be like a conservative transitioning to a liberal socialist, though that doesn't happen in real life. Just saying it would be something akin to that movement.

If there's any possibility to reverse the trend that the optimist feels as he or she slips on the slope to realism, or institute damage control, do it as soon as possible and without any further delay. For them it is, indeed, a plummet to the abyss and to total despair. But the pessimist sees it as a successful climb to new heights. Air smells more fresh, the grass is more green, and their clothes have that nice fabric softener smell.

If you or someone you know is trapped in a relationship that the ying (pessimist) is dragging down yang (optimist) you should begin an intervention. Push the pessimist back into their own miry pit and keep them from gaining a hold onto that delicate and precious optimist and ruining both their life and their very soul. Unless it's fun to watch.

Vacation Personality Type

2009-05-25T16:11:00.002-04:00

My vacation personality type is: short, long-weekend-types. I'm not into the week long getaway, apparently. It will be nice to get back to work.

Plus we just happened to coincide with a Holiday on Monday so the return week will be much shorter, sans Monday, to catch up with that which was missed during the previous week!

I should create one of those quizzes...

Rain

2009-05-22T15:25:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been historic for Florida. Non-Tropical (read: not a hurricane) storms dumping inches, nay, feet, of water in some areas, eroding beaches, waterspouts and floods.

This has been most of our 'vacation' in Florida. Glad their drought is over, but it's been a struggle for us to have the regular Florida-type fun.

We were able to golf about 5 holes and got drenched ... with a rain check for the last 9. We were able to finish that, then get in another 18. The girls got in about 2-3 hours of partly cloudy/sun. So, all things considered, I would have been better off if I'd packed my guitar along instead of golf clubs.

Slight cabin fever among us all, but we got out today, Friday, to walk around 'Downtown Disney' which is stores and restaurants. We had a great lunch at an Irish pub which had an absolutely wonderful hamburger (topped with tomato chutney... hmmm) good selection of beers and if we'd been there at night an acoustic duo for atmosphere. Was great while it lasted, and while in a store browsing the heavens cut loose. There was no end in sight, rain was falling at about 2" an hour: we decided to make a run for the car. The only time I had been that wet in my clothes was the previous Wednesday on the golf course. We all came back to the room to dry off and TV or blog and just relax a bit before our nightly Euchre tournament.

Rain

2009-05-19T08:26:00.001-04:00

Rain in Florida. Ending the drought type rain. No, not the "shower for an hour then clear up" kind either.

This is the "sorry you bothered to bring your golf clubs" kind of weather. They wouldn't have launched the Space Shuttle in this kind of storm.

i'm sure we'll find lots of inside things to do...

in Florida

2009-05-18T09:37:00.002-04:00

So we went on a little vacation trip with a couple that we are very good friends with, to celebrate a milestone birthday and anniversary. "Due to the economic crisis", which should be a trademarked phrase by our national media, we decided domestic and inexpensive would be best.

It's similar to beer. Busch Light happens to be the single best American Light Beer produced in the entire world. It also happens to be domestic and inexpensive. So, who's to say that you can't have domestic and inexpensive and the best? Why pay so much more for something heavy, skunky and imported (or exported)?

I consider myself open minded, but not so much that my brains have fallen out. I know there are many wonderful other kinds of beers produced (and I've sampled a goodly share of them).

He and I are going to golf a few times while the girls are going to lounge by the pool. He may do some lounging by the pool as well, however I do not lounge by the pool. This is not to suggest that I am above such things, nor does it suggest that I believe it's a waste of time on vacation, etc. I just don't like laying out in the sun. So, we brought our clubs and will hopefully find some inexpensive golf opportunities (i.e. under $75 for 18 and a cart, etc) Again, not a TPC course, but domestic and inexpensive.

Cigars? Cubans, right? Meh. I'm sure there have to be some inexpensive domestics around that will do just fine. Do NOT think Ibold Black...

So, we shall see about this Florida thing...

Tired Already

2009-05-05T00:28:00.000-04:00

Tired already

Last September they tore down the old gas station on the corner and started to build something else. Strange in this economy, but the old station closed a few years ago when gas prices shot up to over four dollars a gallon and they couldn't afford to refill their tanks, or didn't want to. I guess the guy got premium dollars for his property, too, even though they had to pull out the old tanks and remediate the soil and get the asbestos out of the building. The copper wire was stolen out if it for scrap as it sat empty. Word is that as soon as the property closed he put his house up for sale and packed up the family and moved to Texas.

When the new place finally opened the sign said “GM Tire Center”. I thought it was peculiar since tire stores usually advertise by brand of tire and not type of vehicle, but it didn't matter to me what they called it. I needed at least two tires for my old Dodge Ram but was going to hold off until just before winter. And I wouldn't ever go there, anyway, since my other vehicle is a Ford. Besides, I generally get my tires at the discount tire store. They've always got the best price and seem to be regular guys.

In our state, the vehicle license expires on my birthday and I go up early on Saturday to beat the crowds at the local DMV to get new stickers for my truck. As usual, though, the place is jammed full and when I take a number ticket I can tell I'm in for a good, long wait seeing that there are about 20 people ahead of me. I find a chair between an elderly couple and a man and woman with two boys who were running around continually making nuisances of themselves. There were some younger people taking their driver's license test, and the usual duo of loud-talkers discussing their preferred rash medication.

As the minutes ticked by I counted the number of clerks. Four, plus someone that looked like she was a supervisor and floated around helping where needed. Most people had all of their paperwork ready and were out quickly, though I noticed a few times where the supervisor had to walk outside with the person to get something off of the vehicle. Since this happens when you do a title transfer, I was surprised at the number of transfers going on and that people were buying automobiles in this economy.

By now the recession of 2008/2009 is history so I won't rehash the details, but since the federal government bought two of the domestic automobile manufacturers, the real engine of the economy has slumped even further into doldrums as the GAO now outsources most all manufacturing to the two other states of the New North American Union after the merger finalized. But that's all history now, too, and most manufactured goods come from Mexico, and Canada gets the majority of the brewing and distilling industry. America, now, is a consumer nation and the ones that don't work for the government do their best to keep those government services working.

I see my number flip up on the screen and hear my number called, so I take my place at the desk next to the elderly woman struggling to read the eye chart in the machine. “I'd like to get my plates renewed”, as I hand over my title, proof of Insurance, previous registration and driver's license. The clerk takes one look at my title and picks up the phone on the counter, mumbles a few words, then hangs up. “I'm sorry, but you need a vehicle inspection and our supervisor is at lunch. You'll have to take a new number and wait until she gets back.” I protested that I'd just waited an hour and all I needed to do was pay my money, get my new stickers and leave.

She impatiently explained to me that, since this was for a Dodge vehicle, and Chrysler was out of business and all assets and liabilities were assumed by the government, that each Government Motors vehicle now had to go through an inspection before a license could be renewed. Then she pushed a small button, looked at the screen on the wall and said “Number one thirty two...”

When I finally got the inspection, she put a tire gauge in each tire tread and scratched a number onto the inspection sheet. I asked her what was going on and it appeared that this was a new unfunded federal mandate to the states, along with a general safety inspection that also checked the emissions and exhaust systems. I would have to get one of those inspections, too, before I could come back and get my new license plates. But, before I could get that inspection, I had to get two rear tires for my truck at the local GM Tire Center, new wiper blades, and I had to vacuum the floor mats. Since my vehicle was found to be non-compliant, she issued me new 10 day Temporary Tags.

My first trip to the GM Tire Center proved to be similar to the DMV office. Take a number, wait, show my paperwork, inspect the vehicle, then the clerk spent five minutes just clicking through the computer to match up the tires to the vehicle. “These are not original tires,” he wondered aloud. It appears that some years ago, when I added a lift kit and larger tires, I confused the issue. “I can only sell you original equipment tires”, he said. I gathered my papers, said thanks and left for the discount store.

“I'm sorry, we can't sell you tires”, said Bob. If his name wasn't Bob, he was wearing Bob's shirt. “We can't sell tires for any of the Government Motors vehicles.” No kidding. “Can you put them on if I take them off of the truck and bring in just the wheels,” I asked? He looked at my paperwork. “Not since they noted it on the inspection report. We won't be able to dispose of them, either, since they'll be traced to your truck. You'll have to have the EPA permit, the carbon debit form, the non-hazardous waste disposal agreement and the birth certificate of your first child. Sorry. I hate to tell you, but if you would have brought them in before the inspection, we could have grandfathered you in.”

Back to the GM Tire Center. And, after another lengthy wait, I pre-empted the clerks speech with information on the exact tire brand, model and size. Of course, the tire manufacturer no longer makes that exact model. And they can only sell me the original equipment model, anyway. And I can't buy just two, due to the size difference, so I have to buy four. “Okay,” I sighed, “make it four. Put them on”. After a couple more minutes of clicking, he printed out a form, attached it to a clipboard and told me to fill out each space, sign and initial where indicated and bring it back when I was finished.

The form, with a space for my social security number at the top, was all personal information including my health insurance information, the name of my family doctor, a place to note if I had any known allergy to latex, and a general waiver for GM Tire Center to use any information for the installation of my tires. As I returned the form to the desk, the commercial blaring on the television screen showed a GM commercial advertising a new model car, showing off the awesome power, smoking the tires. I wished they had to go through this to get new tires. After a few clicks on the keyboard the clerk printed out another form and handed it to me. It seemed I was late for my annual physical and I needed to either get a waiver from my doctor or schedule the physical and bring the results to the DMV before I could get my new registration. “What about my tires,” I asked? “We have one in stock. It will take about a week to the the other ones. We'll give you a call when they come in to schedule an appointment”.

After, six weeks, including five more visits to the DMV for extensions to my 10 Day Temporary Tags, an appointment to the Safety Inspection station, then to the Authorized GM Service Center for a new catalytic converter, a new tail pipe, a set of spark plug wires and a replacement license plate lamp, a set of four new tires three sizes too small for my lifted truck, another visit to the Authorized GM Service Center to remove my old lift kit and replace the components with original equipment, wiper blades and an oil change, a complete physical from my family doctor which includes exercises and diet recommendations that need to be monitored by the local Family Health Center, membership fees to the local Family Health Center, fourteen dollars in coin-operated vacuums, and twelve days off work, I'm back on the road.

I've had to pay twice more than what my truck is actually worth in parts and preventive maintenance, both for me and my vehicle, plus the addition of an annual carbon tax since it doesn't get at least 20MPG, along with the personal property tax, road tax, and drayage tax since it has the potential to carry freight or supplies. I've had to apply for a National Commerce Control number in case I carry anything across state lines, and don't forget the additional insurance for this new classification. It would have to be sold through an Authorized Automobile Broker, but they only sell personal cars, and the Truck lots are full and nobody is buying.

I can't wait until I have to renew my motorcycle plates.

Shall Not Be Infringed

2009-03-26T23:22:00.002-04:00

So, after the Great Bike Wreck, I felt it was necessary to distract little minds from scrapes and blood and bandages. So after some Golf into the practice net, it was BB Gun time.

This was the first time EVER, so I went completely through the four rules. Five, if you add "This Is Not A Toy" either at the beginning or the end.

She got the hang of the antique Daisy pretty quick.. I'm sure by next summer it will be the .410.

Makes a daddy proud to pass it on!

Tempus Fugit

2009-03-26T22:34:00.004-04:00

So there's the thing, that image, of the father pushing the wobbly child on the bike for the first time without training wheels...

It happened to me.

I'd noticed my daughter, now nearly seven, riding her small bike on our gravel drive. The Training Wheels were mainly used as in place of a kick-stand and sometimes caused her to high-center if the rear wheel hit a low spot. I decided it was time to give it a try, so I grabbed my ratchet and some sockets and started taking the axle nuts loose to remove the wheels. This, of course, caused questions and concerns from both she and her younger sister, whose bike is much smaller and will retain the training wheels for some time yet.

After explaining what the ratchet is, what I'm doing and why, I get the nuts tightened and check the chain for tension.

"Let's try it," I say. So she gets on and has no idea because I'm holding the seat and the left hand grip.

"Okay, go..", say I as I give her a push and help her along for a few steps... and released...

Amazing!

The speed and stability were wonderful for the first time! It was truly an awesome experience which was surely to end in tragedy, I was instantly sure. But, it did not. She was able to bring the beast to a halt, and, by the time I walked down the drive to where she had stopped, she had jockeyed the thing around for a return trip.

Different, now, she couldn't figure how to get the thing started, so I helped a little again (never like the first time)and off she went... headlong, straight as an arrow and quicker than I could run, towards the parked cars in the driveway.

Again, she reigned in the animal as if it were a daily occurrence. Just before and between the cars.

So, I explained, you didn't have to stop if you'd just turn a bit and lean a bit as you're pedaling, if you go right, towards the grass, you can turn completely around.

Away she went, again, as I watched, and deftly turned into the grass, but proceeded towards the house again and got stuck in the grass. No tragedy yet and it was still new and different.

On the fourth start, I watched her magnificent, wobble-free ride out to the flat spot in the drive and she turned LEFT... and promptly locked up the front wheel and went down on the gravel.

So, I knew there would be blood as I trotted towards the scene, and there was. Chunks of small skin with rocks and limestone dust and blood dripping. After a few protestations, she rode the bike back to the driveway, and we went in to tend her wounds. Peroxide and bandaids and some praise for being a great rider, with some stories of dad's past adventures, she went on to ride the next day. Towards independence and the inevitable.

Sometimes you just need to throw it out

2009-03-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, it's best that you don't keep some things. They cause clutter. They drag down your mobility. They make it so you can't find a path through an important place in your life, often causing you to stumble, perhaps fall, even causing damage to your self, the thing, or something collateral.

There is a moment in time, epiphany, perhaps, that events coalesce and the deed must be done despite the fear of what you'll find, despite the fear of knowing you will lose something you previously held sacred, and despite the threat of rain.

Yes, I'm talking about cleaning out the GARAGE.

After closing a couple businesses, the flotsam and jetsam, collected detritus and leftovers have clogged the garage and the metal barn. There are, literally, thousands of dollars worth (new cost) of equipment and tools in both places. The barn, however, isn't as weather proof and many things are becoming rusty and the mice are blissful with their newly found accomodations.

The garage is another story. I'd like to be able to do a wood working project with my daughter in there, if necessary. I'd like to be able to change the oil on the motorcycle in there. I'd like to be able to actually find all my tools in there. You see, it's not that I've lost them, I just can't easily get to the stacked tool boxes where the tools SHOULD be placed, so they collect like dust on every horizontal surface.

I'd also like to be able to walk through the garage. Just... maybe even... turn around in there without knocking something off that the cats hadn't already knocked over.

I hadn't mentioned the cats, either. Their winter abode, the garage became their playground. A box with holiday china in it became their bed since they didn't like the one with the blankets in it. An old drum set became a launching pad for great leaps to the chest freezer and back. The Christmas ornaments in a small decorative sleigh was the subject of an aerial bombardment of a quart or two of home brew from the top of the refrigerator.

But, I digress. Enough is enough, and today is the day. Early enough in the advent of Spring to claim it as Spring Cleaning, yet useful, practical and it will go a long way towards helping me reclaim my sense of place and cleanse me of some demons from the past.

Move forward.

Aftermath

2008-11-12T20:40:00.002-05:00

The election is over. Socialism won. Gun control and rampant enviromentalism won. Higher taxes won.

So I went to a Gander Mountain for the first time. This one was in Dayton, Ohio. It was like Guitar Center with guns. In other words, AWESOME! There was ammo everywhere, but prices had gone up by at least 30-40% since I'd last bought any sometime last year.

With fuel prices up, I knew prices would be up. Also, with Lead, Brass and Copper (and general scrap metal) prices up I knew prices would be up. I was not prepared to pay .50 cents a shot, though, for target practice.

The gun racks were getting sparse, and used guns were pricey. It is the price you must pay for getting in before the AWB is rammed back through, and ammo identification is mandated by Executive Order. I won't be surprised if some kind of disabling locks and other type of oppressive restrictions are put on handguns. But it would just be easier to leave guns alone and make the ammo durnnear impossible to purchase.

All in all, Gander Mountain was impressive, to me. Here in the 21st century I've been to Bass Pro and now Gander Mountain. Next up, Cabela's.

But I'll probably buy something from my local gun shop(s).

How to Raise a Child in a Liberal World

2008-01-01T10:19:00.000-05:00

How to raise a child in a Liberal world? Easy. It's very difficult!

Take them with you to do chores so they learn to do hard work. Oh, and let them help without harsh criticism.

Take them away from a socialistic education system so they understand inequity. Not all things are equal, every body doesn't pass, and every game doesn't end up in a tie every time.

Take them out of the city so they learn self sufficiency. Whether it's residing or just to visit, let them find out where food comes from other than a store.

Take them away from the television so they learn to entertain themselves. Imagination needs to be developed. The TV stunts its growth.

Take them to the library so they learn to read things that interest them. They will have to look for things themselves, try it, and decide if it's to their taste.

Take them to a nursing home so they learn compassion. It's sad that our elders live alone together instead of where they can be a positive impact in a childs life.

Take them to an animal shelter so they learn they can't save every animal. Common sense dictates that animals are a responsibility and irresponsibility can lead to tragedy.

These small steps will teach some small things like the value of work, winning and losing, personal responsibility, imagination and creativity, choice, the wisdom of wise counsel, and social responsibility.

The Bible teaches all these things as well, but if it's mentioned in some kind of essay many immediately discount is as "right wing propaganda". It's clear, however, that a solid basis of Judeo-Christian theology prepares a foundation of responsibility whereupon all these other building blocks can securely rest. Any other additions or omissions from the basic tenets are man-manipulated and are the source of religious conflict.

America's Favorite Restaurant

2008-01-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

I've got it. Without any professional opinion, national survey, or unbiased poll, I know America's Favorite Restaurant. I see it nearly every day, I've been there myself, and everyone I know uses it. It's not universally spotless, and, actually, most people wouldn't normally be caught eating in such an establishment due to the health code violations; but its allure is irresistible. The variety of cuisine is broad, but the most common fare is something on the order of the venerable American Hamburger and its companion, French Fried Potatoes.

This "restaurant" started in the 20th century, of course, with a carhop, either walking or on roller skates, and the cruise-in.

This America's Favorite Restaurant is: our CAR.

Since the development of the car culture in America, there is no more favorite place to eat than actually inside the car! Nearly every restaurant in our country has a Drive-Thru option. Drive Thru Pizza, even! Every big player in the fast food arena caters to the Drive Thru. They're open later at the Drive Thru than in the dining room. They serve the Drive Thru faster than the dining room. They often have a visible TAKT time to track the speed of Drive Thru service. Even if your 'breakfast' is only coffee, there are Drive Thru coffee shops.

And by the looks of the trend, it's not going away any time soon. As our automobiles become more of an appliance instead of an actual vehicle, we've moved our office there as well. Once you could only get coffee and internet at a coffee shop or at home. Now you can get it in your car as well. You can Drive Thru the Bank to do your banking, or just drive up to the ATM if your needs are less personal. Need your prescription filled? Drive Thru at the Pharmacy! For years where I grew up I enjoyed the wonderful dichotomy of the Drive Thru Liquor Store.

All in all, we're doing more things in our cars while driving than ever thought possible when we actually had to DRIVE our car! Eating seems to take the prize for most commonly acceptable thing to do while driving, though I can't figure out why automobile manufacturers haven't come up with a disposable bib that attaches to the mandatory seat belt to keep it clean of all the drippages from the burger or burrito. The lady with the hot coffee between her legs that sued a national chain for getting burned was the death knell for common sense in many areas, but mainly for America's Favorite Restaurant. I'm surprised that people like that are not suing for spilling hot burger drippings on their mandatory seat belt, causing the fibers to weaken, causing an imbalance in the retraction mechanism, which could cause cancer in laboratory animals. But there is no cure for stupid.

Nor, does it seem, is there a cure for our fascination with eating while driving to and fro. To think that it all started by Eating While Parked. The things we've done while parked are legendary and should be the topic for other posts (ahem...), but since the idea of 'Take Away' was glommed onto 'With The Automobile', there seems to be no going back.

And don't get me started on Thru versus the proper spelling of Through...

Pistolero Training

2007-07-09T21:51:00.001-04:00

Shamelessly stolen from
The Gun Thing Blog. Thanks to Kim and Chris!
--edit to note, site is now offline 2009

The Fundamentals of Pistol Shooting

First fundamental - Safety: Nothing ruins your day faster than shooting something you didn’t mean to; or worse, shooting someONE you didn’t mean to.

Safety is the most important fundamental of shooting. If you aren’t safe, I won’t shoot with you, or anywhere near you; and you shouldn’t be shooting. I won’t deny anyone their right to self defense, but with rights come responsibilities; and you have a responsibility to be safe.

Now, there is a lot more to gun safety than the “four rules”, but they are good and important rules; and I think the most important, most fundamental (there's that word again) elements of firearms safety, and they should be understood and followed appropriately by all shooters at all times.

The four rules are:

1. All Guns are ALWAYS loaded

2. Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy

3. Never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot

4. Always be sure of your target, and what is beyond it.

Duty versus something else entirely

2007-03-21T15:35:00.000-04:00

When you do what you want to do, there are consequences.

When you do what you MUST do, there are rewards.

For example, kind of, when you discipline yourself to do what must be done, there is a reward. When those same disciplines are lacking, there are consequences.

If you don't get up for work you get fired. If you don't have a job, you have no money. If you don't have money, you have no car. If you don't have a car, it's tough to get to work.

If you DO get up for work, you keep your job, you have money, you have a car.

Simplistic, I know. It's nobody else's fault if you lack discipline but your own. But it must be learned.

Which Sci-Fi/Fantasy Character am I?

2007-03-12T01:58:00.000-04:00

Elrond.

fitting, perhaps.

Ironic that he was also Agent Smith in the Matrix films.

Back, again, with what could be deemed regularity

2007-02-15T16:55:00.000-05:00

I know that this is the first post in nearly a year. Well, if I had time to blog about the things that happened in the past 10 months nobody would have time to read it all.

And, besides, to everything there is a season, eh?

One of the main factors in the past many months is that other people can cause great trials and tribulations in the life of another. I believe that the Creator God created people to be a blessing to each other instead of a curse but that the more we're around others the more often we curse them.

One man's freedom of choice should stop at the other man's cheek but so often life becomes what seems like a thrashing at the hands of an ignorant mob. Each web of these dysfunctional relationships weights and ties down another part that could be used in defense of self. Our progress is stalled, or stopped, and we become all about "dealing with it" instead of enjoying life to its full. By bogging down with all this we rob ourselves of the Joy that can be Life.

I've made many choices here in the last several months: some put upon me by others, some of my own design. Most of the anguishing ones have been ones of my own design since those were more important to me. The other ones, the ones put upon me by a decision or act by someone else, always cloud the issues. Those acts, interestingly enough, seem to preface some act by ME mainly as a reaction not as a well thought and considered plan.

I'll give you some examples.

Example number one. I'm in business for myself with employees. Business is slow, but I'm still trying to keep my employee, train them, pay them, etc, all the while getting further and further behind in the hopes that things will turn and all this planning will have paid out dividends when we get busy again.

But, they decide to leave. Not for a job with a competitor, but for something in a completely different field. I can't begrudge them for trying to better themselves, but it leaves me in an awkward position where I must now react and make a decision.

Example number two. After some negotiation, I decide to sell a portion of that business off to another company. We negotiate a payout with a period of some months and a purchase of the equipment. After they pay for and take possession of my equipment, I train them and help them along for a few months, after which they decide that it's not performing as they expected and decide to stop paying me. Another awkward position.

Example number three. After I get sick and tired of them not paying me, I decide to consult an attorney, and I tell them so, whereupon they file a lawsuit against ME for breach of contract. Awkward position?

In each of these cases, my planning was based on trust, being a blessing to others.

The other person's planning and decision was based on screwing me over, in essence.

Kinda hard to do anything but react to stuff like that, and it kinda makes it difficult to take the time needed to plan for the future. It also negatively impacts finances and cash flow, and THAT creates additional stresses.

But, hey, we got our health, you know? I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Illegal Immigrants are the Sluts of the workplace

2006-04-06T11:22:00.000-04:00

A Slut. Yes, a nasty one that gives it away for free and then wonders why they get no respect.

Better yet, a Slut during spring break.

And, really, they're the Slut that steals your wallet after you've fallen asleep, sated now that you've saved a few dollars here and there by employing their labors.

And those that are complicit, essentially doing the screwing, are catching that disease of complacency. Yeah, they're like the town bicycle.. everybody gets a ride, why not me?

IF there were proper enforcement of the current laws, AND IF there were proper policing of our southern border, this would be such a non-issue. But, there is a larger movement at work here, one of our professional politicians wanting to appear to be liked by everyone in order to get those all-important votes. Those professionals that pretend to represent true Citizens have stabbed us all in the jugular and are bleeding us dry on this issue. They are selling our security and future for their votes.

Illegal aliens are thieves as well as sluts. They make it too easy to use them. Why be legitimate and go through all the hassle and drama when all you want is a quickie? Why pay a Citizen and report all the taxes and provide all the requisite benefits when these are just an 'expense'.

From an employer standpoint, every relationship with an employee is and should be just that: a relationship. They provide you with a service for an agreed upon amount of compensation. It is not always easy and there often have to be compromises, and sometimes there are irreconcilable differences. With this situation, though, all that is too much work and effort. Quick, easy and cheap is the password here.

Now, bring in someone that wants a quickie, and someone else eager to provide it for nothing but some small benefit to send home to la casa en del sur where the rest can live like royalty, or pay more coyotes to run those left of the clan across the border. The pay under the table goes out of the country and the avoided tax dollar burden of their existence here is foisted on every other true citizen.

Sluts give a bad name to the honorable workers, too, by coloring them with shades of "too expensive" and "doesn't work as hard" and "not willing to do what I need for the what I want to put out". This, of course, is generally untrue. It's just convenient and an easy way to ease the conscience of those that conspire to keep their orgy of Sluts coming across the border.

Our vacuous law enforcement agencies spend millions of dollars and countless thousands of man hours setting up sting operations to catch prostitutes and their 'john'. Why not not divert this effort to catch the Sluts and their 'juan'. Oh, that's right.. Prostitutes don't pay tax on their earnings and their customers want to keep it quiet. But companies that employ illegal Sluts DO pay taxes and have influence and want to let everyone know how much they donated to Greenpeace last year. Oh, except for the payroll taxes they don't have to pay, and the benefits they don't have to provide.

Yeah, all for the sake of a Quickie.

Five Worst Things I've Bought

2006-03-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

Suprisingly, this one is really all too easy.

1) Cell Phones
2) Computers
3) Cars
4) Digital Cameras
5) Beer Tap

The first two create stress by needing constant attention and upgrades when they should only be a tool to use. I, like many other people, have wasted so much money on these first four that the only way I can cope is by the last one. But if I admit that, it would indicate that I have a problem, wouldn't it.

The Five Best Things I've Ever Bought

2006-03-20T20:55:00.000-05:00

After thinking about this for, oh, a few seconds, I came up with this list. Maybe it was because I was moving firewood using my tractor bucket.. BUT, anyway, this is probably the easiest or hardest list to come up with for me. I could actually think of a couple more, so I reserve the right to make it ten things eventually.

1) Our Current House.
Not necessarily our dream house, but it's a wonderful location, has a lot of elbow room and gives us an opportunity to learn more about beinginvolved with living off the land

2) John Deere 4110 Diesel Tractor w/ Bucket Loader, 5' Mower Deck, 4' Brush Mower
Undoubtedly the best tool for living in the country with land to manage. Mowing time is slashed by at least half, the bucket saves multiple wheelbarrow loads.. it's just the best!

3) My Pickup Truck, '98 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4
It's comfy, it's cushy, it works hard when I need it, snow doesn't stop it except when I get it stuck and high centered on the skid plate (but the snow WAS about two feet deep) and it still looks good for having over 100,000 miles on it. Coulda been a Ford or Chevy, too, but it happened to be a Dodge.

4) Taylor Acoustic Guitar
I've been playing at the guitar for well over... oh... thirty years, but never bought a 'good' guitar before I bought a Taylor. Even though I bought it used, it's still a fine and functional piece of art that plays better than I can. The hours spent playing, relaxing, learning and spending time with my family are well used.

5) Engagement Ring for my Wife
This edged out my Remington 870, since I figured it should, but it could be argued that this should be number ONE. I will say that, because it is last, it is the best of the bunch.

National Weight Gain Week

2006-02-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

officially, Girl Scout Cookies are here. I did my fair share and bought eight (count 'em before they're gone) boxes.

Two Thin Mints, Two Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel Delights, Cartwheels, Thanks-a-Lots, and Lemon Pastry Cremes.

$3 bucks a box and, get THIS... about 15-16 cookies per box. And no, the local kids don't get to keep most of that.. maybe a dollar a box for all their sales efforts.

That works out to about $.20 PER COOKIE, and about $.10 per bite for most of them.

$.40, 2 cookies, 6 grams of saturated fat, 19 grams of carbs and 85 mg of sodium.
yum yum.

oops, make that ONE BITE!

My Attitude

2006-02-21T08:57:00.000-05:00

Shamelessly lifted from a comment in Fark.com. Laughed so hard i spewed coffee on my keyboard. THANK you to whomever came up with this gif!

The Steve Martinizing of Comedy

2006-02-13T08:18:00.000-05:00

As I was a much younger person (let's just say about 16) in high school, Steve Martin emerged onto the scene of Vinyl comedy albums. Now, my dad had several classic Vinyl comedy albums- people named Woody Woodbury, Moms Mabley, Dave Gardner... stuff like that, and my uncle, his younger brother, had the obligatory Cheech and Chong LP. I didn't really understand either of those types of humor, though, so I opted for Steve Martin.

Now, a lot of the Steve Martin things I didn't get either but for the most part, he was accesible. Appearances on Saturday Night Live, as well as endless quoting by friends at school kept the fire fanned. I made his trademark "arrow through the head" for fun and used it in the high school variety show. Yes, it was that bad.

This also was approximately the same era as the Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with costumes and toast, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail was still fresh enough to be amusing everytime we watched. It seemed a new era of Slapstick, with Chevy Chase and Gerald Ford leading the charge, usually down a flight of stairs and over a chair.

I gave that much information to set the stage for the latest hollywood tragedy, the re-make of The Pink Panther. Hollywood has long been out of original ideas, and can't cut it as far as the re-makes go since they don't have a clue how the originals really ACTED. Hollywood is a cult of personality, but nowhere near as deep as in the past. Their shallow face shows in the resulting pathetic attempts to cash in on formerly enjoyable or downright classic shows or movies. I don't even need to provide a list, but in the spirit of fairness I present The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Bewitched.... argh.. that's all I can even list without getting my blood pressure into the danger zone. Today's actors don't have the depth of character required to connect with audiences on the level that classic actors did. Today's actors all ACT like they're acting which, of course, ruins it. John Wayne, James Stewart, Robert DeNiro, Lauren Bacall.. John Belushi even. They seemed to take their personality and work the character into themselves. Today, it's all just pretend.

The latest travesty is, of course, The Pink Panther, starring, who else, Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau. Totally missing the point of Peter Sellers' understatement, Martin presents his version of the Inspector as an annoying, over-the-top and in-your-face kind of cartoon. So blatantly obvious that there should be no mistaking that it's designed to be funny. But it's not. And those are just the commercial trailers.

Steve moved from adolescent slapstick standup schtick through The Jerk to Parenthood. He should have kept the good thing going.

ME? ya think so?

2006-02-06T09:46:00.000-05:00

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion:

You have low extroversion.
You are quiet and reserved in most social situations.
A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you.
You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people.

Conscientiousness:

You have medium conscientiousness.
You're generally good at balancing work and play.
When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.
But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it.

Agreeableness:

You have low agreeableness.
Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all.
In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted.
And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently.

Neuroticism:

You have medium neuroticism.
You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic.
Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy.
Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of.

Openness to experience:

Your openness to new experiences is high.
In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas.
You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits.
A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Mo, why oh WHY do you do these things to me? HA!

no more troll spam!

2006-01-27T13:12:00.001-05:00

yippie-ki-yay...
thanks to blogger and their comment verification system!

ok.. hmmpf

A Private Island...

2006-01-25T17:21:00.000-05:00

If I only had as much money as Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines..
eh, it was just OK. nice to get off the boat, though.

On the way out of Miami

2006-01-25T17:04:00.000-05:00

we DID have wonderful weather. Too cool for the natives, but 40F at night and 70F during the day is great for me.

upon returning from vacation...

2006-01-25T15:47:00.000-05:00

Well, that's over with now.

not that it was a bad thing, mind you, but it's over. Good times were had by all, or so the reports go, and pictures are wonderful. The food was good, and plentiful, the drinks were expensive and felt like paying a ransom since we were captive on a ship.

Prices are outrageous in Miami and in Nassau. Come ON... $20 for 5 Dos Equis beers? and the 6th one is $5.50? at 'Senor Frogs' in Nassau? pass the vaseline please.. no no.. the one with sand in it... that'll surely feel better.

Okay, enough complaining... we DID have several good friends go with us on this trip and for the most part everyone got along well for not knowing each other!

We went to watch the Bengals playoff game at Hooters in Miami. $9.50 a pitcher for miller lite. after the 2nd play we didn't care too much about the game OR the cost of the pitchers.... AND we got asked to keep it down...so it was fun.

We didn't get to port at Key West after all. Allegedly a dredge got stuck in the channel so we couldn't enjoy Sloppy's. Kinda bummed most of us out since we were looking forward to getting off the boat... so a few of the ladies lay in the sun all day while the rest of us were bored silly and tired of paying $$ for drinks.

Good company, good times, but I think I'll just entertain at my house next time. At least I won't have to drink Lite. yak.

Vacationing

2006-01-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

Vacationing while one owns a small business is never really a vacation. It creates more work before and more work after and usually there's just no relaxing during.

However, I will attempt to relax on our upcoming vacation. It's a cruise to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary with stops in the Bahamas and Key West.

We've been to Key West before with our good friends, I think it was '99, and had a great time. Probably a combination of being with them for a couple days, being down there in their time share condo with a very cool pool, and Sloppy Joe's. Can't wait to visit there again, really, so it'll be a good time to be there on the port call.

The Bahamas... meh... probably just stay on the boat and enjoy what I paid for instead of getting the tourist trap ripoff.

Travelling has lost all of it's luster for me. We had to renew our passports (which had expired) just to travel to the Bahamas. I don't want this to turn into a rant against illegal immigration, but, come on. Criminals don't obey laws ANYWAY. just look at.. texas, arizona, new mexico, california, florida... etc etc etc. If they want in they can and will get in, and usually then get benefits, be able to vote and get preferred loans for housing.. unlike ME, who was born here. I just want to GO on vacation and COME BACK with no hassle. I won't even smuggle duty free booze or cigars or whatever else people smuggle.

Then, there's taking your shoes off to go through security..... Bah.

Happy Anniversary

2006-01-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

Well, as I heard once, I've been happily married for seven years now. Twenty years altogether, but seven happy ones.

Actually my wife loves to use that line, too.

I like to say "I've been married for twenty years...... in a row..... to the same person..... on purpose....."

But, it all started back in December 1985 when we were too young to know better. She's been married over half her life now.. to ME of all people.

She is a wonderful lady, a fantastic mother to our young children, and the best friend and partner a man could want.

We got started in the child rearing business late in life, and it's been a difficult adjustment, to put it mildly, for both of us. We were retired and didn't know it, but had lots of fun times in the past, and are working on more fun times even now, only these include our kiddies.

Here's to at least twenty more..!

Resumation will begin

2006-01-04T13:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, it's been a long time since I actually posted anything interesting, even to me. The thing is, I think of things to post either late at night or in the morning, but by the time my day takes hold of me and shakes me like a dog shakes an old sock, well, all I can say is, I'm surprised I can even remember the, uh... well.. something, anyway.

It's a new year, chronologically speaking, which means we all have to work until MAY until we actually see a penny of profit from our labors thanks to unckle sammy and the spendthrifts in gummint. Unless, of course, you're self employed, and, if you're blessed like I am, you may NOT see a profit this year thanks to customers that don't pay, utility prices that continue to go up, material prices that continue to rise, and customers that just don't wana pay more for their stuff.

I have not missed a meal, however, and it shows. Maybe that should be what I resolve... naaaaaah.. nevermind... hasn't worked in the past, either. I told my dad the other night that I was glad I could still afford to drink, though..

Happy new year to me and my family and friends. It's still the best opportunity in the best country in the world. And thank God for that.

my Majick path..

2005-10-24T08:45:00.000-05:00

NO MAGICK PATH - You don't believe in Magick. Your
motto: "Seeing is believing!"

What is Your Magick Path?
brought to you by Quizilla

thanks Mo for the tip!

Troll Spam

2005-10-07T14:29:00.001-05:00

incredible. i don't even post here very often, actually you could say 'at all' and be nearly correct.

yet, i'm getting email 'comments' from SPAMMERS..

1) what idiot would patronize a site/company that spams comments on weblogs?
2) what idiot that runs such a site would bother spamming weblogs?

not that i ever GOT any comments to speak of, one or two angry ones, a nice one or two, but sheesh...

comments off....

I'm a Friggin Genius

2005-08-11T14:29:00.000-05:00

Take the Idiot Test. I did...

I am 5% Idiot.

I am not annoying at all. In fact most people come to me for advice. Of course they annoy the hell out of me. But what can I do? I am smarter than most people.

Take the
Idiot Test
@ FualiDotCom

What's My Pizza Personality?

2005-08-11T14:06:00.000-05:00

Pepperoni Pizza

Robust and dominant.
When you go for something, you go full force.
You tend to take control of situations easily.
And in return, you get a ton of respect.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

Yeah, now where'd they get the idea...

2005-07-21T13:51:00.000-05:00

hmm.. Eminent Domain. Now coming to Maplewood, Missouri

This is craziness. Extreme Makeover, City Edition. A game of Sim City gone awry. How can a local government force private property owners out of their property in order to benefit another business that *may* provide more revenue for the city? Kelo vs. New London, thank you very much. SCOTUS, exactly the Supreme Court Of The United States.

It WAS, Eminent Domain- that is, set up to procure property for the Higher Purpose of Public Use.

Now, it's just being used to clone cash cows.

More like Imminent, Eventual, Inevitable, Impending and Outrageous

Columbus, Ohio we knew ye not

2005-07-19T09:06:00.000-05:00

I don't know, but if you choose to live in a police state, such as Columbus, and various other locations throughout the united States, you probably don't mind this stupid ruling... excerpted here from CNN, and AP and all of that... And I normally don't do this kind of thing here since this is not a political blog, but ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The National Rifle Association said Monday it is pulling its 2007 national convention out of Columbus because of the city's ban on assault weapons.

The City Council passed a ban July 12 outlawing the sale or possession of semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips and detachable magazines.

Because we know that makes them so much more dangerous, having pistol grips and detachable magazines..

The gun owners' organization had planned to hold its annual three-day event, expected to draw as many as 60,000 people, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

"The party is canceled because last week your city council unanimously voted to revoke the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens in Columbus by banning perfectly legal firearms," NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said.

The kinds of bans that have already been fought, twice, no less, in Columbus, and lost, by the way...

Councilman Michael Mentel said the NRA knew when it scheduled the convention that the city was considering a weapons ban and used the Columbus law to seek publicity.

"I do think it is a ruse," he said. "They knew exactly what was going on in Columbus."

So? Of course they may have. But it's also a very central location in a large midwestern state. I've been to this convention center and it is/was very nice. The location is a close drive for Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, let alone Ohio, and has a good airport with reasonable fares. So, none of that counts when you're putting on a National Convention? Oh, right.. it was JUST about the upcoming ban.

Mayor Michael Coleman said that the NRA and other groups won't dictate city policy and that the ban will make the city safer, which will attract convention business overall.

Rrrright. I'm so sure that there are dopers, gang bangers and pimps throughout that fair city toting Big Bad AK-47's. I remember the times I was at and around the convention center being so afraid and intimidated of the open carry of assault weapons I could hardly .... oh, wait, I don't remember any. Nevermind.

The latest law attempts to avoid that by spelling out a distinction between legal sporting weapons and military-style assault weapons.

Military-style? Pistol grip and detachable magazine? Semi-automatic? Looks black and plastic and evil? Hmm.. that could be my .22 caliber Browning Buck Mark pistol. What retards.

The NRA also considered Portland, Oregon, and Reno, Nevada, for the 2007 event.

I would say.... Reno.. no, Portland.. oh... it's tough, isn't it. Not near as close for us Midwesterners, though, is it?

The convention was expected to generate $15 million to $20 million for city businesses, but other groups have shown interest in meeting in the city the week the NRA was to have its meeting, said Paul Astleford, president of the city's convention and visitors bureau.

Probably none that big, though.. but hey, I don't care and I won't visit Columbus again.

Banks

2005-07-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

I own and operate a small business. I have been in business for nine years, now, going on ten. I have worked for myself for longer than I was ever employed by another company or person. I have been in the same location for seven years now, in a building we are buying instead of renting. I have lived in the same house for five years now, and before that it was seven years. That house we bought as we moved in from out of state. I have owned four cars in the last twelve years, and most of that time it was two at a time, so I don't change cars every two or three years. Three of those cars have had over 100,000 miles on them, one of which I still own.

But I digress.

In business you can live or die by cash. Cash, as I've heard it expressed, is King. The largest source of cash is a bank. They can print the stuff at will. Your customers will use you as a bank if you're not careful, but they won't pay you the fees that your bank will charge you.

So, it turns out, that you can be a bank, and that you need the services of a bank. One, so you can have a checking account to pay off your suppliers since they don't take chickens or wheat in trade and generally don't barter. Two, so you can put some money in there for when your customers use YOU as a bank and don't pay you and you need to dip into your savings in order to make your building payment or utility bill payment. Three is so that the bank could lend you money on the good faith you've built up over the years, meaning you're a decent manager of your resources and pay your bills, and that you could use a loan of some cash to expand and grow your business. Which, of course, you pay back, with interest charges, of course (those things your loser customers don't pay you).

I had heard years ago that, to be in business, you should 'get to know your banker'. I also recall that, as a very young person, my mother and father would take me to the bank with them to do their banking business. We even opened up our own 'passbook account' I'm guessing well before I was ten years old. We would go to make our deposits, the bank having a little set of wooden stairs in front of one of the teller windows. Through my parents I became acquainted with the bank managers at each of the two banks they used, and eventually became a customer of those banks when I needed my own checking account and a student loan for college.

Fast forward, say, twenty five years, to 2005. Since I've been in business since 1996, my first business bank was bought out two times (that's three name changes and more manager changes). The bank manager that was interested in my growing business moved on to greener pastures and the replacement knew nor cared anything about me. So, eventually, when I got tired of being ignored, I moved my business banking to another more local establishment. Again, I acquainted myself with the branch manager and the loan officer. And this worked for a couple years, until the loan officer is mysteriously gone. It is similar to a radio station DJ. One day they're happily working, the next day, it's business as usual without them as if nothing ever existed in that space.

So, a while thereafter, we see a notice in the local newspaper that our bank has changed names! My wife takes a deposit to the bank and the sign is already changed. Later I go in and the branch manager's desk is clean and empty, and I find she's been transferred to another branch.

So, this is now five different banks in nine years. I honestly would have been happy with just one. I would have been happy to be able to call up my acquaintance, the branch manager, and say, hey, how are the kids, etc, would you like to go play golf, etc. I also would have loved to have the flexibility to say, hey, I need a short term loan for $10,000 to buy some equipment, what can we do. And to make matters worse, if it needs to get any worse, each bank, like each business, has their own set of rules and procedures, and is also regulated by the government(s). So every time there is a name change, and there is a change of personnel, and there is a change of procedure and format, I am forced to take time out to, again, supply them with my intimate financial history so they can 'get to know me'.

Honestly, as a consumer, or say, customer, I'm getting tired of these banks buying each other out and me having to RE-supply all the three years previous income reports, tax returns, personal financial statements, personal guarantees, and essentially private information (if there is such a thing anymore). All for their reporting needs or governmental regulation compliance or some such. And personalized service? Forget it.

I'm thinking I'll try one more time, changing all my business accounts over to another local bank, one where I started out as a young man with my 'passbook account'. Who's to say they won't suffer the same fate (for customers) or benefit (for directors and stock holders) of the rest in the re-consolidation game that banks are playing. Just as the phone companies are in the midst of re-consolidation despite the government's best efforts to break them up years ago.

Just goes to show that there is a natural order to the industry, which is that bigger is better and the strong absorb the weak, or the weak just get tired of trying to climb the ever-higher walls created by the government.

It just seems to me, though, that they're just acquiring a big pile of other people's debts and calling it value, when small businesses like me that actually make something are spun around like dregs in a coffee cup until they're poured out as not being worthy of their time or effort.

No Room at the Inn

2005-07-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

Analogies are like daisies. They're nice to look at, and there are usually a bunch of them at one time for any occasion, and they grow like weeds. So anyway, what was my point.

Oh yeah, the 'no room at the inn' phrase, from the Bible, of course, and the story of Joseph and Mary looking for a place to stay at census time in Bethlehem, whereupon they secure a spot in a stable and she delivers the baby Jesus. Okay, that's all anglicized, Americanized, or whatever, but essentially, there was so much going on and so many people in town they could only find an out of the way place to sleep, which, probably, turned out to be the best option all things considered.

Also, another little phrase from the Bible, "Seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be given to you, knock and the door will be opened." Well, it seems that J&M seeked (or is it sook?), asked and knocked and they received. It wasn't what they wanted, perhaps, but what they needed. AND they knew what they were looking for, didn't they.

Okay, so what.

Well, I've been seeking, knocking, and asking, and I'm not sure if i'm already in the stable and just don't want to be or haven't arrived yet. Figuratively speaking, naturally.

It seems that the seeking session is in vain since I don't exactly know what it is that I'm seeking. And the asking session mainly consists of asking what I'm supposed to be seeking in the first place. And it seems that sometimes, after a knocking session, nobody comes to the door.

Some days I feel like an electron in it's proper orbit, just there.. doing what it's supposed to be doing in order to maintain the balance of the element.

To quote Judge Smales, " The world needs ditch diggers, too!"

Another Poem

2005-07-08T14:41:00.000-05:00

Well, time comes for another tidbit from me. It's been a while.

A Distant Love

her face sets in the mists of anonymity
surrounded by a golden glow
she speaks to me though I cannot hear her voice
and I devour her words.

the open spaces of my innermost
absorb the words as a sponge takes water
eyes soaking in the vision
yet this distance, this absence
crushes my sponge-soul until
nothing remains. and time makes an arid crust
with great yawning gaps
praying rain for renewal

isn't that SPECIAL!!!!!!

2005-07-08T13:30:00.000-05:00

The continuing cycle

2005-07-05T00:25:00.000-05:00

So, my favorite blogger is on hiatus. Or should I say, the one I read the most.

Kim du Toit

And I can fully understand.

I've been thinking about a hiatus, except that it's not from blogging, which I'm still relatively new at doing, and woefully irregular to boot. And who knows what's behind the facade of some of these blogger-types.. how can you keep it up, day after day after day, trying to make everything worthwhile.. trying to please the readers, or stir the pot enough to incite controversy, anger or outright rage. If that's what one aims to do, it's mighty tough work to keep it at a high level.

"To every thing there is a season..."

A comment by me, to a friend, associated certain events in my life to the numbers of an odometer in a car. The old-fashioned ones that roll over, not the lifeless digital ones. Most of them now have six places to the left of the tenth's place anyway. I've rolled a few cars over to 100,000 miles, or been in them when it's happened, and it is such a fleeting moment to see all of the zeroes lined up. As if everything was starting all over again. New, in a sense.

The difference between new, at 00,000 miles and 100,000 is, of course, all the miles put on inbetween. Just because the old odometer says Zero, don't necessarily make it so. It's like putting a new shine on an old pair of shoes. It's like coloring to hide the grey. It's like buying new pants in a larger waist size.

In astronomy they call it 'conjunction', where planets or stars line up in close proximity, at least to the viewer. Eventually they all continue their movements in the sky. Just like the first .1 mile that ticks off the odometer. Then there's the .2 and then it becomes hundreds again and thousands, again.

So the end of something can mean the beginning of something else. It's just that the beginnings are so unpredictable.

of Freedoms and Firecrackers

2005-07-04T22:29:00.000-05:00

I can't be sure, but I doubt there was much interest in the July 4th, Independence Day holiday for the first, oh, hundred years of the existence of the united States. If there was, perhaps there could have been a parade, some speeches, some festive buntings adorning buildings, maybe some guys shooting off their pistols or rifles or shotguns. But then, after the hoopla of the day, it was back to business as usual.

Our holidays here in the now UNITED STATES OF AMERICA have about a three week run up to the day, then often there is about a week or so after the day so those that missed it can feel that they haven't been left out. Equality and Political Correctness, you know. Except for Christmas, which begins in October and ends promptly after the December 26 sales are finished. But there's Hannukah, and now Kwanzaa, thrown in there so no one is left out- thought undoubtedly Hannukah was first.

Anyway, back to the idea of Freedoms and the July 4th celebration of the signing and acceptance of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

For those men, Freedom came with grave personal responsibility. The freedom to own property, operate a business or serve in the government put on a heavy burden of responsibility, both ethically and morally, and it was readily accepted by many.

Fast forward to 2005, merely 229 years after the fact.

It's surprising to hear "God Bless America" spoken or sung in public, the focus now is on what to grill out for the picnic, what time is the parade, or what kind of cool, super neat Chinese fireworks can we shoot in the sky.

I, for one, like fireworks in a general sense. Which means, I don't mind going somewhere to watch them, but I usually won't actually spend my own money on them. I don't mind that other people see fit to spend hours and hours of their paychecks for such a fleeting satisfaction.

I don't understand, though, why people are so adamant about making me listen to them at all hours of the days and nights before and after the official holiday. Tell me what reason there is to ruin a perfectly good and quiet morning by lighting a pack of firecrackers at 7:00 AM. On a Sunday. Or why, at 2:00 AM, does the rockets red glare shine into my bedroom right before a big boom shakes the window in the glazing. What is the need to set off such a large explosion that it sets my horses off in a run, causes the dog to want to crawl between my legs, and echoes off the hills and down the river valley. At Noon. On Saturday.

I'm sure, if asked, those people would say, "Hey, it's a free country. That's what we're celebrating here. If you don't like it, leave."

I'm sorry, I've missed the part where your freedom to do something automatically overrules my freedom from you and your actions. I honestly don't get it. I don't understand how MY freedom to not be disturbed until 3:00 AM on a Monday morning is less important than YOUR freedom to shoot off big exploding, whistling, crackling red, green, blue and white missiles.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that you're shooting them into my yard, toward my house, toward my barn, into my pasture and at me and my animals.

This isn't the freedom that was celebrated in those early years. It is a bastardized version of HalloweenThanksgivingChristmasValentinesEasterMemorialIndependenceLabor Day, celebrating for the sake of spending money, making noise, eating, and moving toward the next iteration.

And it's so very sad.

Cyclic Things

2005-06-21T17:38:00.000-05:00

Some things go 'round and 'round in a helix, others go 'round in a circle coming back to the point where it began.

some cycles are like waves, with ebb, flow, crash, quiet, while others are slow steady increase or decrease, almost linear instead of a curve.

how many things must be in conjunction before it becomes a sign that, "hey, this is as good a place to get off as any..."

like a subway opening it's doors at the station, the platform awaits for those who step out of the door, and waits for no one.

though the subway rides a circuit and returns whence it came, it is at a different time, so I call that a helix with the 3rd axis being time

So it is.

Where's that Doctor when you need him?

2005-06-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

So someone has captured a Dalek and is holding it for ransom? I'm not sure but weren't these the most feared villains on 'Doctor Who' that couldn't go up or down stairs?

I actually think it's quite funny and, in the sense of dry wit, downright brilliant. Of course, Colin Baker doesn't WANT a Dalek back.. i'm sure he'd rather have Peri.

" ... ex..terminate... ex..terrrminate.... "

What kind of military aircraft am I?

2005-06-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

What military aircraft are you?

F-15 Eagle

You are an F-15. Your record in combat is spotless; you've never been defeated. You possess good looks, but are not flashy about it. You prefer to let your reputation do the talking. You are fast, agile, and loud, but reaching the end of your stardom.

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Conservative

2005-05-23T08:21:00.000-05:00

Your Political Profile

Overall: 90% Conservative, 10% Liberal

Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Ethics: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

How Liberal / Conservative Are You?

Coyotes, 'Coons, and Chickens

2005-05-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

Well I don't know what happened, actually, but there I was, sleeping like.. well, sleeping good, for me, dreaming, when my wife woke me up, startled me, actually, saying "what's that noise? something's in our chickens!"

And it was true, the chickens were making a racket, all right, and she heard dogs barking, and thought she heard a coyote-type yip or howl in the yard... and our dog was in the garage.

Last year, some raccoons got into the chicken coops and we lost a few chickens. Whether they killed them and took them or just ran them off, I'm not sure. I found the remains of one under the big spruce tree on the north end of the house this winter, though. One night I stayed up late with my .22 rifle and a big flashlight to get the 'coon. And I did see one, and get a shot off at it, but it was either a non-fatal shot, or a miss, because I never found the coon or even a blood trail. But never lost another chicken, either, so I don't know.

A few months ago I dispatched a 'coon that either had rabies or a bad case of lead poisoning, too. That is when I realized that a .22 is NOT the weapon of choice for animals that large, unless it's a .22 Magnum.

Anyway, back to the drama. Now, I don't sleep real well. It takes me a long time to wind down, even when I'm tired, and sometimes it's even worse when I'm real tired, and I seem to sleep sort of lightly (an understatement, apparently). But last night, I was really zonked out, for me, at least. And when I'm actually sleeping like that, it takes a while for me to 'come around' and get my bearings when I wake up. I like to wake up slow. I actually like to listen to the radio for the hour that it plays then get up when it shuts off, but it drives the wife batty. The best thing for me in the morning is to be able to sit with a cup of coffee and 'wake up' for about an hour. Second best was when I was working out in the morning, then taking a shower.

But back to my rude awakening. It was like a gallon of adrenaline gushed into my body but I needed three, me being so sluggish. So I went downstairs to get my rifle, which was unloaded, so I had to locate the ammo, stored separately, get some out and try loading while heading upstairs, all the while my wife is excitedly pacing around looking out the window and going into the garage where the dog is whining with her ears back like a whipped puppy. Then I am trying to find the Mag Lite, but my daughter has moved it somewhere, so I have to pick up this pathetic plastic one that is almost as good as a candle, and go outside where the motion light turns on and practically blinds me.

In the distance we hear the neighbors dogs barking, so there must have been SOMETHING out there, and the chickens are calmed down now, there are no dig marks around the little coop, and the chicken wire is relatively secure still, but the dog has run up and down the pasture and is barking intermittently as if she sees something, but doesn't, but knows she's SUPPOSED to see something so she barks, and the horse and the mule come from way back there, too, like it's feeding time or something. I guess they didn't hear anything but the mule is also SUPPOSED to be a good watch animal... lota good that did.

So, anyway, by this time the chickens are settled down, so all danger has passed for the present, and the wife and I head back in wondering if they were coyotes and if they'll come back again tonight. I don't think it was a 'coon, since I don't recall hearing that kind of commotion the last times there was a disturbance and the dog was oblivious the last time as well.

So, being wide awake, I go ahead and load the .30-30 with a couple rounds, and stash both it and the .22 back in the gun cabinet for tonights episode. Trouble is, we're leaving on Thursday and will be gone from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon. And we expect there will be more critter visitations while we're gone. I guess whatever happens will happen, but I hope it's not too big of a mess for my mother-in-law to deal with.

Anyway...

So I couldn't go back to sleep, and got up at 4:00 AM, did some surfing on the internet, turned on the TV and the 5 AM news was on, so I pulled the afghan over me and tried to snooze. Today will be a long day.

Good thing i'm not a Jehova's Witness, huh?

2005-04-05T11:36:00.000-05:00

Should you worship God at the Kingdom Hall with Jehovah's Witnesses?

Public Service Announcement: I did not devise this quiz, nor did I encourage it's creation. I only *took* the quiz and these are my results. If you have a problem with it, such as the anonymous commenter that did, whose trolling comments have been deleted, I suggest you take it up with the quiz masters. Thank you.

(Discuss this quiz, your answers, and anything else JW-related at jehovahs-witness.com.)

You are 23% Jehovah's Witness!

You have some serious changes to make before you can be baptized as a Jehovah's Witness. Your attitude will likely get you labeled as a rebel. Parents will not encourage their children to hang around you or your children, unless there is reason to believe they can help you become a better Jehovah's Witness. It is unlikely that you will ever really fit in at the Kingdom Hall.

-- Your answers and some commentary follow --

How do you view the Bible?
100% inspired by God
The Jehovah's Witnesses completely agree with you! Perhaps you'll fit in! Read on to see.

What is the most important quality you look for in a church leader?
Honesty, Integrity
You might not fit in so well at a Kingdom Hall. Jehovah's Witnesses choose their leaders based first on quantities of service, then qualities listed in the Bible. Honest men of integrity that don't spend enough time in the door-to-door preaching work, or don't show up for all of the five weekly meetings will not become leaders among Jehovah's Witnesses.

How often do you feel like attending church?
Once a week
I'm afraid you'd have to increase your appetite for church attendance. Jehovah's Witnesses have five mandatory meetings a week, usually combined into three days. If you regularly miss any of them, you would be viewed as "weak". You wouldn't have many friends, since none of them would want you to drag them down. Attending only on Sundays would definitely get you labelled as an outsider.

How much of your time do you spend in recreational/family activities?
10%
From Jehovah's Witnesses' standpoint, that's quite a bit of time to spend on non-spiritual activities. Are you attending all five weekly meetings, studying for them ahead of time, and meditating carefully on them afterward? Are you going in the door-to-door preaching work as much as possible? Are you keeping up with your reading of new Watchtower publications? It's hard to believe you're taking care of these "more important things", and still able to devote so much time to secular pursuits.

What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Pickup truck
Unless you're self-employed and work out of your truck, you need to think about trading this in before you become a Jehovah's Witness. Unless you can comfortably pack five people in it and go out in the door-to-door preaching work, Jehovah's Witnesses will not consider it a good vehicle choice. Unless it's your second car, in which case it's ok as long as it isn't too expensive and therefore materialistic.

How do you feel about people controlling who your friends are?
It's none of their business
Among Jehovah's Witnesses there is very little that is 'none of their business'. This would be considered an attitude problem that you would need to work out of yourself as you 'put on the new personality'. Before you could be accepted among Jehovah's Witnesses, you would need to be willing to let them control who you associate with, what movies you see, what books you read, and even what sorts of intimacy you enjoy with your spouse.

How important are your family members to you? (Mother, brothers, cousins)
Very important
This could be a problem. If your family members are not Jehovah's Witnesses, you will be discouraged from spending much time with them. If you do spend time with them, you'll be expected to preach to them about your new faith as much as possible. If they are currently Jehovah's Witnesses, then you may be in for trouble if you ever decide the Kingdom Hall is not for you. If you join, then leave, they will not be allowed to speak to you ever again.

How important is it to you to have the respect of your community?
Very important, I work on my reputation
Your reputation will likely take a hit if you become one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Charity giving and volunteer community work is discouraged, as it impinges on time spent in the door-to-door ministry and money that could be donated to the Watchtower. While they encourage good morals, you probably have those already. So you will appear to become more reclusive, less approachable, and your constant preaching about Jehovah's Kingdom will cause people to avoid you. The Kingdom Hall may not be the place for you.

You view holidays as opportunities to:
Reunite with old friends and family
Jehovah's Witnesses view all holidays as inherently bad. There are different objections to different holidays, but in the end they are all considered inappropriate. Since Jehovah's Witnesses will discourage you from spending time with your relatives anyway, they will certainly not accept you spending holidays with them. If this is truly important to you, then the Kingdom Hall is not going to work.

If all your friends stopped talking to you because you changed churches, you would think:
"What is wrong with them? I can believe anything I want."
Jehovah's Witnesses join for life. If they ever decide to quit being Jehovah's Witnesses, all their friends that formerly called them "brother" or "sister" will instead refuse to speak to them at all, not even a civil greeting. If you prefer to reserve the right to yourself to choose your own beliefs without fear of being shunned by your friends, you should not become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The new Jeep and the first warm day

2005-03-30T12:31:00.000-05:00

I bought a Wrangler last month. 2004 model, 14,000 miles on the clock... Solar yellow with a black soft top and full doors. I-6, 5 speed, coil springs, bells, whistles.

Why?

This will be my 3rd of this type (a 2004 Wrangler officially being a TJ, the two others being CJ5's). The 1994 Grand Cherokee doesn't count here, even though it was probably the best 4wd vehicle I've ever driven, especially in snow.

The first Jeep I had was a 1974 CJ5. Dark Grey with a Black top and low back seats, no power steering, 304, 3 speed, spring over axle lift, 31x 10.50 15 Wranglers... I traded in my 1972 Opel GT for it. Yellow with black stripes on the lower rocker panel and white interior, black carpeting. Dad bought it for me as a high school graduation gift. 1.9 Liter with a 2 bbl Weber carb, and I put a Thrush muffler on it (waaaay before the modern day ricers put resonators on their POS's). It had a cool lever that you'd push forward and the headlight pods would rotate around and turn the lights on. I loved that car, drove the crap outa it, and actually wore out the front end driving to my Co-op job in Cincinnati because of all the pot holes on the road. I wanted to get it fixed but it was FUBAR, so while out driving one day, I saw the Grey Jeep.

The '74 Jeep had a few stickers on the glove box door, a couple of which I added, but the coolest was a Little Kings sticker. Little Kings was/is a 'Cream Ale' type beer that was brewed in Cincinnati by Schoenling Brewery. Later bought by the Hudepohl Brewery. Also known as Little Killers. They were 7 oz, green bottles, and came in 8 packs. Tasty when cold, or after the 3rd one.

but, I digress..

I loved that Jeep, got stuck one big time in the woods behind my parents house when my neighbor and I went wheeling at about, oh, 6 or 7 PM. I used to ride my motorcycle back there so I knew the trails, and when I went to cross the creek, I didn't know that they had just drained a big pond up there.. and stuck it up to the skid plates in what looked like chocolate pudding. With not even a shovel. So, after a couple hours, nearing dark, we had scooped out enough pudding, by hand, to put a couple creek rocks under the tires, and rock the thing back out to freedom. We had mud up to and over our knees and of course i left it like that for a few days, though I threw my relatively new suede Converse kicks away after that. I hardly ever put the top up in the summer.

Anyway, I traded that Jeep even for a 1967 Firebird with a 326 and a Powerglide. It was maroon, or dark red, with black interior AND a factory console. The guy had just finished going over it and put some new metal in a couple places, but it looked great and had a pair of Thrush Hush Turbo Mufflers on it and boy did it purr. The '67 and '68's are my favorite looking Firebirds ever, and I think some of the coolest looking cars ever built. Fisher Body, in Norwood (Cincinnati) Ohio did those.

Again, I kept that car for a while until I started travelling and leaving it at the airport for a week at a time, so I bought another Jeep from some shyster that put fresh paint over a rust bucket... but it Looked good.. it was a 1978 Golden Eagle CJ5. 304, 3 speed, POWER STEERING, TILT WHEEL, LEVI INTERIOR... whoo hoo... this was class, baybee. Even though brown is not my favorite color, it still looked good. I put a set of Heddman headers on it that were too loud, but it was very sweet. Again, I hardly put the top up in the summer, and in the fall and spring, I'd just turn the heater on and my girlfriend (now wife) would huddle up to the dash to stay warm. Ahh, Brisk, I'd say.

THAT Jeep I flipped in 1983 on December 27. End over in a culvert at the side of the road. Two friends and I were out that night at some night spots, but it was freezing rain. I dropped both of them off safely, and had the accident on a curve less than probably a mile from my house at about 11PM. In the hospital for 35 days while they decided whether or not to amputate my left foot, my Dad told me the insurance covered the Jeep, but as long as I was still living at his house, he wouldn't let me get another. And I have to say, from the perspective of a hospital bed, with Morphine, I was fine with that.

That episode also put to an end my military career. I was due to leave for the Army in February, 1984. Language school, translator, spook school, the whole she-bang. Definitely would have tried for Ranger or SF at that time. I think I would have made a good NCO, too, perhaps even OCS. And I would have had my 20 years in LAST YEAR.

So, anyway, FINALLY, comes now 2005. AND I finally get another, since I've not been living with mom and dad since 1985. AND FINALY comes the first warm, sunny, 70 degree day.

And I have to read the instructions on how to lower this @#$%^&* TOP !

No kidding. The Jeep came with a Video that shows how to Install, Remove, Lower and Raise the soft top. Of course, this Jeep has cloth seats (for some reason), carpet, a dash, a dome light AND a radio that actually works. But it rides oh so smooth, or I just have more padding than I used to have.

Cleaning my 1911

2005-03-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

or... where did my skin go?

Well, I took apart the 1911 last night. Had heard and read some horror stories about flying springs, etc, so I was as careful as could be. I AM mechanically inclined, so this should not be a problem, right? I just tried to use the supplied manual, and not get an actual print or exploded view. So eventually it all comes apart and I'm staring at the wonder of a dis-assembled Springfield 1911 Mil-Spec wondering how many GI's have taken these things apart, and how, in the name of the God that created John Moses Browning, did his mind ever think to make that thing work as wonderfully as it apparently does.

I wiped here and there with an old jar of Hoppes #9 that was left over from my Father-in-law, but the gun was, essentially, clean. Some crude scrapings of numbers under the slide, which I will stone smooth another time, but I don't know enough about this piece to start working on it.

Upon re-assembly, I had some difficulty getting the slide lock lever back aligned or in or whatever, but fiddled with it until it seated. I pulled back on the slide, fully expecting the lever to catch in the notch in the slide like it had before, and it slipped out of my fingers. Not to worry, thought, the skin on my thumb had caught the rapidly moving rear sight in not one, but two places. Hmmm.. I thought... Owwwwch, I also thought. The wife was sitting on the other couch only half watching, since she is a die-hard revolver fan and thinks that extraneous moving parts are so overly complicated. By the time I figured out that the magazine had to be inserted in order for the slide lock to catch, I had to get a couple tissues to wipe off the blood that was running down my hand.

She looked over and asked " How deep is it?" I said, well, they aren't too bad.. they're not deep, but the skin is just gone so it's like a gouge.. two places.

She said.." I got this stuff called New Skin at the store. You should probably try some of that. It burns when you first put it on, though."

Are YOU CRAZY? That'll probably really hurt.

The new additions

2005-03-29T12:08:00.000-05:00

So for Buy A Gun Day (BAG day for short) I picked up the Yugo SKS at the gun shop.

I also bought my wife a Smith & Wesson Model 60LS (that's Lady Smith, to you..), small J frame, 5 shot, .357, wood-type grips, brushed Stainless Steel.

Then I had to get the Springfield 1911 Mil-Spec in .45 ACP for me.

The Buck Mark started a trend, and I joined a local gun club where they shoot trap and have a pistol range. Well, that means I need to start shooting trap.. which means I need a shotgun.. so I also bought a NEF / H&R Topper Deluxe Classic 12 ga. It's a single shot, break open, vented rib, screw in choke tubes, nice walnut stock. .. Actually a very nice gun for $200... well, plus the recoil pad. And i've tried it at trap, and when I do my part, it hits 'em. Not a REAL trap gun tho... yet....

This is all Kim du Toit's fault. Well, maybe some of mine, too. Compulsive? perhaps. Obessive? hmmmmm...

Updated on July 26, 2004 post

2005-03-08T18:07:00.000-05:00

After all that.. i went and bought a Browning Buck Mark .22 cal semi-automatic pistol.. hee hee

Irregularity

2005-03-08T17:58:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure, but habits are supposed to be easily formable. Apparently, this 'blogging' hasn't become much of a habit for me yet. Actually, I've been reading them more and more.. turning into a news-junkie of sorts. Tid bits. Info Bites. Whatevah.

I think it's a case of being more voyeuristic and enjoying watching what's happening around me than actually having the time to distill the life that's happening to me.

There are some way cool, very smart, intelligent and witty people out there blogging.. just as there are a lot of morons.... but it's not hard to weed them out. Doesn't take more than, oh, a few minutes of reading a couple of their posts, then... blink... buh bye.

At any rate, since this is my F I R S T P O S T of the year 2005.. I'm pretty sure I need to do this some more... and more often.

comedy? harummph

2004-12-09T10:18:00.000-05:00

I must admit, most televison situation comedies (a.k.a. sitcoms) do not resonate with me.. if they do it's after they're in sydication. like Seinfeld. never watched it until it was in re-runs, and it does have it's moments.

I think the main reason why I don't like them is they all treat the father-figure as a total brainless twit, inept and dull, and the object of scorn, if not downright ridicule.

I guess it all depends on how you want to be known at 'your castle' if you're a man, husband and father.

I believed if you are conspicuous by your absence, you will have no place. Then I became a father and realized that those 8, 10, 12 hrs a day I am gone to work and wherever all add up, and the total of which is ALREADY, after only two plus years, far more than I'll be able to spend at my house with my children.. increasing all the time.

We, as husbands and fathers, lose our place at home. If we had a place at all, or have defined it to begin with, the addition of children shuffles the deck. When a wife becomes a mother, her priority tends to become her children when previously, as a wife, her priority would have been her husband. This leads a husband to a point of loss: namely the loss of his wife at the time of the creation of a mother. While the addition of a child or children can be a net positive, the fact that the husband gets put in either second, or even third place behind the mother, is painful. The wife, as was previously known, is gone, replaced by a woman that only is similar in appearance, but in no way similar in the relationship that was previously enjoyed.

A selfish-type man, or jealous-type, will develop severe resentment which, if left unresolved, can lead to the breakup of the marriage or arrangement. This even strains the most giving-type man (are there such things?). Understanding-type men (again.. are there such things?) strain to relate to this new person. Giving-types try to accomodate and learn the 'new' person. Jealous and Selfish-types lash out against the rejection they are experiencing. For most men, it is a mixture of all three, at least.

election - erection.. who cares

2004-11-23T22:46:00.000-05:00

yeah. W won the election. glad i moved out of the up-and-coming-idiot-state of Ohio.

speaking of which.,. i got quite sick of all that crap. libel and slander...

and speaking of erections, what IS it with these viagra, cialis, etc commercials?

i mean, come on, so to speak...

just because the poor guy, who's been turned down by that SAME WIFE for the last, oh, 18-20 years, now really hasn't enough interest to keep it up for a 2 hour bang-fest, we blame it on HIM now, and shame him into taking a pill for his 'disorder'. WTF about the 'headache' years or rejection.. and the 'kids will hear us' years, and then the 'i'm too tired from working all day' years.. and then the 'all you ever do is **insert your favorite hobby here** years'... need i go on?

it's the same crap as all the stupid sitcoms that make the fathers look like complete idiots.

Thanksgiving

2004-11-23T22:42:00.000-05:00

here's the thing. it's November. now it's nearly thanksgiving.. What in the world have christmas decorations and such been doing up for the last 3 weeks? huh?

i mean.. really. there's a local radio station that's been playing christmas songs since Nov 1.

of course they're apparently changing format on 12.26...

no wonder i'm a bah-humbug. i think if it'd start, say, 2 weeks before, i'd be fine with it. this is just stupid...

soon....

2004-11-05T17:08:00.000-05:00

soon will come the time that Micro soft will not own the PC arena. i just switched to Firefox by Mozilla...

whoo HOO..

baby steps...

Saying "Goodbye"

2004-08-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

The wife and I dropped the kids off at my mom & dad's house on Tuesday night so we could visit some old friends. Their mom had sold the house and was moving to Pennsylvania where her family lives. They'd lived there for 37 years, but the kids moved away and he died about 9 years ago, so she felt it was best to be closer to her aging parents while they were still around, which I agree is a good thing.

There is a kind of awkward finality about moving that much baggage out for one last time. Not the 'stuff', mind you. Not the boxes and furniture, nor the lawn mower or rakes or brooms. The baggage of memories that we all carry in that small brain of ours.

I met Steve in kindergarten and we've been out of High School for 25 years now. Been to his 1st wedding, and his sisters wedding, stayed at the house with their kids during his dads visitation before the funeral. Now, helping to clean out a shelf and load it onto a moving truck to go back to his sister's house, and loading some other miscellaneous stuff in his pickup to head toward PA, then towards Florida where he lives.

Of course, he moved out in 1981 and Kathy, his sister, moved out shortly after graduation in 1983, so it's not like they've been around much, other than to visit and 'terrorize' my sidewalk with chalk when I wasn't home. And we'd visited him in Florida a couple times, but we don't often head south for vacation.

But it's still like the end of .. something.. to borrow Hemingway's title. I mean, we've moved houses before but mom's and dad are still in the same place we grew up, and so are grandma's that are still living.

It's that open ended cycle of life I suppose. Seemingly going back to the beginning, but it never being the same.

Farewell, best wishes and until we meet again.

Let me help oblige you, Mr al Sadr

2004-08-09T11:23:00.000-05:00

I think we can help al-Sadr in his wish to become a martyr. I only wish I could be of service to one of the lucky young men or women that will help his dream come true.

NAJAF, Iraq - A radical Shiite cleric vowed to fight to the death as his loyalists battled U.S. troops for a fifth straight day Monday, and bombings in Sunni regions outside Baghdad — including a failed attempt to assassinate a deputy governor — killed at least 10 Iraqis.

Al-Sadr on Monday vowed to keep up the battle, rejecting calls a day earlier from interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi for the militiamen to stop fighting.

"I will continue fighting," al-Sadr told reporters. "I will remain in Najaf city until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."

"Resistance will continue and increase day by day," he said. "Our demand is for the American occupation to get out of Iraq. We want an independent, democratic, free country."

Methinks the only way the US will leave is when religious zealout dimwits like you have acheived your blessed martyrdom. After THAT, then, will Iraq be free, independent, and democratic.

another Goblin gets it...

2004-07-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

THANKfully this guy understands GUN CONTROL (i.e. being able to hit your target)

it's time that the goblins actually get scared of committing a crime instead of having free reign as in this story from Oztralia

methinks this young lady from down under mite be in more stuff than the Indiana man, though i wish it were not so

Take THAT you lovely neighbors and zoning nazis

2004-07-29T13:55:00.000-05:00

HAHAHA that'll teach the neighbors.

i think if i knew where this guy was i would send him enough $$ to buy another pig.

this is my kinda guy! of course HE looks like the bad guy since he's using his property as he sees fit and as the 'zoning law' allows...

please don't get me into this 'zoning' issue. i think it's #1 an illegal 'taking' of property from the property owner and #2 it gets too far out of hand when it goes beyond the protection of health, safety and morals of a neighborhood. call me a libertarian.

actually, he can probably already run a small business out of an agricultural zoning since there is provision in there so you can sell eggs, hay and beans, right?

all i can say is RIGHT ON. now if he'd just rent the property out now to multiple families...

just in .. this update and serious commentary from Fark

count me in..

New Study

2004-07-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

From The Barking Moonbat

New Psychiatric Study

A study conducted by the Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of male face a woman finds attractive can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For instance, if she is ovulating she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.

However, if she is menstruating, or menopausal, she is more prone to be attracted to a man with scissors lodged in his temple and a bat jammed up his ass while he is on fire.

Further studies are expected.

buying a handgun

2004-07-26T15:30:00.000-05:00

Well, i've been getting inundated with info since i've started wanting to buy a handgun. Mainly since concealed carry is legal in Indiana. And since we live in a rural area. And because i can and should.

anyway..

automatics are pretty glitzy. revolvers are old school. simple is better. less recoil is less intimidating..

Kim duToit has SO much info on guns and application.. plus intelligent opinions on just about anything important that i'm overwhelmed.

i think a smart thing would be to have most of your guns in the same caliber so you can buy bulk and save when you buy ammo.

i mean.. if EVERYthing you buy is in, say, .22 LR, meaning semi-auto, bolt, lever rifle and revolver and automatic pistol, you have a lot of variety with the same ammo.. actually .22 ammo has SO MANY variations even THAT will make your head spin...

i guess it's just the transference of that kinetic energy, that delivery of the payload, the bang for the buck, that everyone seeks in a weapon: and a .22 doesn't have the mass going for it, though it does have pretty good velocity for its size.

what to do what to do ...

Pubic.. err.. Public School System?

2004-07-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't kidding.. a 'sex education teacher' encouraging kids to taste flavored condoms? and to be open minded about homosexuality?

AND to have the support of the school administration AND the local government health agency? as Gomer always said, "suhprise suhprise suhprise"

I hate to think my kids will have to be home-schooled and miss all that stuff, along with the pasty, pierced, inked and dyed crowd, sex in the hallways, and brutality that comes with putting hundreds of angst-ridden teens in a confined space for great lengths of time.

thank you to the Barking Moonbat Early Warning System for getting my blood pressure up about this

RIP Linda Ronstadt

2004-07-24T08:37:00.000-05:00

FORMER favorite singer of mine, Linda Ronstadt, has joined the moronic, self-serving, entertainment complex mindset with many of my previous favorites like.. well.. like just about EVERY 'artist' that rails against 'big business' and 'fundamentalist christians' while scooping up piles of cash from fans devoted to their 'music' or whatever crap they're excreting at that moment.

I'm a rather conservative small business owner that has to work hard to put food on the table for my family. I'm not sure why, but these people think that I am rich and I should provide support to those that won't work and instead stay home, smoke crack and have babies.

I don't even want to get into the issues of slave reparations or stuff like that.. I'll get so ticked off my hands will start to shake and I won't be able to type... rassel fracken ricken racken....

We have to stop consuming this stuff. They don't realize they're living off of the fat of the very thing they criticize.. oh, perhaps they DO realize it but know something about our human nature.. that we'll buy it ANYWAY... "the opiate of the masses" is no longer 'religion' but 'entertainment'...

AAAARGH! what happened? mmmmkay...yeah...

So people will pay 80 bucks a head.. which is over 6 hrs work if you make 12 bucks an hour and accept it because this 'idol worship' mentality? At least SOME rational people were in that audience and I wholeheartedly applaud the (past) President Mr. Bill Timmins in his action.

Maybe he, like me, finally realized that the 1st Ammendment only covers GOVERNMENT suppression of 'free speech'... but to other citizens, we're free at any time to say.. "SIT DOWN and SHUT THE F*CK UP". We need to realize when these loonies spout 'my first ammendment rights' that those limitations don't apply to me or anyone else that isn't a 'Government'.

Enough is enough.

wow.. been a long time gone...

2004-07-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

Sheesh.. nothing has been posted for the entire month of june and over half of july. Actually i've been just reading and browsing other blogs, mainly.

We DID have our 2nd kid in july, so i guess i've been legitimately busy. plus i went out of town not once but twice since the Memorial Day weekend. Once for a golf outing, and the other to visit my friend, Phil, in Seattle, to celebrate his wedding.

there is a lot of fodder available to feed this blog, just not time available to devote to it right now. i'm sure i'll pick it back up soon...

The Matrix- R.I.P.

2004-05-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

I see the Matrix Revolutions is now on PPV on my DirecTV. I'm not even going to buy the DVD. I watched The Matrix so many times its obvious to me where they cut it to play on regular channels, which is sad, and I did buy the Reloaded DVD, but this is a clear case of 'shoulda stopped while you were ahead'.

Granted, 20-20 hindsight being what it is, I'm sure there would still be as much 'buzz' if they hadn't made the other 2 movies, what with the games, comics, etc. and not that i got 'into' it like some have. I just really enjoyed a gal in black plastic wrap with a huge handgun.

ok.. more Washingtonienne

2004-05-25T16:53:00.000-05:00

to quote one of my favorite songs of the 80's... " yo love you mus' be jokin, right.."

picture in the link at Wizbang

$400 ?

fortunately my taste doesn't run that direction. Now, Wonkette.. uh, oh yes.. discretion.

Farewell Washintonienne

2004-05-25T16:47:00.000-05:00

Well the Washintonienne 'scandal' is so, like, yesterday. What's so scandalous is not this young ladies 'sexcapades', but her actually recording them. Akin to someone making a prisoner dress up and taking a photo of them...... wait... That sounds familiar.

I guess there is no such thing as discretion, or if there is, she never learned it in kindergarten.

All i can think is, man... no wait.. there's that discretion.

Start your OWN club, fer cryin out loud

2004-05-25T16:29:00.000-05:00

This just in from Yahoo, more of the women wanting in to men's clubs. Golf clubs, that is.

C'mon ladies. Stop it, already! Start your own! You know why you won't? It's because NOBODY, not even other women, want to be members with a bunch of other catty WOMEN. That's why women want to butt in on the men's clubs.. because there are NO WOMEN there.

I'm not a misogynist. I like women generally. I just don't see the point about martha burk and trying to 'out' male members for belonging to a male-only club.

They're afraid of the things men say about them, I suppose, thinking that that's what men actually TALK about while golfing. Well, let me clue you in. You're WRONG. The reason to golf is to NOT talk about women, nor even be around them unless you want to: like if you take your wife or daughter golfing.

Get over it and stop trying to bully your way into these courses by pickets or lifting a liquor license. And enough whining about the 'archaic' mentality of the all-male membership and patriarchal society. Men need a refuge just like you do, with your 'lunch with the girls' or coffee or tea parties or Pampered Chef parties or whatever else you do. Golf is for men that don't like sitting in the woods all morning trying to kill some animal. You already control everything, refuse to admit it and want more when there, really, is no more to give.

What's that? You say you DON'T control everything? Last time I checked, the female anatomy is all the control the single minded male needs. Don't make us WANT to leave the house. Don't make us WANT to spend $400 on a new driver. Don't make us WANT to hang out at the 19th hole for beers with other stinky, sweaty, foul mouthed, bad joke telling, truth stretching men. Make use WANT to stay home with you and those clubs would be out of business.

and it shall be known, eventually..

2004-05-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

interesting to read about Waffles by people that knew him best..

Retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, who headed Coastal Division 11, said Kerry was seen by colleagues as a self-serving, "loose cannon" who came only to launch a political career.

Hoffman said Kerry "arrived in country with a strong anti-Vietnam War bias and a self-serving determination to build a foundation for his political future."

listen.. we must listen. a leopard can't change its spots and a zebra can't change its stripes.

masked killers = cowards with a knife

2004-05-13T17:30:00.000-05:00

FINALLY... an article about this lynch-mob-murder in a real newspaper? awesome. or at least.. better.. or .. well.. finally!

The same kinda people that slow down to look at a wreck...

2004-05-12T13:45:00.000-05:00

are the same ones outraged at the pictures from the prison, but lack such outrage over the murder of a civilian. "paybacks are a bitch..", they say. the god these pagans serve is satan, but i'm sure they'll be protected under some liberal clause for sheltering protected religious ceremonies, which i'm sure this was since they were chanting all the while swinging a knife.

i know i'm only marginally expert at pagan religious ceremonies, having seen all of the 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' movies, but it seems to me that they all have the same zombie-like mantra reading a list of grievances to stoke their fires of hatred.

i'm glad all those in the army, marines, air force, navy, coast guard, and any other mercenary so inclined are going over there and doing the work i couldn't and can't. because if i started making a list, and had one in front of me on his knees, i don't think i would be smiling and i know i wouldn't take a picture, let alone a video.