...Just Rambling
It's been a while since I have been on here. I have been to Chicago, Texas, Chicago, Texas and back to good 'ol Montana again.
The Muslims bombed London. That was sad. Fortunately, it could have been a lot worse and while a lot were injured, it was not like the thousands that we suffered on 911. The one good thing I was hoping that would come of this is that people would finally start waking up and realizing that this is not just our (USA) problem. It happens all over the world. The leftist media manages to sweep most of it under the rug, but it's hard to do that when it's London.
Now I am pissed off because I am reading that some London big-wigs are now blaming the U.S. for them getting bombed. What a crock of shit. How about blaming the Islamic "radicals" that bombed them?
And another thing, I have yet to read any evidence that supports Islam as a peaceful religion. The leaders of the Islamic world (read Muslims) cried for blood when some guys supposedly desecrated the Koran. But, when their own people kill thousands (yes I said thousands) of innocents and have parade in the street to celebrate they barely manage to say they are sorry and that is it. The Koran very specifically advocates eradication of races and peoples that are NOT followers of Islam.
Ok, sorry, I'll get off my soap box....I'm just a little bent at the moment.
Oh, and I have to give it to the airlines......my last two flights were ALMOST on time departures. At least I wasn't stuck in a fuselage baking in the sun on the tarmac for extended periods of time.
What else? Ummm....it was hotter than hell back home. I know Phoenix gets hotter (and I am going there soon), but they don't get the humidity and it cools off at night. I gotta get back in the gym and start working out again.....
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Monday, July 04, 2005
...Happy Birthday USA!
229 Years Old, we celebrate July 4th once again! We should not forget that freedom is not "free" and give a toast to the men and women that have made it possible for us to have a cold one and throw some burgers on the grill.
I've only been home a few days, but have gotten the news on a few things that really bothered me.
1 - the Dallas Cowboys signed the agreement with the City of Arlington. I live in Arlington. I'm not a football fan. I am REALLY not a fan of the public paying for the football stadiums of rich team owners. And I am really realy really not a fan of our city council pulling the wool over everyone's eyes to get them to vote for the stadium without disclosing how bad of a deal it is for the city.
Now, couple that with the Supreme Court case of imminent Domain. If you hadn't heard, the case was regarding the issue of the govt. to come in and claim land under imminent Domain and then turn that land over to private enterprise "for the good of the city." Well, as it turns out in a surprising twist of fate the conservative judges ruled it was not OK, while the liberal judges ruled in favor of it.
What does that mean to you dear citizen? Basically that the govt. can step in and take your home away from you to turn it over to McDonald's and you can't do jack shit about it. Sure, they have to pay you for it, but only fair market value. Lovely, isn't it?
2 - The citizens in this area of Arlington have been fighting Wallmart for about five years now. This also includes the citizens of a neighboring town since the Wallmart would technically reside in both cities. So, they are holding ANOTHER meeting to vote on this. You get a few thousand citizens that turn up and everyone is voting NO NO NO NO!! what does our great city council do? They vote yes 5-to-2.
This is not the first time something like this has happened in small government. It is, however, VERY disturbing when you get representatives that refuse to listen to their citizens or vote in the best interesting of their constitutients.
I can tell you that based on the above two issues there will be at least one citizen at the polls exercising their right to vote and doing his best to get these people out of office....
229 Years Old, we celebrate July 4th once again! We should not forget that freedom is not "free" and give a toast to the men and women that have made it possible for us to have a cold one and throw some burgers on the grill.
I've only been home a few days, but have gotten the news on a few things that really bothered me.
1 - the Dallas Cowboys signed the agreement with the City of Arlington. I live in Arlington. I'm not a football fan. I am REALLY not a fan of the public paying for the football stadiums of rich team owners. And I am really realy really not a fan of our city council pulling the wool over everyone's eyes to get them to vote for the stadium without disclosing how bad of a deal it is for the city.
Now, couple that with the Supreme Court case of imminent Domain. If you hadn't heard, the case was regarding the issue of the govt. to come in and claim land under imminent Domain and then turn that land over to private enterprise "for the good of the city." Well, as it turns out in a surprising twist of fate the conservative judges ruled it was not OK, while the liberal judges ruled in favor of it.
What does that mean to you dear citizen? Basically that the govt. can step in and take your home away from you to turn it over to McDonald's and you can't do jack shit about it. Sure, they have to pay you for it, but only fair market value. Lovely, isn't it?
2 - The citizens in this area of Arlington have been fighting Wallmart for about five years now. This also includes the citizens of a neighboring town since the Wallmart would technically reside in both cities. So, they are holding ANOTHER meeting to vote on this. You get a few thousand citizens that turn up and everyone is voting NO NO NO NO!! what does our great city council do? They vote yes 5-to-2.
This is not the first time something like this has happened in small government. It is, however, VERY disturbing when you get representatives that refuse to listen to their citizens or vote in the best interesting of their constitutients.
I can tell you that based on the above two issues there will be at least one citizen at the polls exercising their right to vote and doing his best to get these people out of office....
Saturday, July 02, 2005
...Being a little selfish
It occurred to me this morning that I was being a bit selfish in my previous post. I may have to put up with some crap every now and then, but it could be worse. I stay in decent hotels, eat nice meals and get to hang out a bit. There are a good number of our servicemen that have been away FAR longer and have far worse conditions. They are in the desert fighting in life and death situations while sleeping in tents.
My apologies to them for taking things for granted....
It occurred to me this morning that I was being a bit selfish in my previous post. I may have to put up with some crap every now and then, but it could be worse. I stay in decent hotels, eat nice meals and get to hang out a bit. There are a good number of our servicemen that have been away FAR longer and have far worse conditions. They are in the desert fighting in life and death situations while sleeping in tents.
My apologies to them for taking things for granted....
Friday, July 01, 2005
...Escape is at hand for the traveling man.
That's a line from a Hip tune. Don't know who The Hip is? Do a google on The Tragically Hip.
Anyway, travel travel travel. I sure seem to do a lot of that. I guess it depends on how you look at it. When I am in Montana I am not always in a plane or what-not, but I am still not at home. However, the last week I took off from Montana to Chicago for a technical course, then flew from Chicago to my real home (DFW). In four days I'll fly back to Chicago and then back to TX, then back to MT. Whew....
Just WHERE do the airlines get their statistics from? I have flown most major airlines (except SouthWest) and almost all of them are freaking late. You can't get a direct flight out of Bozeman, MT to anywhere....and the first flight was late. Then the connecting flight was late. The flight from Chicago to DFW was also freaking late. Out of the last 10 flights I have had I think ONE of them was on time. That's only 10% so I don't know where they get this 80% on time crap. And another thing..... (for those of you who may be in the airline industry) leaving the gate on time and then parking the goddamned airplane on the tarmac for an hour while you suffocate inside a tin can is NOT an on time departure.
To top that off, they didn't get my luggage on the flight even though I was at the airport three hours early. So, I had to wait on two more flights from Chicago before I could pick up my luggage! I wanted to slug the guy at the taxi stand when I said where I was going and he told me another driver would be along in a minute....so I start looking for another taxi. One that would leave NOW. And he asks me "Are you in a hurry?" NO - of course not. I want to stand outside in the heat for a few more minutes even though I have already been delayed, delayed, delayed. HELLO? What is wrong with people?
So, now...here I am. At my REAL house. I took the 'Priller (Slang for Aprilia - my bike) out for quick spin and bite to eat. I am very glad to be home for a bit. I feel displaced no matter where I go, now. When I am here, I am lonely and feel strange. When I am in MT I feel lonely and strange. To top it off, my favorite plant died. :-(
Things could be worse. My bike started on the first try, no broken pipes in the house, etc. Tomorrow I'll check things out when I can see better......
That's a line from a Hip tune. Don't know who The Hip is? Do a google on The Tragically Hip.
Anyway, travel travel travel. I sure seem to do a lot of that. I guess it depends on how you look at it. When I am in Montana I am not always in a plane or what-not, but I am still not at home. However, the last week I took off from Montana to Chicago for a technical course, then flew from Chicago to my real home (DFW). In four days I'll fly back to Chicago and then back to TX, then back to MT. Whew....
Just WHERE do the airlines get their statistics from? I have flown most major airlines (except SouthWest) and almost all of them are freaking late. You can't get a direct flight out of Bozeman, MT to anywhere....and the first flight was late. Then the connecting flight was late. The flight from Chicago to DFW was also freaking late. Out of the last 10 flights I have had I think ONE of them was on time. That's only 10% so I don't know where they get this 80% on time crap. And another thing..... (for those of you who may be in the airline industry) leaving the gate on time and then parking the goddamned airplane on the tarmac for an hour while you suffocate inside a tin can is NOT an on time departure.
To top that off, they didn't get my luggage on the flight even though I was at the airport three hours early. So, I had to wait on two more flights from Chicago before I could pick up my luggage! I wanted to slug the guy at the taxi stand when I said where I was going and he told me another driver would be along in a minute....so I start looking for another taxi. One that would leave NOW. And he asks me "Are you in a hurry?" NO - of course not. I want to stand outside in the heat for a few more minutes even though I have already been delayed, delayed, delayed. HELLO? What is wrong with people?
So, now...here I am. At my REAL house. I took the 'Priller (Slang for Aprilia - my bike) out for quick spin and bite to eat. I am very glad to be home for a bit. I feel displaced no matter where I go, now. When I am here, I am lonely and feel strange. When I am in MT I feel lonely and strange. To top it off, my favorite plant died. :-(
Things could be worse. My bike started on the first try, no broken pipes in the house, etc. Tomorrow I'll check things out when I can see better......
Friday, June 24, 2005
Watching the rain and a little about me....
First off, I have come to the self realization that I am a fairly pessimistic person. However, I have learned to use this to my advantage as it lends itself to great opportunities to make a sarcastic remark and get someone to smile.
That being said, lately I have a lot of pent up anger and frustration. Maybe the blog will be a great place to let it out. We shall see.
I'm 34, but still feel about 18 or 19. Ok, maybe just a little older, but not by much. I finally realized I wasn't immortal last year when I had a serious accident with my kite and it messed me up pretty good.
Here is the kite that almost killed me. The next step? Lessons for flying something quite this large. :-)
The only problem with that is that I now have to find the time to go take some kite boarding lessons. Should be easy...just take vacation, right?
Right now, I am not even sure where I live anymore. Here is a pic of my house in Texas....
I don't get to see it much, anymore. I've been hanging out in Montana for the last five months. Out of the last 144 days I have seen my house a total of 18 days. I have a pretty cool place here, too, though. I rent a room from a guy named Ben Selznick. Very cool guy and a pretty good place to rent from for a while. The real estate here is astronomical. Supposedly my work is looking to increase my pay enough so that I'll be enticed to move out here, but I am not counting on it. Go here to check out some of my Montana photos.
So here I am, now, on a Friday night with nobody to hang out with watching the rain come in over the mountains and having a beverage. BTW - a drink is something you have when you are thirsty. A beverage is something that is a stronger than a drink. If all else fails, remember the line from The Big Lewbowski. I'll probably head down to one of the little bars later on and at least have a few cold ones.
So where does that leave you, dear reader? I am not sure. Is anyone even reading this? I guess I'll just rant and rave and see where that takes us.
First off, I have come to the self realization that I am a fairly pessimistic person. However, I have learned to use this to my advantage as it lends itself to great opportunities to make a sarcastic remark and get someone to smile.
That being said, lately I have a lot of pent up anger and frustration. Maybe the blog will be a great place to let it out. We shall see.
I'm 34, but still feel about 18 or 19. Ok, maybe just a little older, but not by much. I finally realized I wasn't immortal last year when I had a serious accident with my kite and it messed me up pretty good.
Here is the kite that almost killed me. The next step? Lessons for flying something quite this large. :-)
The only problem with that is that I now have to find the time to go take some kite boarding lessons. Should be easy...just take vacation, right?
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Right now, I am not even sure where I live anymore. Here is a pic of my house in Texas....I don't get to see it much, anymore. I've been hanging out in Montana for the last five months. Out of the last 144 days I have seen my house a total of 18 days. I have a pretty cool place here, too, though. I rent a room from a guy named Ben Selznick. Very cool guy and a pretty good place to rent from for a while. The real estate here is astronomical. Supposedly my work is looking to increase my pay enough so that I'll be enticed to move out here, but I am not counting on it. Go here to check out some of my Montana photos.
So here I am, now, on a Friday night with nobody to hang out with watching the rain come in over the mountains and having a beverage. BTW - a drink is something you have when you are thirsty. A beverage is something that is a stronger than a drink. If all else fails, remember the line from The Big Lewbowski. I'll probably head down to one of the little bars later on and at least have a few cold ones.
So where does that leave you, dear reader? I am not sure. Is anyone even reading this? I guess I'll just rant and rave and see where that takes us.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
The woes of public web sites and "pushbutton" publishing
Let my very first blog be a mild rant about getting this blog up!! It is supposed to be easy, right? Well it took me about 20 minutes and most of that was dicking around with the stupid word security verification tool. The other part of it was trying to come up with a name that the other zillion people on here didn't already take.
"angryfish" and "theangryfish" were already taken!! What kind of twisted, messed up person calls their site "theangryfish?" Other taken names? How about "slobberingmonkey?"
Combine that with the simple "point-and-click-but-this-doesn't-really-work" technology it was a bit frustrating to get this up. Also, I'm just testing the waters out to see what this looks like....
Let my very first blog be a mild rant about getting this blog up!! It is supposed to be easy, right? Well it took me about 20 minutes and most of that was dicking around with the stupid word security verification tool. The other part of it was trying to come up with a name that the other zillion people on here didn't already take.
"angryfish" and "theangryfish" were already taken!! What kind of twisted, messed up person calls their site "theangryfish?" Other taken names? How about "slobberingmonkey?"
Combine that with the simple "point-and-click-but-this-doesn't-really-work" technology it was a bit frustrating to get this up. Also, I'm just testing the waters out to see what this looks like....
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