My friend sent me a fairly interesting article on an apparent movement happening in the gay community and culture.
The article was posted in TownHall, which is a pretty conservative site. Unfortunately, the article has such a heavy religious slant that it's hard to read through it and extrapolate meaningful information from the religious overtones. You can read the original article here.
But I stuck with it and was fairly appalled at what I read. The gist of the article is that even though the FDA and CDC have strong evidence supporting a higher rate of diseases in gay males (gay) activists are fighting to remove bans on gay males from donating blood.
From the article:
Current U.S. health regulations prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood. Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) categorically confirm that if MSM were permitted to give blood, the general population would be placed at risk.
According to the FDA, MSM “have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population, 800 times higher than first time blood donors and 8,000 times higher than repeat blood donors (American Red Cross).
“[MSM] also have an increased risk of having other infections that can be transmitted to others by blood transfusion. For example, infection with the Hepatitis B virus is about 5-6 times more common, and Hepatitis C virus infections are about 2 times more common in [MSM] than in the general population,” according to the FDA.
A recent CDC study rocked the homosexual community in finding that although MSM comprise only one-to-two percent of the population, they account for an epidemic 64 percent of all syphilis cases.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, is demanding that the ban be lifted and that gays be allowed to donate blood. This is a very dangerous and selfish position. I don't have a problem with people being gay if that's what they want to do, but I don't think it's proper for someone to intentionally risk my life to get a point or personal agenda across.
According to the article homosexual militants have been protesting their bans by deliberately trying to fill blood banks with their blood. Right now, they don't even know how much blood is infected.
That's not a protest. That's a direct attack on the health care system and other human beings. I am astonished that people would deliberately place other people's lives at risk by ruining the blood supply that could save their life and possibly infecting them.
Monday, March 31, 2008
More on Gun Control Bans
As the elections are heating up you may be hearing more about gun control and gun bans. Here is a video showing what is happening in England. They’ve been banning guns and it hasn’t been helping. Things have been getting worse.
…and I love the Brits. Clearly they are angry and not happy with the situation in U.K., but they remain calm and articulate.
…and I love the Brits. Clearly they are angry and not happy with the situation in U.K., but they remain calm and articulate.
Political Correctness Still out Of Control
…and maybe it’s even worse now that the elections are on! I’ve really been trying to avoid paying much attention to any of this stuff because I just don’t believe that any of the potential candidates are good candidates for our country.
But, the political juggernaut is in high gear and you almost can’t help but hear the reverberation of it in your daily life. I guess if you live under a rock, or do nothing but eat Cheetos and play XBOX you can avoid it.
The latest thing that is plastered everywhere is the problems Obama is facing with regards to public ridicule over his relations with his former Pastor Wright. Obama gave a speech or two on the subject, and I only caught pieces of it. However, I’ve read lots of commentary about the speech on both sides of the fence.
Initial polling indicates that most people don’t think it makes much of a difference and that his speech quelled the disruption.
But, I’m not here to write about Obama. I’m here to write about hate and political correctness.
Let’s start with a term I absolutely cannot stand – African American. I’m not going to re-hash this as I’ve already posted about it here.
I think Americans are pretty much fed up with racial tensions, but the question is what are we doing about it?
Prejudice is usually fueled by ignorance or fear. This can go hand in hand with being racist. This may not always be the case, but it’s a start. As an example, my grandmother used the term “colored” in reference to black people. And she harbored some pretty strong feelings about them. Growing up, I think that some of it was due to “their generation” and later attributed this to simple ignorance or fear.
Now, I loved my grandmother but I didn’t agree with her. This would be an argument that Obama uses as well. But there is a difference. And it’s a big one that should not be overlooked.
Fear and ignorance can be overcome. We can all make a difference by extending our hand instead of our fist. We can show each other that we aren’t all stereotypical and that we don’t have to hate each other. Hate. That’s a strong word, but its part of the problem.
For people like Pastor Wright, Farrakon, Jessie Jackson, and others hate and dissent are what they preach. This is not simple fear or ignorance. It’s fearful to think that because you are black you will get the crap beat out of you by a police officer. I can understand that scenario. But that’s not the same thing as being taught to hate the police officers and dissent against them. And it’s not just black people. White people do the same thing.
My grandmother didn’t preach hate and dissent, but she did unknowingly project a poor image of black people. I have a good friend that is fairly prejudiced, and it drives me nuts. To the point that I don’t want to be around him sometimes. But he doesn’t try to get others to feel the same way. He’s not trying to get me to dislike black people and that is a substantial ideology that I think most people don’t get.
It seems like I’ve read a lot of “angry white man” articles lately. And I can’t say that I wholly blame these people. There is definitive racial tension in this country and it’s not all about fairness and inequality for a specific race. I think that while trying to make things better we have made things worse.
Personal Note: It’s funny that as I was originally writing this I went off on some wild tangent trying to prove a point that I later thought was the wrong point to prove.
And since then, I haven’t been able to finish this article so it’s been sitting here on my desktop waiting to be finished. That’s why I haven’t put much on the blog lately. For some reason articulating my opinion on racial issues has proved to be rather problematic.
But what I think is more important is the big question what are you doing about it? What do you do in your every day life that either encourages prejudice and racism or discourages it?
I think too many people are intentionally, or even unintentionally, encouraging it.
But, the political juggernaut is in high gear and you almost can’t help but hear the reverberation of it in your daily life. I guess if you live under a rock, or do nothing but eat Cheetos and play XBOX you can avoid it.
The latest thing that is plastered everywhere is the problems Obama is facing with regards to public ridicule over his relations with his former Pastor Wright. Obama gave a speech or two on the subject, and I only caught pieces of it. However, I’ve read lots of commentary about the speech on both sides of the fence.
Initial polling indicates that most people don’t think it makes much of a difference and that his speech quelled the disruption.
But, I’m not here to write about Obama. I’m here to write about hate and political correctness.
Let’s start with a term I absolutely cannot stand – African American. I’m not going to re-hash this as I’ve already posted about it here.
I think Americans are pretty much fed up with racial tensions, but the question is what are we doing about it?
Prejudice is usually fueled by ignorance or fear. This can go hand in hand with being racist. This may not always be the case, but it’s a start. As an example, my grandmother used the term “colored” in reference to black people. And she harbored some pretty strong feelings about them. Growing up, I think that some of it was due to “their generation” and later attributed this to simple ignorance or fear.
Now, I loved my grandmother but I didn’t agree with her. This would be an argument that Obama uses as well. But there is a difference. And it’s a big one that should not be overlooked.
Fear and ignorance can be overcome. We can all make a difference by extending our hand instead of our fist. We can show each other that we aren’t all stereotypical and that we don’t have to hate each other. Hate. That’s a strong word, but its part of the problem.
For people like Pastor Wright, Farrakon, Jessie Jackson, and others hate and dissent are what they preach. This is not simple fear or ignorance. It’s fearful to think that because you are black you will get the crap beat out of you by a police officer. I can understand that scenario. But that’s not the same thing as being taught to hate the police officers and dissent against them. And it’s not just black people. White people do the same thing.
My grandmother didn’t preach hate and dissent, but she did unknowingly project a poor image of black people. I have a good friend that is fairly prejudiced, and it drives me nuts. To the point that I don’t want to be around him sometimes. But he doesn’t try to get others to feel the same way. He’s not trying to get me to dislike black people and that is a substantial ideology that I think most people don’t get.
It seems like I’ve read a lot of “angry white man” articles lately. And I can’t say that I wholly blame these people. There is definitive racial tension in this country and it’s not all about fairness and inequality for a specific race. I think that while trying to make things better we have made things worse.
Personal Note: It’s funny that as I was originally writing this I went off on some wild tangent trying to prove a point that I later thought was the wrong point to prove.
And since then, I haven’t been able to finish this article so it’s been sitting here on my desktop waiting to be finished. That’s why I haven’t put much on the blog lately. For some reason articulating my opinion on racial issues has proved to be rather problematic.
But what I think is more important is the big question what are you doing about it? What do you do in your every day life that either encourages prejudice and racism or discourages it?
I think too many people are intentionally, or even unintentionally, encouraging it.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Taxation to Oblivion
One of the things that the politicians in California have turned a blind to, and hate to admit, is that rich people are leaving CA in fairly substantial numbers. I'm not trying to give you the impression that the LA freeway is jammed packed by millionaires in their SUVs with the golf clubs hanging out the back and the foof dog stuck on the dashboard.
But they are leaving none-the-less. Why? Well there are multiple reasons for this, but the consensus of the two primary reasons tells us that it is due to the taxes and the ever increasing illegal alien population.
CA is one of the, if not the actual, most heavily taxed states in the country. There are taxes after taxes after taxes after taxes there. While it may not seem like much, consider that Tiger Woods elected to leave CA and saved more than 5-million dollars a year in taxes!!!!
The same is true of other wealthy persons that are money conscious. Again, the politicians tell us that this isn't happening but the census tells us that it is. And there is one other thing that tells us that it is. Think about this for a moment - it is believed that CA has one of the highest concentrations of wealth (per state), and we know that they have the highest taxes of any state, and the state is going broke. How can that be? How can you have so much money and be taxing the hell out of the people and be going broke? Because the rich folks, the ones that pay the majority of taxes, have had enough and are getting out while more and more people flood into the area and suck up resources without paying taxes. That's how.
But CA is not alone. In the U.K. where socialist agendas have been pushing ever-increasing taxation corporations are pulling out and leaving the U.K. They are electing to go to other countries that do not have the same substantial tax burdens being imposed by the U.K. government.
And in the U.S. the same thing is beginning to happen. Energy companies have long been working to get out of the U.S. due to the increasing taxation and regulation burdens imposed by the government. I'm sure most of the greenies would say that is a good thing, and perhaps that is a topic of debate....but consider this: Those same energy companies are not only trying to be better at becoming more green, they are also the ones leading the front on alternative energy sources, AND....that creates jobs and stimulates the economy. But it's not just energy companies. And when any big company says that they don't want their world H.Q. in the U.S. anymore we should really be thinking about why.
History shows us that when big corporations leave an area that the area often has a lot of difficulty sustaining good economic growth. These corporations are going to leave voids that will need to be filled. But until the government realizes that they are not providing an incentive to be here this is not going to change.
And what will happen? Well, I'm certainly not an economist.....but the cycle seems to be this:
tax the shit out of 'em.
then they leave
then there is less money
so raise the taxes to make up for it
nobody comes
raise the taxes some more to make up for it
and on...and on...and on.... until something drastic changes.
I think we are heading for hard times if the cycle isn't broken.
But they are leaving none-the-less. Why? Well there are multiple reasons for this, but the consensus of the two primary reasons tells us that it is due to the taxes and the ever increasing illegal alien population.
CA is one of the, if not the actual, most heavily taxed states in the country. There are taxes after taxes after taxes after taxes there. While it may not seem like much, consider that Tiger Woods elected to leave CA and saved more than 5-million dollars a year in taxes!!!!
The same is true of other wealthy persons that are money conscious. Again, the politicians tell us that this isn't happening but the census tells us that it is. And there is one other thing that tells us that it is. Think about this for a moment - it is believed that CA has one of the highest concentrations of wealth (per state), and we know that they have the highest taxes of any state, and the state is going broke. How can that be? How can you have so much money and be taxing the hell out of the people and be going broke? Because the rich folks, the ones that pay the majority of taxes, have had enough and are getting out while more and more people flood into the area and suck up resources without paying taxes. That's how.
But CA is not alone. In the U.K. where socialist agendas have been pushing ever-increasing taxation corporations are pulling out and leaving the U.K. They are electing to go to other countries that do not have the same substantial tax burdens being imposed by the U.K. government.
And in the U.S. the same thing is beginning to happen. Energy companies have long been working to get out of the U.S. due to the increasing taxation and regulation burdens imposed by the government. I'm sure most of the greenies would say that is a good thing, and perhaps that is a topic of debate....but consider this: Those same energy companies are not only trying to be better at becoming more green, they are also the ones leading the front on alternative energy sources, AND....that creates jobs and stimulates the economy. But it's not just energy companies. And when any big company says that they don't want their world H.Q. in the U.S. anymore we should really be thinking about why.
History shows us that when big corporations leave an area that the area often has a lot of difficulty sustaining good economic growth. These corporations are going to leave voids that will need to be filled. But until the government realizes that they are not providing an incentive to be here this is not going to change.
And what will happen? Well, I'm certainly not an economist.....but the cycle seems to be this:
tax the shit out of 'em.
then they leave
then there is less money
so raise the taxes to make up for it
nobody comes
raise the taxes some more to make up for it
and on...and on...and on.... until something drastic changes.
I think we are heading for hard times if the cycle isn't broken.
Monday, March 17, 2008
A Letter to Budget
I am now thinking about writing Budget a lovely letter expressing my gratitude towards their excellent customer care –
To Whom It May Concern:
On March 16, 2008 I was en route from Bozeman, MT to San Jose, CA. I had elected to rent a car from Budget for my week-long trip in SJC. Seeing as how I travel quite often and spend an average of about $35,000 in travel expenses in a year I am sure that you can appreciate my choosing Budget as one of my preferred car rental vendors.
I’d like to take this opportunity to applaud Budget for being a progressive company. I work in the IT industry. Most of us in the industry work outrageously long and strange hours, as well as being on call, in order to keep the computer and network systems up and running. It’s nice to know that Budget bucks this trend by placing the happiness and satisfaction of their IT personnel above that of their customers.
I know that in other enterprise network environments that I have worked in we would never be allowed to pull the systems down for maintenance during normal business hours. Imagine my surprise when I called reservations at 3:00pm on a Sunday to find out that Budget was taking that extra step so that the IT folks wouldn’t have to do maintenance in the middle of the night.
Never mind the fact that I, as the customer, was about to be stranded at an airport. Never mind that I had a reservation with Budget. Never mind that it was still the middle of the day on a very heavily traveled day. Budget decided that its customers were not that important and took down the systems for maintenance.
And as luck would have it, I ended up not getting stranded at the first airport. Fortunately, due to severe turbulence and many flight delays I was now in another city (SFO) and not where I was to pick up my rental car (SJC). I really enjoy it when this happens, especially because it allows me another fine opportunity to interface directly with the folks at Budget that tell me that they can’t help me out. Yes, I realize it isn’t Budget’s fault that the plane almost fell out of the sky after sever turbulence and that we were forced to route to another airport. But I also realize that Budget has no compassion for its customers by refusing to alter an existing reservation to alleviate me having a particularly bad travel day. After speaking to a representative and then a supervisor and even asking for special dispensation due to my ordeal I was flat out told that it wasn’t possible to waive a one-way pick-up fee even though some of the other car rental companies in the Bay Area don’t even charge this fee to their customers.
Yes, I guess that means that Budget is a fine all-around company to its employees even at the expense of its customers. I had plenty of time to think what that must be like to work for a company like this while I spent the next two and a half hours taking the charter bus to SJC so I could pick up my car and drop it off at the same airport. That being said, I’d like to send you my resume for review. At least I wouldn’t be having to work odd hours and travel all over the country, and I wouldn’t be getting screwed by other car rental companies.
If you don’t like my resume, please feel free to shove it up your ass along with a set of car keys.
Trippin’ on United
I am on a two-week trip that includes Montana and California. The Montana part of the trip has gone great, without any real problem.
The California part has not started off so good. I had to grab a United Airlines flight out of Bozeman, MT to get to CA. Of course, as I’ve said before, you can’t get in or out of Bozeman on a direct flight. Even if you want to get to Seattle directly you can’t get there without going somewhere else, even though getting to Bozeman or leaving Bozeman to another destination on Alaska Airlines would route you through Seattle.
Now I am not a big fan of DIA. I get fucked every time I have to fly there and this time was no exception. The flight out of Bozeman was delayed due to the in-bound flight being delayed. No big deal because I had a 2+ hour layover at DIA. I get to DIA and go through the usual gate-change crap. But now the flight is also delayed. Why? There isn’t any crew to fly the aircraft!!!! To top that off, the chick at the gate tells me that she can’t give me a seat assignment because they have over-sold the flight. Great. Is there another flight to SJC today? No? What am I supposed to do? They can get me to SFO, which isn’t too far away except that my car rental and return flight to TX are both out of SJC.
I then call up Budget to see if they can tweak my reservation so that I can pick the car up at SFO and return it to SJC (where my flight home is). That would allow me to get a confirmed seat on the SFO flight. The girl tells me that they are doing system maintenance and can’t look up or do any reservations. AT 3:00PM IN THE FREAKING AFTERNOON. That’s nice…. Thanks Budget.
Luckily, the aircraft we were supposed to be on got changed (why, I do not know) and we got another aircraft with more seats. At least I now had a ticket.
No we sit around for another hour and forty-five minutes past take-off time to get off the ground. But finally, we are off!!! Out the outbound, the aircraft hits some severe turbulence and the ride is a little sketchy, but I’ve been through far worse. I chill on the flight and as we are getting close the pilot comes on to tell us that due to the turbulence he is diverting to SFO for immediate inspection of the aircraft. I can SEE the SJC airport…just put the plane down!!! But no, we re-route to SFO.
They get our bags out on the carousel and tell us to proceed to bus area 4 to get a charter to take us all the way to SJC. Mind you, the flight crew hopped off the flight and right into a private limo and took off.
Now I call Budget again!! Basically I still want to do the same thing. Pick up at SFO and drop off at SJC because of getting stuck at SFO. The first guy I talked to said he couldn’t help and passed me to a supervisor. That guy was freaking useless. They wanted to charge me double the rate to rent the car that way. Fuck them.
So then I get on the bus and ride all the way back to SJC so that I can get my car. The bus ride wasn’t that bad because now it’s so late in the evening that there isn’t any traffic left.
I make it to get the car, and then make it to the hotel. TWELVE hours later. Yes, that’s right. It managed to take me just over twelve hours to get from Bozeman, MT to SJC.
I actually had a very interesting and nice dining experience at a Vietnamese restaurant near the hotel, though, and at least that was nice. This place served everything “family style” which is to say that you got a huge plate of veggies, your own mixers for sauce, your main course, a bowl of hot water and a plate of dehydrated rice paper. Basically, you put the rice paper into the bowl of water until it softened, then use the veggies and main course to make a wrap and scarf down. It was really good.
And I made it back to the hotel. Glad to be able to grab a hot shower and crash out…..but there wasn’t any freaking hot water. None. I call the lobby and complain. The guy looks into it and calls me back to tell me it will be hot in a little while. However, when I crawled out of bed at 6:00am there still wasn’t any hot water so I couldn’t get a shower. Great. Now I had to go teach class without a fresh shower.
And just to make sure things couldn’t get any better; none of my updated classroom materials had arrived electronically. That means that my presentations were older than (behind) the revisions the students have. Fuck it….I’ll wing it.
The California part has not started off so good. I had to grab a United Airlines flight out of Bozeman, MT to get to CA. Of course, as I’ve said before, you can’t get in or out of Bozeman on a direct flight. Even if you want to get to Seattle directly you can’t get there without going somewhere else, even though getting to Bozeman or leaving Bozeman to another destination on Alaska Airlines would route you through Seattle.
Now I am not a big fan of DIA. I get fucked every time I have to fly there and this time was no exception. The flight out of Bozeman was delayed due to the in-bound flight being delayed. No big deal because I had a 2+ hour layover at DIA. I get to DIA and go through the usual gate-change crap. But now the flight is also delayed. Why? There isn’t any crew to fly the aircraft!!!! To top that off, the chick at the gate tells me that she can’t give me a seat assignment because they have over-sold the flight. Great. Is there another flight to SJC today? No? What am I supposed to do? They can get me to SFO, which isn’t too far away except that my car rental and return flight to TX are both out of SJC.
I then call up Budget to see if they can tweak my reservation so that I can pick the car up at SFO and return it to SJC (where my flight home is). That would allow me to get a confirmed seat on the SFO flight. The girl tells me that they are doing system maintenance and can’t look up or do any reservations. AT 3:00PM IN THE FREAKING AFTERNOON. That’s nice…. Thanks Budget.
Luckily, the aircraft we were supposed to be on got changed (why, I do not know) and we got another aircraft with more seats. At least I now had a ticket.
No we sit around for another hour and forty-five minutes past take-off time to get off the ground. But finally, we are off!!! Out the outbound, the aircraft hits some severe turbulence and the ride is a little sketchy, but I’ve been through far worse. I chill on the flight and as we are getting close the pilot comes on to tell us that due to the turbulence he is diverting to SFO for immediate inspection of the aircraft. I can SEE the SJC airport…just put the plane down!!! But no, we re-route to SFO.
They get our bags out on the carousel and tell us to proceed to bus area 4 to get a charter to take us all the way to SJC. Mind you, the flight crew hopped off the flight and right into a private limo and took off.
Now I call Budget again!! Basically I still want to do the same thing. Pick up at SFO and drop off at SJC because of getting stuck at SFO. The first guy I talked to said he couldn’t help and passed me to a supervisor. That guy was freaking useless. They wanted to charge me double the rate to rent the car that way. Fuck them.
So then I get on the bus and ride all the way back to SJC so that I can get my car. The bus ride wasn’t that bad because now it’s so late in the evening that there isn’t any traffic left.
I make it to get the car, and then make it to the hotel. TWELVE hours later. Yes, that’s right. It managed to take me just over twelve hours to get from Bozeman, MT to SJC.
I actually had a very interesting and nice dining experience at a Vietnamese restaurant near the hotel, though, and at least that was nice. This place served everything “family style” which is to say that you got a huge plate of veggies, your own mixers for sauce, your main course, a bowl of hot water and a plate of dehydrated rice paper. Basically, you put the rice paper into the bowl of water until it softened, then use the veggies and main course to make a wrap and scarf down. It was really good.
And I made it back to the hotel. Glad to be able to grab a hot shower and crash out…..but there wasn’t any freaking hot water. None. I call the lobby and complain. The guy looks into it and calls me back to tell me it will be hot in a little while. However, when I crawled out of bed at 6:00am there still wasn’t any hot water so I couldn’t get a shower. Great. Now I had to go teach class without a fresh shower.
And just to make sure things couldn’t get any better; none of my updated classroom materials had arrived electronically. That means that my presentations were older than (behind) the revisions the students have. Fuck it….I’ll wing it.
Mo Green!
I’m in the middle of a two-week trip that has me out to Montana and then San Jose, CA. Maybe its coincidence but I feel like I’ve been completely bombarded with “green” thinking since this trip began.
It started off with the entirely “green” issue of the Delta magazine that they have in the seatbacks of the airplane. The whole issue was dedicated to environmental issues.
Then, it seemed like every time I was flipping channels on the TV there was someone being interviewed about how catastrophic environmental change is going to be!!! Yes, even though we’ve seen a definitive downward trend in the temperatures people are still preaching doom and gloom. Only now, it’s not “global warming” it’s “climate change” because people are catching onto the fact that “warming” isn’t exactly happening.
Then, when I was up snow boarding I heard multiple people talking about how the ski resort wasn’t “green” enough and wow! Look at the effects of global warming – right in the middle of a nice snow-dump late in the season.
I even recall partially reading one article that a guy has written about climate change. He thinks that we can get back to pre-man Co2 levels in about 10,000 years. That’s an interesting thought because pre-man there were Co2 levels that were less than they are today, and there were Co2 levels that were significantly higher than they were today. Which ones do you think he is referring to? I find it interesting that the Co2 theory folks tend to virtually ignore scientific analysis of greenhouse gases.
But it’s all good. I made sure the hotel didn’t wash my sheets and towels while I stayed there…..
It started off with the entirely “green” issue of the Delta magazine that they have in the seatbacks of the airplane. The whole issue was dedicated to environmental issues.
Then, it seemed like every time I was flipping channels on the TV there was someone being interviewed about how catastrophic environmental change is going to be!!! Yes, even though we’ve seen a definitive downward trend in the temperatures people are still preaching doom and gloom. Only now, it’s not “global warming” it’s “climate change” because people are catching onto the fact that “warming” isn’t exactly happening.
Then, when I was up snow boarding I heard multiple people talking about how the ski resort wasn’t “green” enough and wow! Look at the effects of global warming – right in the middle of a nice snow-dump late in the season.
I even recall partially reading one article that a guy has written about climate change. He thinks that we can get back to pre-man Co2 levels in about 10,000 years. That’s an interesting thought because pre-man there were Co2 levels that were less than they are today, and there were Co2 levels that were significantly higher than they were today. Which ones do you think he is referring to? I find it interesting that the Co2 theory folks tend to virtually ignore scientific analysis of greenhouse gases.
But it’s all good. I made sure the hotel didn’t wash my sheets and towels while I stayed there…..
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Another Slow Weekend....
I say it over and over again, but it's always interesting to me how many things I think of to write on here and then I either can't find the time or I forget them when I do find the time.
For two weekends in a row, now, I've not done a whole heck of a lot from a social perspective. For some reason, my friends in TX are always either too tied up or simply don't want to do anything. Take your pick. But it amounts to me generally spending a lot of time alone on the 'Priller or doing other things.
I've managed to get a few things, done, though and that is a good thing. Among them have been two weekend of pre-spring yard work. I've cut back all my dead vines, shaved the dead grass down, fertilized it, etc. I've also gotten some work done on the 'Priller, continued to collect my income tax information, re-worked some minor things around the house, etc.
Yesterday I spent the morning with Young Blood tearing down his motorcycle engine. He has a transmission problem so we yanked it out of the bike and started tearing it down so that we could split the cases on it and get to the internals. After you get it out of the bike, it is surprisingly not that difficult to tear it all down. Putting it back together may be a different story, though.
I've also been prepping to go out of town on Monday. It was short notice, and since my mom's birthday is on Wed., that meant that I had to hustle to get her a gift before I leave out of town. Not a big deal, but I was running my errands today and then stopped off at Boston Market for some lunch.
The church crowd had just let out and while it wasn't quite packed it was definitely busy. I am sitting there scarfing down on my chicken and the table across from me is a single mom with two girls. They got into some kind of "jinx you owe me a coke" spat and I guess one of the little girls won. The other got very upset. The mom says "why does everything have to be about winning and losing?" uh-oh. One of those. You know why? Because a lot of life is made up of wining and losing. Obviously there are sports in which you have a score and a clear winner and loser. But there are other things in life, too. Did you get that promotion? Did someone else beat you out to get it? If so, you lost. Sorry, that's the breaks. I don't believe in coddling children into unrealistic expectations of fairness.
Then I came home and spread fertilizer and spent some time outside just hanging out in the yard. I am going to have a beer and then get cleaned up to meet my parents for dinner.
It's funny how our perspective of things can change rapidly. I recently have had some thinking to do due to a curve ball life may be throwing at me. I say may because I am not sure of exactly how things are going to play out, and ultimately I'll have to deal with them. I guess that is not any different than any other situation, but the ramifications could be substantial in this case.
For two weekends in a row, now, I've not done a whole heck of a lot from a social perspective. For some reason, my friends in TX are always either too tied up or simply don't want to do anything. Take your pick. But it amounts to me generally spending a lot of time alone on the 'Priller or doing other things.
I've managed to get a few things, done, though and that is a good thing. Among them have been two weekend of pre-spring yard work. I've cut back all my dead vines, shaved the dead grass down, fertilized it, etc. I've also gotten some work done on the 'Priller, continued to collect my income tax information, re-worked some minor things around the house, etc.
Yesterday I spent the morning with Young Blood tearing down his motorcycle engine. He has a transmission problem so we yanked it out of the bike and started tearing it down so that we could split the cases on it and get to the internals. After you get it out of the bike, it is surprisingly not that difficult to tear it all down. Putting it back together may be a different story, though.
I've also been prepping to go out of town on Monday. It was short notice, and since my mom's birthday is on Wed., that meant that I had to hustle to get her a gift before I leave out of town. Not a big deal, but I was running my errands today and then stopped off at Boston Market for some lunch.
The church crowd had just let out and while it wasn't quite packed it was definitely busy. I am sitting there scarfing down on my chicken and the table across from me is a single mom with two girls. They got into some kind of "jinx you owe me a coke" spat and I guess one of the little girls won. The other got very upset. The mom says "why does everything have to be about winning and losing?" uh-oh. One of those. You know why? Because a lot of life is made up of wining and losing. Obviously there are sports in which you have a score and a clear winner and loser. But there are other things in life, too. Did you get that promotion? Did someone else beat you out to get it? If so, you lost. Sorry, that's the breaks. I don't believe in coddling children into unrealistic expectations of fairness.
Then I came home and spread fertilizer and spent some time outside just hanging out in the yard. I am going to have a beer and then get cleaned up to meet my parents for dinner.
It's funny how our perspective of things can change rapidly. I recently have had some thinking to do due to a curve ball life may be throwing at me. I say may because I am not sure of exactly how things are going to play out, and ultimately I'll have to deal with them. I guess that is not any different than any other situation, but the ramifications could be substantial in this case.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Wax in my Boxers…
For Christmas I was given one of those nifty heated lamp thingies that heats up and melts wax. You stick a scented wax in it, turn it on and smell the goodies.
This was all good until I tripped over the cord. If you have ever let a candle burn to long and gotten wax on the carpet or something you know how frustrating it can be to clean up. But imagine that when my foot hit the cord the wax went flying and managed to efficiently send out a nice spatter pattern covering a rug, the carpet, baseboards, walls, and windows all in one fell swoop.
I tried the newspaper trick, but all I ever get is the junk mail circulars that have the already-waxed paper with color and that’s not good.
So I took a pair of old boxer shorts and an iron and proceeded to heat the wax up so it would melt into the boxer shorts. I got about 90% of it up with this method, but the shorts are ruined. I dunno, maybe I should wear them again. It could be interesting….
This was all good until I tripped over the cord. If you have ever let a candle burn to long and gotten wax on the carpet or something you know how frustrating it can be to clean up. But imagine that when my foot hit the cord the wax went flying and managed to efficiently send out a nice spatter pattern covering a rug, the carpet, baseboards, walls, and windows all in one fell swoop.
I tried the newspaper trick, but all I ever get is the junk mail circulars that have the already-waxed paper with color and that’s not good.
So I took a pair of old boxer shorts and an iron and proceeded to heat the wax up so it would melt into the boxer shorts. I got about 90% of it up with this method, but the shorts are ruined. I dunno, maybe I should wear them again. It could be interesting….
Say Goodbye to Bush
Black Bush that is, not George Bush. Last night, I poured myself the last little bit of some Irish whiskey that I picked up while in Ireland over 7 years ago. The whiskey is Bushmills Black Bush and was aged 11 years at the time I bought it. That made it about 18 years old, and it traveled with me from Ireland back to my home here in the U.S.
For the last few years, the last bit of that bottle resided in a very cool decanter that Bling! bought me one year. Every now and then I’d have a little bit – neat. Maybe with an ice-cube, but nothing more. Last night I poured the last of it. It was incredibly smooth and rich and while I was sad to see it go, it went very good.
If you ever get to try a near 20-year-old bottle of whiskey, give it a shot (no pun intended, and that would be a waste).
For the last few years, the last bit of that bottle resided in a very cool decanter that Bling! bought me one year. Every now and then I’d have a little bit – neat. Maybe with an ice-cube, but nothing more. Last night I poured the last of it. It was incredibly smooth and rich and while I was sad to see it go, it went very good.
If you ever get to try a near 20-year-old bottle of whiskey, give it a shot (no pun intended, and that would be a waste).
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Jogging on Sidewalk
I do not understand why people that jog choose to do so on the street as opposed to the nice, safe, sidewalk that is provided to them. I feel like running them over in my truck…
Fixed Incomes
I get tired of hearing people say “….but I live on a fixed income.” Or “…but they live on a fixed income.” You know what? EVERYONE lives on a fixed income. Even Bill Gates lives on a fixed income when you get right down to it.
Are You High? Yes, but at Least I Know What Time it Is!
I was leafing through my latest edition of Forbes. Forbes, take note – you are getting to be just as bad as any woman’s magazine that is littered with ads and has no real content to the magazine.
My dad and I are always astounded by the prices of watches. He is far more analytical about his watch(es) and reminds me of how he has some cheap watch and how much time it loses (or doesn’t lose) over the course of time. Between us, I have the most expensive watch at about $100.00 for a titanium Skaagen watch. I love it because it’s small, and very lightweight.
But Forbes was highlighting some of the expensive watches. I am not talking about Rolexes….those don’t even cut it by these standards of extravagance.
It’s a NOTOS Martin Bruan at $29,950. This was the least expensive watch in the article. That’s not $29.95 or even $2,995. That’s twenty-nine-thousand dollars. Are you high?
So I keep reading…..
A Horological Machine No. 1 at $150,000
A Bugati Type 370 at $200,000
A Vulcania HD3 at $375,000
And the winner….at over $1million dollars (for a fucking watch??!!!??) is a Aeternitas Mega 4. I actually exclaimed out loud “Are you fucking high?” Forbes goes on to list the features, but I don’t even care at that point. A watch. A watch that you wear on your wrist that costs over $1million dollars.
What does it cost to build an atomic clock?
My dad and I are always astounded by the prices of watches. He is far more analytical about his watch(es) and reminds me of how he has some cheap watch and how much time it loses (or doesn’t lose) over the course of time. Between us, I have the most expensive watch at about $100.00 for a titanium Skaagen watch. I love it because it’s small, and very lightweight.
But Forbes was highlighting some of the expensive watches. I am not talking about Rolexes….those don’t even cut it by these standards of extravagance.
It’s a NOTOS Martin Bruan at $29,950. This was the least expensive watch in the article. That’s not $29.95 or even $2,995. That’s twenty-nine-thousand dollars. Are you high?
So I keep reading…..
A Horological Machine No. 1 at $150,000
A Bugati Type 370 at $200,000
A Vulcania HD3 at $375,000
And the winner….at over $1million dollars (for a fucking watch??!!!??) is a Aeternitas Mega 4. I actually exclaimed out loud “Are you fucking high?” Forbes goes on to list the features, but I don’t even care at that point. A watch. A watch that you wear on your wrist that costs over $1million dollars.
What does it cost to build an atomic clock?
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