The World Famous Sip and Dip Lounge

I'm currently in Great Falls, MT. I'm doing some wireless presentations to educate people and hopefully get some potential clients out of the deal. One of my friends, OJ, sent me this email and said I had to go to the Sip and Dip to check it out. Here is her email:

Because no trip to Great Falls wouldn't be complete with out a trip to the Sip-n-Dip...

At night, drop by for a cocktail at the legendary Sip 'N Dip Lounge, located in the O'Haire Motor Inn (17 7th St. S.). There is probably nothing in the world quite like the Sip 'N Dip Lounge. First, it's decorated in a Polynesian tiki style (in and of itself pretty surreal for Great Falls), but adding to the weirdness is the glass wall behind the bar, providing a view of the hotel's indoor swimming pool. Bar patrons have a great view of whoever is in the pool, including assorted mermaids and mermen (who are hired by the bar during busy hours); in the past, even Daryl Hannah (she of Splash fame) has shown up there in a mermaid suit. On most nights you can find Piano Pat Sponheim tickling the ivories and singing standards like "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Fly Me To the Moon."

Make sure you wear your Hawaiian shirt. And if in the off chance you'd be seen in public in a Hawaiian shirt you must send me pictures!

Sorry, OJ, I didn't go in a Hawaiian shirt, but I did get the pic above. I had a few others, but that was the best one. Unfortunately I didn't even have a beer as I am trying to not be such a fat bastard. It's been salads and water for me!!!

In any case, surprisingly enough the bar was rated the #1 bar by GQ magazine....(are you getting this, Bling?). I have no idea why it was rated #1...or what category they had it in. It was fairly interesting, and yes, that is a swimming pool that you can look into. There were some kids swimming, but no hot chicks unfortunately. The bar was opened in the 60's, but didn't look a day over 25 years...

Speaking of other places I had to go check out we ate dinner at a place called Eddie's Steakhouse and (get this) Dinner Club. When was the last time you saw something called a dinner club? That place had been in business over 60 years, and for that I broke my diet and had a steak with a salad. It was quite tasty, but I must admit I have had better steaks. Still for the price and the history, it was damned good.

Prior to dinner we stopped by a school to see about doing a wireless job in it. The principal looked about my age, which was scary. I always though principals were "older" and had to have a lot of experience. The worst part? Some of the teachers were kind of hot. It's only during times like those that I thought I just might be older than I think I am.

Loading c1700-advsecurityk9-mz.124-9.T1.bin from 192.168.4.180 (via Serial0/0): !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OO!!!!!!!!!!!!!O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!O!!!O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just loading a file onto a router across a VPN connection. I am bored. Not much to do until that file is loaded and it has a ways to go.
If anyone is reading this, and is in Montana, and understands what that means give me a shout. We could always use another engineer.

I also booked my flights home today. They were going like hotcakes!! Yesterday I looked up flights and there were plenty of them. I did the nice thing and requested permission to buy the ticket and by the time I got on this morning almost all of them were gone. They were literally selling out as I was trying to find one.

Lucky for me I was able to get on an 8:00am flight. I needed to get on one this early because I have to traipse all across the continent to get home, now. I first have to fly from Bozeman to Salt Lake City, Utah. No big deal...done it a million times. But then I have the privilege of flying to Atlanta, GA just for kicks. From there they fly my BACK the other way to drop me off in Texas. yes, that's 10 hours of flying and airports (provided there aren't any delays) and a grand total of 2,667 miles.

But it's all good. I'm going home....and if I am lucky first class won't be sold out on those flights and they will automatically bump me into first class like usual. My plan is to make them pay for having me fly at 8:00am and then having to PASS my home, hang out in an airport, and then go back the way I just came before arriving in DFW. You might ask how I would do this.... it's quite simple. Free alcohol. I figure if I can suck down enough of those little bottles full of the good stuff then at least I won't feel so bad about being stuck on a plane all day.....except for the hangover the next morning.

My Rough Schedule....

OK for those of you that keep asking and asking and asking.....and you know who you are!!....here is my rough schedule for December.

• November 29th ~ Dec 1st - I'll be up near Great Falls, MT doing some presentations and trying to drive some sales.
• Dec 7th ~ 8th - I have to do an on-site installation somewhere (not sure where, yet).
• Dec 9th - Driving down to meet up with friends at Big Creek Cabin and my vacation begins!

From here on out it's "tentative" depending on weather, if the ski resorts are open, if I can get a room, etc.

• Dec 10th - drive to Red Lodge and board for a day.
• Dec 12th - drive to Jackson Hole and board for a day.
• Dec 14th - drive to Grand Targhee and board for a day.
• Dec 16th - drive back to Bozeman and finish packing while squeezing in even more boarding up at Moonlight.
• Dec 19th or 20th - fly back HOME to TEXAS!!!
• Dec 20th ~ 23rd - shop my butt off for all the presents I haven't bought, yet.

Jeeze! I should probably do some laundry in there somewhere, eh? I might be kind of stinky after all the snowboarding!

If anyone would like to join me, by all means, come along. I'd love to have the company.

A Welcome Surprise....

Saturday evening several of us were supposed to go out. I had called a few folks to confirm or find out what was going on only to hear that they weren't going out after all. No big deal, but I was looking forward to it.

So here I am, chillin' on a plane. I'm thinking about lyrics to songs, reading a book, wondering why America has turned into a bunch of pussies.

But I get off the plane and I need to go home and clean up a bit before I get out. Low and behold, there is a group of my friends waiting for me as I walk through the security exit! They have a "welcome home" poster made complete with pictures of midgets, ferrets, and Aprilia lion logo on it. They had also brought me my sippy cup filled with a beverage, and my blow-up sheep. (don't ask if you don't want to know!)

It was really thoughtful of everyone and it was nice to be surprised in such a manner. They then took me out to dinner (no McDonalds, either!) and wouldn't let me pay for anything!! I think they were going to go out and party all night but the roads were pretty crappy and drinking and driving is never a good idea - especially on glazed roads of ice.

Effectively they pulled a Weasel and Grasshopper - keeping me out until the following day. I crashed on a friend's couch and didn't make it "home" until about 10:30am the following morning. Their dog curled up at my feet, and their cat slept on my chest. I guess I can't complain too much....not everyone gets a little pussy all night.

Brrr....It's Chilly!

Friday I was riding motorcycles back home with some friends. It was 78 degrees with light winds. Not too bad for bike riding.

On Saturday I land in Bozeman and it's 17 degrees and snowing!!! I drug all my snowboard gear back, but none of the resorts are open as of yet. It's the first time in years that the resorts haven't opened. It looks like some of them will open this coming weekend, and then the rest should be open by Dec. 2nd.

Just When I think I am out…

….they pull me back in. The following is a real story based on actual events. Any coincident between people, real or imagined, is intended and may have actually happened.

My history with Skyline (my current employer) is fairly sorted. I got hired in 2000 and since that time have had my ups and downs with the company pretty much as you would in any company. This also included two layoffs and some severe pay cuts during our post dot-com bust days. We had to run pretty lean.

Then I was asked if I wanted to take a gig up in Montana for six months to see if we could build the region and put a new business model together. That was a year and a half ago. For those who have been reading my blog and keeping up with the emails you know that some of this has been great and some of it has been not so great.

But for two years, I’ve effectively been living in MT while keeping my residence in the state of Texas. I just came home this week for Thanksgiving. Prior to this I wasn’t home for two months. During this time I realized just how burned out I am. It was very hard on me. I have become very depressed, but I know how to deal with it. So I planned to start my own business and quit Skyline. I had to get out and get back home or move to Montana, and I just don’t ever see myself moving to Montana while working at Skyline. We just couldn’t make that work.

I ended up casually talking to another company and finding out they had a position open and that they wanted me. This is Right Now Technologies. They are based in Bozeman, MT. As with most of Montana’s screwed up economy they couldn’t afford to even get close to matching my salary, but they wanted me back in Texas!!! We negotiated over the period of several weeks and ultimately I signed up to take the job. I was coming home to Texas!!!! The pay was a quarter-salary difference but the benefits were very good, and I liked all the people there. I already knew them. They are a client for Skyline.

Now, I couldn’t post ANY of this on the blog as I don’t know for sure who reads it and who doesn’t read it. So I quit Skyline. Finished. Done. See-ya later, alligator! It was not an easy decision. But I sat down with Brent and told him I was leaving. I thought he’d be mad or upset, but he wasn’t. He was very understanding, but he asked for me to give him eight hours to see if we could work it out. Fair enough. I’ve worked for the company this long and been out of town for two years, what was another eight hours. For those doing the math, I’ve been on the road roughly 85+ weeks out of a possible 104. This is not even counting the year prior when I was in California and Chicago all the time.

So, to make a long story short Skyline wanted to keep me. And they made a nice counter with the key words being “back in Texas.” They were also offering a financial incentive as well. But I felt I needed to put it all in writing as to why I was leaving and let them see if they could work with where I needed to be.

So here is an actual simulation of the email I sent to them (parts omitted to protect the identities of the individuals involved):

When it comes down to reasons why I would leave Skyline it comes down to a few basic reasons:

• 
  Not living in my own home. I will have been on the road approximately 85+ weeks out of a possible 104.
• Not doing the things that I want to do – I didn’t ride my bike hardly at all this year, my boat never saw the water, I don’t get to enjoy my house with the big-screen and nice theater system.
• My health – I wouldn’t say I am unhealthy, but I haven’t been able to work out with any type of regularity or schedule in over 2 years. I have put on weight, lost muscle mass, have a decreased cardio system and bags under my eyes. This was not the case 2 years ago.
• The B.S. – no company is free of this, I don’t care where you work but the two things that rub me the wrong way are the unwritten company policy that we have to travel on personal time (I’ve written about this to Frank and Roger at length) and it always seems that everything is a P1 and trying to settle into a rhythm is just about impossible.
  
  Most of it all comes down to the travel and work schedule I have endured over the last 2 years. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it anymore. I am so burned out that I am depressed, I can’t stay focused, and I simply no longer motivated. I feel this is impacting my work, but you would have to be judge of that. Note that money is not the motivating factor here. With the exception of our lean years after the dot-com bust I have always felt that Skyline has paid me very well and that is one thing I do not complain about.
  
  So getting to heart of the matter, I understand that Skyline is interested in me staying on board. I am interested in staying on board if we can make it work. The primary issue, for me, is going to be living at home with significantly reduced travel. That doesn’t mean I am not willing to travel, but it does mean that I want to be home more than I am gone. I am not sure how to put that into quantifiable terms, but I don’t think saying X-percent on the road is the way to do it. Right now, I am so burned out that I don’t want to travel at all, but I realize that is unrealistic whether I was with Skyline or someone else.
  
  My thought on travel would be something like this:
• I think that one week out of the month would not be a problem – whether that be in MT, teaching a class or whatever.
• For special projects or extenuating circumstances we can extend that as needed – but every month can’t be a new “special project.”
• If the travel is a day trip or something in TX, I’m not counting that – i.e. don’t sweat it.

Mandatory travel on personal time has got to go. This doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to travel on a Sat / Sun (whatever) when necessary (i.e. have to be somewhere on Monday morning to teach a class, there is no other way to do it), but I can’t tell you how many weekend golf trips, motorcycle trips, camping trips, parties, etc. that I have missed out on because of this. If the project, class, whatever necessitates it then I’ll do it but I will not continue to eat up all my personal time traveling for general work.

And they thought about it and agreed with it. The kicker was that they are giving me a “partnership” in the consulting arm of the company so that I will get a bonus based on the profit share. It’s not an out-right raise, but I could make some good money at it. Other times, I might not make anything but the incentive is there to do good.

I had to tell Right Now I wasn’t coming on board. I sent the two guys an email, but I haven’t heard back. I hope they aren’t too upset. It’s not uncommon in this industry for this to happen, but it doesn’t make it easier.

So I am coming home….soon. I have to go back to Montana on Saturday and work another two weeks there. Then I am taking vacation and getting in some snowboard action. I’ll start my vacation on December 9th and probably fly back to Texas somewhere around 20th ~ 22nd.

With the new agreement I’ll still come up to MT every now and then. That means I’ll still get to see my friends up there and enjoy what MT has to offer, but I’ll also get to live in my own home.

I left out some details since I am in a hurry to get this done before I race out the door to get attacked by my niece at Thanksgiving dinner. But that’s not such a bad thing, is it?

No animals were harmed in the making of this story.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I'm a Fat Bastard!

Today I went to the doc about a persistent pain I've had in my side for over a week, now. For those wondering, he thinks it's either an ulcer or gallbladder problems. I need to get an ultrasound, but it's going to be hard to do that since nobody has any openings until next week and I have to be on a plane Saturday. I will have to figure that one out.

In any case, I stepped up on the scale and clocked in at 166-lbs. Now, sure you could say "but you were fully dressed and wearing your five-pound boots with the steel toe and shanks!"

I'd say, even dressed like that I should not even weigh 160-lbs. I attribute it to eating fairly poorly lately (I have to eat out all the freaking time) and more importantly not working out as much. But since I am going home soon, I can get back in the gym and get back in shape.

Ick...

The 2006 International Motorcycle Show!

I was able to make the show this year and I suppose it was about as expected. There were some cool bikes on display for the '07 year. Unlike Europe there weren't any hot semi-naked chickie-babes hanging on the bikes to show 'em off. Mostly, I was interested in checking out the Kawasaki Concours - it's a sport-touring bike based on the ZX-14R sport bike (fastest production sport bike....see previous post on it somewhere on here!). They had one that was obviously pre-production and you couldn't throw a leg over it, but I got a few pics.

The weather was a bit cool, but we rode out there anyway. I went with Bling! and his wife aka Mrs. Bling! (she hates that). She is looking to learning to ride so we had her trying on several bikes for size and comfort. I took pics for Robert and Amy since they couldn't make it. So if you want to check out all the pics, follow this link!!

I also found out that the new Arai RX7 Corsair helmet fits me perfectly- a medium with size 25 cheek pads if anyone is thinking about a good Christmas gift. Unfortunately they go for about $650.00!!! (snake skin sandals anyone?)

I realized that I also need to call the doc and try to see him before I fly back out. I've had an uncomfortable pain in my right side just below the rib cage. It's always worse after eating (full stomach?) and it bothered me a lot while walking around today. This evening just sitting around is noticeable. It's not acute. It feels like a side-stitch that won't quite go away.

Never Come Between a Woman and her Shoes....

I have a friend that is a shoe freak. You can probably imagine that it's a woman. I have never met a man that is a shoe freak. If I do, I'd be a bit surprised. If you were to look up numbers the average woman has a ridiculous number of pairs of shoes..... perhaps I should say that compared to men women have a ridiculous number of pairs of shoes.

I'm sure there are several women out there that would say they don't have that many shoes compared to the average, and if you are that woman then I commend you for being sensible. But my friend makes up for you....and just about everyone else. She blows the curve by having some obscene number of shoes. I can't even remember how many, but it seems like it was on the order of 100+ pairs of shoes at any given time.....and I think that was after she moved and got rid of a lot of them.

The other day I was talking to her and she is telling me about this great pair of sandals that she found. They are python sandals and she really wanted them. As it turns out they cost $1100. You know me, my next question was "are you fucking high?" She laughed, but I could also tell she was serious about it. $1100 for a freaking pair of sandals. I just had to ask what made them worth $1100 as I obviously am fashion ignorant and simply don't get it. She explained that they were python. OK, I get that. Python....I have a pair of python boots. They didn't cost anywhere near $1100. I think I got them for about $250 ~ $300. So I keep digging to get to the bottom of it. As it turns out they are designer sandals and that is why they cost $1100.

I will never understand the fashion world where people pay way too much money for a simple item. Take blue jeans. I wear mine until they fall apart, but women will go buy them with holes already in them for hundreds of dollars because they have been labeled by a designer. You are crazy.

Anyway, I tried to put it into logical terms for my friend (which is hopeless as I have since found out). I explained that was such a ridiculous way to spend that kind of money that I would fly out to see her, smack her upside the head for buying them, buy a drink at the bar, and fly home. And I could do it for less money than she would pay for the sandals.

And then later, while flying home for real I got to thinking about how many pairs of shoes I now had. Far more than even five years ago. When I was growing up I hardly had any shoes. I didn't need many. A pair of sneakers, a pair of cleats, and I was done. When I was 17 or so I think I had two pair - sneakers and maybe a pair of boots. I'm not sure if it was a fashion thing or just because my feet were growing and I didn't have a need for more than one or two pair.

Now, though, I am substantially older and have a need for many more pairs. Let me explain the difference, though. I go buy a pair of shoes because I have a specific need that I must fill such as riding boots for the bike - not because I think they would look great on me or go well with that outfit. I buy shoes for function and necessity. But I started counting them, and I think I am up there for a guy..... here is what I have:

• Sidi Riding Boots - to protect my feet and ankles in the event of a fall.


• Snakeskin Boots


• Tennis shoes - racquetball, working out and stuff


• Hiking Shoes - hiking in the mountains required a good stiff shoe that could handle it


• Work / Casual Boots - what I wear 90% of the time.


• Lake Sandals - I don't care if they get wet and trashed. That is what they were made for and I need them when I am at the lake, floating the river, etc.


• Slightly nicer casual sandals


• Rockport black shoes - dressier occasions


• Wingtip black shoes - real dressy occasions


• Italian dress shoes - black of course


• brown casual shoes - because I just don't have any brown shoes other than my boots.


• Snowboard boots


• ski boots


• bicycle riding shoes - for "clipless" pedals

So what is that.... 14 pair of shoes? I think that is a lot for a guy. I'm sure there are plenty of guys out there that have nowhere near that many. If I didn't participate in all of my various activities I could reduce that number significantly. I could further reduce it if I didn't ever have a need to dress up. And let's face it, I like dressing like a slob.....it's far easier than trying to figure out what shoes go with my outfit.

Going Home…..Finally.

Well the wheel is in motion. It’s turning and hopefully I won’t be crushed underneath it. The bottom line is I am finally going home. I am not sure exactly how this is going to happen and I can’t comment further on them at this time. But, before the New Year I will be home.

So I’ve been thinking of things I want to do to the house. I haven’t been there much in the last 2 years, and the house is almost 10 years old, now. I have some ideas for some minor improvements and thought I might just catalogue them real quick:

Tile the kitchen floor – the linoleum is old and starting to look like it. I’d like to tile the kitchen area but last time I calculated this it was going to cost about $5000 to do it. I need to see if I can get the cost down. If I can get it down to about $3000 then that would be sweet!

Pergo / Hardwoods – this would be to replace the carpet in the den and hallway areas. I think I can do this myself with some friends and few cases of beer. Of course, I guess I can’t complain about the results later, but the materials would probably still run me about $1500. I’d also re-paint the baseboards at the same time and spiff it up.

Bar Stools – I have a foosball table in my dining area, so there isn’t any place to really eat except at the bar. I’ve been trying to find some kick-ass stools for years but the good ones are about $500+

Re-stuff the sofa cushions – I have a leather sofa. The leather is in good shape, but the foam could be re-done in the cushions. I hear that you can get it done fairly cheap so that is an easy fixer-upper.

Seal the Garage floor – I’ve always wanted to do this for some reason. It’s cheap and just takes a little time and effort.

Place wear – I need to get some new plates, glasses, etc. I have the cheap crap from long ago, but it’s time to get rid of it and get some nicer stuff.

Yard work – the yard is not in bad shape, but it needs some tweaking. Flowers, pruning the hedges, etc.

I’m sure there are other things I’ll come up with, but this is a good start and will get me used to being around the house again. I’m looking forward to it.

For Dan....Because I think he'd Appreciate it.

SFW - Safe For Work

Psycho Chicks...

So I was watching Enduring Love last night. It's a European film and in it, for once, there is a psychotic, male, stalker....which kind of blows the stereo type of psycho chicks. With one exception.... he's gay and stalking another guy.

How does that fit into the realm of things?

Therapy Without a Therapist….

…or why we blog?

I am going home for Thanksgiving. I need to go home….really bad. I am burned out and fairly depressed. It’s getting to me and has been for a long time. I guess, though, that I deal with things well…or at least the best that I can. There are a lot of things that I’d like to post on here, but can’t right now…. It will make sense later on.

But the thing of it is…with all the things I am dealing with… I don’t really have any one person to talk to about it. Not someone that really understands all facets of bRad. Not anymore. So I think that’s it. I can’t jam and I don’t have someone to talk to about all this stuff….so I spew it forth on here when I get the chance.

I don’t think it’s the same for everyone else, but if you break it down to it’s substance it’s a medium for us to voice our opinions, feelings, whatever. It’s really not that much different than standing on a soapbox and going off about whatever we want to go off about – politics, religion, sex, global warming, myself, whatever.

People keep telling me I need therapy. At least this is free…

The Ramblings of a Lunatic….

At least that is what I feel like sometimes. What does it all mean? Does it have to mean anything? Can I just ramble to ramble??? I guess it’s my blog, I can do whatever I want. But I think about these things. The eternal question – why are we here? I don’t find myself asking that nearly as much as questions such as “are we making a difference?” Then the question becomes “a difference in what?” What do we, as humans, contribute? And what, are we contributing it to?

Think about this…. I was watching a show on TV the other day on black holes. They were getting fairly deep into it and of course I had read about this stuff before. But the graphics were very cool and Fuego and I were shooting tequila so I found it fairly interesting.

During the last few years there have been significant developments which allowed us to learn about and pinpoint where some of these black holes are – 60+ million light years away (or maybe it was 13? That’s a rather unlucky number isn’t it?). There is one in our own galaxy and one in the nearby galaxy (it’s all relative at this point). Apparently, they are no longer concerned with the sun going super-nova and wiping us out. Now the model suggests that our two galaxies will collide and fuse together. They don’t know if this will destroy us, or give us the best light show ever…..all over the course of a 2-million year cycle…..and that’s after it starts.

So while I think it’s really neat, and I realize that there are scientists just like this all over the world thirsting for one type of knowledge or another, what does it mean? What good does it do mankind, right now or in the immediate future (let’s be nice and give ‘em a few thousand years)?

And then there are “the others.” The countless minions of sheeple that walk the earth and do nothing more than exist. They might be good, and might be evil. They exist simply to exist and are usually far more concerned about what Britney spears did than the realities of our lives and the universe we inhabit. And, as much as I hate to say it, I think most of us fall into this category. Not necessarily as sheeple (but OMG there are a ton of them out there), but as humans that don’t really contribute to the greater good of mankind (feminist freaking out over the word “mankind” need to get a grip). Forget the earth for a moment…. I mean, really…global warming? Nuclear war? We are but a spec in the cosmic time frame of the earth. We could annihilate ourselves with nuclear weapons and in a few million years (a pittance to Mother Earth) the planet would be just fine. Most of this is a way to make ourselves feel better anyway.

So these were my thoughts this morning as I clipped along at 60 ~ 80 mph along a snow blown canyon road. BTW – have you ever had dipping dots? That’s exactly what the snow looked like.

I saw two large herds of beefalo’s, a bunch of antelopes, cows, and the occasional bird. It was snowing fairly well this morning. And then it all went away. The ski resorts are no longer sure if they’ll be able to open up or not. That’s disappointing as I was hoping to get some snowboard time in ASAP after getting back from TX.

Just Time for A Quickie....

It's late, and I am tired. However, I wanted to put a quick word or two in here to remember Veteran's day.

Thank you to all those who have, and still are, serving.

What’s in a Nickname?

I have quite a few friends that have nicknames. Not all of them, of course, but several of them. Recently I’ve had quite a few people ask me to remind them of who is who. So here is a quick list. How did they get them and what do they mean? That is another story…

Adren = Sticky
Alexander = Bling!
Andy = ‘Droid
David = Budda (misspelled on purpose)
Danny = Grasshopper
Dusty = The Duster (this one hasn’t quite stuck, yet)
Giles = Giles (different pronunciation)
Julie = OJ
Mike F. = Fuego
Ron = Weasel.

A Friend’s Observation:

This is an email that I received from a friend of mine:

Here's my question: the day following a crucial election, one where there will be significant changes to many of our day to day lives-why on earth is Britney Spear's impending divorce getting nearly as much press time as the voting results??? Seriously, I was watching CNN last night trying to get the information on who won the Tester/Burns race, and the runner at the bottom of the screen switched to Britney and K-Fed's separation. Good Lord! Why do I care? They are both white trash and were a car wreck from the very beginning. I can only imagine that it is was presented because people wanted to know. Doesn't that make you proud to be an American? :) No wonder people in other countries get irritated with us.

I’ll address this in two parts:

Part 1 – The Entertainment Phenomenon

Quite simply put, American’s place a higher value on entertainment (as a whole) than anything else….including politics, religion, family values, core values, etc. I’ve written about this before. It’s why Britney Spears was getting major coverage over the elections. It’s why athletes make millions of dollars while emergency services people (fireman, police officers, EMT’s, etc.), school teachers, and renowned physicists, engineers, and medical researchers make jack shit.

We’d rather be lulled into a semi-catatonic state watching TV, playing video games, or reading why Paris Hilton’s dog has hair extensions than worrying about the day to day happenings of the world right outside our front door. We have become fat, lazy and complacent with our MTV, fantasy football, and escape from-reality reality tv shows.

PS - the fat chick is Britney Spears....

Part 2 – Why Other Countries are Irritated with us.

I suppose there are many reasons for this, but in my travels it has pretty much come down to two things:

1 – they are jealous of what we have in the U.S. This is minor, but they don’t like our success and they don’t like our politics and the fact that we are THE dominant world power. Take that however you like it.

2 – more importantly, though, is the fact that we are a bunch of fat, lazy, complacent MTV watching assholes that feel our way of life is best and that we have to ram it down everybody else’s throats.

Shift of Power….

Well now that the democrats control both the house and the senate I am sure we can expect some major changes. For the time being I won’t make too much of an effort to discuss the changes as there are a billion other people far better at writing about the political fallout and changes that will be coming.

Still….I have to think that the republicans had to know this was coming. Let’s face it…as much as the democrats alienate their own supporters with their (sometimes) radical ideas, the republicans alienate their supporters by ignoring their feelings. The republicans have had too many problems with the war in Iraq (not that I am against it, but it’s turned into another Vietnam), controlling the media, and addressing the public’s feelings. I think that is what lost them the house and the senate.

A friend of mine email blasted “Christmas Came Early” and linked articles on the republican’s fall from power. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but it’s what the country voted on and now we’ll get to see what happens.

Laptop Lies....People Died....

err....or rather my laptop died. Sort of... but it's been resurrected. A while back a paper clip got jammed up in my vent and it snapped off a blade on the primary cooling fan. So the whole thing vibrated for a while. I guess I could have sold it off as a new marital aide, but I kept working with it as is. But, because the fan was out of balance, it wore the bearings out and the fan seized. So I could only run the laptop for a few minutes at a time before it would start to overheat.

Now, if I were in....say, Texas.... I could have ran down to Fry's and purchased a $5.00 fan to replace it. But, here in Montana there aren't any electronic stores that carry this type of thing. So I had to order the entire $82 heat-sink assembly from HP..... and it took them a few days to get it here. So I was essentially off-line.

Today I fly to CA and will be busy there, but I'll update some stuff on here when I get chance. Sorry 'bout that.