Look! Far to the Right! It's Fake Outrage!!!!!

Ever since the November 2008 elections, the extreme Right Wing Republican machine has been fast in motion cranking out that most bitter of elixirs; sour grapes. Oh how we've been privy to many a scene of fake outrage and the "Socialist" President at the "Not a citizen because he won't show us his birth certificate" President. The so-called Liberal media is his buddy they say. (Really? Because last time I looked it seemed like the media has been ripping the Pres to shreds....but I digress). Recently Caribou Barbie (you know who she is....I won't even give her any attention by saying her name) and one of her hillbilly spawn went to a Yankees game. David Letterman told a joke in his monologue about how Jeter had slept with the oldest of the hillbilly spawn...you know the one that the abistence only speech really worked on. Yeah it was in bad taste, and yeah it really wasn't all that funny, but give me a break. It's a joke. But I forget that White Folk on the extreme right have no sense of humor. Oh wait, yes they do. Racists jokes about the President and watermelons......that's what passes for humor amongst the Redneck Elite. Caribou Barbie got all outraged at Letterman because the daughter he joked about wasn't the one that was at the game. So all of a sudden David Letterman became a "dirty old man who thinks that child rape is funny." WTF bitch???? A. Letterman doesn't write his own jokes anymore. He has writers for that. They got the wrong hillbilly crotchfruit and so the joke didn't work. Don't like those kinds of jokes biatch? Then you shouldn't have paraded your hillbilly clan in front of the country for everyone to see. Hannity and the rest of the mouth breathing dumbasses that speak for the Right all wanted Letterman's head. Hell the man apologized (something I'm pissed off at him for. Dave, you didn't need to apologize for shit. Screw her.) and even Bill O'Really gave him a pass for it. Wow...that's a first. Yet when we have a Repulican Governor from South Carolina jet off to Argentina to bang his little ho down there and tells no one where he's going, do the mouth breathing assholes give him shit? Oh Hell no!!! Not a freaking word. Maybe they mentioned it once, but you don't see any week long specials dedicated to it. Ah the fake outrage. Too afraid to turn it towards their own because they know they are the party of irrelevance right now. Or when a Republican Senator blantantly says that he and others are actively causing hold ups on passing Health Care Reform for the express purpose of "breaking" the President not a single one of the Right wing pundits says shit about that. Hannity isn't outraged at that. Here's a Senator admitting to what I consider a breach of duty at the least and treason at the most but no one says shit. Nice. Liberal media my ass. Now mind you, the other night on TV our President, whom I support, answered a question he should have just taken the fifth on and showed some racial bias. It wasn't his best moment; he was right in his opinion, but he shouldn't have given it. It made him look biased and stirred the mouth breathers and hillbillys and fundies into panty twisting mode. Oh how the Sour Grape Juice has been flowing. All I have to say is keep it up you dumbasses. You are making this middle of the roader lean farther left every day. I feel sorry for the Right...I actually do. They just can't see that they are only hastening their slide into oblivion.

Is it Just me? Part 3

Those that know me and those that read this blog know I have issues with organized religion.  Part of that stems from the fact that I was raised Catholic.  And before you pervs think it was because I was molested by Priests...think again.  The Priests at our Parish were very nice people.  No, my problem with that particular church started when I turned 18 and was told by my Mother that I could make my own decision on whether or not to keep going to church.   I found mass boring, uninspiring and frankly a waste of my time.  I didn't feel any different after communion, nor did I feel any different after going to mass.  It all felt hypocritical to me.   Why should I give crap up for Lent?  Just because Jesus went into the desert for a month so the Devil could tempt him?  That's what he was supposed to do.  Endure crap like that so he could get in touch with Mankind.  Sex only when you're married?  Oh please.  Or the caveat, but if you do have sex even when you are married, you can't use birth control because that's a sin.  I see.  So the church has decided that Humans are like all the other animals in the world and we are only supposed to have sex to make babies.  Got news for you; we enjoy it as well as use it for procreation.  My biggest issue was when I was going through my divorce.  Here was a man who had never been married, who couldn't get married and yet he was supposed to counsel me on the troubles I was having.   The thing they always tell you is "no matter what, Divorce is a sin.."  Whatever.  When your wife is cheating on you, you know it.   So according to the church I'm still married to my ex because I didn't go through their official channels, pay 800 bucks, and sit through a bunch of BS classes all so the church could annul my marriage.  Yeah right.  Look I paid a lawyer 500 bucks and the State of California says I'm no longer married to my ex.  That's good enough for me.  But let's forget all that for now and get to the heart of this installment of "Is it just me?".   This installment is about Christians.  Now let me start by saying that I'm not going to be generalizing here.  Living in one of the Bible Belt States I have friends who are Christians and they do not fall into the category I'm about to speak of.  Those Christians are the overly fanatical ones.  The ones that it seems to me like they have something to prove to someone.   Let's take local businesses for instance.   There's a pool and hot tub place in town who has Scripture on their sign board outside of their business all the time.  I won't shop there, like I won't shop at the nursery that flies the Confederate flag in town.  Why you ask?  Because I don't like when people push their faith on me.   You are in the business of selling pools and spas, not saving my soul.   The only "business" that should have Scripture on their sign is a Church!  That's their business; saving Souls, preaching the Word.   There's also an Auto Mechanic who advertises on TV.  It's he and his Wife and dog and they give their spiel about their business.  When the commercial is almost through the Wife says, "and not only are we here to fix your car, but we are available for Prayer Requests and Fellowship."  WTF???  Who gives a crap.  If I take my car to you to be fixed, I want it fixed.  I don't want you stopping in the middle to go do a "prayer request" or to comfort some fellow soul in need.  No, do your job.   These people just go a bit too far.   It's like they are trying to prove how saved they are or something.  My group of friends out here all go to the same church.  Not once have they tried to preach to me, convert me or even discuss their church in my presence.  Not once.  I'm grateful for this.   Their faith is personal, like it should be.   I also am annoyed by people that say "Have a blessed day!".  I don't want to have a blessed day, Hell sometimes I don't want to have a "Nice" day.   Then there's the folks that have to put the symbols of their faith on everything.  The Jesus Fish on the car, or the Jesus Fish and 3 crosses in the signature line of their Professional Emails.   If I was to put an Oakland Raiders logo in the signature of my professional emails, I'd get fired.  To me the Jesus Fish is the same thing.  It also seems like certain Christians engage in what I consider sacrilegious behavior.   They desperately try and sell their religion.  Market it to the masses.  Stupid T-shirts that parody current trendy things.  An example:  "Got Jesus?" on a T-shirt.  C'mon......Or the ever popular, "WWJD"....which stands for "What Would Jesus Do?".  I'll tell you what he would do, smack the crap out of you for using him as a marketing tool.   There's even Christian Music....Modernized Gospel music basically.  Heck, Christian kids can't even play Guitar Hero without there being a cheap Christian Knockoff.    During Halloween, a holiday the Christians are trying to make go away, they start putting out Biblical Figures costumes.  The "Real Super Heroes" they call them.   What, Christian kids can't read comics now???  Oh no Jr., sorry you can't be SpiderMan for "Fall Fest" you have to be Moses.   It's just a bit much.   Then the wonder why Teens and young adults flee the Church.   It gets to be too much.  Not sure why they feel the need to try and shove the fact they are Christians down everyone's throat?  Why is there this section of Christians that feels the need to constantly prove to the world they are Saved?   They will call it preaching the word.  I call it being an annoying pain in the ass.  I ignore them for the most part, but sometimes I just want to say "I don't want to have a blessed day.  I don't care that you found Jesus, nor do I care that you're saved.  Only God cares about that so go tell it to him."

 

 

Is it just me? Part 2

I think I will make these segments a recurring thing on my blog, kind of like my version of Andy Rooney's bit at the end of every broadcast of 60 Minutes.

Why an ipod? Seriously why? Are they really that superior of a machine? Knowing Apple's track record, probably not. I researched MP3 players once (my StepDaughter was wanting one for Christmas) and I discovered a bazillion of them that were a hell of a lot cheaper than the iPod. They also didn't require you to suck off the teat that is iTunes to download music. No, you could go to any number of reputable, and maybe not so reputable, sites and download music and get it cheaper than at iTunes sometimes. Why this one product? Does it make you cooler? Hipper? More desirable to the opposite sex? I don't get it. Why fork out a huge bundle of cash for something you can get for half the cost that does the same thing.

Game consoles. Why would anyone get an XBox 360 now when you know the history of issues with them. The "Red Ring of Death" comes to mind. Apparently there's a design flaw with the case. The power supply sits too close to the case in some models and it heats up causing the unit to save itself by going into emergency lock mode. ie "The Red Ring of Death". There appears to be no way out of said condition other than to send the unit back to Microsoft for repair or replacement. Honestly, save your cash and get the PS3. But, you're better off getting an HD TV first. Seriously, playing a PS3 (which is a BluRay DVD player as well as a gaming console) on a non-HD TV is like kissing your sister. In my honest and humble opinion (you Mr. Ranter?? Humble????) I'd get a Wii. Yeah I know, "it's a kids game...". Not necessarily. They're alot of fun too. Graphics might not be great but Nintendo wasn't going for graphics. They were going for a new kind of interface which they nailed.

I think that's enough for now. More to come at a later date.

Is it just me?

I guess somewhere along the line I became too practical for my own good.  I guess you can say I'm a cheapskate, or maybe frugal, depending on your point of view.   Is it just me, or does anyone else not really give a shit if your cell phone has a full keyboard and you can run shitloads of apps on it?  The device to me is a phone.  I like the camera on it, and I use mine alot.  The DC vacation pictures I posted here were taken by my cell camera.  I use it to take a picture of the row number where we park when we go out...that way you can always find your car.  If I see something in the store, a book, etc that I like but don't have the cash to buy it right then and there, I take a picture so I remember what it is when I can go buy it.  So that feature is fine by me.  It comes with most phones now and doesn't cost extra.  I like that.  If it did cost extra, then I'd get along without it.  I don't need a calendar function to set up appointments or to surf the net, etc so why do I need a full keyboard on my phone?  I don't have that urgent of a need to get online that I can't wait until I get to work or home or the public library to use a computer.  Besides, who wants to read crap on a 4-6 inch screen anyway?  I know some folks love their blackberry's, iphone's etc because they are busy folks who need access to crap now and want a small portable device.  Great for them, but not for me.  I've noticed that most of the phones coming out now have flip up panels to access the full keyboard.  Sorry, I don't text, and I don't care to text.  Especially because it costs extra.  In the immortal words of Gin Rummy on the "Boondocks" "I could have dialed the number, said what I needed to say and hung up again in the time it took you to type one line with your thumbs."   Have we become a society of non-human interaction?  Do we not want to talk to each other anymore.  You know TALK as in use your vocal chords, tongue, palate, etc to form words so you can get a message across or pass on information to another human being?  Would I text more if it was free?  Probably not.  The damn thing is a phone...it's used for communicating with someone.  The function I would love to have is the walkie talkie function.   I'd be able to push one button and connect to my Wife's phone instantly so I can say hey or give her info or whatever.  That would be handy....but I'm not willing to pay extra for it.  I just don't see unlimited internet, unlimited texting, unlimited downloading of songs, etc on a phone to be worth the money you pay for it.   The only phone on my account that has unlimited texting is my Daughter's.   She's 14 and apparently that's how all 14-17 year olds interact with each other...via words typed with your thumbs.   Yeah I know, I sound like that old guy, but seriously........I love the advances in technology, but I just don't see paying extra to use it.   Take cable for instance.   My old roommate and I used to have Digital Cable.  You had the box with it's own remote, but you couldn't tape one show while watching another unless you were willing to get a switch box.  Now they have DVR's that come with the digital cable boxes that have solved this problem, but back then they didn't have them.   We had a billion channels of crap....literal crap and maybe watched 15 of them...maybe.... One day we were talking and I asked "Do we really need this Digital Cable?  Do we watch any of this crap at all?"  We both agreed that the channels we watched the most you could get by just having extended basic cable.  We ended up getting that and cut our costs in half.  Honestly, why is HBO and Showtime a separate subscription anymore?  Starz, Cinemax as well? (Do those channels even exist anymore?)  HBO and Showtime are now irrelevant when it comes to being "movie channels".   The movie "The Dark Knight" has been out on DVD for rental and sale for a long time now.   HBO is just now showing it.   Wow...ooooo.....if you haven't rented it or bought it by now, then you are just not interested in that kind of movie so why pay a subscription to see it.  HBO and Showtime should just become commercial cable channels like FX, etc.  Sure they have some great series, but there is a time of night where you can show adult content type shows...simulated sex, language, extreme violence....and not have to worry about the censors.  Who watches shows when they air anyway?  Most shows are DVRed or taped (yes I still tape shows.......DVR's aren't something you can just buy in the store, and you have to have a subscription to them monthly....).  On that subject, why don't they just sell DVR's that you can use to just record shows on?  I don't care about pausing live TV or having it suggest shit for me to watch based on my viewing habits, etc.  I just want to cue it up to tape a particular show(s) on particular evenings so I can do other crap with my life but still watch some TV.  Hell I'd buy one of those DVR's.   As it is, I have a VCR that I still use to do one thing: Tape shows so that I can watch them later.    DVR's do that, but they do all kinds of other shit too and because they do you need to not only pay for the DVR, but a monthly subscription to whomever the company is that provides you with the ability to pause live TV, etc.  I just want to tape a damn show......why should I pay a freaking subscription fee to do that?  I may need to go to Target and stock up on blank video tape......it may not be around much longer.   The tech I'd like to have in my house, and when we get our laptop back from being fixed we will probably get it, is a wireless network.  That's actually handy. 

Enough already!!!!

Some may take offense to what I'm about to say, but I honestly don't give a shit at this juncture. People die all the time. It is a sad and tragic thing, but it happens. Those that were close to the person or were close to that person's family are usually the one's to grieve. Other folks may nod and say sorry for your loss, but it's usually out of polite consideration for that person's sadness at their loss. The point of all this you may ask? The point is this; I am so sick of the constant reporting about Michael Jackson and Steve McNair that I'm getting to the point where I can say, I don't give a shit. Michael Jackson went form a talented, young black man to a freaky, white woman. Somewhere along his journey something snapped in his head and he became a freak. When the man died, his Family came out of the woodwork all sad and upset. Yeah right. The only one's that stuck up for him at anytime I can remember were Janet, Jermaine and Tito. The rest of them could give two shits. Yes, like I've mentioned before, someone dying is a tragedy. But constantly reporting about it, over and over again in the news is too much. Joe Jackson decided that he hadn't been making enough money off of his children that he used to abuse, so he rented out the Staples Center in LA and had a Memorial Service for his son that he "misses so much". Sure you do Joe. Sure you do. Apparently all of these music types showed up to perform. They all claimed they were going to do a duet with him on his tour, etc etc. Hell Mirah Carey is apologizing because her performance wasn't up to snuff. Ummm hello Attention Whore, who gives a shit. It wasn't about you dumbass. Madonna was there plus a whole shitload of folks who probably met the man once or twice in passing and who could honestly not give two shits about this guy. Oh yeah, you dear reader could have also gone down there to see the Memorial. For the price of plane fare and whatever Joe Jackson was going to charge you to get in, you could have gone too. A shit load of people apparently went. Why???? Seriously, why? So you bought his records and listened to his music. You didn't know the man and you probably hadn't even thought of the guy in the past decade yet all of a sudden "you miss him sooooo much". Give me a break please. Where's all the hoopla for Farrah Fawcett? Billy Mays? David Carradine? Ed McMahon? Karl Malden? Where are their "Memorials"? They contributed just as much to the entertainment world as Michael Jackson did, yet their passing was a mere footnote. We should be ashamed of ourselves. What about the 4,000 plus soldiers that have died since the "war on terror" has begun? Where is their Memorial? Where is their news story? We Humans are a disgusting lot sometimes.

Another person who's death has caused such hype, at least around here, is Steve McNair. Again, this will offend some but I don't give a shit. I am not moved or saddened by Steve McNair's death. Not in the slightest. Want to know why? His was the most avoidable death ever. That's right, if good old Steve-O....the great humanitarian who loved kids and paid for football camps for underprivileged youth out of his own pocket....would have kept little Steve-O in his pants and brought it home to where it belonged; his Wife, then Steve would be alive today and we wouldn't have a Memorial service for him. Steve McNair, for those that don't know, was found dead on the 4th of July in an apartment he and a roommate rented next to the dead body of a woman who was not his wife. Yep, the Man that was so great with kids the apparent good guy who has 4 sons of his own and a loving wife was killed by his 20 year old mistress who then proceeded to shoot herself in such a manner that when she died her body would be lying on his. Any respect I ever had for the man and his accomplishments has become disgust at this situation. Seriously guys, take this as a lesson. Cheating never pays off in the end. Word for the ladies, because this is something that is portrayed on television and in the news, do you ladies honestly think that taking a man from his Wife and Family is going to make for a stable relationship? Seriously, do you honestly think that when he says "I'm going to divorce my wife for you" that he is actually going to do it? 9 times out of 10 he doesn't. Even if he does, what makes you honestly think he's not going to dump you for someone younger? I mean after all he dumped his Wife for you....what makes you any better than any other woman out there? Ladies, have more respect for yourselves than that. Stay away from married guys. No one will think you are great because you helped wreck a marriage. No, folks will think you are a manipulative whore. The people I feel sorry for in this situation are his Widow and Kids. These boys, who from all reports thought Dad was a hero, now have to hear and see evidence of Dad's infidelities with a Dave and Buster's waitress. The same place that Steve would take his Family on occasion. Wonder if bimbo was working there during those times? That disgusts me even more right there. So hate on me all you want my fellow Nashvillians, but know that the man you "honor" doesn't deserve that honor. Know that the man you "miss" so much you didn't have to miss because he shouldn't have been where he ended up with whom he ended up with.

Now let's put these deceased folks in the ground and move on. Enough already!!!!

DC Vacation

We just got back from our Vacation the Nation's Capitol. Wow, what a place. The sheer history alone will awe you, no matter what your political bent is. That's a good suggestion to start with when visiting the Captiol; leave your politics at home. There's more to DC than Politics. If you're going, I suggest staying at a hotel in the outlying areas that is close to a Metro Station. For those that don't know what the Metro is, think a Subway. For my Bay Areans back home think Bart. It is by far the most stress free way of getting into that town to sight see. I also suggest getting a 2 day pass for one of the many sightseeing busses that cruise through town. You won't regret it. We hopped on the City Sightseeing bus http://www.city-sightseeing.com/ (I liked them so much I will put their website url up in this post) and we didn't regret our decision. A two day pass for 3 people was 70-something dollars. This included a night tour. The beauty of these busses, besides being open topped double deckers, is that you can get on and off as many times and for as long as you want at each stop. You do not have to get back on the same bus, just one of that companies busses that comes along every 15 minutes. The stops are all at or near places you want to go anyway. I also suggest doing some research ahead of time. We bought a couple of really cool travel books at the bookstore. One broke the City down into sections, and each sections write up was two pages long. Included in that section was a flip up map of the area. Very handy. Also each book comes with a Metro map in the front...again vary handy. One thing you should be prepared for is high security at all the museums, etc. And please folks, don't bitch and moan about the crap security asks you to do. The one time someone doesn't check something is the one time something happens. These folks are just doing their jobs, don't give them shit. I highly suggest the Holocaust Museum. That place will get you. Also I might add that anyone who thinks that the Holocaust didn't happen needs to remove themselves from the Gene Pool. I loved the Museum of Natural History but I ran into someone outside that I really wanted to smack. There was a chunk of iron ore dated back to 22 million years ago. Some guy with his sons was reading it to them and he said..."22 mllion years, or 7000 depends on what you're buying." Freaking Creationist!!! I literally wanted to smack the guy and say "if you don't believe any of this is true then what the Hell are you doing going into the museum." I ignored the ingnoramous and we walked in. Holy Crap that place was huge!!!! You could seriously spend a week in that place. Here's a pic of one of the halls:



Huge isn't it? There was a very cool temporary exhibit going on that was a Butterfly tunnel. You went in this room that was filled with flowers and there were butterflies of every kind, color, etc flitting around. They'd land on you and the curators had to check you on the way out to make sure you didn't carry any hitchhiking butterflies. We tried to get to the American History museum but ran out of time.

The memorials are very moving. I only got to see Abe and the Korean War Memorial and the WWII one from the bus. Here are some shots:







Abe is 19 feet tall an along the side walls are the complete Gettysburg Address. The figures in the Korean War Memorial are lifesize and the detail is amazing.

I suggest trying to see all the Memorials. You may not agree with the decision to go to War, but you have to honor those men and women that gave their lives so we can be the Nation we are.

Also try and see all the Smitsonian Museums. They are free, and the artifacts in them are amazing.

My favorite was the Air and Space Museum. I got to see the Spirit of St. Louis, a Predator Drone, one of the Lunar Landers, several space capsules and the Wright Bros plane......very impressive.....here's some shots.







Didn't get the Wright Bros plane as my phone camera doesn't have flash. The Wife got some good shots though.

We tried to get into the Capital but some Jackhole left an unattended package and they had to treat it like a security breach. Especially since Congress is in session.

There is so much to do and you need several weeks to do it in. It was really a good trip and we were exhausted when we got back to the Hotel.

Good News and a bunch of Sad News.

The good news is that Bernie Madoff is going to be in prison for 150 years. It may be Club Fed, but it's still prison. Also his petty Wife who claims that 90 mil of their holdings was hers has basically had everything sold out from underneath her and left with a "measly" 2.5 million. Poor wittle baby....I guess you're going to have to learn to live off of 2.5 mil. Sorry bitch.

Now for the bad news. We've had some great entertainers die recently and our arts are surely lacking for their loss. First off there was Ed "Yes!!" McMahan. He put the Yes into Yes Man. He was the worlds most famous SideKick. Poor Farrah lost he battle with cancer and has gone off to a better place now. I remember the famous Farrah poster well...I should, I had one hanging on the wall next to my bed as a Teen boy. Little did Mom realize it was legal Porn for us teen boys. Then we lost Michael Jackson. Say what you will, and I've said my share believe me, before he turned into a White Transvestite he was a talented Man. Something along the way snapped and that Man never reemerged. Today I read that we lost a amazing salesman in Billy "Oxiclean" Mays. WTF????? I've been watching his show "Pitchmen" with fellow salesguy Anthony Sullivan lately and it's a great show. Wow!!! We also lost David Carridine earlier so that's 5.....one more I guess....you know how they say they die in 3's. RIP all....you will be missed.

How does this happen?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/09/BAM8183KNR.DTL&tsp=1

Another moronic parent has killed their infant child by "forgetting" them in their car. How the Hell does this happen? It's a freaking child Asshat, not a cellphone or your lunch. According to the article over 40+ kids have died from a parent forgetting they were in the car. I see the crap my oldest Daughter has to bring with her when she brings the kids over to visit. Diaper bag, the 5 year old's cars and toys, the baby's toys, etc. She is very aware her children are in the car with her. It's unexcusable. The article gives some tips on how not to forget your kid's in the car. What???? Here's a tip asshole; YOUR KID IS IN THE FREAKING CAR....YOU KNOW A LIVING HUMAN BEING THAT YOU PHYSICALLY PUT IN A CAR SEAT IN YOUR CAR AND BUCKLED IN!!! If you can't remember that, then your children need to be taken away and you need to be sterilized. This dumbass normally takes his kid to daycare before going to the BART station to catch a train to work. Apparently this one time he forgets!?!?!?!? The article quotes some "expert" who says "One little deviation from your daily routine can be just enough of a distraction that you forget the child." Bullshit! With the price of Daycare the way it is, you are going to remember to haul your kid there. Here's a little hint folks; just because you can make children doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Update: Saturday we had GrandDaughter duty. She's 9 moths old. The Wife and I were acutely aware of her being strapped into her car seat in our back seat. Even when she was sleeping we'd check on her. So I still don't have any clue other than Munchausen Syndrome how this could happen.

California: The Education is for the Wealthy State

I should also add California: The Let's make the cop's job even harder State. Please read The Supergoober's Blog, The Discourser's Blog and The Warden's Blog regarding the sorry State of Politics in the about to be bankrupt State of California. Isn't it funny, when there's no cash the first places they take it from are Education and Law Enforcement. I miss the sights and I miss the GoG, but I don't miss California Politics. Needless to say I'm as pissed off as the guys are.

June 6th, 1944

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Battle+of+Normandy

Amidst all the whining and bitching heard in the MSM lately, I neglected to hear anything about the fact that Saturday was the 65th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles in World War II. So remember those vets of the Great War who are dwindling in number as the years advance. I read somewhere that very soon there will be no more living Vets of WWII. So if you have a relative or aquaintance that was in that war, please visit them. Talk to them about their experiences because very soon that generation will have all gone away.

Racism

Supergoober brought up a good point on the GoG's private yahoo group today about Racism.  For those that don't know, the GoG is made up of a diverse group of races that is a demographic slice of the SF Bay Area.  Seriously it is.  The group is made up of Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Latino, Celts and Italians.   The Group also has Catholics, Jews and other religions that I'm probably not aware of.  (Honestly with the GoG, Religion is a mute point as it's a subject that is rarely discussed and everyone's differences are respected.)  Yet in that Group of Immigrants (there's no one in that group who's ancestors came over on the Mayflower.) The Celts, Pols and Italians would be considered "White" and treated differently than say the Asians or Latinos.   Why?  The media, the mouth breathing "pundits", etc.   I've discussed this before, every Stereotype has a bit of truth to it.  I'm one of the Italians in the group.  My people are loud, we talk with our hands, we are touchy feely and tend to have no concept of personal space.  We pepper our dialogue with Italian sayings (case in point, from being around my relatives and Family all my life I, like other Italians, say the term "Madon" when someone or something makes one shake one's head.  Or when someone frustrates you.  The actual term is "Madonna Mia".  Something on TV last night made me say that and my Daughter said "why do you say that all the time?") and when we are together we get "very Italian".   I know, you are thinking "The Godfather" and "The Sopranos" right now aren't you?  Those stereotypes are true.  Am I offended by them?  Hell no.  The point of this discussion was prompted by Supergoober's response to Rush Limburger calling Justice Sotomayer a "racist".   Wow.  Hello Mr. Kettle, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Pot.  Her statement was from 2002 when she said that (and I'm paraphrasing here) that "as a Latina she would have a better perspective on the situation than a privileged White Person."   I'm guessing the case was a case of a minority being further undermined by the law or something.   In that case, it wasn't a racist statement.  When offering opinions on laws, I firmly believe the Supreme Court Justices should first ask themselves "Who is this law benefiting?".   In a case like the aforementioned one, if it was about a minority, then yes Sotomayer as a Latina who had to work her way up from the bottom and who was able to attend Law School on Scholarships would have a better understanding of what an underprivileged Minority has to go through every day.   A WASP born into buttloads of cash who has never had to want at any time in their lives doesn't understand shit about being Poor, or a Minority.  Hell they don't even understand what it is to be White and Middle Class.  People claim there's a "double standard".  If a White Man said something similar to what Sotomayer said he'd be branded a racist and would have resigned his nomination.   As well he should.  I hate to say this White Folks, but your racist, in charge of everything asses have had this coming a long time now.   Those of you born into money with no freaking clue as to what those who have to work for a living have to go through every day are in for a big shock too.  Supergoober's comparison was this:  Take White people hating all Filipinos and then compare that to Filipinos hating all White people.  There are more Whites in this country (hell I think they are all here in Tennessee but I digress....) than Filipinos.  If there was a "battle" who do you think would win?  This was his question.  His point was that the White Hatred towards the Filipinos is more dangerous and detrimental to that Racial Group than the Filipino hatred (and yes he commented on the lowercase h..) towards the Whites.  Why you ask?  Isn't it the same thing?  Isn't hatred hatred?  In a sense it's the same thing, but only in the fact that the hate is an emotional response to actions from the other group.  That's it.  Whites have the power in this Country (even with a Black President, it's still a mostly White Congress and House.....).  Most CEO's of the big Powerful Corporations are White Males.  Money talks, and the Whites have most of it.  If a powerful and wealthy White man wanted to, with a little expenditure of cash he could make it so Filipinos are considered second class citizens.   That's SG's point.  We Humans tend to hate what's different than ourselves.   White folks have been Xenophobic for Decades now, and not much has changed.   What is changing is the old generations that accepted the "N" word as no big deal, who actually used it often and in polite company, are dying off and becoming irrelevant.  Funny how most of them are die hard Republicans...hee hee...  I saw a report that said there is an increase in the amount of interracial people in this Country.  I've always said, one day we will all be the same freaking color and be able to trace our ancestry to several different racial backgrounds.    With the generations that are coming of age (i.e. younger than me...) and their attitudes towards things, I'm not surprised in the slightest. 

NAFL......who's that?????

It seems that back in 1996 some people didn't get the hint about Spring/Summer Football being a bad thing.  Remember way back when in the 80's when we had the USFL, the United States Football League.  Such memorable teams as the Oakland Invaders (the Raiders had just moved to LA and this was the replacement team but not an NFL team).  It failed miserably because they were playing during the midst of Baseball season.  Well apparently in 1996 an amateur Football league was put together called the North American Football League and they have been playing ever since and they have 71 teams!?!?!?!?!?!?  If it hadn't been for a recent commercial on TV for the Nashville Storm....which made me pause and say "who the Hell is the Nashville Storm????"....I never would have heard of this league.   If you look at the Wikipedia entry, apparently there will be massive expansion in the league next year with Sacto, San Jose, SF, Stockton, and other Cali cities getting teams.   Has anyone even seen one of their games?  Are these guys popular or even have a following?   You would think they would have gotten the hint after the demise of the XFL....c'mon who didn't see that coming.  It was a "Football" league created by Vince "WWE" McMahon.  Hell they had the same announcers for the Wrestling matches calling the play by play on the game.  Apparently during the mandatory TV time outs, the "Cheerleaders" put on a show akin to a striptease.  Note on TV Time out:  Pro Football is a TV sport.  Every game is televised and shown somewhere in the Country.  That's why there are very few games and they are played on one day, sometimes two, only.  Watching the game live it's very odd because when the networks switch to commercial, play on the field stops.   The live game you are sitting and watching in the stadium actually stops for what is called a TV Timeout.  Now back to the Rant.  The XFL died after only one season.   They made such a huge deal out of it too, but it was not to be.   Then we got the AFL or Arena Football League.  Played indoors on a half sized field it was more action packed and higher scoring.  It also has been steadily losing enthusiasm since day one.  Our team out here in Nashville was sold twice.  Apparently the Predators Hockey team didn't like to share the Sommnet Center.  The AFL team owners decided to cancel the 2009 season to reassess the business model of the league and try and find out why it's not popular.    Gee, I can tell you why.  See USFL, XFL, etc.  Hell see professional LaCrosse and the funniest one of all, professional Roller Hockey.  Oh yes, there was once a team called the Oakland Rhinos.   The one that got me was when the NHL was expanding to areas of the world without snow: San Jose, Phoenix, LA., there was a league trying to compete called the IHL.  There was a SF team called the Spiders and they played in the Cow Palace.  Oh yeah, they were doomed from the start.  The Cow Palace is in one of the most Ghetto areas of SF to begin with.  Put it this way, the KFC near the Cow Palace has a huge lexan wall with tray slots and speakers and this is INSIDE the restaurant.   If a fast food restaurant has to take your orders and serve you through bullet proof glass then it's a Ghetto.  The other reason they were doomed is because the Cow Palace is an ancient facility.  If you've never seen a concert there, don't.  I don't care who it is.  In High School I saw my share of concerts there and the acoustics are horrible.  I know what you're thinking, but no.  I didn't go to concerts to get high or drunk, I actually went to hear the music and see the band play.  I know, GEEK....whatever.  My brain cells will die off naturally over time and not because of some funny green leaf that makes you stupid.  Maybe this amateur league will survive because no one knows about it.  I guess obscurity is better than hype.

How Not to be a Mom

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/index?blogid=46

I should know better than to check out the "Mommy Files" blog on SF Gate. I've written about Amy Graff before and how she is essentially clueless. She is a wealthy white woman who's husband makes a great living so she has time to get paid to blog and write articles. She has a daughter named Paris....that should be a sign right there, and a son. Apparently she has coddled and sheltered her Precious little Snowflakes to the point of them being afraid of their own shadows. This is the lady who on advice from a friend stopped her family from using shampoo because your hair's natural oils keep it clean........oh and because baby shampoo can give your kids cancer.....like I said before, if that was the case, every single person on this planet born in the 60's on would have cancer.....dumbass!! These people think because they have given birth, they are instant experts on child rearing. Her latest post asks the questions "Were your kids as scared of Pixar's Up as mine were?" WTF???? Apparently there are some big dog characters in the movie who go chasing after a bird. Well since her snowflakes got pushed down by a big dog a few weeks ago it's now the most traumatic thing EVER!!!!! These kids, 6 and 4 are so afraid of these computer generated, cartoony dogs that they cower under Mommies skirts to the point she has to leave the theater. Holy crap Lady!!! Do you not know that you have to help your children get over their fears? She admits she didn't research the movie ahead of time but seems to blame Pixar for making a child inappropriate movie. Ummmm....okay...it's for Kids and I believe it's rated G!!!! Tell you what Lady, just plop your kids down in front of swirling colored lights okay.....that shouldn't be too scary. Or have them watch Veggie Tales...oh wait, that might scare them because they are talking, Christian vegetables......talking Veggies can be traumatic. It sounds like I'm being a bit harsh but this Lady really pisses me off. Why you ask? Because she is supposedly some kind of "expert" and gives advice on a Moms Blog that poor, lost Mother's go to for expert advice. This Lady has more money than sense and seems to want some kind of award for giving birth. Read her blog if only for the laugh it will give you....you will laugh as you read her "advice" because you won't believe some of the crap she says. I bet she carries an industrial sized bottle of Purell in her purse. Just saying.

Update: Hee hee...apparently I'm not the only person who thinks her kids are coddled, wimps.....the comments to her latest blog post are full of people telling her what a moron she is or what wimpy kids she has. You'd think this Lady would have gotten a clue that it's a Pixar movie rated PG...that should tell you right there not for 4 and 6 year olds......

Promised an entry yesterday...

Sorry about that.  Forgot it was my day off.  Anyway, this is my usual rant about inconsiderate/moronic parents.  I've been running into a lot of these people lately and it makes me wonder who is training these people how to parent?  The first couple I will rant about are in my Daughter's Karate class.  They have two small boys, the oldest looks about 8 and the youngest is about 5.  The kids are members of the Studio too, but apparently take class at a different time than Mom and Dad.  They bring these two kids to their class because they are apparently too damn cheap to get a sitter; yet they can pay for Karate class for 4 people.....these two kids are going to do what two young boys will do when told to sit in one place...fidget.  Fidget, be loud, be distracting to the point where one of the instructors in the class is always having to go tell them to knock it off.  Every once in awhile Mom and or Dad will say something.  Let's just say, I'm not a big fan of these people.  For starters, they aren't the friendliest people around.  The woman has a permanent scowl on her face and she has that stern librarian look.  She's not an ugly woman, but her aura would make any man run away.  Dad is the stereotype of a Yuppy.  Short, skinny, pale, red hair and never a smile on his face either.  She looks like she'd be at home in a corset, high heel leather boots and carrying a whip.  He looks like he'd be at home in a full body leather suit.  Hey, they just give off that vibe.  They also give off SNOB.....they act like they are better than everyone else.  Thus the lack of babysitter.  They're little snowflakes are so precious and shouldn't have to be babysat.   I'm not the only one it pisses off either.  I can see several of the parents sitting watching their kids giving this couple the hairy eyeball.  Even some of the younger kids in the class get upset.  It's quite distracting.  I personally think the studio should have a separate area with videos and video games to keep the munchkins busy, but hey it's not my studio and really it's up to these parents to be considerate.  The other night, Cat and I got some time to ourselves and went to see the new X-Men move....freaking awesome BTW but I digress....in walks this young 20-something couple with a baby!?!?!?  C'mon you dumbasses....seriously???  I will say, however, this kid didn't make a peep the whole time.  But, usually they do, and you can't expect an infant to handle sitting through a 2 hour movie.  Look, when you have kids, you give shit up.  Rent the damn thing.  It will be on DVD soon enough.   Another type that gets me is she of the over fertile loins.  You know, the woman that thinks her uterus is a clown car......let's see how many we can push out of there.....   This world is over crowded as it is, and we don't need you having 6 freaking kids.  Saw this one woman in Kroger......6 kids all ranging in age from 10 ish to newborn.  She didn't look a day over 35-40.   WTF lady?  I think, personally, three is plenty.   Hell, one or two is ideal.   Do you not consider the following things before you choose not to get your tubes tied, his tube snipped, or use some form of contraception:  A. The cost of raising that many people.  Yes it's cheaper to live in Tennessee than it is to live in say the Bay Area, but still.  Raising kids costs money....lots of it.  B. With that many kids, the quality of attention and education Mom/Dad gives them decreases.  Seriously, think about it.  I have two Grandkids.  I have to work at giving them equal attention.  The boy is 5 and the girl is 8 months old.   I manage, but I think about having 6 of them.  Holy Crap that's just nuts.  C. The drain on your body and the strain it puts on your marriage.   I love my Daughter, but I'm glad when it's just Cat and I.  The other two are grown and live on their own, and we will miss Liv when she goes off to college but we will be glad for the lack of teenage girl drama in our home.   The other moronic parents I wish to rant about are the one's that just don't give a shit.  You know the ones.  They come into a store with their kids and the kids run rampant.  They go to the toy aisle, take every single toy off the shelf and play with it (they of course forget to put them back, they even take them out of the boxes, etc).   Mom (it's usually just Mom) doesn't care.  They are out of her hair so she can shop so what if they destroy the store and ruin the inventory.  See entitled pain in the ass lady...this is why stores have to raise their prices so much; because of your dumbass.   Our laptop is being repaired and lately Cat and I resort to the local library for our computer use.   Lately we have seen the mom that doesn't give a shit in there.  A lot!!!  I seriously think it's time for population control in this country.  2-3 kids max, mandatory parenting classes, and I get to legally beat the shit out of you if you annoy me with your Precious little snowflakes.  

Urban Jungle in My Front Yard

You will notice that every once in a Blue Moon (better than a Blue Bolt...just saying) my entries aren't always me Ranting and raving about the daily stupidity I'm subjected to.  I have a good one for tomorrow about Parents who think their Precious Little Snowflakes are entitled to be with them everywhere and said Snowflakes are constantly annoying the Hell out of everyone around them.  But that's for tomorrow.  The Wife and I have been actually making headway on the landscaping projects around the house (on those precious few days when it's not FREAKING RAINING!!!!) and not only does it look good, it gives you that sense of accomplishment.   NO, the pond is still not dug yet....that's coming though.   When we moved in, there were two huge sets of juniper bushes....the Perfect Line knows these well as a whole sea of them was planted outside his house he once owned in Cali.....we are talking huge, sprawled out, and hiding the house.   One set was in front of the Step-Daughter's room and the other in front of the Front Porch.  Cat lopped them as best she could then I took my trusty chainsaw to them and got them down to stumps as low down as I could go.   Well recently we've decided to remove said stumps and landscape the area.  When the bushes were removed, it was like I had a new house!  It actually made the house look bigger.  Apparently the moron that lived there before us...probably several morons ago...liked to plant huge, bush like things right against the freaking outside walls of the house.  Why do people do this?  It closes your house in and makes it look smaller.   Anyway, back to the stumps.   Unless you have a tractor with a strong chain, might I suggest not trying to remove stumps with a shovel and pick axe.  It takes a long time and we had 6 total to remove.  Holy Crap!!!  What a pain in the ass that was.  We decided for the space in front of the porch to plant some Hostas and some small bushes...ones that only get 3 foot high and about that wide.  We got some Soft Touch Hollies.  They grow in a dome shape and stay compact.  Nice looking stuff.  The Hostas are nice too.  Basically large leafed, flowering ground cover that will spread over time.  We got rid of all the bricks surrounding the flower beds and bought some landscape timbers....they are cheap at Lowes, about 1.69 a piece.  We put a barrier of timbers, two high, around the bed.  Drilled a hole and drove them into the ground using these HUGE galvanized nails we found for about .70 a piece....basically foot and a half long nails.  Looks good and holds well.  Before we put the timbers down we rolled out landscape fabric to keep the weeds out and cut holes in it to access the soil below for planting.   On top of that went red mulch.  It looks nice.  In place of the other Junipers we took out, we put two Hollies that grow in a column shape and only get about 4 inch diameter and about 5 foot tall.  One on either side of Liv's window.  The rest of that area is going to become a courtyard/patio.  We have stacks of flagstone from my In-Laws house and plan on using those.   When we bought the house, I made a point to get several bird feeders because to me a yard full of wildlife makes your property seem alive.   Some houses you see are sterile looking and manicured to the point of looking fake.  You hear no birds or insects, heck even the neighborhood cats avoid it.  So far in the 4 years I've lived there I've seen so many different species of bird it's amazing.  Finches of all kinds, even Gold Finches.  Red Headed Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Mockingbirds and Robins.  Said Robin Family decided to build a nest in our carport this year.....and it's hysterical to see little tiny Robins flying around our yard.  Apparently our new landscaping is popular with the Wildlife.   Little side note here so you understand the following section.  I've told you of our Diva Kitty Panther, AKA the Paw of Doom or Fish Slayer.  She is a Japanese Bobtail who likes to fetch, is grumpy and growls like a dog when the doorbell rings or she sees or hears something she doesn't like.  She's quite the tough cat.   The other night it was warm enough to have the windows open and Panther was sitting on the sill looking out on the front porch when she started to growl.....deep growl.  I went over to see what was pissing her off, and there on the porch cringing away from Fish Slayer: The Paw of Doom was a good sized Raccoon.  He proceeded to run off....probably lured to our yard by the new landscape.  The next day I saw a grey squirrel with a walnut the size of it's head in it's mouth digging in our new landscaping.  He dug in one place, encountered landscape fabric, dug in another with the same result, then belly crawled his way under one of our biggest Hostas to bury his treasure for wintertime.  It was rather funny to see this furry tail sticking out from under the Hosta......

Hello and Welcome to Post 400

Wow, 400 posts. 400 times I've ranted about either: Republicans, Pharmcos, Teenagers, RedNeck Hicks, morons that can't drive and ambush style, guilt ridden advertising. Speaking of which, does all that Spam really work? I'm not talking about the mechanically separated chicken and "meat" goodness that comes in many varieties in a can....and yes, dammit it's goodness....nummy, deliciousness.., no I'm talking about the scourge of our inboxes, and mailboxes. That Spam. The Spam in our mailboxes is annoying because if you aren't careful (and I'm talking about physical mailboxes now...you know USPO stuff) and look through it you may just throw out a utility bill or something important. Other than that little issue, you can usually take care of it by dropping it in the trash. Unless, of course, there are coupons in it. Look, if you are going to advertise to me, give me a reward for sitting through your stupid ad. I don't care how many trained monkies they have working on Madison Ave, ads are all the same really. Our shit is better than their shit.....buy ours because it will make you, taller, thinner, longer, stronger, sexier, prettier, etc etc. Coupons are great because it makes me want to go try your product (I love when they give you a coupon for a free one so you can try it). If I don't like it, then I didn't spend much or nothing at all. If I like it, then I just may buy it in the future depending on the following criteria: A. Is the price right? My Step-Daughter swears by Garnier Fructis...she pleased with the way her hair turns out so we buy it for her. It's usually on sale/and or discounted somehow. Even when it's not, the price is comparable to other products. Me, I buy Kroger brand shampoo/conditioner combined. It's cheaper than Pert or Suave or any of the others, and when you have a hairline like I do, there's not much hair to wash. B. Is there something in the product that isn't in the others that makes it worth the extra money? Does it taste better? Sometimes brand name stuff tastes better than non-brand name, but other times, it's pretty much the same. Take Kroger brand Coffee. It's as tasty as Maxwell House, Folgers, etc and usually cheaper. Kroger brand Diet Soda just as good. Take Gilette razors for example. They have about 500 different handle schemes with color coordinated lubricating strips to go with the handles scheme you are buying. They charge for replacement blades according to the popularity of that particular scheme. The original 3 bladed razor's replacements cost less than the Mach 3 Turbo vibrating handle ones do. Guess what? Other than the colors on the blades, they are the same damn thing. I buy store brand disposables or schick. I know Wayfarer....double blade safety razor...I've looked and can't find one at Target. I will keep looking. TV and mail advertising I don't mind so much as there are restrictions on what they can claim and say. Spam on the other hand has no such restrictions apparently. I really wonder if this crap honestly gets folks to buy the products they are schleping. These are some of the ones that I get: Sue get out of debt now. Sue I will save you from Foreclosure. WalMart gift card claim center. Let's meet for sex tonight. I can do freaky things. Prize claim #123456789. Get bigger breasts now. Enlarge your penis. Those are the ones you can read. The others are like some alien language, i.e. pornbankgamblingsexmoney Hey cheap Viagra. Or my favorite: breast bigger enlargment now all natural herbal pill enlarge size breast now cheap med

WTF???? Is that a language? Sue??? Where the Hell did they get Sue from? You can't even get my name right when you are sendimg me this crap and yet you want me to buy your services. You can't get a simple thing like my Sex right but you can get me out of debt. Yeah right. Why are you going to save me from Foreclosure; I'm not in Foreclosure. How did I get a Walmart Gift Card? Who bought one for me, and why do I have to go to a website to claim it? If someone is buying me a gift card, they usually give it to me in person or mail it to me. They don't send me an email saying Get WalMart card refernce code 123456... Let's meet for sex? Number one I'm married, happily I might ad. The Spam ad has a womans name in it...."Hi I'm Cindy I saw your personal ad on xxxxx.xxx site and I love it...let's hook up!" and the sender is Ramone123@aol.com. Number two, I didn't fill out an ad on xxxx.xxx so not sure who's ad you were looking at, but it wasn't mind. Why is Ramone123@aol.com sending me email saying he wants me for sex tonight. Sorry Ramone/Cindy not interested, and I don't care how freaky of things you can do. Go away. Now. Get bigger breasts now. I'm working on getting rid of my Moobs than you very much. Now mind you, I wouldn't mind being "hung" but I'm not paying some Jackass in a warehouse in Mexico to ship me some "capsules" filled with powedered whatever. Sorry, don't care. It makes me wonder at the intelligence of anyone who falls for this crap.

Generation Waaahhh!!!!

I expect a certain amount of whining from teenage girls because of the hormonal nature of being a adolescent female in today's world.  Seriously, the hair, the clothes, the Dudes....it's all big Drama and stress for nothing really...... Now how do I know this?  No you Pervs I'm not one of THOSE guys...what I am is the Step-Dad of a 14 year old girl.   My point?  Well it has to do with my dealings with some of my Step-Daughter's friends and "boyfriends" and also some of the doofuses that post and play at the field I play Airsoft on.  Here's my take on what I call "Generation Waaahh!" and the future I fear for me in my old age.

 

Generation Waah is the generation that grew up with parents who parented by whatever scare tactic TV threw at them.  These kids had to wear a bike helmet to ride bikes, and had parents who hovered in the background, full First Aid Kit at the ready and armed with a jumbo sized bottle of Purell.  They did this because our increasing Nanny State Country decided that it was best for "the children".  I'll tell you what's best for "the children".....let them be freaking Children!!!!!  Generation Waah has never been told no, has never had a wooden spoon broken across their ass, has been grounded but it meant nothing, has never had to sit in the dark and finish their meal because food shouldn't go to waste, has never had their mouth washed out with soap for cussing, etc etc.  No they've been given "Time Out".  Go sit on your special little brightly painted "Time Out" bench (even the bench for punishment is cutesy......!?!?!?!?).  Sure they were grounded and sent to their rooms; their rooms with a computer, video games and their Cell Phones.  Some punishment..... They were never spanked because that was "violent and abusive".  Really?  I know my Dad cracked us across the ass with his belt ONCE....and if we ever screwed up enough to require a repeat performance, all he had to do was touch his belt buckle and we straightened our asses out;  Real Quick!!!  You ate what was put in front of you at dinnertime.  If you didn't like it, the rule at our house was "at least try a bite.  If you still don't like it then you don't have to eat it."  Sounds fair to me, and it was.  If we wanted something REALLY bad and Mom/Dad didn't agree with it; we wer told NO......sure we'd whine and plead but we were told "keep it up and you won't get anything ever..."  We accepted the no decision and moved on.  We were also told "if you really want it, start saving your allowance for it."  Wow....what a concept....you saved the money you earned doing chores and then got to buy what you wanted with it.  Even if it took forever to accumulate enough fundage to purchase said item.  Our folks didn't do battle with other folks in the stores or pay exorbitant prices for some stupid toy from someone selling them out of their car.  If there were no more Toy XYZs left, we didn't get it.  Sure we threw a fit, but our parents would just let us sit there in the middle of the store making fools of ourselves, then cracked us in the ass for embarrassing them afterwards.  I know some of you may think I'm condoning child abuse, but a spank on the ass is not child abuse.  Especially when there is a good reason for it.  The child grows up learning what is considered polite social behavior and what isn't.  This generation plays sports where "everyone's a winner!!!!"  What's the point?  In a contest of wills/skills there is a winner and a loser; always.  It's how life works.  The Coyote chases the Rabbit....sometimes the Rabbit gets away and the Coyote goes hungry or sometimes the Coyote catches the Rabbit and the Rabbit becomes sustenance for the Coyote to live one more day.  Sometimes you get the job, and other times someone else gets it.  You get used to it, that's how the world works.  Generation Waah doesn't know this.  The "Team that was successful more times than the others" (God forbid we call them the Winners) gets the main trophy while the other teams that weren't as successful (you know, the Losers) get Participation trophies.  Thanks for showing up.....hey look Mom!  We got a trophy for mediocrity!!!!!!! Yay!!!  We are professional Sheep now.  I remember when I was playing Baseball as a kid.  You got to at least play one inning......they figured your folks are paying for the uniform, etc Jr might as well get to get it dirty for doing something other than warming the bench.  Yes, I was that kid.  I sucked at baseball.  Did I cry about it?  Did my parents get so outraged they went to the news media and wrote their Congressman and tried to get the rules changed just for little Ranter Boy????  Hell no.  My folks said try harder or quit; it was my option and they were prepared to support either decision completely.  I opted to quit as it wasn't really that important to me.  It was Win Win all around.  The team lost a player who really wasn't interested in getting any better and I didn't have to waste my time going to practice or waste my folks money on fees every year.  Do I regret it?  Hell no.  I wasn't good at baseball.  Period.  I practiced my ass off, but I wasn't that guy.  See Generation Waah would never understand that.  One must be honest with one's self.  I liked watching baseball....I miss my Giants....but playing it, meh whatever.  As I got older I got into Fencing.  A sport better suited to my Geekesque nature.  I mean when you've played D&D alot like I did, you tend to gravitate to the more archaic sports.  Ask anyone that does Archery for a sport (and not just for hunting) or fences...odds are they have either played some of the games I've played or read some of the stuff I've read or seen some of the same movies I've seen...or a combination of all of the above.  Knowing one's limitations is knowing one's self.  Yes you can always strive to overcome those limitations, but sometimes it's not worth it.  Should I have spent my energy learning to be a better ball player?  Why?  Playing the sport didn't interest me in the first place.  Generation Waah would have Mommy and Daddy get trainers, and videos and spend countless amounts of money on their training just so they could be a good ball player, "just because".  

 

What prompted this latest rant on the "Instant Gratification Generation" or the "I want it now Daddy" or the "I wanted the Blue one Daddy!!!" generation is the most recent blur of posts on the BK Airsoft boards.  Bad Karma likes to mix things up a bit and usually holds one game as a "Mid-Cap Only" event. For those that don't play Airsoft, Mid-Cap refers to Middle-Capacity Magazine.  Airsoft guns ammo is loaded into Magazines that resemble the real thing; thus the appeal of the Airsoft Gun.   A Carbine series airsoft gun, M4's and M16's...the scary black Assault Rifles.....has it's bb's loaded into a magazine that fits into the place on the airsoft gun that an actual magazine loaded with actual bullets would fit on the real deal.  For the sake of it being "just a game" there exists such things as Hi-Caps or High Capacity Magazines.  They hold 300+ bbs and have a winding mechanism on the bottom of the mag that keeps a constant stack of bbs loaded in the feed chamber.  These are easily reloaded by dropping the mag out of the gun, opening a fill hatch on the top of the mag and pouring more bbs into the mag.  With two or more of these magazines, you would rarely have to bring a bb bottle/bag on the field with you.  As you progress in this sport, you either love or hate the Military Simulation, MilSim, aspect of the game.  For those that love it, we buy radios, tactical vests, knee pads, harnesses etc etc...everything that helps you look and feel like a real soldier without the pesky 5am jumping jacks and multiple mile runs in 70 lbs of gear.  Seriously, real soldiers=badass!!  I'm a pale little paramecium compared to their physical prowess.  I relate this MilSim phenomena to playing Army as a kid.  You know, you had your plastic army helmet and toy gun with a strap and you and your buddies marched around and pretended you were soldiers.  That's MilSim airsoft but with real world accessories.  Those of us that like the MilSim aspect gradually work our way up to using Mid-Cap magazines.  It makes you a better player because there's only 130 shots per mag and you have to pick and choose your targets instead of "spraying and praying".   You end up carrying a lot of mags on the field with you as well as a bb bottle and some kind of hand loader (they are shaped just like the mags and have a hand operated feeding mechanism on them).  It's fun and more realistic as you have to change out mags in the middle of an intense firefight.  Alot of the big MilSim events, Operation: Irene and all other Lionclaws events, are MidCap only and Hi-Cap users have a tendency to be looked down upon by the Veteran's of the sport as still being Noobs.  This coming Saturday is a Mid Cap only game at BK.  For the past several weeks, the posts in the section regarding this event are from Generation Waah trying to beg, plead, insult, whine, throw a tantrum and basically be as annoying as possible until they get the rules changed for their benefit.  Just like they do with their parents.  These morons don't care to play with Mid Caps, nor will they ever after this game....they just don't like being excluded from something because they feel they are entitled and special.  After all they are precious little Snowflakes who have been padded and Purelled and coddled and handed awards for "just showing up".  I finally had to tell them "look, not everyone wins nor do you get to participate in every game out there....too bad so sad suck it up and show up next month."  This next Generation scares me.  They can't work as a team, have no sense of anyone else but themselves....Lord help us if they can't get their way as adults. 

 

I have a little saying for Generation Waaah:

 

"Remember, the world needs Ditch diggers and not everyone gets to be an Astronaut.  Someone has to do the job where you ask 'would you like fries with that?'  Try your best, but know your limitations.  If you can't overcome those limitations, then accept them and move on.  You aren't entitled to shit; work for it.  Earn it.  Don't wait for life to hand it to you, go get it.  We all can't drive Beemers, be happy with what you can get but always strive to be a better YOU.  When you have achieved another level in life then ask yourself 'just because I can afford do I really need it?'  You'd be surprised at your answers when you are honest with yourselves.  Courtesy and manners get you further in life than being an asshole.  Trust me on that one.  If you can't have, or can't go..too bad.  Don't expect other people to change their plans for you.  Either make yourself available, or go next time."

 

Now, read the words.  Commit them to memory.  Once you've done that you will be a better Generation.  But until you embrace these words of common sense I have this to say to you:  Get off my Lawn!!!

 

 

Paul the Apostle: Early Blogger?

Being a recovering Catholic (I was Catholic once, but I drank some warm, salty water and it cleared right up!) I can find the humor in taking a Modern look at the characters and stories from the Bible. It seems that the Apostle Paul was always writing letters to some group or another. He wrote the Corinthians alot, I guess to compliment them on their fine leather products they made. It got me to thinking; what if Paul the Apostle was around today? You know he'd have a laptop and you know he'd be blogging. So the following are excerpts from Paul: An Apostle's Blog.

"So JC just walks out on to the water. Literally on the freaking water!!! Lifts up his hand and the storm goes away!?!?!?! Seriously, where was this guy last week? Trying to take a nice cruise on the Sea of Gaillee but no..it's storm season."

"We've been following Jesus everywhere! He's a great Dude and the Perks are great! I'm in awesome shape from all this walking, although a horse or two wouldn't hurt JC. C'mon Man, a freaking wagon even. Although I'm not hating it as much as Thomas. What a whiny pain in the ass that guy is. Always doubting every little freaking thing. I'm getting ready to stone him myself but Jesus keeps telling us to turn the other cheek. Something bad may happen to Thomas in his sleep I fear."

Rain Journal week 3

Wednesday

It's the third week since we set sail.  The rain hasn't let up yet!  Stuck in the cabin, it's getting real cramped in here!

Saturday

It's about Noon and the sky has cleared for a short bit.  Enough for me to walk the deck and see the damage the storms have left behind.  Found both Unicorn's dead.  Damn Carnivores....I'm going to have to separate them from the other Animals now.

Sunday

Looks like this is truly the "Day of Rest" as the waterworks have stopped.  I was actually productive today, but we had to duck in after nightfall because the storms were coming again!!!!

 

 

Seriously I feel like Noah here.  We've had enough rain, thank you very much.

 

I'm going to build an Ark I Swear I am.....

So I was wondering the other day what exactly are the measurements on a Cubit anyway. I mean Noah seemed to know what 30 Cubits meant. It has been raining almost non-stop since the last two weeks of April, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. This is real good for all the new plants we've planted (there were a few days of clear and warm there...that's how that got done) but it's not good for me and Cath.......what's bad is I didn't clean the gutters out yet....I usually do it in the spring when the weather's nice...and they are clogged with leaves and the rain is overflowing the sides. Okay God/Invisible Sky Wizard or whatever you're called...enough now....thanks, we've had our share now time to stop with the water works. What really sucks is the TN Ren Faire runs just the month of May on weekends...only 4 weeks!!! Hard to imagine when you used to work an 8 weekend Faire.....anyway, it was cancelled on it's first weekend because of rain....and it may be cancelled this weekend as well...in spite of massive advertising. Unlike the Faire I used to do, they don't seem to be announcing extended weekends because of the rain.