Afghan Parliament Passes Motion to Prosecute US Soldiers...
This right here is downright dangerous. Afghanistan is going to prosecute our soldiers for getting into a car accident, because they were the cause of rioting in Kabul. Pu-lease. The soldiers were driving down the road and their brakes failed...it happens. They got into a car accident,and killed five locals. From their reaction, you'd think the soldiers were hanging a pregnant Afghani woman upside down from her toes. I mean, it sucks that they killed five Afghanis, but for the locals to react like that is just short of LA, post-Rodney King, or New Orleans, post-Katrina.
As much as I support the war on terror, I'm starting to get more and more to the conclusion that these people are never going to learn. For that, we should pull out and teach them what the US can do when it gets pissed. To borrow a line from Team America: World Police, the sand would light up like the eyes of Allah...only the eyes of Allah would be in the form of a 100 Megaton warhead.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
This is bullshit.
Can't. Wait. Any. Longer.
Tomorrow is puppy day!
I'm heading out at 1 PM with my step-mom to go pick up little Seamus. It's about a 45 minute ride from here, so we should be back up in this area around 3:30, at the latest. After that, I'm going to spend some time acclimating him to his new home, then I'm taking him to my little brother's first Legion baseball game. Once that's over, he's coming with me to pick up wifey out in Philly, then back home to go to bed. I'm sure he'll be exhausted after all the excitement of the day. His cage is ready to go, we have all his toys, blankets, nail clippers, toothpaste/toothbrush, hair brush, food, bowls, collar/leash, tags, etc. I can't wait to get him home!!!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Amazing weekend!
Friday night, we got together with Meghan's dad and my buddy Tim (the guy whose car I was working on) and grilled up some burgers and had some beer. We didn't do much, but had a great time.
Saturday, Tim and I went to Meghan's dad's house and started work on the car. We were there around 8:30 AM, and finally finished up at 6:00 PM. The installation of the KYB struts and Roush lowering springs went pretty much without incident. We didn't break any bolts or have any "extra pieces", and the car drove great after we took it off the jack stands. In my last post, I was bitching about not being able to find spot-weld drill bits...we ended up going to Lowe's (I hate Lowe's) and getting a titanium 3/8" drill bit. It worked much better than what I had used previously to drill spot welds. After we got all cleaned up, we went to my dad's house and met Meghan there for some grub. My dad and I are always grilling...I make 90% of all my meat on the grill, and if its not on the grill, its on a rotisserie. Yes, I have the Ron Popiel "Set-it-and-forget-it" rotisserie. Yes, it kicks major ass. Anyway, he made a crapload of beef tips and grilled vegetables, kinda like if you were to shish-kebob, only, without the kebobs. In addition, my step-mom made some awesome spanish rice and this shrimp with beer gumbo. Both were fantastic!
Sunday, Meghan and I had to go meet with the deacon who will be marrying us in November. It all went without incident, and he didn't even ask us the "cohabitation" or "pre-maritals" questions. At least we didn't have to lie. After that, we went to my friend BJ's graduation party. Let me tell you...when these people party, they do it right! There were three kegs, a 60 lb pig, shrimp, clams, london broil, burgers, hot dogs, kielbasa, sausage and peppers, macaroni and potato salad...if you didn't leave full and drunk, it was your own damn fault! I had about 7 beers, and then started on Jaegermeister shots. I actually did a shot of Jaeger with my best friend's mother! We got all loopy, and because we knew this would happen, we had Meg's mom drop us off, then my parents picked us up. It was like we were back in high school! LOL...
Yesterday was Memorial Day, and we were pretty well tired out from the previous night's shenanigans. We got up around 8 (went to sleep at about 11 PM...yeah, we were partied out early) and went to breakfast with Meg's mom and soon-to-be step-dad. Then, we hit the road to drive home and stopped at Home Depot for some puppy-proofing supplies. Then it was on to Meg's dad's, because I had to pick up my pager, which I left there on Saturday. Meghan wanted to pick up a camping chair, since we're going to Dover Downs for the NASCAR race this coming weekend, so we went to Target and grabbed a few things, then it was off to Acme to grab dinner. Now, we had eaten so much the night before, and we both had pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwiches for breakfast (a Jersey Shore specialty), and we were both pretty full, so no lunch for us. We decided to get some steaks for dinner, and as an appetizer, we grabbed some mussels. Acme was all out of littleneck clams...the mussels were terrible; not because Meghan didn't prepare them well, but because 70% of the bag were bad! You can't eat Mussels if they are open when you get them...we probably only got 15 GOOD mussels out of 50. I called Acme and bitched, and they gave me my money back for the mussels, so I got some shrimp, and grilled them up with the steaks.
All in all, it was a great weekend. My Memorial Day celebration was rather small, but we had a good time. More importantly, I put the Stars & Stripes out to wave in the wind, and I took a little time to reflect on what Memorial Day really is. Bane had an awesome post up about the Tomb of the Unknowns, which is awe-inspiring, if you've never seen it before. I used to know someone who was a guard at the Tomb, but haven't spoken to him in years...he always said it was the proudest thing he'd done in his life.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Who modifies a Ford Taurus? Really?
This Saturday, I'm installing lowering springs and new struts on my buddy's 2000 Ford Taurus. I've already done this on my Sable, so installing on his car should be a breeze, especially since its a southern car with no rust!
When doing this, to get the camber (the difference between the top and bottom of the outside edge of the tire) in the front correct, we need to drill the spot welds for the strut top mounting plate. No big deal, right? Well, it wouldn't be, if I could find some damn spot weld drill bits! A spot weld drill bit looks like a hole saw, but the center drill bit, which really acts as an awl to keep the bit straight, can slide in and out. The outside blades, which actually do the cutting, are replaceable, since you break teeth like crazy. Anywho, when I installed the lowering springs in my car, we broke all the teeth, so no more bits. Now, I can't find a replacement. None of the car parts stores around here have them, and Home Depot is not likely to. If all else fails, we can just use a 3/8" standard drill bit, titanium or carbide, of course, but the problem with that is that the hood does not give much clearance with a long bit...
Word of the Day
And BD says that it's hypenated, even though they might make everything look funny.
I'm a Smartass? Really?
| Smartass You are 85% Rational, 57% Extroverted, 57% Brutal, and 71% Arrogant. |
| You are the Smartass! You are rational, extroverted, brutal, and arrogant. In fact, you could very well be the anti-Christ, as you are almost the exact opposite of everything Jesus was supposed to be. While Jesus says love your enemy, you say love beating the crap out of your enemy. While Jesus raises the dead, you raise hell. While Jesus walks on water, you tend to sink. You probably consider people who are emotional and gentle to be big pussies who are obviously in lesser stature than you. You have many flaws, despite your seeming intelligence and cool-headedness. For instance, you aren't very nice. In fact, you're probably an asshole. And you are conceited and self-centered. Not only that, but you are very loud and vocal about all this, seeing as how you are extroverted. There is no better way to describe you than as a "smartass", I'm afraid. Perhaps just "ass" would do, too. But that's a little less literary and descriptive. At any rate, your main personality defect is the fact that you are self-centered, mean, uncaring, and brutally logical.
1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive. 2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted. 3. You are more BRUTAL than gentle. 4. You are more ARROGANT than humble. Compatibility:
The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble. The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble. The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant. The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble. The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble. The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant. The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble. The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble. The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant. The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble. The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant. The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble. The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.
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My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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| Link: The Personality Defect Test written by saint_gasoline on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test |
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
WE BOUGHT A PUPPY YESTERDAY!
Meghan found a nice older couple who live waaaay down in the boonies in South Jersey, near Carney's Point (that's exit 1 off the Turnpike, BTW) who had a litter of yellow lab puppies a couple of weeks ago. They wanted $500 per dog, so we went and took a peek. When we got there, we found that the puppies were very good looking, and the mother was a saint. She was one of the calmest, most even tempered adult dogs (even for a lab) that I've ever met. She didn't jump or bark, just ran up and wanted to be loved.
The had nine pups...four females and five males. Three of the males were already tagged by their neighbor, who is looking for good gun dogs. These were typically smaller in bone structure, which makes it easier for the dog to move in and out of reeds and brush. We knew we wanted a male, since they're much easier to care for in the long term. Of the two males left, one was huge, the biggest of the litter, and one was much smaller, most likely the runt. We took a look at both of them, and they both had great demeanors. Both were very friendly, although we woke them from a nap, so they were pretty sleepy, and needed a few minutes. Once we got them outside, though, they were very playful and had great attitudes. We chose the larger one, and decided that we're going to name him Seamus. Here are some pictures...
My fiancee Meghan and the little guy...
That's me with little Seamus...We're going to pick him up next Thursday, after his vet appointment. After we found him, we went to Petsmart and dropped like $200 on a cage, toys, etc. His first vet checkup is going to cost us close to $100...expensive, but he'll be totally worth it!
Monday, May 22, 2006
Baseball is in my blood.
I've been around it since I was very, very young. I started playing ball when I was probably 2 or 3, most likely as soon as I could walk and hold a bat. I played until I was 16, at which time I had a job and a girlfriend, and needed to work to afford a car. There was no time for it then, unfortunately.
As I'm sure you can tell from my sidebar, I follow the New York Mets pretty damn closely. Every year, I've got a few fantasy baseball teams going on, and I catch as many Mets/Phillies games a Citizens Bank Ballpark as I can. Philly's stadium is cheap, is absolutely beautiful, is easy to get to, and since I went to college in Philly, was much more attractive than driving to Shea Stadium, in Queens. I've been to Shea a few times, but I've probably seen the Mets play at Philly over two or three dozen times. I was there last year, when the Mets dropped seven home runs on Philly in a 16-4 win. I was there this year, when the Mets beat the Phillies 13-4. I've seen Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Al Leiter, John Franco, and Billy Wagner pitch. I've caught two home run balls during batting practice. I LIVE for baseball!
This past weekend marked the "hometown rivalries" portion of interleague play. The Mets were playing the Yankees, at Shea, and ended up winning two of three games (they really should have swept the Yanks). I have the on-Demand baseball package through Comcast, so I should have been able to watch all three games, but alas, the YES network used the FCC to block my access. I had to listen to Friday's game on XM, but Saturday's game was shown on FOX and yesterday was the ESPN Sunday Night Game of the Week. All three were very well played games, and I enjoyed the weekend immensely. Last night, David Wright (my hero) who, although one of the best 3rd basemen in baseball, is only about three months older than me, hit a MONSTER home run, of 445 feet to seal the game for the Mets. It was bombed over the right field fence, and out into the parking lot. I haven't seen a home run hit like that in a LONG time. After the game, Cliff Floyd was being interviewed and had the following to say about the home run: "He even tried to pimp it. But he's got no pimp." I thought that was hilarious! Cliffies mired in a slump right now, and although with most players of his caliber, I'd be bitching about them only hitting .205, Cliff Floyd is a great guy, and I can't get angry with him. I hope he turns it around, but whatever, he's a leader, and even if he is slumping, he's still helping out the team.
LET'S GO METS!
Puppy mills...
I hate puppy mills. My fiancee and I are looking for a puppy, since we're starting to be at that age, and we're interested in black or yellow labs. We've both had labs before (I had a yellow male, she had a chocolate female) and we love their demeanor. Kids will be coming in a few years, so we want to make sure we get something that will fit well with them. Anywho...Meg got a line on some chocolates and blacks out in Lebanon, PA, which is about 100 miles from where we live. The price was right, and everything seemed kosher, so we took a ride out on Friday. Well, we found out that it was most definitely a puppy mill. The female had been bred four times, they had many, many adult dogs there, and there were dogs of many different breeds. These people were not in it to improve the breeds or sell quality dogs, just to sell dogs in quantity and make money.
Needless to say, we walked the hell out of there. Now that I think about it, with gas as expensive as it is, it was about 220 miles, all told, out there and back. At 25 MPG, and $3/gallon, it cost me nearly $25 to get out and back, not to mention the $3 toll across the bridge, the NJ Turnpike, and the PA Turnpike tolls. I should have charged him...
Then, Meg found out about a chocolate that was being sold in Browns Mills, NJ, which is basically Fort Dix. We drove the 25 miles there, just to watch someone pull away with the last puppy. Today, we're going to drive about 40 miles south to check out some yellow labs. These might be a good fit for us, but we'll see. With our luck, they might get washed away by hurricane Corona 5 minutes before we get there. I'll definitely post some pictures of the lucky little boy that we decide on.
With all that said, anyone who is thinking of purchasing a dog from Swatara Creek Kennels, in Lebanon, PA, please send me an email at g od sp unk32 @ g mai l. co m. I'll give you the lowdown on these people. I searched and searched, but couldn't find anything about them. Hopefully you'll find this post!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Fuck the RIAA.
The RIAA is suing XM Radio because of XM's new recordable receivers...
A month ago, XM released the Pioneer Inno, a receiver capable of recording XM broadcasts as MP3s and storing MP3s from a computer for later playback. The RIAA feels that this use of the technology is infringing on their copyrights, because they're not getting the money they feel they deserve for each copy of the music. It's been established that when a consumer purchases a cd, they then own a license to play that music in whatever format they want (this does not include downloaded music, as that works differently). With downloaded music, specifically iTunes, you have a license to play that music on one portable system and two computers, if I recall correctly.
Why wouldn't this XM receiver carry the same type of licensing? I mean, you're paying for XM, so its not as though you're downloading them illegally (although the RIAA says that copyright laws don't stop you from downloading music off the internet, just sharing it). You've paid for the equipment. Why can't you listen to a song, save it while you're listening to it, and then play it back later? Isn't this the same concept as a TIVO or DVR?
Tell you what, RIAA, why don't you just sue everyone...huh? Since sharing music is illegal, and everyone burns cds for everyone else, and MP3s & MP3 players abound, and you'll never control the entire internet, why not just sue everyone. Instead of monetary damages, why not see an injunction that will stop everyone from using their computers, MP3 players, iPods, etc, so that they HAVE to buy cds from you. I guess the fact that the labels that comprise you put out shitty music doesn't have anything to do with your declining sales. I mean, when was the last time a "Led Zeppelin" came along? When was the last time Nirvana put out an album that completely redefined an entire musical genre? Oh, that's right, 1991...since about 1995, everything that the record labels have been putting out has been plain shit. Sure, there have been a few good bands to come down the pipe, but how about all the boy band crap...how about all the bullshit rap artists nowadays? FURIAA!!!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Pablo...stop combing your ball hair!
Yesterday morning, when I turned off my alarm (at 4:20 AM) I must have fucked it up, because this morning, it was set on music, and the volume for that was turned way down. Because of that, instead of waking at 4:25 AM, I woke at 5:45. Since I'm the first person to get in each day, I NEED to be there at 5 AM to make sure that any problems that users might encounter with our equipment (UNIX stuff) are fixed ASAP. I was totally paranoid this morning, too, because one of the baselines has a big, important test this week, and I thought it was this morning. Fortunately for me, its tomorrow morning, and the users from that baseline aren't even here. The really bad thing, though, is that last night I was bar-b-que'ing steaks at my dads, and we use mesquite very liberally, so this morning, I smell like mesquite wood from the smoke, not to mention the fact that both my father, step-mother, and step-brother smoke...
I'm going to head home in about an hour, once another guy gets here, and take a shower...He'll be in at about 7:30. We have shower facilities here, because we've got Navy personnel doing PT all the time. The guy who gets in here at 6:30 just told me that I should go take a shower up there. This is a nice segway into a topic that I HATE talking about...
When I first started here, I was using the Navy's workout facilities. I got out of work around 4:30, after which, I would change in the locker room. This guy, we'll call him Pablo, was up there two days a week, showering. Now when I say showering, this guy was normally in there for about an hour, then would get out, dry off, and "groom" himself naked for at least another hour. One day, I came in, and he was behind my locker, one leg up on a bench, as if in a "Captain Morgan" pose, with his head almost buried in his crotch...I shit you not. After he heard me walk up and open my locker, he turned his head around, and very nonchalantly, said "So, how's the weather?" This is about what ran through my head:
'I don't want to tell you how the weather is! You're fucking naked! Shut your fucking mouth, if necessary, put it back in your damn crotch! You're a nasty motherfucker, always walking around naked, making all the men in here feel weird because you're in here for two hours per day. What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't you have a job or a family? Are you some kind of weird exhibitionist, wanting to show off for men? Do you get off when men see you naked? Should I cut off your balls and shove them up your ass for you?'
All I could muster, however, was "It's raining." At that point, I grabbed my work clothes, closed my locker, and ran the fuck around the corner to hastily slap my jeans and polo shirt on. I ran out of the locker room, and in my haste to get shit out of my locker, I locked the key for my locker, as well as my badge, in the locker. I was so skeeved out, I didn't even bother going to get my spare key, just ran the hell out of the building. The next morning, I had to get a temp badge, and go to the locker room admin to get my spare key.
The worst part of the whole thing is that for a long time, this guy didn't work here. He worked in another building, but came here to shower two days per week. A couple weeks ago, he was transferred over here temporarily, thus, he's here every day! Monday, I was walking out of the locker room, this time at 1:10 PM, going to work out, and I see him naked, ready to get in the shower. I worked out until about 2:20, and sure enough, by the time I got back downstairs, he was standing there naked. Fortunately for me, I had my locker moved to the other side of the locker room. I didn't want to see that man naked again...Hopefully they'll transfer him out of this building quickly.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
For those about to ROCK! FIRE!
I had a pretty cool ride to work this morning. I only commute about 2 miles, but there was a crazy thunderstorm raging the entire way. As I got in the car, AC/DC's For Those About to Rock came on, and with the explosions, et al, the thunder and lightning was really cool. Best ride to work I've had in awhile. When I got here, there was a guy smoking outside, and he said that lightning struck our parking lot twice while he was out there. I don't know if its true, but if it is, he's damn lucky that he didn't get struck!
So for those of you who read the Anti-Zombification League, BD had to cull some of his fish a couple weeks ago. When I told him that I'd take some off his hands, he said he'd get me some Kribs, so I went about setting a new tank up. I've currently got a 20 gallon long tank set up, which I had from my snapping turtle (which I released a couple of weeks ago). I'm waiting on BD to get me the Kribs, but last Friday, I picked up 3 Harlequin Rasboras, 2 Ghost Catfish, and 3 Zebra Danios. Yesterday, I also grabbed 4 Red Minor Tetras. I originally had a plan for some Yellow Labs, but after talking to BD, they won't play nice with the Kribs. The tank is looking good, though. I still need to set up some more small cave and hiding spaces for the Kribs, and get some more plants in there, but otherwise, I'm very happy with the way the tank turned out.
This morning, I linked off of Bane's blog to a website that sells anti-Che and anti-Commie shirts. Here is the link...They've got some very nice stuff, including this shirt, which I think I'm going to pick up...
There are a ton of other funny shirts on there, Reagan stuff, even stuff for baby, such as this little number:
I want to buy that one for my future-nephew (fiancee's nephew) since his parents and grandparents (my fiancee's aunt and uncle) are all uber-pinko.
After finding that site, I found a new blog to read, IMAO, who's slogan is Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated. I like that. The author has some great ideas and great points on a lot of different subjects. I'm sure that all four of my readers will take a gander at that blog.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Is the end near?
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and now volcanoes. Anyone else think that the Muslim world is being punished by God for their acts against the rest of humanity? I mean, in the past few years, we've seen huge earthquakes in India and Indonesia, a giant tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands, and now Mount Merapi in Indonesia is stirring. The last time Mount Merapi was active was in 1994, and before that, it was 1965.
I genuinely believe that God is pissed and this might be the beginning of the end for the Muslim world. I mean, in the past, God has shown vengeance. True, we got hit with several hurricanes this past year. Maybe God is really pissed at all of us...is it time to repent?
You know what really grinds my gears?
Alcohol stores that close before the state mandated "end of sale" time. Friday night, we had a bunch of good friends over, and we had three big bottles of wine. Well, that wasn't enough. After going through these three bottles, the women-folk wanted more (the guys had switched to beer at that point). So, they asked us to go out and pick up more wine. One guy was sick and didn't drink, so of course, he drove. Well, it's 9:53 PM. Seven minutes exactly to drive the one mile to the liquor store, make our selections, and pay.
We are in the parking lot by 9:56, and the lights are still on in the store (which is HUGE and has a Dunkin' Donuts, btw). Anywho, we get out of the car, and see these two guys sitting in a car near the door...I didn't really think anything of it, but as we got closer, one of them spoke to us:
Him: "Hey, if you're looking to go in, they're closed."
Me: What? It's only 9:56...Aren't they supposed to close at 10?
Yeah, that's what the law says, but they're closed...I don't know why...
Well, that sucks, now doesn't it...
Yeah, ain't that some shit?
Man, did I laugh my ass off at that last comment by the other guy!
Anyway, there was another liquor store (albeit much smaller and crappier) that was on the way back to my apartment, and only like 100 yards from my street. We got there at 10:01...Of course, they were closed.
I don't understand why the store needed to close 5 minutes early...I mean, I don't understand the law that says you can't buy alcohol after 10 PM either, but that I can deal with, since a bunch of idiots in Trenton just made up some arbitrary time to stop the sale of alcohol. But for a store to close 5 minutes before its supposed to, especially with me in the parking lot, ready and willing to drop some cash on a nice Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc (never French, of course), well, that just totally sucks the big one!
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Wanna eat me? Literally?
A man eats someone and only gets 8-1/2 years in prison? Come on, people. He stabbed a guy to death, then ate him. He was only convicted of manslaughter? This just goes to show you how sick the germans are. Thankfully, his sentence was overturned and they tried him again for it (something you can't do in the US because of the "double jeopardy" laws). At least he's going to get life in prison, but still, he deserves death! I mean, he didn't steal a bag of fucking peanuts (Snatch reference)...he KILLED AND ATE SOMEONE! You can't even argue against this one, even if the victim WANTED to be killed and eaten...
The world amazes me, sometimes...
That tattoo of boobs I got back in high school looks all saggy now!
You got a tattoo you want removed?
So people today want to get the Chinese symbols off their body...Really? I thought they looked cool! Just kidding, everyone. Those Chinese symbols embody everything that is wrong about following a fad. Sure, you should get what you want on your body, but Chinese symbols and tribal patterns are fads that came and went. How many people do you know now that are going out to get tribal bands on their arms?
Your buddy here is tattooed. On my right arm, I have the Sacred Heart of Christ, an image that is typically depicted in the center of Christ's chest. It is essentially a heart, with a flame coming out the top. Mine is stylized and has two bands of thorns around it, as well as a crucifix coming out the top. The flames work their way around the crucifix. The tattoo artist who did it, Brody, from Slingin' Ink, in Point Pleasant, NJ, is amazing, and did much of Ryan Dunn's (from Jackass/CKY2K) tattoo work. The color is absolutely amazing...On my left arm, I have a Celtic cross that is wrapped in a trinity knot. On my back, I have three X's, symbolizing the Straight-Edge lifestyle. While I am no longer SxE, I was for over eight years, and it was a huge part of my development as a person. This was my first tattoo, which brings me to tattoo removal.
I have a tattoo that no longer jives with my lifestyle. I do not want to get rid of it, because I like having a tattoo on my upper back. What I am going to do with it is cover it up. I'm planning on getting a mural of a bald eagle (one of our nation's more powerful symbols) clutching an American flag in its talons. This is to symbolize my love for my country, as well as my devotion to it, and the strength that it possesses. In today's society, tattoos have become commonplace. Hell, the woman I wrote about a few posts ago has one. When she dresses more casually on Fridays, you can always see it, like she's showing it off. I try to ignore it as best I can, for obvious reasons. Many other people have tattoos as well. Most you can not see, but because I work with the military, there are many that I can. Some look good, some look bad.
One rule that I set for myself, though, is that I do not want a tattoo that can not be easily covered up. My tats do not extend below my shirt sleeves under normal circumstances, and I refuse to get one that will. I do want to get one on the back of my right calf, but again, its easily covered up there. My sister, on the other hand, has like seven tattoos, several of which are plainly visible if she is wearing normal clothes. This was her choice, but I have a feeling that at some point in the future, she'll be looking for tattoo removal. Rule number 2...Never get something that you don't understand or can't easily prove its meaning. Ashley has Chinese characters on her, and to tell you the truth, I have no idea if they are correct or not. My cousin (female) did the same thing...What happens when they find out that what they thought meant "faith" really meant "schlong" or something? Rule 3: stay away from fads. While some might consider religious and patriotic symbols to be fads, I do not. They are time-tested tattoos and designs that I have no problem wearing on my body. Men (and women) have been wearing them for hundreds of years, they are beautiful, and represent my faith in God and my commitment to my beliefs. Will I be ready for tattoo removal in a few years? Doubtful, as long as I don't get any Chinese characters tattooed on my butt.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Global Warming on Jupiter?
Oh NOES!!!
Just kidding. BD has a link in his blog's sidebar for the astronomy picture of the day. While I was looking through them, I found the above link. I just thought it would be funny to draw a parallel between climate change on Jupiter and climate change on Earth. I guess it can actually happen without human intervention. Maybe we aren't the evil little monsters the environmentalist wackos would make us out to be...
Anyway, I'm back from Michigan...I drove approximately 1900 miles in 6 days.
Tuesday: 140 miles
Wednesday: 650 miles
Thursday: track day, 100 miles
Friday: 260 miles
Saturday: track day, 90 miles
Sunday: 650 miles
My best time in the 1/4 mile was 16.228 at 86.05 MPH. A girl that is active in the club brought her boyfriend to the drag strip, on his Honda 600 cc motorcycle. He was putting down runs at 10.6 by the end of the day. Very, very impressive for a stock bike...I think a 12 second 1/4 mile would scare me a bit, in a car...I couldn't imagine a 10.6 on a bike!
Anyway, I had a very good day at the drag strip, and an awesome day at Gingerman Raceway. I ended up putting the car in the grass during the third lap of my second session. As I came through turn 8, which is a sweeping slightly off-camber left, following a tight right turn, I was going about 80 mph, when I realized I was coming in too hot. I jabbed the brakes to slow down, and it unsettled the chassis just enough to induce oversteer. All of a sudden, I'm sliding sideways through the turn at about 65 MPH, and no matter what I did, I couldn't correct it. I ended up sliding about 30 feet into the grass in the inside of the turn. After you go off, you need to take the car into the pits to check your suspension components and to check with the track personnel to see if you hit someone's fluid patch or something, so when I came in, I found that I had grass all inside the car. Another guy ran his SVT Contour off the track twice, but each time it was because of understeer, so he went straight into the grass at the end of a turn. He's got steel mesh in the bumper openings of his front fascia, and they were covered with dandelions both times! Pretty funny, if you ask me.
Anyway, I got to ride in a 2000 Mustang Cobra-R at the road course. That car put 365 HP to the wheels, bone stock. So far, he hasn't even upgraded the brakes, and he was braking almost INTO the turn. On my car, and with most cars, you need to brake before you get anywhere near the turn, then accelerate through it. After the track day, we went to dinner, and I was lucky enough to hitch a ride with a guy that had a 2004 Viper SRT-10 that was supercharged. That thing put 655 HP to the wheels, and let me tell you, spinning the tires in third gear, when you're going 40 MPH is a religious experience of sorts. When you've been in a car that can do that, you know what power is. The car sounded like a top-fuel dragster when he really layed into the go pedal. Unfortunately, the speed limits in the town were such that speeds over 40 MPH were...discouraged.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Yes, I drive my Sable on a race track.
In other news, I"ll be attending a track day at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, Michigan this week. I'm leaving in about an hour, and won't be back until late Sunday night. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of the sessions up on Monday. Until then, have a nice weekend!
Hell in a handbasket.
Army paratroopers being convicted for homosexual pornography???
WTF people? This is not cool. Aside from the fact that these guys were taking it up the pooper, they were publushing it on a freaking website for the world to see! Not only that, it was a military themed website. What are the islamo-fascists going to think when they google military, and find this gay military pr0n website??? They're going to think we have a bunch of queers running after them. From what I've heard, there are many Muslim men that think that women are for childbearing, while men are for pleasure, but still...the greatest military the world has ever known...with gay pornographers in one of its most elite corps?
I'm a religious person. I'm not a Bible-thumper, and I'm not one of those right-wing religious zealots that the mainstream media loves to bash on a regular basis. I'm a common-sense, "you do what you want, I'm going to do what I want" Christian. While I feel that homosexuality is abhorent, I hate the sin and not the sinner. Do whatever the hell you want, but realize that I think it's wrong. I'm not homophobic, although BD would probably argue otherwise, I just don't want any part of it. I don't want to recognize you as legally married, because it demeans those of us that are in monogramous heterosexual relationships, recognized by the church. I don't think that the Texas anti-sodomy law was Consitutionally correct, and I'm glad it was repealed. However, I don't think that the state should tell me that I have to recognize homosexuals as being just as important to the well-being of the world as heterosexuals, nor do I believe that they should be "more equal" in the eyes of the law than me, just because I won't catch.
Anyway, I'm glad that these guys are getting what's coming to them (no pun intended). They disgraced their army, their country, and more importantly, their brothers in the 82nd Airborne. For that, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the UCMJ.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Caution: I will curse quite a bit in this post...
So, I work with this woman...We'll say her name is...Meika (names have been changed to protect the presumed innocent). She really annoys the hell out of me, and just about everyone else in my area. She's a one-upper, which drives me incredibly insane. If you've never met a one-upper, they're the person who always has a story better than yours. For instance, a friend of mine was brutally beaten to death while a freshman student at Holy Cross University, in Massachusetts. When I told my then-roommate (also a one-upper) about it, and that I had to go to the funeral, instead of offering solace, he told me that he was supposed to sit next to a kid at graduation, that had been killed three weeks before, and although he never met the kid (went to a very large HS), his loss was just as bad as mine...hmmm...
Anyway, Meika always has a better story. When I was talking about working on my car, instead of telling me that it was cool that I had replaced a significant portion of my suspension, by myself, she proceeded to tell me that she had rebuilt an engine with her father, and tried to imply that she knew more about engines than I did. Of course, a few weeks later, she had many questions for me on how to change her headlights...Go figure...She can rebuild an engine, but not change headlights...When I was talking about remodeling my fiancee's mom's living room/first floor, she told me that she had built a house with her father, and that lathe and plaster was "no problem for her". Additionally, it always seems like she's implying that she has a larger penis than all the men I work with, because of the "manly" work she's had to do throughout the years.
Last Friday, I was in the middle of trying to track down some secret media (not secret that you can't know about it, but secret in that it's classified) that one of the people upstairs had signed out improperly, and while I'm freaking out (because it was my neck on the line) she starts jabbering on about how I have hat head. WHO THE FUCK CARES IF I HAVE HAT HEAD! That's right, no one does. We were all too busy trying to track down someone else's mistake so that I didn't get fucked, and you're yapping constantly about my hat head, then, to make things worse, you start running your mouth at the person who's supposed to be cleaning up the mess, about nonsense. She wasn't even talking about mission-critical work stuff...I can't remember exactly what she was talking about, but I wasn't much. I mean, the guy who was helping me isn't the brightest bulb in the fucking box, and probably has an IQ of about fifty-fucking-seven! Anyway...cool down...breathe...
So besides this, she talks weird. She's from a northern state (again, won't say which, to protect the formerly innocent) and is just generally creepy when she talks. She always ooohs and aaaahs in weird ways, sucks her teeth (not at you), has an annoying laugh, and is just generally a pain in the royal ass. She can always be counted on to break up a work session by complaining about how her harp lesson ran long, or that she's planning on going to her boyfriend's house (this woman is in her mid-fifties, and looks every day of it) to get laid later that night. I know, everyone needs some lovin', but I, as a 23 year old, don't want to fucking hear it. I can think of my hot 21 year old fiancee...I don't want to be thinking about your old bones in bed! I wish I could convey over the internet how ridiculous and annoying she sounds when she's talking to you. She pauses at inappropriate times while she's talking to you, cuts you off, does the aforementioned oooooh-ing and aaaaaah-ing, bunches up her fat neck, and blinks at you like you just shined a 50,000,000 candlepower light in her fucking eye.
Additionally, she's the type that always forwards the "cute" emails. "Ooooh, isn't this so CUTE?!!!" NO! I DON'T GIVE A RATS ASS ABOUT PUPPY DOG TAILS OR KITTENS! Unless you want to send me a good joke or video, don't put my name on that distribution list. Better yet, don't hit send to begin with. Keep the mail servers cleaner without your bullshit! I mean, I don't forward stuff unless it's REALLY good. Once in awhile I'll send a joke out...I'll usually send something very patriotic...but not pictures of puppies and kittens.
I struggled with whether or not I would write this damn post. There are a couple of people that I work with that read this from time to time. I'm sure they know who I'm talking about, so hopefully they will read, laugh a couple of times, and keep it to themselves without letting poor Meika know that she has been knocked on the internet.
