It's Been 6 Years, SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

Why is it that there is this group of people dedicated to being so ignorant and so incredibly stupid, the morons that believe 9/11 was a conspiracy perpetrated by the United States government? Do they even THINK about how ridiculous they are? Let's discuss the facts...

This is the conversation that trips them up every time:

"9/11 is a conspiracy"

Wow, really? It must be the most devious thought out plan ever thought of.

"It's our government that came up with it, straight from the white house"

So George Bush is behind all of this?

"You got that right, it's all about oil, and using this war to give our tax dollars to his hand picked war companies"

Seriously? Wow, so what do you think of Bush, I mean, compared to the other presidents?

"He's a fucking chimp, a complete moron. He's the dumbest president ever"

Wait, now, did you just say that Bush is behind the most diabolical conspiracy plot ever, that he was behind 9/11, in order to start a war with Iraq?

"Well, yes, but that's not what I meant, I meant Bush is the mouthpiece, Dick Cheney and others set all of this up, they put all of this in motion"

They must have really put some planning into everything, I mean, to trick everyone, the media, most of the public?

"Yes they did, these guys are VERY diabolical and sneaky, they were smart with how they set all of this up, they tricked everyone"

Yes, they were SO smart that they weren't able to frame Iraq by putting a couple of WMD's around Bagdhad and Rhamadi, right?

"Wait, uh, no, I mean..."

No, seriously, this is what you are saying. That they were smart enough to trick the media and the American people by setting up 9/11, but not smart enough to plant WMD's in Iraq, I mean, that was there excuse to go to war, right? If they are lying about 9/11, why not lie and plant WMD's in Iraq, that would have shut EVERYONE up, RIGHT?

crickets.... in the distance a dog barks...

NO conspiracy theorist can read this and stick to their guns, this destroys their platform, they can't stand up to this, it's simple, there is no response for this that makes any sense whatsoever. Of course they will change the subject, or widen the conspiracy theory further to make excuses, but face the facts, you are wrong, you are stupid, you should STFU

Making Friends From Supposed Family Members

My sisters live in a house between where I work and where I live, and where my parents live some five miles away from me. Therefore it's not at all too uncommon to run into them from time to time, be it at Walmart, or out at the farm, or just see them driving by and honking and waving and acting crazy like our entire family tends to do.

Therefore it was no surprise for me, when on my way home from work down highway 75, to see me sister driving along in her Subaru Outback. I was coming up behind her, confirmed it was her when I saw the 20 county license plates on her car, and could see her her in the drivers seat. So I punched the accelerator just a bit, whipped around her, and pulled up almost even, laying into the horn and waving, all the while grinning like a crazy man...

Yah, well, it wasn't her. The lady turned her head, and I realized she didn't have long blond hair, she had long rather white hair, and was probably pushing 60 years old. Her husband (I assume) was in the passenger seat just staring at me like "Who the hell...?" as I drove on by. They did wave back, a small consolation for my bumbling foolish drive by honking.

I guess all in all it isn't too bad. I don't know of anyone else driving a Commemorative Edition SRT-4 around here, with it's distinctive viper racing stripes, so I'd have to say I probably made some new friends. I don't know if I will ever run into them again, but I can tell you this much.... I will never again just assume there is only one 20 county Subaru Outback in the state of Nebraska.

Where's Your Freaking Alligator???

Does anyone else find it rather ironic that Betty White is doing commercials for PetMeds.com? She seems so wonderful and grandmotherly as she discusses getting low cost medication delivered right to her door. But all the time I'm watching her on the commercial, all I can think about is that movie Lake Placid, where she had a 30 foot long 2000 lb man eating alligator for a pet. Honestly, I kept waiting for her to turn and toss a big old pill to her monster gator at the end of the commercial. Damn that was a horrible movie but I'll never think of Betty White in the same way again after seeing it.

Normality?

It’s been seven months since I got back from the Sandbox. After a couple of months everything was normal again. Now back in Nebraska, working, with our lil’ one due in August, I don’t think much about my time in Iraq, except for the occasional time I do happen to hear the news of another fellow soldier losing his or her life, or the thoughts of friends going back over.

So I was at work the other day, actually down in one of the classrooms, when there was a very loud muffled bang from outside, I’m not sure if they were using dynamite somewhere or what exactly was going on, but instantly the hair stood up on my neck and I was leaning over in my chair, as though I would go under the table or something. It took a few seconds to catch my breath, and I found I was breathing very hard, my heart rate was elevated, blinking fast, and other symptoms of a sudden onset of adrenaline when the body reacts to fear.

No one noticed, they were all laughing and carrying on, the same thing I would have probably been doing two years previous, the sound of an explosion or something large hitting the side of the building would be more of an afterthought than anything else. My reaction was not something I expected at all. I have always been of the belief that I would get my life back to normal, that nothing would affect me once I got back home and my life was back on track. There were so many others I knew, even those I loved, who have been in a lot worse situations over there than I was ever in.

I felt embarrassed later in the day, because honestly, I was never closer than maybe a couple hundred meters from any contact with enemy fire, which, oddly enough, occurred at our home base with a little more than a couple of months left, while I was sitting on the toilet. And despite it being a reasonable distance from me, it shook the small building, and sounded as though it landed right behind me.

There were lots of explosions like that, but further away. Usually we were out on the road or at other bases. But you become bred to ducking down, to covering up, heading for the bunkers placed strategically throughout the area in every camp you are in. I really believed that you could just forget that, and walk away and nothing would take you back there, yet for that split second, my body may have been in a classroom, but my mind was back in that dry, blistering heat of Iraq.

SERVICE?? ANYONE?????

When I go out to eat somewhere, I have a fairly reasonable expectation for the service the waiting staff should provide. When this service is substandard, or worse, downright deplorable, I tend to get aggravated rather quickly. This can include one or more of the following

Wipe down the tables AND the seats

Ah, what joy it is to sit down at a freshly cleaned table and put your hand into a glob of mustard, or worse, sit in it. How difficult is it for the person cleaning the table to also ensure that the seats are clean?

Make sure the appropriate table settings are in place

I wouldn't think I'd need to bring this up, but I've seen this twice in the last couple of months. We were at Village Inn, and I went to get some salt, and there was no salt shaker at the table. No big deal, someone might have stolen it right? So I went to another table, that's when I realized, there were no salt shakers, anywhere. And there were no pepper shakers. I brought this to the attention of my waitress, and I was told "Oh, we are cleaning all the salt and pepper shakers, they are in the dishwasher in back". Uhmmmm, what kind of completely retarded statement is THAT? I understand that at 11 at night there aren't many people out to eat, and it's a good time to clean things up, however, don't clean ALL your shakers at one time, that's really poor management, and foolish. Wash half then wash the other half when you've replaced the first half. I was offered 'salt in a spoon' if I wanted some salt. Yah, uh, no. This happened again, at Pizza Hut, just last week. I was going to put some parmesan cheese on my pizza and there were no shakers around. To their credit, at least Pizza Hut was able to bring some out for me.

If I order an appetizer, bring it well BEFORE the main entree

Typically I order an appetizer in situations where I'm hungrier than usual, so I'd like a little bit of food a little quicker to get me ready to eat. So why is it that several times in the last few months the waiting staff has brought our appetizers out literally within 60 seconds of bringing out the main course? Is it so I can bite thru 1/2 of an onion ring then have my steak and baked potato plate sitting all but on top of the appetizer plate? I swear, if this happens again I'm going to tell them to take the appetizer back and I won't pay for it.

If my drink is getting below 1/3, please make note of it and ask if I need another

Let's be honest here, this is the most important duty the wait staff has after bringing the food. I'm not power drinking my soda or tea, at least not usually, so once every 10 minutes or so, glance over at my table and see if my drink is getting empty, and if so, swing on by and offer a refill. It takes so little energy to do so, and let's face it, I can see your lazy ass joking around with the other wait staff up front. If you see my glass flying your way at a high rate of speed, you can about guess you waited too long. Yes, again Pizza Hut, I'm talking about you.

When you fill my drink, DO NOT TAKE THE ONE I AM DRINKING OUT OF.

This one is aimed directly at you, Chinese restaurant people. Just what in the fuck stupid thought enters your head to think you should take the glass I'm currently drinking out of? This happens at nearly every Chinese restaurant I eat at, and I'm guessing it's because the cheap ass penny pinching jackasses don't want to clean another glass, OH GOD a little bit of work is going to kill you. But just when I thought I'd seen the worst instances of this particularly irritating phenomenon, once again, Pizza Hut: The waitress asked if I'd like another drink, she takes mine, then sets it on the counter, 2 minutes later brings me a DIFFERENT glass. WTF? A full glass flying at the waitresses head this time? Don't be surprised if you see it.

Don't up and disappear for long periods of time

Not to sound like a broken record, but once again, Pizza Hut, sorry, I have to single you out here. A different Pizza Hut this time. I sat down with someone, ordered our food and drink. The waitress brought the drinks out, then the food, then I shit you not, for 45 minutes I never saw her again. After about 20 minutes I started getting pretty irritated. Finally when the 45 minutes came and went, I went up front and told one of the other workers that I'd like my ticket NOW, with angry emphasis on NOW so they would understand that I was not happy about waiting like that. We had no drink refills, no opportunity to order anything else, no one to ask if our food was okay. Pathetic. This is the only time that has ever happened this badly, but there have been other instances where no one showed for quite awhile. It's irritating, don't do it to people!

Don't make me sit with my thumb up my ass for you to bring out the check

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm not insulted if the waiter/waitress brings out the bill and my party is still eating, as long as it's reasonable, as in we are just about done eating or the majority of people at the table are done eating. What does get my ire up is when we've been sitting there for 5 or 10 minutes, and no one has touched their drinks or plates during that time, obviously thru eating, and you haven't brought out the bill. Ever wish you had a visual aid to show the waiting staff how quick their tip goes down while you sit and wait? I sure could use one, a digital one at that.

Don't give me lip, and above all, don't cop a fucking attitude

I tend to be a joker, borderline obnoxious at time when I go out to eat depending on what friends I'm out with. However, I'm not being insulting, we just like to have fun. That being said, if what we are doing is irritating you, well, sorry, but don't act like a stuffy bitch or prick, and don't cop an attitude. Be a real person, don't give me that fake laugh where you do it with every intention of making sure we know you are being a fake piece of shit. This is your job, you get paid to please me, so 'dance' dammit. All I'm asking is that you be nice, and don't fake it.

These simple steps I listed above are simply part of a person's job. If you work as part of a waiting staff at a restaurant of any kind, you should be obligated to know what to do and what NOT to do.

Belly chuckles when I get irritated about things like this, when we are out to eat. "You sound like my dad." Well, if my father in law expects decent service then yes he and I think alot alike. No one forces people to work at a restaurant, service should be priority number one. I don't go out of my way to be a jerk. I'm typically a good customer, as long as the waiting staff doesn't do any of what I listed above.

What Are My Rants Worth?

I found a website that calculates just how much your website is worth. In my case:

My Site is worth
$62

How much is your site worth?

That's right, read it and weep!! I can sell my website and pay for a dinner for two at the Cheesecake Factory!! Or... I can sell my website and buy a tank of gas for our pickup!! Or... I can sell my website and buy a ticket to the upcoming Justin Timberlake & Pink concert, and solidify my status as ultra gay!! Wow, so many choices.

What else can I do with such an exorbitant amount of money?

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

So, guess what I woke up to this morning?



At sometime around midnight last night, it began raining, with thunder and lightning, crazy for February. It rained continuously till about 2 in the morning when the temperatures started dropping, as the wind shifted and started blowing out of the north. The temperature went from about 35 down to 15 degrees in about an hour and a half, and it turned into a total white out blizzard.

So, now there is about an inch of ice on the ground, and 8" of snow covering that, with constant 20 mph winds that are gusting to 40 mph. Offutt AFB told all non essential personnel to stay home, the first time that has happened due to weather since 1975, so that should tell you just how bad the weather really is.

In January, the day before I came back, my father mentioned how "We haven't gotten much of any snow, so you shouldn't have too much trouble driving your car around while looking for a job." I have BF Goodrich KDW tires on my car, a fabulous performance tire, absolutely useless on snow and ice. Since I've been back in Nebraska, it has snowed significantly on six different occasions, 4 times bad enough to shut down school, this time being the worst of all. So when this sort of thing happens, I'm stuck at home with my car.

But that's fine, I'm going to be purchasing a cheaper car for winter travel sometime this summer.

Here are some more pictures of this particular great whiteout:

Ellen DeGeneres, You Are NOT Funny

Last night I had the unfortunate chance to catch a little bit of the Academy Awards show. This show is not one I would normally every watch, being that it's just another opportunity for attention hogs to lather themselves out upon the cameras. But I happened to walk thru my grandparent's house up at the farm and my grandmother and sister were watching the show.

What little bit I did catch, I happened to see that Ellen DeGeneres was hosting the show. Of course, there she was with her feeble attempts at humor, which are actually just inane ramblings and observations that aren't removely funny, and watching the audience clap away at her as though they were actually enjoying themselves. If they were, they're dumber than I give them credit for.

Am I the only one who feels this way? I remember a young comic years ago who was funny, she had wry, dry, deadpan humor, it was satirical, it was downright hilarious. This comic was on Showtime in the mid 80's, Johnny Carson, and was labeled by some as the funniest comic in America. Yes, this was the same Ellen DeGeneres I mentioned above...

What the hell happened? It seems like about the time she came out of the closet and announced that she was a lesbian, her career plummeted down the toilet. I looked at her Yahoo actress profile and they actually have the audacity to claim that her sexual orientation is the main reason this happened. Uh, no, the main reason that this happened is that she chose to use her sexual preference as the main subject of her routines, and guess what, that shit wasn't funny. It has nothing to do with my feelings about homosexuality, for the most part, I'm pretty much middle of the road on the issue, whatever you do behind closed doors, just don't throw it in my face. The only fact of the matter about DeGeneres is that sometime in the mid 1990's, she lost 'it', whatever 'it' was that made her funny, and she has never found 'it' again.

I guess she still has a show on television somewhere, and I can't imagine how annoying that is to watch. Her humor now is so unoriginal, it's almost as though it's aimed at making young children laugh, her perfect part may have been the idiot fish with no memory in "Finding Nemo", because she does indeed sound like an idiot, an idiot with no memory of how and when she was actually a really great comedian.

I don't know that she will ever find what it was that she had in the first place, that made her funny at one time. I think the first thing she needs to do is just drop the whole "Hey, I'm a lesbian isn't that great" act that she keeps using as source for her material. She did it again just before the Acadamy Award's Show, saying that this year's show would be "...the most lesbianist show ever." Yah, and coincidently to your hosting, the most 'not funny' ever.

Go back to the drawing board, Ellen, the 'funny lesbian trying to make people laugh' is not working.

Distance + Heart = Not Defined

It's Valentine's Day, that day where two people who love one another are to find ways to express their affections for one another thru candy, cards, balloons, phone calls, dinners, movies, and certainly physical activity of the 'lights out' kind.

As I set up things here in Nebraska for belly's return, I realize we have now spent three February 14s in a row apart. I suppose a person could get down about that, and be upset, about being apart from the person they love on yet another Valentine's Day, but I'm not overly concerned about it.

You see, everyday should be a day where you can show your affection towards the person you love, certainly so many people reserve that for say Valentine's Day or a wedding anniversary, or a birthday, or maybe Christmas, or even Columbus Day for you weird non conformists out there. I think to myself every day how lucky I am to have such an amazing strong beautiful intelligent woman in my life.

Also, although we may not be together on a physical basis, I never feel alone. And this may sound like a corny thing to say but it's true. I have dated people where I've sat right beside them and felt completely distant, and it's a comforting feeling to know that even if I'm say, 10,000 miles away in a sandy hell hole, that I'm not alone and that someone wants to be with me more than with anyone else.

So although we may be apart on another Valentine's Day, our hearts are side by side, and with that in mind I can smile and think fondly of the person who makes every day in my life meaningful.

Respect Your Elders

Well, last week I get a phone call from my mother, and she is talking about whatever, the weather, or shopping, something not all too important or I would likely remember it now. Then at about where the end of the phone call would be, she does this:

"Oh, you heard about Grandma right?"

"No, what's up?"

"She's up in the hospital, she has breast cancer"

At this point I was a little annoyed with my mother, seeing how she stated it as though she were going to say "Hey, Grandma bought a car" or "Grandma is going on a tropical cruise", rather than it being bad news. I was really stunned.

My grandmother is the hardest working person I have ever known. From pretty much the day she was married till she was around 70 years old, she was in the dairy barn, milking cows, morning and night, years and years, hardly ever taking a day off. While growing up I helped out a lot, and if there were a time where I would fall down, hit my knee, slam my hand, she would send me to the house, tell me to take a break, she would continue to do it on her own, I could take my time.

But if she ever got hurt, it didn't matter how badly, she would not leave that barn. I swear sometimes if her legs would have gotten cut off she would have just stayed there, working diligently, that's just the type of person she was. I don't know if she felt no pain, or just learned to deal with it, but like I said, she's the hardest working person that I have ever known.

I went yesterday to see her at the hospital, and when I got there she was the only one in the room, my cousin had been to see her earlier in the day, and my sister was going to be coming up to pick her up later on. She was sitting on the edge of the bed looking contemplative, no television was on, no magazines opened to read. When she saw me come in she smiled, "Oh my, I didn't expect to see you?" Of course I had to ask her what that was supposed to mean, because there is no way that I would NOT come to see her if she were sick or injured, to which she replied "Ah, I'm doing just fine, I'm all ready to go home."

I sat down and we started to talk, it's always funny how my grandmother brings up the weather, and how hot/cold/stormy/windy/rainy/dry it's going to be. She tends to be a pessimist about such things, but then, with the weather being what it is in Nebraska, she has good reason to be. But in all things related to the farm and family, she is always supportive. She asked how belly is doing, and wondered about her great grandchild on the way. I think she's excited about the opportunity of having one that she can actually see more than once maybe every 3 years or so, that's one of the big reasons I want to live closer to home, because your family is important.

I think one of the more interesting aspects about my grandmother is that she never cares to focus on her own situation, instead she wants to know how you are, and if there is anything she can do to help. She has been that way her whole life, she sacrifices anything personal for the good of those she loves. I think about some of the foolish things I have done in my life, and how I would get a stern look and maybe a sentence or two about responsibility, but it was always followed by a cold glass of milk, some cookies, and discussion about happier events.

After about an hour or so the nurses said they needed to prepare my grandmother to get ready to go home. She joked with them about how she would see them again tomorrow, for chemotherapy. They had to go so far as to remove her lymph nodes but were hopeful with the chemo that they could eradicate the rest of the cancer without too much of a problem. I was amazed that she was able to make jokes about something like that, but then that's how Grandma is, never one to focus on the bad in a situation too much, always wanting to move on to better topics.

She'll have to go up every day for chemotherapy, not sure how many days she'll have to do it. Probably until they decide that they've gotten the rest of the disease. I certainly hope we find a cure for cancer soon. You have people around the world screaming about HIV/AIDS but with all due respect to the seriousness of that particular disease, it IS preventable with simple measures. Cancer is not, and cancer affects far and away more people than HIV, I get irritated with the amount of money politicians talk about throwing at HIV, and it's not that it's a bad thing, but I believe that money could be spent better finding a cure for cancer. Supposedly we are close, and that's good.

I guess I get frustrated by a variety of things when I think about how our society deals with their elders. Is it any wonder why senior citizens fight to keep their licenses long beyond the safe point for many of them to be driving? Most of the middle aged and younger Americans have no desire to care for them, they act as though it's such a burden to give their parents a ride to the doctor, to take them shopping for food, or to even go over and visit them, just to see how they are doing. And if that's not bad enough, it's utterly appalling just how poorly the government legislates care for seniors, it's as though they feel it's just a bunch of people who should be put someone and then wait for them to die. Of course seniors want independence, who else is going to take care of them?

This is something I strongly believe in, not only because of what I see, but lets face it, we all have a very personal stake in this particular topic. You are either going to die young, or you are going to get old someday and have to deal with the very problems I've mentioned above. Even putting money away for yourself so that you have a nice nest egg doesn't always help, there are greedy children who declare their parent(s) incompetent for no other reason than to keep them from spending their hard earned money, just so they can get ahold of an inheritance when 'mom and dad finally kick the bucket'.

I don't mean to condemn everyone with broad statements, because I like to believe that the majority of Americans do care for their elders, it's just that our government is doing very little to make the quality of life for the older generations anything that you could call respectful. Our lawmakers in Washington are going to be older someday, I guess though that when you have thousands of dollars a month coming to you as part of a self promoted pension plan, then you don't have many of the same concerns that Joe Smith the life long auto worker, or Jane Williams the career waitress have to worry about. For people like them, social security doesn't really do everything it should and they live month to month hoping to have enough to survive, especially if they have no help from relatives to get them by.

Other countries do a lot more to support their elderly. I'm not even saying that we have to have our parents live with us at an older age, but there is no reason anyone over the age of 65 should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, or how they are going to pay for their medication, who will take them to their doctor's appointments, or even if they can afford their own funeral. I certainly hope this situation changes at some point. We need to have more respect for our elders, it's likely going to be you and I having the same problems someday if something doesn't change.

Reflections On California

It’s interesting that I can think of only a few places in the United States where I would absolutely NOT want to live. New York City comes to mind, Boston is another, but in terms of entire states, I was always opposed to living in California. I don’t know if it was because it seems like every person I had ever met from there has been shallow and self centered, or the idea of being in earthquake/forest fire/mud slide central, or even if it were something else about California that bothered me. So how interesting it was when belly and I found out a year and a half ago that she would not be stationed at Yuma, Arizona, but would in fact be at Camp Pendleton, in good old California.

So from the middle of November 2005 to now belly has lived in Oceanside, right next to San Diego. As for myself, I was there from November of 2006 till middle of January 2007. All together, I spent roughly 105 days in California, including the two weeks back in May when I was home on leave. As belly finishes up her time in the USMC, I’m back in Nebraska getting things ready for our return to the Husker state. Being here allows me to look back at my time in California and reflect a bit.

I’d say the first impression I got out of California was people, everywhere. There are just SO many people. I think you can be on any stretch of road or interstate at any time of day or night and there will always be other cars out there with you. If you want to get out and really “drive”, good luck. Better do it in the middle of the night because between 6 am and 10 pm, the interstates are far too crowded, and people of foreign persuasion have absolutely NO concept as to WHY the left lane is called the “passing lane”. To them it’s just another lane to drive 5 mph slower than the speed limit. Yes Hispanic and Asian drivers, I’m talking to you.

There were a lot of other SRT4 drivers out there, oddly enough I rarely ever saw one while just out driving around, but I went to a couple of meets and also to the California Speedway at Fontana to race a couple of times down the track, and they were all over there. There is quite a community online to work with in that area and that was nice. To put it into perspective, in Nebraska I have seen only one other SRT4, on base a few days after I got back. And in the regional sections on the srtforums, there is basically nothing going on in the Nebraska area, where as the California sections had a good amount of information and feedback, and events going on. I guess that’s just the difference when you have some 10 or 15 million people in an area that in Nebraska holds about 1 million.

I guess maybe coming from Nebraska I was a little unprepared for the volume of humanity you find in California. We experienced the worst of this on a Saturday in December when we went to Disneyland. It was a lot of fun early in the day, and even at about 3 pm it wasn’t too bad, but for some reason, after 5 or 6 pm people just started flooding the gates, it was like ants marching or something. We really thought that going to Disneyland in December on a Saturday would mean we’d get a lot more freedom to move around and wouldn’t have to wait in line very long for rides or food, etc. We couldn’t have been more wrong. I don’t know that I have ever seen that many people in one place at one time. It was really crazy.

Of course, with all these people, you need a way to feed everyone, and places for everyone to shop. Can’t say I have too much to complain about in that department. It seemed like you could see the golden arches of the next McDonalds from any McDonalds you went to in California, they were everywhere. There were also around 10 Walmarts within about 10 miles of our place. It was interesting sometimes how belly and I couldn’t decide what to eat, we’d just drive around and there were just too many places, how do you choose? It also made it hard to stay at home and eat, and that can be a bad thing, both on your waist and your wallet. But for all he different places shop and eat, there was very little open after 11 at night. Omaha has several 24 hour Walmarts, all of them around Oceanside closed at 11. Same with most of the places to eat, which in all reality is just like Omaha. That surprised me.

The weather was amazing. On January 1st, I went outside at about 1 in the afternoon and it was 81 degrees. That is just unreal. The weather tends to stay between 50 and 80 for the most part year round. There are a few exceptions, I don’t know about the hotter times, I wasn’t there at all during the summer, but there were a few days when it approached freezing while I was there. That seemed quite cold at the time. But I’m looking out the window now in Nebraska, at 6 inches of snow on the ground and a constant 5 degree temperature, and somehow 35 degrees actually sounds kind of nice.

I took the weather for granted while I was there. My car was always clean and sparkling, the interior still looked and smelled new. Now my car is covered in salty grime, the interior has little dirt swipes along the bottom of the doors, there is sand and grime all over in the floor mats, it’s not a disaster area, but it just doesn’t look brand new anymore. But even for how crummy the weather is now, I prefer having the seasons, both because it gives you a change of scenery, and activities, and you also have something to look forward to, if you don’t care for the weather, wait a couple months, it’s going to change.

One thing that didn’t surprise me about California, the people can be very rude. They will cut in line at the store, they will steal your parking spot right in front of you, they will talk over you if you are asking someone a question, just so they can get help before you, it’s really surprising to see just what they feel is acceptable. That’s not to say you always see this, but it is really prevalent. Certainly this isn’t just in California, whenever you throw millions of people into one area you will have this. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy it regardless of where it happens. I was appalled at what I saw from time to time.

Another surprise about California: I seriously thought that I would have to contend with hoards of Hondas and other low rate foreign cars trying to race me all the time. This never happened. In fact, the people driving those cars were reasonable to be around, rarely ever revving the engine at red lights or driving stupid. It was morons in pickup trucks that did all of that. I swear, I’ve never seen so many idiots driving pickups, always trying to race. Time and time again I’d be at an intersection waiting for a light to turn green, sitting next to a lane that would end just after the intersection, and some dumb ass in a pickup would pull up into that lane and inch out ahead as though to get ahead of me. Time and time again I’d leave the morons way behind, as he drives his oversized phallic symbol of a truck as hard as reckless as he can, failing by far to get ahead. It probably has something to do with having several large military facilities nearby, along with having the sand dunes within a couple of hours to the west. But still it was a surprise to see that the idiots aren’t driving little sports cars, they are driving 4X4 pickup trucks.

I will admit though, California wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was amazing like I said. We really didn’t take advantage of being that close to the ocean like we should have, and I should have been out running every day, but I wasn’t. With so much fast food all around, and because I spent 15 months never cooking for myself, I got too used to hopping into my car and heading down the road to Jack in the Box, Carl Jr, McDonalds, etc, to get a burger and fries, many times with a milkshake. It certainly didn’t help that I loved driving my car around too.

But for all the little nice things about California, there are just too many people around for my liking. I am not claustrophobic by any means, but I like to be able to get away from human contact from time to time, to just go outside and get away from people, but out there, so many people. It’s nice in Nebraska to just go fishing or hiking somewhere and not see anyone for an entire day. I suppose had we lived a little further away from the coast in Cali it might have been different. Who knows, maybe we’ll be out there again someday. I know we’ll visit. Not sure if we’ll live there though. Three months is likely enough.

The (White) Crap Show

I don't think anyone can really say that reality television has come 'a long way' as a positive thought, more that reality TV has gone a long way to become a complete and total joke, especially over the last couple of years. With the Total Makeover and Bachelor/Bachelorette shows, and even worse the Surreal Life, the entire genre is truly circling the toilet bowl.

So today I'm hanging out up at Alfonzo's studio and I happen to catch a little bit of a couple of episodes of a new show on VH1, "Ego Trip's White Rapper Show". Now the premise of the show doesn't sound too bad. Ten contestants from across America will live in a run-down South Bronx tenement, and will be put through challenges that will test their knowledge of Hip-Hop culture, as well as their ideas about race.

So, could be interesting, a show that could highlight the rap culture that many young white Americans have embraced, showcasing their talent, right? WRONG!!! In no way, shape, or form did VH1 go for talent in this particular show, they went for the most screwed up, idiotic, totally half assed morons you could think of. Oh they have attitude and they are loud, but they are not talented at all. I guess they must think that the obnoxious arguing and fights are what bring in the ratings?

That's not to say that there wouldn't be obnoxious arguing and fighting among really decent rappers, but at least they would have talent. I looked over at Alfonzo and he had this "What in the FXXX??" look on his face when three of the guys on the show were 'freestyling', which is basically doing lyrics without any background music and without paper, it's all out of your mind. I told Al that the white guys I've seen rap in the studio right here are better than this. He said he had NO idea that this show was THAT bad, and yah, there are a thousand other white guys doing rap that are without a doubt better than that.

I seriously think VH1 wants everyone to have a good laugh at the expense of the white community. I mean honestly, what would happen if you took 10 blacks and put them on a show looking for the next great black country music star, but you picked 10 people who, in terms of music, had about zero talent, instead focusing on character defects and obnoxious personalities to sell your show? I can tell you right now, there would be a monstrous amount of uproar about the show being racist. But hey, these are just stupid white people trying to rap, right? Oh, I guess that makes it all okay???

I will not be watching this show again, even if I do happen to surf past it. There isn't anything even fun to watch, it's just bad. I'd be hard pressed to think 10 random white people couldn't do a better job at rapping than these morons are doing. Thanks VH1 for making white people look even less 'hip' than we already are, appreciate that immensely, because it's not like me going out there and dancing is going to fix that!

Hey Boston, Yes, We Are On The Moon, Doing This As Hard As We Can!



Yes, that's right Boston, Aqua Teen Hunger Force OWNS you!

I have always loved this show, as belly will tell you, it is my favorite Adult Swim cartoon by far. I have even bought several seasons on DVD. It's hard to describe the show to someone who hasn't watched it. Random humor, utterly meaningless plots. Crude and vulgar yet innovative and witty. Even the official website has a difficult time explaining it:

First of all, they're not teens. Secondly, there's no water involved. The whole Hunger Force thing? That's probably misleading, too. In short, if you have to ask what Aqua Teen Hunger Force is about, it is probably not a show for you. The rest of us will go on thrilling to the adventures of Frylock, Meatwad, and Master Shake as they, you know... hang out.

Yes, this show is not for most people, in fact, most people had probably never heard of the show. Oh but a huge thank you to the city of Boston for changing all of that! The LED sign you see below is Err, a Mooninite, from the show. A marketing company promoting the show made these signs and strung them up all over Boston. Basically they consist of a Light Brite type panel and 4 'D' batteries.



Basically ATHF has a movie coming out in a couple of months, so this is part of the promotional campaign. The ad campaign was subtle, very few people really even knew it was going on. Until the good ole' Boston authorities blew everything way out of proportion and decided that these devices could be a 'BOMB', and spent most of the day on January 31, 2007, running around with the bomb squad, police force, firefighters, and anyone else they could think of, running up a more than one million dollar bill and reducing their entire city into a state of panic.

Now, before you jump to conclusions, before you say 'SHAME, how could anyone do a bomb hoax like this???', understand something, this was NOT a bomb hoax, even though Fox News was being utterly retarded and calling it that, even days after the event occured. Basically for it to be a bomb hoax, there would have to be some intent on those responsible for wanting people to believe it was a bomb. That is just not the case.

Also, something else to realize here. These devices had been in place for weeks, yes, weeks. So, for all the mass hysteria that Boston got themselves into over this, just how good are your authorities if they left these 'bombs' in place for so long?

And the kicker, what really shows just how foolishly Boston acted during this whole ordeal: This advertising campaign was going on in TEN different cities, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Notice one particular city? Yes, that's New York, the city that was actually hit by terrorists. New York didn't seem to have any problem with the devices.

So Boston, with that in mind, quit playing the freaking martyr. You screwed up, you are the laughing stock of the United States at this point. Quit talking about making someone else pay for your mistake, quit talking about going after the two men who were hired to put these signs in place. Let it go, learn from your mistakes. Mass hysteria really serves no other purpose than to show the rest of the world just how to bring our country to it's knees, and you fell right into that trap.

The Long Journey Home (Or, Bullwinkle Can’t Drive In The Snow)

For a few days leading up to January 15th, I packed up most of my clothes and other essential items in preparation for my journey back to good ole’ Nebraska. As things go, with belly’s ETS approaching, we felt it’s better to live in a less expensive demographic, one that also has a LOT fewer people. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind people, but oodles and oodles of people streaming out of every orifice of the land like ants, well, that’s just a little too much for me to take.

On the 15th, a sunny warm San Diego Monday, I got everything packed and after a lingering goodbye kiss for my baby I set out on yet another long road trip. I did get lost on my way out of Oceanside I went a little too far, on past the far side of Vista and found myself gallivanting around the foothills of the mountains driving past million dollar homes. It was indeed a beautiful drive but not what I had planned. After about 20 minutes I found my way back onto the right path and got to I-15 and headed north towards Barstow.

I was treated to my last California traffic jam about 20 minutes into my trip, as a semi truck had gotten into a pretty bad accident and was on fire in the opposite lane, and of course the rubber necking sun baked tards, who can’t drive worth a shit anyway, had traffic slowed down to a stand still on both sides of the highway. After that however it was reasonably smooth sailing, and I even had one last SRT-4 sighting.

I hit I-40 east and set sail at about 85 mph. I would say hit the cruise but unfortunately my car does not come equipped with cruise, and do to the throttle body assembly, it is next to impossibly to install cruise on the car. But, needless to say, with a full car and oodles and oodles of power at my command, I was having a fun drive. The desert is probably not the most appealing place to live, unless you are a lizard or rattlesnake, but it is certainly a pretty sight to drive through.

I was going to try and make it to Sante Fe, NM, but I hadn’t slept well the last couple of nights so I ended up bedding down in Flagstaff, AZ. About an hour outside of the city, as the sun was drifting below the horizon, I got to see snow for the first time in nearly two years. A little while later as I got out of my car to fuel up, I admired the snow, in my short sleeve shirt that is perfect for San Diego weather. That was enough snow for me, I was about ready to head back to California.

As I drove over to the Days Inn, I realized just how awful my car is on the snow and ice, and how careful I was going to have to be. Oh, if only I could know what awaited me. I’m going to say this much about Days Inn. I stayed there a couple of times in the 1990’s and I had an enjoyable time. Now in this millennium, I have stayed there twice, and both times the Days Inn has been a dump. I will never again stay in one. The housing was falling off the floor unit furnace under the window, and when I fired it up, the fan squeaked as though the bearings had no oil on them whatsoever. The television was like a 13 inch screen, I’m surprised it wasn’t black and white.

I ordered pizza though, and as the furnace warmed up the fan quieted down, and I crashed hard, fully expecting a good night’s sleep, considering how tired I was. I woke up at about 1 in the morning though, and couldn’t get back to sleep. I laid there restless watching movies until about 6 in the morning when I finally was able to drift back into dreamland. I was rather stressed, maybe more so than I was willing to let on. I really really missed belly already, it was so hard to just leave her behind, but we both knew the importance of my getting a decent job and getting settled before she gets out of the Marines. Even so, I would have slept a lot better with my other half by my side.

I got up around 9 a.m. surprisingly rested, and took a quick shower and shave then hopped into the car and headed on down the road. Temps were in the high 20’s and low 30’s, and there was snow all around, but thankfully the sun was out and the roads were dry. The eastern part of New Mexico was pretty, but the further I went, the more it looked like eastern Colorado, a veritable waste land of semi arid desert plains. Northern Texas was even more of that, and worse. All in all it was a relatively boring area to drive in. As nightfall came, I stopped in Amarillo at a much nicer place, a Baymont Inn & Suites.

I slept a little better that night but still not very well. Again I missed my baby, or, my babies as is the situation these days. In the morning I had myself a hot complimentary breakfast. I find it interesting how exciting it is to have this free breakfast, but when you really look at it, the meal is quite shitty. Some 10 cent tiny muffins and scrambled eggs with bacon bits added is not my idea of a quality breakfast yet I still find myself trotting down there at 7 a.m. to get my mastication on.

As I checked out the weather on the internet before I left, I realized I had made a major judgment error. By going below Colorado, I bypassed the sometimes treacherous mountains in favor of the typically clean and clear southern route. This ended up being a poor choice, as Oklahoma had ice dumped all over the last weekend. So, rather than take the highways diagonally, I chose to stay on the interstate, even though it might add an hour or two to my trip, it was just safer that way.

I made the trip from Amarillo to Oklahoma City in one long stretch, got fuel and headed north on I-35. There was a lot of ice around, and it was in the middle of the interstate on some stretches of the road, like a natural dividing line for the two lanes, but the roads themselves were dry for the most part. I took the toll road diagonally up towards Topeka when I hit Wichita Kansas. The drivers around Wichita are complete morons, I’ll say that much. When I got to Topeka, I nearly ran my car out of gas. I was trying to find a populated area to stop in, and if you are headed up the toll road and then veer off onto Highway 75 North, you just don’t find anything.

With 0.1 gallons left on my Aeroforce gauge, I ended up turning around and heading back and fueling up at the most disgusting gas station I’ve seen in some time. Downtown Topeka is a lovely cesspool, and this particular station had nothing but premium fuel, lucky for me, because I require 91 octane for my car. I went in to use the restroom and I was told it was ‘closed’. Oh well, it was probably safer to hold it anyway, considering I felt like I might get knifed at any time.

Then it was back on my journey north, up 75. Of course, wouldn’t you know it, I crested the hill RIGHT after the exit I turned around on, and there was a large sized traveler’s lodge type gas station with restaurant and I’m sure plenty of wonderful bathrooms. Murphy’s law, you gotta love it! I had made up my mind though that I was going to travel all the way till I got home, another 3 hours or so along mostly 2 lane highway.

Sure enough, at about 2045, I arrived at my parents, exhausted. I brought only my travel bags in the house, left the rest in the car for the next day, and crashed in the guest room. I fell asleep immediately but even there I woke up and had to pull the pillows in close because the bed just felt too empty. There is good reason for what we are both doing now in our lives but even so it’s difficult to once again be apart. One thing is certain, even if we are not physically together, our hearts are never apart, and that’s what keeps me going even when I miss her so much.

Oh, almost forgot, the next day, hadn’t even been home for 24 hours, and I was trying to get up my parents driveway in my car and lost traction, so I tried back down the driveway slowly, and the car went sideways and hit a school bus. Yah, welcome home to me, my brand new car has scratches all over the bumper cover. She’s scheduled for a Monday fix, pulling the bumper cover and repainting. And this summer, I’ll be buying a cheapie car or fixing one up to drive when it’s crappy out.

PHOTOS FROM THE TRIP!!!

Taken just a few miles after getting onto I-40 East out of Barstow

Same area, front view. Any story about a car like mine going 140 mph in the desert is only a rumor!

This is my Aeroforce Tech Interceptor Pro gauge off to the left of the speedometer. Typically I have it on MPG and gallons of fuel left in the tank. It reads 33 total parameters, from ambient air temp to fuel pulse width, etc, etc. Fun stuff!

A rather pretty area of Arizona. The Camaro ahead of me was driven by a female who couldn't seem to decide on a speed, needless to say, her V-6 engine got left behind in the hills.

A unique rock formation in New Mexico, they have a lot of natural formations like this.

SNOW!! OH GOD SNOW!! Okay, ready for warm weather again.

Oh Father

For those who do not know, belly and I are expecting a little bundle of joy sometime near the end of summer. We found out last month, got a surprise a couple of weeks before Christmas, an early gift you might say. We were trying but I figured it would take 3 or 4 months, instead it took maybe 2 weeks if that, crazy!

I don't know if you are ever prepared for such a thing but it still seems like a dream sometimes. I'm the oldest of six children so I know what to expect but I'm guessing there will still be a lot of surprises. Of course our child will be good looking and intelligent, athletic, and will probably not be addicted to the internet at all *hah*

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be a little boy, but my biggest concern is having a healthy baby. Thankfully belly was ready for this, no alcohol, she's been taking prenatal vitamins since before I got home, and we have both been trying to eat healthy.

There are many changes ahead for us as a family. I'm excited and looking forward to them, that is for sure!

The Little Soldier That Wouldn't

When you join the American military, you join a prestigious organization with more than 250 years of history, from before the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in the middle east. Americans do not have a right to serve in the military, it is a privilege for those who meet the physical requirements, those who are able to withstand the mental stress that comes from combat situations.

There is no draft right now, no one is holding a gun to someone’s head and making them join the military, to raise their right hand swear they will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Part of the oath one swears when entering military service is to “…bear true faith and allegiance and obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over you.” With this in mind when I see a member of the military refuse to perform his military service as a “conscientious objector”, it makes me extremely angry.

Oh, you have no problem joining the military, accepting a paycheck, using the G.I. Bill to pay your way thru college, but you want to pick and choose your fights based on what you believe in? The military doesn’t work like that, the whole premise to military service is that you follow your orders, regardless of personal preference. In some countries, you are required to serve in the military, and refusing to serve means you are summarily executed. How interesting that here in the United States you have jackasses that volunteer for military service, and then refuse to serve. Maybe a few executions would help eliminate this sort of thing, hmm?

The military is there to protect your rights as a citizen of the United States. For those who would defend the so called “conscientious objector”, you should really get your heads examined. You are allowed to believe whatever you want in this great country, but you damn sure should understand that without the military, you wouldn’t have that ability. Yes, you have every right to talk ignorant shit about how “you shouldn’t have to fight if you don’t want to” and other such nonsense, but don’t forget to thank those of us in the military for protecting your right to believe such moronic rubbish.

It’s even more disgusting to me when officers, the men and women responsible for leading young soldiers into battle, decide they don’t want to fulfill their obligations. Take 1st Lt. Ehren Watada for instance. This piece of crap says “Oh, I’m not a conscientious objector, I just don’t want to fight in Iraq because the war is illegal.” Uh, wrong you sorry sack of shit. The legality of the military actions within Iraq are under the determination of the U.S. Government, not you, and certainly not any of your loopy screwball anti-war buddies who are backing you.

Watada could face up to six years in prison if found guilty of one count of missing a movement and four counts of disobeying an order. He should get a mandatory 10 year sentence at Ft. Leavenworth assigned to hard labor breaking rocks with his bare fists. It’s time to make an example of these people who join the military then refuse to serve. Unfortunately Watada will probably get a year or two in some country club. Turning your back on your obligations is becoming a real epidemic in this country, people just don’t want to be held accountable these days.