Jeff's Two Cents

Meh... I moved.

2008-06-17T12:02:00.001-07:00

I'm no longer blogging at this address. You can find me on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=593852949

In Translation...

2006-02-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

I'm a hard core Mac freak. I just realized that one of the new OSX.4 widgets is a language translator...

Technology is cool.

Je déteste des libéraux. Vous tout êtes un embarassment. Cassez-vous.

Bye!

The Art of Becoming A Backwards Racist Bastard

2006-02-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

Am I becoming a racist? Gee, I hope not. I have always worked so hard to be a good person, to judge folks by their character - not by the color of their skin. But these days, I will admit shockingly to the world that when I see someone of Middle East descent, I (1) Don't want to be near them, and (2) I have anger towards them.

Listen, this thing... Militant Islam, Extremist Islam, Islamofacism, whatever you want to call it... it scares me. It scares me as I guess Nazism scared my father. Maybe the average Muslim isn't bent on Armageddon and nuclear destruction, but there can be no doubt that there is a group... a POWERFUL group that does.

Let's talk about the cartoon riots for just a moment.

First, Muslims say they are enraged because their religion prohibits full artistic depictions of Mohammed. Well, to all you pious Muslims out there, I have one thing to say. BULLSHIT.

From the website ZOMBIETIME: "From While the debate rages, an important point has been overlooked: despite the supposed Islamic prohibition against depicting Mohammed under any circumstances, hundreds of paintings, drawings and other images of Mohammed have been created over the centuries, with nary a word of complaint from the Muslim world. The recent cartoons in Jyllands-Posten are nothing new; it's just that no other images of Mohammed have ever been so widely publicized."

And these fine folks have documented their (my) position with nearly a hundred images from the past century. If you're interested, you can see them here, and I would urge you to do so.

Have you even SEEN the original cartoon? The one that made these insane bastards go apeshit? It's benign at best. It's an Arab (doesn't look anything like any other illustration of Mohammed I have ever seen) and in his turban is a bomb with a lit fuse. To me, the message: "Islam is Violent and ready to explode"

And What happened? The bomb went off and Islam exploded. The reaction from the European press was pretty severe, and their own bloggers and web pundits really tore into the Muslims... here is one example from a Danish site, called "Retecool" that contains images that are definitely insulting to Islam and more controversial. Note: just because you can't read Danish doesn't mean some of these images aren't controversial and offensive. Consider yourself forewarned.

But hey, that's part of freedom.

It makes me a little sick to show you that image, but does anyone remember Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" where a crucifix was simply dropped into a jar of urine and called "art?" I don't remember Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, Mormons OR ANY OTHER CHRISTIAN FAITH rising up and burning New York City in protest. Most of us were disgusted by it. Some peacefully protested. Some rightfully attempted to end GOVERNMENT FUNDING for such "art." But we remained civilized human beings through it all.

Why can't those wacky Islamists do the same thing?

And why... WHY are western leaders apologizing, gnashing teeth and asking citizens across the globe to stop drawing, posting and sharing such "inciteful" artwork? More than anything, this scares me. REALLY scares me. Why? Because the extremists just won! They have attacked free speech, and now free speech is being examined by governments who purport to protect it. All I can ask is "what's next?"

If I was a Muslim, and saw two clowns like this at GROUND ZERO in New York City, I would go over and kick the holy shit out of them myself. But they never do. They rarely speak up. And it makes me wonder... and rational, educated, people just like me wonder... is that what they believe? Does the Koran teach them to kill all infidels? Am *I* an infidel? What should I think or do?

When I am on an airplane with my family and there is a middle age Muslim-looking dude sitting nearby, should I be worried?

What is coming next? And by saying that am I admitting another defeat?

And if you think I am becoming a backwards racist bastard for saying so, I actually think I am OK with being one. It pains me to say so, but I know millions of people feel the same way - I'm just one of the few to actually voice that opinion. I don't want to feel that way, but they are bringing their terror here. They are virtually taking over Europe. What's next?

I live in a small town. Even we have a mosque. I never used to care. But I do now. I wish it didn't exist. I want it gone. It scares me. Makes me wonder what is going on in there besides free association and religious worship. Makes me wonder who funds it and why.

Tolerance and compassion is a two way street. I'm not seeing much from the other side, so mine is getting pretty thin.

I think a major clash of civilizations is on the horizon.

Um...

2006-01-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

Holy crap. I have a blog?

Who knew?

Maybe I should post every now and then.

Laura... I'm a little disappointed.

2005-09-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

HEY LAURA INGRAHAM! I'm a little disappointed in you.

As you might see from the links on my page here, I am a Laura Ingraham fan. I listen to her show almost every day, I am a premium subscriber online, and I really think her wit and style is great radio. But after trying to email her for the past two weeks, I have to admit that I am disappointed in the lack of her response to my subject matter.

Wait. Whooooa there, nelly. *I* actually expect a huge, famous, nationally syndicated talk show host to respond to *moi?*

Well, maybe not personally, but I really wanted her to relay the message I was sending her.

You see, Ingraham is one of my favorite hosts because on the air - like the title of her bestselling book - she tells pop artists (and actors) to "Shut Up And Sing." (Or act.) To me, leftist actors and musicians have RUINED my enjoyment of much of their mediums. I never quite understood how people, albeit talented, got the right to spout off their political nonsense to me. Most of these yutzes have very little formal education, if even a high school diploma, yet they feel 100% comfortable mouthing off against conservatives and making themselves look like complete dolts to anyone who actually follows the news.

Thank GOD I was able to see Bull Durham and the Shawshank Redemption before Sarandon and Tim Robbins went nutty. Thanks to their hardcore activism, combined with my lack of available time and money, I refuse to spend my money on projects by them and other activist-types. If an artist wants to hold a political opinion, fine. But, if that same artist wants to foist his or her opinions on me, then I'll just remove myself from the situation and not spend my money on them.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am clearly aware that 90% or more actors and musical artists that I watch and listen to are flaming liberals. Fine. I can live with that - it's a free country. But freedom of speech comes with a price. In business, I don't purchase products when I know a manufacturer openly supports causes I don't believe in. Same in my personal life. When Levi's cut off the Boy Scouts a few years back, I cut Levi's out of my closet. I just don't want all that stuff shoved in my face.

Unfortunately, a lot of Americans are stupid... so if Barbera Streisand, Bruce Springsteen or George Clooney say it is so, they believe it to be true. It's a constant source of annoyance for me.

I couldn't agree more. SHUT UP AND SING.

So why am I peeved at Laura Ingraham?

As you may have read below, I had a Journey (the band) renaissance this past summer after attending their concert in Las Vegas. Now, before the concert, I always loved their music. After their concert - well, I haven't been obsessive, but I guess you could call me a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BIG FAN. (REALLY.)

Why? Easy. Musical talent. These boys sound AWESOME on stage, as good as their studio albums. I didn't know musicians actually wrote songs and played their own musical instruments anymore. But secondly, from what I personally witnessed (Jonathan Cain soloing "The Star Spangled Banner") and what I have heard and read, these guys have what I would term as "Heartland Values." and it it SO REFRESHING to be able to love a band's music but not be constantly dodging their message. They seem to love America and not be ashamed to say so. Me too.

But, then I read this forum post at the official Journey Website. This is from a military wife to her husband who is serving in Iraq:

Hi Hubby, I just got home from the Journey concert. No, this could not wait until morning for me to tell you. I got a "5 star VIP" access. I was in the front row (center). At one point they played the Star Spangled Banner. I got emotional and started to cry.

The bass player noticed and "asked" (by saluting) if I had someone serving. I nodded yes. Then he bowed and made "praying hands". He kept looking at me off & on during the show, I guess checking to make sure I was okay (?). They played a song & dedicated it to the people serving. Thank God it wasn't a ballad, or I'd have been "done".

They did show scenes on the screens of military overseas, I kept biting my lip, just in case. I don't know what the song was, but the drummer was pointing to one of his cymbals & then at me. I just nodded. He kept motioning it and then the girls next to me said that "he's giving me one of his cymbals", so I assumed I made a mistake and didn't think much of it until the show was over. At the end, they all came down to bow & he took the cymbal with him & handed it to me. It says "For your loved one and you" signed by the drummer "Tell him Thank you for his service" Journey '05 I'm just stunned/speechless. Thought you'd want to know. I love you so much & I am very proud of you.

Always & Forever, Sweetling

Now, this story IS AWESOME. Seems like most bands these days would whip it out and piss on this woman for knowing someone serving in Iraq, but the members of Journey HONORED her. How cool is that!!!!?

Just yesterday, Ingraham spent nearly 20 minutes yapping about the Rolling Stones and their "Neo-Con" song, including playing the track and bleeping out the nasties. My problem isn't with her doing that, because people need to know. But seriously, if you are going to spend so much time focusing on the bad, then for Christ's sake, when the rare occasion for good comes along, why in the world would you not want to make people aware of it?

I don't get it Laura.

Unfortunately, my blog doesn't reach very many people, but I wanted to get it off my chest. I am also reprinting lyrics from Journey's upcoming album "Generations" (they are giving it away at their shows with paid admission) that I think illustrates the patriotism I am talking about. FYI - "Out Of Harm's Way" is the song the writer above is referring to, in case you were wondering.

-----

FAITH IN THE HEARTLAND

He goes to work in a brand new dawn
with the early morning sunrise
He's got his dream and he's holding on
It's getting harder every day

He loves a girl who speaks her mind
Don't always look at life the same way
Sharing truth that will heal in time

They wanna believe something real
Still they're searching
They're keeping the faith in the heartland tonight

Time moves on at the failing town
And he struggled with the changes
The stores are closed, friends have moved away
Now it's hope that sees him through

The kids have gone but they'll see them all
At the Sunday congregation
Sharing dreams which will heal in time

They wanna believe something real
Still they're searching
They're keeping the faith in the heartland tonight

Ooh it's the worlds that divide them
It's love that defines them
They're keeping the faith in the heartland tonight
In our darkest hour, oh we look to the sky
With a silent prayer, believe that god's on our side
In a land where freedom rings, and where eagles fly
Ooh yeah, yeah

They wanna believe something real
Still they're searching
They're keeping the faith in the heartland tonight

Ooh it's the worlds that divide them
It's love that defines them
They're keeping the faith in the heartland tonight
In our darkest hour, oh we look to the sky
With a silent prayer, believe that god's on our side
In a land where freedom rings, and where eagles fly
Ooh yeah, yeah

Ooh I just want to believe it
Give me something to believe in
We all need something to believe in
In the heart tonight

--------

OUT OF HARM'S WAY

He grew up in some forgotten midwest town
His mama raised him well
Barely getting by thought he'd be okay
As far as he could tell
Oh the plant in town closed ten years ago
Now an empty ghost it stands
For the last nine months he's tried to find a job
But there's nothing to be had

So he signs up to fight for Uncle Sam
It's the only choice he's got
To fight a desert war with another land
Only to find peace or not
He's a moving target in a desperate place
Every day is a twist of fate
Oh, his family wonders if he'll make it home
Know his faith's his saving grace

Now he's waking up in a strange land
To face an even stranger day
Brave one, standing tall
Keep them all out of harm's way

Now he's waking up in a strange land
To face an even stranger day
Brave one, standing tall
Keep them all out of harm's way

Oh, they sent him home to his family
Nursing wounds that no one sees
Certain scents and smells trigger flashback spells
That rewind the tragedy
All these memories hold him prisoner
It's of the violence he regrets
What was his ticket out is his nightmare now
In a war he can't forget

Now he's waking up in a strange land
To face an even stranger day
Brave one, standing tall
Keep them all out of harm's way

Now he's waking up in a strange land
To face an even stranger day
Brave one, standing tall
Keep them all out of harm's way

Journey... GENERATIONS

2005-08-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

On August 5, I went and saw Journey in concert at the Aladdin Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas with one of my best friends, Mike Honeycutt.

Again, a subject I will write at length about, Journey is an awesome band, regardless of what you might personally think or have heard about Steve Perry leaving the band. I first learned of Perry's replacement in 2001, AFTER listening to and LOVING their first album without Perry... "Arrival."

I personally feel that "Arrival" is one of Journey's strongest albums in their history, probably the best since the 1981 album "Escape."

Anyhow, the concert was part of a 30th Anniversary tour, and the show was AMAZING. They played for three and a half hours (yes, you read that right) and Mike and I sat about 30-35 rows back, right in the center. They were awesome seats.

The best part of the concert for me (besides the music that truly was the soundtrack of my adolescence) was when guitarist Neal Schon mesmerised the crowd with his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. The crowd was pumped, his fingers were flying... and it was so cool to be at a musical event where people were... gosh, patriotic!

Anyhow, the concert was awesome. Here's the set list. The photos were taken by Marty Moffatt. You can see larger versions of these photos and a ton more by clicking here.

People & Places intro
Kohoutek
Of a Lifetime (Jon)
I'm Gonna Leave You (Jon)
Nickel & Dime
Mystery Mountain (Jon)
Patiently (Deen)
Where Were You (Deen)
Feeling That Way (Jon/Steve)
Anytime (Jon/Steve)
Any Way You Want It

-intermission-

DVD intro
Be Good to Yourself
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Higher Place
Wheel in the Sky
Voodoo Chile/Gypsy Queen (Neal)
Lights
Walks Like a Lady
Every Generation (Jon)
Who's Crying Now
Jon solo
Open Arms
Escape
Out of Harms Way
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

-encore-

Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'

Miss Sheehan... Shut the hell up.

2005-08-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to stay away from the topic of Cindy Sheehan - mainly because it makes me so damn angry. I keep waiting and waiting for this story to die, but for whatever reason, it never does.

Miss Sheeehan - you are a complete disgrace. Your son would be mortified and embarassed beyond belief with with the ass you have managed to make of yourself - at the expense of his memory.

Miss Sheeehan - you are a freaking crackpot. Stark raving looney. You are a sixties throwback reading liberal talking points, and the same libs who handed you those cue cards are USING you for every ounce of publicity they can get.

It's getting old now. Even the liberal media is getting tired of you and your shrillness. Your fifteen minutes are nearly up. After that, you might make the "Time Pictures of the Year" collectors issue, you might even make it into a Trivial Pursuit game as a counterculture question.

After that, you can go home... to your empty house. You have alienated all of your family and many of your friends. Your empty home will echo with the life of your lost son, and as you struggle with the fact that you represented the worst of everything he was not, you can rot in your own misery.

You may try to pick up the banner of another liberal cause or two, but you will soon learn that not even they will want you. Why? You're nuts. Your media value will be nil.

I am so glad that the counter-demonstration against you is growing in size and strength. That parents are going to your field of crosses, finding their son or daughter's name and uprooting it to proclaim that you do not speak for them or represent their views.

I don't know which is worse... your complete meltdown in front of a national audience, or the media who have over-covered you and your agenda.

Either way, I am sincerely waiting for the day that you finally shut the hell up.

Vega$ There We Were...

2005-08-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a few questions about my previously mentioned trip to Las Vegas. I'm gonna give you the answers in a nutshell, and I am planning on expanding on them with several posts over the next month or so.

Yes, we went. Yes, I WON! Yes, we had a flippin' GREAT time. And in reality, after being home for about 5 days, I went BACK, mainly because our first vacation ended up costing us NOTHING and JOURNEY was playing in concert. So, I got back on a plane and headed over for another 3 days, had a great time at the concert, AND WON SOME MORE!

Yes, I love Las Vegas. And, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, I am getting pretty damn good at planning trips there. So, I am going to share some insights regarding hotels, meals, and entertainment - hopefully these posts might help you plan a great trip as well.

Stupid, Stupid Parents

2005-08-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess my blog is small enough and read by few enough that I can say something that most people will find distateful.

WHAT THE HELL WAS NATALEE HOLLOWAY DOING ALONE IN ARUBA AT 18 YEARS OLD?

Now, I don't think she deserved any of this, nor did her family. Death is pretty extreme, right?

But really. This is a total joke. 18 year old children shouldn't receive an unsupervised trip to Aruba as a graduation present. This is a complete invitation for disaster. And it seems as if disaster is what her family has gotten. Parents everywhere, I hope you heed this warning. Don't put your children into situations they don't have the maturity or life experience for. This girl was a HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE.

ZERO life experience.

It looks like she was a beautiful, relatively intelligent girl. Smart for High School. Now the difference between book smarts and street smarts is revealed for all to see. What a complete and total waste. It's just so sad.

Don't get me wrong - I sincerely hope they catch her killers in Aruba. They deserve to fry. But her parents... her PARENTS... share in the responsibility for her death. It's the truth, plain and simple.

So stupid...

Good Luck, Godspeed

2005-07-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

2 1/2 years later, we're back in space and back on track. It's about time. What a spectacular launch this morning.

Who is the genius that thought this shot up? Give that man or woman an Oscar. Outstanding footage, just superb.

Tour De Kerry

2005-07-24T22:48:00.000-07:00

I want to stress how thoroughly disgusted I am that John Kerry went out to the tour, and apparently with the blessings of Lance Armstrong, did a bit of grandstanding. Hey John... you lost the election, get over it. You're never going to be president AND NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOU! What are you doing now, exactly, running for President of France? Well, that would actually be one career choice I could get behind...

And, um, the U.S. Senate is still in session. Get back to Washington and get your ass back to work. Don't you have someone to obstruct, fillibuster or gerrymander? God, you're a pompous asshole.

Heh, pardon my French...

Way to go Lance... you shmuck.

2005-07-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

I have been a cycling fan for a long time. I mean, a LONG time. Way before Lance Armstrong, way before it was either fashionable or cool, like it will be again in 5-10 years after Lance has vanished from the scene. You see as a kid in Junior High School and High School, I grew so damn fast and was so gawky and uncoordinated that cycling was about all I could do as a sport. Sure, every couple of years I convinced myself to be a total fool and try out for the baseball team, but I could get on a bike and ride... 25... 50... 100... 200 miles and more. So, while I tried to race and never was that good at it, I competed against myself daily and loved nearly every minute of it.

Someday soon I am going to buy a new bike and pick it up again.

But for now, I am getting sidetracked.

I wanted to write for a moment today about Lance. Yeah, Lance Effing Armstong, he greatest cyclist in the history of the sport. The dude who invented those annoying yellow bracelets, overcame the worst possible odds to beat testicular and brain cancer and won the Tour De France SEVEN times as of today. Way to go buddy, enjoy the champagne that will undoubtedly flow freely tonight, you have certainly earned it.

I personally became a Lance fan after reading his novel: “It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.” Well, I didn’t *read* it, I listened to the unabridged audio book, but it’s all the same. Anyhow, I had been out of the sport a while, and other than the fact that he dominated cycling like Jordan dominated basketball, I didn’t know that much about his personal story. After reading the book I was really amazed, really impressed and so inspired by him.

Here’s a review from Amazon.com written by Jill Lightner, and it really was spot-on.

People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike.

Especially impressive was his relationship with his mother, Linda Armstrong Kelly and his girlfriend turned wife, Kristin. The one thing I remember clearly was that when Lance Armstrong was a younger bicycle-racing stud, he was a real asshole. I knew those types from the bike stores and the local races, egotistical bastards - the better the rider, the bigger jerk they tended to be. (Like I used to say, the larger the quads, the larger the attitude - and the smaller the penis!) Apparently, not many people liked him. Not even a little bit. Not many, save for his mother who had raised him without a father being in the picture, and a girlfriend who somehow reconnected with him during his illness and stood beside him when very few would. But with the love and support of those two women and a few select friends, he made it. It seemed like a great story about enduring faith, love and friendship.

So, why am I sore at Lance? (If you don't want to read some negative comments about Mr. Armstrong, consider yourself warned and STOP READING NOW.)

I remember reading in People magazine a couple of years ago that Lance was leaving his wife and THREE kids. OK, so divorce happens. It could happen to me, so I will try not to be too judgmental. Then I watched his whole sordid thing with Cheryl Crow unfold... I felt bad for his wife and kids. I mean, why have a normal wife... when you can have a ROCK STAR wife? Then a few weeks ago, I saw his mother’s special on the discovery channel, and I was really amazed that after all she had done for him growing up as a single mom that when she finally married (remarried?) that he couldn’t take a day out of his schedule to be at her wedding.

Now, all of these pictures of Lance parading around Crow with his kids, all wearing their pretentious 10/2 crap (October 2, 1996 was the day Armstrong was dignosed with cancer), or Lance hanging with John Kerry (who is riding around in his team support vehicle) all the left-leaning politics and the schmoozing...I don’t know about the whole thing. It all looks weird, and feels weird. From asshole with a conversion to nice guy via cancer and now, it would seem, reverting to form. In the true rock star fashion he now seems to embody - just like the sponsors who dropped his ass like a hot stone when he uttered the words "brain cancer," he seem to have dropped those in his life who have sacrificed the most -- and given the most to him.

(Now granted, this is all coming from an outsider who doesn't know anything about... well, anything. However, if I am wrong, then Lance - you need to hire a new PR person, because you are really coming off like a dick, at least to me.)

So Lance, congrats on a great cycling career. I am glad you beat cancer. It's cool you dominated the Tour De France for seven years. It's nice you raise money for cancer. Maybe you should sell fewer little bracelets and donate a few of your own millions.

But you’re not a role model. You might be a great cyclist, but I don't think you’re a great human being.

Light that candle!

2005-07-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well, looks like if we're lucky, the Shuttle might launch Sunday. Probably not but maybe. Apparently they had some thingamajig problem with this really complex doohickey that connects to whatsit... and... it just won't go.

So, the first reason for my post today is to express some frustration. I have been waiting for 2 1/2 years for a shuttle launch, and I am READY to see that great bird back into the sky.

My second reason for posting is that I am totally amused and disgusted simultaneously by our mainstream media. I actually read this headline on CNN.com two nights ago:

"SPACE SHUTTLE: IS IT REALLY SAFE?"

OK, I am going to keep this short and sweet.

Of course it's not safe you [insert choice expletive here] morons.

You are taking 4.5 million pounds of equipment and fuel, lighting external solid rocket boosters and hurtling 115 to 400 miles into space at a speed of 17,321 miles per hour on dual columns of white-hot flame.

Safe? Not freakin' hardly. In fact, there is probably very little on our planet that is more dangerous. No matter how many safety improvements they make, space flight is 100% dangerous, all the time.

Not only that, but As the Shuttle cannot fly unmanned, each and every safety improvement that has been designed - has been "tested" on operational flights. Can you say Guinea Pigs? That's kinda like crash testing your own car.

And here begins the rant.

SINCE WHEN does everything we do have to be so safe? Our government and the media pundits seem to think that if it's not safe, we shouldn't be doing it. I am so sick of this mentality. The United States was founded by men and women who took risks. Some lived, many died, but all built a strong country with a legacy of bravery that will never be equalled.

It's just what we do.

Now we see images of the Challenger and Columbia astronauts and so many wimps wring their hands and wonder aloud if it's all really worth it. Of course it's worth it, unless you want to become stale and stagnant as a species.

But in 2005, the government and our wimpy media pundits just don't think heroism and bravery are cool. Go figure. Perfect in an age of OSHA and our nanny-state.

Someday, I hope to take a space flight. I really want to see the planet that way before I die. In the meantime, I am more than happy to enjoy the exploits of our last strain of true heroes - our astronauts and members of our military (often one in the same) - and teach my son to admire them and aspire to their greatness.

It's amazing to think that taking risks has become such a shocking and politically incorrect thing to do. What would we be without heroes?

Here's to a launch sooner than later - good luck and Godspeed to our astronauts.

I bought a Nikon D70s

2005-07-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Yup, broke down and bought a gorgeous Nikon D70s Digital SLR.

This baby wails. I'll give you a full report after I have a chance to play with it, but to view the manufacturer information click here.

Paige Davis... Gone!? (sniff)

2005-07-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well TLC really did it now. As you might read from an earlier post, I HATE TRADING SPACES. Really, I loathe it. Not because it's a bad show, but because it was a fun idea that used to be on once a week and now is a fricking rehash, mostly with loser designers, and I swear it's on like five times a day.

Too much!

Anyhow, what originally made TS was Paige Davis and Ty Pennington. Ty has moved onto bigger and better things, and now TLC has given Paige the boot.

Press Statement:

"TLC is taking Trading Spaces in a new creative direction, transitioning to a "host-less" format this spring. As a result, Paige Davis will be leaving the cast of Trading Spaces. We believe that this new creative direction will enable the show to be more spontaneous, focus more on the homeowners and designers, and create alternative home trades in different cities and on opposite coasts.

Paige helped make Trading Spaces a great success for the network and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Paige's last new episode will premiere in March, with repeat episodes of Trading Spaces airing throughout the year."

With all due respect, what a stupid move this was. Well, now I have one less reason to watch this asinine show. At least with Paige, there was some eye candy on that would regularly prevent me from looking at my wife and saying "Turn this shit off!" No more.

My only hope is that in a well-timed publicity maneuver designed to launch her career to the next level, Paige ends up in Playboy. :)

Anybody Home...?

2005-07-12T11:05:00.003-07:00

Nope, I haven't blogged in a while. I missed the retirement of O'Connor, the London bombings and much more.

So why haven't I blogged?

Mostly, I'm just busy. I am working on a large annual design job, and of course - I have to deal with all of my "normal" work responsibilities at the same time. So, to put it lightly, I am working a lot. At the end of the month (7/27) I am heading for my first vacation in 5 years as we head for Las Vegas.

In the meantime, I am trying to figure out what my blogging is really all about. Seems like all I have been writing about is politics. Now, I think I do a decent job with this, but there are plenty of blogs out there you can read for that kinda stuff, many from writers a lot better than myself. So, when I get back to this on a regular basis, I want to be a bit more diverse with my subject matter. No, I won't be abandoning politics, but I want to talk about some of my other interests too - my family, my dog, computers, cameras, cooking, whatever.

So yeah, I'm here, I'm "home." Just really busy and trying to figure out the meaning of "blog" in my own life.

Supreme Court... Totalitarian?

2005-06-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

And what the hell is going on with a Supreme Court regularly described as "Conservative" saying that "fostering economic development is an appropriate use of the government's power of eminent domain."

So, if the city decides a hotel is better on your property than your home, then it's fine.

How about if there is an individual who is upset about development encroaching on his home or business who voices that opinion and fights the development? Sudden retribution for a person standng up for their land rights might come in the form of a PARKING LOT where your house used to sit, provided that parking lot fosters economic growth.

Sorry, I think this smacks of big brother, big business, and totalitarianism. We need to get more conservative judges on the court, and Bush had better not screw this up.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas objected that "the words 'for public use' do not realistically exclude any takings, and thus do not exert any constraint on the eminent domain power.''

O'Connor said, "Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner, so long as it might be upgraded.''

Wild. This is so much more important than anything else going on in the news, and it seems as if it being buried. I hope I am not the only one who understands how serious this could be...

coverage from Fox News
coverage from Mercury News

Calling a Spade a Spade.

2005-06-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

- Karl Rove, senior political adviser to President Bush, at a fund-raiser in Midtown Manhattan for the Conservative Party of New York State

Wow. It's about time.

And Karl Rove is absolutely right.

One of the big news stories covered by alternative media this month has been the usurping of the World Trade Center ground zero memorial facility. Apparently, that project has been taken over by leftists, who - rather than simply memorializing those who died in the attack, want to look at the event with "historical perspectives" involved and explain what actions of the United States may have motivated the attackers into action.

Now, Rove was careful, as I generally try to be... if you note, he didn't say "Democrats," he said "Liberals." Personally, I prefer the term "Leftist" because that's what the majority of so-called modern-day American liberals truly are. Not all democrats are leftists, not all republicans are conservatives. But it is interesting today that the same group of politicians, like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, who have spent so much time and political capital extolling the fact that they are not liberals, now are calling for an apology.

Um, hello... if you're not a leftist liberal HE WASN'T TALKING ABOUT YOU!

Oh, right. You ARE leftist liberals.

Let me get this straight. Dick Durbin has vocal diarrhea ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE against our troops and GITMO, compares our President to Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot and then offers two non-apology apologies, and that's okay? Outright fabrications? And then Karl Rove has the stones to say something no other political hack (including dubya) will not, that is TRUE, and he should apologize? I'm happy to see everyone, including the Bush Administration, standing behind these comments.

Karl Rove has called these folks on the carpet, and boy are they pissed about it. Good. Now, maybe moderate democrats will begin to distance themselves from politicians in that camp and we can have a real debate of issues and really try to get some work done, something which does not happen very often because our government has been overrun at all levels by these wacko-extremist leftists. They obstruct progress, they obstruct safety, and God save us all if they ever take power.

Way to go, Karl.

A sidenote: there has been a lot of demands for trials for the folks in gitmo, many coming so-called conservatives as well, who are feeling the pressure from the left, are misinformed, or are just downright stupid (um, John McCain & Lindsay Graham) so I wanted to post this link for you...

Debunking Another Gitmo Myth for 'Maverick' John McCain

John McCain, you are a moderate, obtuse, egotistical MORON. You will never be president, so quit trying so hard. No one loves hearing you speak as much as you clearly do, and although (as I said previously) not all republicans are conservatives, you are an embarrassment, and I wish you would leave the party. Yeah, even Eichmann got a trial - Two years after WWII had ENDED. From the article, by Michelle Malkin: "Every single detainee currently being held at Guantanamo Bay has received a hearing before a military tribunal. Every one. As a result of those hearings, more than three dozen Gitmo detainees have been released. The hearings, called "Combatant Status Review Tribunals," are held before a board of officers, and permit the detainees to contest the facts on which their classification as "enemy combatants" is based."

Is it just me, or are our own leaders that stupid? Is their grasp of history that poor? Am I the only one frightened by this?

Durbin, Redeux

2005-06-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

In a statement released Friday, June 17, Dick Durbin (D), Illinois, released a written statement regarding his comments of the previous week:

“More than 1700 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and our country’s standing in the world community has been badly damaged by the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. My statement in the Senate was critical of the policies of this Administration which add to the risk our soldiers face.”

“I will continue to speak out when I disagree with this Administration.”

“I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood. I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings: our soldiers around the world and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support.”

So, let me read this to you in my own language.

"I didn't say what you think I said, and if I really did, I didn't really say it, you just interpeted it that way."

Senator Durbin, the American people aren't stupid, but you are if you think we're going to buy your statement of "regret."

Read this and understand, people. Durbin said what leftists truly believe. They BELIEVE George W. Bush is Hitler. And Stalin. And Pol Pot. Combined. Their political hatred of this man is beyond contempt.

Republicans are talking about censure of Durbin. I hope this is more than the standard lip service. This man needs to be disciplined in the methods available, especially since pistols at 40 paces is no longer an option. Think of the proud, brave men and women who are serving their country. What should THEY think if they heard a standing U.S. Senator say this on the floor of the senate? How does this help their morale and serve their interests?

Rediculous, Senator. Rediculous. I hope your constituents remember your comments on the next available election day.

You really disgust me.

The Bat is Back!

2005-06-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

Gotta say, Christian Bale is a stud. Michael Caine, Rutger Hauer and Morgan Freeman were excellent.

It was wierd seeing Gary Oldman as a good guy. I kept waiting for him to do something predictable and go bad. I'm glad he didn't.

Liam Neeson wasn't the best choice for Ducard. I kept waiting for him to morph into Qui-Gon Jinn and tell everyone how bad the Revenge of the Sith was.

Anyhow, definitely the best Batman movie to date. Worth the outrageous price most theatres charge these days. Gritty, realistic (not full of half-baked cg crap) and a fun ride.

Durbin's a Moron. Send in Bauer.

2005-06-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

"When you read some of the graphic descriptions of what has occurred here [GITMO] I almost hesitate to put them in the record, and yet they have to be added to this debate. At one point the air conditioning had been turned down so far in the room - that the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainees was shaking with cold. If I read this to you and didn't tell you that it was an FBI agent - that it was an American - that Americans had done this to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have happened by Nazis, Soviets in their Gulags or some mad regime like that of Pol Pot or others." - Senator Dick Durbin (D), Illinois, on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Durbin continued to quote a report where in one case a detainee was held in heat passing 100 degrees, one in which prisoners were left in isolation so long they fouled themselves and one where a prisoner was chained to the floor and forced to listen to loud rap music.

My god, what planet are folks like Dick Durbin living on? Nazis? Soviet Gulags? Pol Pot? Do they know the same history that I do? I feel like I am in some kind of wacky alternate universe every time I hear a comment like this, comments which have gone largely unchallenged by the U.S. Media, save one that I am aware of, Chris Wallace of (guess who?) Fox News Sunday.

When Wallace interviewed Amnesty International USA Chief William Schulz, he did not gloss over the comparison by Amnesty of the Soviet Gulags to GITMO.

WALLACE: Mr. Schulz, the Soviet gulag was a system of slave labor camps that went on for more than 30 years. More than 1.6 million deaths were documented. Whatever has happened at Guantanamo, do you stand by the comparison to the Soviet gulag?

SCHULZ: Well, Chris, clearly this is not an exact or a literal analogy. And the secretary general has acknowledged that.

WALLACE: Mr. Schulz, let me ask you about one other -- you can tell me whether it's a similarity or a difference -- in the case of Guantanamo and the other U.S. detention facilities, they're taking people off the battlefield in the middle of the war on terror. In the case of the Soviet gulag, they were taking millions of their own people whose only crime was that they wanted to practice political dissent or their own religion. Do you see a moral equivalency there?

So, this is one blog entry that I wish more people could read. (Incidentally, LINK this blog and COMMENT if you like it, so other people CAN!) These comparisons are complete and total bullshit, and I sincerely hope that the American public takes note and votes out every single politician who uses this garbage rhetoric, including Durbin.

Let's talk specifics. Let's talk about Nazi Prison camps. Let's talk about SIX MILLION JEWS gassed and turned into firewood just because they hailed from the "wrong" lineage, and hundreds of thousands of other prisoners forced into slave labor.

Gulag? The USSR's Joseph Stalin sent 25 million people to labor camps where many were worked to death. I recently read an article that claimed over 60 million died before the fall of the USSR.

The Pol Pot regime comparison was a new one as well. Under Pol Pot, 1.5 million died in death camps and another 200,000 were executed.

So, I am looking back over my life and honestly, there were several photos that changed me as a person. The first one was when I was about 11, and flipping through my dad's WWII Time-Life book collection. When I found the book on the Nazi death camps, I think something died inside of me. I was nauseated. I was haunted for months by the images of men looking like skeletons. Of dead bodies stacked like cord wood. Of man's absolute inhumanity to man. Something like this happened again in my life later when I saw similar photos in a National Geographic from the Jungles ruled by Pol Pot, Skulls and bones stacked like, well, wood (what else do we stack, I guess?) and I was just shocked by how brutal it all was. Those were people! I understand how people die in war, but these weren't combat deaths. Both the Nazi and Pol Pot photos did one thing: they illustrated man's ability for organized, mass murder. I also feel to this day that anyone who could conduct such murder so efficiently and so organized must really enjoy it. I can't really say anything about it beyond that, I frankly do not have the capacity to do so. I just cannot understand it, and I am frankly OK with that. I don't want to.

I actually considered finding some of those photos and posting them here, but no one wants to see that. Well, maybe some people, like Dick Durbin, need to. Obviously they have supplanted their historical perspective with partisan propaganda. And their rhetoric does nothing but play directly into the hands of our enemies.

These prisoners at Gitmo have it pretty good in comparison. Pretty good compared to millions of middle class americans! To prisoners under the regimes he mentioned, there is *no* comparison.

I have very little to say about the bastards at the gitmo camp except for this:

(1) The geneva convention does not apply to them because they are TERRORISTS - not enemy combatants. Now liberal democrats will try to argue that they are indeed Prisoners of War, but that is only through the 1977 conventions which were not adopted by the United States, and worldwide have not been accepted nearly as widely as the 1949 conventions. They are mercenaries. More often than not, these prisoners were caught fighting in Iraq, hailing from dozens of different countries, fighting under no organized national banner. A mercenary does not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war. (Protocol I, Art. 37)

(2) And please, all you bleeding heart morons, read this carefully... THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KILL US. KILL YOU. KILL ME, MY WIFE, MY SON, MY DOG. These prisoners are unified by death and hatred and one end goal; the end of western civilization as we know it.

Senator Durbin, Esteemed liberal wackos, I have a better plan that doesn't involve extreme temperatures or intimidating prisoners until they feel uncomfortable. I say Bring in Jack Bauer.

Yes, the fictional Jack Bauer from the television show 24. Now, we have seen this guy perform under stress, and damn, can he get the job done. Not only this, but I feel I would handle myself in a similar fashion if I had an enemy restrained before me... an enemy who was after my family and had information that would help me save their lives.

In fact, I could give these terrorists twenty good reasons to provide me with whatever information I was seeking; ten fingers and ten toes. Jack Bauer could go in there with his Baretta M-9 and pop those suckers off one at a time. The good part is that the standard military issue clip only holds 18 rounds, so he could re-load, blast off the last two digits and still have 16 bullets left for the remainder of the show.

Now, am I joking? Well, yeah, kinda. This is a pretty extreme interrogation method, and Americans are far too spineless to really get their hands dirty like this when it comes to interrogating prisoners. Someday we may have to change our ways, perhaps someday soon. The one thing we do need to figure out is that this isn't "Tug of Peace" or T-Ball where we don't keep score and everybody is friends with everyone and we all hang out together and drink kool aid after the game. These people want us to die. En masse. That is their goal.

Ask them, they will tell you. They aren't shy about it.

Somewhere we lost sight of the fact that the goal of war is to kill all of the enemy and capture the flag.

Senator Durbin's arrogance is succeeded only by his own ignorance. Gitmo isn't a gulag, or a concentration camp. It's a frickin politically correct club med, complete with religious prayer rugs, korans and religiously-sensitive, 3500 calorie meals. (In the gulag, prisoners only got 250 calories per day.) We are treating these mass-murdering, mysoginistic terrorist bastards way better than we should, and much better than they deserve.

Somebody get me Jack Bauer.

Heroes.

2005-06-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

The other night, we watched Apollo 13. That movie always gets me choked up. From the launch, to the accident, to the heroism of the men involved with the salvage of that mission, I watch the whole movie with a lump in my throat and tears ready to flow.

And just so you know, I am definitely *NOT* the emotional type.

Sunday night, as I watched, I specifically said, "they don't make 'em like that anymore, I wonder if there will ever be heroes like that again."

Tonight, we watched "Operation Homecoming" on TLC.

There was a segment where a dad soldier had been away from his 2 year old son for a full year, and another son had been born while he was away.

He crept into his baby son's room and whispered "you don't know me... I'm your daddy."

I must admit that I cried. No, I wept. Openly. Loudly. My wife was shocked, I think.

I cannot imagine missing my son's life from age 2 to 3, nor can I imagine missing the first three months of his life.

I take it back, there definitely are heroes "like that."

Thanks for the great show, TLC.

Some more good ones...

2005-06-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have moved my military blog links to the sidebar. Enjoy!

A Great Blog from the front lines...

2005-06-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have been surfing some military blogs the last week or so, wanting to get more information on what is happening on the front lines of the Iraq conflict, since our press (including fox news) is apparently unable to do so. I found a fellow Dennis Prager fan out there. I don't know who he is, what his name is, etc... but I intend to find out.

For now, let me just recommend you add Hurl's Blog to your list of bookmarked sites. Visit often, and inform yourself against the propaganda out there. We've got a lot of good men (and women) out there doing a seriously hard job, and we all need to hear the stories from the soldiers themselves.

I'd say if their duty is in Iraq, risking their lives, then it is certainly our duty to inform ourselves of the truth.

Thanks to Hurl and all his buddies for helping make the planet a better place.

Vega$ Here We Come

2005-06-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we committed today to taking our first vacation in five years. I have no idea how we're going to pay for it, but at the end of July, we're going to Las Vegas, and meeting some of our best friends there for a weekend of debauchery.

I am SO ready for it.

I HATE Trading Spaces

2005-06-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

OK, it was fun at first. When there was just one. And when it was on for an hour each week.

Yeah, I learned some stuff and got some design ideas for both our businesses and our home. But really, for me, it was about imagining Paige Davis, Genevieve Gorder and Amy Wynn Pastor NAKED. Hubba Hubba.

Plus Ty Pennington was pretty funny. Actually, I think Ty was imagining Paige and Genevieve naked too.

Anyhow, it's just too much now. I have lost count on how many different variations and copycat shows there are, and I swear my wife is addicted to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

Enough already.

Denzel: Fact & Fiction

2005-06-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you have seen this email floating about, but I have recieved this message from a dozen or so friends and colleagues:

Don't know whether you heard about this but Denzel Washington and his family visited the troups at Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio,Texas (BAMC) the other day. This is where soldiers that have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized in the States, especially burn victims. They have buildings there called Fisher Houses.

The Fisher House is a hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base but as you can imagine, they are almost completely filled most of the time.

While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC, they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses. He asked how much one of them would cost to build.

He took his check book out and wrote a check for the full amount right there on the spot. The soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.

Well, is this truth or is it fiction? I have developed a pretty good urban myth sniffer over the past few years, and something just didn't quite seem right about this story. Maybe it was my skepticism, maybe I wanted it to be right... but needed to check the source before posting it here. Even though this is just a stupid little blog coming from BFE, I want to be accurate.

So what did I do? I used some of my unlimited long distance minutes from Sprint, and gave Brook Army Medical Center a call.

The bad news is: the story is NOT true.

The good news is: there are elements of truth within this story.

According to one of my favorite debunking web sites, truthorfiction.com Denzel Washington did make a visit to the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas, in December, 2004. Among other things, he participated in a ceremony awarding Purple Hearts to three soldiers and visited several others.

He also toured the Fisher House facilities there, was impressed with what they were doing, and did indicate a desire to support it.

According to An eRumor got started that he dramatically pulled out his checkbook on the spot and wrote a check for the cost of building an entire house, which was not true.

Fisher House says the confusion may have come when an announcement was made later that a new $1-million facility was going to be built. That announcement came at the same Denzel Washington had pledged a donation to Fisher House. Four months later, however, he came through "in a big way", according to the folks at Fisher House.

While they wil not disclose the amount of Washington's gift, Fisher House spokesman James Weiskopf says it's one of the largest in the organization's history and that Denzel Washington has agreed to serve on the Fisher House board of trustees.

Fisher House is a program that provides special housing at each of the Army's major medical centers for the families of soldiers who are receiving medical treatment, often from being wounded on duty. Fisher house is a group of facilities where family members can stay for no cost or reduced cost, which helps ease the burden of possibly having made a long and expensive trip to be by the beside of a family member.

So, there's the scoop. Big benefactor he is, although the details were a bit exaggerated. (Shall we say Hollywood-Style?) Either way, kudos to Denzel Washington and his support for our fighting men and women. It's nice to see there are still a few patriots in the ranks of the stars.

Illegal Immigrants... TRESPASSING?

2005-06-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

Garrett Chamberlain is a small town police chief in New Hampshire. AND he has charged two illegal aliens (and detained them) for TRESPASSING because the Federal government won't do their f*ing job. Good for you, Chamberlain!

He said... "Wait a minute. We're on heightened alert and it's post-9/11, and I'm going to let an illegal immigrant who I don't know from Adam just walk away?' " Chamberlain said. "That's ridiculous. If I find you are in my country illegally, I'm not going to worry about political correctness. I will detain you."

WOO-HOO! Of course, he is about to lose his job, be branded a racist and have his life destroyed by the powers that be, but there is nothing more refreshing than an American citizen taking a politically incorrect stand for the good of his country. Too bad our president can't do the same thing. And Bush wonders why his support from conservatives is eroding. Hell-oooo?!

Rather than regurgitate the story, you can read it here.

I will say this. Look who has come to the illegal's aid.

- The American Civil Liberties Union
- A DEMOCRAT, NH State Representative Hector M. Velez
- The Mexican Government

What a triumvirate!

The most telling line was: "The Mexican consulate has hired an attorney for Ramirez, fearing that a court may uphold the trespassing charges and so set a national precedent."

Yeah, so someone can enforce immigration policy and protect our borders, language and culture.

Legal immigration, YES! Illegal aliens... DEPORT THEM!

Newt

2005-06-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Anyone hear Newt Gingrich making the talk show rounds promoting his new book "Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America"?

I caught him on Hannity last week (Maybe it was earlier this week - don't remember?) and he was on Dennis Prager yesterday. I have to say that his original Contract With America was inspired, and I plan on purchasing his new book today. Gingrich is an amazingly intelligent guy with a encyclopedic knowledge of history, of course, these two things make him enemy number one to democrats... who managed to push him out of the house speakership on ethics charges (read: SMEAR CAMPAIGN) he was later exonerated of. God knows we can't have an intelligent politician with original ideas that are rooted in our country's history...

Of course, as memory serves, he was a bit of a loudmouth on personal responsibility issues, and he had some of his own faux pas that came back to really bite him in the ass (something comes to mind about glass houses). Anyhow, on this disjointed commentary, all I was trying to say is how darn PRESIDENTIAL he sounded.

Is Newt jockeying for a run in 2008?

There is some really great stuff available on his website for public consumption. I would recommend two items:

(1) An ARTICLE entitled "The Conservative Movement at the Crossroads."

(2) A SPEECH (audio) entitled "The 5 Challenges America Faces"

I wish putting up his interview with Prager wasn't a gross violation of copyright, but it is, so I can't. If you're interested, you can buy a download of that particular show for $12.00 (Wednesday, June 8) although I think subscribing for an entire year is less than $60 and worth every penny... and I plan on writing more about Dennis in a future post.

Really, the speech linked above has a lot of the same material as the Prager interview. But, it is a speech, and there is no interactive quality to it, but it is very good. It's an MP3, so download it and slip it on your iPod. Don't have an iPod? You need one. Go buy one.

Anyhow, it's too bad that such wonderful oration and writing aren't coming from a GOP candidate who is a bit more commercially palatable. I'm not sure Newt has the kind of presence needed to win a presidential election. Just his name is enough to kill a candidacy... "President Newt."

Hm, I digress.

Anyhow, that's what's on my mind this morning. Thank you all for reading and for your comments. I appreciate it! One of the new friends I have met through this site has a quote on her blog that says "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." That's pretty profound and utterly true, but at the same time it's nice to see that people are actually taking the time to read my opinions and musings. Thanks!

Border Security & Illegal Immigration

2005-06-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

I’m going to rant this morning about something that a lot of people are angry about.

Border security and illegal immigration.

This topic has my blood pressure up a bit this morning, after reading in the Washington Times that illegals are now importing a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis into our country. Of course, because some moron said we are responsible to pay the medical bills for those who are not, California now has an unpaid bill of nearly 200 million dollars.

200 Million!

My wife and I work our ASSES off, and we buy Medical Insurance for our family. We are self-employed, so we are forced to discuss this as a real out-of-pocket expense instead of a “benefit” from someone else who pays the bills. And nearly every month, I consider cancelling *my* portion of that insurance, mainly so we can have money for other bills. It’s tough!

I am sick and tired of ILLEGAL immigrants utilizing the federal, state and local services of our country. I can barely pay for my own, but through taxation, I am forced to pay for theirs. And since they are here illegally, they pay nothing in to support the same systems. WHAT?! Now, before you call me a racist, I will tell you that I am not some kind of wacky xenophobe, I believe in LEGAL migration to our country. Not only that, but I believe we would be lost without it. I also think that we OWE it to the world to continue to be that place people can aspire to go to... it’s what we have always been, since day one.

But if you’re illegal? You should be deported. If you have been shot... patch job and deported. Tuberculosis? A round of medication and a mask so you don’t infect anyone else, and DEPORTED.

And what about these latino gangs in the Southwest? Anyone who thinks crips and bloods look scary should check out these mofos. Why are they even here? If they want to lead that kind of life, fine by me. How about doing it in Mexico City? From what I hear, the Police down there will probably look the other way with the right payoffs anyhow, so it’s basically a better operating environment.

I’m also sick and tired of hearing about what a good friend Mexico is to the U.S. You know what? That’s total BULLSHIT. Ever hear of a man by the name of Donald Young? Young is (was) a Denver Detective who was killed in the line of duty by Raul Garcia-Gomez, an illegal alien. He shot Young at point-blank range (read, into the BACK OF HIS HEAD), then fled to Mexico to elude U.S. authorities. He was taken into custody on Saturday.

Now if Mexico was such a great friend, he’d already be back here in chains. Right? Well, they’re not, and he’s not either, In fact, it’s likely to fight his extradition back to the U.S. to stand trial. You can read about it in the Denver Post and if you really want to get upset, check out all the related articles on the same page.

President Bush has lost a lot of political capital with his more conservative base because of his close ties with Mexican President Vicente Fox.

That relationship has kept NAFTA less restrictive on Mexican trucking than it should be (their trucks are extremely unsafe by our standards and are responsible for accidents and fatalities every year), our borders more open and less secure than they should be, and resulted in the proposal of some kind of lunatic amnesty program which may or may not happen. This has not been good for our country.

I'm not a big fan of talk show host Michael Savage, but when he rails on "Borders, Language, Culture" I AGREE - and can clearly see the dangerous precipice we are on.

Vicente Fox thumbs his nose at American law. He makes racist comments about our citizens. He prints brochures and instruction manuals for his citizens to illegally cross the border. Somewhere, I recall him being quoted as referring to Texas and California as Mexican States or something a bit less inflammatory. Regardless, it's really an outrage to me.

Yet Bush does nothing, says nothing.

Bush is strong on terror, but he's Vicente Fox's boot licker.

Now, I am not saying Clinton or Bush 1 were better, but really... Who benefits more from whom? Who is more at risk?

I would Suggest you all read a column by Robert J. Samuelson in Newsweek (hardly a bastion of right-wing propaganda) called The Hard Truth of Immigration. Here is an excerpt: “The volunteer "minutemen" who recently patrolled the porous Arizona border with Mexico attracted huge attention, and members of Congress from both parties are now crafting proposals to deal with illegal immigration. All this is good. But unless we're brutally candid with ourselves, it won't amount to much. Being brutally candid means recognizing that the huge and largely uncontrolled inflow of unskilled Latino workers into the United States is increasingly sabotaging the assimilation process.”

Our current relationship with Mexico boggles my mind. I think some of the troops coming back from Iraq should be put straight to working on OUR border, after all - they are already acclimated... I'm for building a wall and keeping out the riffraff once and for all. Personally, I don’t see why we cannot have a massive surveillence and barrier fence building project across our southern border. It might cost billions now, but in the long save the same billions, if not more. You want safety? You want LEGAL immigration? Then lets invest in a long term, secure border with Mexico. We need to regulate with legal means every person who we let into this country. By having a functional border, we could effectively deport those who were criminals and wasting space in our prisons without fear of them just coming back.

Without a serious, secure border, all the rest of it is crap. If you can deport someone on Thursday, and they can leisurely stroll back on Friday, with a pamphlet from the Mexican government explaining how to do so, then there is no point.

And if you think I’m just picking on our Mexican “friends,” you’re wrong. Ultra-liberal Canada may not be the same migration threat because of disease, crime and poverty, but it certainly is as a conduit for terrorists. Someone better but them on notice too... if we are bombed because some muslim extremist sneaks in YOUR front door, then it will be YOUR ass on the line when we are placing blame and holding folks to accountability. Clean up your problem, or we’ll do it for you. Hell, as much as the Canadian goverment poo poos this country, you would think they would have already a wall for themselves. Oh, but that’s right... they hate us and love our money. Doh!

The indecency, attitudes and the inability of our government to better control our own border is really beginning to make me feel like an extremist on this issue. It seems that some kind of major terrorist attack is exactly what it will take at this point to focus political will on our porous border. Someone is going to have to sneak over and nuke a city before more than lip service is paid to this issue. To those future U.S. martyrs, I thank you in advance for your sacrifice, and I sure hope that none of my friends or family are among your casualties.

This is an issue with mass support for extreme action. I have never spoken with anyone who did not agree that we need to secure the border more seriously. Some might say that this is too much of a political hot potato for anyone to deal with, what we need is a leader - freed from the yoke of polls and election politics who is willing to simply to the right thing. Last time I checked, George W. Bush is no longer eligible to run for President, his campaigning days are over...

Hey Dubya... where are you on this issue?

Verizon, Part 2

2005-06-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I waited a full day on this one because I really, REALLY wanted to report good news.

Truth is, there *is* some good news, but this saga is not yet over.

Remember the 2-6 week ATM connection time? Well, it's crap. Before 2:00 even rolled around, I had a new modem, and the folks at the main office - wherever that might be - had switched me over to the new technology which is supposedly so much more reliable.

Now remember, I am paying for 1.5 MBps down and 768 up. Well, that has changed... the package is advertised as 1.5 down and 350 up. So, I lose some download speed. All for $59.00 a month. Of course, I would still like to know why with this very same modem, but with Verizon Online (which I pay for but basically choose not to utilize) I can get speeds double that for $29 a month. Twice the speed, half the price.

I have also been told by Cactus that I now qualify for a similar program (twice the speeds) for the same price. Seems like I would be kinda stupid if I don't take advantage of that... I wonder if I have to give up my static IP for that. We'll see.

Of course, Verizon was supposed to call me today and get me straight on all their programs, packages and pricing.

And... they didn't.

To boot, I am still getting shitty speeds. Verizon said I should expect 1.2 down on average (which is screwey... if it's advertised as a 1.5 package I should get 1.5 speeds but I usually am not breaking the 1.0 megabit barrier. My upload speeds are also consistently slow.

I guess I will call them tomorrow.

And The Verdict is... STUPID

2005-06-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

But honestly, did you really expect anything different?

Did you hear? The news is in. A judge in Wenatchee says that in the Washington governor’s race, there were illegal votes, but the election wasn't fraudulent.

Time out. The judge found there were more than 1,600 illegal votes, but he said it's up to voters to fix errors in the state's election system. The same judge rips King County (Seattle area) for election irregularities, yet does not recognize that this one county, with all of its' irregularities, was responsible for Dino Rossi not being elected governor. Now, let’s do the math. Gregoire won by 129 votes. That leaves a sizeable glut of illegal, election-defining ballots, doesn’t it?

Well, no. The judge stated that while the laws are screwed up, he is not interested in being a judicial activist and that Rossi and Reupublicans failed to present enough evidence of specific illegal votes needed to turn Gregoire out of office.

He said “innocent mistakes happen in every election.” Oh... my... God. Illegal and innocent. In nearly the same breath!

Whoa. I was never good at math. The judge said there were over 1,600 illegal votes. Gregoire won by 129 votes. He chastises King County election officials (Seattle is a liberal-democrat haven) and yet there needs to be more evidence for a new election? Dude! It's right in front of your face! Whether the GOP camp presented their argument correctly or not, you are punting on a technicality - and at the same time reading (and agreeing with) the very reasons the election was challenged in the first place.

How about this, your honor... as a voter and taxpaying citizen (and as a small business owner opressed by the business-unfriendly climate of this state, I pay more than my fair share) of the state of Washington, I don't give a shit whether the wrong Governor is in power because of intentional error or honest mistakes. I want the true count certified, and the right candidate to win!

Maybe this is a result from not keeping score at one too many tee ball games. The numbers don't really seem to matter any more.

Some polls have Washington residents wanting a new election by a 3 to 1 margin. Not a judicial appointment of a Governor, but a new election to allow the people to decide. If it’s up to voters to fix errors in the state's election system, I really could not think of a better way to do that than through a new election. I guess that makes you a judicial jerk-off, buddy. Nice that you dismissed the case with prejudice, so these issues could not be raised again. I think your disenfranchisement of tens or hundreds of thousands of legally registered Washngon voters is pretty much judicial activism in its own right.

I'm just going to say this one more time. King County decided this election with illegal votes and got away with it. This idiot judge, claiming he doesn't want to be a judicial activist, has become just that. If there is no punishment for, or sanction against such illegal activity, then there is no deterrent to stop it. I hope Democrats screw up and send me an election prep handbook next time so I can vote 2-3 times too, just like a bunch of them did.

Well, there you go! Gregoire is officially the guv'nah until the next election. When that rolls around, I am pretty sure she will be handed her hat by a cadre of really pissed off voters. I for one will be much more involved and will work to elect Rossi, should he run for office again. And after all this work, he had better.

Intel Inside WHAT!?

2005-06-06T00:33:00.000-07:00

So, I am putzing around on the net tonight, and Mike sez that Apple will announce tomorrow they are dumping IBM processors and moving over to intel.

Wow.

Isn't that kind of like Kirk and Khan going out for beers after flying around a spiffy-looking nebula trying to annihilate each other and the horse they rode in on?

Honestly, I don't know enough about this whole thing to make a judgement or enlightened comment. As long as my macs and iPods keep working and nothing else major changes (except for perhaps, some market share and a Mac OS set-top box) I guess I don't really care.

I only hope that I won't be peeling "intel inside" stickers off my future mac, or have to listen to that hokey intel chime tune on every apple commercial for the next decade.

Speaking of Captain Kirk... I found this really cool song called "Capn Kirk" by some dude named Bob Schneider. It's fun, check it out.

And by the way...

2005-06-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

My martini is really delicious, in case you were wondering.

Bombay Sapphire. Dirty. Stirred, not shaken.

Howard Dean is an ASS

2005-06-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

Howard Dean, appearing before the Take Back America convention, said "There are a lot of Republicans that have never made an honest living in their lives."

Well, I am sitting down for a double gin martini after working 17 consecutive days, and all I can say to Mr. Dean is "Kiss My Ass." I think there are a lot more Republicans who make an honest living than there are Democrats. I read a statistic from the last election that showed the average GOP contributor donated $25 or less, and that while there were the fat cats donating to the party and to Bush, there were far more millionaire and BILLIONAIRE contributors to Kerry, the democratic party and to the various political organizations like MoveOn.org than there were on the conservative side of things.

Not only that, but I live in a college town. I know a lot of people who work in public service that depend on their tenure or union for their jobs, either for the city or state, and are worthless in every way, shape and form. If you like getting by with as little effort as possible, then work for the government. Their standards generally aren't very high.

Now, this is a gross generalization, I realize. Not every person who works for government is like this. In fact I can think of dozens of people I know who work for the city or state who are completely frustrated by the mediocrity of their colleagues.

In ever instance I can think of, the hard working people are conservative. The rest are liberals.

So, to Howie, I say "There are a lot more Democrats that have never made an honest living in their lives."

Howard Dean is an extremist windbag asshole.

If you are a Democrat, how can you honestly feel good about him "leading" your party?

My Friend Mike...

2005-06-04T09:53:00.001-07:00

Tee hee. Last night, my buddy Mike immortalized me in the blogosphere, with a classic post entitled "My Friend Jeff." Frankly, I thought it was HILARIOUS.

I guess this could make me the first GINO (Gay In Name Only) or maybe just a really, really happy guy. But while I plan a much more in-depth response at some point in the near future, let me say that there is only one thing from stopping me from being gay.

Women.

God, I love women.

In fact, sometimes I wish I was a little bit *less* heterosexual. You know, just ramp down the fricking hormones by a few notches. Nothing extreme, just enough to stop me from getting whiplash when a gorgeous woman with heaving, beautiful breasts walks by.

God, I love the boobies.

Metrosexual? Definitely. What do you expect, I'm a day spa and salon manager.

Oh, and yeah. In the intro to the show "What Not To Wear" host and fashion guru Clinton Kelly is wearing a gorgeous, wine-colored sportcoat that looks like it is made of velour. It's awesome, and I want it. If I look half as good in it as he does, it would be worth every penny.

If that alone makes me gay... I could be a very confused individual indeed.

I would LOVE to go on that show.

Verizon DSL Sucks

2005-06-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

I have been a relatively happy Verizon customer for over 5 years. In fact, was one of the first in my area to sign up for it.

I say "relatively" happy for two reasons. First, cost. I pay $59.00 a month for my DSL service (1.5 MBps down, 768 up) which is, at least in my book, expensive. But the service has always been reliable and the speeds consistent. Plus, the few times I have had problems, Verizon data services have pretty much been Johnny on the spot and fixed the issue quickly.

Second, because of where I live, I have always had to pay for my ISP services SEPERATELY from my connectivity. So, add about $120 annually to the costs I am already paying and grinding my teeth about. This was further impacted by the fact that I am already PAYING verizon for their ISP services, which are included in the cost of the DSL service. It just wasn't AVAILABLE here, and they don't/won't/can't subtract that cost from the package in situations like mine.

Yeah, you read that right. Basically, I am paying for two ISPs. But in rural Pullman, WA... sometimes you have to deal with shit like this.

So why am I pissed today?

12 days ago, I woke up and went downstairs to begin my standard day, only to discover I had no internet. Hm. OK.

Then, when I started calling my list of support numbers, I discovered that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has been disconnected. Also odd. When I finally get in touch with someone, they tell me that any problems must go through my ISP.

Odd.

Now, as I mentioned before, my ISP is NOT verizon. So, my connectivity and service provider are two seperate issues. Now if my modem is connected, but I don't get anything, then likely it is an ISP problem. But if I can't get the damn modem to sync, then it is 99% certain to be a verizon issue.

So, I call Cactus Computer (my local ISP) and tell them about the problem, and they log a support ticket online, which is about all they can do these days, they tell me.

So we wait.

Two days later, a bumbling oaf technician stumbles through my doorway, fiddles with my modem for a second, plugs in his diagnostic box, and then goes and gets another modem.

"Your modem is toast." He says. "You'll need a new one."

"Oh" I said. "Is that one for me?"

He chuckled. "Nope. We don't do that."

"What do you mean you don't do that?"

"Verizon doesn't supply modems" he said.

To which I replied... "Sure you do, where do you think I got that one (the now FUBAR unit)?

"Well, we don't anymore." He said. "But, you know if you were just with verizon Online, we could get you better speeds, a nice new modem with wireless, you really should switch, you're paying for it anyhow."

Of course, the first thing I thought to myself was "Um, didn't you just say you aren't in the business of providing hardware?" But I bit my tongue and bid him adieu.

So he left, and I called Cactus. They were actually being quite supportive about the whole mess, and told me to come on by and pick up a new modem, no charge. In fact, when I got there, they gave me a BOX of modems and said that they had all been tested and should all work, but just go through them until I found one that worked well for me. So I did.

I went home and hooked up the first modem. Verizon dude was right! The new modem synced immediately. Of course, six hours later, it was no longer working. Shit. So, I plugged in #2, and same story. It worked for a while, but eventually failed. This happened for all five modems, after which I called Cactus last Friday and asked them to file another trouble ticket. Of course, with the holiday weekend, I didn't hear anything from anyone until Monday, and was told someone would be out Tuesday.

I pretty much read someone the riot act at this point. I wasn't rude or obscene (like I wanted to be), much to my wife's amazement, but basically I needed to get a few things off my chest, which was: "for the money I am paying, your service during this problem has really sucked monkey balls."

Of course, I didn't say monkey balls. Actually, I don't think I even said "Sucked." I used words like "disappointing" and "unacceptable." Usually these get me a bit further with the corporate types. But they didn't that day.

So, on Tuesday - when I am actually working for a living, I have to drop everything and run home to talk to another Verizon tech. However, this guy just happens to be one of the nice guys who originally installed my service. He really is a nice guy. So he talks to me for a bit, his jaw drops when he sees the stack of modems, and says... "clearly this is not a modem problem. Must be something wrong with your card back at the home office."

Now I forgot to mention that the original asswipe who stopped by ALSO called me that memorial day monday and left a message. He basically inferred I was an idiot, hadn't done what he had told me to do (get a new modem) and that even if I had, (name withheld) at Cactus was an idiot, and that they were notorious for distributing bad modems anyhow.

Yeah, I saved that voicemail.

So, the nice tech is here, and he does his diagnostic box thing and yaps with someone at the main office for 45 minutes or so, and when he finishes, he tells me that indeed the card was toast, I am now on a new card and everything should be fine, save the fact that I now need a different modem to connect.

Cool!

So, I drive over to cactus again, and aren't they nice to give my two of the fujitsu 14-series two modems. I come home, hook it up, and wham! I'm in business! A day later, I am still good! Then I do a speed test. I am getting 550 down and 116 up, which is about 1/3 of what I am supposed to get.

Yeah, for the same price.

So, I ride cactus for a few days, who have put in another trouble ticket or two and made several calls on my behalf. All Verizon wants to do is blame it on other users sharing bandwidth and the fact that I am using an older "frame relay" system rather than the new "ATM" system.

I've got a few things to say about that, big surprise.

First, if this is truly a D-SLAM issue and my low speeds are being caused by other users hogging bandwidth, then my speeds should fluctuate throughout the day. Peak times, and all that shit. But I am telling you that it doesn't matter if it is 9:00 AM, 5:00 PM, 3:00 AM, my speeds consistently suck... oh there's that term again... monkey balls.

Second, if it is a frame relay problem... why has my service been consistent for FIVE F*CKING YEARS?! Yeah, Verizon, shove that one up your ass. That's a cop out.

Third, if you want me to switch to ATM, I'll do it! The only cost to me is $60 for a new modem, the service package will all cost the same. THE PROBLEM IS, you want me to CANCEL my existing service and then sign up for the new service, which by your estimations will take approximately 2-6 weeks. WEEKS? Screw that shit.

So, today, I called Cactus to check on the status of things. Yeah, the support ticket had been closed. Yeah, with the bullshit D-SLAM issue as the excuse. So I twisted my account rep into giving me their direct line for Verizon so I could have a polite little chat about things and try to get the situation resolved.

So I call verizon.

After holding for 30 minutes (where do you think I had the time to type up all of this shit?) I spoke with a rep who was very, VERY cranky when I told her I was a customer and not an ISP. I explained the problem, and she consistently said that she needed to talk to the ISP, not me. So I said, "Fine. Let's get cactus on the line and we can all discuss it." So I go back on hold for 5 minutes. When the line picks up, it's Cactus. But no verizon. And Cactus informs me that she has just been read the riot act by this customer (no) service rep who has now disappeared.

It's a good thing I took my meds this morning.

So I call Verizon AGAIN. I hold for OVER AN HOUR. When a rep picks up, I ask for a customer service manager. She deflects, and states she is part of the management team and would be happy to help. (I think... YOU DON'T GET IT, BITCH... I'M SORRY YOUR SUPERIORS HAVE ORDERED YOU TO MAKE SURE THE PUNY CUSTOMERS DON'T BOTHER THEM, BUT I DON'T WANT TO WASTE MY TIME GETTING THROUGH YOUR FLOTSAM FILTER! I AM NOT LOOKING FOR EXCUSES, AND I WANT TO GET THIS OVER WITH JUST LIKE YOU DO. BUT THE ONLY WAY THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS IF YOU ACTUALLY TRY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM AT HAND.)

Ok. Deep breath. In... Out...

My conversation goes about the same as last time, except I asked for her name and extension again, and told her if she hangs up on me or pulls the same kind of stunt the last rep did that I am going to write a complaint that will really make her life MISERABLE, so she doesn't. And then she pulls out the old frame relay argument. So, two different reps, two different excuses as to why my service is slow. Sounds like they have talking points.

Her: "Sir, you cannot get consistently high speeds on a frame system."

Me: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Her: "It's old technology sir. It's not as reliable."

Me: "So how do you explain my five years of RELIABLE service?"

Her: "Well you haven't had five years at 1.5, those speeds haven't been available that long."

Me: "True enough. I used to pay twice as much for half the speed. But I have been at 1.5 for at least two years. You still aren't answering my question."

Her: "There's no way you were, sir. It's old technology sir. It's not reliable."

Me: "So, you're telling me that it is the company policy of Verizon to charge top dollar for systems that are unreliable?"

Her: "That's not what I said, sir"

So, my blood pressure is really starting to rise, it is clear I am not getting anywhere fast. I demand to speak to a manager, and by this point she realizes that I am not QUITE as stupid as the average customer, and that I am resolved to not go away, and that I have written down her name and extension, so she finally punts the ball up the chain of command to someone who sounds like she knows what she is doing and has something beyond a high school education.

At this point I make things pretty clear. My bill says I am entitled to a certain speed, and I expect to receive it (ooooh, imagine that) and that if she cannot deliver, I will have the DSL and the telephone removed for the end of time. I let her know that if she wants to switch me to ATM, she can do so... provided that change is handled before the end of business today.

She says she is going to review my account, and then do a conference (at my request) with cactus. I think I need to be part of any conversation from here on out.

So, we all hung up about 10 seconds ago, and it's time for me to go do something productive.

Man, I can hardly wait until Verizon burns in flames along with all of these other companies who treat their customers like this. And if you are reading, this and have caved in a situation like this THEN YOU ARE A PART OF THE PROBLEM!!! Just remember that customer service these days is set up to make you frustrated and hope you go away. If you cave in, there is no reason for them to change, ever.

I'll let you know what happens.

Hit Me Baby...

2005-06-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

Watching the new "Reality" contest/show "Hit Me Baby One More Time." Talk about a friggin' reality check. Mike Reno of Loverboy looks like he is about one step from a quadrupile bypass. I mean, I *feel* old, but he *IS* old.

Reno was always kind of an ugly dude, but in those leather pants of his he always got the chicks. I am going to have to work hard to get his new image out of my brain, or their old music will just never sound the same to me again.

Ooh. I can hardly wait to see the boys from Flock of Seagulls. Oh, wait... they're on now. They look bad, and sound worse. Then again, they always were a studio band... they sucked live in the 80s so no surprise not much has changed.

Oh well, its the summer TV season, and nothing else is on worth watching. Amazing that on NBC this is considered entertainment, but UPN cancelled Enterprise. Sometimes the world is really upside down.

And what's with the audience? Looks like the front five rows are all teenage girls wearing their underwear.

Last but not least, someone needs to kill the host. He's like the obnoxious british counterpart to Ryan Seacrest.

The Darth Side

2005-06-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was exploring some other blogs today and found this. Some of it was stupid, some downright enlightened... either way it was pretty good entertainment if you even like Star Wars a little bit.

If you can say nothing else, at least it was creative.

http://darthside.blogspot.com

Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper

2005-06-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, my first post was so weak, I decided I needed to post something a bit more substantive.

Something with OPINION.

Something with ATTITUDE.

How about this... "Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper just totally frickin rocks!" Yeah, I got addicted to Dr. Pepper last summer when we were building Identity, cause Taco Del Mar was right next door and it was el-freebo. I tried the non-diet version first, but it wasn't... well... anything. Personally, I always thought Dr. Pepper was a bit cherry/vanilla-ey, and the sodas tasted about the same.

At the same time, I was drinking Diet Peach Snapple, and it was quite good. But Diet Dr. Pepper was just too... ewwwwwww diet! Like that diet coke crap my wife drinks, can't stand it!

But anyhow, I gave it a second chance, mainly because the commercial was great (muh-nuh muh-nuh) and I was in the mood for something different.

And now I'm a damned addict. Super.

There you go. How about THAT for opinion!?

First Post.

2005-06-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Wow. Exciting. I finally got a blog and now I have nothing to say. How typical.