I know, I know. I post too many videos these days. I just watched a Myth Busters where they used a vacuum suction cup to climb a metal and glass wall. They couldn't get it to work, but this guy seems to have gotten the kinks worked out of the system.
Looks real to me.
Happy New Year. I particularly like the chopper flying through the shot. You can see the chopper flying, firing and hitting the target all in one throw. Nice.
|
US special forces snatch squads are on standby to seize or disable Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in the event of a collapse of government authority or the outbreak of civil war following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The troops, augmented by volunteer scientists from America's Nuclear Emergency Search Team organization, are under orders to take control of an estimated 60 warheads dispersed around six to 10 high-security Pakistani military bases. ... Some of the special forces are already believed to be in neighboring Afghanistan and on alert for the mission. It is also understood that satellite surveillance of Pakistan has been stepped up to keep track of the possible movement of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems. ... US diplomatic and military initiatives since 2001 have concentrated on trying to ensure that pro-western commanders were in charge at the most sensitive sites. There has also been pressure to keep Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency, thought to contain a number of high-ranking pro-Taliban supporters, out of the nuclear loop. |
I have to admit that I feel a bit better seeing this in print.
Someone has a plan. This does not restore my faith in the U. S.
government, but it is a start. Special forces can be collared by
politicians. Remember the Carter Iran Hostage disaster.
What do I think is going to happen in Pakistan over the next couple
of months? The same thing that has been happening in Pakistan for the
last thousand years. People are going to hate each other because they
like cracking eggs on opposite sides. The only thing they agree on is
the destruction of Israel and all of western culture. The fact that one
person died is not going to make much difference really. If there is a
momentary flare of activity, it is but another spike in a long history
of tremors.
Wait, this time the bad guys just might lay their hands on a little
box that can cause the destruction of a city or a country. Do you
suppose this spike will reverberate though the population of Islam and
cause a rally? Will a tiny spark of hate ignite a world war? A war in a
world with the destructive force of the sun at the push of a button.
Will any nation not use their last resort when it comes to the last
stand?
Who is the enemy? Who is trying to destroy us and our friend? When
we are hit, who do we annihilate? This ware on terror bullshit isn't
cutting it. How do you fight an idea? How do you fight a belief?
You fight a belief by out believing. There has been a war on
believing in anything for the last fifty years in the West. I'm not
just talking God. Children are taut to not believe in anything because
they will all fail you at some point. You can't believe in a god
because god's don't do anything for you. You can't believe in people
because they will betray you. You can't believe in science because it
is so often wrong and reversed. You can't believe in government because
it is untrustworthy. You can't believe in yourself, because you are
bound to fail at something eventually and thus betray yourself.
Then something comes along that the disbelievers can believe in. It
has to be something that cannot be proven or disprovable. It has to be
something confusing and hard to go and see or touch. Global Warming
comes to mind. Global Warming requires a level of belief. Gore, the
savior of Global Warming, has made a career of belief. He is an
evangelist of the highest order.
I'm not sure this piece of questionable science, Global Warming, has
found a following and not quantum. If there is
any trinket of science that deserves faith and warship, it is quantum.
You will believe in God after reading quantum theory or quantum
mechanics. There is just no other answer for how much that stuff is so
far from what we perceive as reality. Quantum doesn't puff from our
tail pipes. It doesn't have a savior like Gore. It doesn't kill baby
seals, fish, or glaciers.
What was I blogging about? <scrolls up> Oh, Pakistan. Ah, skip
it.
Hat Tip: Jihad
Watch and National
Terror Alert
Some products are worth mentioning. I use Maglites. I can't really use a Harley Davidson, but I think they are cool. They are definitely Americana. I saw this one over the holidays while watching my parent's cable.
Leaving the naughty list, classic.
This is one of the last blog entries of 2007. I've been typing that
date on everything for a year. I wonder how long it will take me to get
used to typing 2008.
I'm trying to think of things I've learned over this past year. I
can think of computer stuff. and I can think of some relationship
stuff. I can think of parenting stuff and I can think of finances
stuff. Most of it is just trial and error.
Elle has grown in to a pre-teen. She not only has moods and
thoughts, but can express them. She can present an argument as well as
argue.
I have been working for the same company for a year. Nat and I are
still married. Thank God.
We still do not have cable. We probably won't for a while. We did
get a DVD recorder that plays Divix. That means we now have a huge
collections all of a sudden.
I took a over week's vacation for once. I loved it, so far.
No one blogs any more. I'm not sure I care. I don't pay as much
attention as I used to to the numbers. It fulfills my rock in a pond
need. I post way too many videos and crap that means nothing. That's
OK. It's my blog, so nya!
We still have the same house, car, cats. The Middle East is still in
turmoil. Speaking of oil, the price is up.
Many conspiracy theories this year. No more than normal, but I'm
hearing them from people who didn't buy them before.
The domestication of the dog continues unabated.
This video of buffalo fighting off a pride of lions was touted as "the best video ever". Normally when someone says that, they are full of crap. This one is a good runner. Keep watching. That little calf is fought over by lions and crocodiles. Then the herd comes to the rescue.
I've been saying it for years. Now the scientific community has finally come to it's collective senses. Dark Matter/Energy is officially bullshit. It must be true if it is on SlashDot.
| David
Wiltshire's suggestion that theorized dark energy is not
needed to describe the expansion of the universe.
His work challenges assumptions made about the distribution of matter
in the universe. Early solutions to general relativity were based on a
"smooth distribution" of matter. Wiltshire's approach focuses on a
"lumpy" dispersal, which more accurately fits data from modern studies. |
Just one more dollop of proof that people should listen to my
ravings. It feels good to put this one to rest.
Since I griped about this so much, I thought I would show a better video of the incident. There are several different versions of events coming out of the government of Pakistan. This video shows a guy firing a pistol a couple of times then a bomb goes off.
Presidential Politics Big Winner: None of the AboveIf you have any doubts as to whether this presidential campaign season has lasted too long and soured voters on the whole political process, look at the favorable/unfavorable poll ratings of the candidates. Premier pollster Scott Rasmussen's latest polling of likely voters nationally shows that most Democrats and Republicans have higher negative than positive poll numbers. The more we see them, the less we want them as our leader.... Without a serious majority, the next president -- whoever he or she may be -- will walk into the White House hobbled. If it's a 51-49 vote, almost as many people who elected the next president will have a stake in undermining the new commander in chief's success.National |
This article really hits the nail on the head. It basically says
every one's negative numbers are higher than their positive numbers. I
believe it. I for one am sick and tired of the whole thing and we have
only had like one attempt to weed out the field on both sides. Maybe
more. That's the problem. I don't know because I have been avoiding the
presidential race news. Because I'm sick if it. Because it has been
running too long. Because every one wants the jump on every one else.
When what is happening is no one is making the lead because people
voting for these idiots are sick if hearing about it all.
What was I talking about? I don't remember because I'm sick of
hearing about it.
Well, I figured out who I'm going to vote for.
His name is John
(Robert) Bolton. It is good that I can spell his name because I'm
going to write it in to the ballot next Fall. Not sure he wants the
job.
| He
was part of the State Department's delegation to six-party talks on the
North Korean nuclear program in 2003. He was removed from the
delegation after describing Kim Jong-il as a "tyrannical dictator" and
saying that, for North Koreans under Kim's rule, "life is a hellish
nightmare." In response, a North Korean spokesman said "such human
scum and bloodsucker is not entitled to take part in the talks."
Congressional Democrats argued that Bolton's words at the time were
undiplomatic and endangered the talks. Critics argue that Bolton's
record of allegedly politicizing intelligence will harm U.S.
credibility with the United Nations which has many current
problems. President Bush said he wants John Bolton because he
"can get the job done at the United Nations." ... "There is no such thing as the
United Nations. There is only the international community, which can
only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United
States."[38] He also stated that "The Secretariat building in New York
has 38 stories. If you lost ten stories today, it wouldn't make a bit
of difference."
..."the United Nations can be a
useful instrument in the conduct of American foreign policy."
|
I really like that last one. When Bolton is asked a question
regarding U. S. Policy, he answers with the U. S. goals in mind and
nothing else. If it happens that someone else will benefit so be it.
Otherwise, It is the U. S. that will get what it wants.
He is a prick. I bet he would do a horrible job running the country. Not nearly as horrible as the people who are running will end up doing. I have zero confidence in any one who has thrown their hat in the ring. If someone came along and promised to veto everything that came across the president's desk the entire four years, I'd vote for them.
So, as of today, I intend to write in John Robert Bolton. Tune in
tomorrow when I'll push Merlin, our cat for president.
Alternate title "Inebriated Santa on a Golf Cart"
I meant to post this some time ago. Elle isn't even buying this guy. My dad filmed this on his digital camera. His little camera takes the best frigging videos.
My parents haven't put up any videos, so here is how I did it. I logged in to YouTube. Clicked "upload video" button. Filled in some info that was pretty obvious. Browsed to the file location and clicked "upload". Then, I waited. and waited and waited and waited. I'm on Linux so I cannot get the video format to the proper type for YouTube to just accept it right off the bat. Thus, I must wait for it to be converted by some phantom server out in cyberspace. There are tons of programs for Windows that do the conversion to eliminate the wait. I'll figure it out one of these days. Anyway, that's it.
The reason this took so long was because I wanted to figure out the simple video editing software on my machine again. I was worried I would need to cut some language or something out of the film. I didn't really. It is pretty good the way it is. It did take for ever to upload to YouTube. I bet the rush is still on to get all the videos up from Christmas.
Bit late, but this would have been a great gift idea for your favorite member of RIAA.
 |
No need for a computer at all. Just pop this out of your bag at the
local rental place, somewhere in the back, and plug it in. How
convenient. I noticed a jack on the wall at the back of my local rental
place several years ago. That was about the last time I was in a rental
place.
I remember this speech and saying to myself. "It's Pakistan lady, you are screwed." I was right, unfortunately. I wish I had been wrong. This does answer the question "What did she expect?" though.
So, I'm trying to find a list of banned words that the nun rattled off to her kids. It is amazing how difficult it is to find this sort of thing. I get tons of articles about it. I get people talking about it. I get speculation on the words. I swear, Google omits curse words when you are legitimately trying to find the words. Nanny-bastards.
I'm drawing a big fat blank. I did get this, but it is not even close to the real thing. I'm ashamed of myself.
Half the news places say they have 'full coverage'. They should have to take that claim down in my opinion.
God does not condemn swearing. God condemns hurting one another. Sometimes, words hurt.
This is interesting, but not what I'm looking for.
Nope, I've been beaten. I can't find the list. I'll keep in on the back burner.
Adam is one of those
folks who like painting their miniatures. He would like
these too. He has been that geek buying a can of spray base paint
to make sure the color paint sticks to the miniatures properly. I
remember the first pre-painted plastic miniatures I thought "I
could own painted miniatures now." Because I just don't have what it
takes to do the painting.
Ethan and Bryan both got in to painting miniatures as well. Adam now
has a cabinet full of miniatures. Many are pre-painted. The cabinet is
on wheels. Wheels that don't squeak. It would be more appropriate
somehow if the wheels squeaked.
What did any one expect?
|
World leaders reacted with shock and condemnation Thursday to the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, some expressing concern about the nation's democratic process. The opposition leader died after a suicide bombing at a political rally in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi ahead of parliamentary elections set for January 8. ... In Washington, the State Department also condemned the attack. "It shows people are still intent on undermining democracy in Pakistan," said deputy spokesman Tom Casey. Pakistan -- which maintains
nuclear weapons -- has been a key ally of the United States during its
war against al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists in neighboring Afghanistan. |
She's all like "I'm going to change the world, Pakistan first" And
they killed her. How could it have possible gotten this far? Well, It's
Pakistan!!
I was counting the number of attempts on her life. I need count no more. I lost count come to think of it.
It is Pakistan. It is Pakistan!!! Of course some suicide bomber is going to climb up your butt and blow himself up while singing fa-la-la-la-la at five times speed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility. Hell, they did cartwheels. It is Pakistan!!
World leaders are lining up to condemn the killing. There are stories with tons of pictures and videos and graphic descriptions of the death and the other twenty some odd people who were there and died. It is Pakistan!!
What the hell do people expect? This is the country that got in to one half of a nuclear pissing contest umpteen years ago. That whole section of the world is run by very pissy seven year olds.
She isn't cold and the blame
game has begun. Nothing good will come from this except maybe some
folks who matter will give up on supporting Pakistan on any front.
"She was the most secular." "She supported the West." It is
Pakistan!!! If you support anything except Ilamo-fascist domination of
the universe, you are going to get offed by these nut-balls.
What is really scary is Pakistan is never going to get any better.
None of those countries are. That is because people over there view
their religion as the state. Country governments are just a figurehead
of rule. The real set of rules to follow is the one your religious
leaders give you. There is no central line for Islam, like a pope for
Catholicism for example, so any bloke with a chip on his shoulder can
make a call to kill the infidels for whatever reason tickles his ass at
the moment.
It is never going to get any better. That is, it won't get any
better until oil is worthless. Once the source of income returns to
dates and camel shit, there will be a spike of craziness, then an odd
quiet out of that section of the planet.
I for one look forwarded to the day I tell my grand children "Oh,
the middle east used to be a real pain in the ass, until we moved to
Flubber. Then they all just went back to living their lives and we
didn't fight over smelly ooze any more." That will make my life should
it happen.
Still have the crashing problem. I even went all the way and removed
the vast majority of the Gnome settings. Not just the ones for gconf.
Nothing. Frigging still hangs. The last thing in the /var/log/messages
is about gnome keyring. Frigging Linux.
I hit control-alt f1 to get to the command prompt. I fiddled with
the wires. Checked the spark plugs. ... nothing.
I give up. I'm just not good enough to fix it. It still crashes less
than Win-crap.
So, I've been goofing around for a bit on the Internet. I tried to
get my SeaMonkey editor fixed, but it is still all messed up. I ended
up writing a script that writes the basic data file from scratch. The
editor will not mount an empty file and just fill it. The editor also
requires the full path to the data file. That is annoying, but nothing
that can't be fixed.
Nat watched her new movies. Elle played and was a pain in the ass
most of the day. Sounds like a five year old. We had wings for dinner.
I'd been craving them. No one else objected.
I checked my work email only to find that several people are still
working on active stuff. I had hoped non one else would show up either.
The place is starting to feel like a much bigger company.
Someone was popping off fireworks earlier. It is really starting to
feel like a bad neighborhood out here. Perhaps we should figure out if
we can get out of this place and look for another. With the housing
market the way it is, it is a very bad time to get out of a house right
now. Staying is much better, unless you leave in the hood.
Tomorrow is Thursday. We were supposed to play DnD at one point. We
basically figured out that is not going to happen. A couple people are
going in to work tomorrow. I'm seriously considering mowing the grass.
I heard someone out earlier today mowing.
The guard in the tower is board off his tits. He doesn't look like the first tower guard to be that bored. Those on the ground beware.
Today is the Christmas day of my thirty eighth year. I liked it.
Elle got a haul. She got a bunch of cloths, and a bunch of toys. She
got some books and movies too. She got a camera. She took a million
pictures. Chip off the old block.
Nat got some movies she wanted and a Harry Potter throw blanket. She got a little water fountain thing that is really cool We are going to have to put it where the cats can't get to it. She got some nice oil lamps.
I got a pocket knife, Flashlight, Sweet Tarts, Home Depot gift card. Nat gave me a really cool mat that has a vibrating thing that feels good.
This Christmas has reminded me very much of holidays from my early
twenties. There were a couple of Thanksgivings where I hit three
dinners. There were a couple of Christmases where I opened presents
three times. Come to think of it, we opened presents in three places
this time too. We spent most of the day in the car.
Now we are home and things are winding down. I'm watching an old
version of Sweeney Todd.
I sent out a Merry Christmas text earlier and have received about ten
responses. I love it when people respond. Ken called out of the blue
last night. That was awesome.
I want to hear how my friend's Christmases went. I want to know
their Christmas stories. I want them to have had a good Christmas, as
good as ours.
Nat gave the cats their presents this evening. One of which was
catnip. The cats fight over the toys that have catnip on them. Nat just
had to lock up one of the cats to keep them from killing each other.
It is supposed to rain tomorrow. Thursday I will mow if I can. The
yard needs a bit of tidying up. Feels funny mowing so close to new
year's day. that is Texas for you.
It is off with me to bed. I will release the cat from the utility
room before he knocks down the door. I'll kiss my wife and child and
stumble to vibrating bed to dream of future Christmases.
I'm at home right now. Nat is still wrapping presents. She didn't sleep all night so she will be a crab.
I emailed a friend at work."Mondays suck" was the subject.
Another friend sent me this email.
|
I just ate an entire tube of those refrigerated cinnamon rolls you bake and put icing on. I ate one raw while the others cooked. They burned a little, so I ate the tops and gave Winslow [her dog] the bottoms. |
Sounds about right.
Blogging may be a bit light until Wednesday. Wish us luck.
We saw "National Treasure 2" It was boring, but we had fun. It was nice to hang out with Nat and sneak a kiss in a movie.
"Shoot 'em up" was terrible. I didn't like the premise. The bad guy was a pussy.
"American Pie - Beta House" lots of tits, but stupid.
"Superman Returns" Much better than anything Reed was in. I only wish it was a bit darker.
"Superbad" Kind of funny. no bely laughs. Hard to watch in too many places. You know, I'm getting tired of being made to feel uncomfortable in a movie just to force me to laugh to cover my embarrassment.
"Halloween
2007" I can't tell the difference between this movie and any of the
other moves. Lots of nudity. What do horror directors have against
teens having sex anyway?
"The
Kingdom" I found myself rooting for the terrorists because I wanted
the FBI idiots dead. It's no wonder we have no allies any more. We get
the people on our side killed.
"Daddy Day Camp"
I didn't make it five minutes in to this movie. It sucked worse than
"Elmo's Christmas".
"Slap
her, she's French" Bad. No nudity. Every one from Texas is
portrayed as a bumpkin. This is what a bunch of New Yorker's do when
handed a screen play set in Texas. Fuckers.
"Smile Face" I think that's the name. I couldn't find shit about it
on the net. It had some genuinely funny moments. It is a bout a stoner.
I think it was shot by a bunch of stoners. No nudity.
So, I have experienced a couple lock-ups lately. The machine seems
to continue to run, but the graphics go away. X is still running, but
Gnome is off in la-la land. the /var/log/messages says something like
"GConf shutting down" I look up gconf and start reading.
GConf is a mas
configuration storage system for gnome. It stores
settings for all kinds of programs and is queryable. Hey, this sound
familiar. Wait a minute NOOO!!! GConf is the Windows Registry
for Gnome!!! AAAAAAAA!!!!
No solution yet. I haven't been able to figure out if any one else
is having the same trouble I'm having.
| Dec 23 14:59:09 dellbox gconfd
(root-5986): starting (version 2.20.1), pid 5986 user 'root' Dec 23 14:59:09 dellbox gconfd (root-5986): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.mandatory" to a read-only configuration source at position 0 Dec 23 14:59:09 dellbox gconfd (root-5986): Resolved address "xml:readwrite:/root/.gconf" to a writable configuration source at position 1 Dec 23 14:59:09 dellbox gconfd (root-5986): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults" to a read-only configuration source at position 2 Dec 23 14:59:39 dellbox gconfd (root-5986): GConf server is not in use, shutting down. Dec 23 14:59:39 dellbox gconfd (root-5986): Exiting Dec 23 15:40:55 dellbox acpid: client has disconnected Dec 23 15:40:55 dellbox gnome-power-manager: (kelly) GNOME interactive logout because the power button has been pressed Dec 23 15:42:09 dellbox rsyslogd: [origin software="rsyslogd" swVersion="1.19.11" x-pid="1756"][x-configInfo udpReception="No" udpPort="514" tcpReception="No" tcpPort="0"] restart |
Then after reboot I get stuff like this.
| Dec 23 15:50:09 dellbox gconfd
(kelly-2363): starting (version 2.20.1), pid 2363 user 'kelly' Dec 23 15:50:09 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2363): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.mandatory" to a read-only configuration source at position 0 Dec 23 15:50:09 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2363): Resolved address "xml:readwrite:/home/kelly/.gconf" to a writable configuration source at position 1 Dec 23 15:50:09 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2363): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults" to a read-only configuration source at position 2 Dec 23 15:50:14 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2363): Resolved address "xml:readwrite:/home/kelly/.gconf" to a writable configuration source at position 0 ... Dec 23 16:19:22 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2363): Received signal 15, shutting down cleanly Dec 23 16:19:22 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2363): Exiting Dec 23 16:19:29 dellbox yum: Installed: gconf-editor - 2.20.0-1.fc8.i386 Dec 23 16:19:30 dellbox yum: Installed: gconf-cleaner - 0.0.2-4.fc8.i386 Dec 23 16:19:31 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2807): starting (version 2.20.1), pid 2807 user 'kelly' Dec 23 16:19:31 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2807): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.mandatory" to a read-only configuration source at position 0 Dec 23 16:19:31 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2807): Resolved address "xml:readwrite:/home/kelly/.gconf" to a writable configuration source at position 1 Dec 23 16:19:31 dellbox gconfd (kelly-2807): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults" to a read-only configuration source at position 2 |
Well, Someone had the answer. I don't like it one bit. He says to go
to the <user>/.gnome and <user>/.gconf folders and remove
everything. I will loose all my settings, but this will make all the
programs regenerate all the configuration. This is the machine
that I have brought up from fedora 5 to 6 to 7 and now to 8. That
sounds like it might do the trick.
First I'm going to try gconf-cleaner.
I hate this. I really hate this. Catch you in a couple of hours.
There is about as much proof that global warming is man made as there is that God is not man made.
People who believe in global warming are fanatically supportive and refuse to listen to alternate explanations. They quote movies and media book and verse.
Then I get a dirty look or screamed at when I ask a question. "Can you prove any of this?" When I ask that question, I'm not asking for your source. I want to know what scientific proof you have that gives you the right to use my tax dollars to support your religion. I choose not to believe in your religion. You should be forced to acknowledge my descent. You should be required to allow me my disbelief.
From now on when someone asks me if I believe that global warming
exists or that it is caused by human beings, I'm going to answer "I
believe in Jesus as my savior, thank you." Please leave me out of your
religion.
This is what happens when you teach people all their life that God
does not exist. When people do not have a belief structure, they will
make one up. This is what happened with the Nazis before WWII. This is
how Communism grew. This is how nations have fallen. I say that there
is little difference between people who preach that global warming is
caused by the evils of mankind and those who say one religion is better
than another.
It doesn't matter if mankind has evoked his own destruction. We are
all going to die someday. Making the trip a bit cooler isn't going to
make any difference. Global warming is just one group's way of leaving
a legacy to prevent them fearing death as much.
This religious movement is going to cost a fortune. It looks like
Kyoto is finally going to fall to a proposal that makes a bit more
sense. Kyoto wanted to pay for everything on the backs of the U. S.
taxpayer (me) Screw that! The whole world is in this mess, the whole
world can foot the bill.
This song pretty much says it all. It is officially the "Just Kelly" song for the time being.
My favorite line in the song is "Blog this song".
(some strong language) This looks pretty text book to me. I would like to hear the story behind it.
I am an American Fundamentalist. I may be a Radical American Fundamentalist. This is because I believe in calibrating Christmas, not holidays. I believe that The United States of America is better than all other nations by a damn site. I believe that people who come to the U. S. without permission should be treated like criminals
It has become unacceptable to believe in anything any more. Someone
seems to have found a way to eliminate the beliefs structure of the
entire nation. The majority any way. Starting in New York and
California, this subversive movement has weakened the very foundation
of this country.
When did my beliefs become wrong to every one else? When did my
beliefs become worth less than someone with darker skin? When did my
happiness, which includes that of my family, become an evil goal? Why
is my religion (Yes, I have a religion.) start to be dismissed out of
hand without consideration just because I was born here, or the color
of my skin, or the size of my wallet, or the blogs I read, or the brand
of milk I buy?
I am offended when someone says "Happy Holidays." I am offended when
people of one religion kill other people because they are a different
religion. I refuse to believe a religion that one cannot leave without
being killed is anything less than a cult and should be called such.
What does this make me?
This shows that soldiers in a war zone have a sense of humor. This is the best directed film I've seen all year. It is also, actually, funny. Which I can't say for the professionally produced films of late. Worth a view. Only a couple of (funny) swear words.
I nearly did cartwheels when I got off today.
[= [=
/ \ / \
=] =] =]
Weeeeeee!!!!!
So, what will we do with ourselves this break? Well, there is
Christmas and New Years. We are going to do a date night at some point.
Elle gets to hang out with both sets of grandparents over the week. I'm
thinking we are going to watch a bunch of movies. We are probably
going to take the DVD burner thing back. Hopefully going to play DnD at
some point. We were going to visit some of Nat's relatives for a party.
That should be fun.
Oh, and sleep.
Sometimes the best pictures are just the ones you take when you (and
your subject) are not paying any attention. The following picture was
taken this morning while the whole family was getting ready for the
day. Elle has a Christmas party at school. I have to go to work for my
last day of the year. Nat has a three days of stuff planed for one
day's chores.
The normal every day simple things might just bring a tear to your
eye in a couple years. People do normal every day things every day.
Funny how that works. Who is to say which memories will make an impact.
What is important today might go by without a second thought tomorrow.
The simple every day things, they are forever.
I call this one "lost sock"
I remember semi-auto shotguns called Street Sweepers. They made an appearance on Miami Vice toward the end of the series. This sucker looks like the real thing. There was something similar in Alien Nation.
We took a mass picture at work. The company does it every year. It
turned out pretty well. I smiled at a joke that someone cracked and in
one of the thirty or so shots the photographer took and, of course,
that's the one that ended up in the photo.
Something strange happened. I don't quite get it.
The morning of the photo, Nat gave me a ride in to work so I would
not get dirt all over my cloths.. I got all dalled up in the morning.
Elle was getting ready for school and asked me why I dressed up? I said
"I'm going to the moon to take a picture." Elle giggled and the day
went on.
Elle asked how my trip to the moon went that evening. I thought it
was cute.
Last year they superimposed our work photo over a scoreboard of some
football game or other. I didn't get it, but that's OK. The boss gets a
kick out of it.
I got the picture back today. Our group photo was superimposed over
the moon's surface with the Earth in the background.
How creepy is that?
I mean, I don't quite get the moon reference. It must have to do
with the Google
Challenge or the Chinese
or NASA's
mention of returning
to the moon.
Christmas is coming whether we are ready or not. We really are looking forward to Christmas. I'm looking forward to taking eleven consecutive days off for the first time since collage. I'm looking forward to DnD. I'm looking forward to gifts. I'm looking forward to the meals. Yadda-yadda.
Nat and I are looking forward to some real family time. Elle is
already happy about Christmas. Nat just got cards. I don't think we
will get to male them until this weekend. I have no idea when people
will get them. No big deal really. Hopefully folks are forgiving on
that front. It seems like a waste to me.
We are supposed to play DnD at some point next week. I fear it is
not going to happen because too many people have other commitments. How
messed up is that? It is a week where no one works and we still have
too many commitments to meet for an afternoon to play. I hate adulthood.
Nat is far more prepared than I. She did all the leg work for
people's gifts.
I haven't take this many days off since collage. I thought about coming in on Christmas Eve because I just know it is going to be a not super busy day. I could cash in that vacation day. I really want the time off with my family. I intend to have fun regardless.
The digital tuner won't pick up any antenna channels in digital. It
does play Divix. However, the first movie Nat watched got cut off near
the end. It was a long movie that was about 2.2 gigabytes. I'm
wondering if the system cuts off at 2 Gig. Neither of us have tried to
record anything.
My parent's took me to Wal-Mart. They had a bunch of cheep systems
none of which had a digital tuner. None of them will be any good in a
year. Worthless.
We then went to Best Buy. They had a $299 model that did pretty much
everything including a digital tuner. Best Buy had a bunch of devices
that said something like the following.
|
|
We then went to Sam's Club and found the same device as Best Buy
(brand and model) for $277. Go Sam's. That's a rarity to find the exact
same thing and not have to do much comparing beyond price.
Nat knew we were getting one. So, I didn't want to wrap it and go
through the business. I opened it and started plugging things in. Nat
was upset about not having it under the tree for unwrapping. That is
when we noticed the digital tuner was not tuning very well. Nat wants
to give it another go and then call tech support before we think about
taking it back. I just want to take care of it before the
post-Christmas rush to return everything.
Nat says she will call tech support tomorrow. I bet it is just that
the
digital signals are not perfect (as in cable TV) and there for will not
come in. If so, we'll take it back. We can use the money for other
stuff. Trust me.
I fell this morning on the way in. It was in the thirties. There was
frost on the grass. The atmosphere looked, felt and smelled cold. It
was glories. People were driving like maniacs. Well, some of them were.
You wouldn't know it was a week before Christmas.
Twenty five minutes to walk, or a bit more. Twenty five minutes to
wait for the bus. Twenty minutes for the bus ride to work. One of my
coworkers complained that his new house is now twelve minutes from work
as apposed to eleven minutes.
Just as we pulled up to my bus stop to get off, I felt a sharp pain
in my right arm. My triceps muscle screamed as I used my right arm to
balance myself for the breaking. It took me ten minutes to realize the
fall on my right side, on to soft, though wet grass, had pulled the
muscle.
There were no wrecks that I noticed, or listed on the traffic
reports. It was just cold and bright. If it weren't for the fall and
the other commuters, It was a nice walk. I didn't realize it at the
time, but I covered ground very quickly.
| Expect
to laugh, sing, dance, drink, and eat while you ring in the New
Year at the Hops House. The hilarious and talented Dan Ennis will
partner with me for the big event and he's always a barrel of laughs! Here are the particulars: Dec. 31, 9-1 pm JP Hops House 2317 W. Hwy 6 Houston, TX 77077 281-496-0623 Tickets are $10 and you can buy them in advance from me, Dan, or the Hops House. You can also buy them at the door. You'll get entertainment, food, party favors and hats, and champagne at midnight. Start 2008 off right! Jen www.JenRathbun.com |
I have no idea what we are doing for New Year's. This is a damn good
option. We should make it to one of her gigs. Jen rocks.
Didn't we own a Pinto at some point? Pinto vehicles had trouble exploding after a rear end collision. That is the story i heard any way. Something about $1 per car fix.
I've never been to a slumber party before. I never thought I would
attend. I thought, mistakenly, that because I was male, I would never
have to learn the rules for slumber parties. I forgot one loophole. The
father of the girl throwing the party. I'm lacking in fatherly
education.
We have five little girls in the back bed room .We have one
eleven year old who came over to help coral the little girls. So far,
we have no extra holes in the walls. Nat has lost sleep over the last
week getting ready. The pizza is in the oven. Something inappropriate
is on the TV. I'm hiding at my computer. The air mattress is blown up
and leaning against the wall for later. I think it will fill Elle's
entire floor space. I really hope it survives. I'm not so sure about us.
This guy washes cars for a living. He is ... brilliant at it. The video is a bit long, but very interesting.
It has been a running joke for decades. When a new gun comes out the first question someone asks (to be a smart ass) is "Does it shoot around corners?" Well, This one does. Leave it to the Israelis to make it look simple and easy.
Up 60 days without a reboot. I did not try to hold back. This machine has given me great service. Well, it gave me the same service whether freshly booted or up for 60 days. That is a good sign. 512 MB ram. 3GhZ CPU.
>$ cat /etc/redhat-releaseI have a Windows XP box that I use three times a month for Web updates. I have to reboot it once a month. So, constant use, 60 days on Linux. Three uses, reboot on Windows. Sounds about right.
There are some things that I'm just not going to have the time to do any time soon. That's OK really. The reason I can't do them is a good one. The reason is family.I don't want to start a book because I cannot have a 30 minute window at night where no one will interrupt me. I have a bat time recovering from interruptions. This is not a bad thing.
Elle will want something opened. Nat will want to tell me about her day. Life clicks on. I love it.
I'm not a big book reader. I do have some things I want to get done
on a daily basis. Most of it is easily interruptible. Blogging, Reading
blogs. Watching movies on the computer. Paying bills, though I'm highly
irritated during that activity.
Hey, that's cool. We all have priorities. I get some things done. I
don't get others done. Last night, for example, I didn't get new
podcasts. I didn't look up an athletic cup that I heard about. I didn't
do several things. I did watch the new Halloween movie. I did delete
three really horrible horror movies. Lots of boobs in horror movies
these days. Shot with a home camera, but boobs. Still bad.
So it all boils down to priorities and balance. That is the thing it usually boils down to. It takes a long time to get it right. It takes keeping it right. It takes getting back on track sometimes. Sometimes you have to go looking for the tracks.
I heard about this on NPR and couldn't leave it alone. You can get one here I think.
Check out what the "XL" size is called.
I'd been looking for my wedding ring for a couple of days. I remembered leaving it on the computer table, just in front of the monitor. Elle was sitting on my lap while we watched an episode of 3rd Rock Sunday I think it was.
I looked seven or eight times in that spot thinking "Why isn't it here?" You know, it never even crossed my mind that Elle might have taken it. That is good. She is not known for sticky fingers.
Nat found my ring. it was on the bar in front of the wedding goblets we keep up there for decoration. In a flash, it hit me. Elle had been pretending like she was going to swipe the ring. I was trying to watch the show and put the ring on the counter instead of putting it on because I had just washed my hands and the ring didn't feel right.
This person is a dick. That or they should not be behind the wheel. Either way, DICK!!!!
How many lanes are on that road? This person nearly gets in to three wrecks and doesn't seem to care.
I feel ill when I think about Christmas. I have zero money to spend
on Christmas. I mean zero. We are broke. Between the mortgage and other
bills, there is nothing left. I'm not putting it on the credit card.
That is not going to happen. I've told people who ask me what I want
for Christmas to buy something for Elle and Nat. That is a gift to me.
I'm catching people's blogs and no one is in to Christmas. No one
who blogs it seems. Hopefully we enjoy it. The only plans we have is
hitting my parent's place for a meal or two and some presents. Nat
heard some scuttle-butt about heading over to her Nice's place for
something. We haven't been invited yet so I don't know how that sort of
thing will go. I plan on playing it by ear and enjoying myself
regardless. I hope to drag other's with me kicking and screaming.
Sometimes I wish I was more in to Christmas. If I were really in to
Christmas, I would go to mass and not give presents or have a tree.
Santa Claws would be band from my celebration. That is what Christmas
is all about. Stores make so much money at this time of year that some
might as well not be open except from September through January.
Christmas has become the commercial holiday. The year is at an end.
The new year is coming. We must usher the old year out, then welcome
the new year in with with parties. One with family. The other with
drink and debauchery.
We took our company 'Christmas' picture today. The company is
getting bigger and bigger over the years. The large conference room we
use is getting smaller. We have five or six rows of people. I'm on the
far left. It was nice being on the end because it is less
claustrophobic. I wish there was a video of the setup and the giggling
between snaps. "Chin up" "Tall in the back" "Happy, every one is happy"
That last one sounded like the Raymond guy from 'Everyone loves
Raymond'. I blinked during at least one of the shots. My nose itched
the whole time.
It is finally cold and wet outside. Not cold enough to feel like
winter really. It just feels icky. Nat likes cold weather for
Christmas. I do to. It snowed a couple of years ago. I still have the
pictures up. A friend of mine went to Oregon and had to look on my web
page for the white Christmas in Houston.
Nat got Elle some things for Christmas morning. My parents have done
the same. I'm happy with the gift area. Elle needs a pile of stuff to
tare through. I'm good with a smile and videoing the event. I like the
memories I don't have yet already.
The ultimate symbol of excess.
It is a beautiful symbol of excess. It appears graceful. I wonder how real it is.
Money power sex and belief. It all boils down to dominance.
People are animals. They want to dominate or be dominated, that is,
submit, to each other. They want to play a part in the game. The game
of domination.
There are two roles The dominant is the one who takes control. The
submissive is the one who chooses to be controlled. People often misuse
the terms aggressive and passive. These are quite wrong. Aggression is
an action. Dominance is a passion. Passiveness means to give up and not
participate more or less. Submission takes the active roll, playing the
part the dominant wants.
Both politics and religion are means of organizing dominant and
passive people and groups. They both fulfill all four entities of
existence listed above. Money, power, sex and belief.
Everything in Human existence boils down to the game of dominance.
Survival depends on it. Not because of sex. Not because of sustenance.
Just because we would all roll over and die if there were not the
satisfaction of the domination game involved in our lives.
Global warming, that is, the whole global warming "thing" that is
buzzing around the world, is all about belief. It satisfies the need to
believe in something semi-tangible. That is, something that has some
basis in reality, but requires believe to be real. God, Charlie Brown,
the perfect diet, none of these exist. People insist on believing in
them because parts of them exist.
I bet I can make everything humans worry about fit in the dominance
game. If a person is worried about it then it has to do with the
dominance game.
Employment > money, power, belief
Family > belief, power, sometimes sex
Religion > power, belief
Abortion > The fact that this happens in the world harms some
people's beliefs. The other side believes their control over their own
bodies is at risk.
Face it, most every conflict is about control. the one with the
control is not always the dominant one. The submissive makes as many
choices if not more while playing the game.
Yup, Given time, I think I could link most anything humans worry
about to the dominance game. Perhaps worrying itself is all based on
placement on the dominance scale.
I could write a book about this stuff.
Elle got that little electronic hand held game from my parents for her birthday. She loves it. It is wonderful in the car. She doesn't acknowledge the world much less complain about the trip taking so long. OK, that makes it good for us.
It talks to her and shows her how to manipulate a virtual world
through the controls. This is an important modern skill. I've noticed
her speech has improved. I'm not sure how or if the game is
responsible. Nat and I correct her speaking. We try to teach her. The
school she is in seems to do wonders. I'm so glad Elle has that
opportunity. It is giving her a huge leg-up for school.
Now Elle calls her computer her "old computer" now. She says things
like "I need to check my email." Never mind neither of her computers
are internet capable at the moment. It's going to stay that way for a
while.
I have the ability to control her computer. I can set the system up
so I can log in and find out what is going on. I cannot, to my
knowledge, control places like MySpace or Facebook yet. What I want to
do is allow her to control the account, but not be able to change the
password. I want administrative rights over her account until she
is
18 or so. They need a parent's account.
The trouble with parenting controls is that none of these places
verify identity before they let you open a totally new account. I can't
stop Elle from eventually creating a new account from a different
computer without any approval from Nat or myself.
I want Elle to have access to these places, but I want the ability
to monitor and guide her without worrying that she can just bypass all
my efforts without any one caring to take the time to check that she is
under age.
Typing up the bit about no one knowing people's real identities
online made me think about a scenario.
There are a lot of states that don't let children under specific
ages to enter a contract. I've heard 16 in Texas, but I'm not
sure.
What are the rules for opening a credit card account online? I've heard
you have to enter a bunch of ID numbers and such.
If a twelve or thirteen year old is able to fake the numbers and
manages to get a credit card, will they be held accountable for the
charges if the guardians cannot be linked to the crime? Has a crime
even been committed? Surly, fraud, but is the burden of proof on the
credit card company to prove that the original contract was legal and
then violated?
I have to say, I would have never thought of shooting jumping fish with a bow and arrow. I'm just not a true red-neck.
I can't get NEdit to work at the house. It just doesn't let you paste. NEdit has problems with Gnome. Gnome will not fix the problem. NEdit won't fix it because it is Gnome's problem. I don't know the truth. I don't know the facts. I only know when you hit paste, NEdit goes away. Gedit is Gnome only. Apparently, Gnome fixed the problem for their own editor. Gedit does not appear on all Unix systems. If KDE takes charge, Gedit will go away. I'm out an editor.
Emacs is a pain in
the ass. Emacs is only out done in pain in the
ass status by VI.
I cannot use VI or Emacs for normal editing. They
require learning far too much just to make a frigging piece of text.
You have to rewrite the programs to do a search and replace. So it
seems anyway.
Adam tells me some said VI was a sell out because of feature bloat.
... =\ You have got to be kidding me.
I give up. There are no really killer text editors for Windows
either. Ultraedit didn't suck too bad. They wanted too much money for
it.
For the moment I'm sticking with Gedit. It is just the most like all
other editors I have used. I'll just have to find other tools that fill
in the gaps as needed. I hate that. I guess I like the competition.
That isn't helping as much as being a pain in my ass.
That or I'll get NEdit working. I doubt it though. I'm fighting
against a political fight. A fight amongst zealots of their own code.
I'm lost. I cannot compete with that. I am a lowly user. I shouldn't
have to fight that fight. I just want a good text editor that does what
it says on the tin.
This is an inherent problem in open source in general. Programmers
and managers don't really have their lively hoods on the line so they
allow these petty squabbles to really affect the users.
...
Well, no sooner do I type up this post than I find out that NEdit
started working on my home machine again. I'll keep checking it as I
perform updates. With my luck it will die again any day.
"This podcast is brought to you by MSNBC, a fuller spectrum of news." Isn't it "more full"?
And good
riddance for the most part. There are some Hip-Hop songs I
like. Not much. The only artist I can think of is Will Smith. I like
Summer Nights quite a bit.
Most of my experience with Hip-Hop is "[censored] this and
[censored] that." Or "[censored] [censored] [censored]!!!!!" or "I'm
gonna [censored] my [censored] till I just can't [censored] no mo." It
gets old very quick to me.
That is about it.
I'm not sure about now, but there was a time I dreamed of a 4 door Jeep Wrangler. Here is one looking pretty good off road. I hope it has the under carriage plates because it hits some pretty hefty rocks on one of the runs.
Strong Language (at the end)!
I think Nat would love driving like this. They are bumping cars that don't get out of the way fast enough. I like that.
OK, I've had like nineteen people ask me how to download a YouTube video. Well, here is the answer. I've done this for some friends. It is no big deal. It is done all the time by most every one.
I had a friend who needed to have a video downloaded in case YouTube (the internet) was down during a presentation at school.
I'm afraid to shoot video. I have the following fears.
I'm afraid that I will not have the ability to freely manipulate the video on Linux as people do on a Mac or in Microsoft's sandbox. This is true to a point. I cannot use the same software. Nor, do I have the range of choices for software. I can, however, do the basics. I can do what is needed to be done to get the end results. I know I can get Cinelerra running. I know it has problems. I know I can get Kino and that other AVI software going. Between them all, I can do most simple things. This would at least be enough to get me started.
Just the idea of not having the options is enough to sap my enthusiasm.
I'm terrified of loosing the enthusiasm I've had for years for still
photography. I know this is nuts because I have already lost much of
the drive I used to have foe pictures. I just don't feel the calling
like I did once. That is a bad thing.
People also seem to expect me to take pictures. That wares on me as
well. I'm not getting paid for God's sake. I'm not a repository. People
as me for all kinds of pictures and I just hate digging through my
archives for free. I'm considering deleting my backups and just having
what is on the web. If you don't want it on the web, I don't keep it.
That sounds like a plan to me.
For some unknown reason, people have twice the aversion to being
videoed as they do to having a snapshot taken. If I'm carrying around a
video camera, people will duck me and try to escape more than if I'm
carrying a still camera. They don't want what they say to be recorded.
Well then, don't say it. Why say something if all your are going to do
is deny it later?
Where the hell am I going to store all that video? Some video
formats are huge. Of course if I have a place like YouTube to share the
videos, I still have to store the full size and length videos. I don't
like the idea of leaving them on DVDs because they ware out over a long
time just sitting on the shelf. I have a feeling Disks are going to go
the way of the VHS in the next ten years or so. I don't know what's
going to come next.
Places like YouTube are both picky and short sighted. What happens
in a couple of years when you want to move all your videos from one
site to another? What happens when YouTube wants to cull videos that
haven't been hit in a couple of months? What happens when you want to
preach the word and YouTube calls you a radical or offensive?
I'm not very good at videography. My hands shake. I'm not
particularly good at photography. I just take a bunch of pictures and
know a few rules about how apertures and shutter speed work. That
knowledge transfers to videography too. You have to plan shots. Taking
a good video is more about planing your content. You need to make sure
something is happening. Then you have to worry about blocking or
framing the shot. Then you have to worry about the same stuff as a
photo. That is light, focus angle, yadda yadda.
It adds time and sound. Two things that just are not normally in
stills. The only interesting YouTube videos to me are the ones that are
short and have really one primary theme. That is, only one thing is
going on, and it is going on over several seconds. Police chases come
to mind as a great example. Lots of "stuff" happens, but the theme is
usually pretty constant.
Good videos don't have to be all about action. They might just have
people walking around. Shooting a good scene is like framing a good
paragraph. One theme and some bullet points that support that theme.
Each scene then comes together in a movie. Calling a short one theme
video a movie is off by quite a bit.
All that stuff I mentioned at the top is just background. Yes, I may
be limited on the tools. Yes, some of the options are not the most
robust. It is direction that matters. It is not what you use to cut,
but how well you cut. The tool limitations can be overcome with
practice and effort. What I need to do is just shoot some videos and
try to make them what I want with what I have. Isn't that true about
just about anything in life? Well, the same is true in movie making.
Elle has beaten the odds. There was a time when children were not given a name until they were three or five years old because the odds of their survival was low. You will find things in the history of family trees where you might find the statement "four surviving children."
I've been part of Elle's life since about April 13, 2005. That makes it 970 days. That is about half her life so far.
To Elle.
One day you will read this blog, I hope. You might not be bothered.
That's fine. If I wanted to make you know how I felt I should have made
it know today.
You ask so many questions it drives Nat and I crazy. I love that.
You throw a fit every time you are supposed to go to bed. I miss it
when you don't.
You insist on putting your cloths on backwards and inside out. That
is so you.
You like telling people you love your Jeep. Trever did well getting
you that.
You are hungry all the time. Then you eat two bites. and want to
play.
You play your little computer game for hours. Then you get on the
real computer. Like step dad like step daughter.
All you ever want to do is help and learn. I wish that would stick
around.
One day you will want as little to do with us as possible. That is
natural and normal. I hate it. I accept it.
You enjoy today for today. I learn that from you.
You smile and giggle at the simplest things. That is the most
amazing thing.
You cry at simple things too. But that's you.
Your are a great kid. I can't wait to meet you as a teenager and
adult.
I love you sweetie.
The whole clan went over to my parent's place last night for a pizza/cake/ice-cream party for Elle's fifth birthday. It was a ball. Elle got a little hand held game that has all kinds of educational interactive things. Most importantly, it has a headphone jack. Good parents. I had fun. Elle had fun. Nat seemed to enjoy herself until it came around to me.
After eating I noticed Nat shooting me really dirty looks. I tried to ask her what was upsetting her and she just stared at me with the same dirty look. I didn't want to make a scene so I went and laid down. That didn't help things. Nor did kicking the cake in the back seat (I was trying to hold back some papers (trash) with my foot to grab something out of the back seat because my other head was full) and nearly ruining it. Only the cover was dented so if you could get past the fact that someone's foot had just been co close to i, it was still editable. Followed immediately by dropping the cake in a comical three stage catch and drop before it hit the driveway in obvious cake death landing icing down.
Nat was upset. Elle was looking forward to having cake this evening.
The cake hitting the pavement was just .. the icing on the cake. There are deeper problems. I wish she and I could sit down and talk about stuff without a fight.
His signature
even looks like mine. I am old enough to be his father, but his hair
looks like mine at that length and his goofy expression fits too.
Yeesh. His handwriting is quite a bit more legible.
I'm not going to get all obsessed over this sort of thing. I just
think it is creepy. In a creepy sort of way.
I should write a mission statement. It would have a bunch of bullet points. not much substance.
I'm watching the episode of 3rd Rock where Harry and Tommy write a new mission statement. It comes to blows pretty quickly.
it sounds like fun. I can get Elle's input. I wonder what she thinks is important.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Chicken.
What do you think is important?
Chicken
Who do you respect?
Mime and Papa Mike.
What is your favorite color?
Pink
If you could change anything about the world, what would it be?
More Chicken
Hmmmm. I should probably do lunch before finishing the interview.
Nat and I watched another news bit about a couple of people who
stole credit card info and cash from their friends and neighbors who
lived in the same building. This is an interesting story because the
perpetrators are aloud to be hated and still be politically correct.
That is, they are both white rich kids. They blew the money on
vacations and sexy underwear. They deserver to have the book thrown at
them.
The news people were even getting in on the rich bashing. Several
people were interviewed. They were all pissed. "We trusted these
people." That will show you. The lawyer representing the kids even said
they were stupid. That is a defense I suppose. One woman said "I hope
they do time. I hope they have to pay everything back. Not their
parents." I buy that. One of the other people said the girl had "sticky
fingers". I got the idea that at least some people should have known
this was going to happen.
I want to know where they got the keys to people's apartments. I missed that part of the story.
It is not ours to do or die.
Tis ours to bitch and ask why.
We must not climb the highest mountain.
We must nit-pick the video feed quality.
While others infest the globe looking for adventure
We record sitting on the couch and not being able to reach the remote
because we ate too much bean dip.
This post is making me sick. I have to stop there before I abandon
my blog and try something foolish like starting a home business or
taking a class in something useful. That or watch some TV about someone
who does something cool.
Nat and I watched an interview with a couple of guys who knew Robert
Hawkins, the guy who shot several people at a mall in Omaha. It was one
of the hardest things I've sat through on TV in quite a while. I can't
even think of a comparison. The two guys struggled to say that they had
no idea Robbie had this in him. He had a messed up child hood. Yet,
they didn't wont to let it look like they condoned or his actions or
were trying to make excuses.
Of course no one saw this coming. Sure the guy had made threats to
kill his step mother. Who hasn't? He was smart and capable, yet
working at McDonald's. Ah, I'm smelling the loner genus underachiever
complex coming.
The TV news program flashed the two guys faces up on the screen for
a second to announce the interview was coming. Nat said without
skipping a beat that they didn't look like they wanted to be there. She
wondered if the lady who helped Robbie put them up to doing the
interview. Boy, did Nat call it. Those guys were the most uncomfortable
guests in history. They should use this as a training video for people
doing interviews on how to spot people who don't want to be there.
I want to know the step mom's side of the story. I want to know why
Robbie was out of the house. I want to know what the circumstances were
for the death threat. Were they in an interview where the step mom was
trying to have an, oh lets say eleven year old step son committed or
taken out of the only home he ever knew? Did he just walk up one day
out of the blue and say "Your ass is grass woman!!!" What about his dad?
I wont to know what outlets he did and didn't have access too. I
want to know who's gun that was. I want to know if any one ever
seriously suggested metal detectors at the mall. I want to know how he
got to the mall with a rifle. Was it in the back window of his truck.
Did he ride a bike there? What kind of music did he like? What were his
favorite movies? Did he have a MySpace page?
Where is the girlfriend? Where is the boss who fired him? Why did he
get fired? Where else did he work? Did he get in trouble in school? Did
he finish school? Did he ever try collage? What were his dreams? What
made him afraid, or made him wake up late in the night?
Did he ever travel? Did he want to travel? Did he play computer
games? Did he talk to people online? Did he buy his glasses online? Did
he play Dungeons and Dragons or one of the other roll playing games out
there?
Did he have pets? Did he hunt or fish or walk in the woods? Did he
camp? Did he have a faire to attend?
Did he hate the rain? Did he have to scrape snow off the windshield
that morning? What did the sweatshirt say that he used to rap the AK?
He had a phone. Did he ware a watch? Die he ware steel toe boots or
hiking boots, or sneakers? Did he like motorcycles or snow mobiles?
What did he think of horseback riding? Did he want a big truck? Did he
ever sky dive or bujy jump? Did any one ever ask him?
What did he do very well? What did he love to do or make happen? Did
he dream of better days? Did he know another language. Did he know how
to sign? Is his blood mom alive? Did he drink, smoke, pull the wings
off flies? Did he ever talk about having kids someday?
Why did he want to go out in style? I could speculate that he
thought is life was a boar or a waist or something along those lines.
Thus, he wanted to make a splash on the way out. He might have just
thought of this. He may have been planning it his whole life.
The guys being interviews could have answered any of these or a
hundred other questions that I just can't think of right now. Most of
them would have seemed in very poor taste. The two guys on the spot
were not well prepared. I do not expect someone in that situation to be
prepared to do an interview. Neither was the interviewer. She just sat
there and let them flounder in front of a national audience. Her, I
expect to be prepared. I expect her to walk the people being
interviewed through the questions and answers. And, for goodness sake,
don't put them on the spot to defend their admission that they didn't
see this coming. If they had, they would have done something. Maybe
told somebody, something.
I've never conducted an interview and I know that the person being
interviewed should walk away from the interview feeling like they
accomplished telling the story. A hostile interview is to deliberately
embarrass or inflame someone. An interrogation is to extract
information. There are different names for different types of knowledge
transfer. I would call this one 'lame interview'.
Did I mention that I learned nothing in this interview? Worst interview ever.
"I hope no one saw that!" Too late.
Beat his ass! Looks like he got a nee in the butt too. I say cops should get two minutes to smack the hell out of you after a high speed chase. Thoughts?
How much would I love to be independently wealthy enough to sit on a beach, sipping mi-ties while keeping one eye on the surf and the other on my tan? There is a whole class of jet-setting folks who simply go from very expensive resort to very expensive resort and enjoy the life they have fallen in to.
We really aren't the type for that sort of thing. I think Nat and I are more conservative than that. It would be nice to have the option.
That said, I like where we are really. The money is tight. We are
making it. One day at a time. It is good to take a moment and realize
the position you are in is not all that bad. It isn't bad at all. We
are all relatively healthy. The bills are paid, mostly on time.
Heck, it was even a very nice day outside. I walked around at lunch
and just absorbed the sunshine. They guys doing a bunch of work on top
of the parking garage were deliberately sitting in the sun woofing down
some sandwiches and telling jokes in Spanish. It was another day that
tempted a half day of vacation.
I wish I could blog the music emails that have been going around at
work. I'll try to pull all the names and useful information out of them
and see if they still make any sense. I may post some excerpts. It is
truly a geek fest about the music people listen too and the video game
platforms that have the Guitar Hero or Rock Star games. I know if I cut
it down I will not do it justice. You may have to just take my word
that it is one of the nerdiest things I've ever encountered.
I did notice a couple of things just kind of randomly this
afternoon. I really think the glasses I ordered used the right lens
prescription for both lenses. The left lens doesn't seem quite right. I
noticed that my contacts are spot on in the prescription. I
noticed
the headache too. I noticed a little spot I missed on my
mustaches
this afternoon. I tried cutting it with my pocket knife. I noticed that
I need to sharpen my pocket knife.
It is such a pretty day. The sun is shining and the air is clear. There is no wind to speak of. It was very difficult to go back to work after lunch. I've heard a couple folks say they wanted to take a nap. I sure could have used one.
Woody came back after surgery. He was quit ill from what started as a sinus infection that turned in to a staff infection. It is crazy the things he has been though in the last several weeks. He came in today to start catching up. He sounds great. I can't wait to work with him again.
Today was difficult in the way that waves can be difficult while
sailing. They are something that you have to deal with constantly, but
sometimes they are your primary concern. Today it was difficult to stay
focused.
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home. We picked up some
essentials. That brings the total to $450 so far for essentials this
month and we haven't gotten cat food yet. I'm not sure what else there
is, but we will need it before the end of the month.
I get paid monthly. That means, there is no more money until
January. I don't have it for Christmas. That's too depressing to blog
about right now. I want to talk about something more fun.
When I think of something I'll pop back in. =]
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