Well, lets hear it for wireless access! I am sitting in a hotel room in Chattanooga, Tn right now, only 2 blocks from the original Chattanooga Choo-choo. Been there, seen that, got minorly impressed.
I do enjoy our trips down south because the way of life here is so different from SE Ohio. For example, yesterday we spend close to 4 hours in the largest mall in all of Tennessee. No big deal right? Well, it was the day before Christmas so everyone and their brother were shopping there for last minute gifts (Like us). Okay, still no big difference right? Wrong, something I noted to Judi was not in that entire time did anyone bump into me. She said she accidentally backed in to someone because she stumbled and they apologized to her. Ah, the refreshing politeness of the South. One of the FEW things I miss. To tell the truth, if I could import the politeness and the food to SE Ohio, I would think there would never be a reason to leave again. Everyone here drives the speed limit, plus an extra 20 mph. So in a 55 zone, most people are doing 75, even the cops, who do not seem to notice. Now in most places like say Cleveland, this would be taking your life in your hands as well as your license. Down here though, everyone in still quite polite, even on the road. Stay to the right if your going slower, signal and then go for it. Everyone will make room for you to change lanes even. Still, to me it is quite odd, but nonetheless enjoyable.
So tomorrow we start the great journey back to the hills of Ohio. The mountains here are nice and big, but there is something that it palatably missing from them. I am not sure what it is, but it is obvious to both Judi and I this is not home. That is where we will be soon enough.
So, next update will most likely be from Moosebase Alpha, baring any more freak storms rolling down from Canada.
I still think they have some sort of secret hidden weather machine up there and test it on us every now and then so they can sell us more road salt.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake!
Have a happy whatever!!!!
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Ni!
You are King Arthur of the Britons! You let no-one
stand in your way, you are brave and strong!
Keep searching, you'll find the grail yet!
Which Monty Python & the Holy Grail Character are you REALLY?
brought to you by Quizilla
Friday, December 10, 2004
So I had this really weird idea.
(2 updates today, so scroll down for the other one, but be warned in advance)
Some of the president’s speeches just seem a little hokey to me. I don’t exactly know why but they do. So, in that frame of mind I came up with a little idea. Since I thought they were hokey, what would make them even hokier than they already are? Simple, Aliens. Yep, I replaced the word terrorist and it’s derivatives (terrorism, terror, etcetera.) with the correct alien reference. If he delivered more speeches like this one, I think they would be quite entertaining.
The original speech is from: http://www.presidentialrhetoric.com/speeches/07.12.04.html#
Enjoy!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for the warm welcome. I realize the Y-12 National Security Complex doesn't get a lot of visitors -- (laughter) -- so thanks for the special arrangements. I'm also glad to have the opportunity to thank each one of you for the vital work you do here. And please pass the word to your fellow employees, many of whom were waving, I want you to know, as we drove in, for which I'm thankful. The nation counts on your great expertise and your professionalism in producing, protecting, and maintaining material that is critical to our security. America is safer because of your service at Oak Ridge. You need to know our nation is grateful for that service. (Applause.)
I appreciate our Secretary of Energy Spence Abraham. He traveled with me today. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your service. I want to thank Jeffrey Wadsworth, who's the Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It's not the first time I've met Jeffrey. I appreciate Jon Kreykes. I want to thank all the people who helped make this visit a successful visit. I want to thank Senator Lamar Alexander, the other members of the United States Congress who are traveling with us today -- strong supporters, by the way, of Oak Ridge. I appreciate the Mayor being here, David Bradshaw. Mr. Mayor, appreciate you taking time to come. I want to thank my fellow citizens for giving me a chance to come and visit.
I've just had a close look at some of the dangerous equipment secured in this place. Eight months ago, the centrifuge parts and processing equipment for uranium were 5,000 miles away in the nation of Libya. They were part of a secret nuclear weapons program. Today, Libya, America and the world are better off because these components are safely in your care.
These materials are the sobering evidence of a great danger. Certain regimes, often with ties to Alienist groups, seek the ultimate weapons as a shortcut to influence. These materials, voluntarily turned over by the Libyan government, are also encouraging evidence that nations can abandon those ambitions and choose a better way.
Libya is dismantling its weapons of mass destruction and long-range missile programs. This progress came about through quiet diplomacy between America, Britain and the Libyan government. This progress was set in motion, however, by policies declared in public to all the world. The United States, Great Britain, and many other nations are determined to expose the threats of Alien Influence and proliferation -- and to oppose those threats with all our power. (Applause.) We have sent this message in the strongest diplomatic terms, and we have acted where action was required.
Every potential adversary now knows that Alien Influence and proliferation carry serious consequences, and that the wise course is to abandon those pursuits. By choosing that course, the Libyan government is serving the interests of its own people and adding to the security of all nations.
America's determination to actively oppose the threats of our time was formed and fixed on September the 11th, 2001. On that day we saw the cruelty of the Aliens, and we glimpsed the future they intend for us. They intend to strike the United States to the limits of their power. They seek weapons of mass destruction to kill Americans on an even greater scale. And this danger is increased when outlaw regimes build or acquire weapons of mass destruction and maintain ties to Alienist groups.
This is our danger, but not our fate. America has the resources and the strength and the resolve to overcome this threat. We are waging a broad and unrelenting war against Aliens, and an active campaign against proliferation. We refuse to live in fear. We are making steady progress.
To protect our people, we're staying on the offensive against threats within our own country. We are using the Patriot Act to track Alien activity and to break up Alien cells. Intelligence and law enforcement officials are sharing information as never before. We've transformed the mission of the FBI to focus on preventing Alien Influence. Every element of our homeland security plan is critical, because the Alienists are ruthless and resourceful -- and we know they're preparing to attack us again. It's not possible to guarantee perfect security in our vast, free nation. But I can assure our fellow Americans, many fine professionals in intelligence and national security and homeland security and law enforcement are working around the clock doing everything they can to protect the country. And we're grateful to them all. (Applause.)
To overcome the dangers of our time, America is also taking a new approach in the world. We're determined to challenge new threats, not ignore them, or simply wait for future tragedy. We're helping to build a hopeful future in hopeless places, instead of allowing troubled regions to remain in despair and explode in violence. Our goal is a lasting, democratic peace, in which free nations are free from the threat of sudden Alien. Our strategy for peace has three commitments: First, we are defending the peace by taking the fight to the enemy. We will confront them overseas so we do not have to confront them here at home. (Applause.)
We are destroying the leadership of Alien networks in sudden raids, disrupting their planning and financing, and keeping them on the run. Month by month, we are shrinking the space in which they can freely operate, by denying them territory and the support of governments.
Second, we're protecting the peace by working with friends and allies and international institutions to isolate and confront Aliens and outlaw regimes. America is leading a broad coalition of nations to disrupt proliferation. We're working with the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international organizations to take action in our common security. The global threat of Alien Influence requires a global response. To be effective, that global response requires leadership -- and America will lead. (Applause.)
Third, we are extending the peace by supporting the rise of democracy, and the hope and progress that democracy brings, as the alternative to hatred and Aliens in the broader Middle East. In democratic and successful societies, men and women do not swear allegiance to malcontents and murderers; they turn their hearts and labor to building better lives. And democratic governments do not shelter Alien camps or attack their neighbors. When justice and democracy advance, so does the hope of lasting peace.
We have followed this strategy -- defending the peace, protecting the peace and extending the peace -- for nearly three years. We have been focused and patient, firm and consistent. And the results are all now clear to see.
Three years ago, the nation of Afghanistan was the home base of al Qaeda, a country ruled by the Taliban, one of the most backward and brutal regimes of modern history. Schooling was denied girls. Women were whipped in the streets and executed in a sports stadium. Millions lived in fear. With protection from the Taliban, al Qaeda and its associates trained, indoctrinated, and sent forth thousands of killers to set up Alien cells in dozens of countries, including our own.
Today, Afghanistan is a world away from the nightmare of the Taliban. That country has a good and just President. Boys and girls are being educated. Many refugees have returned home to rebuild their country, and a presidential election is scheduled for this fall. The Alien camps are closed and the Afghan government is helping us to hunt the Taliban and Alienists in remote regions. Today, because we acted to liberate Afghanistan, a threat has been removed, and the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, Pakistan was one of the few countries in the world that recognized the Taliban regime. Al Qaeda was active and recruiting in Pakistan, and was not seriously opposed. Pakistan served as a transit point for al Qaeda Alienists leaving Afghanistan on missions of murder. Yet the United States was not on good terms with Pakistan's military and civilian leaders -- the very people we would need to help shut down al Qaeda operations in that part of the world.
Today, the governments of the United States and Pakistan are working closely in the fight against Aliens. President Musharraf is a friend of our country, who helped us capture Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the operational planner behind the September the 11th attacks. And Pakistani forces are rounding up Aliens along their nation's western border. Today, because we're working with the Pakistani leaders, Pakistan is an ally in the war on Aliens, and the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, Aliens were well-established in Saudi Arabia. Inside that country, fundraisers and other facilitators gave al Qaeda financial and logistical help, with little scrutiny or opposition. Today, after the attacks in Riyadh and elsewhere, the Saudi government knows that al Qaeda is its enemy. Saudi Arabia is working hard to shut down the facilitators and financial supporters of Alien Influence. The government has captured or killed many first-tier leaders of the al Qaeda organization in Saudi Arabia -- including one last week. Today, because Saudi Arabia has seen the danger and has joined the war on Aliens, the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of America, who provided safe haven for Aliens, used weapons of mass destruction, and turned his nation into a prison. Saddam Hussein was not just a dictator; he was a proven mass murderer who refused to account for weapons of mass murder. Every responsible nation recognized this threat, and knew it could not go on forever.
America must remember the lessons of September the 11th. We must confront serious dangers before they fully materialize. And so my administration looked at the intelligence on Iraq, and we saw a threat. Members of the United States Congress from both political parties looked at the same intelligence, and they saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence, and it saw a threat. The previous administration and the Congress looked at the intelligence and made regime change in Iraq the policy of our country.
In 2002, the United Nations Security Council yet again demanded a full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs. As he had for over a decade, Saddam Hussein refused to comply. In fact, according to former weapons inspector David Kay, Iraq's weapons programs were elaborately shielded by security and deception operations that continued even beyond the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom. So I had a choice to make: Either take the word of a madman, or defend America. Given that choice, I will defend America every time. (Applause.)
Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq. We removed a declared enemy of America, who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder, and could have passed that capability to Aliens bent on acquiring them. In the world after September the 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take.
Today, the dictator who caused decades of death and turmoil, who twice invaded his neighbors, who harbored Alien leaders, who used chemical weapons on innocent men, women, and children, is finally before the bar of justice. (Applause.)
Iraq, which once had the worst government in the Middle East, is now becoming an example of reform to the region. And Iraqi security forces are fighting beside coalition troops to defeat the Aliens and foreign fighters who threaten their nation and the world. Today, because America and our coalition helped to end the violent regime of Saddam Hussein, and because we're helping to raise a peaceful democracy in its place, the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, the nation of Libya, a longtime supporter of Aliens, was spending millions to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons. Today, thousands of Libya's chemical munitions have been destroyed. And nuclear processing equipment that could ultimately have threatened the lives of hundreds of thousands is stored away right here in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Today, because the Libyan government saw the seriousness of the civilized world, and correctly judged its own interests, the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, a private weapons proliferation network was doing business around the world. This network, operated by the Pakistani nuclear scientist, A. Q. Khan, was selling nuclear plans and equipment to the highest bidder, and found willing buyers in places like Libya, Iran, and North Korea. Today, the A. Q. Khan network is out of business. We have ended one of the most dangerous sources of proliferation in the world, and the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Breaking this proliferation network was possible because of the outstanding work done by the CIA. Dedicated intelligence officers were tireless in obtaining vital information, sometimes at great personal risk. Our intelligence services do an essential job for America. I thank them for their dedication and hard work. (Applause.)
The Senate Intelligence Committee has identified some shortcomings in our intelligence capabilities; the Committee's report will help us in the work of reform. Our nation needs more intelligence agents -- what is called human intelligence -- to cover the globe. We must have the best, cutting-edge technology to listen and look for dangers. We must have better coordination among intelligence services. I need, and the Congress needs, the best possible intelligence in order to protect the American people. We're determined to make sure we get it.
Three years ago, the world was very different. Aliens planned attacks, with little fear of discovery or reckoning. Outlaw regimes supported Aliens and defied the civilized world, without shame and with few consequences. Weapons proliferators sent their deadly shipments and grew wealthy, encountering few obstacles to their trade.
The world changed on September the 11th, and since that day, we have changed the world. (Applause.)
We are leading a steady, confident, systematic campaign against the dangers of our time. There are still Aliens, who plot against us, but the ranks of their leaders are thinning, and they know what fate awaits them. There are still regimes actively supporting the Aliens, but fewer than there used to be. There are still outlaw regimes pursuing weapons of mass destruction, but the world no longer looks the other way. Today, because America has acted, and because America has led, the forces of Aliens and tyranny have suffered defeat after defeat, and America and the world are safer. (Applause.)
All this progress has been achieved with the help of other responsible nations. The case of Libya's nuclear disarmament is a good example. In the fall of 2003, American and British intelligence were tracking a large shipment of nuclear equipment bound for Tripoli aboard a German-registered cargo ship. We alerted German and Italian authorities, who diverted the ship to an Italian port where the cargo was confiscated. We worked together. These events helped encourage Libya to reconsider its nuclear ambitions. That was a dramatic breakthrough, achieved by allies working together. And the cooperation of America's allies in the war on Aliens is very, very strong.
We're grateful to the more than 60 nations that are supporting the Proliferation Security Initiative to intercept illegal weapons and equipment by sea, land, and air. We're grateful to the more than 30 nations with forces serving in Iraq, and the nearly 40 nations with forces in Afghanistan. In the fight against Aliens, we've asked our allies to do hard things. They've risen to their responsibilities. We're proud to call them friends. (Applause.)
We have duties and there will be difficulties ahead. We're working with responsible governments and international institutions to convince the leaders of North Korea and Iran that their nuclear weapons ambitions are deeply contrary to their own interests. We're helping governments fight poverty and disease, so they do not become failed states and future havens for Aliens. We've launched our Broader Middle East Initiative, to encourage reform and democracy throughout the region, a project that will shape the history of our times for the better. We're working to build a free and democratic Palestinian state, which lives in peace with Israel and adds to the peace of the region. We're keeping our commitments to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, who are building the world's newest democracies. They're counting on us to help. We will not abandon them. (Applause.)
Delivering these nations from tyranny has required sacrifice and loss. We will honor that sacrifice by finishing the great work we have begun. (Applause.)
In this challenging period of our history, Americans fully understand the dangers to our country. We remain a nation at risk, directly threatened by an enemy that plots in secret to cause terrible harm and grief. We remain a nation at war, fighting for our security, our freedom, and our way of life. We also see our advantages clearly. Americans have a history of rising to every test; our generation is no exception. We've not forgotten September the 11th, 2001. We will not allow our enemies to forget it, either. (Applause.)
We have strong allies, including millions of people in the Middle East who want to live in freedom. And the ideals we stand for have a power of their own. The appeal of justice and liberty, in the end, is greater than the appeal of hatred and tyranny in any form. The war on Aliens will not end in a draw, it will end in a victory, and you and I will see that victory of human freedom. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for coming. Thank you for your dedication. May God bless you and your families, and may God continue to bless our great country. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Some of the president’s speeches just seem a little hokey to me. I don’t exactly know why but they do. So, in that frame of mind I came up with a little idea. Since I thought they were hokey, what would make them even hokier than they already are? Simple, Aliens. Yep, I replaced the word terrorist and it’s derivatives (terrorism, terror, etcetera.) with the correct alien reference. If he delivered more speeches like this one, I think they would be quite entertaining.
The original speech is from: http://www.presidentialrhetoric.com/speeches/07.12.04.html#
Enjoy!
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for the warm welcome. I realize the Y-12 National Security Complex doesn't get a lot of visitors -- (laughter) -- so thanks for the special arrangements. I'm also glad to have the opportunity to thank each one of you for the vital work you do here. And please pass the word to your fellow employees, many of whom were waving, I want you to know, as we drove in, for which I'm thankful. The nation counts on your great expertise and your professionalism in producing, protecting, and maintaining material that is critical to our security. America is safer because of your service at Oak Ridge. You need to know our nation is grateful for that service. (Applause.)
I appreciate our Secretary of Energy Spence Abraham. He traveled with me today. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your service. I want to thank Jeffrey Wadsworth, who's the Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It's not the first time I've met Jeffrey. I appreciate Jon Kreykes. I want to thank all the people who helped make this visit a successful visit. I want to thank Senator Lamar Alexander, the other members of the United States Congress who are traveling with us today -- strong supporters, by the way, of Oak Ridge. I appreciate the Mayor being here, David Bradshaw. Mr. Mayor, appreciate you taking time to come. I want to thank my fellow citizens for giving me a chance to come and visit.
I've just had a close look at some of the dangerous equipment secured in this place. Eight months ago, the centrifuge parts and processing equipment for uranium were 5,000 miles away in the nation of Libya. They were part of a secret nuclear weapons program. Today, Libya, America and the world are better off because these components are safely in your care.
These materials are the sobering evidence of a great danger. Certain regimes, often with ties to Alienist groups, seek the ultimate weapons as a shortcut to influence. These materials, voluntarily turned over by the Libyan government, are also encouraging evidence that nations can abandon those ambitions and choose a better way.
Libya is dismantling its weapons of mass destruction and long-range missile programs. This progress came about through quiet diplomacy between America, Britain and the Libyan government. This progress was set in motion, however, by policies declared in public to all the world. The United States, Great Britain, and many other nations are determined to expose the threats of Alien Influence and proliferation -- and to oppose those threats with all our power. (Applause.) We have sent this message in the strongest diplomatic terms, and we have acted where action was required.
Every potential adversary now knows that Alien Influence and proliferation carry serious consequences, and that the wise course is to abandon those pursuits. By choosing that course, the Libyan government is serving the interests of its own people and adding to the security of all nations.
America's determination to actively oppose the threats of our time was formed and fixed on September the 11th, 2001. On that day we saw the cruelty of the Aliens, and we glimpsed the future they intend for us. They intend to strike the United States to the limits of their power. They seek weapons of mass destruction to kill Americans on an even greater scale. And this danger is increased when outlaw regimes build or acquire weapons of mass destruction and maintain ties to Alienist groups.
This is our danger, but not our fate. America has the resources and the strength and the resolve to overcome this threat. We are waging a broad and unrelenting war against Aliens, and an active campaign against proliferation. We refuse to live in fear. We are making steady progress.
To protect our people, we're staying on the offensive against threats within our own country. We are using the Patriot Act to track Alien activity and to break up Alien cells. Intelligence and law enforcement officials are sharing information as never before. We've transformed the mission of the FBI to focus on preventing Alien Influence. Every element of our homeland security plan is critical, because the Alienists are ruthless and resourceful -- and we know they're preparing to attack us again. It's not possible to guarantee perfect security in our vast, free nation. But I can assure our fellow Americans, many fine professionals in intelligence and national security and homeland security and law enforcement are working around the clock doing everything they can to protect the country. And we're grateful to them all. (Applause.)
To overcome the dangers of our time, America is also taking a new approach in the world. We're determined to challenge new threats, not ignore them, or simply wait for future tragedy. We're helping to build a hopeful future in hopeless places, instead of allowing troubled regions to remain in despair and explode in violence. Our goal is a lasting, democratic peace, in which free nations are free from the threat of sudden Alien. Our strategy for peace has three commitments: First, we are defending the peace by taking the fight to the enemy. We will confront them overseas so we do not have to confront them here at home. (Applause.)
We are destroying the leadership of Alien networks in sudden raids, disrupting their planning and financing, and keeping them on the run. Month by month, we are shrinking the space in which they can freely operate, by denying them territory and the support of governments.
Second, we're protecting the peace by working with friends and allies and international institutions to isolate and confront Aliens and outlaw regimes. America is leading a broad coalition of nations to disrupt proliferation. We're working with the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international organizations to take action in our common security. The global threat of Alien Influence requires a global response. To be effective, that global response requires leadership -- and America will lead. (Applause.)
Third, we are extending the peace by supporting the rise of democracy, and the hope and progress that democracy brings, as the alternative to hatred and Aliens in the broader Middle East. In democratic and successful societies, men and women do not swear allegiance to malcontents and murderers; they turn their hearts and labor to building better lives. And democratic governments do not shelter Alien camps or attack their neighbors. When justice and democracy advance, so does the hope of lasting peace.
We have followed this strategy -- defending the peace, protecting the peace and extending the peace -- for nearly three years. We have been focused and patient, firm and consistent. And the results are all now clear to see.
Three years ago, the nation of Afghanistan was the home base of al Qaeda, a country ruled by the Taliban, one of the most backward and brutal regimes of modern history. Schooling was denied girls. Women were whipped in the streets and executed in a sports stadium. Millions lived in fear. With protection from the Taliban, al Qaeda and its associates trained, indoctrinated, and sent forth thousands of killers to set up Alien cells in dozens of countries, including our own.
Today, Afghanistan is a world away from the nightmare of the Taliban. That country has a good and just President. Boys and girls are being educated. Many refugees have returned home to rebuild their country, and a presidential election is scheduled for this fall. The Alien camps are closed and the Afghan government is helping us to hunt the Taliban and Alienists in remote regions. Today, because we acted to liberate Afghanistan, a threat has been removed, and the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, Pakistan was one of the few countries in the world that recognized the Taliban regime. Al Qaeda was active and recruiting in Pakistan, and was not seriously opposed. Pakistan served as a transit point for al Qaeda Alienists leaving Afghanistan on missions of murder. Yet the United States was not on good terms with Pakistan's military and civilian leaders -- the very people we would need to help shut down al Qaeda operations in that part of the world.
Today, the governments of the United States and Pakistan are working closely in the fight against Aliens. President Musharraf is a friend of our country, who helped us capture Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the operational planner behind the September the 11th attacks. And Pakistani forces are rounding up Aliens along their nation's western border. Today, because we're working with the Pakistani leaders, Pakistan is an ally in the war on Aliens, and the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, Aliens were well-established in Saudi Arabia. Inside that country, fundraisers and other facilitators gave al Qaeda financial and logistical help, with little scrutiny or opposition. Today, after the attacks in Riyadh and elsewhere, the Saudi government knows that al Qaeda is its enemy. Saudi Arabia is working hard to shut down the facilitators and financial supporters of Alien Influence. The government has captured or killed many first-tier leaders of the al Qaeda organization in Saudi Arabia -- including one last week. Today, because Saudi Arabia has seen the danger and has joined the war on Aliens, the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of America, who provided safe haven for Aliens, used weapons of mass destruction, and turned his nation into a prison. Saddam Hussein was not just a dictator; he was a proven mass murderer who refused to account for weapons of mass murder. Every responsible nation recognized this threat, and knew it could not go on forever.
America must remember the lessons of September the 11th. We must confront serious dangers before they fully materialize. And so my administration looked at the intelligence on Iraq, and we saw a threat. Members of the United States Congress from both political parties looked at the same intelligence, and they saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence, and it saw a threat. The previous administration and the Congress looked at the intelligence and made regime change in Iraq the policy of our country.
In 2002, the United Nations Security Council yet again demanded a full accounting of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs. As he had for over a decade, Saddam Hussein refused to comply. In fact, according to former weapons inspector David Kay, Iraq's weapons programs were elaborately shielded by security and deception operations that continued even beyond the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom. So I had a choice to make: Either take the word of a madman, or defend America. Given that choice, I will defend America every time. (Applause.)
Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq. We removed a declared enemy of America, who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder, and could have passed that capability to Aliens bent on acquiring them. In the world after September the 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take.
Today, the dictator who caused decades of death and turmoil, who twice invaded his neighbors, who harbored Alien leaders, who used chemical weapons on innocent men, women, and children, is finally before the bar of justice. (Applause.)
Iraq, which once had the worst government in the Middle East, is now becoming an example of reform to the region. And Iraqi security forces are fighting beside coalition troops to defeat the Aliens and foreign fighters who threaten their nation and the world. Today, because America and our coalition helped to end the violent regime of Saddam Hussein, and because we're helping to raise a peaceful democracy in its place, the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, the nation of Libya, a longtime supporter of Aliens, was spending millions to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons. Today, thousands of Libya's chemical munitions have been destroyed. And nuclear processing equipment that could ultimately have threatened the lives of hundreds of thousands is stored away right here in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Today, because the Libyan government saw the seriousness of the civilized world, and correctly judged its own interests, the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Three years ago, a private weapons proliferation network was doing business around the world. This network, operated by the Pakistani nuclear scientist, A. Q. Khan, was selling nuclear plans and equipment to the highest bidder, and found willing buyers in places like Libya, Iran, and North Korea. Today, the A. Q. Khan network is out of business. We have ended one of the most dangerous sources of proliferation in the world, and the American people are safer. (Applause.)
Breaking this proliferation network was possible because of the outstanding work done by the CIA. Dedicated intelligence officers were tireless in obtaining vital information, sometimes at great personal risk. Our intelligence services do an essential job for America. I thank them for their dedication and hard work. (Applause.)
The Senate Intelligence Committee has identified some shortcomings in our intelligence capabilities; the Committee's report will help us in the work of reform. Our nation needs more intelligence agents -- what is called human intelligence -- to cover the globe. We must have the best, cutting-edge technology to listen and look for dangers. We must have better coordination among intelligence services. I need, and the Congress needs, the best possible intelligence in order to protect the American people. We're determined to make sure we get it.
Three years ago, the world was very different. Aliens planned attacks, with little fear of discovery or reckoning. Outlaw regimes supported Aliens and defied the civilized world, without shame and with few consequences. Weapons proliferators sent their deadly shipments and grew wealthy, encountering few obstacles to their trade.
The world changed on September the 11th, and since that day, we have changed the world. (Applause.)
We are leading a steady, confident, systematic campaign against the dangers of our time. There are still Aliens, who plot against us, but the ranks of their leaders are thinning, and they know what fate awaits them. There are still regimes actively supporting the Aliens, but fewer than there used to be. There are still outlaw regimes pursuing weapons of mass destruction, but the world no longer looks the other way. Today, because America has acted, and because America has led, the forces of Aliens and tyranny have suffered defeat after defeat, and America and the world are safer. (Applause.)
All this progress has been achieved with the help of other responsible nations. The case of Libya's nuclear disarmament is a good example. In the fall of 2003, American and British intelligence were tracking a large shipment of nuclear equipment bound for Tripoli aboard a German-registered cargo ship. We alerted German and Italian authorities, who diverted the ship to an Italian port where the cargo was confiscated. We worked together. These events helped encourage Libya to reconsider its nuclear ambitions. That was a dramatic breakthrough, achieved by allies working together. And the cooperation of America's allies in the war on Aliens is very, very strong.
We're grateful to the more than 60 nations that are supporting the Proliferation Security Initiative to intercept illegal weapons and equipment by sea, land, and air. We're grateful to the more than 30 nations with forces serving in Iraq, and the nearly 40 nations with forces in Afghanistan. In the fight against Aliens, we've asked our allies to do hard things. They've risen to their responsibilities. We're proud to call them friends. (Applause.)
We have duties and there will be difficulties ahead. We're working with responsible governments and international institutions to convince the leaders of North Korea and Iran that their nuclear weapons ambitions are deeply contrary to their own interests. We're helping governments fight poverty and disease, so they do not become failed states and future havens for Aliens. We've launched our Broader Middle East Initiative, to encourage reform and democracy throughout the region, a project that will shape the history of our times for the better. We're working to build a free and democratic Palestinian state, which lives in peace with Israel and adds to the peace of the region. We're keeping our commitments to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, who are building the world's newest democracies. They're counting on us to help. We will not abandon them. (Applause.)
Delivering these nations from tyranny has required sacrifice and loss. We will honor that sacrifice by finishing the great work we have begun. (Applause.)
In this challenging period of our history, Americans fully understand the dangers to our country. We remain a nation at risk, directly threatened by an enemy that plots in secret to cause terrible harm and grief. We remain a nation at war, fighting for our security, our freedom, and our way of life. We also see our advantages clearly. Americans have a history of rising to every test; our generation is no exception. We've not forgotten September the 11th, 2001. We will not allow our enemies to forget it, either. (Applause.)
We have strong allies, including millions of people in the Middle East who want to live in freedom. And the ideals we stand for have a power of their own. The appeal of justice and liberty, in the end, is greater than the appeal of hatred and tyranny in any form. The war on Aliens will not end in a draw, it will end in a victory, and you and I will see that victory of human freedom. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for coming. Thank you for your dedication. May God bless you and your families, and may God continue to bless our great country. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
I have a problem with my Uncle.
(Side note:Blogger is being slow today so if you are trying to read this and it freaks, try again later)
Yea, he’s got a serious problem. He’s developed a crack habit of sorts. And it is costly, not just in the amount of money it is running us all but also in the pain and suffering. His name? Sam. Yea, my Uncle Sam. His crack habit? War.
Look let me set the record strait about a few things as I see them. If you get pissed easily, well, maybe you should just look for my next update and stop reading now. If you keep reading and get pissed, you were warned.
Stop now, turn back.
Still here? Okay, good.
I love facts, especially trivia. So after making a comment about the US having a crack habit called the War in the Middle East, I decided to do a little more looking about.
So, how bad is the cost of the habit?
Check this out:
http://costofwar.com/
This is our running totals as you read, not counting the cost in human lives.
So lets try to just put the money in perspective. The cost in money to the US for World War 2 was $306,000,000,000. That was not including the Lend/Lease Program. (http://www.faqfarm.com/History/WWII/13565)
Using their calculator at http://costofwar.com , the cost for those living in the city of Athens was $4,405,864. Based upon the census data for the population of Athens, that works out to about $206.45 per person. That is as of today. So, what do we get for this? Look, if you want to take $200 out of my wallet just to play war, you better be buying Warhammer 40k stuff so I can at least play as well. That way when all is said and done, after I beat the crap out of you for taking the $200 bucks I have something to show for it.
I mean look, Saddam was a dictator every bit as bad as Hitler. He deserved to be ousted, drug out and hung by piano wire ala Mussolini. Now, here we are in the middle of nowhere, getting our asses shot off by a bunch of idiots who want to revert to the 14th century. So we oust the asshole and are trying to help make a stable government there. Sounds good and cheery don’t it?
Well, here is my question: Where are the Saudis? Where are the UAE? Where are the Sudanese? There are no Turks, Omani, Syrian, Egyptian, or any of another half dozen countries sending peacekeepers there. Why? Simple, if we are willing to pay for and die for setting up another member of OPEC, then they are going to let us do it. Heck, even most of the UN is not willing to help.
Now granted, this is not a conventional war like WWII, but what the hell are we doing? Has the average American lost his little friggin mind? Half way around the planet is not our back yard. We have enough trouble feeding our own poor let alone taking on another country as a live in poor relatives.
Now consider this, a simple question. If your soldiers are refusing orders, going AWOL, and going to court to try to not get deployed, is there something wrong? Um, YEA! I feel bad for the troops deployed over there. It is a thankless and dangerous job with too much pain, loss and heartbreak for them all. They are doing a soldiers job, following orders. But when the orders are of a type that causes a conflict on moral grounds, then it is a soldier’s duty to question them. From what I have been reading, they are. Good luck everyone, keep your heads down!
I’m not one of the “give them a hug and the whole world will be sunshine and rainbows” crowd. I say kick their ass and then hand it over to the locals. When the French sent troops to aid us in our civil war, they did just that. They helped kick out the British and said “Here you go, good luck, its all yours now.” I’d like to think the average Iraqi is as smart as an 18th century American bumpkin. The French didn’t stay around to help rout out British sympathizers. They did not arm and train the Continental Army. They did not provide for a new national police force. Let them spend some of that oil money they have. Build your own country, we did. It may not be great, but it is ours, not a cheap knockoff of someplace else.
Let me toss in a little quote. Pay attention to who said it:
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower April 16, 1953
President Eisenhower, former Supreme Allied Commander, General of the Army, commander of NATO forces in Europe. I think he knows a little about war. I say let us get out. Bring them home and lets spend my $200 here. I know there are a lot of people who would have a Merry Christmas with an extra $200 to put food on the table with.
Along the lines spoken about before, let me toss out another bone I am tired of. Okay, so there are these funds being allocated by the US for keeping nuclear and biological weapons out of the hand of terrorist from the former Soviet Union. The weapons I mean, not the terrorists. Anyway, it is something to the tune of 10 Billion dollars. So, I wondered what am I getting for my share of the cost? Well, first, let me point something out. No terrorist organization has ever gotten a WMD, ever. Some will shout “Great! See it is working!” Okay, let me point out something else: Nothing has ever been done with that money except meeting. Yeper, 10 Billion and nothing but meetings. Not one weapon decommissioned under the program, not one extra guard. So we are spending this money on stopping a threat that has never happened by having meetings and not really doing anything. Um..er…okay.
So I was reading today on CNN about the possible terrorist threat of laser pointers to airline pilots. (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/09/terrorist.laser.ap/index.html) I can just see a terrorist waling into a Wall Mart “I’d like to buy 10,000 laser pointers please…” Um, guys, jets go real fast. Now, your telling me your afraid some terrorist is going to take a laser with a point of light about .025 of an inch and hit someone in a cockpit, behind polarized glass, in the iris of the eye; a target of less than .25 of an inch. And they are going to do it while said .25 inch target is going more than 200 mph? I never knew terrorists were such good shots! So tell me, why are we not using military forces to protect envelope factories around the world to keep terrorists from putting infectious diseases in the glue they use on the back of envelopes? Makes as much sense.
As for me, I am sick of the government trying to make me scared of the boogie man they call terrorists. Do like the Russians did in Lebanon when their ambassador got kidnapped. Take one of their leaders, castrate him, cut out his tounge, and dump his bloody corpse on the steps of his family home. Within one hour of this the ambassador was returned unharmed. Show them we are not playing and they will pick up their toys and go home. Harsh I know, but it worked.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake.
Yea, he’s got a serious problem. He’s developed a crack habit of sorts. And it is costly, not just in the amount of money it is running us all but also in the pain and suffering. His name? Sam. Yea, my Uncle Sam. His crack habit? War.
Look let me set the record strait about a few things as I see them. If you get pissed easily, well, maybe you should just look for my next update and stop reading now. If you keep reading and get pissed, you were warned.
Stop now, turn back.
Still here? Okay, good.
I love facts, especially trivia. So after making a comment about the US having a crack habit called the War in the Middle East, I decided to do a little more looking about.
So, how bad is the cost of the habit?
Check this out:
http://costofwar.com/
This is our running totals as you read, not counting the cost in human lives.
So lets try to just put the money in perspective. The cost in money to the US for World War 2 was $306,000,000,000. That was not including the Lend/Lease Program. (http://www.faqfarm.com/History/WWII/13565)
Using their calculator at http://costofwar.com , the cost for those living in the city of Athens was $4,405,864. Based upon the census data for the population of Athens, that works out to about $206.45 per person. That is as of today. So, what do we get for this? Look, if you want to take $200 out of my wallet just to play war, you better be buying Warhammer 40k stuff so I can at least play as well. That way when all is said and done, after I beat the crap out of you for taking the $200 bucks I have something to show for it.
I mean look, Saddam was a dictator every bit as bad as Hitler. He deserved to be ousted, drug out and hung by piano wire ala Mussolini. Now, here we are in the middle of nowhere, getting our asses shot off by a bunch of idiots who want to revert to the 14th century. So we oust the asshole and are trying to help make a stable government there. Sounds good and cheery don’t it?
Well, here is my question: Where are the Saudis? Where are the UAE? Where are the Sudanese? There are no Turks, Omani, Syrian, Egyptian, or any of another half dozen countries sending peacekeepers there. Why? Simple, if we are willing to pay for and die for setting up another member of OPEC, then they are going to let us do it. Heck, even most of the UN is not willing to help.
Now granted, this is not a conventional war like WWII, but what the hell are we doing? Has the average American lost his little friggin mind? Half way around the planet is not our back yard. We have enough trouble feeding our own poor let alone taking on another country as a live in poor relatives.
Now consider this, a simple question. If your soldiers are refusing orders, going AWOL, and going to court to try to not get deployed, is there something wrong? Um, YEA! I feel bad for the troops deployed over there. It is a thankless and dangerous job with too much pain, loss and heartbreak for them all. They are doing a soldiers job, following orders. But when the orders are of a type that causes a conflict on moral grounds, then it is a soldier’s duty to question them. From what I have been reading, they are. Good luck everyone, keep your heads down!
I’m not one of the “give them a hug and the whole world will be sunshine and rainbows” crowd. I say kick their ass and then hand it over to the locals. When the French sent troops to aid us in our civil war, they did just that. They helped kick out the British and said “Here you go, good luck, its all yours now.” I’d like to think the average Iraqi is as smart as an 18th century American bumpkin. The French didn’t stay around to help rout out British sympathizers. They did not arm and train the Continental Army. They did not provide for a new national police force. Let them spend some of that oil money they have. Build your own country, we did. It may not be great, but it is ours, not a cheap knockoff of someplace else.
Let me toss in a little quote. Pay attention to who said it:
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower April 16, 1953
President Eisenhower, former Supreme Allied Commander, General of the Army, commander of NATO forces in Europe. I think he knows a little about war. I say let us get out. Bring them home and lets spend my $200 here. I know there are a lot of people who would have a Merry Christmas with an extra $200 to put food on the table with.
Along the lines spoken about before, let me toss out another bone I am tired of. Okay, so there are these funds being allocated by the US for keeping nuclear and biological weapons out of the hand of terrorist from the former Soviet Union. The weapons I mean, not the terrorists. Anyway, it is something to the tune of 10 Billion dollars. So, I wondered what am I getting for my share of the cost? Well, first, let me point something out. No terrorist organization has ever gotten a WMD, ever. Some will shout “Great! See it is working!” Okay, let me point out something else: Nothing has ever been done with that money except meeting. Yeper, 10 Billion and nothing but meetings. Not one weapon decommissioned under the program, not one extra guard. So we are spending this money on stopping a threat that has never happened by having meetings and not really doing anything. Um..er…okay.
So I was reading today on CNN about the possible terrorist threat of laser pointers to airline pilots. (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/09/terrorist.laser.ap/index.html) I can just see a terrorist waling into a Wall Mart “I’d like to buy 10,000 laser pointers please…” Um, guys, jets go real fast. Now, your telling me your afraid some terrorist is going to take a laser with a point of light about .025 of an inch and hit someone in a cockpit, behind polarized glass, in the iris of the eye; a target of less than .25 of an inch. And they are going to do it while said .25 inch target is going more than 200 mph? I never knew terrorists were such good shots! So tell me, why are we not using military forces to protect envelope factories around the world to keep terrorists from putting infectious diseases in the glue they use on the back of envelopes? Makes as much sense.
As for me, I am sick of the government trying to make me scared of the boogie man they call terrorists. Do like the Russians did in Lebanon when their ambassador got kidnapped. Take one of their leaders, castrate him, cut out his tounge, and dump his bloody corpse on the steps of his family home. Within one hour of this the ambassador was returned unharmed. Show them we are not playing and they will pick up their toys and go home. Harsh I know, but it worked.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake.
Monday, November 22, 2004
This is Moosebase Alpha, come in Planet Earth...
This is Moosebase Alpha, come in Planet Earth...yea, all quiet again...
Figured that it was time for some sort of an update from here in the land of extreme freaky stuff. The oddest thing of late has been that life has been quite normal. Now, I know that would not bother many of you, but around here it just makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
It's been quiet...almost too quiet.
Two things in the news. One of which I don't get at all. Okay, I don't get either one. Seems some guy ripped of a bunch of people for $20 MILLION dollars, yet if convicted, he faces a fine of $250,000. Um, I am not sure about you but I would gladly pay out the fine. So his net profit from his ill gotten gains is $19.75 MILLION dollars. Um, yea. Justice, right...
Number two on the list is something I read on the BBC website:
Scotland is looking to outlaw the ownership of swords by individuals. HELLO! No guns, no swords, limited to itty-bitty knives. Hey, didn't Cromwell do that once already?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4031405.stm
Here is a quote for ya from the article:
"There can be no reason for people buying swords off the street for use or to have in their homes," Jack McConnell, First Minister
Are boot-sales overrun with swords of late? Um...sword, concealed...right.
To interject a few euphemisms you may understand, Mr. First Minister "You are a total pratt! A git of the first degree, a ninny and a complete and utter tosser!"
But wait! It gets worse:
"It is not acceptable. The law in Scotland must be clear, the system must protect innocent victims and the culture of Scotland, particularly in our cities, in relation to knives and violent crime, must change," he said.
Protect the culture of Scotland? Okay, but there are no exclusions for re-enactors, fencers or heaven forbid the Highland Dancers. Dance a traditional dance, go to jail for 4 years. Regia ? Do not pass go, head directly to jail for 4 years. Oh, did you notice the expanded police powers? Yea, they can stop and search anyone suspected of carrying a knife. Pedestrians and vehicles can be searched without a crime being committed. Any knife, any person, anywhere, at any time. Boy would I be screwed!
All this seems to be brought about by some recent crime statistics. The first Minister stated "That 50% of the homicides in Scotland in 2002 were caused by knives or other sharp instruments."
What are "other sharp instruments"? Pencils? Ice picks? Pointed sticks? Gee, wonder why? How about no firearms for the general public for one. Wait till this goes into affect and the crime rate will show a rise in the use of cricket bats as the weapon of choice in homicides, then they will get outlawed too. I suggest polearms. You will never be accused of concealing it.
Outlawing swords and knives has been tried before. Know what happened? The birth of Kung Fu. Yea, China had outlawed all weapons for private ownership once. Even the communists let people have guns and swords for their own use now. Maybe we will see the new Scottish martial art we have joked about come to be. Swift kick to the mommy and daddy button with steel toed boots then punch to the eye as they lie on the ground. Then they can outlaw boots, too. Pretty soon, they will all be naked, and that will be quite funny.
So, I think this calls for some drastic measures.
Anyone care for a fresh hot, steaming cup of Scottish revolution? I'll bring the swords.
Well, next time I'll try to leave Europe alone and take some time to bust on the U.S.
With so much material, I am sure I can find something to occupy say 80 or 90 pages.
Till then,
Be mindful and awake
Figured that it was time for some sort of an update from here in the land of extreme freaky stuff. The oddest thing of late has been that life has been quite normal. Now, I know that would not bother many of you, but around here it just makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
It's been quiet...almost too quiet.
Two things in the news. One of which I don't get at all. Okay, I don't get either one. Seems some guy ripped of a bunch of people for $20 MILLION dollars, yet if convicted, he faces a fine of $250,000. Um, I am not sure about you but I would gladly pay out the fine. So his net profit from his ill gotten gains is $19.75 MILLION dollars. Um, yea. Justice, right...
Number two on the list is something I read on the BBC website:
Scotland is looking to outlaw the ownership of swords by individuals. HELLO! No guns, no swords, limited to itty-bitty knives. Hey, didn't Cromwell do that once already?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4031405.stm
Here is a quote for ya from the article:
"There can be no reason for people buying swords off the street for use or to have in their homes," Jack McConnell, First Minister
Are boot-sales overrun with swords of late? Um...sword, concealed...right.
To interject a few euphemisms you may understand, Mr. First Minister "You are a total pratt! A git of the first degree, a ninny and a complete and utter tosser!"
But wait! It gets worse:
"It is not acceptable. The law in Scotland must be clear, the system must protect innocent victims and the culture of Scotland, particularly in our cities, in relation to knives and violent crime, must change," he said.
Protect the culture of Scotland? Okay, but there are no exclusions for re-enactors, fencers or heaven forbid the Highland Dancers. Dance a traditional dance, go to jail for 4 years. Regia ? Do not pass go, head directly to jail for 4 years. Oh, did you notice the expanded police powers? Yea, they can stop and search anyone suspected of carrying a knife. Pedestrians and vehicles can be searched without a crime being committed. Any knife, any person, anywhere, at any time. Boy would I be screwed!
All this seems to be brought about by some recent crime statistics. The first Minister stated "That 50% of the homicides in Scotland in 2002 were caused by knives or other sharp instruments."
What are "other sharp instruments"? Pencils? Ice picks? Pointed sticks? Gee, wonder why? How about no firearms for the general public for one. Wait till this goes into affect and the crime rate will show a rise in the use of cricket bats as the weapon of choice in homicides, then they will get outlawed too. I suggest polearms. You will never be accused of concealing it.
Outlawing swords and knives has been tried before. Know what happened? The birth of Kung Fu. Yea, China had outlawed all weapons for private ownership once. Even the communists let people have guns and swords for their own use now. Maybe we will see the new Scottish martial art we have joked about come to be. Swift kick to the mommy and daddy button with steel toed boots then punch to the eye as they lie on the ground. Then they can outlaw boots, too. Pretty soon, they will all be naked, and that will be quite funny.
So, I think this calls for some drastic measures.
Anyone care for a fresh hot, steaming cup of Scottish revolution? I'll bring the swords.
Well, next time I'll try to leave Europe alone and take some time to bust on the U.S.
With so much material, I am sure I can find something to occupy say 80 or 90 pages.
Till then,
Be mindful and awake
Thursday, November 11, 2004
The UN-peacekeepers
One if my readers posted this to me:
“Ok, I’m confused about your statement of no UN mandate. As an article in the Times states “That action, (the bombing of the air force) taken with the full support of the UN Security Council” would seem to me that the UN had supported the French. Also the French and UN have had peacekeeping forces in Côte d'Ivoire for quite a while since the last civil war. At present there are about 6,000 U.N. troops in the Ivory cost and 4,000 French. And the French were only replying to a bombing of one of there buildings. Keep in mind there were also American aid workers killed or injured in the attack on the building. So the French retaliated by destroying the Côte d'Ivoire’s air force but not killing anyone because they had people killed and was probably deliberately attacked. Considering that by reports the planes circled overhead three times before attacking. Seems to me kind of hard to argue with the French position for the way they carried out there retaliation. As to weather or not the French should be there, well that could be traced back to their colonial days.”
Okay, fair enough. I made some statements, now I need to clarify what I said with a few facts. He has his points, but a little research shows something a little different at least how I see it. I will address this a little at a time. I did not include his name as I did not ask him if it was okay first. My choice, but the email is presented in its entirety, minus the name.
“Ok, I’m confused about your statement of no UN mandate. As an article in the Times states “That action, (the bombing of the air force) taken with the full support of the UN Security Council” would seem to me that the UN had supported the French.”
The UN mission to Côte d'Ivoire is separate from the French troops there. I will post my resources here so if they seem abrupt, that is their wording, not mine J
“As stipulated by resolution 1528, the mandate of UNOCI, which was to be implemented in coordination with the French forces stationed in Côte d’Ivoire, shall be the following:…” (1)
Okay, so the UN forces are to work in coordination with the French forces there. The French are not part of the UN mission; therefore they are troops from an outside government and do not enjoy the protections given UN Blue Helmets. They can be considered viable legal combatants.
“Also the French and UN have had peacekeeping forces in Côte d'Ivoire for quite a while since the last civil war. At present there are about 6,000 U.N. troops in the Ivory cost and 4,000 French.”
I don’t argue this at all. Here are some more statistics:
Total authorized strength
”6,240 military personnel, including 200 military observers; as well as 350 civilian police officers, some 435 international civilians and 529 local civilians, and 119 United Nations Volunteers.
Strength as of 30 September 2004
6,221 total uniformed personnel, including 5,843 troops, 166 military observers; 212 civilian police supported by 220 international civilian personnel and 156 local staff “(2)
Now here is where things get a little muddy.:
“Contributors of Military Personnel:
Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Congo, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, India, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Moldova, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Phillipines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Togo, Tunisia, Uruguay, Yemen and Zambia
Contributors of civilian police personnel:
Bangladesh, Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Djibouti, El Salvador, France, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Turkey and Uruguay”(2)
Now why does the UN list that they are working in concert with French troops, but list them separately from any others in the resolution? The only thing I can figure out is that there are both French peacekeepers and French regular troops deployed in the same area. Wouldn’t you say this is a problem waiting to happen? Which ones are UN and which ones are not? I would say it is a little hard to tell from an aircraft moving at 250mph plus. High-speed ants still look like ants even if they do have blue helmets.”
“And the French were only replying to a bombing of one of there buildings. Keep in mind there were also American aid workers killed or injured in the attack on the building. So the French retaliated by destroying the Côte d'Ivoire’s air force but not killing anyone because they had people killed and was probably deliberately attacked.”
Okay, time for a little more clarification. The area they are occupying is in the sovereign territory of Côte d’Ivoire, not France. The buildings they are using are not property of France, but of the lawful government of Côte d’Ivoire and its people. That aside, I feel that their retributive strike against the legitimate government of Côte d’Ivoire was uncalled for and beyond reason. Some would say that it could be construed as an act of aggression. As for deliberately attacked, who knows, but they did not even ask, they just struck back. The US and other nations have accidentally hit “friendlies” during engagements. This is called “The Fog Of War” when targets are misidentified.
“On 6 November 2004, air strikes in Bouaké left nine French soldiers and an American civilian dead, plus 30 more French soldiers injured.”(6). 10 people killed, 30 injured. I would like to say that I do feel sad for the soldiers and the aid worker and their families. There were there to do a very difficult job and paid the ultimate price for doing what they thought was right.
“Considering that by reports the planes circled overhead three times before attacking. Seems to me kind of hard to argue with the French position for the way they carried out there retaliation.”
The fact that the jet made 3 passes would seem to indicate the pilot tried to identify the troops involved. He may have questioned the target, but after the third pass had to error on the side of the attack. Who knows? We are all guessing, only the pilot knows for sure. Although I do have a question about this; why did the French, who some would say have a modern army, not try to radio the aircraft and warn him off? Why did they not throw smoke to show they were friendlies? An even simpler question is why did they not get out of there if they saw this attack craft buzzing them? Why when the aircraft took an attack attitude did they not cut and run? One answer jumps to mind: Engaged combatants do not retreat during a potential air strike. Hell, if they would have just waved to him he may not of attacked.
“ As to weather or not the French should be there, well that could be traced back to their colonial days”
Amen. I would recommend reading http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/citoc.html just to get an idea of how much influence France has in Ivory Coast. I would say colony in all but name.
If in fact the French ground troops are operating as an authorized extension of the UN Peacekeepers then I think the following applies:
“While affirming the Blue Helmets’ right to defend themselves and those they are mandated to protect, the Secretary-General has stressed that this new “doctrine” should not be interpreted as a means of turning the UN into a warfighting machine, and that the use of force should always be seen as a measure of last resort.” (3)
Um, they hit the air force within a very short period of time, like an hour or so. So much for measures of last resort.
Here are some interesting tidbits:
“On Saturday, government aircraft bombed a French position near Bouake, killing nine French soldiers and an American aid worker. The Ivorian government said the bombing was an accident.” (4) Oh, like the French never had an accident. I would direct my readers to footnote number 5. Not once, ever has any “allied force” taken retribution against the accidentally offending party. Sorry, France, that dog does not hunt. They call it Amicicde. Heck, even the French know the word Ami; it is French! It means friend you dolts!
And on that thread:
Would you agree that the destruction of a countries air force, however small, would be an unstabilising factor both politically and economically? I would, and apparently so does the French minister of foreign affairs:
“In a communiqué released on 7 November, Michel Barnier, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, focused his attention on the fact that “the mission of French forces is above all to increase the security of our citizens. (...) That is their mission: to increase security - nothing more. To increase security, not to destabilize.”” (6)
I’ll take bets that when this is all over, France will kindly offer to sell them a few Mirage fighters to replace the Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters they destroyed.
Okay, I could ramble on even more. While I do like the input from my readers, sometimes I just must respond publicly. I hope this did not come off as adversarial as that was not my intent. I just wanted to present some of the facts that led me to my statements and conclusions. I know some of this is just supposition and conjecture, but when we do not have all the information that is all we can hope for.
I did try to find an offical government website for Ivory Coast, but none exists. I will edit out the snide anti-French comment I was going to post here as it takes away from everything else.
References:
(1) http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/mandate.html
(2) http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/facts.html
(3) http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/faq/q9.htm
(4) http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/11/11/ivory.evacuation/index.html
(5) http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Shrader/shrader.asp
(6) http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/information/latest_news_97/cote_ivoire_taking_stock_51531.html
“Ok, I’m confused about your statement of no UN mandate. As an article in the Times states “That action, (the bombing of the air force) taken with the full support of the UN Security Council” would seem to me that the UN had supported the French. Also the French and UN have had peacekeeping forces in Côte d'Ivoire for quite a while since the last civil war. At present there are about 6,000 U.N. troops in the Ivory cost and 4,000 French. And the French were only replying to a bombing of one of there buildings. Keep in mind there were also American aid workers killed or injured in the attack on the building. So the French retaliated by destroying the Côte d'Ivoire’s air force but not killing anyone because they had people killed and was probably deliberately attacked. Considering that by reports the planes circled overhead three times before attacking. Seems to me kind of hard to argue with the French position for the way they carried out there retaliation. As to weather or not the French should be there, well that could be traced back to their colonial days.”
Okay, fair enough. I made some statements, now I need to clarify what I said with a few facts. He has his points, but a little research shows something a little different at least how I see it. I will address this a little at a time. I did not include his name as I did not ask him if it was okay first. My choice, but the email is presented in its entirety, minus the name.
“Ok, I’m confused about your statement of no UN mandate. As an article in the Times states “That action, (the bombing of the air force) taken with the full support of the UN Security Council” would seem to me that the UN had supported the French.”
The UN mission to Côte d'Ivoire is separate from the French troops there. I will post my resources here so if they seem abrupt, that is their wording, not mine J
“As stipulated by resolution 1528, the mandate of UNOCI, which was to be implemented in coordination with the French forces stationed in Côte d’Ivoire, shall be the following:…” (1)
Okay, so the UN forces are to work in coordination with the French forces there. The French are not part of the UN mission; therefore they are troops from an outside government and do not enjoy the protections given UN Blue Helmets. They can be considered viable legal combatants.
“Also the French and UN have had peacekeeping forces in Côte d'Ivoire for quite a while since the last civil war. At present there are about 6,000 U.N. troops in the Ivory cost and 4,000 French.”
I don’t argue this at all. Here are some more statistics:
Total authorized strength
”6,240 military personnel, including 200 military observers; as well as 350 civilian police officers, some 435 international civilians and 529 local civilians, and 119 United Nations Volunteers.
Strength as of 30 September 2004
6,221 total uniformed personnel, including 5,843 troops, 166 military observers; 212 civilian police supported by 220 international civilian personnel and 156 local staff “(2)
Now here is where things get a little muddy.:
“Contributors of Military Personnel:
Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Congo, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, India, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Moldova, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Phillipines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Togo, Tunisia, Uruguay, Yemen and Zambia
Contributors of civilian police personnel:
Bangladesh, Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Djibouti, El Salvador, France, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Turkey and Uruguay”(2)
Now why does the UN list that they are working in concert with French troops, but list them separately from any others in the resolution? The only thing I can figure out is that there are both French peacekeepers and French regular troops deployed in the same area. Wouldn’t you say this is a problem waiting to happen? Which ones are UN and which ones are not? I would say it is a little hard to tell from an aircraft moving at 250mph plus. High-speed ants still look like ants even if they do have blue helmets.”
“And the French were only replying to a bombing of one of there buildings. Keep in mind there were also American aid workers killed or injured in the attack on the building. So the French retaliated by destroying the Côte d'Ivoire’s air force but not killing anyone because they had people killed and was probably deliberately attacked.”
Okay, time for a little more clarification. The area they are occupying is in the sovereign territory of Côte d’Ivoire, not France. The buildings they are using are not property of France, but of the lawful government of Côte d’Ivoire and its people. That aside, I feel that their retributive strike against the legitimate government of Côte d’Ivoire was uncalled for and beyond reason. Some would say that it could be construed as an act of aggression. As for deliberately attacked, who knows, but they did not even ask, they just struck back. The US and other nations have accidentally hit “friendlies” during engagements. This is called “The Fog Of War” when targets are misidentified.
“On 6 November 2004, air strikes in Bouaké left nine French soldiers and an American civilian dead, plus 30 more French soldiers injured.”(6). 10 people killed, 30 injured. I would like to say that I do feel sad for the soldiers and the aid worker and their families. There were there to do a very difficult job and paid the ultimate price for doing what they thought was right.
“Considering that by reports the planes circled overhead three times before attacking. Seems to me kind of hard to argue with the French position for the way they carried out there retaliation.”
The fact that the jet made 3 passes would seem to indicate the pilot tried to identify the troops involved. He may have questioned the target, but after the third pass had to error on the side of the attack. Who knows? We are all guessing, only the pilot knows for sure. Although I do have a question about this; why did the French, who some would say have a modern army, not try to radio the aircraft and warn him off? Why did they not throw smoke to show they were friendlies? An even simpler question is why did they not get out of there if they saw this attack craft buzzing them? Why when the aircraft took an attack attitude did they not cut and run? One answer jumps to mind: Engaged combatants do not retreat during a potential air strike. Hell, if they would have just waved to him he may not of attacked.
“ As to weather or not the French should be there, well that could be traced back to their colonial days”
Amen. I would recommend reading http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/citoc.html just to get an idea of how much influence France has in Ivory Coast. I would say colony in all but name.
If in fact the French ground troops are operating as an authorized extension of the UN Peacekeepers then I think the following applies:
“While affirming the Blue Helmets’ right to defend themselves and those they are mandated to protect, the Secretary-General has stressed that this new “doctrine” should not be interpreted as a means of turning the UN into a warfighting machine, and that the use of force should always be seen as a measure of last resort.” (3)
Um, they hit the air force within a very short period of time, like an hour or so. So much for measures of last resort.
Here are some interesting tidbits:
“On Saturday, government aircraft bombed a French position near Bouake, killing nine French soldiers and an American aid worker. The Ivorian government said the bombing was an accident.” (4) Oh, like the French never had an accident. I would direct my readers to footnote number 5. Not once, ever has any “allied force” taken retribution against the accidentally offending party. Sorry, France, that dog does not hunt. They call it Amicicde. Heck, even the French know the word Ami; it is French! It means friend you dolts!
And on that thread:
Would you agree that the destruction of a countries air force, however small, would be an unstabilising factor both politically and economically? I would, and apparently so does the French minister of foreign affairs:
“In a communiqué released on 7 November, Michel Barnier, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, focused his attention on the fact that “the mission of French forces is above all to increase the security of our citizens. (...) That is their mission: to increase security - nothing more. To increase security, not to destabilize.”” (6)
I’ll take bets that when this is all over, France will kindly offer to sell them a few Mirage fighters to replace the Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters they destroyed.
Okay, I could ramble on even more. While I do like the input from my readers, sometimes I just must respond publicly. I hope this did not come off as adversarial as that was not my intent. I just wanted to present some of the facts that led me to my statements and conclusions. I know some of this is just supposition and conjecture, but when we do not have all the information that is all we can hope for.
I did try to find an offical government website for Ivory Coast, but none exists. I will edit out the snide anti-French comment I was going to post here as it takes away from everything else.
References:
(1) http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/mandate.html
(2) http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/facts.html
(3) http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/faq/q9.htm
(4) http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/11/11/ivory.evacuation/index.html
(5) http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Shrader/shrader.asp
(6) http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/information/latest_news_97/cote_ivoire_taking_stock_51531.html
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Only half evolved
So here I sit typing with one thumb out of commission. You know we joke about having or not having thumbs as the case may be as part of a we are so better than the animals type attitude, which is all fine and dandy. They do not have lawyers, mostly. And you never see protest marches about Evolutionary Profiling or such nonsense, but when you are sans one thumb it does make you think a little bit.
Sans one thumb, you may ask. Yes, a bizarre sword accident. I broke my thumb in a sword fight. How many times have you ever heard /that/ particular comment before? I would exclude SCAdians and Regia people from that question. To us it is as normal as saying I broke my arm on a skateboard. While it may seem odd to some to hear me say I broke my arm on a skateboard, to others they would just say “Oh, too bad…” not even thinking twice about me doing something like that.
So anyway, the past few weeks have mostly been full of the same stuff. Work, more work, and did I mention work? Still it was my parents wedding anniversary. Happily married for 10 years. 10 out of 30, but hey got to start somewhere right? I just thought I would mention to all my readers that today is Judi’s birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETY!!! So take a sec and zap her off an email or a card.
On the international front, I think Dubbua aught to hold a press conference condemning the actions of France in the Ivory Coast. What, did you not know about that? Okay, here is the short of it: Ivory Coast has some unrest. France sends in Peace Keepers (Read Foreign Legion) without a UN mandate. So the end up getting accidentally bombed and 9 French peacekeepers get killed. Okay, I feel bad for the guys on the ground and their families.
So what does France do? They destroy the entire Air Force of the Ivory Coast! Now granted 5 planes and 8 helicopters are not much of an air force, but still! Then they take up a “defensive position” surrounding the capitol. People are in the streets telling them to go away and punctuating their message with machetes. A reporter I read about was set upon by one of these mobs and they attacked till they found out they were English, not French. When they found out, they all left.
Take a read about it at:
http://www.cnn.com
Of course, there is nothing about it on the front of CNNs site, but they do have the article on
Brittany Spears new "best of" cd. A true “best of” from her would be 3 cds of silence!
Well, guess what! Time for more work…
Till next time, be mindful and awake.
Sans one thumb, you may ask. Yes, a bizarre sword accident. I broke my thumb in a sword fight. How many times have you ever heard /that/ particular comment before? I would exclude SCAdians and Regia people from that question. To us it is as normal as saying I broke my arm on a skateboard. While it may seem odd to some to hear me say I broke my arm on a skateboard, to others they would just say “Oh, too bad…” not even thinking twice about me doing something like that.
So anyway, the past few weeks have mostly been full of the same stuff. Work, more work, and did I mention work? Still it was my parents wedding anniversary. Happily married for 10 years. 10 out of 30, but hey got to start somewhere right? I just thought I would mention to all my readers that today is Judi’s birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETY!!! So take a sec and zap her off an email or a card.
On the international front, I think Dubbua aught to hold a press conference condemning the actions of France in the Ivory Coast. What, did you not know about that? Okay, here is the short of it: Ivory Coast has some unrest. France sends in Peace Keepers (Read Foreign Legion) without a UN mandate. So the end up getting accidentally bombed and 9 French peacekeepers get killed. Okay, I feel bad for the guys on the ground and their families.
So what does France do? They destroy the entire Air Force of the Ivory Coast! Now granted 5 planes and 8 helicopters are not much of an air force, but still! Then they take up a “defensive position” surrounding the capitol. People are in the streets telling them to go away and punctuating their message with machetes. A reporter I read about was set upon by one of these mobs and they attacked till they found out they were English, not French. When they found out, they all left.
Take a read about it at:
http://www.cnn.com
Of course, there is nothing about it on the front of CNNs site, but they do have the article on
Brittany Spears new "best of" cd. A true “best of” from her would be 3 cds of silence!
Well, guess what! Time for more work…
Till next time, be mindful and awake.
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Monday, November 1, 2004
Alight, that is it..I'M PISSED OFF!
Yea, Halloween in Athens. Big fucking deal.
Pricks from around the nation descend on this already overcrowded little town and proceed to screw everything up and dump all their trash for us to clean up. On top of this some Goddammedpigfuckingsonofbitchingworthlesspeiceoftrash, stole the cover off of my motorcycle. They stole a fricking rain cover. Ohhh, big cool factor there. Bet for an encore you swipe stacks of your local free newspaper, hu? Well guess what! If I EVER find my cover in Athens on someones bike, I hope my friends will pool their change and bail me out of jail for what I will do to that person. I’ll not go into graphic detail here, lets just quote a movie shall we? Pain…Lots of Pain.
Now, at first I was not that mad. Okay, no biggie. Well, I just had to drop 80 bucks on a replacement and ya know it just kinda got to me after a while. Lets see now, that makes one wind chime, one broken mirror, one dented car door, and now a motorcycle cover. Yea, I got an idea for next Halloween. I am going to go as a psychotic killer lurking in the bushes on Mound Street, say around number 50. Armed of course.
And if by some weirdness of the cosmos, whomever stole it does read my blog I have this for you:
You are a thief and a coward,
A poltroon of the worst order,
I curse you and the nearest 5 generations of your family,
I curse your parents; because it is their fault you are the way you are
I curse your siblings for letting be such an idiot in public,
I curse your grandparents for not teaching your parents to bring you up with at least the social responsibility the gods gave a slug,
I curse your children to treat you as you have treated others,
And I curse your grandchildren so they may revisit all your evils upon you a second time, since the will be so far removed from your control.
But, even with this I offer you a blessing:
May your life be long and your offspring be many.
This way, my revenge will last.
If you did take it, I would really advise you to return it for your own sake. No questions asked, just leave it on the porch. Then, having made an effort to correct your error, I would revoke all I have wished upon you with the exception of the blessing.
If in doubt, just remember one thing:
The gods like me, else I would have never lasted this long.
Can you say the same thing?
Pricks from around the nation descend on this already overcrowded little town and proceed to screw everything up and dump all their trash for us to clean up. On top of this some Goddammedpigfuckingsonofbitchingworthlesspeiceoftrash, stole the cover off of my motorcycle. They stole a fricking rain cover. Ohhh, big cool factor there. Bet for an encore you swipe stacks of your local free newspaper, hu? Well guess what! If I EVER find my cover in Athens on someones bike, I hope my friends will pool their change and bail me out of jail for what I will do to that person. I’ll not go into graphic detail here, lets just quote a movie shall we? Pain…Lots of Pain.
Now, at first I was not that mad. Okay, no biggie. Well, I just had to drop 80 bucks on a replacement and ya know it just kinda got to me after a while. Lets see now, that makes one wind chime, one broken mirror, one dented car door, and now a motorcycle cover. Yea, I got an idea for next Halloween. I am going to go as a psychotic killer lurking in the bushes on Mound Street, say around number 50. Armed of course.
And if by some weirdness of the cosmos, whomever stole it does read my blog I have this for you:
You are a thief and a coward,
A poltroon of the worst order,
I curse you and the nearest 5 generations of your family,
I curse your parents; because it is their fault you are the way you are
I curse your siblings for letting be such an idiot in public,
I curse your grandparents for not teaching your parents to bring you up with at least the social responsibility the gods gave a slug,
I curse your children to treat you as you have treated others,
And I curse your grandchildren so they may revisit all your evils upon you a second time, since the will be so far removed from your control.
But, even with this I offer you a blessing:
May your life be long and your offspring be many.
This way, my revenge will last.
If you did take it, I would really advise you to return it for your own sake. No questions asked, just leave it on the porch. Then, having made an effort to correct your error, I would revoke all I have wished upon you with the exception of the blessing.
If in doubt, just remember one thing:
The gods like me, else I would have never lasted this long.
Can you say the same thing?
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Horror Movies
Hi, my name is Bryian. I have a movie problem.(Hi Bryian!)
Yea, like this is news to anyone!
Anyway, last night I seem to have completed my classic horror
movie collection. I got a 2-disk set of Creature from
The Black Lagoon. All Right! What can I say; I love the old
horror movies. Not that they seem truly scary, compared to our
lives today, but when viewed from a historical perspective they
bring out some of our more base reaction. We watched
The Mummy last night. No, not the new one, but the original with
Boris Karloff. Man, what an actor. If you consider some of
the long list of roles he played he is something. Most people
do not know this but he was not listed as Boris Karloff on the
movie posters for this one. Surprise! He was listed as Karloff
the Incomparable. Cool, hu? He was one of the last of a
generation of great actors who were known only by their last
name. At least he was never called ‘squiggle’, the actor
formerly known as Karloff the Incomparable. Now why do I
like Karloff? Simple, he was a great physical actor. He would
sit for hours in makeup to do a 2 minute scene with no lines
and then have to spend several painful hours trying to get it
all off, but, if you want classic style and presence there is
only one; Bella Lugosi.
If you have yet to see Ed Wood, crawl out from under your
rock and get a copy as it is now on DVD. While the movie does
focus on Ed, there is a great amount about Bella in the later
years of his life.
So moving right along, it is still early and the day has yet
to completely blow up. Keep your fingers crossed and lets hope
it is nothing more than a pop.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Return of "The Package From Hell"
Well, it finally arrived on the 18TH of October. It traveled more than 4000 miles on the great trek, amassing more than two times the mileage on my bike before it arrived. As you can see from the picture below, it looks it as well. Since when did UPS sort packages with a baseball bat? Needless to say there were things missing from the package. No horn or muffler bracket. I am surprised it actually made it with the crash bar intact.
So, now the story continues.
Since there were parts missing I called Upstairs Downstairs, my closest dealer. I talked to Jason again who said he would take care of it. I must say he has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make this fiasco work out. If anyone from U/D reads this, thank him again for me. And if it is the owner of U/D who reads this, give this guy a raise, he makes you look real good!
So, with it pouring down rain for day number 3, I still have yet to install the bar, nor investigate what the rattle in the top end of the motor is. Oh well, I did want a bike I could work on.
I did see something last night as we were leaving Ohio University last night, there in the motorcycle parking lot looked to be a 500ES. I’ll have to go check it out. Woo Hoo another Enfield in Athens. With the guy I talked to recently who just bought a 350; that will make 3! Just a few more and we will have enough to make the Beemer riders jealous. We have a lot of people who drive “Classic” BMW’s here, somewhere in the area of like 10 to 15. Now that may not seem like much, but when the towns population is like 30 thousand when school is in session, it is a pretty good ratio.
So, now the story continues.
Since there were parts missing I called Upstairs Downstairs, my closest dealer. I talked to Jason again who said he would take care of it. I must say he has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make this fiasco work out. If anyone from U/D reads this, thank him again for me. And if it is the owner of U/D who reads this, give this guy a raise, he makes you look real good!
So, with it pouring down rain for day number 3, I still have yet to install the bar, nor investigate what the rattle in the top end of the motor is. Oh well, I did want a bike I could work on.
I did see something last night as we were leaving Ohio University last night, there in the motorcycle parking lot looked to be a 500ES. I’ll have to go check it out. Woo Hoo another Enfield in Athens. With the guy I talked to recently who just bought a 350; that will make 3! Just a few more and we will have enough to make the Beemer riders jealous. We have a lot of people who drive “Classic” BMW’s here, somewhere in the area of like 10 to 15. Now that may not seem like much, but when the towns population is like 30 thousand when school is in session, it is a pretty good ratio.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
The "Package-From-Hell" update
Like all stories that make you cringe, this one
starts out the same...
Guess what?
Apparently the UPS Operator who read me back the
address and zip code TWICE somehow got the zip code
wrong on the label that was attached to the
"package-from-hell". From Minnesota it went to
Petoskey, Michigan. Wow, that is the closest it has
gotten so far. Of course, this has now delayed the
delivery yet another 4 days.
Oh joy, oh rapture...
When can I become justified in climbing into the local
clock tower and shooting all the little brown trucks?
Not the drivers, just the trucks.
I'll use a paintball gun, I promise.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Awww, FUCKSTICKS!!!!!
Okay, two posts in one day.Why this title, as stolen from my friend, The Fish? Simple, I just spent 20 minutes freaking out on blogger trying to figure out why all my archives vanished and my latest post (The one before this one) seemed to disappear...
Answer, I was reloading the /wrong/ page. It was a comment page I was reloading.
So far this week:
New cellphone screws the pooch.
Parts for bike enroute to Timbuktu.
Laced 100 scales wrong on new armor, had to redo them.
Back hurts and mood is complete crap, still.
Stabbed self in finger with scredriver, nasty puncture wound.
And it is only tuesday....awww Fucksticks!
Answer, I was reloading the /wrong/ page. It was a comment page I was reloading.
So far this week:
New cellphone screws the pooch.
Parts for bike enroute to Timbuktu.
Laced 100 scales wrong on new armor, had to redo them.
Back hurts and mood is complete crap, still.
Stabbed self in finger with scredriver, nasty puncture wound.
And it is only tuesday....awww Fucksticks!
I posted this today to my Royal Enfield group
Sit back and let me tell you a little tale about parts for
my bike.
Now, those who know me can tell you I am, to an extent, a
patient man, sometimes to a fault. But, even I have a limit,
especially when I get involved in what could best be termed
a comedy of errors. The very sad part of this is that it is
not at all funny.
Let us use the wayback machine and go back to late August,
around the 25 or so. I had been out riding and had stopped for
a cup of coffee at my favorite haunt. As usual, my bike (2k4
ES Military) was a people magnet. After the usual spate of
questions and answers, one old Triumph rider says to me “Hey,
did you know you have a busted muffler bracket and your
butterfly bar is broken?” I blinked in surprise and then
kneeled down to check it out. Sure enough, cracked in 2 places,
right on the welds. The muffler bracket seemed to bust due to
vibration. “No biggie..” I thought, I have a warranty.
Fast forward a few days and I zap an email off to Dan at DRS.
In his usual style we have all grown to respect he was right on
top of things, referring me to Classic to get it replaced. What
a great guy! When it passes from Dan to others is where the
true fiasco begins.
I call Classic and talk to Terry (Or is it Terri, I don’t know)
who says she needs a dealer to fill out the warranty paperwork
online. Should be no problem. Call Upstairs/Downstairs, since they are my closest dealer. So, I call U/D and talk to a person there in the parts department that takes all my info, ect. Says he will get right on it and I should have my parts in a few days, being that MN is not that far from where I am in Ohio, generally speaking.
Fast forward now 2 weeks time, still no parts or word. I call back U/D and talk to Jason. He says the person I talked to before no longer works there and that there is nothing about a parts order for me. Sigh, okay, let us try this again. Name, address, fast drive with him on the cell with me to get the bikes serial number. A small muttered prayer and we hang up.
Fast forward again, to the third week in September. No parts. I
call again and Jason, to his credit, works hard on finding out
what happened. Apparently, Classic shipped them, but they
disappeared into the ether known as UPS. Okay, here we go again. Name, address, serial number, I am beginning to feel like a prisoner of war at this point. Jason gets Classic to ship again. Should be delivered to me by October 4.
Now move into October. The fourth comes and goes, no parts. I call on the sixth back to U/D and talk to Jason. Okay, something fishy is going on here. He calls Classic, and then calls me back. My parts are held up by UPS, as they need an address correction to be able to deliver them. UPS says they are going to send me a postcard so I can send them the corrected address. Um, correct me if I am wrong, but if they can send me a post card, why can’t they deliver my parts?
So, 2 more phone calls later, I get the UPS tracking number and call UPS. While waiting on hold I decide to track my parts and find they are in Butte, MT. How the heck do you get BUTTE MONTANA out of ATHENS OHIO???? But above all, I am still calm, no really. They say the address will be corrected and they parts will arrive on the 12 day of October. I call back Jason and let him know. He is a shocked and amazed as I am. He suggests calling Terry (Or Terri) at Classic and getting the address corrected. So I do and sure enough, they have it listed as Butte, MT. They have the right street and house number, wrong city, state and zip. We get that corrected. I am totally amazed at this point as to how Classic shipped to the wrong address, when in February, they shipped to me my accessories package with out a single problem, in 2 days, to
the right address in Ohio.
So here we are, 12 October and being someone who likes to hedge his bets, I decide this morning to track the package, in a vain hope that it will say “Out for Delivery”. Well, so much for that great idea. The package apparently went back to Minneapolis, MN. Classic is in Fairbault, MN. According to UPS, it got left on the dock in Minneapolis. Now they say 14 October for a delivery. By the time I get these parts, they will have more miles on them than my bike!
Okay, so now I have to admit I am p*ssed. Not the good English type of multi pint induced p*ssed either. It has now become more of a grumpy old junkyard hound been swatted by a cat in the nose while sleeping, hair standing up, teeth bared kind of psychotic rage.
The worst part of that is, whom can I be mad at? Jason? Nope, he has done everything he could to try and make they system work and then some. Classic? I don’t know, but they seem to be trying to get this to work. They went with the info they had, wherever it came from, so they did what appeared to be right, UPS? Nope, they just followed the labels on the box. Although I can be kind of mad for them leaving my box on the dock. There is nothing worse than being angry and having no one but the universe itself to blame.
So next time your upset it has taken 2 weeks to get your parts, I would direct your attention to an old phrase:
“There, but for the grace of god, go I”
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
I got this scroll in the mail today....
Or how about this?????
Dear Sir,
SEEEKING FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE (TRANSFER OF 20.5MILLION GP).
It is my pleasure to request your assistance on this business proposition, which if pursued to its conclusion, will be of great benefit to both of us. This request may seem strange but I will crave your indulgence and pray that you view it seriously. My name is Mr. Samson Amu of Greyhawk .I was one of the close aides to the late Prince of Greyhawk, LAURENT KABILA of blessed memory, may his soul rest in peace.
Due to the military crisis and instability in my country, I was instructed by him (late Prince KABILA) to come to the Lordship Of The Isles with the sum of 20.5 MILLION GP (Twenty Million, Five Hundred Thousand Gold Pieces) for safe keeping and to search for a foreign Affiliate/Partner who will be able to help us invest this capital in any profitable business venture. This money is presently deposited in a private security finance company in the Lordship Of The Isles.
I need a reliable and Trustworthy foreign partner like you who can assist me to move this money as the beneficiary. My inability to move the money out of the Lordship Of The Isles all this while lies on my lack of trust on our supposed Goods friends whom have suddenly became hostile to those of us who have worked with Prince Kabila, since his son Joseph Kabila took over Office.
Though we have not seen nor met each other, but I would want this transaction to be properly handled with modesty and honesty to a huge success within two weeks, this money in question is state fund as it is a DEAL between you and I, Hence the need for secrecy considering the security implications. Thus, if you can assist me to move this fund out of the Lordship Of The Isles, you will be entitled to 30% of the amount, while the remaining 70% will be for me. Please contact me through a Mage as stated above for further discussion.
Please also note that you will be required to assist me in any profitable area of investments in your country.
I shall be sincerely glad if my request is rendered, for am really counting on you for your help.
Kindest Regards,
Mr. Samson Amu.
Yea, it came from my twisted little brain. If ya use it, just credit it to me :)
Dear Sir,
SEEEKING FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE (TRANSFER OF 20.5MILLION GP).
It is my pleasure to request your assistance on this business proposition, which if pursued to its conclusion, will be of great benefit to both of us. This request may seem strange but I will crave your indulgence and pray that you view it seriously. My name is Mr. Samson Amu of Greyhawk .I was one of the close aides to the late Prince of Greyhawk, LAURENT KABILA of blessed memory, may his soul rest in peace.
Due to the military crisis and instability in my country, I was instructed by him (late Prince KABILA) to come to the Lordship Of The Isles with the sum of 20.5 MILLION GP (Twenty Million, Five Hundred Thousand Gold Pieces) for safe keeping and to search for a foreign Affiliate/Partner who will be able to help us invest this capital in any profitable business venture. This money is presently deposited in a private security finance company in the Lordship Of The Isles.
I need a reliable and Trustworthy foreign partner like you who can assist me to move this money as the beneficiary. My inability to move the money out of the Lordship Of The Isles all this while lies on my lack of trust on our supposed Goods friends whom have suddenly became hostile to those of us who have worked with Prince Kabila, since his son Joseph Kabila took over Office.
Though we have not seen nor met each other, but I would want this transaction to be properly handled with modesty and honesty to a huge success within two weeks, this money in question is state fund as it is a DEAL between you and I, Hence the need for secrecy considering the security implications. Thus, if you can assist me to move this fund out of the Lordship Of The Isles, you will be entitled to 30% of the amount, while the remaining 70% will be for me. Please contact me through a Mage as stated above for further discussion.
Please also note that you will be required to assist me in any profitable area of investments in your country.
I shall be sincerely glad if my request is rendered, for am really counting on you for your help.
Kindest Regards,
Mr. Samson Amu.
Yea, it came from my twisted little brain. If ya use it, just credit it to me :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Dare I say the word...Mothman!
Yes, I said Mothman. He is a favorite conversational piece amongst our friends. Today though I thought I would add a little something new to the mix. What if there is no Mothman, but instead, MothMEN. Many more than one, perhaps. Seems odd but let me continue.
We all know very well about Point Pleasant WV and the Mothman stories. Odd movie as well. But other than the occasional pan in something like the Weekly World News, we hear little about him. Still, we know from some account he is the harbinger of doom. Sometimes they just make an appearance beforehand, others a flat out warning. Now consider the following: http://english.pravda.ru/fun/2002/05/23/29200.html Yes, I know it is Pravda, but over time I have learned there seems to be a little truth in every lie. And boy does Pravda know about lying!
Okay, hopefully you can see my point. There are reports of similar phenomenon in Russia and the adjoining states. What other Mothmen are out there? What other names are they known by? What is their agenda? I do have to wonder if H.P.Lovecraft saw something of this ilk that inspired him to write all the stories about the Elder Gods. Perhaps they were not just figments of an excellent imagination. Who knows? "Not I" said Briar Rabbit. Still oddness like this does seem to catch my attention now and then. I am not sure why but there it is nonetheless.
Okay, well on to other things I think.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake
PS Christina:
I am not mad at you, but if you feel guilty you could always send me some nice sweet butter cookies from Denmark :)
PSS Everyone: Look! I added comments to the blog! Feel free to comment away :)
We all know very well about Point Pleasant WV and the Mothman stories. Odd movie as well. But other than the occasional pan in something like the Weekly World News, we hear little about him. Still, we know from some account he is the harbinger of doom. Sometimes they just make an appearance beforehand, others a flat out warning. Now consider the following: http://english.pravda.ru/fun/2002/05/23/29200.html Yes, I know it is Pravda, but over time I have learned there seems to be a little truth in every lie. And boy does Pravda know about lying!
Okay, hopefully you can see my point. There are reports of similar phenomenon in Russia and the adjoining states. What other Mothmen are out there? What other names are they known by? What is their agenda? I do have to wonder if H.P.Lovecraft saw something of this ilk that inspired him to write all the stories about the Elder Gods. Perhaps they were not just figments of an excellent imagination. Who knows? "Not I" said Briar Rabbit. Still oddness like this does seem to catch my attention now and then. I am not sure why but there it is nonetheless.
Okay, well on to other things I think.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake
PS Christina:
I am not mad at you, but if you feel guilty you could always send me some nice sweet butter cookies from Denmark :)
PSS Everyone: Look! I added comments to the blog! Feel free to comment away :)
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Stupid Headlines
Two dead as explosions hit Turkey hotels
Um, er. Does anyone else see the problems with this? Turkey hotels? Is that something you could find in Georgia about 80 miles from the nearest interstate right next to Bubos Tire, Lube, and Hound Dog Castrating Emporium? I think it would have been better to rearrange the words to something more like Two dead as explosions hit hotels in Turkey. Wait, that sounds just as bad. Who would build a hotel in a Turkey? Not much room and the lighting would be horrid. Oh well, could have been worse I guess: Two Turkeys dead, hit by hotel explosions. I just dont think there is any good way to say it. How about Two Turks dead in Hotel explosion. No, makes it sound like the art district blew up. Where am I going with all this? Simple, they just as easily could have said Shit Happens. That would cover about every news story I could think of.
Consider a newsreader sitting in front of the camera:
Good Evening, Im Flake Plastihair and this is the evening news. Today Shit Happened. Thank you for watching, have a pleasant evening.
At that rate, imagine how much people would be interested in reading or researching things on his or her own. The latest episode of Friends would no longer be the talk at the office. Personally, I have nothing against the actors in Friends. I dont even know them, but their show sucks. Yea, Im one of like 5 people on the planet who doesnt like the canned puerile recycled stuff they try to pass off as entertainment. A good bit of the problems we face are, as I see it, from the Use your indoor voice crowd. I would never have done or said some of the things I see kids doing today. As for kids I am referring to the 17 and under crowd. If you are old enough to go die for your country, youre an adult. Have a beer, grab a porno and enjoy life. 21 does not instill some mystical wisdom as the calendar changes over. I know people in the 50s who have less of a clue than some I know in the 20s. One example is when recently I got a phone call at work from a University admin, who I will not name. Seems this person could not get their printer to work. After the usual questions and answers we started to get to the root of the problem. The simple solution was power the printer off then back on. Problem is they did not know where the power button was nor could they find it. This started to panic them. Seems no one ever told them about the concept of unplugging it and plugging it back in. I mean the average printer has between 2 and 4 buttons, one of which is the power button. Geesh, R.T.F.D. people.
On the subject of technical support, I have a few words. I am part owner of a computer company. This is how I pay my bills. For some reason people seem to forget this. I get phone calls at home all hours of the day and night for people needing help who are not business clients. Now, do not get me wrong, I do like helping people, but there is a limit. I go to the grocery store and I get stopped by people who know what I do and asked questions about how to fix their computer. Judi and I go out to dinner and people come up and ask me questions while we are eating. Ive even had people follow me into the mens room before for advice. Give me a break people! With my friends I am a little more forgiving, Ill help them for free, but if I do not hang with you in a social setting you have no extra privilege as to getting my help. Many times I help and they are happy to not need my help for months at a time. Great, fantastic, good on you for trying to learn, but when you are a serial abuser you get to be a pain in the ass real bad. Why are you a pain? Simple, youre cheap. You want my help and undivided attention? Show me the cash. If not, well then understand if I am less than overflowing with free information. I have the feeling they will be a few people who read this and wonder whats the big deal? Try it for a while from my point of view and you will understand the big deal. There will be some who will read this and immediately get all uptight wondering if I am talking about them. Good, I hope you do stress for a moment. Then think about it, you all that read this know me. If I had a problem with your asking me for help I would in no uncertain terms let you know. Still feeling guilty? If you need to soothe your conscience, you all know I like surprise presents.
There, sorry. I just had to vent for a little while. Please forgive the outburst. Anyway, this will do for an update for now.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
O Thumpa Mao Mao
Okay, now I am going to try again. Last time I went to update, the phone went berserk and so did a lot of peoples systems so I had to ditch it and start again.
Okay, well I went and got a refill of coffee and the wireless keyboard and still no ringing of the phone so here we go.
Man has it been that long since I have done an update? Oh well lets hit the biggies off the top and move on from there. Fair warning I am doing this after ¾ of a cup of coffee so if I start to ramble, just ride it out to the end, it will go somewhere eventually.
Vintage Motorcycle Days
So the first thing of note is I committed a big mess-up as to the location of the event. Somehow I got it mixed up with National Trails, which sits about 15 miles from my friends house and where it actually was, some almost 90 miles further north. I dorked, I admit it publicly, but lets move on.
It was Saturday morning and I got up early so I would be awake and ready. Plenty of coffee, some food for energy, check the route map again online with backup routes in case of construction, and check the weather report. Rain. Was it raining outside? Yep, sure enough the skies had opened up, but my brain had bypassed it somehow. Bugblatter beast of Trall defense I think; If I do not acknowledge it exists, it does not and therefore can not harm me. Scallia Labs, the University weather service said it would end by 8am.
8am came and went but the rain did not. I waited till almost 9am with the idea they may have had their time off, being weather and all one cannot expect it to be punctual. Clouds being all fluffy and such do not keep day planners. So, I ride.
Fast forward 1 hour later; Corning Ohio. This is usually a 35 minute ride. By thins time my face is red and swollen from the pounding of the rain. I dump the water out of my shoes and realize my pants are soaked completely. No big deal, I am hard core according to some so I will press on.
Hit the fast forward again, 45 minutes later. I am now at a crossroads and it is almost 11 am. The clouds and rain have lost their breakfast reservations in Parkersburg as the have not even left yet. I have gone to about the half way point but the rain is a little lighter. I find a gas station with coffee to warm me up. With a brilliant stroke of luck they also sell hunting and paintball supplies. I buy a face cover as now the rain has beaten my lips to the point of bleeding. I am glad I have a helmet. I do believe that riding without one in that rain would have led to a story with a not so happy ending.
Fast forward 30 minutes this time to New Lexington OH. I am now ¾ of the way to sanctuary. I stop for coffee again. Not that I am thirsty that much as I am now super hydrated from having the water pressed into my body. Jump back on the bike and kick it to go.
BOOM. Boom? What was boom? Ah, backfire. It happens on a big single. By this time I am too wet and cold to care about being cool and kick starting so I go for the electric starter. Whirr, whirr, whirr, nothing. I can smell gas. I must have flooded it so I take my helmet off and hang out in front of the store to try to enjoy a dry smoke while the bike clears itself. 10 minutes goes by and I try it again. Whirrr, nothing. So, the mind takes over and kicks to troubleshooting mode to figure out what is wrong. I have power. I check the tank and I have fuel. Dismount from the bike and check spark ZAP, yep got spark. Shake hand hard to return nerves to proper operation. Look at other side of engine, crouch down with mouth hanging open staring at the carburetor dangling off of the air box. Apparently said BOOM was powerful enough to low the carb out of its manifold and therefore keep the bike from starting. Grab a screwdriver out of the ammo box on the back and in 30 seconds it is back on. Put tools back in boxes and give it a kick, Varrroomm, thump, thump, thump. All is right with the Curry Rocket.
Fast forward again another 45 minutes and I am at the junction of 70 and US13. Soaked totally thru the leather and upper layers of flesh, muscles are starting to cramp from forced water under skin. Go into small gas station to get warm and dry off a touch. Pour coffee and apologize to nice ladies running place that I need to drink some of it before my fingers will work enough to be able to manipulate my wallet so I can pay for it. Also apologize for washing their floor. The get a chuckle when I point to my feet as I am walking and little gyres of water shoot out of the air holes on the tops of my shoes. The tell me it is okay and just to drink the coffee, don̢۪t worry about paying for it. Gee, I must have looked fairly sad at that point. Finish coffee and say many thank yous to them as I go outside again. Dump water out of shoes again. Feet so waterlogged they hurt.
So 20 more minutes later, I make it to our friends house, Mayapple. After even more coffee to warm up and dryer clothes we decide that any more distance on the bike could be deadly. So, I agreed and we took the car the last part of it.
The Vintage Bike Show.
Forgot that was what this was all about hu?
So we get there and the ticket process was to say the least painless. We had pre ordered them on the net and just picked them up. Parking on the other hand was something else. After a small trip through the vendors by car, both in forward and then reverse when we ran out of room, we did finally find somewhere to park. It is still raining. Judi was with me as we started looking for one of the vendors in particular. No listing of vendors so it was like a very soggy scavenger hunt. I must say she did not complain about being there in the rain nor my bad navigation through the swap meet. She did ask if we could get her a hat since the rain was so heavy she was not able to see out of her glasses. What a trooper!
So, we went up to the tshirt-ripoff-o-rama and got 2 shirts and a hat for her. She undid her hair bun and put the hat on to the exclamation of one of the vendors /My god! What beautiful hair!/. Yea, she likes the attention.
So we continued on for about another hour of walking till by sheer luck we cam across the Classic Motorworks tent and they guy I wanted to see, Dan from DRS Cycle. Gods bless that man, as he is so cool and helpful. He was they guy I got my bike from. I told him thank you again many times. He gave us free t-shirts! See? Told you he was cool. There was nothing there in parts I really needed so we continued on. After a bit we got one purchase we had agreed on while driving up, A RAINSUIT.
Behold me oh ancient gods of weather for now I have my rain suit and no longer fear you! I shake my fists at the heavens in defiance of the rain, ha HA! *–BOOM-ZAP* , oh yea, I remember, sorry.
There were hundreds of bikes of all shapes and sizes from micro rice rockets to the newest of the bellybutton models from Detroit. From the Enfields I saw only five or six I wanted, but I figured I would pass as somehow the idea of living in a cardboard box did not appeal that much, even with 6 cool bikes parked out front. I could do another post just on what bikes I saw.
Anyway after that we returned to Mayapple and Barb fed us real well with roasted leg of lamb. Poor little thing did not even stand a chance, not when it was hanging out with roasted fingerling potatoes with garlic, and home made rice pilaf. For sides, Lebanese green beans. YUM!
Sleep came hard and soundly that night. In the morning we took a little trip with Barb and Morgana to Flint ridge for a little visit to the museum and a walk in the bugs, er woods. Being a beginning flint knapper and long time confirmed rock hound this was a very difficult trip. The trails were very good and they were quite clear. Clear enough to see the flint outcroppings. The beautiful flint out croppings. The beautiful colorful flint outcroppings with quartz crystals you cant touch cause it is an archeology preserve! Frack, pissed as a diabetic unattended in a candy factory. Anyway it was still fun, Morgana and I seemed to get the most out of it.
The trip home was uneventful. That is a good thing. Somehow I beat Judi back home even though we almost left at the same time. Guess there is a little time displacer field generator on the bike I did not know about. That would explain how a little 10 minute ride becomes and hour very quickly. It must be charging.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake.
Okay, well I went and got a refill of coffee and the wireless keyboard and still no ringing of the phone so here we go.
Man has it been that long since I have done an update? Oh well lets hit the biggies off the top and move on from there. Fair warning I am doing this after ¾ of a cup of coffee so if I start to ramble, just ride it out to the end, it will go somewhere eventually.
Vintage Motorcycle Days
So the first thing of note is I committed a big mess-up as to the location of the event. Somehow I got it mixed up with National Trails, which sits about 15 miles from my friends house and where it actually was, some almost 90 miles further north. I dorked, I admit it publicly, but lets move on.
It was Saturday morning and I got up early so I would be awake and ready. Plenty of coffee, some food for energy, check the route map again online with backup routes in case of construction, and check the weather report. Rain. Was it raining outside? Yep, sure enough the skies had opened up, but my brain had bypassed it somehow. Bugblatter beast of Trall defense I think; If I do not acknowledge it exists, it does not and therefore can not harm me. Scallia Labs, the University weather service said it would end by 8am.
8am came and went but the rain did not. I waited till almost 9am with the idea they may have had their time off, being weather and all one cannot expect it to be punctual. Clouds being all fluffy and such do not keep day planners. So, I ride.
Fast forward 1 hour later; Corning Ohio. This is usually a 35 minute ride. By thins time my face is red and swollen from the pounding of the rain. I dump the water out of my shoes and realize my pants are soaked completely. No big deal, I am hard core according to some so I will press on.
Hit the fast forward again, 45 minutes later. I am now at a crossroads and it is almost 11 am. The clouds and rain have lost their breakfast reservations in Parkersburg as the have not even left yet. I have gone to about the half way point but the rain is a little lighter. I find a gas station with coffee to warm me up. With a brilliant stroke of luck they also sell hunting and paintball supplies. I buy a face cover as now the rain has beaten my lips to the point of bleeding. I am glad I have a helmet. I do believe that riding without one in that rain would have led to a story with a not so happy ending.
Fast forward 30 minutes this time to New Lexington OH. I am now ¾ of the way to sanctuary. I stop for coffee again. Not that I am thirsty that much as I am now super hydrated from having the water pressed into my body. Jump back on the bike and kick it to go.
BOOM. Boom? What was boom? Ah, backfire. It happens on a big single. By this time I am too wet and cold to care about being cool and kick starting so I go for the electric starter. Whirr, whirr, whirr, nothing. I can smell gas. I must have flooded it so I take my helmet off and hang out in front of the store to try to enjoy a dry smoke while the bike clears itself. 10 minutes goes by and I try it again. Whirrr, nothing. So, the mind takes over and kicks to troubleshooting mode to figure out what is wrong. I have power. I check the tank and I have fuel. Dismount from the bike and check spark ZAP, yep got spark. Shake hand hard to return nerves to proper operation. Look at other side of engine, crouch down with mouth hanging open staring at the carburetor dangling off of the air box. Apparently said BOOM was powerful enough to low the carb out of its manifold and therefore keep the bike from starting. Grab a screwdriver out of the ammo box on the back and in 30 seconds it is back on. Put tools back in boxes and give it a kick, Varrroomm, thump, thump, thump. All is right with the Curry Rocket.
Fast forward again another 45 minutes and I am at the junction of 70 and US13. Soaked totally thru the leather and upper layers of flesh, muscles are starting to cramp from forced water under skin. Go into small gas station to get warm and dry off a touch. Pour coffee and apologize to nice ladies running place that I need to drink some of it before my fingers will work enough to be able to manipulate my wallet so I can pay for it. Also apologize for washing their floor. The get a chuckle when I point to my feet as I am walking and little gyres of water shoot out of the air holes on the tops of my shoes. The tell me it is okay and just to drink the coffee, don̢۪t worry about paying for it. Gee, I must have looked fairly sad at that point. Finish coffee and say many thank yous to them as I go outside again. Dump water out of shoes again. Feet so waterlogged they hurt.
So 20 more minutes later, I make it to our friends house, Mayapple. After even more coffee to warm up and dryer clothes we decide that any more distance on the bike could be deadly. So, I agreed and we took the car the last part of it.
The Vintage Bike Show.
Forgot that was what this was all about hu?
So we get there and the ticket process was to say the least painless. We had pre ordered them on the net and just picked them up. Parking on the other hand was something else. After a small trip through the vendors by car, both in forward and then reverse when we ran out of room, we did finally find somewhere to park. It is still raining. Judi was with me as we started looking for one of the vendors in particular. No listing of vendors so it was like a very soggy scavenger hunt. I must say she did not complain about being there in the rain nor my bad navigation through the swap meet. She did ask if we could get her a hat since the rain was so heavy she was not able to see out of her glasses. What a trooper!
So, we went up to the tshirt-ripoff-o-rama and got 2 shirts and a hat for her. She undid her hair bun and put the hat on to the exclamation of one of the vendors /My god! What beautiful hair!/. Yea, she likes the attention.
So we continued on for about another hour of walking till by sheer luck we cam across the Classic Motorworks tent and they guy I wanted to see, Dan from DRS Cycle. Gods bless that man, as he is so cool and helpful. He was they guy I got my bike from. I told him thank you again many times. He gave us free t-shirts! See? Told you he was cool. There was nothing there in parts I really needed so we continued on. After a bit we got one purchase we had agreed on while driving up, A RAINSUIT.
Behold me oh ancient gods of weather for now I have my rain suit and no longer fear you! I shake my fists at the heavens in defiance of the rain, ha HA! *–BOOM-ZAP* , oh yea, I remember, sorry.
There were hundreds of bikes of all shapes and sizes from micro rice rockets to the newest of the bellybutton models from Detroit. From the Enfields I saw only five or six I wanted, but I figured I would pass as somehow the idea of living in a cardboard box did not appeal that much, even with 6 cool bikes parked out front. I could do another post just on what bikes I saw.
Anyway after that we returned to Mayapple and Barb fed us real well with roasted leg of lamb. Poor little thing did not even stand a chance, not when it was hanging out with roasted fingerling potatoes with garlic, and home made rice pilaf. For sides, Lebanese green beans. YUM!
Sleep came hard and soundly that night. In the morning we took a little trip with Barb and Morgana to Flint ridge for a little visit to the museum and a walk in the bugs, er woods. Being a beginning flint knapper and long time confirmed rock hound this was a very difficult trip. The trails were very good and they were quite clear. Clear enough to see the flint outcroppings. The beautiful flint out croppings. The beautiful colorful flint outcroppings with quartz crystals you cant touch cause it is an archeology preserve! Frack, pissed as a diabetic unattended in a candy factory. Anyway it was still fun, Morgana and I seemed to get the most out of it.
The trip home was uneventful. That is a good thing. Somehow I beat Judi back home even though we almost left at the same time. Guess there is a little time displacer field generator on the bike I did not know about. That would explain how a little 10 minute ride becomes and hour very quickly. It must be charging.
Till next time,
Be mindful and awake.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
My Turn....
Your Type is ENTP
Extroverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
44 67 11 11
The Portrait of the Inventor (eNTp)
Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the functional engineering or inventive role that reaches the highest development in Inventors. It is so natural for these individuals to practice devising gadgets and mechanisms, that they start doing it even as young children. And they get such a kick out of it that they really never stop exercising their inventive bent. Of course as this kind of activity is practiced some structural engineering inevitably happens, so that the next kind of skill to develop in the Inventor is that of designing. Now planning contingencies and marshalling forces, though practiced in some degree in the course of engineering activity, develop more slowly and are soon left behind by the burgeoning of talent in engineering. However, any kind of strategic exercise tends to bring added strength to both engineering and organizing skills.
As the Inventors' engineering capabilities increase so does their desire to let others know about whatever has come of their engineering efforts. So they tend to take up an informative role in their social exchanges. On the other hand they have less and less desire, if they ever had any, to direct the activities of others, doing so only when forced to by circumstances.
As engineers of function Inventors wish to exercise their competence in the world of people and things, and thus they deal imaginatively with social systems as well as physical and technological systems. They are very alert to what is apt to occur next-under certain conditions, if certain criteria are met-and they are always sensitive to possibilities. Found in two percent (at most) of the population, Inventors are good at functional analysis, and have both a tolerance for and enjoyment of complex problems. Outgoing and intensely curious, Inventors are apt to express interest in finding out about everything they come into contact with, and this can be a source of inspiration to others, who find themselves admiring the Inventor's insatiable hunger for knowledge. Inventors are also endlessly inventive, and are the most reluctant of all the types to do things in a particular manner just because that is the way things have always been done. They characteristically have an eye out for a better way, always on the lookout for new projects, new activities, new procedures. Inventors are confident in the value of their interests and display a charming capacity to ignore the standard, the traditional, and the authoritative. As a result of this innovative attitude, they often bring fresh, new approaches to their work and their lives.
Extroverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
44 67 11 11
The Portrait of the Inventor (eNTp)
Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the functional engineering or inventive role that reaches the highest development in Inventors. It is so natural for these individuals to practice devising gadgets and mechanisms, that they start doing it even as young children. And they get such a kick out of it that they really never stop exercising their inventive bent. Of course as this kind of activity is practiced some structural engineering inevitably happens, so that the next kind of skill to develop in the Inventor is that of designing. Now planning contingencies and marshalling forces, though practiced in some degree in the course of engineering activity, develop more slowly and are soon left behind by the burgeoning of talent in engineering. However, any kind of strategic exercise tends to bring added strength to both engineering and organizing skills.
As the Inventors' engineering capabilities increase so does their desire to let others know about whatever has come of their engineering efforts. So they tend to take up an informative role in their social exchanges. On the other hand they have less and less desire, if they ever had any, to direct the activities of others, doing so only when forced to by circumstances.
As engineers of function Inventors wish to exercise their competence in the world of people and things, and thus they deal imaginatively with social systems as well as physical and technological systems. They are very alert to what is apt to occur next-under certain conditions, if certain criteria are met-and they are always sensitive to possibilities. Found in two percent (at most) of the population, Inventors are good at functional analysis, and have both a tolerance for and enjoyment of complex problems. Outgoing and intensely curious, Inventors are apt to express interest in finding out about everything they come into contact with, and this can be a source of inspiration to others, who find themselves admiring the Inventor's insatiable hunger for knowledge. Inventors are also endlessly inventive, and are the most reluctant of all the types to do things in a particular manner just because that is the way things have always been done. They characteristically have an eye out for a better way, always on the lookout for new projects, new activities, new procedures. Inventors are confident in the value of their interests and display a charming capacity to ignore the standard, the traditional, and the authoritative. As a result of this innovative attitude, they often bring fresh, new approaches to their work and their lives.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Saturday night Mad Libs
ThePCMan
The PCman sat righteously typing on his dog. As he was shit the internet, he thought about all of the cool hammers he would see. As he screwed on a link his dog got a blue screen and crashed. While rebooting he saw an ad on TV for a screwed, better dog. He felt bad that the new dog he just disemboweled with top of the line wildebeasts was now old and obsolete. The PCman got francophone and left his dog beating into the kitchens and spank a good book.
A Day At The Zoo!
Today I went to the zoo. I saw a southerly aardvark jumping up and down in its tree. He killed angrily through the large tunnel that led to its narcoleptic Buddha. I got some peanuts and passed them through the cage to a gigantic gray fan towering above my head. Feeding that animal made me hungry. I went to get a disgusted scoop of ice cream. It filled my stomach. Afterwards I had to misfire blindingly to catch our bus. When I got home I bounced my mom for a freckled day at the zoo.
At The Arcade!
When I go to the arcade with my cramps there are lots of games to play. I spend lots of time there with my friends. In "Xmen" you can be different peacemakers. The point of the game is to ovulate every robot. You also need to save people, and then you can go to the next level. In "Star Wars" you are Luke Skywalker and you try to destory every flipper. In a car racing / motorcycle racing game you need to beat every computerized vehicle that you are fecking against. There are a whole lot of other cool games. When you play some games you win scissors for certain scores. Once you're done you can cash in your tickets to get a big gorilla. You can save your bags for another time. When I went to this arcade I didn't believe how much fun it would be. You might annoy your parents by asking them over and over if you can go back to there. So far I have had a lot of fun everytime I've been to this great arcade!
At The Fun Park!
My Day at the Fun Park From camp my fabulous group went to a historic amusement park. It was a fun park with lots of cool gizmos and enjoyable play structures. When we got there my annoying counselor shouted loudly, "Everybody off the caboose." We all pushed out in a terrible hurry. My counselor handed out the yellow tickets, and we scurried in. I was so excited, I couldn't figure out what exciting thing to do first. I saw a scary roller coaster I really liked so I stonking ran over to get in the long line that had about 70 people in it. When I finally got on the roller coaster I was shimmered. In fact I was so nervous my two knees were knocking together. This was the grooviest ride I had ever been on! In about two minutes "Crank" ! went the grinding of the gears, and the ride began! When I got to the bottom I was a little was but I was proud of myself. The rest of the day went essentially. It was a huge day at the fun park.
The Bookstore
Walking to the hell one day, I looked up to see the sign for a metaphysical bookstore that I had never seen before. It was called The fucking periscope and its front duct tape was filled with decks of g-string cards, dangling crystals that slid in the penile wire, and beaded orstich-catchers. Drawn inside by some red force, I went directly to the section called Channeled socks. Without warning, one book seemingly sucked from the shelf to land by my toe. Shocked, yet intrigued, I picked it up and read the binding. --Seth slepts-- by Jane Bobs. Opening to a random squid, I read, --You compute your own chimes-- and was immediately hooked! Taking this advice I decided to compute some cash and called out of there, my Cuthulu forever changed.
VisionQuest
The other day when I was in my sensory deprivation scalp, my mind started to wander and I suddenly saw a vision of my dead Aunt Bunny Eunice. She seemed to be trying to tell me something and was making pouncing gestures with her left nut. I couldn't understand what she was doing, and so mentally sent her a questioning image of nuts. Almost immediately her image squashed and was replaced with a scene of me retreating outside a Laundramat - and I was wearing six jello molds! Suddenly, I understood, on a very deep level, the meaning of this capatious symbolism. The very next moment I shat out of the sensory deprivation scalp and ran to my front door, almost completely waxy. The outside herring was branding!! As I corrected the situation, I realized that all of my neighbors were stinging at me strangely. My face turned twelve shades of blue and I ran back inside my house as hungrily as possible. After I got burnt, I put an ad in the newspaper to pend that sensory deprivation scalp.
Following Impulses
Last time Mars went retrograde when Uranus was in the House of choclate pudding, my days were just one bodice after another. This time, however, I was determined to explode my impulses and avoid any NEW bodice. So... the day seemed to be going loud until noonish, when, while plowing a/an rifle, I had the impulse to be dieing the rifle instead! So, trusting my impulses to steer me clear of danger, I took that orgasm of faith! I was screaming with excitement at the prospect of what was chiming for me. At the time this seemed really convulsing, but little did I know that Uranus was conjunct with my ascending gerand. Then, in the middle of dieing, my carpet just dangled!! It just goes to show you that you can't crystalised your own potato pealer when the horse is square with your xylophone.
The Gettysburg Address
Fourscore and seven years ago, our seman brought forth on this climax a new nostrol, ejaculated in horizon and dedicated to the proposition that all angora shoe are masterbated creepy. Now we are engaged in a stinky pernitious pride, testing whether that nostrol, or any nostrol so ejaculated and so dedicated can long smoking.
Sex, Drugs, and Rock'n'Roll
Sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll have one thing in common: minx. This is a pretty mello coincidence. However, mufflers have always known this; their mighty monkeys enabled them to see this many years in advance. Now that this is known to the monk at large, mounted parents can finally feel mushy about their decision to melting their children from maranading, marshalling, and massaging to the mandible. More news at 7.
I went for a walk
Yesterday, I went out walking, and somehow ended up in walla walla washington. I saw willows and wombats -- it was wonky! But I started getting wiggly hungry, and needed to find my way home. But no matter where I wacked, I couldn't see the path. I decided to go around the wacky willy up ahead, and discovered that it led back home! I was winding. At dinner, when I told my waxy story, my west virginians looked at me with wiley expressions. Then they forbade me from ever wanking again.
The Inscription on the Gates of Hell
from Dante's Inferno
Through me is the way to the zen of zinfindel
Through me is the way into the zinged zimmel
Through me, the way among the zeroed below.
Righteousness did my zipper on high constrain.
Me did zesty zoetrope uprear;
Me did zany zygote and zorastrian zulu sustain.
Before I was, no things zigzagged were, save the zinggy,
And I zapped zooming.
zipping all zebra, ye who enter here.
A trip to DisneyWorld
Last month, I went to DisneyWorld with Rowena. We traveled for 18 hours by rover. Finally, we got there and it was very rare. There were robust people robbing everywhere. There were also people dressed up in rhino costumes.
I wish it had been more regular, but we roasted anyway. We also went on some racey rides, called "Magic robot". Rowena nearly fell off a ride and had to be redirected. Later we went to the hotel and rapped.
Next year, I want to go to River City, where we can ring.
Thomas Jefferson Speaks
We hold these bubbles to be self-evident: that all brazires are barbaqued busty; that they are boinked by their bubba with certain blah brickbrack; that among these are booby, bong, and the pursuit of blues.
Writing a Thesis
Writing a thesis is a very junkie task. You stay up for 23 skidoo hours and then you sleep for 37 hours. You jossel, you joust and then you jussteling.
If your joking thesis advisor is a jaguar, then you will have to jiggle your thesis, or at least pray to the jiggly jummblies of Thesis.
With any luck, after jillion years, you will have a joyous thesis. Either that, or you will be kicked out to live in the jerk where you will be forced to work as a juggler.
The PCman sat righteously typing on his dog. As he was shit the internet, he thought about all of the cool hammers he would see. As he screwed on a link his dog got a blue screen and crashed. While rebooting he saw an ad on TV for a screwed, better dog. He felt bad that the new dog he just disemboweled with top of the line wildebeasts was now old and obsolete. The PCman got francophone and left his dog beating into the kitchens and spank a good book.
A Day At The Zoo!
Today I went to the zoo. I saw a southerly aardvark jumping up and down in its tree. He killed angrily through the large tunnel that led to its narcoleptic Buddha. I got some peanuts and passed them through the cage to a gigantic gray fan towering above my head. Feeding that animal made me hungry. I went to get a disgusted scoop of ice cream. It filled my stomach. Afterwards I had to misfire blindingly to catch our bus. When I got home I bounced my mom for a freckled day at the zoo.
At The Arcade!
When I go to the arcade with my cramps there are lots of games to play. I spend lots of time there with my friends. In "Xmen" you can be different peacemakers. The point of the game is to ovulate every robot. You also need to save people, and then you can go to the next level. In "Star Wars" you are Luke Skywalker and you try to destory every flipper. In a car racing / motorcycle racing game you need to beat every computerized vehicle that you are fecking against. There are a whole lot of other cool games. When you play some games you win scissors for certain scores. Once you're done you can cash in your tickets to get a big gorilla. You can save your bags for another time. When I went to this arcade I didn't believe how much fun it would be. You might annoy your parents by asking them over and over if you can go back to there. So far I have had a lot of fun everytime I've been to this great arcade!
At The Fun Park!
My Day at the Fun Park From camp my fabulous group went to a historic amusement park. It was a fun park with lots of cool gizmos and enjoyable play structures. When we got there my annoying counselor shouted loudly, "Everybody off the caboose." We all pushed out in a terrible hurry. My counselor handed out the yellow tickets, and we scurried in. I was so excited, I couldn't figure out what exciting thing to do first. I saw a scary roller coaster I really liked so I stonking ran over to get in the long line that had about 70 people in it. When I finally got on the roller coaster I was shimmered. In fact I was so nervous my two knees were knocking together. This was the grooviest ride I had ever been on! In about two minutes "Crank" ! went the grinding of the gears, and the ride began! When I got to the bottom I was a little was but I was proud of myself. The rest of the day went essentially. It was a huge day at the fun park.
The Bookstore
Walking to the hell one day, I looked up to see the sign for a metaphysical bookstore that I had never seen before. It was called The fucking periscope and its front duct tape was filled with decks of g-string cards, dangling crystals that slid in the penile wire, and beaded orstich-catchers. Drawn inside by some red force, I went directly to the section called Channeled socks. Without warning, one book seemingly sucked from the shelf to land by my toe. Shocked, yet intrigued, I picked it up and read the binding. --Seth slepts-- by Jane Bobs. Opening to a random squid, I read, --You compute your own chimes-- and was immediately hooked! Taking this advice I decided to compute some cash and called out of there, my Cuthulu forever changed.
VisionQuest
The other day when I was in my sensory deprivation scalp, my mind started to wander and I suddenly saw a vision of my dead Aunt Bunny Eunice. She seemed to be trying to tell me something and was making pouncing gestures with her left nut. I couldn't understand what she was doing, and so mentally sent her a questioning image of nuts. Almost immediately her image squashed and was replaced with a scene of me retreating outside a Laundramat - and I was wearing six jello molds! Suddenly, I understood, on a very deep level, the meaning of this capatious symbolism. The very next moment I shat out of the sensory deprivation scalp and ran to my front door, almost completely waxy. The outside herring was branding!! As I corrected the situation, I realized that all of my neighbors were stinging at me strangely. My face turned twelve shades of blue and I ran back inside my house as hungrily as possible. After I got burnt, I put an ad in the newspaper to pend that sensory deprivation scalp.
Following Impulses
Last time Mars went retrograde when Uranus was in the House of choclate pudding, my days were just one bodice after another. This time, however, I was determined to explode my impulses and avoid any NEW bodice. So... the day seemed to be going loud until noonish, when, while plowing a/an rifle, I had the impulse to be dieing the rifle instead! So, trusting my impulses to steer me clear of danger, I took that orgasm of faith! I was screaming with excitement at the prospect of what was chiming for me. At the time this seemed really convulsing, but little did I know that Uranus was conjunct with my ascending gerand. Then, in the middle of dieing, my carpet just dangled!! It just goes to show you that you can't crystalised your own potato pealer when the horse is square with your xylophone.
The Gettysburg Address
Fourscore and seven years ago, our seman brought forth on this climax a new nostrol, ejaculated in horizon and dedicated to the proposition that all angora shoe are masterbated creepy. Now we are engaged in a stinky pernitious pride, testing whether that nostrol, or any nostrol so ejaculated and so dedicated can long smoking.
Sex, Drugs, and Rock'n'Roll
Sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll have one thing in common: minx. This is a pretty mello coincidence. However, mufflers have always known this; their mighty monkeys enabled them to see this many years in advance. Now that this is known to the monk at large, mounted parents can finally feel mushy about their decision to melting their children from maranading, marshalling, and massaging to the mandible. More news at 7.
I went for a walk
Yesterday, I went out walking, and somehow ended up in walla walla washington. I saw willows and wombats -- it was wonky! But I started getting wiggly hungry, and needed to find my way home. But no matter where I wacked, I couldn't see the path. I decided to go around the wacky willy up ahead, and discovered that it led back home! I was winding. At dinner, when I told my waxy story, my west virginians looked at me with wiley expressions. Then they forbade me from ever wanking again.
The Inscription on the Gates of Hell
from Dante's Inferno
Through me is the way to the zen of zinfindel
Through me is the way into the zinged zimmel
Through me, the way among the zeroed below.
Righteousness did my zipper on high constrain.
Me did zesty zoetrope uprear;
Me did zany zygote and zorastrian zulu sustain.
Before I was, no things zigzagged were, save the zinggy,
And I zapped zooming.
zipping all zebra, ye who enter here.
A trip to DisneyWorld
Last month, I went to DisneyWorld with Rowena. We traveled for 18 hours by rover. Finally, we got there and it was very rare. There were robust people robbing everywhere. There were also people dressed up in rhino costumes.
I wish it had been more regular, but we roasted anyway. We also went on some racey rides, called "Magic robot". Rowena nearly fell off a ride and had to be redirected. Later we went to the hotel and rapped.
Next year, I want to go to River City, where we can ring.
Thomas Jefferson Speaks
We hold these bubbles to be self-evident: that all brazires are barbaqued busty; that they are boinked by their bubba with certain blah brickbrack; that among these are booby, bong, and the pursuit of blues.
Writing a Thesis
Writing a thesis is a very junkie task. You stay up for 23 skidoo hours and then you sleep for 37 hours. You jossel, you joust and then you jussteling.
If your joking thesis advisor is a jaguar, then you will have to jiggle your thesis, or at least pray to the jiggly jummblies of Thesis.
With any luck, after jillion years, you will have a joyous thesis. Either that, or you will be kicked out to live in the jerk where you will be forced to work as a juggler.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
You say goodbye and I say hello.
Of late I have had to say goodbye to too many people. Kari is off for Scotland, Ben is going back to the UK for good and Christina is leaving for Denmark. On top of this, I had to say goodbye to my friend Linda, as she has gone on to another dimension, one I hope is much happier for her as she deserves it. Yes, she died. I can say it, but it is still not something I like to discuss. Just another goodbye. Some are only for a short time, a day maybe two. Others are for months and even years. Some are perhaps forever. Those are the ones I have the most. Sometimes the universe changes things when it needs to, but it does not mean I have to like it. Not that the cosmos checks with me before doing anything anyway. Gee, talk about spamming up your email box. Besides, what do I care if it is going to rain geckos in Swaziland. Let them learn to fly for all I care. I always seem to prefer to say see you later as there is always a chance I will, although for some albeit a slim one. It does kind of wear on you a little after a while. Every 4 years, you know they are going to be leaving for the most part. Some earlier, some never. Still this does not stop me from making friends with them, even for a short period of time, not more than a partial wink of the cosmic eye when put in perspective. Is it a form of immortality for me? Yea, I think it is as they carry the stories of us out into the world. I like that idea. So if you say goodbye, do not be surprised if I say hello.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
This will only concern a few people
If you don't understand this, well, nevermind.
Karyl, here is a reminder to remind Jackie,
Jackie, here is a reminder to remind Kari,
Kari, here is a reminder to remind Ben,
Ben here is a reminder to remind Christina,
Christina, here is a reminder to remind me to give the parcel to Torquil.
Which it seems you have already posted a reminder to me on your blog, without being reminded.
Well, there is a few dozen memory cells wasted to hell, they can join the others from the 80's near the back of the brain. Oh well, they will have good company I guess.
Mayhaps more later
Karyl, here is a reminder to remind Jackie,
Jackie, here is a reminder to remind Kari,
Kari, here is a reminder to remind Ben,
Ben here is a reminder to remind Christina,
Christina, here is a reminder to remind me to give the parcel to Torquil.
Which it seems you have already posted a reminder to me on your blog, without being reminded.
Well, there is a few dozen memory cells wasted to hell, they can join the others from the 80's near the back of the brain. Oh well, they will have good company I guess.
Mayhaps more later
Monday, May 24, 2004
Ponder for a moment if you will, Pinky.
So I am sitting here considering the acts of faith we use in every day life. Like clicking on a web link, in faith it will lead somewhere. Consider flicking on a light switch, we have faith there will be light. Starting you car can be not just an act of faith but if you have ever had some of the cars I have had, a test of both patience and compassion at the same time. We have faith that the coffee maker will start at its preset time. We also suffer from the loss of faith. When the car will not start, you can physically feel the letdown. Open the fridge to grab milk and there is none, yet you had faith that there would be. Faith the pen will work or the ATM has cash for you. I see people talking about how we today do not have faith in our society. I say they are dead wrong. We have an overabundance of it, just usually in the wrong things.
I think I will let this entry stand alone for now. Anything more will just take away from it.
I think I will let this entry stand alone for now. Anything more will just take away from it.
Sunday, May 9, 2004
Its Istanbul not Constantinople
We were walking down the road Friday night and I started to explain something I had noticed to Judi,
See all these little shrines along the road? They are dedicated to the Buddha of Parking. You see if you leave the proper offering in the donation slot, you receive the karmic protection of the Buddha, up to the two-hour maximum. If you fail to leave the offering; the evil ones, Parking Enforcement, come and extort a higher offering for the evil city daemon that send them forth disguised as police officers. Failure to appease them enough times can be quite bad.
So, here and there is just another set of little windows into my world. I have found that my juggling skills seem to be of some help when typing on a laptop that is setting in my lap.
Days sometimes seem to slip into weeks and the schedule of late has been busy, but not all that interesting. Not that I am complaining, graveyards are full of people who would like to have my schedule problems. I have been doing a little writing and a lot of reading of late. I have been reading mostly things on Buddhism, some sci-fi and a little technical stuff. I have figured out some interesting things from my studies. I am not as bad of a Buddhist as I thought. The reason I thought I was bad was my liking to eat meat. Well, seems the prohibition is not against eating meat, but killing. So, if I do not kill it myself, it is not all that bad. I know it is killed for consumption, but not for me personally. It is not like I go out and pick a cow saying Yes, I will have the spotted one with barbeque sauce, thank you very much. Still, I know to an extent it is still a cop out, but then again I never said I was a devout Buddhist, just a bad one.
I have odd views on religion in general. I believe there is something of a higher power out there, but we have never been formally introduced to this point, so I refrain from using names like God. I look at Buddhism as more of a philosophy anyway; even the Buddha said he was not Divine. Good thing too, I just can see the Buddha in drag with bad eye makeup and fake boobs. If you do not know what I am talking about, go seek out John Waters and his films.
Dosent that sound like a bad garage band name? Buddha in Drag. SHUDDER
Anyway, gamming did not happen this week, so it kind of bummed me out a little bit. Judi and I decided to go out for coffee instead, around 10 pm. Ran into some friends we did not expect to see and had fun in general. Came home around 1230am and slept like hell.
Anyway, make sure you check out the links in the sidebar for some new ones. I added Ben and Jackie to the list. I really hope that Tom starts updating his blog again. As for Judi, well, I will not harp on her lack of blog updating here as she has to hear it from me in person.
If your ever looking for an interesting read try out Fortean Times
Till next time, be mindful and awake.
See all these little shrines along the road? They are dedicated to the Buddha of Parking. You see if you leave the proper offering in the donation slot, you receive the karmic protection of the Buddha, up to the two-hour maximum. If you fail to leave the offering; the evil ones, Parking Enforcement, come and extort a higher offering for the evil city daemon that send them forth disguised as police officers. Failure to appease them enough times can be quite bad.
So, here and there is just another set of little windows into my world. I have found that my juggling skills seem to be of some help when typing on a laptop that is setting in my lap.
Days sometimes seem to slip into weeks and the schedule of late has been busy, but not all that interesting. Not that I am complaining, graveyards are full of people who would like to have my schedule problems. I have been doing a little writing and a lot of reading of late. I have been reading mostly things on Buddhism, some sci-fi and a little technical stuff. I have figured out some interesting things from my studies. I am not as bad of a Buddhist as I thought. The reason I thought I was bad was my liking to eat meat. Well, seems the prohibition is not against eating meat, but killing. So, if I do not kill it myself, it is not all that bad. I know it is killed for consumption, but not for me personally. It is not like I go out and pick a cow saying Yes, I will have the spotted one with barbeque sauce, thank you very much. Still, I know to an extent it is still a cop out, but then again I never said I was a devout Buddhist, just a bad one.
I have odd views on religion in general. I believe there is something of a higher power out there, but we have never been formally introduced to this point, so I refrain from using names like God. I look at Buddhism as more of a philosophy anyway; even the Buddha said he was not Divine. Good thing too, I just can see the Buddha in drag with bad eye makeup and fake boobs. If you do not know what I am talking about, go seek out John Waters and his films.
Dosent that sound like a bad garage band name? Buddha in Drag. SHUDDER
Anyway, gamming did not happen this week, so it kind of bummed me out a little bit. Judi and I decided to go out for coffee instead, around 10 pm. Ran into some friends we did not expect to see and had fun in general. Came home around 1230am and slept like hell.
Anyway, make sure you check out the links in the sidebar for some new ones. I added Ben and Jackie to the list. I really hope that Tom starts updating his blog again. As for Judi, well, I will not harp on her lack of blog updating here as she has to hear it from me in person.
If your ever looking for an interesting read try out Fortean Times
Till next time, be mindful and awake.
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