Thanks For Teh Day Off Cesar You Rawk!

Thursday's Thoughts

• NPR was one of the first organizations I took note of who understood: If you want to get something done sound like a broken record- keep repeating yourself. People will either get the idea and accept what you're promoting or get so sick of hearing about it they'll give you whatever you want to shut you up. They did this with the ACA and are doing the same with gun control now.
• There is a video going around with titles like," See a sweet hippo save an antelope from certain death in the jaws of  a vicious crocodile! " Why is that more pleasing to us than, See a vicious hippo deprive a starving crocodile of her meal ! They're both presumptive but at least the second thought is basically true and way less anthropomorphic.
• I sat through meetings and classes all day (03/17/2014) at work. My job is so demanding, stressful and demanding it was a welcome break.
• Yes I know- it is twice as demanding as other jobs.
• Regardless- I need a break.
• I have been on a fruit eating kick lately. No one is more unsurprised than I that I feel better- so why do I get in habit of eating like a pig for months on end?

  

  Huh? Wait- what?! Five thousand dollars on sale for a bicycle? That is literally more than my parents paid for the house I was raised in.

• We just got in ( 03/21/2014 @2152 ) from watching Non-Stop. Wow it was bad- amazingly bad. It has been a while since I saw a more  far fetched and predictable movie. Maybe worse- I saw somebody in there with a 6-7 year old girl. The graphic violence and language aside, you could scar a child for life with a movie that bad.
• One of the ladies we had dinner with accidentally closed her cat up in  a freezer recently and then left for work. Luckily her daughter discovered it an hour later. It was chilly- one cool cat ( I'm all over those low hanging fruits aren't I?) but alive and decidedly uncurious about the freezer for the rest of the day.
  

  

  Yeah, you're smart- you pretty much got it figured out from the poster

Wednesday's Digressions

A funny thing- FG has a hang up about these bottles. She compulsively places them so the cap is up as in her mind to do otherwise- it is upside down. I personally feel these bottles are one of mans better ideas and I'm just as obnoxious about insuring they're upside down- so they're right side up.

• During my single years a woman who was vying for the position of GF hinted during our get to know each other phase that she had been sexed by the low life brother of somebody who is reality show famous. There may be less appealing things to learn about somebody- I just haven't encountered them. She was nice, smart, funny, loved kids, employed and literally beautiful and after that, she absolutely disgusted me.
• A connected thought: I had some early good, tingly feelings about her- which immediately disappeared when she told me about that. It was interesting. My curiosity and feelings for her did not fade over time or come and go with different situations. If I had taken note of the time, I could have told you the exact second my interest in her evaporated.
• If you need a used car got to Roger Williams in Weatherford and ask for Harry Southern. Look at the back of the lot for cars they will wholesale if they don't sell and make a  low ball offer- you won't hurt his feelings and both of you have nothing to lose.

  

  Here, have a picture of an astronaut holding a surfboard.

• Weird- as I went to save this post for later I published it like I knew what I was doing.
• It is crazy how good the cards that play music when you opened them has gotten.
• Two dozen roses, chocolates and a Teddy bear- what she got.
• The t in Teddy should be capitalized as it comes from Teddy Roosevelt- right?
• I have never thought about that before.
• What always jumps out at me about my expedition to Big Bend? How incredibly hot it was, how quickly it got that way each day and how remote it was. It is morning. You watch the sun come up and make a glorious sunrise and then it immediately begins to try to kill you. And the isolation? The border of the park is an hour and a half to the closest thing you would call a town and the camp site was over an hour from the entrance to the park.
• I cannot wait to go back.
  

Help Me Out- Am I missing Something? A Hint Is Hi Lited In Purple

 2007 Honda Goldwing GL1800 - $17600

2007 Goldwing. 24,xxx mi, this machine is immaculate. It has every option available on the 07 models: Air bag, anti-lock brake system (ABS), heated grips and seat. Navigation system, cruise control, CB, multidisc CD changer, fog lights, mp3 connection, air adjustable suspension, 3 piece Honda luggage (fits perfectly inside each saddlebag and trunk)

Add -ons; (I'll try to not miss anything)

*Centramatic wheel balancers
*Superbrace front fork brace
*Chrome lower front cowl
*Stainless steel belly pan
*chrome clutch and brake master cylinder reservoir covers
*chrome CB control cover
*chrome gas tank cover accent
*Utopia drivers back rest
*trailer hitch
*Baker Built new generation dual air wings
*Baker Built hand wing air deflector
*rear mud flap
*wired for trailer
*Two brand new Metzler tires
*Cobra exhaust (deeper, throatier sound) also have factory exhaust
*extra tall windshield, (not currently on the bike)
*2 matching helmets w/intercom (full face, convertible to ¾)
*1 -half cover
*1- full cover

The following are all Kuryakyn brand add ons

*driver floor boards w/ heel shifter
*passenger transformer floorboards
*chrome passenger floorboard side covers
*chrome side stand w/ chrome extender
*chrome cruiser boards
*ISO-grips (heated)
*chrome fairing intakes
*stainless steel travel mug w/ chrome handlebar mount holder
*passenger arm rest w/ drink holder

I have all service records.
Delivery is possible.
Call me if interested. I will not respond to emails, too many spammers! Sorry.

Monday's Missives

I missed this picture- Sammy was soooo mad at me he was gouch eyed- as you can plainly see.

• Specialist E-4 is the best rank in the US Army- you've got the time in service and E grades to make more money, you've been in long enough to be good at what you do meaning less stress and more recognition, some responsibility, but really not a crushing amount and there are plenty of people above you to soak up any heat and you've been in long enough to figure out how to get out of the bad duties. Even the specialist rank which looks like a shield is called the sham shield.
• Recently watched Manhattan AZ. I had forgotten how good that show was and good really is the best descriptor I can think of- it was never great, but every episode was pretty good and had its moments. It's a shame it only lasted one season it really had two or three in it. You may remember every episode ended with one of the actors giving a brief monologue related to the episode then ended with them saying, "Because I'm in television and we know better than you."
• Remember now don't you?
• People who have quit smoking fairly often report constipation as a side effect. Some people think it's psychological- my bet is it actually is physiological. Anyway, small price to pay in my book.
• I love my new Beemer. Oddly, it smells just like my Benz did as strange as that sounds. It's probably the leather which would make sense I suppose if it was treated the same way and especially if it came from the same source. It is a very fast car and is just as comfortable at 100 mph as at 50.

• Crossfade Colors. They'll be at the Verizon Center August 21, 2011.
• Obviously from an old, lost draft. Today is 03232013.
• Oh well, I'll post it a year from today and we'll wonder who/what and why.
• The normally nice smelling brand and scent of incense I'm burning smells like a trash fire.
• I'm really getting getting excited about Scarborough Fair.
• My spell checker is missing obvious (to me) word substitutions.
• I almost always first misspell spell as speel.
• I ran out of pain medicine recently. It isn't as fun one might guess.
• Relationship pro tip: If you're spending time with someone and they ridicule you for singing and/or dancing turn your back on that person and count your lucky stars they showed you how awful they are whether they know it or not.

What's In Your Ears? This Morning I Awoke To

                                          Forever in the manner of the acoustic by Papa Roach

Thursday's Thoughts

The motorcycle fever is burning within me as spring tries to assert itself. No, I would not have this as my daily ride but yes if money was no object I would have one just as ridiculous to occasionally pull out and go pop wheelies on Saturday nights.

• People used to get fooled all the time by bad photoshops that I couldn't believe would even raise an eyebrow. The colors, shading, scale or composition would be laughably wrong to me. Today, I see things made by random nonprofessionals that unless they're being intentionally ironic or there is the dead giveaway of the shopped pic being in a contest for shopped pics etc. I can't tell if they're real or not- or at least I cannot point out to you why they're fake.
• What will happen when we all cannot ever tell what is real or not?
• The father of one of the recent mass murderers has said his son was evil and he wish he had never been born. He is correct of course but how sad that must be to be able to honestly say that.
• That dumb song song about how the guy is, rollin' around on 35s a pretty girl by my side. You got that sun tan skirt and boots Waiting on you to look my way and scoot your little hot self over here. Girl grab me another beer... started playing in a loop as soon as I awoke this morning and shows no sign of abating.
• I may go crazy.
• If you go to the Macaroni Grill on University as we all will some day I suppose, ask for Mike to be your server and order the Veal Morgana. 
• And yes- that song is still there. Good grief.
• Veal cannot all be raised in some cruel torture chamber of horrors as people want to believe-  the animals would not make their gains and would almost all inevitably stress out and die early. It would be a self limiting thing and there would be no industry as well, all the animals would die early and those that lived would not make gains to make feeding them worth it at sale time. So what if they're young on the scale of cow life span? Are we supposed to bothered they didn't have a full cowhood or something?
• All I know is they are delicious- you can practically taste the cruelty.

  

  Here, have a an Oreo cake ball. You're welcome.

  
  

  

  The contents of the pockets of my parka when I dug it out  this past winter. Whats in your pocket?

  
  

Neil Fallon

wants you to know that every little thing gonna be alright.

and as the old saying goes: With a great beard comes great responsibility.

Wednesday's Digressions

• Who says birds are, well- bird brained? An eagle drags goats off cliff for dinner.
• If someone who normally never chewed that much gum or sucked on hard candy suddenly always seems to be eating hard candy (especially cinnamon flavor) or chewing gum all the time and seem to really have to act like they enjoy them soooo much is why they have them all the time- they are covering up the smell of alcohol, cigarettes or another human's private parts and it might be all 3.
• It doesn't take a lot but regardless of the setting I need just a little personal time and space each day. In the morning I get up before my children. If they get up 15 minutes later that is cool- yeah an hour is better but I'll be alright with the 15. If they get up before me I'm not going to be in a bad mood but I can  come close without that personal time.
• Last night (03/14/2014) I had a very passable steak at of all places- Applebees. It came out hotter than any steak I have ever had and was done perfectly. The cook acted like he had to pay for the onions and mushrooms but yeah- the steak was pretty good and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't.

• In the apartments I used to live in a neighbor could be heard masturbating nearly every morning in his bathtub. Some things you shouldn't know about people I suppose but it didn't bother me- I liked the guy and didn't think anything bad about him at all. He was a good neighbor who just happened to like to choke his chicken, a lot.
• Although I did wonder what I would do if we ever had to shake hands.

In Texas We

do love us some Reverend Horton Heat

Monday's Missives

Don't hold your breath. Putin's answer to reporters when asked if he was going to retire any time soon.

• On this day (6-19-10) in 1953 Ethel And Julius Rosenberg were killed by the US Federal Government.
• Wonder why they always put her name first?
• When I was a boy and would read about their case I always thought they were nice looking- especially her and wished I could meet them.
• Looking almost always comes out lokking when I type.
• Nearly half the houses on my block are owned by some type of law enforcement officer and one home has two families of them living there.
• Veil: The Secret Wars Of The CIA- what I'm reading.
• Two- number of people I've known who who have worked for the CIA.
• LA Guns I Want To Be Your Man.

• When President Obama in any way warns, threatens or lectures Russia it is almost comical. I don't care whether you love him or hate the President's guts but his nemesis is Putin. When the Prez was smoking pot and playing B'ball and reading Marx, Putin was torturing people in East Germany as a KGB agent and he still kills stuff for fun- and doesn't give a #@$! who knows.
• PS- Putin is also a Judo black belt. Don't think that or the preceding facts matter? You don't know how the Russian and about half the rest of the world's mind works then.
• If you can't and won't man up- it doesn't matter how smart you are. The inability to gain some respect by said manning up will get us in more fights and ones we don't want. Putin doesn't respect President Obama.
• I misspoke. Excuse me- Vlad is a black belt in Karate- his belt in Judo is some other color.
  

  

  Die- before I kill you

Love And Mush

• Something in me makes me push away when I'm not standing pretty strong on my own and that's probably a good thing- the way it ought to be.


• A lady who was an office worker at Jackson State told me once, Never marry someone who has more problems than yourself. I knew it was pretty good when she told me but, wow, now I realize the truthfulness in that simple statement and think the world would be a better place if everyone lived by it.


• She also defined love for me in the best way I've ever heard, You know you in love when meeting the emotional needs of the person you're with is an emotional need for yourself.


• Pretty good huh?


• I think she was some kind of angel or something. I couldn't tell you her name if my life depended on it. She worked in the office next to the print shop I worked in but, I couldn't even tell you the name of her office.


• Whether people are together a week or a lifetime the things accumulated aren't what's important- it's the memories and what we learn from each other isn't it?


• There's not just one person for everyone but, there's probably only several hundred (or thousands?) So, you've got to experience and talk to people- it won't just happen.


• The perfect ones get taken when we weren't there or dropped the ball don't they? I ask the girl at the coffee shop when I see her,  So, hows the hubby?   He's doing OK- staying real busy. No hardening of the arteries or failing heart? No dear- sorry healthy as can be. Oh, well you know if something happened to him I'd be heartbroken- simply torn up.  I bet you would.  Still at the top of your list in the event of his untimely death? Of course, you doofus- now what do you want to drink?

Because I'm a Ranting and Ramblin' Man

Russian Sukhoi 34. NATO calls it Fullback. What a gorgeous looking aircraft. It is literally beautiful

• If this doesn't warm your heart- you may not have one.
• I've been conducting a social experiment over the past several months and feel comfortable enough in the initial results to share some information with my fellow scientits. The experiment is simple enough: when people know I'm not wearing my hearing aids- such as when I've set them down to assess a patients heart and lunch sounds with my stethoscope of justice I act deaf as a post to gauge what they will or won't say around me and see if it changes the way I'm treated.
• Scientists came out scientits and lung lunch. Funny, but yes- it changes how they act and well over 50% of the time people feel the need to at least gauge my hearing ability without the hearing aids by speaking at a lower volume and/or looking away from etc.
• When I came back from downrange and was doing rehab at Fort Hood I was known outside of my unit for a couple of things and it always surprised me to find out who knew about me by my reputation. One happened on Fort Hood itself right after I returned- I smashed into a cow totaling my Mercedes (and the cow) the other happened in Iraq.
• Lots of drinks were bought for me.
• The problems in Ukraine have really wakened a lot of emotions and thoughts. It is interesting how that is true for a low level chump ex cold warrior like me- how is that scenario affecting Putin et. al.?
• Again, our politicians should ask themselves before a response to something in another part of the world, What would we do in the same situation? If we would do the same thing, why would get involved or say anything at all other other to offer humanitarian assistance and/or negotiation facilitation?

From Ages Old Drafts Clean Up Day

                                                        Not my dog. My dog would never, ever do that! Wear a goofy sweater that is.

• I lost my mind and bought my children a dog. I will say though, a little money + momentary lapse in judgement and hearing about him being the last of the litter at the right time = hero.
• No name yet.
• Just realized- I think he is the first dog I've ever bought in my life.
• Bought myself a new watch, it has a thermometer, altimeter, barometer and electronic compass.
• Not sure yet if it does the time though.
• It knows by how you hold your wrist in the dark to turn on the light so you can see the dial.
• I love it- it is cool.
• Recently a case involved a very large woman, a very large dog, a very tearful, drunk hubby all in a very small travel trailer. God bless 'em all, they were good people and loved me like family. It was a 75 mile drive one way. My relief got sick  so I worked 15 hours while a replacement was found for her and for some reason I couldn't sleep afterwards. I had to return to the same case that night.
• I literally don't remember the drive there or home.
• Great Frank Sinatra song- really good video for, I've Got You Under My Skin.

See The Shorthand I use For Writing Then A Random Pic Of Jonas Salk Followed By The Post I Developed From The Shorthand Notes AKA: Writing The Process And The Glory A Workshop By Kev

• duke pron open letter
• friend boo job cut holes in t
• mike phelps- no body cares about poster- he is the sorry one that cannot be trusted
• cat hang out in bath
• experienc in war- us even institutional memory
• koenegssegs figured out a way to save wt make so expoensive never have to worry about driver wt
• 7 milsoplifting we think we catch all/most- we have no idea 
• corruption same way not ingrained but more prevalent than v]can guess just so rich, big and bloated dpnt get caught- matters less.

• A Duke Colleges student outed a female student for acting in prawn after he found her while- watching prawn. His prion habit was exposed by the CEO of the video company who with some class and humor outed the outer and punked him with an open letter. What a terrible person the kid was who tried to shame the girl that way- he did not care if he destroyed her life or not.
• A friendly acquaintance's husband chided her for as he said, Prancin' around with low cut dresses and tops showing those boobies off to everybody else in the world and I never get to see them! Without missing a beat or saying a word she left the room and returned a few minutes later with two boob holes cut out in front of her sleeping T and saying, Good night. lay down and went to sleep. That is pretty funny- for everybody but hubby I guess but yeah, pretty funny in my book.
• Back to the prawn exposer: it reminds me of the Mike Phelps bong picture controversy. No one seemed to care about who provided that picture- that is all I would want to know. People were wringing their hands in holy horror over something senseless-  a true non issue and all I could wonder was who took and supplied the picture. That person can never be trusted with anything ever. He is a true sociopath.
• FGs cat is creepily hanging out in the bathroom as I type this staring at me with creepy cat eyes.
• You cannot overestimate the power of experience in war for a military. Yes, a good military gets over the initial shock of transition from peace to war but true experience takes years to shift down and filter around to where it needs to be to make a difference. There is even an institutional memory that exists and will improve a military's effectiveness for a long time after the last war fighting First Sergeant has retired.
• Koenegseggs has  new car that they have figured out how to instantly cut out up to 200 pounds of weight! They have made it too expensive to drive. Did you get that? Does it make sense? OK, bare with me, it is a work in progress.
• Ha, bare with me.
• A family was recently busted for I think the number was 7  million dollars worth of shoplifting. Very often those big busts are of not well integrated and/or specific foreign born persons. I think they more or less see crime against the US as OK especially if it is against a corporation. 
• That reminded me about corruption in the US government. It may not be as ingrained and institutionalized in the US as it is in Russia, Middle East or Mexico for example but it is more pervasive than we will ever know. There are just very sophisticated ways to hide it and we are so rich and bloated and the legal and political system so convoluted, corruption matters less in a practical day to day sense and they hardly ever get caught. 
• We trust out system way too much

Saturday's Situation

• The knucklehead next door plays his music way too loud and early. No, I'm not too old- he is rude.
• I slept in this morning and like a log all night. I only recall waking once as a book was stabbing me in the kidney. I have slept well only a few times in years and I never know why it happens so I can replicate the conditions other than occasionally I'm literally exhausted.
• Literally is used by me a lot to help connote an absolute.
• We're trying to figure out something to do for fun or otherwise a diversion today and for the life of me I can't think of anything.
• It just hit me- the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and then Lisa's for fried chicken livers.
• Here is to hoping Lisa's is still open as so much of my recently made plans revolve around her fried, breaded and served with biscuits and gravy goodness.
• Mmmmm gravy.
• I just read that air travel declined 20% the year after 911 happened resulting in about 1600 more traffic deaths. 
• What I'm listening to: Primus The Devil Went Down  To Georgia.
  

• Johnny Cash sings Nasty Dan on Sesame Street. No, really. Take it away Johnny

• It seems generally accepted the Ukrainian opposition movement financed the snipers who were killing folks in Kiev. I simply knew it beforehand and I believe it is the only logical explanation. When I first heard the numbers of people dead my first thought was, No way- those numbers are inflated to get people engaged and enraged. Then I saw the videos. People who while maybe up to no good weren't threatening a building or dismounted cops or troops were getting dropped by shots from very far away. People were getting engaged rescuing wounded people, Cops were down and obviously dead and their bodies obviously abandoned- a dead giveaway it wasn't their side and the shooters were as dangerous to the cops and government troops as anybody.
• Putin is a Cold War warrior and we can't forget that. Not only is he an ex KGB man he was on the losing side of a war and nobody forgets losing a war. It is even rare to meet somebody who is totally over it and doesn't secretly hope if not for a do-over, a chance to put some distance behind him from a humiliating loss by being a winner in the battles of today.
• Another thought on Putin: he was and is not a true believer in Communism (pronounced Comminism) but he is a believer in his part of the world being unified and Russia over all. He isn't going to watch his sphere of influence dwindle without a fight and especially when it is being fomented by people who want closer ties to the West.
• Ain't gonna happen.
• We will learn more about the motives of  the Ukrainian opposition and my guess is at the highest levels it isn't good. The temptation is to believe it is people who want a better economy etc. but the leaders motives might not be so be so pure.
  

Wednesdays Digressions

I looked down at the ground in the park and saw this.

I looked up and saw this

I saw a random point there also- here it is.

• Old but, funny Onion News Network piece on the morning after for some President Obama supporters.


• I was in the hospital once for nearly a month. I nearly died.


• When the doctor made me NPO (nothing by mouth) and didn't change the orders later. I didn't eat for a week.


• What does NPO mean is a question nurses get all the time. I'm one of the few in the world who can answer that question properly- Nil Per Os.


• I once watched the entire first season of OZ in one sitting in a shack made of old shipping containers, boxes, tin, tarps and a windshield out of a truck.


• Naps are a great thing but, if I accidentally sleep too long when I wasn't all that tired it bums me and I have to stay up longer later to make up for the lost time.


• The tent is still set up with a book and headlamp beside the air mattress. I bought a sleeping bag that is flannel lined and good down to 0 Fahrenheit. It's also cut extra long and wide- I like that.


• I've never been in a sleeping bag with another person.

The Afternoon Rant and Classic War Pron

• Firefight just a couple of miles from my old base.
• Just another day in the 'Nam.
• The amateur hour continues: President Obama recently made some empty threats to Russia regarding military action in Ukraine. Well, it is gonna happen and there isn't a thing we can or will do about it.
• We should ask ourselves, What would we do in a similar situation? We would have already secured the Baltic ports and ground routes to and from them and Syria and that is a natural fact.
• Another good example: What would we do if Mexico's insatiable lust for drugs was causing the horror they have endured because of America and Europe's drug lust? We would have invaded years ago and still be losing people to IEDs on Mexican Highway 85.
• I'm finished.

Monday's Missives

Blood orange. A nursing buddy left one on my desk. I peeled it and promptly threw it in the trash as I thought it was bad. So, after griping me out she gave me a second chance with another. They're OK - an interesting novelty.

• Recently I bumped into a former neighbor who had a baby while she was in the neighborhood. I gave her a play tent and tunnel someone had given Zac even though her baby was pretty little. It was to encourage his play and their interaction. It was cool for me because it was kind of expensive but yeah- didn't cost me a cent to give to him. That was most of 2 years ago. I bumped into her a couple of days ago. She said, Its his favorite toy. He plays with it with all the time- every day!  

  

  Zac said, I 'm going to build a fire and then sleep in front of it. Did I mention he is 6? That is one poorly composed and focused shot but I oddly like it for some reason.

• I've said this before but we don't have any idea the difference we can make and sometimes it is the smallest things that we do or say.
• We lost a nurse at work in a related clinic the other day related to her failure to comply with conditions placed against her license. My heart literally broke for her. I admire and respect her clinic for giving her the second chance though.
• We all need second chances.
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Exploring Weatherford America's seedy underbelly.

  
  

  

  A salt lick we made in the park. Find a stump and poor a canister of salt over it near an animal trail. Once it is discovered the stump itself will literally be chewed to pieces.

• Those e cig stores seem to have a lot of cars at them all the time. They can be in the middle of nowhere and if there aren't 8 cars outside of a tiny building- there will be 20.  I'm not sayin'- I'm just sayin'. Nomasayin'?
• There is a guy in Wisconsin who made his own planetarium.



This tree is almost perfect in my book. The deficit in it's otherwise nearly perfect canopy only makes it even more interesting.



To run speaker wire under carpet  cut a slit all the way down to the flooring 4-6 inches from the wall and after taping the wires to an electricians snake push them to where they need to be while guiding them from the top of the carpet. Then cut a slit where the wire needs to come out. You can use a clothes hanger with a hook bent into it to fish the wires out at the terminal end.



I'm not saying it takes a daily reminder but I guess it can't hurt.

• Two different times yesterday (02/26/2014) I was nearly sideswiped by goobers distracted by texting. Once it was as we entered an area where to my left I had nowhere to go as they encroached on my right while attempting my murder. All I could do was grit my teeth and lay into the horn and hope they weren't also distracted by their stereo being too loud to hear my desperate honks of panic.

  

  Yes, my friend we know about germs too.