Where Sometimes Things Go Bang

Gettin My Geek On

2009-12-19T11:14:00.002-06:00

I haven't been posting alot lately. Work has been a pill, and whatever free time I've had at home has been spent dorking with my new toy.

I finally have an iPhone. So I'm a late bloomer. So what.

For the last eight years, I've had a company-issued phone. For the last five, it's been the same number (though the phone has changed three times now). I've never really worried about having a cool phone. My phones have usually been of a more durable type, since I used to work solely in the field. Since I'm in the office most of the time now, I don't need such a workhorse, and with all the crap I've got to keep up with, my boss tossed me the iPhone.

It's an 8Gb iPhone 3G. It's used; it belonged to a former employee for about a year and a half. It works fine, with the only exception being that I think the accelerometer is dorked up. Other than that, I'm really happy with it. Like, geek time.

I've pulled down a half-dozen or so free apps. One of which is the Pandora Radio app. Using the iPhone's internal speakers, I dialed up my Chris Cornell Radio station, turned the volume down from all the way up (I was shocked that it was too loud!), and ran that while The Wifey and I cleaned the kitchen and I cooked breakfast.

I was listening to streaming internet radio over the loudspeakers in my touchpanel mobile phone.

Yeah. THAT.

Technology rawks.

tweaker

Bringing Teh Funnyz

2009-12-14T22:11:00.002-06:00

I saw this and just couldn't resist:

I just love it. Marines? Feel free to chime in:)

tweaker

Quotes

2009-12-13T13:57:00.003-06:00

Usually you have to find stuff like this in Revolutionary War-era history, or books with powerful quotes. Fortunately, we don't have to go far to find a patriot, or a standard by which to measure one:

"The true measure of the patriot is steadfastness. We all have small moments of wanderlust in us, tearing off on solitary paths that others may not follow, testing limits, testing ourselves. That is the nature of man. Yet when we strive to hold true, to stand firm to our beliefs as free men, together, to carry our weapons and defend our land, the weak become strong, and the wandering hold together as one. For then we are united in something much greater than the elemental whims of man. Together as patriots, we are much more of the courageous and less of the selfish, we are brothers in arms."

Yeah, we loves us some Brigid.

tweaker

Happiness Is...

2009-12-12T20:52:00.001-06:00

...USDA Prime Top Sirloin on sale for $3.99/lb. accompanied by a lovely Full Sale IPA.

Honestly, do I need to post anything else?

tweaker

Surprise Medical Procedures

2009-12-10T18:38:00.002-06:00

Surprise Medical Procedures. That seems to happen to me pretty often, actually. Not emergency medical procedures. I've never had an emergency surgery, for instance. I've spent a great deal of time in emergency rooms, though. I get hurt a lot.

No, Surprise Medical Procedures is something that happens to me. Take today, for instance. I had a dentist appointment to look at a problem wisdom tooth. I booked next Tuesday for an extraction, thinking that next Tuesday the good doctor would extract the tooth. Nope. Surprise! We can slide it out right now!

I was not prepared to have a tooth extracted today. So that was my Surprise Medical Procedure. I've had them before.

Well, the good news is that my doctor should change his name to Doctor Awesome. I could only barely feel the Novocaine injection. The actual extraction (of the upper right wisdom tooth) was %100 Pain Free. No pain whatsoever. None. Sure, I could feel the pressure of him pulling and prying, but there was no jerking or anything; just slow, steady pressure until the tooth just slid out. But no pain.

Well, that is until the Novocaine wore off. Then there was pain. But - no bullshit here, honest - most of the headaches I've had were far worse. There was no shortage of swelling, but the pain was dull and completely local. No throbbing through the entire right side of my head - thanks, no doubt to Dr. Awesome's magnificent technique.

So, here I am, one fewer tooth and absent all the awful pain and extreme (read: debilitating) sensitivity to cold that accompanied having that busted-ass tooth in my head.

I'm feeling much better now, thanks.

tweaker

Mo Tired

2009-12-09T18:59:00.002-06:00

No bloggy tonight. Or last night. Sorry. Work's got me beat. Stay tuned. More bloggy later.

tweaker

Infamy. This Date Lives In It.

2009-12-07T19:30:00.002-06:00

To all those who lost their lives this day, 68 years ago, we remember.

tweaker

New Hotness

2009-12-06T10:26:00.009-06:00

Back in February of this year, The Wifey was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Impala and I was in a 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo was traded in on her new car since the Impala had gap insurance, so that left me with the Impala. Not too terrible, I thought, since the Impala and Monte Carlo were more or less the same car. Well, with the trouble with my knees, having a car at all became more and more of a chore since getting in and out meant doing so much closer to the ground than my knees would tolerate. I needed something bigger. Something taller. And I needed it now.

Well, a couple months ago, the vehicle situation here at Casa de Tweaker received a long overdue upggrade. I originally set out for a Toyota FJ Cruiser. I really love those things. They're made of awesome, they're fun to drive, and they fit me like a glove. I could see me getting in one of those every morning, I really could. Well, it just wasn't in the cards.

(You see, back in 2005, I had to give up my most favoritist vehicle evar, my 2004 Chevrolet Silverado LS. It was a thing of beauty, that truck, and I have longed for a truck since then. With Chevy being partially entitled to having a .gov website, though, none of my money was going there, and Toyota was the obvious choice. Nothing lasts like a Toyota, and I know tons of Toyota owners who can prove it. And I thought the new Tundras were really nice, but I knew they were too expensive for me. Well, I thought they were anyway.)

We must have searched online for every used FJ Cruiser from Austin to Brownsville, when The Wifey suggested a Tundra. "No way," I thought, "Too expensive." Well, being near San Antonio, we have an advantage over the rest of the country:

It should have another line under it that says "Not By Unions."

The Tundra plant (now the Tundra/Tacoma plant, thanks to California running them off with their astronomical taxes) is located in beautiful San Antonio, Texas, so Tundras are in abundance here. Supply being high, and demand being not as high means prices are lower. That reeeeaaaally drives the prices down on the used market. Good for me.

So, it didn't take me long to find some unbelievable prices on gently used Tundras. In fact, it wouldn't be long before I found the truck that would eventually be mine. One test drive is all it took, and the FJ Cruiser, or any other vehicle for that matter, became a distant memory. Behold, in all its glory, The New Hotness:

*click to biggie-fy*

That is my 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5. There are others like it, but that one is mine. I have not been in love with a vehicle since my beloved Silverado disappeared in the rear view mirror of the Monte Carlo (I cried. Don't judge me.) This thing is the textbook definition of Made Of Win And Covered With Awesomesauce. It's big. It's beautiful. It's roomy. And it's got enough power to challenge all the gods. (385 hp and 401 ft/lbs torque, to be exact. I'm currently researching how to squeeze 15 more hp out of the motor. I just need that number to be 400. I said don't judge me.)

It's also roomy. Check out the interior:

That thing is comfortable, and it's just made for tall men. You'll notice my iPod sitting there next to the shifter. It has nearly become the sole source of audio in that truck. Occasionally I'll use the in-dash 6-disc CD changer, but only on the rare occasion I don't have the iPod with me.

Bonus points: it's got an 8,900-lb towing capacity, that's dealer-upgradable to 10,300 lbs. I have a 3,000-lb 1968 Pontiac Firebird that I left in Memphis when I became a Texan in 1999. I have a garage now. And a mighty powerful truck. And access to a trailer. Guess what the next vehicle pictures are going to be of, shortly after Christmas vacation?

Right now, life is good.

tweaker

Sposta Be Cold

2009-12-03T19:04:00.002-06:00

Tonight - and into tomorrow - marks the first real cold snap of the season here in lovely South Texas. We've been building up (down?) to it the past few days, with temps falling from the mid-70's down to the mid-40's, which is more than enough to get this Texan whining about it. Tonight, the low's supposed to be around 31F, and the bloody high tomorrow will peak at 34F. And then there will be winds up to 35 m.p.friggin.h. And, allegedly, snow. I'll believe that when I see it, but it's still gonna be bloody cold.

Mr. Gore, I would like my share of the global warming now.

tweaker

WTF Blogger?

2009-12-02T22:08:00.002-06:00

Anyone notice that Blogger's acting wierd?

I'll sign in, write a post, and when I'm done and look at my blog, I'm not signed in anymore. I can't edit my posts without going to the blogger dashboard, and tonight I noticed that the comment counter after each post is wrong. Last night's post has two comments, but the counter only shows one.

As little as I've been posting lately, I need all the comments I can get!

*sigh*

In other news, I'm approaching the start of what's gonna be the coolest residential installation the company has ever embarked on. This house is beyond belief. And I am so stressed at work right now I'm never going to be able to enjoy it.

I need a break.

tweaker

Guns and Reasons to Use Them

2009-12-01T20:40:00.006-06:00

Well, it looks like we're officially in the market for a Marlin 981T. Look like dis:

*click to biggify*

Cool, huh? It's a tube-fed bolt-action rifle chambered in .22LR. It'll hold 17 rounds of .22LR, 19 rounds of Long, or 25 rounds of Short. It's got a 22" blued barrel (though Google tells me that there's a stainless version for an extra C-note) and a thumb safety. The Wifey is excited. So is me.

She really digs on working the bolt. I don't know what it is about it, but I like it, too; I'm just surprised she does. So she said she wanted something for ~~her~~ us that was similar to the Crickett but for grown-ups. My only requirement was that it be a tube magazine. Don't want another gun that has unubtainium magazines after some years go by (like this one).

Looks like the market puts them generally between $160-200 new. I'll run the Pawn Shop Circuit (h/t Xavier) to see if there's any used, but from the way owners talk about them, I'd be surprised to see any used models out there. Even Gunbroker.com only has one listing, and it's for a new one.

Funny; the number two hit on teh Googulz for 'Marlin 981T' is friggin Walley World. I wouldn't buy one there if they were giving them away with every gallon of milk. Fuck Wal-Mart.

******************************

In other news, the tech came out today and replaced the motherboard in my company laptop. I couldn't get video worked out; it finally refused to boot up, giving me the BSOD after BIOS every time. Dammit.

tweaker

@$#%&! Mondays...

2009-11-30T21:24:00.002-06:00

Mondays. Made of fail, they are.

Starts with The Wifey coming into the bedroom at 0530 to tell me that her car won't start. I told her to take my truck (read: let me go back to sleep at all costs). It took getting jumped off by my buddy, who luckily was dropping his kid off at a daycare that's near my neighborhood.

Then, on the way in to drop it off at the dealer to get it fixed, my service writer tells me that they're short-handed today, and couldn't get to it until tomorrow. I grumbled, but went along anyway. What else was I gonna do?

Icing on the Failcake? Right after lunch, and with absolutely no warning signs whatsoever, the motherboard on my company laptop completely took a shit. Thing runs great, and dies right there. Kaput.

*sigh*

Is it Tuesday yet?

tweaker

Glowing Coals and Burning Animal Flesh

2009-11-29T18:45:00.002-06:00

I love grilling. I really do. For a lot of reasons, actually. I will list them now, because I didn't put together a post on my shiny new (to me) Tundra, or a really good restaurant I ate at recently. So this will have to do for now.

-I love the idea of cooking over an open flame. I have both a gas grill ('...propane, and propane accessories...') and a 22" charcoal kettle (lump charcoal only. No briquettes for me, thankyouverymuch). Don't ask which is my favorite; I love them equally. The gas is more or less ready right now, but I can smoke mo betta with the coal pit.

-I love grilled food. It always tastes good provided you don't burn the living shit out of it. Red meat, white meat, seafood, vegetables; it matters not. A skillet will not add flavor. An oven will not add flavor. A grill will most certainly add flavor.

-I love to eat dead animals. It just so happens that grilling is just about the easiest way (for me) to transform the dead animal into food. A little seasoning and some pounding with Thor's Kitchen Hammer, and I can have a boneless, skinless chicken breast ready to go with damn-near anything.

-It is another excuse to open-carry outdoors. I'm not a dick about open-carry. Srsly, I'm not. But I also don't cover my firearm when I'm on my own property. My neighbors know me and know I carry, and I live in a neighborhood with four police officers and at least one sheriff's deputy, so I'm really not worried about some high-speed, low-drag rookie spear-tackling me because I'm mowing my lawn with a pistol on my hip. Course, my grills are in my backyard, so it's a non-issue, but I do feel a degree of liberation when I OC outside my house. It's like walking around naked. Just the feeling of open air on my, uhhhh... pistol?

-My kid is glued to me when I grill. It's one of the few times when she just wants to hang out and be there. She chills out - because she knows the grill is FIRE and that's not something to get wound up around - in her chair and relaxes. And she also tells me that my steaks are the best steaks EVAR. What guy wouldn't like that kind of ego-maintenance?

-It's one of the few reasons I like to be outside. I don't know what happened to me as I got older, but I really prefer to be indoors doing indoor things these days. That's a stark contrast from my childhood, when I had to be threatened with a horrible screaming death (h/t Tam) before I would come inside. I'm starting to prefer outdoor shooting ranges, too. It's weird.

There's probably a few more reasons, but these are the ones that really stand out to me.

Oh, so last night it was the USDA Prime Top Sirloin (holy SHIT that was a good steak, BTW) on the gas grill. Tonight was indirect-grilled skirt steak for fajitas, and for added yum I pan-seared some marinated shrimp for that last taco. I eated pretty good this weekend!

Sadly, as much as I would like to grill those seasoned chicken leg quarters I got yesterday, the weather-dude calls for some serious rain, accompanied by some serious cold and damn-serious wind for the next two days, so I'll be working out dinner somehow in the kitchen for a couple days. Oh, well. I've got something to look forward to.

tweaker

Shooting Stuff

2009-11-28T19:46:00.002-06:00

So, on a total whim The Wifey asks me this morning if the range is open today. I told her that I was sure it was, so we set about the task of getting things ready. She'd already procured a babysitter (Grandma and Grandpa) for the entire afternoon. Rock.

Primary duty was to get 200 rounds through what's soon to be The Little Girl's pink Crickett rifle. We both needed to run our carry guns, so 200 rounds of 9mm came along for my Px4 and her Baby Eagle. We brought the two Mossbergs (my 12ga and her 20ga Bantam that she hadn't fired yet) and plenty of shells.

We arrived at a busy range - it is Saturday, after all - and decided to do the .22 first. Bummer, though, that even rimfire rifles are no longer allowed on the 25-yard section of the pistol range ever since they covered the pistol range. So off to the 50-yard rifle tables we went.

I took the first twenty or so rounds, and then attempted a handoff to The Wifey, who promptly turned me down. She apparently had no interest in shooting that (or any other) rifle. I told her that if she was going to be involved in The Little Girl shooting it then she was gonna have to shoot it, too. She hesistated, but she did it anyway. It's a pain in the ass for an adult to shoot that little thing (especially my big ass), but after a few rounds something happened. I could see it written all over her face. She was enjoying herself. We only had about 150 rounds, and I wasn't about to attempt to stop at Bass Pro Shops on the way, so we did 150.

She shot over half.

After that, we made our way to the pistol range. I started to set up on a 7-yard lane, but there were these four Thugs (tats, baggy clothes, one of 'em even had a Tec-9. Srsly) crowding up, so we moved to the 25-yard mark. We actually enjoyed that pretty good, and The Wifey had a significant boost in confidence since all her shots were on the paper. Of her 100 rounds, I did 15. She probably had 60-70 inside the 7-ring, with the remaining fliers still hitting paper. She loved it.

I, of course, one-holed each and every one of my 80 shots (she did 20) through the Px4. Dead in the middle of the bulls-eye. You believe me, right? Hello? *tap-tap* Is this thing on?

Actually, my groups were tight, but most of them were 1-3 inches left of the bulls-eye. It was frustrating, too, because I couldn't seem to correct. I needs mo practice.

Then we went to the shotguns. I did the first five shells on her 20ga. That thing is definitely made for little folks. The length of pull was waaaaay to short for me, and it was killing my shoulder to shoot it. I then went over the operations of a pump gun one last time and stood by while she loaded. I told her everything I could think of. I made no bones about the recoil, which I thought was pretty damn hard for a 20ga. Turns out I was right, judging by how her mouth was agape from the pain in her shoulder. I tried to make sure she had the butt of the gun in the right spot on her shoulder, but to be honest at that point I did not know. She did two more rounds and put it down.

I did a couple more sets of five and went back to see if I could get her on the line again. She had little interest, but one of the guys that worked there asked if she'd tried shooting from the hip. I figured maybe it'd get her used to the recoil and thus help her figure out how to manage it, so we did. Unfortunately, I failed to mention that that particular technique requires a pretty tight grip on the shooting hand, and when she pulled the trigger the gun scooted back and the Mossberg safety scraped up her thumb. She was done.

And all because she had a lousy teacher. I felt horrible. Still do.

I finished off the second box of 25, and moved to my 12ga, which needed some shells through it. It was New To Me, so I knew it was proven, I just wanted to make sure. I also wanted to put some 00-buckshot through it since I'd never done that before. It didn't take me too long, and I knew The Wifey had had enough, so I decided to call it a day.

*sigh*

On the way home, she told me that she was done with shotguns - at least for now - but not to worry about it. She fell head-over-heels in love with the rifle shooting. She had a lot of fun and a huge boost of confidence on the pistol range, but the rifle shooting really piqued her interest. Now we're in the market for a bolt-action .22. I'm thinking one of these is in order. We'll see.

All said, it really was a good range day. A novice pistol shooter got some confidence, a new rifle shooter was born, and an extremely rookie teacher learned that being wrong can hurt.

Then we came home, bought a USDA Prime Sirloin, and I grilled it.

Today was a good day.

tweaker

Venturing Into Mordor

2009-11-27T09:39:00.002-06:00

No, I'm not going to California (no offense, Dirtcrashr;) or Walley World.

I've got to go into San Antonio today. I ordered The Wifey's big Christmas Present online, but it was significantly cheaper to pick it up locally than it would have been to have it shipped. I ordered said gift last Sunday night, when the store was already closed. Work has been insane all week long (up through Wednesday), so I couldn't go then.

Stores are closed on Thanksgiving.

That leaves today. Black-damn-Friday...

...and on that note, some funny. With language.

tweaker

November Delta*

2009-11-26T08:09:00.004-06:00

*ND, as in Negligent Discharge. I was scrolling through the Gunblogs and was prompted to post after reading this one over at Miss X's place. It was the following statement that really did me in:

You will have a negligent discharge some day. Col. Cooper went to a lot of trouble figure out how to limit the damage. Please pay attention.

The Four Rules are holy. Learn them. Respect them. Know them. Any new shooters that I take out learn all about them, and I don't (deliberately) shoot with anyone who doesn't know them.

Miss X has put it in terms similar to the one rule all motorcyclists face. There are two types of riders: those who have laid a bike down, and those who will. I suppose she's right. I would like to think not; after all, I keep my finger off the trigger of my friggin Dewalt cordless tools until I'm ready to pull it, and if I'm walking with one it's always pointed down (always a safe direction with a DRILL, mind you). I'm worse with guns. My 6-year old can recited the Four Rules and even explain each one. She'd better, or she gets no gun for Christmas.

But, I suppose Miss X is right. I've ND'ed, too, sad as I am to admit it. And it couldn't have been with a .22 target pistol or something. No, it was with a snubbie .357 Smith in an indoor range. Surprise! A few years ago my brother and I were shooting .38 and .357 from his Model 60(?). I first shot .38, and it was very easy to shoot. I then loaded a cylinder full of 158 gr. JHP (it's what we got for Christmas) and took what would be my first shot with a Magnum caliber. The muzzle flash was impressive, the flames that shot out from the cylinder gap were much larger, and the sound that echoed through that indoor range stopped every shooter on the line. You couldn't have removed the smile from my face with a belt sander. However...

If my first shot was transcendental, it was my second shot that slammed my spirit right back into reality. See, I don't own revolvers, so I do not know revolvers. I didn't know how to learn to appreciate the Smith and Wesson double-action trigger. What I knew was Boom Equals KICKASS!, and I wanted that again. So I went for Round Two by reaching my right thumb back for the hammer to set a single-action shot, all the while my right forefinger happily in the trigger guard. I'd say it wasn't on the trigger, but it didn't matter much. To set that hammer all the way back, you kinda have to squeeze right as it sets on the sear. Kinda squeeze + finger in trigger guard = Earth-Shattering KaBOOM!

I ignored Rules 1 (all guns are always loaded) and 3 (keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot), and let slip 158 grains of Magnum destruction. The very outer edge of that paper target will never be the same; more importantly, neither will I. I broke the rules and had an ND in the best imaginable circumstances, and because I held the muzzle downrange - as opposed to kicking it up towards the ceiling like so many tend to - the bullet went to the end of the range and into a pile of shredded tires, just like they're supposed to.

I have no bullet wounds. I have no person's lost life on my conscience. No holes in my walls, either. But I negligently let a round slip, and I'll never forget it. I got off easy. Don't assume you will. Learn the Four Rules of Guns Safety, and obey them!

tweaker

#$@&!

2009-10-01T19:06:00.002-05:00

I got my ass royally handed to me by an installation today. We've got this house with a massive distributed audio/video system in it, with a damn nice front-projection theater to go with it (45" x 107" curved screen, Runco projector with optional Whitney anamorphic lens). It was in this theater that I received my fail.

After doing the math a few times, I ended up with a 2.35:1 image a full 5 inches too high on the screen.

I fucking HATE external lenses.

*sigh*

I has a sad.

tweaker

The Courage of our Forefathers

2009-09-26T07:29:00.006-05:00

The other day I mentioned that I have started listening to talk radio when in a vehicle with no options beyond AM and FM.

That may be about to stop. Most all of it makes me angry now.

I was inspired to write this post a few days ago. See, there's this FM station here that was recently reformatted from a hip-hop/R&B station (upgraded?) into the area's first FM talk radio station. They run Laura Ingraham after Boortz. It was during Laura's show that a concept I had been stating really started to reveal itself on a national level. That concept - common among Libertarians - is that Republicans are just as much to blame for the downward spiral that they are so eager to point out that we're in as the Democrats are.

So it is with this mindset that I was a bit put aside when, the other day, Miss Ingraham was discussing the recent 9-12 March and compared it to our Forefathers' journey to this land and creation of the nation that stands on it. She was condemning the Democrat leaders of Congress and the mainstream media for effectively snubbing their noses and the masses of attendees on Capitol Hill on 9-12-09 (whose numbers, depending on who you ask, literally range from hundreds to over 1.5 million. You be the judge). In this, she said that the politicians had no inclination to pay any mind to the masses, as they faced insurmountable odds against the lawmakers themselves. She then noted the strength of the masses, and its regularly underestimated determination. That's when she got to it. She said our forefathers journeyed miles and miles to a completely unknown destination in the hopes of living in a world where freedom rules the day. She said that the courage of our Forefathers was amazing.

I said that the courage of our Forefathers is dead.

No one, not one living creature in Congress or the White House, not a one of them possesses the courage of our Forefathers. None of them believe what our Forefathers believed: that the nation was for the People, and the States (in that order, motherfuckers) and that the role of the federal government was to be minimal.

The role of the federal government is not minimal. It is massive, overbearing, and seeking out control wherever control might be available. The fed has violated every corner of the Constitution, and every inch of the Bill of Rights except the Third Amendment (quartering of troops). The federal government could give a two shits and a fuck about the freedoms we have long fought to maintain, and that goes for Republicans and Democrats alike.

Yes, the gauntlet is down.

Then it gets better. Remember, I'm only slightly annoyed at Conservative Republican rhetoric at this point. I got no beef with Miss Ingraham so far. Then yesterday happened. She was in Philadelphia, PA; the Birthplace of Freedom. She was talking about being in that city and taking in its history. She mentioned that our forefathers were rolling over in their graves these days. She said that the federal government has its hands in way to many pies that they don't belong in. She was feeling things that I felt when I was in Philly, and I was agreeing with her. Then she said that we need a re-do of the last nine months.

Thank you, Miss Ingraham, for shooting your credibility completely to shit.

We need a re-do, alright, but it sure as hell ain't for just the last nine months. You trying to tell me that things were all okey-dokey while George W. was in office? Seriously? Didn't he have his hands in too many pies? Wasn't he spending money we didn't have on shit we shouldn't have spent it on? Didn't he start the whole bailout juggernaut?

And before that, Clinton. Wasn't he the charismatic fuckhead to end all charismatic fuckheads? Thanks for that Assault Weapons Ban, asshole! By the way, Laura, did the Republicans rush in to the majority of (both houses of) Congress with their repeal pens out for any of the asinine garbage the Dems passed while they held all the cards? Hell no! Just like the current administration - you know, the one who really, really hated (honest, they did) the Patriot Act - didn't rush in to overturn all the eeeevil, unconstitutional garbage the last round of Republicans got passed, did they?

It's because the government does NOT give up power. And it never will as long as this bullshit two-party system has the keys.

Well, get ready. Lovers of true freedom are getting tired of having their rights shit all over. We're getting fed up, and our voices are getting heard.

The line is getting drawn.

tweaker

Related news, seen at Unc's:

Seen at Michael’s:

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) declared in a radio interview that same sex marriage is part of a socialist agenda to undermine “the foundations of individual rights and liberties.”

Yeah, they’re the ones doing that. It was totally the gays who passed roving wiretaps; mandated two flush toilets; made it a felony to import lobsters in bags and not boxes; eliminated my right to choose which light bulbs I can use; mandated that all my banking transactions be monitored; and said I needed a proctological exam to board an airplane. That was the gays alright and not boneheads whose names start with Rep.

Game, set, match.

Never Again

2009-09-24T20:12:00.003-05:00

Tonight, The Little Girl's school put teachers in a local McDonald's for a special event. The event puts teachers to work, and they get 25% of the take during the hours of the event. So The Wifey and I decided that we were all for it. It beats the hell out of the money being taxed out of my pocket, right?

Dangerous thinking, that.

We arrived at the Mickey D's (which shares a building with a convenience store/gas station) to find no parking at all. We went inside to find a madhouse. Apparently, public school teachers are all about some serious control - OR - most parents are indifferent fuckheads, who cherish the opportunity to let their hellions run and scream unchecked in hopes of a loss of energy sufficient to cause early bedtime.

Bastards. (The parents, not the kids.)

I get claustrophobic pretty easily. I do not like crowds. Add in the stress of fifty million running, screaming children surrounded by parents who could give a shit as long as you don't have the audacity to so much as look at their precious little one should they run full force into you, and you have the makes of a tall long-hair with a high pulse and a sudden need to Find The Lord because there's no way in the Nine Hells that I alone possess the restraint to keep from strangling the living shi......

See where I'm going with this?

I'm gonna keep drinking this Super-Size (Whiskey-and-) Coke and remind myself that I had the one kid in there that stayed put and talked at a conversational level not suited for a Slipknot concert.

Next year, I'm gonna cut a check to the school for 25% of the amount of tonight's food and beverage (minus the Whiskey), and stay the fuck home.

tweaker

Bad Advice*

2009-09-19T21:15:00.003-05:00

*Alternate Title: "Head, Meet Desk"

So, lately I've been known to listen to some talk radio. It's partially because I really can't stand FM radio anymore, and partially because, despite what side you listen to (right vs. left), if you're smart you can deduce the truth on your own. I only do it when I'm driving at work anyway. My automobiles have CD players, and nifty 1/8" jacks for my iPod, so the FM tuners don't see a lot of use there.

Anyway, so the other day I found myself listening to Neal Boortz when he took a call from a gentleman who had called in to comment on a recent Shooting of a Bad Guy. I do not know what shooting was being discussed. I do not know where it happened. I also don't know most of the circumstances involved. What I do know is that the bad guy was shot outside the shooter's house during a foiled attempt at Very Bad Things. Judging from the conversation, the bad guy may have been shot while running away.

*NOTE* papa delta bravo sums up my feelings on shooting at a "retreating" bad guy thusly:

I, personally, don’t have a big ethical problem with shooting retreating threats. I’d like to learn the Jedi mind trick to tell the difference between a violent criminal departing the area, and a violent criminal going to retrieve a better weapon, find a better piece of cover, or go get friends!

I don't plan on attempting to divine the intentions of bad guys, either.

All that being said, it wasn't the debate over whether or not to shoot that bothered me. I fully expect those who A. don't carry firearms and B. have never needed one to have no clue about the ethics surrounding their use. What got me was the advice given by the caller. He said that the shooter was wrong. He said that since the bad guy wasn't inside his house, he wasn't a threat. He said what the shooter should have done was go outside and shoot a couple shots in the air and watch the bad guy run faster.

Head, Meet Desk.

I will now address the caller directly.

Sir, please cease and desist any further dispensing of advice concerning what you consider the proper use of firearms. You are not qualified in any way to do so. Your idea of which part of one's property being invaded displays a lack of respect for the idea of personal property altogether. Your generalizing displays a lack of knowledge of use of force and use of deadly force laws, which vary greatly from state to state. Your blatant disregard for public safety beyond the limits of your property line - a line that, by the by, is NOT one where your fired projectiles suddenly stop and fall harmlessly to the ground you fucking retard - displays a years-old and still wrong idea that a couple shots fired 'harmlessly' into the air as a warning will deter a criminal; a flawed logic that is wrong for many reasons, not the least of which is that, unless those rounds are fired out your front door and directly into the backstop of your home firing range, will continue to travel at lethal velocities until such a time when those velocities succumb to the effects of gravity and friction, or the effects of a your next-door-neighbor's brain stem.

Please let the wise dole out the wisdom, k?

It's scary to think that this asshole might live across the street from me, and I'm just one of his broken car windows away from being on the receiving end of a bullet that should have meant the deanimation of a bad guy.

*sigh*

tweaker

Housekeeping! You Want Fluff Pillow?

2009-09-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been forever since I updated the Blogroll of Extremely Limited/Non-Existent Fame. Well, some updates have been made. Mainly just changed addresses and deletions of deleted blogs.

More later...

Look at Me!!!

2009-09-13T09:26:00.002-05:00

I can read!!!

Sorry bout the empty pages here, folks. Been busy. Also, been lazy. Or been playing video games. Or other stuff. I just haven't been feeling the bite of the blog-bug.

So, how y'all been? Pull up a chair, stay awhile! I have stories to tell.

For starters, after finishing Monster Hunter International, I bought a very nice trade paperback of Tolkien's The Hobbit. I flew through MHI with blinding speed; I simply could not put it down. With The Hobbit, I decided to pace myself, and let the story soak in. See, I am a bit of a fan of the author, though I've never read any of his work. I do know a bit of an expert on the subject, though, and he tells me that the movies were quite nearly perfect to the books.

I've seen the movies a few times. I could probably write the script from memory.

So, this very morning I took in the last chapter of The Hobbit, and can say that I was overjoyed to do so. What talent; if I could peel potatoes with the skill that Tolkien wrote, I would be a millionaire. I am looking forward to getting that large, hardcover, single volume copy of The Lord of the Rings. It's not that expensive...

Well, when I started reading The Hobbit, I really got into the genre again, so I loaded up Black Isle Studio's Icewind Dale II for PC. It's an excellent Infinity Engine RPG that plays on AD&D rules. If you ever played D&D, you'd love it. Anyway, so it made sense that my gaming and my reading go hand-in-hand. In fact, it was between reading and playing that took up so much of my time that I haven't spent any time blogging or erasing alien-zombies from existence, which has some of my online buddies a bit peeved.

So, like I said earlier, I have finally finished The Hobbit - and Icewind Dale II isn't far from the end, either - so I preempted the emptiness of not having a book by a little visit to Barnes and Noble's last Friday for a copy of Hugh Laurie's The Gun Seller.

I cannot wait to crack that one open. In the meantime, I'll resume blogging with at least some regularity.

See y'all soon!

tweaker

evil grin

2009-08-01T09:47:00.003-05:00

Status report: Monster Hunter International, Chapter I - complete

Aquisition: Last night, Barnes and Nobles

Assessment: Made of Win and covered with Awesome

Future Consideration: WTF am I gonna do if I finish it this weekend? I no more have an unlimited book budget than I do a Blu-Ray budget or Ferrari budget, for that matter.

Decisions, decisions...

tweaker

It Needs The Bookses, Precious

2009-07-31T06:03:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had started a book.

As of July 30, 2009, I have officially read a book! The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was frickin AWESOME!!! By far the best book I have ever read. Course, it's the only book I've ever read, but that's beside the point. If the rest of the books I read are half that good, I'll be doing just fine.

I had been doing about a chapter a day. Once I started, there was only like one day that went by that I didn't read at least a couple pages. I got down to the last four chapters last night, and I went ravenous; I couldn't stop myself.

*SPOILER ALERT* Just in case you haven't read it, don't read any more of this post! Instead, go get a copy for yourself and do yourself the favor of reading it.

I fully expected Professor de la Paz to die at some point. I figured he wouldn't make it back from Earthside. I was caught off-guard when he did die. I wish Mannie and Wyoh could talk to Mike, though. I am sad for them both.

*sigh*

Like I said before, I really get into movies. When I watch a good movie, I deliberately place myself in it. Not like an extra character or anything; more like watching a movie from the camera lens, but in the world with the characters. I never thought I had the imagination to actually create that world in my mind from the description of words on a page, but with Mistress it played out in my head as if I had watched it on a screen.

I want more.

So, at lunch today, I will be slipping over to Border's for the Baen edition of Monster Hunter International.

And I can't wait.

tweaker

Third Leg

2009-07-17T17:40:00.000-05:00

Mind out of the gutters, guys. I'm talking about one of these:

No, I do not have anything quite so fancy. I spent $15 on one at the local pharmacy. I figured at that price when it doesn't work I'm not out much money.

Well, now I'm pissed. Because it works.

Why a cane, do you ask? Well, be cause I have a pair of fabulously trashed knees. Actually, it's my kneecaps that are screwed up, and have been for nearly all of my life. A combination of them never getting treated until I was 28 and years of trying to compensate for the pain has left my knees and a few muscles in my legs in shambles. The last fabulous incident involved the left knee, and the event was described in detail about a year ago (it's been that long?). Like the Democrats said before the last presidential election, it's time to punish the right.

Sometimes, the pain only shows up at the end of a long day on my feet. Other times, I don't make it much past lunch before I'm having Vicodin Wishes and Demerol Dreams. There are some days where getting out of bed rates up there childbirth. Okay ladies, maybe I'm exaggerating that last one a bit. But I did have a client recently tell me that having her knees repeatedly drained after her ACL repair hurt worse than giving birth. I'm just sayin...

For a little while, I've longed for a means of taking the pain away without chemical assistance. Then, I saw a guy with a cane and thought that might work. So I tried it, and it did. Which sucks. See, the drugs were a sort of a crutch (one that I use in only the most severe circumstances). The cane is sort of a crutch, too. What I want is for my damned knees to not hurt. Anyway, so walking with the cane takes some of the weight of a full step off the knee and thus makes each step a lot less painful, making it easier for me to get through a full day. So I've accepted the cane, hopefully only for a little while...

Having said that, it seems that I've accepted a great deal of other stuff, as well. I've accepted that I only have one hand if I'm walking with the cane. Think that's easy? Go to a restaurant where you have to carry a tray of food from the register to your table. I've accepted that people will constantly be offering to help, which will begin to depress if one is not careful. I've accepted that I have one more step to consider should I need to draw a firearm (drop the cane from strong hand). I also have most reluctantly accepted the fact that I'm appear now an easier target, limping around on my cane.

(I'm not suggesting that I actually AM an easier target. I'm still only thirty. There are plenty of guys on canes out there that appear significantly less able to resist an attack than someone who's walking along unassisted. I almost feel sorry for the bastard that makes that assumption on Peter, though...)

I have a new respect for anyone who walks with a cane or worse. I've had to do crutches before, but that's always "until it heals." The cane sucks nearly completely, but for now it is a necessary evil.

I'm going to talk to my orthopedic next week if I can get an appointment. I think it's high time we started discussing other options...

tweaker