Intellectual Property.

So here's a list of things I wish I could steal or had thought of first:

Digi's mutli-language posting. I was completely jealous when I first noticed this.

No matter what the topic is, the posts written by Neptunus Lex always seem to flow like water. I envy his ability to put thought to keyboard.

I wish I had thought of the next big idea, like Chris has.

Dena, for coming up with the term "Blog Hags" to describe her readers and posting what she's listening to on iTunes at the bottom of her posts (although she hasn't been doing that lately.. sound card still on crack?)

Stephanie, for making it in the blogging world.

Lindsey's drive, even if she channels it for mocking celebrities.

Dereks dedication, for finding stuff that always makes me laugh.

I'm in mourning.

Barry Alverez announced today that this will be his last season coaching the Wisconsin Badgers Football team.

Wisconsin Football wouldn't be on the map in it weren't for this guy. As a matter of fact it wasn't 15 years ago.

Some of Barry's accomplishments:

• coached three Big Ten and Rose Bowl champions

• only Big Ten coach ever to win the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons

• guided UW to back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1998 and 1999 (hadn’t happened at Wisconsin since 1896-97)

• Three Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship teams (the only other Big Ten coach with at least three Rose Bowl wins was Ohio State’s Woody Hayes).

• Coached 54 NFL draft choices at Wisconsin.

• Coached 30 All-Americans, including seven consensus first-team choices, at Wisconsin.

• Coached nine first-round NFL draft choices

The good news for us Badger fans, is that he'll continue his duties as Athletic Director. I hope the team doesn't slip back into it's old ways.

Wet Dreams and Watersports.

Today I decided on a trip to the local beach to catch some sun and do a little swimming. The city hasn't cut the seaweed lately so I decided not to do any swimming. Didn't feel like getting tangled in it, so I got out of the water and spread out a towel to work on the tan for about an hour.

Mentally as I was deciding to leave, I was given a physical reason. I'm laying on the beach, eyes closed, letting the cancerous rays drill into me, and I hear a mother and child walk past. The kid was probably about as old as my daughter, somewhere in the 5-7 range, and she told her mom that she had to go to the bathroom. I didn't hear much beyond a grunt from the mother.

About 5 minutes later I shot up like I had been struck by lightning when I heard it. It being piss hitting the water. It being this girl who instead of walking into waist deep water, decided to squat and pull her swimsuit to the side. Now, I'm not naive enough, or find it gross that kids pee in the bay. Hell, I did it when I was a kid too. The mother had her back to me so I could get a view of the 8 folds of fat tucked into her one piece suit. I'm not joking here, I counted them. 4 on each side. Luckily for me, all I had to do was stand up, put my t-shirt back on, and I was ready to leave. Then the mother said something I couldn't quite understand to her daughter, who responded that she already went pee, to which her mother said "shut up"... as in "don't be so loud" or "don't let everyone know I was too lazy to take you to the bathroom that's about 100 feet away."

Bear in mind that this is all happening within 10 feet of me. I put my shirt on, throw my towel into the backpack, and said (loudly). "The fact that you made her piss in the water speaks volumes about how you look in your swimsuit. The bathroom is 100 feet away."

ZING!!!!

The nasty bitch didn't say a word. She just hung her head in shame. She thought she got away with it. I bet if I had tossed a jelly doughnut over by the bathroom door, she's have taken her daughter over there. I so wish I had taken my camera with me to the beach so I could've taken her picture for the world to see what a disgusting and lazy parent she is.

In Case of Emergency.

Edit: Just saw that the local news station has picked up on this story too.

So I got an email from a cousin today. He's about 15 years older than me, recently retired from the U.S. Navy, and shares some similar political view points, which is always a good thing.

Just two problems though:

1. Even though we feel the same way, politically, he's much more involved than I am. So most emails I get from him are talking points or petitions. I usually just glance at them quickly and then discard them.

2. About 2 years ago he was in a very bad motorcycle accident and nearly died. After a pretty amazing recovery he became very religious. To the point that it turns people off, especially his own mother. It wouldn't be so bad, except he's hooked up with some church I don't know much about. I know it's not mainstream because his mother calls it a "cult". That's all I really need to know about it. So, the rest of his emails to me aren't recruitment emails, but they tend to be the religious chain-mail that I'm sure most people get.

Well, today I got an email from him that didn't fit into either category. It was titled ICE (In Case of Emergency). It's the first time I've seen this email and heard of the concept, and since I've still sort of got my hooks in the law enforcement community, I was suprised that I hadn't heard of it. I think the idea is good enough to post. Feel free to comment and/or suggest something else if you've heard of something better.

On to the email:


Self explanitory; Please make distribution widest possible- Great Idea

ICE - In Case of Emergency

A campaign encouraging people to enter an emergency contact number in
their mobile phone's memory under the heading "ICE" (i.e. In Case of
Emergency), has rapidly spread throughout the world as a particular
consequence of last week's terrorist attacks in London.

Originally established as a nation-wide campaign in the UK, ICE allows
paramedics or police to be able to contact a designated relative
/next-of-kin in an emergency situation.

The idea is the brainchild of East Anglian Ambulance Service paramedic
Bob Brotchie and was launched in May this year. Bob, 41, who has been a
paramedic for 13 years, said: "I was reflecting on some of the calls I've
attended at the roadside where I had to look through the mobile phone
contacts struggling for information on a shocked or injured person."


"Almost everyone carries a mobile phone now, and with ICE we'd know
immediately who to contact and what number to ring. The person may even
know of their medical history."

By adopting the ICE advice, your mobile will help the rescue services
quickly contact a friend or relative - which could be vital in a life or
death situation. It only takes a few seconds to do, and it could easily
help save your life. Why not put ICE in your phone now? Simply select a
new contact in your phone book, enter the word 'ICE' and the number of the
person you wish to be contacted.

For more than one contact name ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc.


"We cannot change the wind, only adjust the sails."

Rut Row.

This really ought to be on my politics blog, you know.. the one I haven't updated in a while.

But I digress.

So I sort of kicked the virtual bee's nest today. On a whim, I landed on the Huffington Post, home to all things anti-Bush, anti-Iraq. There I responded to an article and comments in regards to this Brazilian guy who found the business end of a pistol in the London Subway. The theme for most of the comments was how this is one of Britain's greatest blunders and some condolences for the guy and his family. I had a different opinion.

I still say the guy is a moron for running through a subway the day after an attempted attack and a successful attack two weeks prior. Some responded that that was perfectly acceptable because the police officers were plain clothed and there was no way the man would've known his chasers were police. Does anyone else not think that the police would announce themselves as they were telling him to stop? Even if the guy didn't understand one word of English, "Police" sounds a LOT like "Policia".

Another person wished that I would never be in a situation where I had to make a split-second choice on whether to pull the trigger on someone. Unfortunately I have been in that situation. Fortunately it wasn't a terrorist suspect. Fortunately, I didn't have to pull the trigger.

So, to all of you Huffington Post watchers out there (and I know you're there.. sitemeter tells me so), I hope you stick around for a while. I think you'll find that I'm not that bad of a guy, even if we don't agree on this issue.

I'm really beginning to resent things.

When I lived in Texas my life consisted mostly of working Monday through Friday, with an occasional Saturday. I was single. My weekends were spent chatting with some friends on instant messenger or maybe going out to the local country bar, which really meant I'd drink as much as I could, as fast as I could in order to tolerate the music.

Now I live in Wisconsin. Still doing the Monday through Friday gig, but no weekend duty for a change! Instead of sitting at home, I go to the local pubs to try and reconnect with old friends I haven't seen in nearly a decade. Most weekends I'm successful.

Not all that long ago I thought what I needed to do was go out and try to hook up, and whatever happens, happens. Lately I've been thinking that instead of trying to hook up, maybe I need to think long term. I still think this is probably the best course of action, but it presents a couple dilemmas. Truthfully, I go out to drinking establishments to hang out with the boys. I don't like to dance and I'm way too shy to make a legitimate advance on a woman at the bar. I'm way more comfortable talking to women in 100 other places than a bar. Women have come to expect the same old crap from the guys when they are out at the bar, and more often than not, they are just out to have fun with their friends, not become a product in the meat-market. Because of this, guys like me are at a distinct disadvantage. Take tonight for example:

I'm sitting at the bar, talking with some guys. The DJ is doing his thing in the corner. People are dancing. I'm not one of them. I notice this girl sort of off in the corner, I'd say about 5'5:, 130lbs, long blond hair, and she's not looking like she's excited to be there. She was dressed like she wanted to be there. She didn't look slutty or anything, had the right combination of top and skirt going on, but her body signals were screaming that she all was not well. Perhaps that's what threw me off. She was standing in the corner, taking things in. She wasn't locked onto anything in particular, had a look of boredom on her face, and had her arms crossed. I don't even think she was drinking anything, and she was with an older woman. It almost certainly wasn't her mother. Perhaps a co-worker or an aunt maybe? In retrospect, this was probably another reason that threw me off.

So, to recap: A woman that I found to physically attractive, probably needing a drink, and probably looking for someone to talk to, didn't get any of the above from me. I couldn't pull the trigger. I don't know why I couldn't. I told myself on a couple of occasions that I should, but I never did.

At this point, I'm mostly bored and thinking now is as good as any time to head for home. It's well before the bars close, and I don't have to worry about police harassment. I'm standing there working on my beer when I see another girl walk into the bar. Things are a little different this time, because I know this one. Her name is Shannon, and I've known her since I was in 3rd grade. Shannon is probably about 2-3 inches taller than I am, real slender with blonde hair that's now cut to about shoulder length. When she smiles she can light up a room. To this day I still can't figure out why she never tried to be a model. With her features, I'm almost certain she would've been successful. She might not have reached supermodel stardom, but how many do? I bumped into her my second weekend back in town, so there was no reason for any sort of overjoyous reunion tonight, but when I saw her walk in with one of her friends, I made my way through the crowd to say hello. Immediately the hello is returned, she puts her arm around me, I put my arm around her, and I ask her how things are, does she need a drink, stuff like that. She tells me no, her friend is already getting the drinks, so I converse with her for a few minutes until her drink arrives. I decide one more beer won't hurt anything, so I make my way to the counter to get another and I bullshit with the guys, taking particular amusement with some poor fella, apparently having a bachelor party. He's walking around the bar with a chain padlocked to his leg, with a bowling ball attached to the other end of the chain. For a moment, I sort of felt sorry for the guy, because with the padlock, there is no escape for him. I also wonder to myself if he knows what he's getting into. I finish my beer, say bye to the guys and make my way back over to Shannon to say goodbye. With a look bordering on disbelief, she grabs my arm and asks why I'm leaving. I tell her I've been here for a couple hours and I'm sort of bored. Long pause. I'm standing there looking at her, waiting for a reason not to leave. I'm waiting for her to give me a reason not to leave. Finally she agrees, it's a pretty boring night but isn't really saying much. She looks over at her friend who was talking to some other people, then looks back at me. I was thinking to myself "perhaps another time". I think she was having similar thoughts. I sort of nod to her, and she says how good it was to see me again, like it had been months or years, but actually I drank with her all last Saturday night. I start making my way out of the bar, and I realize that I don't have her number. I decided not to go back and ask for it because that seems overly eager, and I know I'll see her next weekend. When I do, I'm getting her number and I'll see if I can set something up with her, lunch perhaps?

So there ya go. Two reasons I should still be at the bar, but I'm not. Why? I don't know. I'm irritable, I'm agitated, and I don't know what else. I'm like a ship without a rudder, I have no direction. It's probably because I still haven't heard from my kids yet. There is no reason, other than spite, in which I shouldn't have heard from them yet. I'm getting homicidal over this. Probably 2nd degree, because nothing is premeditated. I don't care what anyone says. Yeah, I know it's not like the kids are going to forget about me anytime soon, but they are too young to know that it isn't my fault they haven't heard from me. Every day that they go without hearing from me, seeing me, or looking at me moves me closer and closer to being out of their lives.

I hate it. I hate it for them and I hate it for me.

And I'm really beginning to resent things.

Why I love this guy.

If you haven't check out Derek you should. For those that don't know, we used to be in the same unit when we were both Military Police officers, and he's who I visited on my way back from texas.

From his blog:

Probably the funniest line I've heard in a while, describing an annoying coworker:

...................Now she is as annoying as a furby with an extended vocabulary.

And for all you Harry Potter fans: Man does a drive-by of Barnes & Noble, revealing the name of the character who gets killed, while fans eagerly wait in line for their copy of the book. LOL

By the way, wouldn't Harry Poker and the Sorcerers Slut make a great name for a porno?

My plans have been foiled again.

The construction company I've been working doesn't have anything for me to do for the rest of the week, and possibly next week, so I'm on a little hiatus.

I quickly devised a plan. My brother is also off work because of a shoulder injury, so I figured since we're both off, we could make a roadtrip to Mount Olympus Water Park. Oddly enough I've never been to Wisconsin Dells and this was as good a time as any. Plus I have access to some tickets at a 50% discount.

I call my brother and he informs me that he has to work his part time job tomorrow night and has a physical therapy appointment in the middle of the day.

And I don't know anyone else that will be off tomorrow to ask.

Time for another post.

Only because it's been a while since my last post.

I'm still having some issues with the computers. One doesn't work still, while the other does everything fine.. except displays everything in 640X480 resolution. I usually can't make out pictures on websites. It's like looking at a painting while underwater.

Love Update: I had this line thrown at me the other day.. "I really like talking to you, but my ex boyfriend called me a few days ago and wants to get back together. I don't know what to do."

You better figure it out. Fast. Your time is running out. I'm not waiting.

Final preparations are being made on the snowmobiles. The first race is August 6th. I'm pretty sure I'm going to the race to help in the pits, and I'm trying to work my way into the driver's seat for some of the races. If I go, I'll have a review that most won't care about.

I'm still doing the construction thing. Getting up at the asscrack of dawn sucks, but I feel so much more productive.

I really, really need to go on a diet. If I posted a full picture of me, most of you would probably say that it doesn't look like I need to lose that much weight. I'm short and stocky and I haven't figured out where I'm packing all the pounds, but they are there. The only thing noticable is a bit of a gut and my 6 chins, but other than that I'm looking pretty good. Now I have to figure out if I want to get up at 4am so I can go running, or wait until 4pm when I'm tired from work and beat up from the sun. I need to lose about 40 pounds.

For my regular readers, I'm sorry that I haven't been commenting much on your blogs. (Except Digi's, because I can't pass up the opportunity to get in some good FIB ribbing..) I've been sidetracked, but apparently I'm going to have some more free time on my hands because of this crash and burn in Cupid Corner.

You would think with all of the political fall out, my politics blog would be running at full steam. Sadly that's not the case. It's not that I'm not interested, because I am, but it's just that I'm that lazy. There should be a few new posts on that blog soon too.

The latest information I have, is that I'll be going out of town from the middle of August until the end of September on business. Upside: company-paid hotel, meals, and flights home every two weekends. Downside: probably no internet access, 12 hours days, and manual labor. Maybe I can talk the company into sending me to alternate locations instead of home..

Oh yeah... I still haven't heard from my kids, but I'm not bitter. Nevermind, yes I am.

Do I sound bitter lately?

REO

As promised, here are a couple of pictures and a video clip from the REO Speedwagon concert.

A quick point to remember: I took both the pictures and the audio wit a 3 megapixel camera. The images are decent quality, but the video is actually pretty poor. If you check out the video make sure you have your audio at mid range or lower. If you have it too loud, it'll be distorted.




















And here are a couple of video clips:


Videos to be uploaded later, having some issues with the host.


The concert was great. The only complaint I have was that they blew the amp while playing Riding The Storm Out. It was the last song. What a letdown!

Those quiz things, update.

Ok, so a few days ago I asked you folks to tell me what you liked about my blog.

I only got 5 responses which can only mean that the rest of you think it sucks. The 5 that did answer said they thought it was "genuine". That's the answer I chose as well. My blog might not always be packed with useful info, but it's the real me.

So that leaves me with a new question. Since only 5 of you responded, I'm thinking the rest of you think it sucks.

WHY DOES MY BLOG SUCK?

1. Your posts are not well thought out and it lacks structure.

2. Your posts bore me. Write something good or get quit posting.

3. I hate the layout.

4. I hate you.

5. You have a blog?

Growing more pissed by the minute.

My kids left for Germany last Thursday. I still haven't gotten a call from my ex to tell me how the flight went, or a quick minute on the phone with the kids.

Perfect example of why we're not married anymore.

Both of the computers are still acting shitty. Mine won't boot up anymore and my brother's old one is booting up just fine and running pretty much any program I throw at it. Just one minor problem: Internet Explorer can't find or refuses to connect to the internet. What good is a computer these days that can't get you on the net? It's like a 15lb paper weight.

Job Update: Still no word on the main job I applied at, which is doing security at a nuclear power plant. I have another interesting option opening up that I'll probably end up taking. More details on that later.

Love Update: Some interesting things have developed, but it's too early to tell what will come of it. I'm still single.

Fucking Coup de PC

I'm back from my drunken trip. It lived up to all of it's promises, and I'll post a few pictures and video clips after I get everything working correctly.

I walked in the house and fired up my PC, and it won't load past the splash screen. Well isn't that cute? I've been dicking with it for about 3 hours now and got it to go past the splash screen once and it immediately took a shit on me once it got to the desktop.

I dug out the old Dell that used to be my brother's computer and it has known problems (also not wanting to load past the splash screen). I had it running good when I last disconnected it, but now the piece of shit won't go past the splash screen either. Ho Hum.

Bust out mom's spanking new, shiny laptop, which has been running shitty for about 2 months now because of garbage she loads onto it. Because of this, it's slow as syrup in January, but at least it boots up. As I type this, I type about 4 words on the keypad befor they show up on the screen. It's irritating.

So, I'll be back later, one way or another but I can't mess with it anymore or I'll end up throwing something.

I had it all planned out.

But now it just doesn't seem to flow.

Right about now, my kids are somewhere over the Atlantic, on their way to Germany. They were supposed to leave last week, but things got all messed up and everything was delayed. Then they were supposed to have a 6 hour lay over at O'hare-close enough for me to visit one last time. But then the Army changed things again, and their connecting flight was changed to Memphis.

I'm not mad though, it probably would've just made things harder on all of us. I've talked to them on the phone since I dropped them off a few weeks ago, but for the most part, I have already considered them "gone", at least temporarily.

From the first day that I found out that they would be leaving, I figured I'd author a long winded post, explaining how I was feeling. I even considered getting it written up in advance so that all I'd have to do was publish it, but I decided that when the day came, I'd just write about how I felt at that particular time.

Honestly, I don't feel much of anything. They are gone. It is what it is, and nothing will change that fact. All I can do is countdown the days until I can see them again.

On a lighter (or sadder) note, I'm going to see 2 all time greats this weekend, performing at a county fair an hour or so from here. I'll be taking in a REO Speedwagon and Styx concert. It should be pretty fun. There should be plenty of lonely chicks on the rebound, so we'll see what happens. It's another camping trip, so I'm sure I'll be plenty drunk. Details to follow.

Sunday Sightseeing, Part 2

Not that anyone really cares, but I thought I would give an update on everybody's favorite yacht, moored in my backyard.



According to the local paper, the Khalila, left last Thursday for Newport, Rhode Island before she heads to her permenant home in the Mediterranean.

The company that built this boat is getting ready to lay the keel for a "150 Super". It'll be 30 feet longer than the Khalila, but it's being built for the same person. Must be nice.

Answers Please..

I was taking another one of those stupid quiz things and was faced with this question:


5. What do people like most about your blog?

How funny it is
How geeky it is
How interesting your stories are
How genuine it is
How well thought out your posts are
How informative it is

Initially I didn't have a clue what to pick, but I have an idea. I just want to confirm it. Hopefully you all will help me out with this.

Must've been the beer.

As I mentioned in my last post, I made a couple visits to a campground to visit with family. Sunday quickly became Monday morning and I decided I'd stay in the camper instead of driving home. I laid down at 3am and was probably out by 3:01.

I woke up at 6am to the wonderful sound of a baby crying. My little cousin, the baby, is almost 4 months old and was obviously hungry. Shit, my head hurts. Let me feed this kid so I can get back to sleep. As I was getting up, I realized my Uncle had beaten me to it, so I didn't have to do anything.

Fast forward to 8:30am, everyone is up and about. It had rained during the night and my uncle and I were cleaning up the campsite and getting things packed up so we could leave. In short order we had everything picked up and packed outside the trailer, but there was still stuff to do on the inside, but there wasn't really any space available for me to help out, so I was hanging around outside the door.

My uncle and his girlfriend were busy cleaning things up inside the camper when my cousin decided she was tired of staring at the walls of the camper and started to cry. Since I wasn't doing anything important, I went in the camper and laid down with her on the bed and started playing with her and doing that baby-talk nonsense. Within 20 seconds everything was fine with her, but I noticed that things were not right with me. I kinda miss this stuff. I couldn't believe that actually registered as a thought for me. For 5 years I've been proclaiming with no regret that I had 2 kids and was "out of the game". How could it be that I missed having a newborn around to play with? Part of me wishes I had a newborn again. Dammit, now I need to find something to clean, even better, something to drink! Beer, gone. Whiskey, gone. Oh well, I'll just have to tough it out I guess.

Luckily for me, I'm single. Luckily for me, I have a little cousin I can visit whenever I want to.

Another one in the books.

Man, it's been a few days since I last posted. You would think that upon returning, I would have a lot of stories to tell.

As usual, that's not the case.

I've accepted a job with a local construction company until I find out whether or not I'll be working at a couple places I've applied with. I'm not doing anything super hard, but it gets me out of the house and a little cash in the pocket always helps, but I don't enjoy getting up at 5am anymore than I did when I was a soldier. Perks of the job I guess.

My weekend consisted of visiting family at a campsite, going to a wedding reception, heading back to the campground for some more beer, and taking in a really, really gay parade in a town about 20 minutes north of my town.

The camping is always fun. Good food cooked over the fire, lots of beer to go around, and funny stories to make the time pass. I wish I had more to say about it, but it was a standard camping trip without any incidents worthy of being blogged.

The wedding reception was pretty fun. A friend of mine, whom I haven't seen in almost 10 years, got married a few months ago, but due to schedules and other issues couldn't have a reception until this weekend. I met up with him at a church hall where family had gathered, food was eaten, and old timers huddled to tell their stories. It was pretty much what you'd expect to see at such events. After that was done, we all went to a sports bar to drink some more. We all had fun, and it was pretty low key. Nobody did anything stupid or embarrassing. I spent $100 in that bar, and had probably the worst hangover I've had in a year to show for it.

I was invited to my new bosses house for food and fireworks on Sunday night. That turned out to be pretty fun, and the fireworks were probably on the wrong side of legal. Lots of shells, some of which didn't blast off on the right trajectory, leaving some very tall and very dry grass on fire. There is nothing funnier than watching 20 drunk people run into a field to stomp out a fire.

By the time last night rolled around, I was mostly running on empty. In fact, our town was putting on a fireworks show and all I had to do was walk about 5 minutes from my house to a public beach in order to see the show, but I said to hell with it and had to settle for listening to the house shake for an hour before I drifted off to sleep.

The construction company doesn't have anything for me to do for the next 2 days, so I'll try to fill the time with something blogworthy. We'll see..