Elvis left Las Vegas...

i'm applying for a job in Chicago... (it's actually a promotion within the company that would take me outside Chicago...)

i've lived in Milwaukee for nearly 16 years. i've never lived outside Wisconsin. i spent a semester in London, which is KINDA like living outside WI, but that was a predetermined amount of time.

i hate moving, but this might be a very good thing. if the job didn't involve moving out of state/town i would want it in a heartbeat, so the moving part is the tough part.

so yeah... this could be interesting...

Hi Ho, yo

a downside to not having cable TV is watching all sorts of movies you really have no interest in, but you watch them any way. Today i watched "Posse", with a mega cast of Mario Van Peebles, Stephen Baldwin, Nipsy Russel, and Ton Loc, to name a few...

took place after the Spanish-American War (1898). group of black army deserters (and Stephen Baldwin) head west after returning from Cuba to avenge the murder of Mario Van Peebles father. But not only are they fighting injustice, they are fighting racism (and in Stephen Baldwin's case, he's just fighting to establish something of a sustainable acting career...)

But like any cowboy movie, there is a good dose of card playin', boozin', whorin', fancy shootin', fancy ridin', you get the idea... ever notice how "gang" activity is portrayed? and when i say "gang" i'm talking cowboys, pirates, vikings, and yes, even modern inner-city gangs in the US. So, with how "romantic" pirates are viewed 250-300 years after their heyday, i wonder if the inner city gangs of the 1980's through today are going to have the same "romantic" appeal in a couple hundred years?

my point has ZERO to do with race; vikings are as white as you can get, and can't imagine that there were many black pirate captains (but i'm sure that there were black crew memebers). But i bet that your average pirate, your average REAL pirate, could scare the bling off any inner-city badass... but yeah, i bet in two hundred years our worst gangs will be viewed with a strange folk hero worship.

i have a green thumb?

i love my house plants. a normal amount, mind you, but i like my plants. i've got a bunch, and besides a Jade plant, i really don't know what any of them are... ah well... but i can make them thrive, and that's what really matters...

growing up, my mother was an avid outdoor gardener-- roses, shubbery, and even at one point a vegetable garden-- but we had NO houseplants, none that were real anyway. she would spend hours outside tending her gardens, but she thought that houseplants were too much work. whatever.

the majority of my plants are like philadendons, but i don't think that is REALLY what they are. one of them i got six or more years ago, and i have propagated another five from that one. the parent plant was gettting root-bound, so i just repotted it in something larger tonight. the first one that i propagated off of it is now as big as the parent, which is pretty "exciting" (in a boring kind of way...)

i've got a row of cacti in the kitchen window; one i even started from just a seed maybe about eight years ago. it's like a saguaro cactus, but they don't start growing arms until they are MUCH older (probably older than i will get...)

The Evil Ex and i actually had a lot of plants; we even tried growing tomatoes indoors (but they got dropped while we moved, so they didn't last. otherwise, they had a good chance...)

Come spring, when it is growing season, i'll be propagating some more again. i've got space in the kitchen for quite a few hanging plants. why buy new ones, when i can "make" my own?

Free Hugs

i got this from my friend Brett, and i shall pass it on to all of you...

free hugs

Roller Grrls

Come Here Once...

Fun with language...

i was reading a post from someone (and it had nothing to do with language specifically) but they referred to "fire flies", which i more often than not, call "lightning bugs"... and that got me thinking about coloquiallisms...

Do you say "bubbler" or "water fountain"? (personally i say "drinking fountain")

"Pop" or "soda"? (That 70's Show, set in Wisconsin around about the Sheboygan area i think, in fictional "Point Place", has used "soda pop" because while "pop" is a Wisconsin-ism, they probably didn't want to confuse anyone... Milwaukee says "soda", the rest of Wisconsin says "pop")

"Stop lights"? Common here is "stop and go lights" (since they don't ONLY tell you to stop!)

Do you know the difference between sofa, couch, and davenport? (sofa= 2 cushions; couch= 3 cushions, davenport= 4 cushions)

"couple three times" means "a few times"

"come here once" (but NOT twice!)

"Did you go to the store, or no?" "Do you want a beer, or no?"

Pink is pronounced "PEENK", milk is "MALK" and Milwaukee is "Mah WA' Key"

So lets try a couple three Milwaukee sentences, shall we?

"Did you sit on the peenk davenport by the bubbler, or no?"

"Come here once with that pop, hey?"

"The sausage store is down by the stop-and-go light."

"I went to a wedding reception here in MahWaKey, and they were actually serving more than a couple three glasses of malk."

got any more?

OFF WITH THEIR KEDS!

Went and saw Marie Antoinette on Monday, and i enjoyed it very much. Sophia Coppola mentioned that some inspiration for the movie came from the 1980's "New Romantic" music/clothing style... you know, the whole glam pirate thing that Adam and the Ants were doing... so, anachronisms in the movie are an intentional tool as opposed to mistakes. (IMDB.com lists "goofs", and mentions as a goof that there are a pair of Chuck Taylor shoes in a shoe shopping scene... aren't they smart enough to know that was INTENTIONAL?)

In the soundtrack are songs by The Cure, Bow Wow Wow, Adam and the Ants, New Order, and Siouxsie and the Banshees (among other artists).

some of the plot gets a little slow near the end, but the plot isn't the point of the movie-- we ALL know that she and the king are killed in the end. Think of the movie as a moving painting. There are no special effects, no green screen, no CGI. It's about artistic camera angles, impossible fashions, long pastoral shots, wigs with birds and ships, sunrises.

So, i LIKED the shot with the pink Chuck Taylors.

Versailles is a huge, gaudy music box of a palace, and oh so very French. Marie almost had no choice but to become corrupt. She didn't stand a chance...

The Price of a Good Time

this is speeding ticket from oh, awhile ago. end of August. Just got around to paying it. coming back from Chicago. a LOT more expensive than my ticket in Ohio. Racine County. Got pulled over there once a couple years ago, but got off with just a warning the first time. This ticket is the third time i've been pulled over in my life. first time was on our way back from St. Louis, and i was driving Raggedy Android's car. no ticket.

i'm gonna carry proof of payment in my car because without it i think that i am on the verge of "arrest warrent".

goodness. i've FINALLY become the delinquent that my mother accused me of being nearly twenty years ago...

Foreshadowing...?

i have no idea if the brunette in the pic REALLY IS Winona Ryder, but it sure does look like her... and the book the cover was scanned from was dated 1986, so it sure COULD be her... funny either way

Is There Such Thing as "Small Tobacco"?

i just got done watching a news segment about the ongoing non-smokers war with "Big Tobacco"... a non smoking woman blasted tobacco companies for caring about their "bottom line" because they oppose tobacco tax hikes. Well, YEAH they care about their bottom line... THEY ARE A BUSINESS LOOKING FOR PROFIT.

i've noticed that, despite that this is a capitalist society, that "making a profit" is somehow seen as evil... i see it all the time at the bookstore at which i work. we are a used bookstore, and so we buy books from the public. i often have people yell at me for offering too little money for their books. well see, people, if my store DOESN'T make a profit, then we go out of business. i don't know what my store's profit margin is, but our overhead VASTLY exceeds our profit margin.

but back to tobacco (but sticking to profitability)...

if a bar owner felt that a smoke-free environment would be profitable, they would just plain do so. But you DON'T see voluntarilty smoke-free bars. if you are a non-smoker and you want to have a smoke free bar to go to, START ONE YOURSELF! and then you'll see that no one will show up, and you will shut down because you are NOT PROFITABLE.

the other side of that, though, is "Big Oil". the cost of gas and oil affects the entire economy. it costs me more to get to work, the things i NEED to buy are more expensive because they cost more to get to my town... tobacco is a luxury, but even if you don't drive, gasoline/diesel/oil are interwoven into our lives so much that they are a necessity. Big Oil making record profits while the entire rest of the economy SUFFERS is criminal.

Progress Marches On...

so, this past weekend was Feast of the Hunters' Moon. one night while i was poking at the campfire that i had started with a modern lighter, i thought about matches and tinderboxes and flint and steel...

in this day and age, many people are opposed to technology such as cellphones, computers, microwave ovens, dvd players, whatever. these people aren't necessarily AFRAID of such things, not afraid for their safety mind you, they just don't like them and where they feel "society is going" with such innovations.

i wondered if people felt the same about the technological advancement that was the strike-match.

sulfur strike-and-light matches were invented in the 1800's (okay, i looked around online, and i guess people were already trying to invent the match earlier, but they became common in the 1800's). in that day and age, people were VERY reliant on fire for cooking, heating, and even light, even if the flame was contained in an iron stove or a gas lamp. it was still flame and it still had to come from somewhere. most homes kept some sort of flame lit at all times since starting a fire with flint, steel, and tinder was time consuming.

but did anyone feel that the strike and light match was a lazy alternative to flint and steel? was the match seen as social demise? hmmm... things one thinks about while poking at a campfire...

another one of those lists...

1. Explain what ended your last relationship?
the fact that she was psychotic and was cheating on me. oh, and she had accepted a marriage proposal from someone else several months before admitting that she had been cheating on me...

2. When was the last time you shaved?
maybe a week ago

3. What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
eating breakfast while reading e-mail

4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
reading the LJ that i took this list from...

5. Are you any good at math?
not as good as i used to be. use it or lose it

6. Your prom night?
we went to see the band that was playing. i actually wore a dress

7. Do you have any famous ancestors?
no, but my dad was part of the Apollo mission. something he helped build is ON THE MOON

8. Have you had to take a loan out for school?
paid in cash, all five years

9. Do you know the words to the song on your myspace profile?
i don't have a myspace profile

10. Last thing received in the mail?
probably bills

11. How many different beverages have you had today?
three. water, coffe, and hot cocoa

12. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machine?
voice mail, yes

13. Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to?
Sting, Dream of the Blue Turtles tour, 1985.

14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
oh, i don't go to the beach. last time i went to a beach was 1991

15. What's the most painful dental procedure you've had?
got my wisdom teeth pulled, but that was more uncomfortable than painful. had a cavity drilled w/o novacaine when i was 16...

16. What is out your back door?
stairs down to the garbage cans

17. Any plans for Friday night?
usually not...

18. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
i don;t let the ocean touch my hair... that would mean going near the ocean. see #14

19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
not personally, but we usually get a couple of those at the store and share

20. Have you ever been to a planetarium?
no, but i've been to observatories

21. Do you re-use towels after you shower?
probably too many times because i hate doing laundry

22. Some things you are excited about?
Yorktown, 225th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown, next week.

23. What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
i like many orange colored foods

24. Describe your keychain(s)?
one keychain has ALL my keys... 12 in all... One keychain has nothing but a leather fob, a spring clip, and my car key. that is the one that i drive with because hanging a lot of keys off your ignition is BAD for it

25. Where do you keep your change?
in one of those Denny's orange juice carafes

26. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
how large?

27. What kind of winter coat do you own?
i have a biker leather with a zip out liner, but for extreme cold i have an army surplus Big Ass Parka given to me by someone who was in the army in Alaska

28. What was the weather like on your graduation day?
warm? don't remember, it was inside

29.Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
Open cuz i got cats

where have i been?

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Amish Raped by the 21st Century

A man opened fire in an Amish one-room school within the last day or two, and when i googled for information for this blog, the top FOUR listings were all from the United Kingdom (this from Wales), with the next several links being JOKE listings (and none as good as the Onion could do, even though i hope that the joke listings are not in response to the actual tragedy.

Dumb and Dumber

By the time i got to work today, i wanted to call in "stupid". Not call in "sick" but call in "stupid"...

i forgot my cellphone: i have gone several days without smoking a cigarette, but make me go one day without my cellphone (with texting and e-mail) and i get the shakes.

i took the wrong way to work: Milwaukee has been rebuilding the Marquette Interchange, a major interchange between I-43 and I-94. Driving to work i take I-94, and starting about a month ago i had to start taking a detour. My old way to work was: go north on I-43/I-94 and continue on I-94 west. The detour is go SOUTH on I-94 to I-894 west... yeah, i went north my old way. i got to work on time, but JUST...

i forgot important parts of my tool bag: i have to move and reinstall a fixture at work. It's a simple procedure; i rememebered my tool bag, but missing was my battery recharger for the cordless drill.

i'm a spiller: when making coffee when i got to work i over-filled the water pitcher for the coffeemaker and spilled a LOT of water all over the floor.

things got better after i had some coffee, but DANG...

just glad that my "stupid" wore off by the end of the day... on my way home from work i stopped at the grocery store. The parking lot OUT has a traffic light, and i always use that exit because of the traffic light (since i have to turn left). Okay, it's been raining. The driveway is steep. I waited for the green light, started my way out, and took my time as i always do since the driveway is steep. From my left i see a pickup truck coming fast, and it doesn't look like they are going to stop for the light that has been red for long enough for me to take the time to think about the fact that they are going to fast and i don't think that they are going to stop...

In other words, this truck blew the red light by a LOT... but i was smart enough and aware enough that i waited for them to BLOW the light.

Driving to (or from) Pennsylvania, Suka commented that she feels that everyone has an art. it might not be a fine art like painting, music, writing... but we all have "an art". i commented mine was driving. i think, after this incident, that YES my "art" is DRIVING.

Back to the Future

Last night I had one of the most coherent and involved dreams that i have had in a very long time. Characters, static setting, and a loose plot; protagonists, antangonists, conflict... this is a simplification of the dream...

The location was somewhere in the vague Chicago area, but it wasn't necessarily Chicago. The area was pretty run down and quite old. There were a few new houses that were being built, but while most of them had been started, production had been halted. Most houses were multi family, even if the house hadn't been built as that in the first place. Everything was gray, and the sky was dark... always.

The one link to reality that this dream had was that all of this was taking place a few days before we were to leave for the Feast of the Hunters' Moon, an event that i have gone to every single year for the last 20 years (and my 21st time to this event is in one week from today.) I was going to be riding to the event with Steelbuddha and Raggedy Android...

An early part of the dream, i was packing up my gear; i was having a tough time finding all of my gear, and i was realizing that i hadn't washed my uniform since the last event. But i found a clean shirt (a shirt that i don't actually own, but it would be nice if i did...) and i packed my gear in the van that we would be taking to the event...

so, i'm not sure WHY i was in this run down area of "Chicago", but there i was. There was strife and violence all over the area. We were always carrying guns, but these were nothing like real bullet guns. The guns we carried shot things like poison pellets and stun darts. I remember having to shoot a group of people just to get into the house i was staying in. While at a street market, there was a shooting "game" that i was talked into playing. The main target was a tank, and then other people-targets would pop up around the tank. I made every shot, and then for the hell of it, shot at (and precisely hit) a cigar that one of the people targets was holding.

Technology was somewhat advanced, but life was very backwards. On one hand, people had tiny personal portable computers, but on the other most were dirt poor and struggling to survive in houses that should have been condemned decades before. The dark cloud that persevered over the neighborhood was actually some sort of magnetic cloud... and it made my cell phone useless.

There were also a lot of cats around the neighborhood. They came and went from house to house. Maybe they were communal cats that helped keep down a mouse and rat problem?

So, the time for us to leave for Feast came and went, and i hadn't seen SB or RA... they must not have known that my cell phone wasn't able to take calls...

so, i'm trying to keep my phone on long enough to retrieve RA's phone number... the land line phone i was trying to call from was very strange and for some reason, very tricky to use. Even better, the batteries in the phone were starting to leak... so, i get the batteries replaced, but was having a tough time just dialing the stupid phone.

It was late Friday night and i KNEW Steelbuddha and Raggedy Android had gone on to Feast withouth me. But i had convinced the people who i was staying with that the three of us should all go to Feast early Saturday morning because it was only a couple hours away. i had my car with me, and they had their own car. The thing was that it was difficult to get out of this part of the city. This kept the riff-raff in and "upstanding" citizens safely out. If we drove two cars, i would be able to go back to Milwaukee after Feast without risking getting lost in the hell hole...

and then i woke up.

I don't like being flashed

Okay, this picture wasn't taken in my car, but it's what i saw on our way home from Pennsylvania. Fourth time pulled over in my life, second time in the last couple months, and now my second actual ticket. Clocked at 87 just twenty miles away from being out of Ohio (glad it was ONLY 87, since i was averaging 100+ in the flatter parts of Pennsylvania). The cop reduced the charge to just 20 over, saving me a lot of money, probably because i had all my paperwork (ID, registration, and insurance) all in order, and i didn't ask (let alone BEG) for a break.

i had just crested a hill when i saw him in the median. He actually proably clocked me at slower than i HAD been going... It took him awhile to pull out, so there was a long moment that i thought he wasn't coming. i slowed way down (careful to not flash my brakes WHILE passing him) and i tucked myself behind a semi who was doing about 63 (in a 65). He caught up, moved behind me, and just made me sweat as he followed me for awhile. S was wondering whether or not he was going to pull us over or not... "I'll get out my knitting if he pulls us over!" i would bet what he was doing was running my plates to assess the situation... is the car stolen? has the car been linked to any crimes? All i know is that he's already decided to pull me over, but he's just protecting himself.

The ticket is ONLY for $79. Was speeding worth it? eh, no. Well... okay, we still shaved an hour off the mapquest drive time, and gas IS cheaper than it was even just a month ago. It sucks, sure, but it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be.

And going that fast is SO MUCH FUN.

i need a race track... i need to see just how fast my beast CAN go!

The Tarot, but Not the Carrot

You scored as II - The High Priestess. The High Priestess is a card of intuition, instinct and hidden knowledge. She knows all your secrets, you can hide nothing from her. Yet you will never know the secrets she herself protects.If well aspected in a Tarot spread, this card can indicate the use of intuition to solve problems; trust to your instincts. If badly aspected, it can mean suppression and ignoring of such instincts - following your head at the expense of your heart. II - The High Priestess 75% XI: Justice 69% III - The Empress 69% XIII: Death 69% XIX: The Sun 56% 0 - The Fool 56% VI: The Lovers 56% I - Magician 50% VIII - Strength 50% XV: The Devil 50% XVI: The Tower 38% X - Wheel of Fortune 13% IV - The Emperor 13% Which Major Arcana Tarot Card Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Volkswagen Saves the World

The Biggest cause of World War II was World War I, and not just because two follows one...

The Great War, as it was called at the time, was chaos and devistation like the world had never seen before. Hundreds of miles of trenches were carved into Mother Earth through Belgium, France, and Germany. Weapons of Mass Destruction such as machine guns and mustard gas were born and/or perfected during this time. Boys went "Over the Top" to their inevitable deaths running headlong into showers of bullets from machine guns. Disease was rampant in the mud of the Somme and Ypres. The war wiped out generations of able-bodied men in nations across Europe, and it was sparked because of the assasination of an archduke.

The United States kept its hands out until the last moment... we swept in like a noble cavalry charge in a poorly made film and helped clean up the mess. We helped Britain and France whup the "Huns" of Germany and Austria. Once the bullets stopped and the treaties were signed, we redrew the map of Europe, gave large chunks of Germany to other countries, and left the "Huns" to rot in Hell, thank you very much.

Big Mistake.

We think that the US had it bad when the market crashed in 1929. Imagine life in a war-ravaged country, void of a entire generation of men, with the world's economy spiralling down the drain. Along comes a man who offers you a clean shirt, a job, and a hot bowl of soup. You don't care that the shirt is Brown and the job is rebuilding Germany's army (even though Germany is not allowed to have an army, as stated in those treaties signed in Paris ten years before.)

So starts World War II.

The Allies learned from their mistakes at the end of The Great War, and knew that to insure global economic stability they couldn't1. leave the defeated countries to Rot In Hell again.

One factory retooled for civilian production was a factory in a town that would be named Wolfsburg (named for a nearby castle). That factory was Volkswagen, which was originally started in 1938 for the production of the People's Car, a car that never before or during the war saw civillian production save for a few prototypes. By 1946 under British supervison, the factory slowly started churning out the ugly little "bugs". By 1956, Volkswagen was strong enough to ship to the North American market. Germany's economic stability was guaranteed.

No, Volkswagen was not the only business that was rebuilt by the Allies, but it might be one of the most globally recognizable as GERMAN that was part of the rebuilding of war torn Germany. And because of the economic stability provided by such a company, hopefully Germany will never again give a foothold to a maniac like the evil we saw spawned by the distant Great War...

Just Desserts

recently in the Milwaukee area a teen-aged girl was gang-raped by up to 19 men and older boys. Reports say that she is HIV+, but that she was positive before the attack. Therefore, her rapists are now at risk of infection. i say... their punishment should include that, if they do test positive for HIV, that they receive no medical treatment for their infections AND that they get their dicks cut off (so they aren't passing it along to others).

yep.

Past Perfect Tense

i used to fancy myself a writer. i used to write a lot of short stories and essays and even some bad poetry (what other poetry to highschoolers write but BAD poetry?) With online access, i could write a lot, but maybe that is the roadblock. Anything i post COULD be read by many people. Not that is IS, but it COULD be... and having an audience opens one up to criticism and failure...

I've got a sizeable portfolio of short stories and essays all written on the Commodore 64, and i have it all saved on disk (and most of it printed out) but while i still have the computer, i don't have the printer. There goes THAT careeer path...

i've kept my online blog intentionally fairly bland because of my title crap. there is a lot that i would like to talk about that i don't just for the sake of decorum. Hmmm i think that i am far enough away from all of that that i can stop caring...

personality test...

My Personality

Neuroticism	88
Extraversion	24
Openness To Experience	81
Agreeableness	20
Conscientiousness	17

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report MySpace Surveys, Ugg Boots and MySpace Layouts by Pulseware Survey Software

if money grew on trees...

i would almost sell a kidney for this bow...

Slower Traffic Keep Right...

Driving down to Omaha, NE, Suka turned to me and said that i was one of the few drivers she actually truly trusts. i replied "it's because you know how much i love my car and you know i won't do anything STUPID." Yep, she confirmed that is why. i might be aggressive, but i'm not foolish, and she knows it.

For Treffen, a BIG VW car show in the Chciago area, i spent about five hours just washing and waxing my car in one shot... detailing the exterior plastic was another hour; the interior was another couple hours (would have taken longer if i didn't keep up with it regularly) and THEN when we got to the show, i spent another hour touching up (since my car unfortunately has to be parked in the street. The initial wash & wax was a few days before the show...) Cleanign off road dust, brake dust, bird poop... and then a dusting of the interior... my GOD how good I'D look if i spent that kind of time on ME!

But driving is a joy. Unfortunately right now an EXPENSIVE joy, with premium gas still over $3 a gallon (nothing but 93+ octane in my car, with the GIAC performace chip). My drive to work is about 20 minutes, and that doesn't bother me unless we are crawling because of someone's stupidity...

Back in January i was VERY ill with god-knows-what. Let's just say that my digestive track was emptied in painful ways... i drove to the clinic, and the nurse getting my vitals was asking me standard questions... "Are you dizzy?" was one. Yes, very much so. "How did you get here to the clinic?" i drove. "That wasn't a very good idea driving yourself." well, didn't have much choice.

i thought about that conversation later when i was feeling better. i have driven in less than perfect mental/physical conditions, but picture the wounded cowboy slumped over in the saddle as his trusty horse finds the way home. That's kind of how i felt driving to the clinic. i can't stand, but i can drive, no problem.

But back to Treffen... it was last week, and the VW club that i belong to wanted to drive down together. to do so, we needed to meet at a convenient (and large) place. i don't know how many full members VENOM has, but we rolled down to Treffen with 51 cars. SHITE it was cool.

i grew up with Volkswagens. My dad had three Beetles on his lifetime (two in mine) and my mom had a Type III Squareback. The squareback got traded in for a Buick Century station wagon (i never forgave my mom for that) and in 1983 my dad traded in his 1974 Superbettle for a Honda CVCC. i cried over that one. i learned how to drive stick in his Bug (yeah i was like 11... but he had cut off his finger and i had to shift for him...). When i was 13, after my dad died i had to teach my mom how to drive stick (her car was in the shop so she had to drive the Honda). Ironically i didn't get my own license until i was 25... But i've made up for lost miles...

i've had the Corrado for just two years, but i've driven nearly 40,000 miles. The car is JUST short of 160,000 miles and still runs like a dream. i've been a VW owner for 9 years. i nursed the Rabbit GTI for seven... and that was six and a half more years than it should have lived... but the Corrado. i shall have that 'til i die. hopefully i have days past tomorrow...

oh, i don't know who took the picture of me (at the tpo of the post). it's someone from VENOM... i LOVE IT! i would have only gotten a picture that good (with the sign in the background) with a LOT of luck...

How Old Are YOU?

NEW BELOIT COLLEGE MINDSET LIST LOOKS AT ENTERING COLLEGE STUDENTS, GROWING UP WITH NO SOVIET UNION, ONE GERMANY AND BAR CODES

the extra irony for me is that i remember buying Huber beer out of a GLASS BOTTLE vending machine (meant for Coke) in a frat house on the Beloit College Campus. thirty cents a bottle... and yes, before these kids were born...

QUIT TEASING ME!

this is the latest rendition of the forthcoming VW Scirocco, and i'm getting a little tired of how many different concept pictures there have been.
more here...

Starbucks on a Plane

What's more frightening than Snakes on a Plane? Apparently shampoo, water, coffee, and hair gel.

Today has seen the announcement of yet another foiled Terror Plot, this time in England. The plot had something to do with liquid explosives that were going to be smuggled onto airplanes departing London to the US, and the explosives would be detonated with disposable camers. So because of that, the Terr-O-Meter is at "Red" (whatever that means) and for now all liquids are banned in carry-on luggage for domstic and international flights. The last few times that i have flown, i have taken my bootblack kit as a carry-on, and that would have meant throwing out a huge portion of the contents-- saddle soap, boot grease, dye (even my "fly-safe" water based dye) polish, a Tide-To-go pen, several random sample packets of lube that accumulate from leather event registration packets...

And every time i hear about a "foiled terror plot", i wonder if the "plot" is merely a bogus story with fictional characters to keep us afraid of the world around us. I mean, come on... who does it hurt? No one actually dies, planes don't actually fall from the sky, and the only "victims" are thousands of people across the country who now each have to throw away $5 worth of toiletries before getting on a plane (hopefully without any snakes...) And even though no one dies, the US stays terrified of "terrorists".

Bush talks about the "War on Terror" as if it is a war with a tangible and defeatable opponent, which it isn't... who is he kidding? As long as there are human beings walking the earth, disagreeing about religion, politics, and/or money, there will be terrorism. If this were on the playground, "terrorists" would just be called "bullies".

Star Wars lines improved by substituting the word "Pants"

Star Wars lines improved by substituting the word "Pants"

1) A tremor in the pants. The last time I felt this was in the presence of my old master.

2) You are unwise to lower your pants.

3) We've got to be able to get some reading on those pants, up or down.

4) She must have hidden the plans in her pants. Send a detachment down to
retrieve them. See to it personally Commander.

5) These pants may not look like much, kid, but they've got it where it counts.

6) I find your lack of pants disturbing.

7) These pants contain the ultimate power in the Universe. I suggest we use it.

8) Han will have those pants down. We've got to give him more time!

9) General Veers, prepare your pants for a surface assault.

10) I used to bulls-eye womp-rats in my pants back home.

11) TK-421. . . Why aren't you in your pants?

12) Lock the door. And hope they don't have pants.

13) Governor Tarkin. I recognized your foul pants when I was brought on board.

14) You look strong enough to pull the pants off of a Gundark.

15) Luke. . . Help me take...these pants off.

16) Great, Chewie, great. Always thinking with your pants.

17) That blast came from those pants. That thing's operational!

18) Don't worry. Chewie and I have gotten into a lot pants more heavily guarded than this.

19) Maybe you'd like it back in your pants, your highness.

20) Your pants betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for your sister!

21) Jabba doesn't have time for smugglers who drop their pants at the first sign of an Imperial Cruiser.

22) Yeah, well short pants is better than no pants at all, Chewie.

23) Attention. This is Lando Calrissean. The Empire has taken control of my pants, I advise everyone to leave before more troops arrive.

24) I cannot teach him. The boy has no pants.

25) You came in those pants? You're braver than I thought.

Don't Play Ball in the House...

You Are Bobby Brainy

Ultra competitive, you will do almost anything to win. From pull ups to pool sharking, you're very talented. And while everyone is aware of your victories, they still (affectionately) consider you to be a little brat!

What Brady Are You?

Some Antics with Semantics

so this past weekend i was at Halsted Street Market days. While it's not a gay pride festival, it's held in Chicago's "Boys Town", so it's a gay-friendly event...

so i was thinking about people and words etc, and i've put my finger on why i hate the word "lesbian". Homosexual men are called "gay men" but homosexual women are called "lesbians", not "gay women". So, if you are a "lesbian", it's like you're a whole seperate breed of human being or something... and sorry, i am not some sort of breed apart just because i don't like dick.

my sexual orientation doesn't define me as a person, dictate how i pick my friends, choose my music and hobbies, heck i don't even necessarily prefer the company of women over the company of men... my sexual orientation only describes who i prefer to sleep with... and we all know how often that DOESN'T happen... (the sleeping with someone...)

American English

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% General American English

20% Yankee

15% Upper Midwestern

10% Dixie

5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I Appreciate the Sentiment, BUT...

Now, i'm not criticizing the photo's content, but sorry... this looks like a Photoshop job to me. These people are "looking out the window at what is happening" but from their angle they CANNOT SEE the Marines in the cargo hold. If nothing else, the people on the plane were told to look out their windows thoughtfully for the sake of the photo...

this photo won an award (click here for the site) but the photo looks fake, which in MY opinion diminishes the message. if that Marine was a member of my family, i would be insulted by the fact that the Marine was the subject of a staged photo for a contest

i've been DENIED!

so, i stumbled across a Yahoo chat group that sounded gosh darned perfect for me, a chat group for female pipe/cigar smokers. i even found the site while looking for information on 18th Century "authentic" smoking... but they DENIED my membership!

To get approved, they have you fill out a tiny questionaire asking your name, gender, favorite pipe, and favorite tobacco...

i replied back today to the "denial" e-mail... "What, am i too weird for you?"

Maybe i should have added that i'm a member of the DAR...

i'm a made-up word...

For Lesbians... Where Do You Fall on the Butch-Femme Continuum?

You are a futch... the toss up between butch and femme. On a scale of 1-10, one being femme and ten being butch, you'd be a 5 1/2!
Take this quiz!








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To Be or Not to Be... a Titleholder

For those of you involved in the Leather Lifestyle, you are probably familiar with "Titleholders". The importance of titles and titleholders is a bone of contention amongst many in the community. To some, titleholders are ultra-fuckable Superstars, great leaders, voices of a generation... Others view titles and titleholders with much distaste. Sour grapes? Acting out against this weird hierarchy of "authority"? Well, when you see how many titleholders demand special treatment because of the bright red, white, and blue studded piece of cow draped over their shouler, you might get tired of titleholders, too. but we are not all bad. Seriously.

I have held two titles in the Leather Titleholder system; the regional title of Great Lakes Bootblack and the international title of Int'l Ms. Bootblack. Both title years are over and have been carried on by others. i don't even sign my e-mails with my titles anymore. As i said to someone over this past weekend (this past weekend was International Ms. Leather, where i won IMsBB back in 2004), i am well aware that my title doesn't mean squat outside this weird and isolated environment known as the Leather Community. It doesn't mean a damn thing when i'm at my day job, hanging out with my cats, or sitting on the toilet...

Recently someone on their Live Journal made a snide comment about titleholders and how titleholders don't respect NON-titleholders (which, as i mentioned before, is a common sentiment). Further details of that conversation are irrelevant, so i shan't mention that entry any further. But mentioning it at all is a reference to why i'm thinking about all this right now...

Now, i didn't "grow up" in the Leather Community so i haven't been surrounded by the supposed "greatness" of titles and titleholders even though yes, i did compete for a bootblack title at my first opportunity. But i'm not so sure that i would do it again if i had the opportunity...

Reasons to NOT run for a title:

Cost. travel is expensive. Even with travel funds (which are limited) travel funds don't cover food, beer, donations to other charities, more food, more beer... etc. and all that is much more expensive than staying home.

Travel. Traveling can be exhausting, which is only ONE reason to not like travel. There are lots of people that are just not able to travel because of work, school, having to care for loved ones (pets, family members in questionable health...) fears of flying, lack of vehicle...

Need for anonymity. If you have a job that would fire you for finding out about your private life, you SURE can't put yourself in the public eye by becoming a titleholder.

Community needs at home. You don't need to be a titleholder to do good things for your community, and if you are NEEDED in your immediate local community, taking on a national/international title might take you away from the people that need you the most.

There are a lot of people who have never been, are not currently, and never will be "titleholders" who do a LOT for the community in the ways that they have chosen (and for them, their chosen ways are more effective for them than BEING a "titleholder".) And, you don't have to be a Mama Reinhardt EITHER to be important, valuable, and respected.

A Titleholder who looks down his/her nose at others who are NOT titleholders... well, they don't deserve their title.

Sign of the Times

Quoted from www.cigarettes-below-cost.com: 1683:- Massachusetts passes the nation's first no-smoking law. It forbids the smoking of tobacco outdoors, because of the fire danger. Soon after, Philadelphia lawmakers approve a ban on "smoking seegars on the street." Fines are used to buy fire-fighting equipment.

A Pantsless Summerfest

Sunday is my last day to bake in the Sun at Milwaukee's Summerfest selling Utilikilts. it will be my seventh full day down at the park. A full day is about 11 am to just after midnight. i am so tan that i think many of my friends won't recognize me.

i've met a lot of people, of course. The kilts have been selling quite well, and i've de-pants many Milwaukee men... which will be awkward i guess if i ever see any of them at the grocery store... "Hey! i took your pants off and stuck my hand down your kilt!" (usually when i fit someone for a kilt, i go ahead and fasten it up myself.) while i was feeding a belt through someone's belt loops i commented, "i know you can do this yourself, but sometimes it's fun to have someone do it for you." The customer agreed, even if neither of us intended it as innuendo.

i even de-pantsed an off duty cop. i shant say his name, but i feel that if i ever get caught by him for doing something, i can remind him of the time that *I* frisked *HIM*... it's probably best to just not get caught at all though...

Our booth is right by one of the main stagtes, but it's one that hired too many cover bands... i posed the rhetorical question, "Which is worse, working Big Corporate retail, or being in a coverband?" that's what i thought you'd say...

i also met Lizardman. He was doing a sideshow act near the booth. Monday the sun and crowds were really getting to me, so i stepped away from the booth for a couple hours. i went and watched the trick skateboarders and then the Lizardman show. watching Lizardman shove things into his face helped me feel a lot better (in ironic contrast to the guy who fainted at the earlier show...)

i got to meet Nate and Brett from UK headquarters, and got to hang out again with Douglass, whom i met last year at my second UK saled gig here in Wisconsin.

Sunday, being the last day, is either going to be the longest day ever, or it's going to go quite quickly...

Not you father's Rabbit

Volkswagen introduced the world to the Golf MkI back in 1975, but here in the States we knew it as the Rabbit (model year 1976). Designed by the grandson of the designer of the original Bettle, it's what the Beetle would have looked like if the Beetle body style had followed design trends and evolved over the years (the Beetle, originally designed in the 1930's and built through the 1980's changed very little on the outside).

With the introduction of the MkII for the 1985 model year, Volkswagen of America (VWoA ) dropped the bunny logo and conformed with the rest of the world calling the Golf a Golf, and the Golf/Rabbit GTI was now simply the "GTI" (anyone else remember those "Little GTI" commercials? The song "Little GTO" rewritten in German for the VW GTI...?) The Rabbit had always been a simple economy car; the base cost in 1984 was a mere $3800. In comparison, the 1984 GTI was $8300...

Golf eveolution...

In the last few years, Volkswagen drastically upgraded the Golf, losing sight of its economical roots. The GTI MkV, introduced earlier this year and the first drastic body change in seven years, the base price is over $22k. VWoA didn't unveil the Golf MkV until just a few weeks ago... but with the new "Golf", VWoA is back to the Bunny. The Golf is officially a VW Rabbit again.

Base price is a mere $14,990 (the base price of the Golf MkIV was $16k). Insteading forcing a new owner to pay for options they don't want or even need, they've stripped down the Rabbit to the essentials, making it a great platform for dealer extras, mods, and aftermarket. Hall Volkswagen Mazda of Brookfield, WI got their Rabbits in a couple weeks ago. i stopped by on my way home from work for a peek...

150 HP and a five cylinder 2.5L engine ("FIVE CYLINDERS? HUH? Where do they put the fifth one?" were my exact words to Andy...) . My 1984 was a four cylinder 1.8L, and stock pulled about 95 HP. Back when the Golfs got heavier in 1985, the engines didn't. The Golf MkIVs were STILL a mere 1.8L, though available with a turbocharger.

Andy took me out in something more than just the base model, but as i told him i was happy that there were few cupholders (did you know that the Dodge Caravan at one point had SEVENTEEN cupholders? how many beverages do five people need in a car?) The options available are quite swanky-- in-dash CD changer, heated seats, climate control... but the points that count are standard.

Okay, i need to preface my driving review with a little background: i'm no Csaba Csere, and the "newest" car i've ever owned was 10 years old at time of purchase. But i've driven fun cars and i've driven crap cars. And the Rabbit is a FUN car. It took some getting used to-- the brakes are a LOT more responsive than i'm used to, and hopefully Andy doesn't think i'm a bad driver (hey, at least i didn't kill it or do anything else overtly embarassing like grind gears or something).

it's got get up and go and responsive steering. Corners like it's on rails with its independent suspension. Smooth shifting. STOPPING POWER. Room in the back seat for actual adult humans... With it's simple lines it's got what it takes to be a great sleeper car...

The downside that i see is that while the initial price is economical, the MPG is merely average (20 city, 30 highway, which would average out around what my 14 year old VR6 Corrado gets.) In comparison, while i was walking through the parking lot back to my car, i passed by a New Beetle, with a sticker declaring 44MPG highway. To be fair though, the Golf VR6 at 2.8L and 172 HP only got 19/25MPG. So, the Rabbit is conomical for the power... (with current saftey features, the Rabbit is heavier than my Corrado) and, do you REALLY want to be seen driving a New Beetle? i thought not...

The other downside is the lack of color choices. The two door is only available in black and silver (i didn't ask the range of colors for the four-door). i don't think anyone would recognize me if i wasn't driving a red two-door car!

Overall i give the New VW Rabbit a thumbs up. High quality machine for a great price... i'm NOT trading in my Corrado for one... But if i had the money, i'd buy it as an alternate/winter car. Drive one and you will be pleased.

oh, and for those of you who aren't VW geeks like me and my boys in VENOM, y'all might wonder WHY "Golf" at all? VW was naming their cars after winds-- the Scirocco, the Jetta, and the "Golf" (and later, the Corrado). In German "golf" is our "gulf" (gulf stream), but they played up the wordplay of "golf" with fun touches like the "golf-ball" dimpled shift knob. But apparently, VWoA didn't think that Americans would understand what this new little hatchback had to do with such a boring sport... so "Rabbit" it was. The "Passat" was originally here in the States called the "Dasher", and the "Jetta" had a version called the "Fox" (though the Jetta has been in the states since the beginning as a Jetta...)

SteelBuddha the gauntlet is down...

of everyone that i know, the one man that can answer the challenge would be the SteelBuddha...

Evolution of Dance

i think this should be my new nickname...

"GTI Kitten" is a real book... we got it at the store today

Season Zero

In the dream i had last night, some channel was playing Buffy the Vampire episodes from a previously unreleased season, a season that Amazon was calling "Season Zero" because it predates the real season 1.

The theme song was the same song but slower, more melodic, and had words (sung by Buffy).

The episode that i saw was even darker and stranger than any other Buffy episode (hard to believe...) probably to further distance itself from the debaucle of a movie that was Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which if you watch it and picture the TV show's characters and atmosphere, it's a pretty good movie... it could have been good. it was not.)

So, i tried to log into Amazon to order myself a copy of "Season Zero" but every time i'd type in amazon.com it would direct me some place completely different.

but when i woke up, i almost DID try to find "Season Zero..."

but it would be a great gift idea...

stolen from the Raggedy Android

Tired of questions by 15, 16, 17 year olds who have never lived in the real world? Here’s one for the folks who have actually lived.

1. Worst damage you ever took in a fight? I've sparred in martial arts class; got dropped on my head and coudn't turn my head until i went to the chiropractor the next day

2. Most money you ever owed credit card company? $17,000

3. Last time you got kicked out of a bar?
When i was 20 i got kicked out of the Unicorn twice in one night. after the first time, i went home, changed clothes, and went back...

4. Longest time you slept in a car?
probably not more than a few hours

5. Most f*cked up nickname you’ve ever been given?
"izzy"...

6. Worst job you ever had?
stupid sandwich shop job. i'd been in Milwaukee less than a year. i quit when the owner accused me of smoking pot on the job (which wasn't true)

7. Shortest job you’ve ever had?
corn detasseling only lasts two weeks, but that's just because that's how long the job is. lots of people quit after a couple days, but i lastes the two weeks. i was 13

8. Longest romantic relationship?
five years of living hell

9. Shortest romantic relationship?
i've had several that were "you're awesome!" one day, and the next day were "yeah, i don't think i want a relationship..." the next day

10. Food that you would eat until you puked?
well, i'm tempted to say sushi, but i don't WANT to eat so much sushi that i puke

11. Food that even looking at makes you puke?
thinking about Japanese peanut butter makes my stomach churn (think peanut flavored snot...)

12. What music saved your life?
back in the "day", Simple Minds and Kate Bush

13. Person you miss the most in the world?
i'd be a jerk if i didn't say "my dad", but he's been dead for 21 years which is more than half my life. not saying that i DON'T miss him, but i don't define myself by his absence

14. Worst movie you’ve ever seen?
Trees Lounge. we got in free and i STILL wanted my money back.

15. Best movie you’ve ever seen?
Shallow Grave

16 Movie you really want to see?
if i haven't seen it, chances are i really must not care that much to see it

17. Ever almost die?
i was in a really bad car accident that i think could have been fatal, but since it wasn't i will never know...

18. Ever fist fight a member of the opposite sex?
hit, yes; "fist fight" no

19. Best place you have ever lived?
London

20. Worst place you have ever lived?
Janesville

21. Bad habit you have.
Procrastinating

22. Noise that makes you want to punch people?
there are a lot and i can't think of any...

23. Your favorite tattoo?
gear bunny

24. Least favorite tattoo?
portrait tattoos. i don't want someone's face on my shoulder

26. Most money you have ever spent on a single meal?
about $150 for Medieveal Times

27. Best gift you ever got?
Jen gave me a lot of cool stuff, but i've sold most of it off on eBay...

28. Best pet you ever had?
Koshka

29. Ever run from the cops?
Run from the cops? No. Run before the cops had a chance to be called? Yes.

30. Money or love:
love

We are all "Pre-Pregnant

Once again, stolen directly from Savage Love:

STRAIGHT RIGHTS UPDATE
Every time I write one of these I think, "This is the last one. Banning abortion, evicting unmarried straight couples and their children, moving to ban birth control—things can't get any worse, can they?"

Oh, but they can: Not satisfied with meddling in the lives of the relatively small percentage of women who are pregnant, the American Taliban is moving to regulate the lives of all American women. "New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves—and to be treated by the health care system—as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon," reports The Washington Post. "This means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control. . . . It's important that women follow this advice throughout their reproductive lives, because about half of pregnancies are unplanned and so much damage can be done to a fetus between conception and the time the pregnancy is confirmed."

the rest of the article

okay, a lot of that is just darned good advice anyway, but for the government to TELL ME that i should be doing these things to protect the children that i am never going to give birth to...?

The Dukes of Hesse

These guys don't care about their van... either that or they have a great deal of faith in their van...

The Dukes of Hesse

The war on Straights

Lifted straight from syndicated advice column "Savage love":

STRAIGHT RIGHTS UPDATE
Religious conservatives don't just hate homos. Their attacks on gay people, relationships, parents, and sex get all the press, but the American Taliban has an anti-straight-rights agenda too. As I wrote on March 23: "The GOP's message to straight Americans: If you have sex, we want it to fuck up your lives as much as possible. No birth control, no emergency contraception, no abortion services, no lifesaving vaccines. If you get pregnant, tough shit. You're going to have those babies, ladies, and you're going to make those child-support payments, gentlemen. And if you get HPV and it leads to cervical cancer, well, that's too bad. Have a nice funeral, slut."

read the entire article in "Savage Love"

One Arrow, One life

Last night i had an archery dream. i think the range was at a Home Depot...

Anyway, each lane was partitioned off with canvas tenting. I was given a bow; i was not allowed to use my own bow. The bow looked more like a club than a bow, and the string was bailing twine. the draw was short and, not really "weak", but "strange. It wasn't difficult to pull, but it was just wrong (but what do you expect from a bow made of a club with a string of twine.)

i was not allowed to use an arm guard or a finger tab, and every time i shot the string slapped my arm. The string dug into my fingers.

i took my spot at the shooting line. It was in a tent of sorts. i had to shoot through a hole in a wooden door with a glass window. The hole was in the glass window and didn't look like it would be big enough to PUSH an arrow through let alone SHOOT an arrow through. My station was at such an odd angle, that you couldn't actually even see the target, which was downhill from the shooting line.

The arrows i had to choose from were bent, broken, or missing fletching.

So, i'm using an inferior bow, trying to hit a target that not only can i not see, it's not even physically possible to hit it THROUGH an impossible obstacle with defective ammunition... and it's even causing me physical pain to try...

i woke up before i had a chance to make my one shot.

WOOF WOOF W12

Watch out, Ferrari, Volkswagen builds a Supercar.

more...

Do Androids Dream of Elecrtic Hookers?

i got solicited again through Yahoo by one of those adult site teasers... i think it's a program that randomly picks out Yahoo profiles (or picks them through some sort of formula) and send you IM messages like "I was just looking at your profile, and since i'm kinda horny i was wondering if you wanna chat?" but despite a response of "you bore me to tears" the program continues to send you messages like "I have to go change my clothes, but my friend wants to chat to you, too!"

this time it actually stopped after a couple times of me saying "no"

but yeah, it will send you links to "pay per view" adult sites.

i don't need that. i've already got my favorites bookmarked...

no...

yes...

no...

My New Toy...

The Rizla cigarette rolling box! for perfect RYO cigarettes-- even with filters!-- every time!

I've been rolling my own off and on over the course of the last 18 years because it is cheaper and you can find higer quality, no additive tobacco. 15 years ago my friend Lisa had a Rizla rolling box, and now that i have made smoking practically a hobby, if i'm going to be hand rolling, i want to use something clever and stylish like a rolling box. Also with a rolling box like this (or any rolling device) you can add in a filter, and i like that. i tried free rolling with a filter and it was pretty darned tough. POSSIBLE with enough practice, but too much trouble. So $10 later i am the proud owner of a rolling box of my own. the thing is pretty amazing just how well it works, too! With enough practice (wich really isn't that much), you can turn out perfect cigarettes every time

Open the box and set the "trough".

place filter in one end and fill the trough with tobacco. My tobacco of choice is Drum.

lick the gum on the paper and place the paper behind the tobacco with the gum as the top edge. Slowly close the box with even pressure

perfect cigarette pops out the lid!

the roller is made of some sort of fabric, and i have no idea how it manages to perfectly tuck in the non-gum edge of the paper, but that was always the toughest part of free-rolling-- getting the edge of the paper to fold under just right.

for added flavor i'm thnking of trying adding some pipe tobacco. or, just roll one of nothing but pipe tobacco to puff on like a cigar... some bars don't allow pipes and cigars, so this might be a good way to "sneak" in a pipe "cigarette" in to those places...

Things that make you go "awwwww"

Kitten Ludo naps on Bernard the Bondage Bear. Sitting on the back of my couch is one of Ludo's favorite places, and Bernard pretty much lives up there, but this is the first time that they've gotten so cuddly.

Hey, at least this is still a G-Rated picture. Glad my cats are fixed and don't know what to do with what little they have left in that department...

It's a car; it's a motorcycle; it's a Volkswagen...

The Volkswagen GX3 is a three-wheeled concept car that has progressed passed "concept"; according to the magazine Eurotuner, VWoA is already designing the sales brochure...

It's a two seat "car" with a F1 look, but it's only three wheels, which keeps it in the motorcycle class. It means the law will make you wear a helmet, but it's got a rollcage and racing seats with 4-point harnesses for extra safety. Road rash? Not with this rocket.

Engine is in the back, but there will be a trunk... somewhere.

VWoA is striving to keep the base model under $17,000 (it's not terribly practical as your ONLY car...) but they want to make a huge range of bolt-on carbon fiber body parts so you can make this odd little thing all your own.

if you've got a lot of driving to do, this might be the car, um motorcycle, um, go-kart... just for you. MPG is estimated at 46mpg, but you'll still get a lot of speed.

more information HERE

CNH 320

okay, so the movie sucks so far, but there are some redeeming points...

extra points to anyone who knows what the hell i'm talking about...

Pipe Day at Work

Smoking a pipe turns the loading dock into a "veranda", but the freight train tracks are still just freight train tracks.

"Your Sword, Sir Ringo?"

I've been wondering this for some time now; do you think Ringo is bitter over rejecting a knighthood?

Back in the 1960's, the Beatles were all offered Knighthoods, but they were too "rockstar" to accept them at the time.

Now there are only two Beatles left; Paul was once again offered a Knighthood (this time he said "of COURSE!") and Ringo is stuck doing...uh... i don't know what Ringo is doing.

Maybe if she hasn't already by then, it could be the last thing the Queen does before she dies. Maybe it will be her dying words: "Ringo was my always favorite Beatle..."

i think that i was just solicited by a horny machine...

every once and awhile i will get *pinged* by complete strangers through Yahoo IM, but this time i think the "person" wasn't even a person because her comments didn't match up with my mine... sometimes i'll chat for a minute with these people just for the heck of it and just incase they are people that i actually DO know in real life... this is the conversation in its entirety...

redbaronx71 (4/10/2006 12:52:53 PM): um, yes
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:53:09 PM): oh your there : hi...
redbaronx71 (4/10/2006 12:53:15 PM): you are...?
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:53:47 PM): a/s/l (age sexlocation)?
redbaronx71 (4/10/2006 12:54:04 PM): you are...?
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:54:12 PM): im 27/f/USA. was lookin at your profile. thought you might like too chat.
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:54:17 PM): so what have you been up to reedbaronx71?
redbaronx71 (4/10/2006 12:54:45 PM): nothing that i will tell you about
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:55:10 PM): cool. i was just hangin out watching tv. i was getting iinda horny (*blushes)
redbaronx71 (4/10/2006 12:55:44 PM): you are boring me
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:56:15 PM): feel like a little cyber fun with me ? please please...
redbaronx71 (4/10/2006 12:56:41 PM): boring boring boring
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:57:15 PM): i think ill just take that as a aes... being as that im starting to get real horny here.. lol ok?
redbaronx71 (4/10/2006 12:57:57 PM): sorry, i can have sex in real life, i don't need to cyber with a stranger
boyohboyineedaman (4/10/2006 12:58:36 PM): alrigzt how bout i get down on my knees in front of you and help you out of your pants?

well, whoever this person or non-person was, they must have thought that i was a man... sorry, but i can't imagine the appeal of cybering with a total stranger...

but sometimes these conversations can be kinda fun; i've actually out-freaked people who have tried to freak me out... THAT'S satisfying...

Family Tree by DNA

There is going to be a news article on the local NBC news about plotting your "family tree" by your DNA. The downside that i see to this is that you will be able to "see" what your racial heritage is, and if we can scientifically and biologically plot our racial heritage in a way that is more than skin deep, we risk Nazi-level studies "proving" that some races are superior to others by matching up grades, IQs , and test scores with racial DNA markers.

DNA Ancestry Project

Sure, that is not the "intent" of such projects, but that was also not the intent of scientists in Weimar Germany when they began to do serious studies on the origins of homosexuality. Their intentions were innocent and genuine, so thousands of men signed up to participate in the studies. Little did they know, ten years later an angry man with an ugly moustace would use the studies to round these men up and ship them off to death camps...

One of the Finest Henges...

Thanks to trick photography, the 18" Stongehenge model in my backyard looks looks almost like the real thing...

Smells Like Pre-Teen Spirit

I bought a stick of chapstick today, and putting it on instantly reminded me of visiting my grandmother (father's mother) up in Wisconsin Rapids. i don't quite know why the smell reminded me of that, but it is specifically the Chapstick that is the original "flavor"... i don't know WHY Chapstick reminded me of my grandmother's, but it did... and that made me think of other smells...

Lysol=puke. it has to be original scent Lysol; the flowery scents don't trigger the "ugh, someone puked" reflex (luckily) just the original scent. It's not a happy memory, but the only time that Lysol was used in my house was when someone (usually me) puked.

Vintage Volkswagens. Last year when i went to the Volkswagen show (pictures on my main website...) i stuck my head in the window of a 1972 Type III Fastback, and all the sudden i was 5 years old again. Its this combination of rust, oil, and cheap vinyl (or whatever the upholstery was...). Growing up we had a Type III squareback and a Bug. Might not be a good smell, but it's a great memory.

Paper Mills. Once again, not a good smell but a good memory. Grandma Slattery (dad's mom) lived up in Wisconsin Rapids, right in the middle of paper mill territory. Actually, papermills smell pretty bad... but i like the smell just for the memory. Last year when we were in Albany, this horrid smell came wafting over the camp... it was the smell of papermills...

Wet Wool. My mom spins and weaves her own wool.. She would actually go to sheep shearings and buy wool in bulk, wash it in the bathtub, and then one of my chores was to card the wool. i told Sixpence about that recently and her response was "How very... Pilgrim of you..." i hate my mother, but i didn't mind carding wool...

Shoe polish. Actually my memory of the shoe polish smell has nothing to do with polishing shoes but... the junk drawer. Everyone's got one, a junk drawer. There wasn't much in the junk drawer that anyone actually used. There was a card of upholstery tacks, a compass in the shape of a tractor tire, a spool of kite string (which i think that i still have, thirty years later) and a can of Kiwi shoe polish (amongst other things of course). The whole drawer smelled of the shoe polish. That can of shoe polish moved with us to two other houses and two other junk drawers... I have no idea how old it was, but i think that it was the can of shoe polish i took with me when i went to England in 1991 with my very first pair of combat boots...

Army dessicant. if you've ever been to an army surplus store, a REAL surplus store--not just a camping store that carries a few racks of unused camo-- you'll know the smell. there was a surplus store in Madison that we went to every time we went to Madison, and they carried EVERYTHING you could possibly want, right down to parachutes and C-rations from WWII (supposedly still edible). Ironically, army surplus looking clothing is all stylish now; i saw a guy wearing a fake surplus jacket done by Tommy Hilfiger. Just proves that i was a fashion maven ahead of my time...

Spring=Moving. Okay, this isn't a childhood thing, but it's still a strong trigger. There was a tiem in my life for many years where me and my friends moved about once a year, and always in the spring. Smelling spring makes me want to start apartment hunting, but luckily for my friends that would be helping me... i am very happy with my currrent apartment and i plan to stay here for years to come.

Dongle Berry

dongle (NOUN)

"A dongle (pronounced DONG-uhl) is a mechanism for ensuring that only authorized users can copy or use specific software applications, especially very expensive programs. Common mechanisms include a hardware key that plugs into a parallel or serial port on a computer and that a software application accesses for verification before continuing to run; special key diskettes accessed in a similar manner; and registration numbers that are loaded into some form of ROM (read-only memory) at the factory or during system setup.

If more than one application requires a dongle, multiple dongles can be daisy-chained together from the same port. Dongles are not in frequent use partly because enterprises don't like to have a serial or parallel port preempted for this use. "

back in the 1980's when we had a Commodore 64 (that's a type of computer, for you younger folks... in it's day, it was FAR superior to the Apple products, but like the Betamax, it failed to capture the market's attention) ANYWAY... several of the programs that we had required dongles; physical "passwords" to keep pirates from copying and using software. My dad created a cottage industry building dongles to accompany the software that his pirate buddies copied. Yar. Resistors, transistors, diodes, all soldered to a hand-etched circuit board and dipped in resin... i still have some of them...

Back then, i used to think that it would be cool if say, soldiers, had dongles instead of dogtags for their personal information. the dongles would contain vital health info as well as name rank and serial number...

we now have the Flash Drive that plugs into a USB port (see my earlier post about the MacGyver-esque tool). I have seen flash drives that hold a couple gigabytes (the computer i just got rid of held all of 8GB and for the most part it served me fairly well (the issue was speed, not so much size...)

they are making flash drives as keychains, pens, and yes even pocket knives.

i didn't build it, but i did dream it up over twenty years ago. i guess someone else did, too...