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.