Undefinable

Today was an incredibly beautiful day for the 12th day of December. According to my Dashboard Accuweather widget it was 75 degrees today! It's actually been like that for the last week and a half. I feel a little guilty saying it but I'm enjoying the global warming. I've been driving around enthralled by the feeling of youthfulness. I've been experiencing that phenomenom I refer to as first day of springitis. It's been raised to a a new level though. I've been in a state of heightened euphoria lately. I think part of it can be attributed to a sharp upturn in my understanding of mutual funds and my 401k. I've followed these things on and off for as long as I've had them but until lately I've been taking a hands off approach. A few things have happened in the last few months to change all that. It seems the hands off thing has worked and I've now got enough in the 401k to attract my attention. I've been talking to a co-worker who is pretty knowledgeable and what he's said has clicked and my knowledge elevated by one step. I still don't really know what I'm doing but I'm much more effective at it. So it's good to know that while I won't be retiring any time soon, when I do retire I won't be eating catfood cursing the bankrupt social security fund. I will probably be knee deep in melted glacial water as global warming really heats up.

Guitar Godhood Explained

This article in Esquire by Chuck Closterman encapsulates many of my own closely held beliefs.

One of the first YouTube clips I ever saw was lost footage of a godhead ax solo Prince performed at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony; just last month, I was sent a YouTube file of a ten-year-old playing Led Zeppelin's "Bron-Yr-Aur" acoustically. Both were semitransfixing. But if these performances had been given to me as MP3 files, I wouldn't have cared about either. (I would have listened to the Prince track once and ignored the Zep kid completely.) This illuminates one of those depressing paradoxes about rock 'n' roll: Very often, profoundly exceptional guitar playing is boring to listen to.2

The article makes many good points. Although I would disagree that Stave Vai's Passion and Warfare is boring to listen to and Poison songs are NOT better than Frank Zappa's songs!

My Project Truck

Thanks to Four Wheeler magazine online and their Project Fiery Redhead truck I've been inspired to refurbish my own red F150, big Pinky. Of course I have no background, skill or inclination in automotive endeavors. I figured this would be a fun project to learn on. Reading through the articles it looks easy enough. I know those words have been uttered before. Usually right before the screaming profanities. Right now I'm in the pre-planning stages which involves laying around looking at automotive catalogs and fantasizing about how cool my truck will be when I do all the wonderous things to it I have planned. I'm very excited as you can imagine. I hope to be posting some of my progress here in the coming months (more likely, years), stay tuned in, it might be entertaining.

Some Things That Don't Disgust Me

The penguins from March of the Penguins.

The Barber Motorsports Museum

Daniel Craig and Casino Royale. The best James Bond movie since Live and Let Die, they were all down hill after that. I like the trend of making old series good again. Batman Begins and Superman Returns really reinvigorated those two franchises.

Hidden River by Adrian McKinty. It's not exactly the Mickey Spillane, Damon Runyon combo Frank McCourt claims on the cover blurb but it's a pretty neat procedural set in Denver.

My current favorite beer, Spaten Pils.

I thought I'd do a positive post to counter my last grumpy post.

Some Things Besides Penguins That Disgust Me

New York's ban on trans fat. Thank God I don't live in New York. Bloomberg seems to feel it's his job to run your life.

Hugo Chavez

The cloying, smug use of "BFFs" by the press when referring to Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. I've heard it from seven different sources in the last two days. The first time was too much.

Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. You're a mother, put on some underwear bitch.

Who Will Dance For The Mackerel?

While we were home for Thanksgiving we took our nieces to see Happy Feet. Thankfully they are teenagers because quite frankly even I was disturbed by this psycho-drama. I have a whole list of things I found unpleasant about the film and after I saw the movie I found a review in USA Today by Michael Medved. Michael is a conservative movie reviewer (the only mainstream one I think) so he has a certain slant on things. I'm a little conservative myself so it turns out I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he said. He goes on about some gay penguin book for kids that I really don't care either way about, it's the whole Happy Feet thing I'm against. First and foremost it's just creepy. The hero, Mumbles's, father and mother are doing disturbing imitations of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe which bothers me. I can't explain why it just does. Second is this eco-Nazi premise that man, evil vile creature he is, is fishing the penguins into oblivion. Is that an actual issue? I haven't heard anything about the shortage of mackerel in the world, at least so much that it's mainstream yet. I mean I know there are always going to be people that think we are killing off everything just by our existence.

My father taught me an invaluable lesson when I was five that I haven't forgotten to this day. It's one of those seemingly off the cuff remarks that has an impact that most parents never realize. During the scene in Cinderella when the mice are helping Cindy make her gown for the ball, my father turns to me and says, "Real mice are dirty and have disease, I had better never catch you playing with them." It was in this oddly timed (and disturbingly threatening) comment that I've learned something that has been a guiding principal in my belief system my entire life. Movies aren't real. They are designed to manipulate you emotionally and this is what pisses me off the most about Happy Feet. I noticed that it was okay for the penguins (and gulls) to eat the mackerel, after all the mackerels didn't have funny voices to scream in anguish with. While the gulls and sea lions were sheer evil. I hope some little kid's father turned to his son and said, "In real life sea lions have babies they have to feed too and penguins are their main source of nutrition."

WHEW!

It'll take a while to catch up on what's going on. Lisa and I had a great Thanksgiving. We really have something to be thankful for this year, our new 2 year old German Shepard/Canaan mix dog, Moon. She came from the Humane Society as a stray. She was trained through a prison program, which the director of the Humane Society says has been a great success in placing dogs. The training portion obviously works well. She is well behaved and super sweet.

Lisa is staying in Ohio this week than travelling to Denver for Christmas for a few weeks. I'll be joining her when I'm done in Alabama. I can't wait. I kept waking up last night confused and distressed without her next to me. Of course without her here I'll probably be catching up on posts. I've already got my eye on a USA Today article that has my blood up.

Location Tracker

For those of you following these things, we are currently in Anniston, Alabama. We left Conway, Arkansas on short notice and may be returning there in January. Right now we're in one of my favorite places. I've spent a lot of time around this area in the past and I'm glad I can take Lisa to someplace she hasn't been before. We've done a lot of site-seeing already this past weekend. We checked out Vulcan Park in Birmingham and scouted out camping spots for next weekend. We are staying in a hotel which is the one downside, we're missing the apartment.

There has been a lot going on since the last post and even more since I got married. I don't go out to bars or have any hobbies aside from riding and site-seeing. This meant I had a lot of time to post on the blog. Since Lisa's been with me I'm finding it hard to get my thoughts down. I'm feeling a little guilty, though I shouldn't since I really just write for my own entertainment. It's something I've been pretty good at doing consistently for over a year (which is a real comittment for me). I'm going to try to get back to writing at least once a week. Since I think we'll have a good time here in Alabama there should be plenty to write about.

Weekend Update

Lisa and I went to Ft Smith Arkansas this weekend. The national park there, Fort Smith National Historic Site was the last one on Lisa's list in Arkansas so she's officially ready to leave. Her wander lust is stronger than mine. Of course after the meal we had in Ft Smith I can't blame her. We stopped at a nice looking Mexican restaurant downtown to eat. Right away I noticed something odd. I thought to myself that Lisa would probably be upset. The waiter seating us addressed everything to me, not even acknowledging Lisa. One of her pet peeves is going into an autoparts store and being ignored because she's a woman. She didn't mention it and I didn't give it anymore thought. As the meal progressed though, every waiter who came to our table ignored her. It really was shocking to me and I don't usually notice the odd slight now and again. Lisa was starting to boil. As we talked about it a woman a few tables over overheard us. When the waiter took that couple's order I noticed that he didn't look at her either. She saw me looking and was repressing a grin. At least we weren't the only ones. The waiter stopped by one last time to see if I wanted anything else and Lisa barked at him for the check. He got a funny look on his face as if just realizing that I was with someone and then asked if she would like another beer. Too little too late. After we were out Lisa pointed out to me that there were no women working there, none! I tried to write it off as machismo but it was really just inexcusable. It's one of the few times I've felt guilty for being a man. Fortunately Lisa didn't let it ruin the day. However, she does asked that if you're ever in Ft Smith you don't give your patronage to La Huerta Mexican Grill.

The Latest Glass

Yep,
originally uploaded by soldierant.

Man, I'm having trouble getting anything written down lately. I've got some good news to share though. My wife is no longer the most recent addition to the family. She's been beat out by the zygote on the left there. My youngest brother and his wife are expecting their first baby. As you can imagine it's a pretty happy time in the family. My Mom is fairly bursting. I'm sure my brother will be documenting the tale at his blog, Soldierant as it unfolds. I hope they enjoy the experience of the next nine months, as for me I can't wait to play with the little crib lizard.

Nothing To Say

But that's not going to stop me I guess.

Lisa and I have been back in Arkansas for about a month now. It's been good for the most part. Work is just as messed up as it was when I left. We're in an apartment instead of a hotel which is nice. We've got to do a little site-seeing and we laughed our asses off at The Wickerman, the most unintentionally funny movie I've seen in awhile.

It has been busy since we've been back and I haven't gotten around to documenting how the vacation and wedding went. All in all it was my best summer on record. I got to hang out with the family which is always a plus. Lisa's family flew in from Colorado. They enjoyed their first trip to the Buckeye state. They got to visit Amish country and see the world's largest basket in Dresdan. At the end of their vist we got to show them the American Motorcycle Association's Motorcycle Hall of Fame (that was mostly for Chris and myself). There was the winery outside of New Concord where we had a great gnoosh plate and wine, and I am not even a fan of wine.

As I write, more great memories come back, I loved seeing the old friends I haven't seen in a few years and seeing them mingle with my family. This is the first time my work and family worlds have collided. It was an odd experience but not at all unpleasant.

All in all it's been a great summer and I've loved having Lisa with me. Life just keeps getting better. We've kept busy so it's hard to post regularly but I'll try because I enjoy it.

The Long Trip Home (For Andrea)

Well we finally got married. It was a beautiful ceremony and from what I've heard everyone that attended liked it too. Lisa and I stayed in Ohio for three weeks which was great but a little too short for me. I'll start from the ending and work my way backwards. Our trip from Ohio back to Arkansas was a comedy of errors. I had to be at work on Tuesday Aug 15th. We left Sunday morning because we wanted to hit Abraham Lincoln's birthplace in Kentucky and spend a nice relaxing trip. Normally it's a 12 hour drive. We stopped in Elizabethtown Kentucky (which Lisa was interested in seeing) to get gas when a woman pointed out that my coolant was literally pouring out on to the ground. As luck would have it a hotel shared the parking lot with the gas station so we ordered a tow truck and got a room. We had my truck and Lisa's with us so we weren't stuck in the room anyway. We found out that Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Historic Site was just ten miles down the road so we drove there for the reminder of the afternoon and had dinner at a nice mexican restaurant. We tried to look at it as an adventure.

We got the truck fixed Monday morning (our original travel day) and headed toward Memphis. We were going to get to Conway later than we wanted but nothing too bad. By the end of the day with about three hours to go, the right tire on my trailer popped. We rushed seven miles back to the last town, got a new tire and took off. Hot and sweaty (my air conditioning isn't working) we got fifty miles down the road and the left tire popped. This time it was too late to get the tire fixed. We were sitting along the side of I-40 in east Memphis in the dark. After another tow truck charge to deliver the trailer to the nearest hotel it was time for bed. The next morning we got the tire fixed, shifted some weight from the trailer to Lisa's truck and headed to Conway.

It was a stressful trip but it was made bearable by Lisa's good nature and just her presence.

Bush Caught Cursing!!!

I'm enjoying the current wave of self-righteous indignation sweeping the country's news outlets. Bush got caught in a candid conversation with Tony Blair, apparently unaware of an open mike. By the reaction of most news organizations you would think this is the first time anyone has ever uttered the word shit before. It seems like most have also conveniently forgotten that it was a private conversation, inadvertently overheard. The morning DJs in Little Rock were outraged that the man responsible for their persecution at the hands of the FCC is cussing on t.v. The nerve of the hypocrite! And I could understand if it were just two small time syndicated DJs but I saw the same accusation from a reporter on CNN. He sounded snide and a little whiny. The funny thing to me is that when I first saw this story I was frozen with terror, my heart beating and thinking to myself, "Please don't say anything to embarrass us." I guess the big hoopla over the salty language is due to the lack of anything he actually said being controversial. If anything, it made him seem like something his speeches don't, a rational leader. There's a part of me that thinks it was set up by Blair and Bush for a little image boost.

What irritates me is that in the same day it was reported that a bill on stem cell research may be Bush's first use of the veto! My God! He's in his second term. He's NEVER vetoed a bill? Reagan vetoed 39 bills in his first term which is from what I understand below average (or was). Even Bill Clinton nixed a bill once, I think. So here we are again, focusing on what doesn't amount to shit while we have a president running around under the false pretense of being a Republican. I guess we all know he's actually for big government so that's not news.

A Moment Of Peace

This week has certainly sucked. I'm watching ABC Sunday Evening News as they are reporting on the Hezbollah rocket attack on Haifa and thinking back to Friday and a happy thought. Lisa's last day of work was Thursday. She's leaving tomorrow for Ohio. She'll be there a week before me, starting to get things ready for the wedding. On Friday she went with a friend to Mix 100's live morning show broadcast. I didn't have work, so thru the wonder of the internet I listened to the show. Lisa was doing a little contest and the DJ's were talking to her. Jane, the female half of the duo, commented that Lisa had been there early and was very polite. That made me smile. It was exciting in some geek/nerd way to hear her on the radio all the way in Denver while I'm in Conway, Arkansas. I guess in the grand technological scheme of things it's not even that cutting edge, with Vonage and video conferencing and a thousand gadgets I don't even know about. I still got a thrill out of hearing Lisa being cute over my computer. She's the peaceful center of my world and as I sit here and watch the world blow the crap out of itself I feel like giving her a call.

Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll...Well Rock and...Nevermind

I just got back from home leave in Denver tonight. I was there for a week and a half but it felt like a year (in a good way). The first night in town I went to get Lisa from work and was thinking it would be nice to do something to get out. I had a movie or dinner in mind. Lisa gets to the truck and wants to know if I want to see a concert. "Why not" I answered. Big mistake, as the first thing I should have said was "Who is it?" She said Rob Thomas, for some reason I heard Rob Zombie. Same thing I guess. Rob wasn't so bad but he had two women opening for him, one of which was Jewel. I pride myself on being a progressive male but that was just too much chick rock in one night. Really there hasn't been a woman that can rock since Lita Ford, sorry that includes you KT Tungstall. The show was alright, it was at Red Rocks which is the best place to see a concert ever. We saw Lyle Lovett there a few years ago. Towards the end of the show he had a local gospel choir doing the song Church and a thunderstorm came out over the mountains. It was pretty impressive with the lightning flashing and the thunder booming right over head.

Now I've never done drugs and didn't drink until I was 21 but I was sorely disappointed in the youth of America at this concert. Is it a sign of the boring restrictive nature of the country we live in when over half the people at a concert leave two thirds into it? Is it too much to ask for a little danger in life? I guess maybe it would be a different story if it had been Rob Zombie. At my first concert (Van Halen with David Lee Roth no less) a girl, drunk off her ass sat down on my cousin's lap, put her arm around him and promptly realized she didn't know him. We saw another girl fall from one level to smack on the concrete floor below and get hauled off on a stretcher. I suppose these things still go on, I know they do at the Avalanche hockey games. And I know for a fact that I'm romanticizing it. Let's face it I haven't enjoyed a late night out since I was 30. I guess you're not really going to get chicks lifting their tops for Jewel, still wouldn't that be cool? As far as I can tell from Dateline exposés is the youth of America are even wilder than when I was a teen, it's just now they have to travel to Cancun to do it. I don't want to encourage reckless behavior (especially to any teenaged nieces who might read this). Looking back now, it probably wasn't even that fun when I was a teenager. After all, like I said, I didn't take drugs or get drunk. For me it was more like being on a safari, I never knew when some drunk gorilla would come out of the fog of all those joints and kick my Eric-Foreman-ass. I was living vicariously through my stoner friends misadventures, and it sure was fun watching the look in Jim's eyes when that girl sat down and ran her fingers through his hair.

Home Leave Holiday

I had a busy vacation last week. I flew in to Denver on Wednesday, June 28th to see Lisa. We started out by seeing a concert that night at Red Rocks. It really is the best place I've ever seen a concert. That weekend we decided to go to Moab for some camping. Moab is special to us because that's where we went for our third date. This time was just as fun as the first. We went to the Canyonlands National Park. Lisa, being the daredevil she is, wanted to drive down Shafer Trail Road. It's an easy four wheel drive trail that cuts through the canyon floor and comes out 31 miles away at Moab. The first time we went to Canyonlands we also went to Dead Horse Point State Park. There's an overlook and you could see this road at the bottom. I remember wondering at the time how you could get down there and where it went. It was great to see the overlook from the opposite side this time. We camped in a beautiful place along the Colorado River. After a full day of four wheeling and touring Arches National Park we headed into Moab for dinner at Pasta Jay's, a nice restaurant with a deck. Since we had been doing two days of primitive camping (ie, no showers) we thought it was a good idea to stay away from people as much as possible and to be outside. On the way home to Denver we stopped at Colorado National Monument. We've passed by before without stopping. I'm glad we took the time on this trip to check it out, it's a beautiful place. It got Lisa and I talking about how lucky we are to have these opportunities to travel and never want to take it for granted.

With just one day to shower and sleep in a bed, we were off to Leadville to camp over the 4th of July. We met Lisa's family at the Half Moon Bay campgrounds. It's a beautiful spot that most people don't know about. Lisa's brother Chris cooked up a great meal of salmon, chicken, corn and potatoes. That night it was freezing but Lisa is always prepared with the camping gear so we were nice and toasty. It was a pleasant change from the ninety plus degrees in Moab. There's a lot to be said for camping at 10,000 feet. Later that day we took a train ride from Leadville along the old mining tracks towards Climax mines. Lisa had just been reading a book about the history of the molybdenum mines there so we had an interesting perspective during the trip. Lisa loves trains and was so excited she was bouncing in her seat. The trip was 2 and a half hours and pretty nice for the most part. There were some stretches of riding through the forest with not much in the way of scenery.

Later that night we enjoyed the fireworks in Frisco. They weren't as good as the ones we've seen in Avon in years past but we weren't as close this time. It was still a good time though.

Finally, on Friday night, Lisa's sister Jennifer had a pre-wedding dinner for us. She went completely overboard and threw a great party. She's very sweet like that. At the party it really started to hit me that by the end of this month we'll be married. I can't wait.

So home leave was a smashing success and I really have the batteries recharged even more so than usual.

But Is It Art, Part 2

After reading my post on the "experts" on Flikr, my brother sent me a link to this bit of genuis.

What Is Head On?

Head On, apply directly to the forehead!
Head On, apply directly to the forehead!
Head On, apply directly to the forehead!

Has anyone else seen this stupid commercial. You can usually catch it on Robin & Friends on CNN Headline News in the morning. The above line is all the ad says. There's no explanation of what it is and the website doesn't offer any enlightenment. It's almost a perfect marketing strategy. I am so curious I know I'll be finding it at Walmart just to see what it does. And of course they get a little free publicity on here. I'll check into it at Walmart but I won't buy it just because they've really annoyed the crap out of me.

But Is It Art

I'm trying to learn how to use my Nikon D70. I've had it for a year and I'm still using it in point and shoot mode. I love photography. I love looking at pictures, taking pictures and reading about taking pictures. I just wish I was better at taking photos. I thought I was doing okay until my brother turned me on to Flikr.com. It's a great photo site and community for sharing interests. I enjoy sharing motorcycle photos with people that have the same passion for bikes and travel as I have. There for awhile though, I started getting absorbed in the push to get my picture views up. I joined a couple of the "rate my photo" groups. My brother said it best when he noted that nothing sucks the fun out of something like having a know-it-all point out that your picture titled Sunset doesn't show the sun setting. Nevermind that it was taken at sunset. It took me about five minutes to quit all those groups and erase the comments. Life's been happier for the most part. There is however a recent thread in one of the discussion groups that got my ire up. In the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Photography group one fellow thought that there was a lot of potential but far too much garbage there. He was one of those people that has become so prevelant since the advent of the world wide web. You know the type. He just wants to have a rational discussion, it's just his humble opinion. This guy was a little more civil than most but still had that smug attitude that drives me crazy. I try to stay out of these "debates" but made the mistake of getting sucked into this one. I found myself defending some of the pictures this guy was criticizing. He of course took this to mean that my feelings were personally hurt. The bad part is the guy came in, stirred up grief and left, and it was all for naught. I don't even think he was a regular member of the group.

I don't want it to sound like I can't take constructive criticism, I've learned quite a bit and it's usually from the people that are polite. I've actually been reading the owner's manual for my camera today and experimented a little with settings other than the auto features. The instructions are a little similar to the shuttle owner's manual. I want to get some experience under my belt in preparation for our honeymoon to England next year. Even if I don't improve I'm sure my pictures from England will make Lisa and me happy. The problem right now is that I think I actually took better pictures with my cheap 5 year old Kodak DC290. I'm not sure why, maybe I'm depending on the camera to do it all now. The picture above is an example from the old Kodak. I really like this one. Hope I can get that good with my expensive new D-SLR.

Beautiful, Sweet Justice

I just saw a bit of good news from the Cato Institute.

News Release

June 19, 2006

Media Contact: (202) 789-5200

Supreme Court Rebuffs Senseless EPA Regulation
Supreme Court Sides with Cato Brief

WASHINGTON -- Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed an expansive reading of federal power by environmental regulators. In Rapanos v. United States, regulators claimed federal wetlands laws allow them to micromanage development of Michigan property through which a trickle of water drained, even though the land was high, dry, and land-locked. The landowner, John Rapanos, fought back, arguing that the federal Clean Water Act doesn't give regulators control over any land from which water might occasionally flow. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court agreed.

According to Tim Lynch and Mark Moller, authors of Cato's friend-of-the-court brief in support of Mr. Rapanos, the Court reached the right decision: "If the government can regulate any land from which water occasionally drains, no matter how speculative the effect of this drainage on navigable water, wetlands law gives it almost limitless jurisdiction over private property, except perhaps in the heart of the Mojave desert. In essence, the federal government's reading of the Clean Water Act would turn the EPA into a vast national zoning board.

"The English language says otherwise. The Clean Water Act gives the federal government the power to protect navigable water and regulate some land 'adjacent' to navigable water -- not control every rivulet of water that trickles through your lawn. What's remarkable about this case is not the outcome -- but the government's ability to argue its reading of federal law with a straight face."

This little article helped make my day.

Critical Shortage Of Causes Haunt Celebrities

Poor Daryl Hannah, Leonardo DeCaprio, Ed Harris and Charlie Sheen (?!?). It seems like we're going down hill in the cause department. From the big one, war, to immigration and on down the scale to Tom Cruise's bizarre grudge against pharmaceuticals, it's been a good year for watching Hollywood show it's ass. I remember laughing out loud when I heard Charlize Theron take an oath to not marry until gays and lesbians could marry. Daryl and her erstwhile friends are attempting to save a 14 acre garden in LA.. Or I should say were. It seems that someone realized that the leggy, blonde nut in the walnut tree was actually Daryl at which time she was promptly removed. On the surface it seems like a small, worthy cause I guess. 350 families grew food there, the owner decided to sell his land on which a werehouse would be built. No one wants to see 350 families go hungry. It turns out most of the people had already been successfully relocated. I hate to see 14 acres of pleasant green vegetation disappear but is it really worth living in a tree for 3 weeks? I guess it is for some people. Good for her.

"I felt an extreme sense of urgency. Not only did I have to climb up the tree, I had to pull up the rope behind me so they could not follow me," the actress told the Los Angeles Times by cell phone from her tree perch.

Has there ever been a funnier quote? Celebs, it's like two for the price of one with them. We get to enjoy their movies and be entertained by their real world exploits. There's nothing they can't do.

Since that whole issue is resolved maybe we can all go back to praying for a day when Charlize Theron can marry.

V-Twin Powered Car

If you've noticed which vehicles are creating a buzz in the aftermarket, you may have seen a proliferation of rocket-powered space-frame road cars that owe a fair amount of their design to unskinned Formula 1 racers.
That's probably because Formula racers get paid to know what works, and it would be great if someone could figure out how to get those cars on the street. Well, TwinTech has, only with a V-twin twist

The whole article is at Kit Car Magazine's website. The website listed for Twintech doesn't seem to work. It takes you to what is apparently a poorly designed Norwegian IT resources company.

As for the car it's an interesting design but being a sport bike fan I'm more partial to the Suzuki GSX-R Concept Car.

Good T.V.

Aside from my motorcycle trip on this holiday weekend, I've become hooked on a couple of shows. The first one will be obvious to anyone familiar with my musical tastes. I'm enthralled by Supergroup on VH1. Right now after 2 episodes it's made me laugh out loud more than any sitcom in the last few years has. If you haven't seen it, it's five of yesterday's (or yesteryear's) rockstars living in a house for 12 days. At the end of the 12 days they have to perform a concert with original songs. The members are Ted Nugent, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Jason Bonham, Sebastian Bach of Skid Row fame (or infamy) and Evan Seinfeld from Biohazard. It's just slightly less contrived than a sitcom and probably as scripted as any "reality show" but that doesn't take away from the hilarity. Since I don't like reality shows anyway I take it for what it is. As an example it seems that Scott Ian has a slight man crush on the Motorcity Madman. In one scene Scott and Ted jam together while the gentle strains of Queen's song You're My Best Friend plays in the background. Classic. I'm a little disappointed that with all the ego's vying for attention Ted Nugent isn't sticking out. Next to Sebastian Bach and Evan Seinfeld, Ted's just your funny eccentric Uncle.

My other current favorite is on the opposite end of the spectrum, The Dog Whisperer. I think I'm coming a little late to the party but that's okay. This show is like one of my old favorites, The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. Like that show there's nothing to it, it seems to be the same thing every episode and I can't stop watching. Like Bob Ross, Cesar Millan is a living breathing quaalude to me. It amazes me that with just his calm demeanor and a gentle boot to the ass he turns a raving mad Chihuahua into his docile bitch. My favorite episode had to be the one with the squirrel killer terrier, in about ten minutes Cesar, the dog, a guinea pig and a rabbit are laying together on the lawn. Now that's good t.v.

I'm sure that, my attention span being what it is, I'll loose interest in these two shows in a few weeks. I don't watch much television to begin with. If they want to hold my interest maybe some programming genius should combine Supergroup and Dog Whisperer. I'd like to see Cesar Millan go head to head with Ted Nugent.

Gettysburg

Gettysburg
Originally uploaded by Darin Clisby.

This diorama covers ten 8x10 ft table tops!

The history of the project is found here...Gettysburg

Wayfaring.com

My brother, in a never ending quest to figure out where the hell I'm at, turned me on to Wayfaring.com. I haven't explored it's features too much but I decided to create a map that tracks the last year or so of projects I've been on. So here it is:



It's definitely a work in progress. I want to add the dates I was at a spot, and would like to go back and put all the places I've been since starting this career but that's a pretty tall order.

Thanks Bryce.

All You Need To Know

The MOST useful film on the web.

Happy Anniversary

It's hard to believe but it's been a year for this blog. A lot has happened in that time, the biggest and best thing being the engagement to Lisa. We're in the middle of planning the wedding and I'm getting excited. I'm getting excited to have the wedding over and get on to the marriage. That'll be the fun part I believe. We started off the year great. Lisa came up to Alaska to meet me and that was actually the subject (kind of) of my first post. We went to New York City, California and everywhere between. It was a lot of fun. We've been apart for the second half of the year and it's not been a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to when she comes back on the road with me.

I'm surprised to still be posting here, I've been close to stopping more than once. It's usually out of frustration. I didn't care for the way the blog was going but I decided to write it for myself and if people read it great, if not that was okay too. Like my Flikr page I started getting wrapped up in site hits and views. I'm glad to say I got over that quick. It's a lot more enjoyable for me to be posting for me, but if anyone needs a picture of Joe Walsh don't hesitate to ask. Instead of ending this blog, I've actually started another one for my motorcycle rides, Riding.

I used to try an old fashioned journal back before the internet and just couldn't keep it going. This has been easier, it makes me wish blogs had been around back "in the day". I'm looking forward to the second year of Life's Been Good. I'm going to make a prediction about the coming year, it's going to be as good as the last.

The Grace of Graceland

Lisa came to town this past weekend and we had a chance to go to Memphis and Graceland. She's wanted to go for awhile and I've always had a certain interest in it too. My relationship with the King has been a mixed bag. When I was young I knew of him like I knew of Frank Sinatra. He was someone all the adults were talking about. He took four years off from recording in the mid-sixties which is about the time I was becoming aware of life outside my back yard. I think this always seemed to make him feel like a geezer to me. I remember In The Ghetto as a kind of comeback hit. I never really got a proper perspective on his enormity. I remember having a weird response on the day I found out he had died. Even though he wasn't from my era he was the last great icon of America. There were a few (like Frank) before but I don't believe there were any after. Like most musical trends he belonged to my parents so he was uncool, but there was no denying he touched me in ways I didn't even know. As I've gotten older I've lightened up on my opinion of him. It still sways between classic cheese and appreciation for a white boy that made it safe for the kids to love the "dangerous" black R&B that was there but ignored. Plus there were some great songs.

I wasn't sure what to expect at Graceland. From everything I had heard it was small and tacky. I was preparing for big pink haired women with turtle shell glasses and guys in wife beaters with scraggly beards. I really am a sucker for a good cliché. What Lisa and I found was that and more. There were those people, there were young guys in front of us from Germany, there were families and everything between those three groups. It's definitely a commercialized atmoshpere but no worse than other similarly themed museums.

The house is surprisingly small with a touch of tackiness, but if memory serves what place wasn't a little tacky in the seventies. One of the things that caught me by surprise was the ordinariness of it. Most of the furniture could have been in my family's home. It might have been expensive but it didn't seem like the stuff of a legendary recording artist. My biggest problem with it all was the crowded tour. There was probably about twenty people in our group and it was like pushing through the biggest house I myself have ever been in. I mean that's how modest this place is. It really didn't seem much bigger than my cousin's old split level. The grounds were decent but just 13 acres.

Lisa and I both agreed it was well worth the trip, there was all manner of interesting paraphernalia. His gold and platinum records alone were stunning. It was both what I had heard it was and more. I didn't find it tacky or corny but an interesting glimpse into a history that I was too young to pay attention to at the time. It was like a piece of my history too.

The Lorraine Hotel

Lisa came to visit this past weekend. We had a great time and squeezed a ton of stuff into five days. I'll try to get to all of the stuff over time, just so I'll remember everything we did. We went to Memphis to check out Graceland but ended up seeing a landmark more powerful and one that for some reason I hadn't expected. Lee and I were walking around the Beale Street area downtown and a few blocks up we saw a sign for the National Civil Rights Museum. As we walked down the hill in the direction the sign indicated we approached a hotel. It was slow to register but the pieces started to fall into place. I began to realize that I was looking at the hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assasinated. I can't explain why but coming to me the way it did seemed very appropriate, it came to me in a surreal chain of awareness. The museum is on a preserved city block and the hotel looks just like the famous picture just from a different angle. It was an overwhelming feeling to be standing on the spot where someone I've always admired was slain for standing up for what he believed. It was sad and powerful and it stuck with me the rest of the weekend and still does.

Celebrities and Me (not to be)

Well, it's raining here in beautiful Arkansas today. No motorcycle ride (today at least). I was going to write about what a crappy week it's been. I can't remember how long it's been since I've had this much conflict with this many people. I don't care for my new position as site supervisor. I don't wear the mantle of "the man" comfortably. Well, I was going to write about all of that but why relive it? Instead, I thought I would make a list of all the celebrities I've encountered in my vast travels. I've never actually talked to any of them (I don't think) because that's not my style. Who wants to bug some guy you've seen on t.v. and you can't really get into what you'd like to in just a brief passing on the street with someone like Jimmy Carter. So here in no particular order is

Brian's Hall of Near Misses:

First up is the aforementioned former President. I saw him in the Fairbanks Alaska airport. I read in the paper he was on a fishing trip.

My next airport spotting was the "comedian" Carrot Top, pre-steroid days. We were both taking a puddle jumper from Dallas to Lawton Oklahoma. I remember being the only person to recognize him. He looked at me with an expression that either meant, please don't bother me or please ask for my autograph, I'm not sure.

Next celeb in an airport, Cheri Oteri (whom I used to have a crush on) in Denver airport. I was getting off the rail line and she was getting on. She is short, and cute. Her companion was about 7 feet tall. She also had a scared look on her face when she saw that I was aware of her.

Next, and final airport sighting was with my brother in Atlanta. We were walking down this lonely corridor, lost, when my brother cracked nonchalantly, "Hey here comes Al Franken" thinking it was some shmuck that looked like Al Franken. Turns out it was just that shmuck Al Franken. He had the best celebrity reaction I've seen thus far. He started looking at the blank wall like he was searching for something on it just to avoid eye contact.

One of my favorite sightings, like the Jimmy Carter incident, also took place in Fairbanks. David Copperfield was performing in town one weekend. My friends and I were coming out of the movie at the local cineplex. There was a group of younger teenage girls all running around exited. I didn't think much of it but kind of wondered what their problem was. As I walked out the exit, there behind the snack bar and a sales girl was the magic man himself. He had a super-sized soda up to his mouth and was looking on at the teens as they carried on. I think his greatest magic trick must be having women go crazy over him. I know the Claudia Schiffer jokes have all been overdone. I'll refrain. It turns out that of the four guys I was with, I was the only one that saw him. I'm proud of the fact that I didn't fall prey to his Jedi mind tricks. I'd like to think I would have got hold of his wallet if it had been me mugging him last week.

Then there was the Denny's in Gallup, New Mexico where I dined a mere twenty feet away from Mike Wallace. He's much taller than you would expect and pretty old looking. Don't know what he was having. Probably a double helping of ego with a side of pompus ass.

The last one is a judgment call. It's both my best and most frustrating. I was at Whistler Mountain ski resort in Canada. As I was walking out of the condo office I saw a vagabond sitting on the bench outside the door. I thought he looked out of place and he looked at me with that same scared look Carrot Top gave me. Then in two steps I thought, "Hey, that's Brad Pitt in his Legends of the Fall beard". In the time it took me to make those two steps, I turned around and the bum was gone. I'll never know if it was him but I've spent several evenings imagining myself sipping sherry and smoking cigars with Brad and Jen in the hot tub at Whistler Mountain.

Regret

Tuesday got off to a bad start. I had some words with a co-worker. We UXO techs tend to wear our emotions on our sleeve and most of my fellow Shaw employees are close enough friends that we don't hold a grudge. We vent and get over it later. I was pretty pissed though. I took off to run some errands and went into Conway. At the intersection by Walmart there sat a car broke down in the middle of traffic. The woman was waving people around and I got into the turning lane and went into the Walmart. I stop to help people quite a bit. Just last weekend on the trip to Clarksdale I stopped to help two guys. Well, I was still angry and the crappy Conway drivers didn't help. I get into this self-feeding rage.

I stopped at the edge of the lot trying to decide whether to go help the woman. I remember thinking at the time that she would probably feel better just having someone offer assistance. I finally convinced myself that she would be fine, after all in that situation I would be fine. I went in, picked up the supplies and headed out. I had put it out of my mind trying to remember the items I needed (memories going quick, but that's for another time, if I remember). As I went through the light there were now two police cars assisting the woman. I got a better look at her, she was an older woman, probably in her mid to late fifties, someone's grandma. I could see her red, puffy eyes from across the lane of traffic between us. It hit me hard right than and now the only person I was mad at was myself. I would be for the rest of the day too. I think I'll make an effort to stop and help when I have the chance.

By Popular Demand

Don't forget to click on the title.

My Ol Lady

I flew to Denver this weekend for Lisa's 30th birthday. It was a great weekend but way too fast. Because of a scheduling mistake on my part I only got about two and a half days with her. Fortunately it was quality time. I got in at midnight Friday night which was lucky as the flight scheduled before us (also going to Dallas) was cancelled and there were delays galore. I was only an hour late. The next day we started off with breakfast at Village Inn because Lisa loves the Belgian waffles. After that we packed up from her Mom's place and headed to the Cherry Creek Holiday Inn Select where I had a room reserved. We usually spend at least one night at a hotel when I come in to town. The room was nice but the elevators seemed to be suffering from gremlins. On the way to the hotel we stopped at the Shane Company first, where I picked out and purchased my wedding ring. Lisa was excited and relieved. She was sure I was going to end up with a twist tie-wrapped around my finger for the ceremony. It's a nice ring, very understated and simple. I was pretty excited too. I'm really looking forward to being married.

After a little nap at the hotel we headed off to the Tattered Cover, an impressive bookstore in Denver. There are actually two of them and I could get lost there forever. Lisa's sister Jennifer bought her a book called The Decade of the Wolf by Douglas W. Smith & Gary Ferguson about the effort to return wolves to Yellowstone. We went to see a talk by Gary Ferguson. It was really interesting and moving. Mr Ferguson was an excellent speaker, and Lisa was excited to get her book signed. After the signing we headed to Lisa's sister's house. Jennifer had construction paper signs with "Lisa's 30" printed on them, hanging everywhere. We had some cheese, fruit and wine (I had Red Stripe) and Lisa opened her gifts, than it was on to Pasquini's, one of Lisa's favorite restaurants. She loves the Pesto Penne with pine nuts. I had the spaghetti with Italian Sausage against my better judgement. It was delicious but I was suffering with heartburn the rest of the night.

Sunday, her actual birthday, we went to see "Eight Below". Boy what a great movie. I welled up and Lisa cried (and she never cries at movies). She had seen it before but really wanted me to see it. After that we headed down town to Old Chicago for dinner. Jennifer had got Lisa tickets for Christmas to the NHL team, the Avalanche for her birthday so we were going to eat and walk over to the Pepsi Center. As we were walking to Old Chicago we noticed everyone headed to the game. We thought it was kind of early but before we could order the game came on t.v. The tickets said 7:00 o'clock but the starting time had been changed to six! We settled up and headed over. We had a great time even though the Avs got the tar knocked out of them 5-2 by the Minnesota Wild (whatever that is). Jennifer arranged to have the ushers sing Happy Birthday to Lisa, she was embarrassed but a good sport. The fans sitting in our area even joined in. After the game we finally got to Old Chicago for dinner, a little late but better than never.

Next month I'm hoping Lisa will make it out here to Arkansas for my home leave, but it's going to be hard to top this one.

A New Blog

I like the fact that you can have multiple blogs on your Blogger.com account and I've decided to take advantage of that. I started one called Riding to post details of motorcycle trips I've taken. I was going to do that on here but I've decided I would keep the two seperate. Maybe Riding will be of more interest to people who are otherwise annoyed at my crazy posts or bored by my mundane ones. My brother turned me on to Wayfaring.com which looks like it will be a useful tool for documenting my rides. I may use it to keep track of all the places I work as well.

I've decided to start another blog for several different reasons. On here I just write emotionally with little correction for grammar. Everything here is of the moment and once it's posted it goes into the archives never to be read again (except by me maybe). I'm going to try to structure the Riding blog to be useful to people in certain areas looking for a good place to take a trip. Of course I'm not deluding myself, I installed a site meter on the blog last month and the numbers are less than impressive. But like I said, I'm hopeful that this will appeal to more people. Life's Been Good has always been more for my own entertaiment anyway.

I'll keep posting here though for the two people that read this blog.

Mac News

Mac introduced Bootcamp. I didn't really ever see the need for Windows in my life, especially since I got a promotion to management. I've been using it on the computer at work. For all it's refinement over the years it still sucks. But Bootcamp comes along at a good time for me, saves me the cost of a PC laptop just for work. And I'm all for anything that helps spread the Mac love.

Next Ride

Well, it looks like I've got a few places to pick from for my next motorcycle trek. I like the blues but I wouldn't consider myself an aficionado or anything. I mostly know of Rosedale from Eric Clapton. Since there seems to be a point of contention on the origins of the crossroads, I'll just hedge my bets and hit them both.

Last month, while I was driving down the Mississippi River on a magazine assignment, I had a curious experience in Rosedale, Mississippi. As I was eating lunch in a place called Leo's Market, a waitress mentioned that Rosedale is the place where the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for musical genius (an event alluded to in -- among other places -- the Cohen brothers' movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou). As if to prove it, the waitress handed me a wrinkled, typewritten transcription of a "vision" about Johnson's fateful moment that had appeared to bluesman Henry Goodman as he was traveling the road from Rosedale to Anguila. For the sake of posterity (and because I have never seen it elsewhere), I am publishing Goodman's "vision" in full below, as well as a postscript by Rosedale's Crossroads Blues Society.

Interestingly, there are other contenders in the myth of Robert Johnson's devil-purchased soul -- and the crossroads of US 61 and US 49 in Clarksdale is where most blues tourists pay their respects (the newest Romantics album is called "61/49" for this reason). Of course -- as with ancient Roman tourists setting off to find "sites" from Greek myths -- the location of Johnson's crossroads is not exactly something that can be proven. He was born in Hazelhurst, and his supposed grave is in Quito (near Itta Bena) -- but Rosedale did figure in the lyrics for one of Johnson's most famous songs, "Traveling Riverside Blues".

It'll probably be a few weeks before I'm able to go but I'm already excited. Check here for the details.

Illegal Immigration

The crises du jour seems to be illegal immigration. The people supporting the illegal immigrants feel that they do the work we US citizens are too pampered to do. This opinion is especially true in California. My opinion (just an uneducated one) is that just isn't true. I think we risk creating two classes, of course this isn't provable. However, I know that when I was working around Avon and Vail, Colorado there was a trailer park the size of a small town outside Edwards Colorado full of Mexican Americans. It was obvious they were the cooks, waiters, houskeepers and grocery store employees that were keeping the resorts running. In the cities it was July but still white as snow. I'm not saying the people in the trailer park were all illegal or that they had a bad life but this segregation always chafed me a little.

The notion that whites won't do the work doesn't seem to hold true to me either. If that were the case, nothing would get done in my hometown. There are very few immigrants (illegal or otherwise) there and the hotel rooms still get cleaned. I know I run the risk of being labeled a racist. I don't think everyone for non-residents is a shady contractor or Hollywood mom looking for a nanny, and I don't believe everyone concerned about the illegals is a xenophobe. Of course Bush's work permit thing was tried already back in the forties I believe. During World War II there wasn't enough labor in the US so a deal was made with Mexico to allow workers in the country. I can't remember the details but I understand it was a sucess. So who knows. I really don't care either way on this issue. Just like everything else that people blow out of proportion there is a middle ground that's the most benefical for the most people. Too bad I don't know what the anwer is.

First Official Day Of Spring

It was a glorious day today. Every year, for as long as I can recall, I have a special day that signifies the beginning of spring (for me anyway). I can't explain what makes that day special. It's usually the first really warm day. I usually notice the buds on trees and the grass getting green. I had to make a run for some parts at work and while driving to Home Depot spring officially began. It's always a bitter sweet occasion. I feel great but I'm reminded that I'm not in high school. One of the first Spring Days for me was in high school. It was the tenth grade and I had a class with just three students in it. The teacher was also the girls' softball coach. One day the three of us went with the teacher to set up the field for that night's game. We rode around getting gear and laying down the lime for the baselines. Plus it was the first time I heard "Take It On The Run" by REO Speedwagon. I'm showing my age and lameness here but that was the song that defined the summer for me. That used to be another element to Spring Day. A new song. Today I had to settle for "classic rock". I don't really look back with nostalgia. I'm at my optimum age right now. I was a mess from about 20 up to 35 or so. Spring Day is one of those days when I do get a little misty eyed at the past. I wish I wasn't so old that my knees hurt when climbing out of the truck or that I grunt when I bend over to tie my shoes. And I wish I wasn't so old that all my favorite bands were still around. I miss the excitement of new music in the spring. Back before the marketing wizards decided when an album would be released you could count on Van Halen releasing an album every May. Followed by a summer of Foreigner, ZZ Top and Cheap Trick. I wish I could feel the thrill of hearing "Let's Get It Up" by AC/DC for the first time again. I remember where I was the first time I heard it. As glad as I am when spring comes, I'm glad it only comes once a year.

Saturday Night Was Alright

Turns out that what it wasn't though, was interesting. I did eat half a jar of garlic stuffed Mazzeta olives though. How's that for living it up?

Saturday Night's Alright

I'm doing something I haven't done in awhile. I'm sitting around drinking and surfing the internet. This should be interesting. I'm quaffing Guiness and listening to Dwight Yokam on iTunes. I don't particularly like country music. It seems like a bunch of carpet baggers who pander to middle aged women and earnest servicemen. I may have even had a ranting, raving post on the stupidity of "Live Life Like You Were Dying". I don't get that guy's appeal. You know he's bald under that hat, right? I know Dwight is bald under his hat too but for some reason that just makes him cooler.

As you, my loyal readers know, several months back I had an expensive accident when I tried to share a Yuengling with my iBook. I'm keeping the Guiness far away tonight.

I had the pleasure of hearing from a pen pal from Canada tonight. She and I have been corresponding since 1998 or 99 without having ever met. I was working on Wake Island and bored out of my mind so I used Yahoo personals to find someone to write to. Jo has a great temperament and I give her full credit for our being buddies these past eight years. Over the last few years the emails have been dropping off as we've both been growing personally. There was never anything more than a mutual love of Rush and Tuborg beer between us but life changes and priorities shift. I swear to God I'm going to Canada soon to meet her face to face. Tonight, I got an email with pictures of Jo and Cam's (Jo's husband) brand new baby! I'm proud to present Trenton Cameron Chase Wheler -



Is it me our does he have a killer tan?

Vanilla Toothpaste

My last few posts have been kind of unpleasant so I thought I would talk about something nice for this one. I saw Colgate Vanilla Mint toothpaste on the Apprentice last season. It was part of a task. At the time I thought it sounded like it would taste like boiled llama ass. I saw it at the grocery store and decided to try (kudos to the synergy of product placement brought to you by Donald Trump). Turns out it's not half bad. The flavor is very subtle and I actually prefer it to any other tooth paste I've used recently. It's even better than my fruit flavored Looney Tunes brand, although the Looney Tunes has a musical cap!!!.

Assville Continued

See, what'd I tell ya? I would have posted this sooner but as we drove by yesterday the guy was standing at the corner of his trailer burning garbage!!! And I'm talking no more than ten feet from his house. Keep's the skeeters away I suppose. I didn't take the picture at that time because he was staring right at us. The hills have eyes.

Assville

I try not to judge people by where they live. You'll never hear me say the only thing that ever came from Texas was steers and queers (unless I'm teasing a Texan). I'll never allude that everyone from Alabama is inbred, I've spent a lot of time there and it's a beautiful state with a lot of nice people. However! Sometimes an area seems to have more than it's fair share of assholes. Ladies and gentleman, for your consideration, I give you Conway Arkansas. Since I've been here I've rescued two dogs who had been threatened by not one but two gun happy rednecks (this ticks me off and I'm a gun owner). I've had the displeasure of driving through L.A., Washington D.C., Denver, and any number of big city traffic nightmares but this smallish town of 52,000 is where I refuse to ride my motorcycle. Bear in mind that I've lane split on I-5 in San Diego during rush hour. I have mocked people because they are scared to ride their motorcycles in traffic and yet here I am. I've had more people pull out in front of my big blinding-ass red pick-up just this morning than I have the last five years. I even got cut off in the Target by some woman in a hurry. Turns out she was just in a hurry to get her cart and kid in front of me and then slow down.

The litter in this part of Arkansas is a disgrace. Forget about the litter alongside the road, that looks like the 70's commercial with Iron Eyes Cody. It's everywhere. Someone picked it up last week. On the way to work there were several large orange garbage bags on the side of the road. Of course there were fresh bottles and cups to kick off the next round of filth. Some yayhoo wrote the local paper last week suggesting that the guy in charge of roads and highways should be fired for not taking care of the mess. How about the people putting it there in the first place. It's always governments responsibility to take care of the lazy citizens. Like I said though, that's just small potatoes compared to what people live in. I'll take a picture on the way to work tomorrow otherwise you won't believe me. Some yards literally look like dumps. One place had a busted sewage line, raw sewage was coming up through the yard and draining into a pond behind the house. Nice!

Service is just as pleasurable as the rest of the experience (which I like to refer to as the Con way). You very seldom get a "hello" or "thank you". Of course that's not true of everyone. There are some nice people here. And there are some weirdos too. One of the would-be dog slayers rides around in his Toyota pick-up with some younger guy, with a case of beer between them. The young guy is pretty fetching in his coveralls, sans shirt. I hate to come off sounding superior but really, it's kind of hard not to. The satire of Cletus the slack jawed yokel loses some of it's edge when you see how close to the bone it cuts here.

My time is nearing the end here, I would have liked to see it in the summer, it's probably a pretty place when it's all green. Honestly though, I don't think I can take the people. If you're from Conway and happen onto this blog, please don't take it personally, oh and clean up your yard for Chrissakes.

Home Leave

It's been a while since the last post. There are several reasons. I flew home last weekend for home leave. For some reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. I got to see Mom and Dad and that was about it. I ran in to one brother and his family in the mall and that was about it. A trip home is always a mixed bag of contentedness, joy, boredom and guilt and some sadness. I'm usually home for a few days. It usually takes that many days to myself to unwind. The only problem with this is I don't make an effort to see family and friends. I promise, I'll get better. Now having said that, to all friends and family reading this, you know where I live and I love to entertain.

It's hard to articulate the contentedness I feel just walking out the door to my drive way. My place is nothing special, this is the view from the front door:



I love it when it's foggy in the morning. I love to wash the dishes and clean the house when it's cold and rainy out. One of my favorite memories is of the year of the big blizzard when I was stuck inside for a few days. I own a duplex and my cousin lives in the other side. I spent a week of walking next door, playing XBox, drinking beer and generally avoiding the outside world. Ah life was grand that month.

A Dream Born Of Boredom

Sweet Jesus, I'm bored. I don't even feel like posting anything but it's this or staring at the ceiling. I've started this post like three times and just can't make it stick. I was checking out the official Isle of Man website earlier. Lisa and I are planning a honeymoon to England in a year. We are definitely going to Bath, Lisa went several years ago and loves it there. I wanted to go to London also, but now I'm thinking I would rather go to the Isle of Man. It's the Mecca of motorcycling with the Isle of Man TT so it would seem like a cool place to go. I've seen plenty of pictures and a video of the race and it looks beautiful. Gimili (John Rhys Davies) lives there too. It would be great to see the race but I hear the place is booked for several years in advance. The race is run on public roads, so I could conceivably rent a Norton Commando and ride the course (at a lot slower speeds of course).

Baton Rouge Road Trip

The crew at Camp Robinson have taken a road trip to Baton Rouge, Louisana for a two day Quality Control class for Army Corp of Engineers projects. It was about a seven and a half hour drive. I drove all the way. It was a pretty fun trip (although I would have rather been on the bike of course). We were on interstate most of the way but got to go through some of Arkansas and Louisana's rural roads as well.

I'm hoping to get some site seeing in and get some pictures but it's kind of a tight schedule. It's my first time in this area, I always get excited by that.

Next From HBO!

I use to work with this religious guy. He wasn't overbearing but was sure of his faith. I always love to have philosophical discussions at work. I'm strictly an amateur and Branden actually had a degree in Philosophy, but I didn't feel out gunned necessarily. I remember some heated discussions, some even resulting in voices being raised. Of course I can do that and remain friends with someone and he was the same. One of our ongoing arguments concerned homosexuality. He, being religious, felt it was a sin and I of course don't. A point he always liked to make was that sometimes there is a right and wrong. Just because society has slowly been accepting gays over the years doesn't make it right. He wondered what would keep the polygamists or pederasts from starting a lobbying effort, or someone trying to give sheep the vote. My argument was that people instinctively know the difference and there are things society will never accept. I'm starting to wonder however. HBO is producing a new series about a polygamist and his three wives. I'm incredibly tolerant of religions, sexual orientations, race or social class and I haven't seen Big Love yet (so I don't want to judge) but I'm outta here when HBO has a series about a guy who weds a sheep.

Hey! Here's Something.

I was reading the complimentary USA Today from the hotel when I came across this article. It's from Monday, February 20, 06. It's a bit of good news for the three people left in the country still more concerned about civil liberty than Jon Stewart hosting the Oscars. The title reads, "States eye land seizure limits" with the by line, "Bills would rein in eminent domain". Apparently, and surprisingly, there's been a backlash to the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that gives local governments the go ahead to seize land willy-nilly. Most of the article is about the controversy over the ruling and what state governments are doing in response. It'll warm your cockles to see that there are people in government who can do the right thing. Of course it doesn't hurt that their constituents are outraged.

My favorite part of the article comes toward the end. "'There's been an explosion of outrage by people across the country and across the political spectrum about what can be done,' says Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm." Turns out BB&T, the ninth largest bank in the US, is refusing to lend money to developers who acquire property through eminent domain. It's not like I doe a lot of high stakes investment but I would be inclined to use BB&T in the future. An economic developement corporation in Rhode Island, headed by that state's governor will no longer use eminent domain to acquire land. It's good to see in this day of Enron and Tyco there are some companies doing the right thing, and notice none of this with the help of the Federal Government. It's all actually inspite of it.

Of course, realistically, eminent domain has it's place, but it should be used sparingly and fairly. It looks bright though and for a little while I'm a happy libertarian.

Don Knotts

I just heard the news that Don knotts has passed away. It's strange how that bit of news has affected me. I've always associated Mr. Knotts with happy memories. I'm going to slip into old man mode here as I reminisce about The Andy Griffith Show. Back in the 70's, pre-150 channel cable, I would come home from school and settle down in front of the t.v. for two back to back episodes. It was one of those things you grow out of as you get older, not to mention I watched it so much I even now have most of the episodes ingrained in my memory. In my mind Andy Giffith was passé. It was only years later when I caught some episodes on Nick at Nite, did I remember and appreciate the gentle humor. It actually holds up well. Don reminded me of an uncle and he influenced my sense of humor a great deal. I'll always remember Don Knotts fondly.

Sorry

Does anyone else think Madonna's video Sorry is stupid. It's like watching your sad, aging aunt who likes to hang out at clubs (if your aunt was a vapid, annoying pop star) embarrassing herself. You have to hand it to her for flexibilty though.

WTC Conspiracy

I was checking out My Boring Best by a fellow I know as Jim from Cleveland. I always enjoy reading his blog, as I've mentioned before. I feel honored that he's added me to the list of blogs he has on his site. I think we are slightly different in our political views but I've never held that against anyone because as my brothers will tell you no one shares my political views, except that guy who stands on the corner in San Francisco yelling profanities at himself and wearing the "Will wrestle for beer" sign. Anyway. Jim had a link to a conspiracy theory film on the events of 9/11. I have to say watching it made me, in turns, sick, angry, amazed and baffled that anyone would give any of this bull shit a moments serious consideration. Let's forget for a moment that an operation of this size would require hundreds, if not thousands of people (government employees, no less) keeping their mouths shut and go over the crap these guys are spewing. For a better argument than I'm about to give check out the March 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics if you can find it.

The film opens like one of those The Truth.com ads. A youthful voice reads a declassified document from some crack pot general in the 60's. It's full of lame-brained ideas on ways to start a war with Cuba. The voice then reveals the general's ideas were rejected by his boss MacNamara and Kennedy personally removed him from his position on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. So far we've learned that there is a limit to how crazy a person in government can be.

The film goes along slickly quoting a witness here, showing letters from "experts" there but offers nothing substantial. Most of it doesn't raise to the level of hearsay. You have to ask yourself what is the underlying motive of the people making this film and perpetuating this myth. One guy disagreeing with his colleagues doesn't necessarily make that guy a brave lone wolf. He could just be a self-serving dolt. You know the type, a guy with an ego that demands attention, the contrarian.

I could go on trying to refute everything they say but this would be a pretty long post. I obviously wasn't there so I won't bother contradicting the "expert" testimony of a janitor. There is one area I feel safe addressing. The film spends a great deal of time trying to make the argument that there were demolition charges placed in the World Trade Towers. If there's one thing I'm familiar with, it's explosives. I was on the bomb squad in the Air Force, and I've been an explosives technician as a civilian for a total of 20 years. Of course you don't have to be an expert to wonder where the HUGE quantity of explosives required to bring the buildings down were hidden. A building rigged for demolition by implosion is covered in explosives, with detonation cord running everywhere. It's a very precise operation requiring a specific set of steps to be followed with exact timing. The explosives wouldn't be setting in a fire of that intensity for more than an hour (the time before the buildings collapsed) without going off.

They want you to believe a cruise missile struck the Pentagon but mention witnesses smelling cordite. Having blown up both I can safely say there is no cordite smell from cruise missiles, so which is it, demolitions or a missle? The audacity to suggest that a US citizen would fire a cruise missile at other US citizens sickens me. Goddamn, I'm getting madder just typing this. If people stopped and seriously considered what these ass-holes are suggesting I don't see how any sane person can believe it.

Ass-holes.

Google, Heros At Home...

...shit birds in China.

The Great Firewall of China
Wednesday 15 February 2006

U.S. technology giants Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft have been drawing increasing criticism for cooperating with the Chinese government's online censorship and surveillance programs. The recently launched Google.cn is tailored to the Chinese authorities' specifications, blocking China's Internet users from information about taboo topics such as human rights and democracy. Google rivals Yahoo! and Microsoft are also under fire for censorship. Legislation is currently being drafted by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., to force companies to move computer servers out of China.

Read the rest here...

I applaud Google for their fight against the Justice Department. It says a lot about the country we live in that Google doesn't have a problem speaking out against our government. Makes you wonder why they are so fast to acquiesce to the Chinese. And let's hear it for Rep. Chris Smith, the way to handle the issue of government censorship is for the government to force private industry to do the right thing. Thank goodness, we have all these governments looking out for our well being.

Me.

I don't have a very detailed profile posted so I thought I would take a minute to write some stuff about myself. I'm 41 and engaged (for the first time if you can believe that). My previous relationships had lasted no longer than six months, and that is not an exaggeration. I think I could only have had this relationship by obtaining a certain point of maturity. I was too spastic to be attractive until I became comfortable with myself first. I know that sounds very Doctor Phil but in my case it was the truth. I really believed that I was destined to never meet anyone. I have some great stories that may make it to other posts sometime.

So I fell in love with Lisa and that part of my life took an unbelievable turn for the best. It's going to come across like a bad romance novel but I only thought I had been in love before her. I guess you really do know it when it comes along. I felt right at ease with her from the very first date. We still rarely argue and always have fun no matter what we're doing.

So up until then I had a pretty darn good life, but with Lisa it became terrific. I took the name for my blog from the Joe Walsh song of the same title. I've got no reason to complain and when I do it's always something lame and really not worth the effort. I've mentioned before how this blog started out as a night of drunken web surfing. It was going to be a place to rant and rave about things that irk me but it's kind of turned into more of a diary, I enjoy going back and reading my old entries. Turns out I'm not really into bitching. I still get a snide dig in every once in awhile though. I've started more of those types of blog entries than actually get posted.

I've got two brothers, both younger, and my parents. We're a close family as I've mentioned before. I think Lisa and her family are very much like my family and I'm sure it's part of why we get along so well.

Another reason I think I get along with Lisa is because she has accepted the inner nerd in me with some bemused tolerance and understanding. I had never met a woman I had felt comfortable revealing my love of Star Wars and Batman to before. I was a huge fan of comic books and still read them occasionally but don't follow them like I used to. She thinks it's cute that I'm easily distracted by the Hot Wheels cars when we're shopping at Walmart. I'm glad. Still can't get her to watch Hellboy though.

One more thing, I love all the versions of Bad Finger's No Matter What, including, but not limited to Def Leppard's, Great White's, The Knack's and Judge Nothing's.

This'll Scare The Crap Out Of You...

Sorry. I know this is really uncalled for but it creeps me out so much I had to share. Deeee-lish!

This'll Scare The Crap Out Of You...

Sorry. I know this is really uncalled for but it creeps me out so much I had to share. Deeee-lish

Dinner Companion From Hell

I work for a huge environmental company. The Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO) division is (or was) relatively small. Most of the guys I've known for years and even though we sometimes have differences we all still got along. In the last few years our contracts have been growing and the business of cleaning up after our government is booming. As the demands for UXO technicians goes up, the quality of the UXO technicians go down. As a result I find myself the victim of some cruel economic model of diminishing returns. We have one of the new guys here right now. He was hired as a site supervisor. That puts him in charge of the day to day running of the job, kind of a middle management guy. Well, he's used to other UXO companies which aren't structured like ours. Most have huge turn over and there is some room for advancement. Here, this guy (we'll call him Bobert) has reached the pinnacle, site supervisor with two of us under him, the QC guy doesn't work for him. He could be in charge of more, but two or twenty, it's all kind of the same. Of course don't give this guy that bit of information. He isn't even in charge yet, and he's running around salivating at the thought of getting his mitts on the boss's shiny white rental truck.

We had a weekly tradition of dinner at a different restaurant on Fridays. This Friday our QC guy decided not to go because Bobert had rubbed him the wrong way during the day. I wish I had followed his lead. I arrived about ten minutes late with the geophysics guys. Bobert and the other guy were already there. Sitting at the bar it took me about five seconds to realize this guy was drunk! Not tipsy but full on sloppy drunk. He's acting the ass and is the living, clichéd embodiment of the ugly American. He's cursing at the top of his lungs in the nicest restaurant in Conway Arkansas. To top it off he's going to force me to have a good time whether I like it or not. He's yelling at me to order a drink. That happens again later on. What follows is a near transcript of a fun conversation with the waitress after we're seated. He pulls out a cigarette and when the geophysist tells him it's a no-smoking restaurant he replies (in the loud voice, of course) that he doesn't care because he's UXO. The waitress tells him it's a no-smoking restaurant and he asks her if she's a cop. She's uncomfortable but politely replies, yes, she is. Then he starts badgering her to see her badge. "No seriously, because I'm trying to explain to my friend, I want to see your badge." This apparently strikes him as witty banter. From a distance it would all seem pretty funny. Up close I ate without chewing while Bobert's head bobbed, as he was literally slipping in and out of consciousness. I shit you not. This guy is a complete and total tool, and he's shaping up to be one drunk, or sober.

I hate to see this more than you know. The first company I worked for when I got out of the Air Force started out small and was soon over run by guys like this. I left for that reason. I've been lucky and with the same company for nine years (a record in this industry) and I hope this run isn't ending.

My British Evening

I've been reading Layer Cake by J J Connolly. It's a great British crime novel. It's a perfect day for reading too. I've been enjoying a few Boddington's, there's a freezing rain outside and it's throughly crappy. It's the simple pleasures like this that make me happy.

Home Leave in Denver

Lee & Me,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

I just got back from Denver. My company sends me home about once a month on longer jobs for home leave. I went to Denver to see Lisa this time. We had a great time. We went to the Comedy Works with some of Lisa's colleges. It was a good show, I only wish I could remember the names of the comedians, they were pretty good. On Saturday night we got a hotel room in the Cherry Creek area, After Lisa got her hair done we had a couple of martini's at the bar in the hotel and took a taxi to The Samba Room in downtown Denver. Lisa took me there two years ago to celebrate our anniversary. It's been my favorite restaurant ever since. We don't go often though to keep the mystique. They have a drink called the Mojita, I'm not sure what's in it. I do know it has rum, a sugar cane stalk and mint leaves and tastes like a little glass of heaven.

On Sunday we went up to Silverthorn. I helped Lisa's brother, Chris put the motor back in his 650 Ninja. He's had the engine rebuilt. He's a painter in a body shop and is excellent at his job. He's painted the bike pearl white and it's looking sharp. After we got the motor back in we all went to Old Chicago. Lisa and Chris are members of the world beer tour and after Sunday, so am I. I love the idea of drinking beers from around the world and getting prizes for it. Genius.

On Monday I picked Lisa up from work so she could take me to the airport. We left a little early and had lunch at the Blue Bonnet, a pretty decent mexican restaurant. It's one of Lisa's old haunts, P.B. (pre-Brian). We had a few more hours to kill so we went to Pasquini's for desert. As I write this, I'm starting to think we did a lot of eating and some drinking.

We had a great weekend. One of the things I love about Lisa is that she gets me to do things I would otherwise never bother to do. She does it without nagging or annoying me. She just gets me to do it because it's so much fun to do these things with her. Life is still good.

What Does This Say About Me

I was checking out my Flikr pictures and uploading a few new ones. I noticed that I have an unreasonably high number of pictures of my motorcycle in front of stuff.
You get the idea. There are several more like that. After all the blathering I did a few posts ago about image, it appears that I have some insecure need to show the world that, yes! I do have a motorcycle and look how cool it is. But at the same time, they are usually my most viewed photos. I think some of the compulsion comes from Dad. He's always had photos of his old cars and I've always been fascinated by them. I love vintage pictures of cars and bikes. Maybe my kids (if I have any) will get a kick out of comparing my old vintage bike to their hover-bikes. Of course this post is just another chance to show off my bike.