Just A Brief Observation

As Lisa and I were walking around downtown Denver the day after Thanksgiving, there was a group of smelly, hippies walking down the street towards us. They were dressed up as zombies (although with smelly hippies you're never quite sure), shuffling down the 16th Street Mall. As they approached I saw some with t-shirts about consummerism and deduced that they were actually protesting the crass commercialism of Christmas shopping. Right after my first thought of, "Huge waste of time", I was curious as to why, with a war going on they decided to dress up and travel en masse to walk around bugging little old ladies and harried fathers with children in tow all over the evils of buying presents for loved ones. I assumed since bathing wasn't taking up any of their time they were just bored. Lisa and I had a good laugh, I remember giving her the old stage whisper and her agreeing that it was a huge waste of time. We moved on down the street and gave one last glance as we went into Virgin Records.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Christmas 2005

It has been a good holiday season so far. I’ve been spending it with Lisa and her family in Littleton Colorado. It’s been fun and relaxing. I’ve slowed down and done some things I haven’t done in awhile. I’ve read a book and am half way through another one right now. I haven't really read a lot in the last few years. I love to read but seem to put it off for other pursuits, like the XBox or wall staring. I’m glad I’ve gotten back into it. I read “The Pleasure of My Company” by Steve Martin. I’ve always loved everything Steve Martin does ever since I got “One Wild and Crazy Guy” on a vinyl disc way back in the seventies. I remember being a little too young (or naive) to stay up on Saturday Nights to see him hosting Saturday Night Live. I actually started liking him because of the song King Tut. I bought the album when I was probably around thirteen and didn’t get a lot of the humor but that didn’t stop me from stealing his routine and doing it in the caferteria during lunch. That’s right, I was the proverbial little fat boy repeating comedy bits for attention. I knew it was sad even at the time but one day I made milk fly out of Paul Clark’s nose so I didn’t care that it was wrong. I was a lunch room, well I was going to say God, and maybe in my mind I was but we know the sad truth. It was still fun though.

Anyway, you get the picture, I like Steve Martin and will see him in anything, which unfortunately means sitting through Cheaper by the Dozen. I think Bonnie Hunt is a genius too, so what went so horribly wrong?

At least his books are great. I loved "Shopgirl" and "The Pleasure of My Company" is almost as good. It’s genuis in parts. Steve Martin has a big brain (he actually had two of them once) and can really turn a phrase. The book is full of stuff like, “My plan was to walk by on my side of the street and not look over her way. This, I felt, was a very clever masculine move: to meet and ultimately seduce through no contact at all. She would be made aware of me as a mysterious figure, someone with no need of her whatsoever. This is compelling to a woman.” He has deftly captured my previous dating techniques. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, thank God for Lisa.

The story is short at 163 pages and a little uneven at times. The ending is abrupt and feels a little forced but it’s a great book that I would recommend to anyone who likes Steve Martin or character driven stories with happy endings.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

My Second Favorite Blogger

I was surfing around on Flikr and ran across a photo from Planet Pixel and checked out his blog. It has a hilarious post on the whole Tookie Williams protests. I especially liked the dig on Sean Penn. I feel an immediate connection with anyone who takes a shot at Sean Penn, kind of a kindred spirit thing. So anyway, I read the rest of the blog and realized that Jim from Cleveland is a lot like me except a much better writer. My blog is stymied by my desire to write my feelings down no-holds-barred but with the realization that other people will be reading them. I know I've covered this in past posts but I guess it eats at me. My first favorite blooger is my brother, Bryce, of course. Now there's a fellow that puts it out there. When he gets on a roll he can be one of the best writers I've ever read. And there's only just a little brotherly favoritism in that. I can think of no one else that could find a tie to Wendy's new ad campaign and Aleister Crowley's writings. And he made the connection from the comic V For Vendetta. How's that for connecting the dots. It's people like Bryce, and Jim from Cleveland and a lot of other interesting people who blog, that inspire me to try harder.

Actually while I'm on brothers I would be neglectful if I didn't mention my other brother, Brent. I mention him not because he reads the blog sometimes and I don't want him getting jealous of the Bryce lovefest. I'm bringing him up because of his pride and joy the Ohio Express girls' basketball club. It has been taking off thanks to his hard work. Being the oldest brother is something akin to being a parent I imagine. For the longest time you think of your younger brothers as your little brothers. That's not the case at all. Both of my brothers have surpassed me in many aspects and have become fine men that I would enjoy being around even if we weren't family. Although it's like yesterday that the three of us were laying around the bedroom they shared in Lyndhurst watching the "new" Mickey Mouse Club (the one with Lisa Welchel, not Britney Spears) on a nine inch black and white UHF television. I can't imagine having a sibling that you hate or can't stand to be around, my mother and father and two brother's have been (along with Lisa now) what have kept me sane during the thirteen years I've been on the road living in hotels.

On a final note, Brent & Bryce, do not show this post to Mom!!!

The Circus Is In Town

My job here in Albuquerque has been a case study in government gone wild. The job itself is simple enough, we are building a GPO. GPO stands for Geophysical Prove Out. It's a test grid with ordnance both real and simulated for geophysists to check their instruments. It's a quality control thing for geophysical surveys. The process is simple. A UXO tech (me) takes a metal detector to a one hundred by one hundred foot grid. I check for any actual unexploded ordnance that may be there already. Than we start digging holes to place the "seeded" ordnance. Realistically it should take one UXO tech and one geophysics technician. On the first day we had the Geophysics division manager for Shaw, two Shaw project managers, the Army Corps of Engineers project manager and geophysics engineer for the corp, a Shaw archeologist, a Shaw health and safety rep, two Shaw geophysics techs, a representative of the Isleta Pueblo Tribe and two Pueblo tribal rangers (with M-16s by the way) and two UXO techs. I may be forgetting someone. It was a mad house. There is normally a work plan you follow with as little deviation as possible. Everyone had an opinion on how it should be done and they were almost all wrong. The work plan remained intact all of two hours. If ever there was a case for smaller government this was it. We were suppose to be here a week. Thanks to the delays, changes, interruptions and outright interference of all the PHD's I'm leaving next Wednesday a full three working days later than scheduled. "I'm from the government, I'm here to help".

Albuquerque

Lisa drove down from Denver Friday night to visit. She's a trooper. She left from work at five, left Denver at 7:00 p.m. and got down here at midnight. All while nursing a cold. Saturday we went to "Old Town". Which is Albuquerque's take on the revitalized down town tourist zone. All in all it was a little underwhelming. There were several bars and some antique and thrift shops. There were a lot of homeless people and empty buildings with for lease signs in the windows. Lisa and I were both use to down town Denver which is always hoping on the weekends. Downtown Albuquerque was surprisingly empty. In the city's defense the weather was cold so maybe it was keeping people in. I've been here a few times in the past and always kind of liked it. As far as the places I've travelled it's never really stood out but hasn't been a bad experience either. It's kind of dreary this time. It must be one of those places (like Zanesville) that are just depressing in the winter. It's like the whole town is sepia. Although Lisa's visit made it the happiest place on earth (sorry Disney World).

On To The Next State

I left Texas early this morning bound for Albuquerque, New Mexico. I just went one state over and it took me 11 hours! Texas is big. It was also friendly. Almost every car I came up on would pull off the road on to the shoulder to let me pass. I saw it the entire time I was there. Once you get into the cities though all bets are off. They are darting everywhere.

A few signs caught my attention. In Brownwood Texas I saw a billboard for Underwood's Cafeteria with the promise of hot rolls and cobbler. I 'm thankful to be living in a world with cobbler and hot rolls. Then in Union Texas on a gas stop I saw a curious sign next to the toilet. It read, "Please don't flush tissue paper down the toilet". I was perplexed to say the least. I thought maybe tissue paper was a local term for something else but couldn't imagine what it might be. Well I asked the girl behind the counter and sure enough, due to the poor water flow the owner didn't want anyone flushing toilet paper down the john. I was glad I didn't have business to attend.

The trip was good. It was an opportunity to do some travelling that I don't usually get to do. I went almost completely on back roads. It had it's pros and cons. I got to see a lot of stuff like Buddy Holly Square in Lubbock which you can get to via Mac Davis Lane. Lubbock seems to be a musical town. It was also a looong trip across a whole lot of nothing at times.

All in all it was a good time, I love driving across the country. It always puts me in a positive frame of mind to see the greatness of the country we live in. I also get to eat a lot of junk food.

Lisa & Sophie

Lisa & Sophie II,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

This is a picture from Thanksgiving that I thought was cute. It's of my fiancé and her mom's dog, Sophie. I actually named Sophie when Lisa's mom first brought her home as a puppy. Lisa's mom, brother, sister, Lisa and I were having dinner at their favorite Mexican resturaunt. They were floating all kinds of suggestions but nothing really fit. Than in an unexplained flash I blurted out, "How about Sophie?" Everyone stopped talking and looked at me with what I briefly thought was a collective look of of disbelief, but it turned out they approved. I don't know why I thought of that name but I'm glad I came up with it. I felt like my acceptance to the Miller family was solidified. It's been over a year now and Sophie is a big, goofy pooch with a talent for knocking things over while chasing Opie the cat.

Torture Is...

...this blog.

Torture Is...

This is from Rueters story about the stir Congessman John Murtha created a few weeks ago: "Murtha has said Iraq cannot be won militarily and the United States must withdraw to send a signal to Iraqis that they are 'free from the United States occupation.'

Murtha's opposition broadened a partisan divide in Washington and prompted the Republican-led House of Representatives to engineer a vote on Friday on a resolution to pull U.S. troops immediately from Iraq."

This is from a completely different Rueters story: "Talabani told a news conference his country was not under foreign occupation and it would be a disaster if U.S. forces left the country too soon.

'Those in Iraq now are foreign forces under a UN Security Council resolution and with the consent of the legitimate government,' he said."

Talabani is the President of Iraq by the way. Maybe it's time for our leaders to start working with the Iraq leadership. Like it or not their concerns and well being are ours now too. I hate to sound like a cheerleader for a war. I'm not, but I hope we don't pull out too soon otherwise the whole thing will have been a wasted effort and the troops's deaths really will have been in vain.

I wrote all that crap at the time it was happening and wasn't going to put it on the blog. I'm trying to write about enjoyable stuff. I gave up arguing politics at work a long time ago, it just got me worked up but now my old buddy Law & Order has turned on me. L & O always dabbled in political stuff but the past few months they have really been raising my ire. First some goofy "illegals in a box" slam on the Minutemen and then tonight, ripped from the headlines "torture at Gitmo". When did loud music, bright lights and sleep deprivation become torture? We all got a big laugh in 1989 when armored vehicles were blasting Krokus at Manuel Noriega, it was televised after all. I hate to also sound like a cheerleader for torture but we better define the differences between torture and interrogation before we pc ourselves right to HELL!!! Sorry, that was just for dramatic effect.

Thanksgiving Day Part II

I had a little adventure on the way to Denver for Thanksgiving. The newscasts were warning that this would be the biggest travel day of the year so far. Gatesville Texas is about forty miles from the Waco airport and my flight was at 6:21 a.m. I have a compulsive need to arrive early for these types of things. So I leave at three and arrive at 4:00 o'clock to find the airport closed! It's a small regional airport with two gates and the place was locked up tight as a drum. So much for the mad press of humanity. I arrived at the DFW American Eagle Satellite building which brought back fond memories of the flight from Dallas to Lawton, Oklahoma I shared with none other than Carrot Top, pre-steroid. That was fun. I think I was the only one that recognized him. He looked nervous, glanced at me with a look of either, please don't acknowledge me or, please ask for my autograph. I'm really not sure which.

There were no exciting celebrity siting this time. The flight went off smooth. The return trip however was a mixed bag. Lisa and I went into the aiport and looked down from the upper deck. The security line was wrapped around the bottom floor of aiport, and Denver aiport is no small building. I was starting to get a feeling of dread but that compulsion had kicked in and I was three hours early. I got to the American Airlines counter and there was no one in it!!! It took me five seconds to check in. Even on my best day this was unprecedented. Things were starting to look up. Lisa and I enjoyed a coffee and headed for the security check point. As we passed the United counter there was one of their employees directing the line around the corner. I couldn't help but think as busy as United was and American wasn't it was good for me but looking bad for American's financial future. This day just kept getting better. By the time we got to the security line it was just a matter of walking to the x-ray machine, it had cleared out that much in 30 minutes.

Of course all this good travel Karma I had collected on the trip was about to bite me in the ass. Firstthe wind had picked up in Dallas so they turned the air traffic around, we landed in Dallas and taxied around the terminal for what felt like three trips. Needless to say I was running through the terminals to catch my connection. That's typical however. What really turned the day around was the flight in the twin prop Saab back to Waco. That wind was really kicking now. Literally the minute we took off I was sick. For the next fifty minutes I was in a cold sweat the likes of which I've never sweated before. I'm usually really nervous landing in Texas on a windy day, but as the plane came down sideways all I could think was "A crash will put me out of this misery". Once we got down and I made my way to the baggage claim I was greeted by the empty spot on the conveyor where my bag was not.

It still was all worth it to see Lisa though.

Thanksgiving Day Part I

After three months apart, Lisa and I finally got to see each other for Christmas. I didn't realize how rough those three months were until I saw her at the Denver Airport waiting for me. We had a great weekend. We drove to the mountains to see the alleged grave of Buffalo Bill. Apparently he has several resting places scattered through out the west. Thanksgiving dinner was a nice low key event, just us and Lisa's sister, Jennifer. Jennifer is a very nice person who cooked the entire meal and puts up with Lisa's snowball assaults. Lisa's Mom and brother, Chris, were in Missouri visiting Chris's children. The great thing about Lisa's family is how close they are. They remind me very much of my own family. I guess that's why we get along so well. We have very similar disposistions. I can usually predict how she'll act in a given situation because it's the same way I would react.

We also picked out Lisa's wedding ring. It's pretty and she loves it. We saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was good, I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the last one, I think I did. We painted pottery at Lisa's friend, Stephanie's shop. That's one of our favorite things to do. I love to watch Lisa paint, she always looks so peaceful and happy. We walked around the 16th Street Mall area and had drinks at the Samba room and some fancy bowling alley that I can't recall the name of. According to the newspapers on the wall in the bathroom, the one in Hollywood is a favorite hangout of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore and other celebrities. It was a cool but expensive bar/bowling alley.

All in all it was a great weekend and the best part of it was being with Lisa after being apart for three months.

Crawford Texas

Crawford Texas,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

I rode the bike to Crawford yesterday. It's about a 70 mile round trip from where I'm staying in Gatesville. This area is the "hill country" of Texas and it's much more pleasant than the panhandle. That's the part of the state I've been through the most. It's still pretty desolate here and the onset of winter isn't helping. Even though it got up to 70 yesterday the trees are bare and the grass is brown. It's a lot like my least favorite time of the year in Ohio, but in Ohio you get the snow to occasionally cover up the ugliness.

Crawford is a nice little place. I'm not sure if I missed the down town area or not. I think I covered it all, which makes it one small town. Like the caption of the picture says, everyone I met was friendly. Admittedly, I didn't meet too many people but I did drive past the same guy twice and he waved at me both times. If that had been me I might have waved once but than thought to myself, "What's this moron doing?" the second time. He smiled both times too. An older couple took the picture for me. They were stopped also taking a picture. When I stopped on the bike the wife seemed a little nervous until I identified the subject of their picture as Flat Stanley. They were taking a picture of him for their grandson. She was pleasantly surprised to find out I was familiar with him. Flat Stanely is a paper doll school children send to family members living in different states. The family member takes a picture of Stanley in front of some monument or landmark and sends the picture and a little information back with Stanley. I got Stanley from my niece while I was on Wake Island. I think she smoked the competition in the distance catagory. But I digress.

Yeah, so Crawford, small, not very pretty (this time of the year anyway) and super friendly.

Red Hot

Okay, enough with the politics. It's what happens when I'm bored. I haven't been riding the bike much lately because it's getting cold even here in Texas so I've been thinking on politics too much. I figured I would post a picture of the new FZ1. It's a beauty.

Iraqi Soldier

Iraqi Soldier,
originally uploaded by nukeit1.

Contrast this with the two too serious little girls and their suffering mom. What is the disconnect in this country. I don't want to be a clichéd blogger but is it the main stream media. I realize that people see what they want so I try to believe the media is fair. But do they cover everything equally?

This is from an interview of the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, from the June 20th, 2005 issue of the National Review.

Interviewer: I recall Kofi Annan said the Iraq war was illegal.

Hoshyar Zebari: For us it was the most legitmate of wars. To have suffered the atrocities of Saddam over those years, and the indifference of the international community, including the U.N....It was the war that eased the suffering of the Iraqis.

NR: Do you fear for your own life?

HZ: I take all the security precautions. All of us assume that we are targets for assassination, car bombs, anything....We have uncovered three car bombs, which were either minutes away or seconds away from blowing us up.

That's one brave s.o.b. working to make his country a better place. The rest of the interview is just as good. If you get a chance you should read it and the article on the World Economic Forum held in Jordan.

Do I think Bush's plan of spreading democracy through the world one country at a time will work. I don't know but I think doing something, anything at all, is better than the status quo, in this one case anyway. Do I think Bush manipulated intelligence about WMDs. No, but I've been naivé before and will be again.

The picture comes from nukeit1's photoblog by the way. I like to check it out frequently. There are funny, informative and really sad photos there. You should check that out also.

inconsistent |ˌinkənˈsistənt| adjective not staying the same throughout; having self-contradictory elements : police interpretation of the law was often inconsistent. • acting at variance with one's own principles or former conduct : parents can become inconsistent and lacking in control over their children. • ( inconsistent with) not compatible or in keeping with : he had done nothing inconsistent with his morality. • erratic in behavior or action : we're too inconsistent to win the league.

hypocrisy |hiˈpäkrisē| noun ( pl. -sies) the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.

All We Need Is Some Ice Cream And A Hug

rotten tomato head,
originally uploaded by christyscherrer.

I was browsing on Flikr when I came across this picture in one of the groups I'm in, Emotional Faces. I wanted to write a comment but I'm still not all that comfortable posting to other people's pictures. It seems most of the time it's friends and family postings. Plus I'm getting out of the stage in my life where I enjoy getting in to a pissing contest with someone I don't know over something I can't convince them of. I thought the comment that went with the picture was interesting though. The woman, the mother to one or both of the girls I guess, is concerned about the strife and worry we are passing on to our children. She suffers because we are teaching anxiety at an early age. (Here's the part where I sound like an ass) I think she's the one teaching that anxiety. There has been something that's bothered me since 9/11 and the Iraq war that I haven't been able to put my finger on but this picture has helped me narrow it down. The problem is over reaction. I'm not saying these aren't serious times we live in but it isn't (necessarily) the end of the world. How about instead of taking your kids to a demonstration of something you have no control over, play with them at the local park, maybe you can even pick up the litter or do some other volunteer work to teach them civic responsibility.

I remember watching the made for t.v. movie The Day After about the after effects of nuclear war. I wasn't able to sleep for two nights and I was freakin' 18 at the time. It had an affect on my for years after. I think it was one of the reasons I joined the Air Force. After the collapse of the USSR I started relaxing a little, but just.

I don't mean to belittle this woman but when I read this I thought of Reverend Lovejoy's wife wailing, "Oh! won't someone please think of the children". Not to mention the sign looks like a too cutesy idea some adult thought up.

I'm not suggesting everyone have the same devil may care attitude I exhibit towards the collapse of civilization but maybe moms everywhere should help their kids paint a lemonade stand sign and just let them be kids for a few more years.

From Rockandrollconfidential.com

Your band sucks!

You Big Fat Beautiful State

Election results. Everytime I check the site it looks more like a landslide. I'd like to think it's all due to my entry last night. But no, it's because the good people of Ohio are all knowing and wise. Of course as I write this the complete results are not in, but two of the issues were being trounced with a 70% no vote so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Please Vote

Tomorrow is election day. It's late to be posting this I know and chances are my plea won't sway anyone one way or another. I was just excited about voting. I got to cast my vote early for the absentee ballot (I'm now in Texas) and I was giddy. Voting on local and state issues is funner than the presidential race. I feel like I have a say in it. No Chinese diplomats or Haliburton executives mucking things up. For my friends in Ohio, I don't expect you to go on just my say but you must vote no on issues 2, 3, 4, and 5. Here are the details. I'm particularly interested in Issue 3's clause that "Permits labor unions, and other nonprofit unincorporated membership organizations, to contribute funds from regular membership dues paid by the organization’s individual members to a small donor action committee. The small donor action committee is not required to report the names of individuals who contribute in this fashion." What's a small donor action committee mean? It also allows a candidate to spend an unlimited amount of his own money. Which should be good for the rich candidates. I like to think of this amendment as the Incumbent Protection Act. I could go on so I think I will. Issue 2 would allow everyone to vote absentee with no reason needed. There are currently 13 reasons to receive an absentee ballot and none are checked out very stringently. I hate to sound like one of those obnoxious guys the internet tends to breed but seriously, I think you should put in a little effort to vote. The argument against in the pamphlet gives some different reasons but I think it all comes down to this, get off your lazy ass and participate in the voting process.

The thing that aggravates me the most is the opposistions whole reason to vote yes is to end corruption. I think IF election reform is required this is not the amendment to do that. Someone is trying to replace the current form of corruption with one more to their advantage. And besides, is "end corruption now" really a rational arguement? Great catch phrase though.

So in conclusion just let me say the air is mighty sweet up on top of my high horse.

My Yard In The Fog

My Yard In The Fog,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

Just a little picture of my yard. I took it last week while I was home. It reminds me of a Japanese garden, not just because of the bamboo chimes. I love the yard and miss it while I'm away. This was a great day, it stayed foggy most of the day and the neighborhood was even quieter than usual.

Ohio Express

Diving For The Ball,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

While I was home I went to West Virginia to watch the girl's basketball team my brother coaches. It was a lot of fun. I always enjoy spending time with Brent. I had a good time getting some action photos. I'm hoping to get some more in the future.

Jumping the shark

Well that was a terrible entry yesterday. I've slowly started to embody all that is wrong with blogging. I've taken some standard, who-are-these-people observations and made them even lamer by seemingly not being able to write more than a few sentences on each subject. I was going for a Larry King in USA Today thing and it just didn't work out. I hope people don't read my blog to be entertained. I had a strange epiphany a few weeks back when I started giving my sister-in-law the Andy Rooney in training spiel about something. She responded that she had read that on my blog. I was mortified on several different levels. It shocks me that people actually read what I have to say. I know both my brothers read it but I just figured they felt obligated, you know, being my brothers and all. When I found out that Bryce's friend Gary checks in every once in awhile I was starting to get a little intimidated. I felt like a had an audience to write for, albeit a very small and probably drunk one. My original intent on starting this whole thing stems from a drunken night of web surfing and this kind of crazy hysteria I go into when doing said surfing. I was on Guerrillagirls.com or some such silly socialist, website and was crazy angry with an article on stereo-types men place on women. I thought their whinny little bitchfest was just furthering ugly stereo-types of both men and women. I didn't want to post on their message board (I was drunk not insane) so I searched for a free blog site. I think the search exhausted me so much I ended up just going to sleep and when I woke up the passion for the argument was gone. I do recall sending a poorly worded email to my brother on the virtues of all the wonderful women I've known before the "exhaustion" had set in. So with the sober realization that I tend to write stupid stuff when I'm drinking I haven't really done much of the drinking and blogging thing. So now I'm stuck with a blog I feel obligated to write, I would feel like a quitter now. So after yesterday's entry I felt like maybe out of respect for all those people who write incisive, witty, pointed blogs with a cohesiveness of thought, maybe I should retire the blog. But like Happy Days and That Seventies Show, maybe I'll keep going for just a little bit past my prime (if I ever had one). And to all you misguided, bored people who take the time to read this dreck, thank you sincerely. It still mortifies me but I appreciate it all the same.

Life's Been Good To Me Up Until Two Months Ago

So it only cost seven hundred something dollars to replace all the parts I doused in Yuengling. Yes, I KNOW! That was an expensive beer, stop reminding me.

Is it me or wasn't Eminem just suing Apple for using some of his music in ads? Now he's shilling for them. That was just a couple of months ago right? I guess since the Clash broke up every artist is a whore. That's not true, I just like using the word whore.

For those having a hard time keeping up with me, I'm in California again. I just got into Willows California. It's a small, small town an hour or so north of Sacramento.

I'm happy about the appointment of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. It's one of the few things Bush has done right. Did you know that Bush hasn't vetoed a spending bill since being in office? I thought Republicans were suppose to be anti-big government? And to all you liberals out there, this doesn't mean I want to start getting those stupid anti-Bush spams. Your guys are all as stupid as Bush any day.

Well, I feel like I'm off to a tepid start at best. Same old crap but my heart's not in it tonight. I just felt obligated to get something down after the loooonnng absence. Maybe I'll elaborate on some of this stuff later. Possibly not.

Limping On From Alabama

Well, as Homer Simpson once said, "Beer is the cause and cure of all the world's trouble". I've spilled a glass of beer on the computer a few weeks ago. It was an embarrassing display of sobriety gone awry, I can't even blame impaired coordination. The computer did start but the keyboard is not working so I've stolen a few minutes at work to put something down. I feel a little guilty if I don't post something every once in awhile.

I've done a few good rides since being in Alabama. A few weeks ago I rode to Georgia to check out Chickamauga Battlefield. I returned via Tennessee. It's beautiful country here. I took nothing but back rodes, a motorcycling cliché. Another is the idea of stopping at a small family diner for something to eat. I rarely do that and always feel a little guilty (again with the guilt). I usually stop at Taco Bell, McDonalds or Burger King. I stopped feeling guilty when I realized I don't ride to eat. I don't like taking time from the bike to wait on service. I do eat at the odd diner as a treat though. It makes it special that way.

Well it may be a while til the next post, I'm leaving Alabama tomorrow morning and who knows where I'll find the next computer.

Katrina

I had a big rant written about my anger at the people looting and raping in New Orleans and my anger at the federal and state governments for dropping the ball but it's not worth it. There are enough Monday morning quaterbacks for that. I'm just praying that the people who lost everything find themselves better off after it's all said and done. It's a niavé hope, but you never know.

Ugly Head Reared

It only took six days but I saw an Iron Maiden concert t-shirt. There's also been an uneasy but hard to define feeling I've had since I've been here. A feeling that something just isn't right. I realized what the source of that uneasiness is. You can't walk in to a bar after a movie on a Friday afternoon and just order a beer. You have to become a member of a "private club" for a four dollar fee. Just to have a spur of the moment beer. It kills me that the state is micromanaging the well being of it's adult citizens to such a degree.

Ghost?

Ghost?,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

While we were in the caves we came to a large chamber and I snapped this picture. The cloud on the left wasn't there. The temperature was cool with some humidity but nothing that I would think of producing a cloud like this. I didn't notice it there anyway. I'm a bit of a sceptic but I think this is interesting. I also thought I saw a demon head in the rock just to the right of the ghost.

Where The Wild Mullet Roams

The more I travel around the U.S. the more I've started thinking about the character of a city, state or just a general place or area. San Francisco is probably one of my favorite cities if not the most favorite. I couldn't explain why. It's a friendly low keyed place mostly. Plus I stay away from the crazy liberals that run amok there. The only real asses there are the transplanted New Yorkers. Speaking of New York, it gets a little less annoying everytime I visit there. It's starting to grow on me. Every place we've been has it's own unique personality. Around Mt Arlington, New Jersey it's kind of a split personality. Heavily wooded with lakes and wildlife (even bears) it's also crowded with people and criss-crossed with high speed roads. Alabama, Tennesse, and western Georgia are a lot like Ohio. Hilly, green and humid in the summer. They don't get much snow but are cold and raining in the winter. Alaska is really part of the US in name only. You almost can't help but fall out of touch with things that go on in the lower 48. There is a suprisingly high number of houses with no indoor plumbing. Every place I've been has it's own charm and I've usually been able to find something to like. Which brings me to Utah. At least the area we're in now. This western part is bleak, dirty and more than a little creepy. Lisa and I have been talking about it a lot lately. Lisa has always been a little fearless when it comes to camping in the mountains in Colorado but she's admitted that the hills around here make her a little uneasy. We haven't really been able to put our finger on it. I think it might be a throw back to the frontier days. The people seem to be hard, and suspicious of outsiders. There's also a certain "The Hills Have Eyes" quality. It's the kind of country you could find Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate joy riding across. It's actually pretty darn close to where they did go on their infamous joy ride.

There is also a lot of Zanesville in Salt Lake City. Lot's of flannel, rusty muscle cars, and yes long hair of every style. I haven't seen any yet but I'm waiting for an Iron Maiden concert t-shirt to rear it's ugly head. The traffic is counter-intuitive. There are five lanes on the northern stretch of I-15 with every car doing the speed limit. It's very frustrating. I've been in bad traffic before but you learn to take it for what it is and deal with it on your own terms. Here you are just locked in to place.

I hate to sound down on Utah, I love Moab, and the Timpanogos Cave. I'm looking forward to seeing Bryce Canyon. I just haven't found that one thing that charms me about western Utah yet. I'll probably miss it when I leave though.

Timpanogos Cave

Timpanogos Cave,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

Lisa and I went to the Timpanogos Cave National Monument today. It was a great adventure. The path from the visitor's center to the Caves has a change in elevation of 1000 feet in 1 1/2 mile. It was one steep climb. It's funny the people coming down the trail were very happy. After climbing up and touring the cave I saw why. It was just a big joy to be walking down hill. The cave wasn't bad, just some stair climbing. That was a long one and a half miles up the side of the mountain. The caves were interesting as far as geological features go. I learned a few things and had fun doing it! It's all part of the our grand obsession with National Parks. Lisa got me a Passport last year and now I have to go to the National Parks just to get a stamp from each place. I mean it's more than that of course. So far this year we've been to Denali in Alaska, Yosemite, Muir Woods and the Golden Gate Park in California, and Gold Spike and Timpanogos Cave in Utah. Sorry if it sounds like I'm bragging, I guess I am though. Remember my earlier entry about the benefits of my traveling circus of a job, this is a good example. We always have a good time and it keeps us close.

Adult Swim

Lisa loves to play in the pool, which is odd because she can't swim and is scared to death to even put her head under water. If you want to see a happy girl though watch her dog paddle across the hotel pool.

Happy Day

This'll be another short one. I just want to post that today I proposed to Lisa and she accepted. We will probably be getting married next July.

Milestone

Today as I was going back to the office trailer after lunch my motorcycle turned 20,000 miles. Not bad for three years. I'm looking forward to the next 20,000.

Riding Impressions

I've been working at Dugway Proving Grounds in the middle of nowhere, Utah, for the last week. It's actually only about seventy miles from Salt Lake City but it feels like it's seven hundred. I'm staying in the town of Tooele. A clean little place set up like all little towns these days. The old main street lined with antique shops and thrift stores, which look a lot like the antique stores. You would think that would be depressing but to me it's hopeful. People are still trying to achieve their dreams. I'd like to think most make it even though I imagine it doesn't happen more often than it does.

At the north end of town is the prerequisite over developed part of town. You know, the one with a Walmart as the hub, with an Appleby's, Gamestop, TGI Friday's, and even a Pier One Imports growing out from it. It's as charmless as an industrial park, but functional. I'm not some old hippy railing against progress. We are constantly living in the middle of progress, and you can't stop it. I just wish progress looked a little different from town to town.

My ride from Tooele to Dugway is a great way to calm down before work and unwind after. There's a nine mile stretch over a pass that is twisty enough to be fun but not so bad as to wear me out. The only drawback is it's the only road into Dugway and all the employees (it's mostly civilians) are going to work at the same time as me. They all haul ass and are overly aggresive. They pass on the long strait-a-ways but I always catch them in the hills. I don't understand the hurry. We all get to the gate at the same time.

Links To Explore

Here are some interesting things I've found in a fit of boredom.

Did you know Ohio wasn't officially a state until 1953. Check here for the admittedly limited details. This is a good site if you're feeling in a Billy Joel-"We Didn't Start The Fire"-we just over-reacted to it-kind of mood. I like to scroll down and see how many threats there have been to national security that didn't require the Patriot Act. A lot less than you'd think, surprisingly.

To go along with the above theme this one is a little chilling.

There is an interesting site dedicated to a British comic book published in the early seventies called Action. The back story is intriguing. Also check out the Dredger page and dig the groovy example strip. A lot of the story sounds like it could come from the U.S. today. Just insert video game where comic book goes. This is one of the better arguments for the intelligence of children I've seen. I've always believed that if you have parents that are even half way interested, children are smart enough to seperate fantasy from reality. Read here for a good argument.

The older I get the more conservative my views become but I will never believe it's the government's place to protect us from ourselves.

Day Two From The Road

Day Two: Winnemucca Nevada to Tooele Utah

Today wasn't nearly as tiring as day one although it was fraught with a few minor mishaps. Right off the bat, I left my cell phone in the Holiday Inn in Winnemucca. A good samaritan turned it in to the desk thankfully. I have not made the address book transistion since the old iBook went tango uniform. Some day I've really got to commit numbers to paper. The second and funnier of the two was as I was coming across I-80 from Wendover Nevada to Tooele it was a clear beautiful day. Then about thirty miles out a few clouds had developed. I had never been to Tooele (pronounced Too-el-AH) but by my reckoning it was raining in the right spot. About twenty miles out it began to down pour. I decided to forgo the rainsuit and just yoke up. About ten miles out it was over, you know how those afternoon showers out west are. By the time I got to the hotel I was pretty much dry again. I had come 738 miles in perfect weather and got rained on 20 miles from my destination.

While stopping for gas and a drink of water in Wendover, I was standing in the parking lot enjoying a banana and reflecting on all the odd balls at the pumps. The world seems to be getting more and more crowded with subset's of people. For some reason there is always a tall fat guy with curly red-blonde hair, with a goatee and the hotrod flame tattoo on his forearm. He'll be wearing a black silk bowling shirt and cut-off BDU shorts. I don't know how many times I've seen this guy across the country. Of course he belongs to the group with the flaming forearm tattoo also. Usually young men who haven't yet given up the Fred Durst look. Than there's the earth muffin flowerchild. She can be found in a Toyota pick-up usually with a dog and a Nalgeen bottle. She may be thin, aging but with an ethereal beauty and wearing flowing dresses or if younger, a little heavy and possibly lesbian. There is also the urban cowboy look. Cowboy hat, fancy, colorful shirt, boots and a walk like I get after six hours on the motorcycle. You have to give this look credit, it has endured. And then, at this gas station anyway, there was the Devil's Rejects. These guys that look like they belong in a dirty little western town. With a black leather vest over a torso stretched thin like jerky and snaggly white hair, you can't help but think this guy was dressing that way to shock. His buddy wasn't much better.

I don't know if I've explained this well. Maybe I've just never noticed before, I hate to sound like an old fogie. I just don't remember it being that easy to pigeon hole people by their appearance. You can't really do it anymore either. All types of people are adapting all kinds of looks these days. I even do it with my shaved head and goatee. Who am I trying to fool, I'm a sweetheart. You can't really judge a book by it's cover but these days it's getting easier to catagorize the covers.

Day One From The Road.

Day One: Patterson California to Winnemucca Nevada.

405 miles today and I feel everyone of them. The weather in California couldn't have been more perfect. It's been in the hundreds all week but when I left it was almost cool enough to need a jacket. I went up California 99 from Modesto to Sacramento, it's a neat expressway with red flower bushes in between the lanes. It was pleasant over Donner Pass and then started to warm up in Reno. For some reason the first two hundred miles were fairly easy. I stopped at Denny's in Reno for lunch. This entry is pretty boring but it's mostly for me as reference.

And as you can tell by this entry, the computer made it in one piece (so far).

Purgatory

I'm sitting in the hotel here in Patterson, waiting to leave tomorrow. Most of the packing is done. The only thing left is to figure out a load plan for my motorcycle. I've got about two motorcycles worth of stuff. I'll need a leather jacket for part of the trip. For most of it though I'll be riding through the Nevada desert. I'll have this big hot leather jacket I'll have to figure out what to do with. I'll have a back pack to carry the computer in, that has me nervous. I don't want to end up buying another computer. At what temperature does a hard drive melt? It's still under warranty though. It's these thoughts that keep me sitting around in a blue funk a day or so before I leave on a trip. I worry about things I may have forgotten about or things I should take care of before I leave but don't. I had my motorcycle stand propped up in the corner of the hotel room and almost forgot to ship it out. It's 3 feet tall for crying out loud. Now I'm worrying that the tires will wear out half way there. For a car it's not too big a deal but last year by the time I got to Jackson Wyoming from Denver Colorado the steel cords were showing. There was one motorcycle place in town, who lucky for me, had tires that fit.

Then there's the sadness of leaving an area you like for the unknown. Lisa and I were really looking forward to visiting San Francisco and Yosemite again. We are leaving "our" theater in Modesto behind. We've made some happy memories here in just a month's time. Chalk that up to having the right companion.

I'm also sitting here anticipating the ride. I've checked my route about four times on Mapquest. I literally read maps for entertainment. Something I must have picked up from Dad and only exacerbated by the motorcycle. I love riding around town but it's the all too infrequent long distance trips I really enjoy. I'm anticipating the lunch at some truck stop in the middle of nowhere (or more likely a Taco Bell in some dinky town). I love to collect miles on the odometer. I also thrill to the thought of the unknown. I haven't heard many good things about Dugway from the people that have been but my standards aren't necessarily lower, I'm just lower maintenance than most. I'm picturing a dirty old desert town like Rutger Hauer might hide out in. The only low point is Lisa might not be able to join me. If not I'll still see her every weekend.

So there you have it. I drift between anxiety and excitement. Fortunately I have a 12 pack of Budweiser that needs drinking this afternoon.

On The Road Again

Found out today I'm leaving Patterson California for Dugway Utah on Friday. As I type I should be packing. This should totatally throw my family off. My Mom and Dad never know where I am. It's not their fault though. The last job (in Alaska) ended just as abrubtly. The supervisor woke me up at 4:30 a.m. and we were on the road by 8:30. I love this stuff.

Insert Eye Roll Here

against,
originally uploaded by eltiodelasfotos.

from Flickr.com by eltiodelasfotos

If You Really Loved Me You Would Foward This To Fifty Friends

I have several friends (several for me being about five) that I care for and a few people I'm indifferent to who flood my Yahoo email account. Sometimes the emails they send are pretty entertaining and sometimes they are mildly annoying. Not everyone does it. I also don't mind receiving one every once in awhile, but there were six of them from one guy on Monday morning all sent at about the same time. I wonder if he even read them himself or he just sits there like an old lady at the slot machines, hitting the forward button over, eyes glazed over, the light from the computer display shining off his face. Don't get me wrong. I really don't mind it. These are usually the people that are staying in touch for the most part. The mass forwarder from Monday never writes back when I send him a personal email, I think he's just a contact collector. That's okay too though, I guess it's nice to have an email in the inbox.

My favorites are the chain letters that end with a guilt trip, as in the title of this post. I never forward anything unless it's really amusing (to me, which is very subjective). So I should be one dead SOB. Did you realize your descendants could be cursed for all eternity if you don't forward the one about the farmer's daughter? I didn't. My current favorite is one about the Sheriff of Maricopa County. You might remember him. He's the guy that took t.v. out of the jail and created a tent jail to house the inmates. One of my favorite quotes is about the tent city.

"It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 year. "It's inhumane."

"Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!"'

"Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves."


While I'm not sympathetic in any way to criminals and very pro military, I've also seen Lock Up on MSNBC and I'm pretty sure anyone living in prison is not living in the lap of luxury no matter how much t.v. they have. It's funny given my conservative bent that my friends send me these crazy emails that even I have a hard time with. Still I love getting it. So if anyone has a crazy theory on center of the earth colonies (Bryce, I'm looking at you) forward them on. I promise to pass them on to fifty of my friends.

Mac Attack!

Sorry about the lame title.

I just got a new iBook. I'm pretty excited. I got it with a dvd burner, blue tooth and airport. The only one I need is the airport. Most hotels are going that way. Now I have to get a bluetooth capable phone, keyboard, mouse and every other gadget, and a HD video camera and...well maybe not right now. I'm loving OS X 10.4 Tiger. It's full of these colorful, shiny little distracting gadgets called widgets. Their sole purpose seemingly to draw attention to their prettiness, oh and they'll tell you the temperature, the time and the day of the week too. I'm a mid-level Mac geek. I used to know a lot more about the functions and features but that kind of ended with OS 7.something. After that I had a basic list of things I could have been doing on a much cheaper PC, but I love Macs. The Tiger is (like the prior OS 10 releases) elegant, non-obtrusive and pretty simple. I'm looking forward to taking some time and getting to know Tiger. I might even dust off Simcity.


In other news I've seen that congress has snuck in the Real ID Act in a appropriations bill for 80 billion dollars for Iraq. What this means to you is that law abiding citizens at the very least will be subjected to a whole slew of new bureaucratic red tape at the DMV. The states will once again bear the cost for a federally mandated program and the terrorists will continue ignoring the laws of civilized man. The plan will require you to provide a photo i.d. to get the national card. Where do you get one of those? I don't know about you but the only photo i.d. I've ever had was a driver's license. Can't that be forged? Am I over reacting? Maybe. Maybe I'm just worried for the coming generations of youth unable to buy their first beer with a fake i.d.

Lighten Up

I was looking at the last few posts and I seem to be getting maudlin lately. I'll lighten up now. Let me start by picking on a guy who is probably an alright dude but I crack up at his expense every time. I'm talking of course about the Iron Man guy in the Gatorade commercial. It's the best bit of slapstick I've seen since Jack Tripper did a mid-air flip over the couch. It also seems to be pretty popular on the web. I'm sorry but I never want to hear a jock make fun of a Trekkie again. You guys are just as ate up as any nerd who ever donned a home made wookie suit (Stars Wars, I know).

Here's to you Chris Legh, thank you for reinforcing my belief that excercise is hazardous to your health. Now where's that taco salad?

A Few Things To Know About Me

I like to use french fries as a delivery system for ketch-up. I'd drink it right out of the packet if that were socially acceptable.

I pride myself on how slow I can go on my motorcycle without putting my feet down. I show off at traffic lights all the time.

I think "Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam" on HBO is full of a bunch of goofy, pretentious "artistes". Get over yourselves.

I like dogs and children more than I let on.

The best burrito I ever had came from an old gas station turned deli, Las Palmas Market in Crows Landing. Best tacos too.

A Day In The Life

I've worked for an environmental remediation company Shaw E&I for the past eight years now and as my family and friends are well aware I am on the road about 300 days of the year. I enjoy it and sometimes am surprised when people ask how I do it. If I stop to think about it, it is a little crazy I guess. On my brother and sister-in-law's wedding program they listed where everyone in the party lived, I was labeled aimless drifter. Sometimes I wonder what might have been if I hadn't joined the Air Force and stayed in Zanesville at the plant. I imagine I would have been happier or sadder or whatever. I really believe what ifs don't amount to a hill of beans, actually a hill of beans is probably worth more in a hard cash kind of way. I regret not being around my family more but somehow we are so close that even though I see them only a few times a year it's not like any time has passed. Dad has a few more wrinkles but he's still working in the garage just like my childhood memories recall. There have been deaths in the family, I still miss my grandmother every day and regret the circumstances around Uncle Eddie's death. My Aunt Peg went out braver than I know I will. Still for the regrets my job causes, the benefits more than even things out on the Karma scales. Number one of course is that my job is directly responsible for my finding Lisa. My boss, Tim bugged the both of us to go out until we just gave up and did it. Surrendering never worked out so well. Than of course there is the travel. I recently had to update my resume and it required me to list all of the projects I've been on since I've been with Shaw. Right. Let's just say I covered most of the big ones. I actually flew from Ohio to Crows Landing in California once for a half a day's work. I remember doing it but don't ask me what day, month or even what year it was. I'm in Crows Landing again and aside from the heat and distance from anything interesting it's great.

The picture is an aerial photo taken in 1998. The history of the place is pretty interesting too. It's a good example of the benefits of the job if you're into that type of thing, the history that is. I was on Wake Island for over a year but that's another post...

A Moment Of Irrational Fear

Lisa and I went to New York City in June. It was her first time there and my first time to go to the top of the Empire State Building. I don't have a fear of heights normally, if I stop to think about where I am though I sometimes get a little panic sweat going. The top of the building was fun but a few times the images of 9/11 would flash through my mind. We took the fire escape down three levels to avoid the line for the elevator and that's when it really struck me. For some reason I was thinking of the people running down the fire escapes in the World Trade Towers and the firemen running up. There's a marine who blogs to Flikr from Iraq. I check his site often but was unable to since May. There were a lot of new photos after the battle of Ubaydi. They were pictures of his fallen comrades. Several family members post comments as a means of communication. Needless to say there were a lot of heartbreaking and beautiful posts from family members and fellow Marines. The word hero gets thrown around for everything these days and I'm not going to use it now but if you look at the pictures of these guys clowning around and posing with children you have to admire their bravery and humility in the face of the situation they've found themselves in.

Patterson, California

So I'm living at a Best Western Inn (and Resort, don't ask me what that's about) in Patterson California. We have been here since about the 6th of June. It's in a valley, which I think is the San Joquin valley though some people told me it wasn't. There are row upon row of apricot trees, feed corn, and other produce I'm unfamiliar with everywhere. There is also a lot of heat. Damn near Phoenix heat. It was 107 yesterday. Riding the bike is like putting a heat gun to your head. Lisa is lucky to be in Colorado right now, although I'm missing her a lot.

My usual routine (and our's when she's here) is to go to Modesto, about twenty miles up the road. We go on every Friday to a movie at the Brenden Theaters and sometimes get a hod dog from a place around the corner that serves veggie dogs for Lisa. Yesterday I saw The Wedding Crashers and haven't laughed so hard since "Something About Mary".

The drive to Modesto goes through the farmland so you get all sorts of unsavory smells. There is a stock yard at the intersections of Crow's Landing Road and Highway 99 however, that rapes the olafactory glands. This is in a part of town with several businesses too. It's not like it's in the middle of no where.

The area is an mixed blessing for motorcycle riding. Right across I-5 is one of the most enjoyable, twistiest roads I've ever rode (CA 130). Everywhere else are these straight for miles feild access roads. It takes what seems forever to get anywhere and unfortunately the only non-interstate way to the bay area is 130 which cuts twenty miles off the trip but adds an hour. Still it is fun.

Why Life Has Been So Good To Me

FZ1,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

This is just one of the reasons of course, friends, family and Guiness being a few of the others.

A Long Trip

Well Lisa and I left Alaska around the 24th of May. We had a great trip through Canada, it was a lot of fun, unfortunately the Alcan (Alaska-Canadian) Highway was a little harder on my computer than I was expecting. The laptop died, so now here I am almost two months past with a new iBook. I've got a lot of catching up.

The trip through Canada was a blast, and it was made even better by the fact that Lisa and I shared the experience. It was our first real road trip together (not counting a few trips from Colorado to Ohio) and it was someplace neither one of us had been. Anyone who knows me knows how rare an event that is for me.

Canada is a friendly country. I couldn't stop for gas or food without getting into a conversation. Anyone who knows me knows that this is also a rare event. For some reason I found this refreshing, I'm usually a little uncomfortable making small talk with people. I may be blowing this out of proportion but the Canadians I talked to had a genuine warmth and openness I don't see very often here in the U.S. The country itself was pretty and clean. They still have the thing where you can turn in your bottles and get change back. I remember doing that as a kid but it seems like no one here will give you the deposit, think of it more as a tax. We stopped at more than a few gas stations where the attendant fished our bottles out of the garbage, it must be a large refund.

Canada reminded my a great deal of traveling through the U.S. via the old state route system. There weren't any interstates to speak of just a lot of two and sometimes four lane roads that went right through the little plains towns. The population was sparse so traffic was hardly ever aggravating. It was what I imagine it must have been like driving across route 40 or 66 back in the fifties. Or driving today with my Dad anywhere.

One final observation - tater tots are called potato fritters and huevos rancheros have a crispy flat bread tortilla (at least in the restaurant where we ate). This caused me no end of mental anguish.

Pop Culture 101: Back To School

Two things I learned while watching VH1's One Hit Wonders this weekend. Number one is that Eddie Brickell is married to Paul Simon. Number two is that one of the two marketing executives responsible for that seventies tune "Convoy" went on to be Mannhiem Steamroller. I guess there are three things I learned. Number three would be my interest in pop trivia ends in the late 80's or early 90's.

Alaska 2

Lisa's mom flew back to Denver today. She had a great time, which I'm happy about. They got to do a lot of site seeing while I was at work. We also got to do a few things together. One night we went to the Alaskan Salmon Bake which was nice. Good food and a neat little outdoor feel to it. We went on the 18th of May. On the 22nd of May however, it turns into 100% grade A tourist trap. A salmon dinner, salad bar, drink & dessert included, was $11.00 On the 22nd it goes up to $28.00!!! I guess the little old blue hairs expect to get fleeced on a Princess tour but my God.

Fairbanks is an odd place. It tends to be dirty, especially during break up. There isn't really a spring, summer, winter, fall. Break up could be considered spring. It lasts about ten days to 2 weeks and all the rock and ash that has been put down on the road starts to show through as the snow melts. It's an ugly period. The following week the street sweepers have collected the rock and the trees have leaves. If you notice it can kind of make your senses reel, if you don't notice I think it messes with your internal clock on a subconscious level. So much of this part of Alaska does that. From the constant sunlight in the summer to the constant night in the winter. This isn't a place to come to on a tour bus, you'll hate it, but if you want an out of body experience live here for a year.

Pop Culture 101 Dropout

I spent some of the day watching the first year's episodes of the Sopranos on DVD. I'm kind of enjoying it. I've only seen a few episodes before this. It was always too big with everyone. I'm always suspicious of the next big thing. I didn't even like the Simpsons for the first 3 seasons. There was an A-10 pilot in our squadron who had the call sign Bartman. He was the epitome of the Top Gun cliché. He actually carried a little battery operated blender (for making margaritas) around with him. I figured anything this jackass thought was cool had to be suspect. It's funny what we use to define our tastes. For years I hated Neil Young just because of "Sweet Home Alabama". Today I hate him for a whole other list of reasons but that's beside the point.
I am currently ignoring the pop culture phenomenons, Desperate Housewives and Lost. I've actually seen a few episodes of Lost but I don't like to get attached to a series. I hate missing one show and being behind. Or worse yet, your favorite show gets cancelled. I loved Firefly.
So to sum up I have not seen this season's American Idol, didn't know it was pronounced Fiddy, don't care that Tom Cruise is dating Katie Holmes, and I'm not quite sure who Katie Holmes is. In other words I'm working on becoming an old curmudgeon.

Politics On The Web, Include Me Out...

...almost.

My brother, Bryce, is a big blogger and I've enjoyed reading his blog Soldierant for a while. It's actually what helped inspire me to try this. That and the fact that I felt bad for writing long rambling email rants to him on things he didn't really care about. I take issue with the claim that I was inspired by Rosie O'Donnell's blog, however. I guess in a roundabout way it's true. At first I wanted to post rants of a political bent, I'm a Libertarian with conservative leanings. I figured given what I know of Rosie I would have a month's worth of material. It turns out that the most objectional thing I could find in my brief viewing was the weird haiku style she writes in.

I've decided to down play politics, everyone does it and none of us know what we are talking about. The level of hyperbole going around these days is starting to get scary. I don't agree with many of George Bush's policies but I didn't agree with a lot of Clinton's either but this stuff is getting ridiculous. Here's what I mean by hyperbole, and of course the the other side. Who knows the truth? But it seems that everyone agrees that in Newsweeks rush to come up with the next Abu Ghraib the magazine jeopardized it's journalistic integrity.

Well so much for keeping the politics down. I plan on covering my travels next time, I promise.

More to come...

Landing The Big One: a test

Landing The Big One,
originally uploaded by briankeithglass.

I've gone and jumped in the deep end of the blogsphere with no knowledge of what I'm doing, so this is a test. This should be fun and the people who find this site should get a kick out of watching me flounder. Speaking of flounder, here is a picture of me fishing. It's a post to try out the neat features of Flikr.com, a handy photo site that seems to be making this photos on blog process a lot easier (so far, we have to see how this comes out first).

Alaska

I've been back to Fairbanks Alaska since April 1st. It's like stepping back in to a life I left a long time ago. I was giddy with excitement. For some reason a recurring dream I have is going back to Fairbanks after being away. I was stationed here from 1987 to 1993 at Eielson A.F.B. So this was literally a dream come true. In the dream it never looked like it actually does. I got here and found the place hadn't changed at all really. All things considered it's a lot like I left it. With a few glaring additions. One is the ever present Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's trifecta. There was one store in town you could get a t.v. and that was Fred Meyer. They are still here but the charm isn't. Fairbanks was always a little on the rundown side but it felt like a frontier town before. Now it just feels like another rundown dump with a Walmart. I'm being a little hard on the town though. It's still one of my favorite places. It's sort of a magical place in the winter and the weather is perfect in the summer. All in all I'm happy I got the chance to come back. And in a strange little twist, while I've been here Eielson A.F.B. was placed on the base realignmentt list. It isn't closing but it will be turned over to the Alaska Air National Guard. I can't help but think of the affect on the local economy. And for obvious sentimental reasons I personally hate to see it close.

More to come...

My Opinions Are Based On...

nothing. I post a lot of nonsense here. My opinions are fluid. My views change from minute to minute like most peoples. I hope anyone that is offended by some silly statement I make here will keep in mind that the sum of people who will post something to the internet is more than the post. If that made any sense.

Basically you would probably be surprised if you met me in person. I'm a lot less paranoid, and a lot more happy than what usually comes through here. I'm also very tolerant of other's views. I don't like liberals more than I don't like conservatives but I still don't like conservatives. But that's the collective liberal or conservative mind set as a whole not individuals. I have good friends in both camps. And as for celebrities, I don't worry if I offend anyone because I think we can all agree, celebrities are stupid.

So, I hope you take all of this in the spirit it was intended, just me spouting goofy shit sometimes.

First Post

Just enough time to post a short one. I'm waiting on Lisa, my girlfriend. There's not enough time to cover what she means to me right now. I'm in Fairbanks Alaska, watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Lisa & her mom are on the way. More to come...