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.

Doggie Update

This should be the last you'll hear of the dogs for awhile. Lisa made it home and the dogs have spent the week in Lisa's mom's garage. Lisa's mom has kept the little one and the name is bouncing between Aspen (Lisa's idea) and Maggie. The decision should be forthcoming. Lisa's aunt took the big one. We were calling her Chubby but her aunt has given her the name Charity. As far as I'm concerned this one had a happy ending.

On Following The Pack

As anyone who reads my blog regularly knows, I ride motorcycles. I have two bikes, an FZ1 and a VMax, both are Yamahas. The FZ1 is what I refer to as a semi-crotch rocket. It's not as aggressive as a sport bike, but what motorcycle magazines refer to as a naked standard. My other bike, the VMax, is categorized as a cruiser. If you really don't know motorcycles you could confuse it for a Harley Davidson. This fact use to cause me no end of grief. Women come up to me all the time with big seductive smiles to inquire if the VMax is a Harley. It's always with a mixed sense of loathing and sadness I have to let the woman down with an explanation that no, it is in fact a Yamaha VMax. Somewhere around the Yamaha V... she's already turned around and on her way to the corner Starbucks. As far as pick up tools go I think you're better off with a puppy than a Yamaha. This scenario played out more than a few times believe it or not and it always left me standing there wondering about status symbols and shallow people. Even before Lisa, I was never really upset that the bike didn't lead to a date. The kind of woman that can get excited about what type of car or bike you own isn't a woman I care to be with. Although I have to confess that being only human I did have a little resentment, after all my bike was faster and better looking than a Harley I reasoned. I have grown out of that for the most part although I still feel a little high and mighty when some jerk on a Harley pulls up next to me at a light, gives me a dismissive glance and blips his throttle. Us men, we sure are insecure.


The whole discourse on the picky Harley women was kind of a lead up to why I ride Yamahas. I've never been a follower of trends. I'm not sure why. I'm not a loner in the Marlboro Man way, but I don't like crowds. Harleys always represented crowds to me. In 2004 I rode my motorcycle to Yellowstone National Park during Sturgis bike week. I wasn't really in the Sturgis area but there were big groups of bikers everywhere. I don't feel comfortable riding in groups. For one thing, if I'm leading I'm always worried that my pace is too fast or too slow. If I'm following the pace is almost always too slow or you can't stop when you want, or you can't take a detour. I like being responsible for me. I hate to get into the whole critiquing another persons pastime, passion or pursuit but most Harley riders open themselves up to it.

Coming back from Yellowstone I stopped for gas, a huge group of perfectly coiffed "hard core bikers" was filling up at the pumps next to me. They were decked out in the full biker chic gear and of course they gave me the once over quickly without so much as a nod (I was on the FZ1). I hate to sound like an attention whore but part of what I like about riding a bike the best is the fellowship. I like to wave when I pass a biker going the other direction. After they left, another group of scruffy, dirty homely looking guys and women pulled in on beat up old bikes. They asked me about my trip and told me where they had come from (California) and made a little small talk. Right before they got under way I noticed one of the bikes had a small Hell's Angels sticker by the oil tank. Nice guys those Hell's Angels.

It's a F***ing Cartoon!

Wow, what is going on in this world? Cartoons are causing riots. Cartoons. I don't know what to make of all this. Some members of a religion are upset about this so they protest and riot. A group of European newspapers are irritated by this so they antagonize the religious folk by printing the cartoons on purpose. The US condemns the free speech folks (go figure). I have to confess that most of the information I've seen on this whole thing has been from web based news sources. I haven't seen the cartoons so I don't know how inflammatory they are, but really, does that matter? There are very few instances where something like this should cause the kind of chaos it's causing Christians are mad because NBC has The Book of Daniel and Britney Spears is on Will and Grace in an episode that apparently hasn't been written yet. But no one is surrounding the Tonight Show studios with automatic weapons (although come to think about it maybe they should). Where is the line drawn between free speech and self-constraint? Some newspapers are printing the cartoons just because Muslims are issuing death threats and rioting. Is it defending free speech or just antagonizing?

It seems to be growing out of control. I've just read that the Danish and Norwegian embassies have been torched in Damascus. Right now it seems to be small groups (relatively speaking) here and there, although Iran is threatening to stop dealing with countries that publish the cartoons.

It always makes me wonder if this will lead to something bigger or if it will be lost to history by the end of the decade. Will it turn in to our version of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand or just a punchline for John Stewart?

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Riding

It's still winter. I'm reading the February issue of MotorCyclistmagazine and it's having the same affect on me as the movie Faster did a few weeks ago. There is a great series of articles about dream bikes and the Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. I would love to ride there on track day sometime but would be too intimidated. My riding abilities are strictly street. I think my best riding was in 2003 during a job I had at Camp Hale in Colorado. Camp Hale is in the mountains between Vail and Leadville. There is a twisty stretch of road (US 24) that climbs from Vail at approximately 8000 Ft to Leadville at over 10,000 Ft. It's a fairly scary road in parts with long drops to the canyon floor below. I would ride the thirty miles at least three times a week. I came to know how fast I could go in the straight aways and when to start breaking. There are two sharp, nicely banked horse shoe turns that I learned to master until I could scrape the pegs. Then I started riding State Rt 131. It had more curves per mile by far than US 24. The second weekend I rode it I was pushing like I never had. I'll never forget that ride. I can't think of any time in my life that I've been that exhilarated. I was literally laughing out loud several times. It was a moderately cool day but I was sweating and grunting from the exertion. As I came down out of the hills I pulled onto a flat stretch of ground and started to slow down and it reminded me of pulling in to the end of a roller coaster ride. I did something I've never done before, I cried. Yes, I've cried before but I've never been moved to tears from joy. It sounds corny but it was the most pure feeling I've ever had. I also met Lisa on that job at Camp Hale. 2003 will go in my history books as my best year to date.

Several years ago I was diagnosed with "clinical depression". After a particularly severe bout of depression, a few things happened that changed my life. I determined that the counselor I had was fruitier than I was and I started riding in earnest. I'm not suggesting that this is the cure for everyone but I know it worked for me. I haven't cried from joy since that time in Colorado but some of the happiest times I've had are while I've been locked away inside my helmet and myself.

NSA Evesdropping Leads To Dead Ends

In late 2001, the National Security Agency began sending the FBI large amounts of data from intercepted communications garnered from its warrantless wiretapping program. Virtually all of the leads that came from the wiretapping data resulted in dead ends or innocent Americans, the New York Times reported.

Read the rest of the article here...

That's from the Libertarian Party's website.