Positive vs. Negative

I can't claim to really know my fellow blogger Logtar. I've only spent time with him and his incredible wife Bea at a few of the blogger meets, although we are in negotiations to do dinner and drinks and such. Their people are talking to my people, we expect to ink a deal soon.

But I know them well enough to say this.

They are two of the happiest people I've ever met. They love this country, they love each other, they love their friends and they have the most positive outlook on life I've ever seen.

Logtar is all smiles, love and enthusiasm. I got a direct twitter from him today proclaimimg what an incredibly great day he was having.

Why? Just because he was having a great day and wanted to share it with someone. That's awesome.

Here is the difference between me and Logtar.

If he saw a glass that was half-filled with water, he would say "That glass is half full! Would you like a drink? Take a drink!"

If I were looking at the same glass, I would say "Which one of you fucking asshats drank my goddamned water? I'll KILL ya!"

I like being around Logtar and Bea. They make me want to be a better person and they inspire me to be a better American.

It's like G.I. Joe...but in SPACE!

I never had one of these, because we were poor.

Well, not "poor" poor, but not a lot of extra money.

My "G.I. Joe Astronaut" was a crudely fashioned affair with a skeleton made out of used popsicle sticks covered in an adobe-like clay that I made myself by pissing in a cup full of dirt, hand shaping that putrid, disgusting "mud" around the popsicle sticks and baking it in the summer sun for 3 days.

Instead of a historically accurate Mercury space suit, I just wrapped mine in aluminum foil. Store brand...not Reynolds. That would have been "puttin' on airs". Couldn't be "hoity toity" with fancy stuff.

In lieu of a cool, 1/32nd scale model of a Mercury space craft with accurate retro rockets and the gratuitous addition of a big sliding glass canopy (the real Mercury 7 astronauts would have sold their mothers into prostitution for a hatch like that), I had to settle for shoving my "action figure" into the cramped, sticky confines of one of these.



But another kid in the neighborhood had one! His parents were "rich". He even had "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots"



Spoiled, arrogant little fuck.

Two Years

It was two years ago this morning that I smoked my last cigarette. Almost to the minute.

I used patches and gum and they worked. It was actually easier than I thought it would be.

I have never, ever, missed smoking or regretted quitting. Quite the opposite. It was the smartest thing I've ever done.

For years I thought "Why bother? I'm sure it's too late." I smoked a couple of packs a day for probably 35 years. I figured even if I quit, the damage was already done. I'd still die of the same things.

But I did quit and it wasn't too late.

After undergoing several assessments over the last couple of years I have discovered, much to my amazement, that my heart is healthy, my lungs are clear, my cholesterol is acceptable. I have some hypertension that is being treated with medication and, sometimes, exercise. There is some mild impairment to my respiratory system.

All things considered, I'm healthier than I deserve to be.

If you smoke, and you want to quit or have been thinking about quitting, I encourage you to do so.

If you smoke and have no desire to quit because you enjoy it, more power to you.

I refuse to become an anti-smoking zealot. I do not support draconian anti-smoking laws that are being increasingly implemented. I believe that bar and restaurant owners should have the right to make their businesses smoking or non-smoking as they see fit. Don't want to eat in a smokey restaurant...go eat somewhere else. Don't want to work in a smokey bar...get another job.

It's all about choice. I chose to quit for my own personal reasons.

But smokers should have the right to continue smoking if that's what they choose to do.

Non-smokers who cannot abide smoking should stay away from smokey places. They should also take their morally superior attitudes and shove them up their asses.

No lube.

The Theme Song For Nightmare's Dystopia

My good friend nightmare has often expressed his opinion that Mother Nature should just wipe us all out and start over. Total reboot. Earth 2.0

[Actually, I'm not certain of the earth's current release number, what with the asteroids and ice ages and shit, but you know what I mean. In geekspeak, nightmare thinks the hard drives need to be reformatted, the bios upgraded, and a brand new operating system installed.]

I don't entirely disagree. I've expressed my own opinion that this would be a nice little planet if it weren't for all the Hoomans.

However, I suspect that nightmare's ideal scenario would be one where Mother Nature wipes out all of mankind EXCEPT his family, their guns and rations, and a breeding herd of helpless supermodels unable to survive on their own who would need "domesticatin'".

The only real purpose to this post is to give me an excuse to post a music video that I've posted before but wanted to post again because I really fucking like it.

Having accomplished that purpose, I will offer this clip as the National Anthem to nightmare's vision of the future.

White House projects record deficit for 2009

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's budget chief blamed the faltering economy and the bipartisan stimulus package for the record $482 billion deficit the White House predicted for the 2009 budget year.

President Bush inherited a budget surplus of $128 billion when he took office in 2001 but has since posted a budget deficit every year."

The faltering economy and $600.00 checks.

Right.

That's the problem.

The average price of a barrel of oil in 2001 was $23.00. A gallon of gas was $1.70.

In July of 2008 the price of a barrel of oil topped $147.00. A gallon of gas was over $4.00.

It's not the $10 BILLION A MONTH we are spending in Iraq! That's not the problem

It's not the Bush tax cuts to his wealthiest pals who need it the least. That's not the problem.

It's not the collapse of the housing market undermined by predatory, unregulated, sub-prime loans.

It's not the instability in the oil markets created by Bush's invasion of Iraq and inflammatory rhetoric towards Iran while completely ignoring the Israeli/Palestinian issue for 8 fucking years. That's not the problem.

No. Those things have nothing to do with the roller coaster nose dive from a $128 billion dollar surplus to a $482 billion dollar deficit.

No, it's our fault for not buying more shit. Shame on us for not becoming poorer to make rich people richer.

Why do we hate America? Why do we want the terrorists to win?

BAD middle class Americans! BAD! We brought this shit on ourselves!

W.

UPDATE: It was gone, now it's back!

A Tale of Two Cities

I know that not all of my readers are from the KC area, so let me give you a little background on this post.

Kansas City is west of I-435, Independence is east of I-435. There are boundry subtleties, but for the most part, that's the divider.


View Larger Map

For several years, Kansas City, MO and Independence, MO have been battling over 7 schools just east of I-435 and the attendant 2500 students.

The Kansas City School District is a fucking mess. Has been for decades. The district was the subject of a desegregation lawsuit filed way back in 1977. Somewhere along the way, the Kansas City School District was given control of 7 schools in western Independence.

In the following years, the Kansas City School District continued its death spiral and dragged those 7 schools along with it.

On May 1 (yes, that would be MAYDAY), 2000, the Missouri Board of Education stripped the Kansas City School District of its accreditation.

Eight years later the district remains unaccredited, while the Independence School district is not only accredited (the lowest common denominator for even being allowed to call yourself a "school district"), but they are one of the best school districts in the metro area.

The residents of western Independence and Sugar Creek have been battling for years to get their schools back from the failed Kansas City School District.

On November 6, 2007, voters in both the Kansas City and Independence school districts voted to return the disputed schools to the Independence School District.

Since that vote, the Kansas City School District has been throwing itself on the floor, kicking it's feet, and screaming like a little bitch while the district's pimps (attorneys) have been fighting tooth and nail to extract as much cash as possible out of the deal.

Fuck the kids, just fill our bank accounts and line our pockets!

Independence finally got access to the schools in June. Although even then, KCSD personnel tried to obstruct the access by calling the police and having the Independence officials kept out.

After getting full access to the schools, officials were appalled by the conditions they found. In a nutshell, the schools had been left untouched and unmaintained for 20 years. Just like Kansas City. Shit was just falling apart, paint was peeling, pipes were leaking and dead rats littered the floors.

The schools needed to be ready to open by August 18.

In contrast to the decades of neglect and indifference by the unaccredited Kansas City School District, the citizens of Independence came together as a community to fix the problems caused by its dysfunctional neighbors to the west.

They held an Extreme School Makeover.

"Lifting Hammers. Lifting Spirits.

The Independence School District wants YOU for the Extreme School Makeover weekend slated for July 26th and 27th. Our goal is to unify the community in an effort to refresh and revitalize the school buildings for students returning this fall as students of the Independence School District. This is a unique opportunity for you to make a true positive impact in the lives of our children and our community and all it takes is a few hours of your time!"

I decided to get out today and do some eye witness reporting on what a community of concerned parents can do for the sake of their children.

I paid a visit to Nowlin Middle School and Van Horn High school, just to see how many volunteers actually turned out.

I could barely find a place to park at either school.

There wasn't anywhere, in either school, that wasn't bustling with the activity of industrious, concerned citizens, struggling to restore these neglected schools to the conditions that students deserve.

I have never seen a coordinated community effort of this magnitude. It was incredible.

This is the defining difference between someplace like Kansas City and Independence.

Kansas City citizens like to stand in circles, in front of TV cameras, holding candles, doing nothing but crying, whining, complaining, blaming other people and talking about racism and white priveledge.

Independence citizens get people off their fucking asses, rally around a common cause and get shit done!

Here are a bunch of pictures of people who care about their kids, working in upperwards of 95 degree heat and swamp-like humidity, with no air conditioning, for no pay, to fix what Kansas City fucked up.

(As always, click the pic to embiggen!)

This fall, 2500 students will see the difference between a divisive urban populace that gave up on itself decades ago, and a connected suburban community that still believes that concerned and involved citizens can make a difference.

Links:

American School & University

Standoff' slows transfer of schools from KC to Independence

Benson & Associates

Money And School Performance:
Lessons from the Kansas City Desegregation Experiment

Kansas City school district loses accreditation

Independence Gives Schools an Extreme Makeover

Lifting Hammers. Lifting Spirits.

Tattoos and Piercings

I know a lot of people with tattoos.

My dad has tattoos. One on his upper arm, one on his lower arm. One he got when he was in the Merchant Marines in WWII.


The other he got when he was in the Army during the Korean War.


Both of them kind of say "I was there and I served."

I understand those kind of tattoos.

I know some of my fellow bloggers and people close to them have tattoos. I don't have anything against the art of tattooing in and of itself.

But there comes a point when, apparently, tattoos take precedent over everything else. A point where the person decides that permanently decorating their body is more important than where they can get a job, where they can live, who they can associate with and what kind of life they can live.


And I don't get that.

Tramp stamps are fun.


Ankle tattoos are sexy.



But when you get a swastika tattooed in the middle of your forehead,



Or "tear tattoos" to represent all of the prison terms you have served,



Or gang type shit that starts creeping up your neck and face,


You are pretty much advertising to the world "I give up! I will never have a normal job. Life will always be an uphill struggle for me. People's first impressions of me will always be defined by my ink rather than my education, intelligence and skills, and I will always accuse those people of being narrow-minded and judgemental. Certain jobs will always be out of the question. I am willfully choosing to limit my options to a very narrow scope."

I've never seen a tattoo that signified a PHD in physics from Princeton, or a Masters in Engineering from M.I.T. I can understand wanting to advertise that sort of accomplishment.

But a string of tears permanently advertising what a repeat offense loser you are? A gang tattoo that makes you forever unemployable? Finger tattoos that spell F U C K?

Don't even get me started on piercings.

Why would I want to hire someone I could never send on a business trip because they would create a scene at the TSA check points?

Do I want someone representing my business detained at the airport because they created a fuss about removing their nipple rings and clit studs?

Here is a good example of what I'm talking about.


Is that a great artistic tattoo? Absofuckinglutely! If all I ever wanted to do in my life was to work in a Halloween haunted house and be able to sleep late on show-day and not have to do my makeup...Awesome!

But in the real world, where will this guy ever get a job? How many jobs does he even have a shot at? How many possible companions in life does he have? How would you react if your daughter brought this idiot home? Would you want to explain his presence at Thanksgiving and Christmas? Would you want your grandchildren growing up with this guy as a role model? What recommendations can the Unemployment Councilor give him to help him out on interviews? He has severely limited his options and his choices are PERMANENT! You can't just change your mind about shit like this.

I'm old enough to know that you should always leave all of your options open, because life is a cruel mistress and you may be forced down paths that you never considered. It would be a shame to have one of those potentially lucrative paths blocked by in inappropriately placed tattoo of the Zig-Zag man.



The fact that I am visible-tattoo-free means I am forever able to control the first impression encounter.

If you have visible tattoos, you have forever surrendered control of that first impression to your ink.

But if you are O.K. with that, so am I.

It's your life.

Live it as you see fit.

Peace.

The Dark Knight

v1.0



v1.1




v1.2



v2.0

Some Superfluous Superman Stuff

As much as I love all of the latest Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hulk movies, I also still appreciate the Old School super hero genre.

Repurposing an Ancient PC - Ideas?

When I bought my kick ass, Dell XPS Super-Computer, I reformatted my old HP 8660c Pavillion and gave it to my daughter.

She limped along with that piece of crap until she got her own laptop.

So now, I have a redundant, mostly obsolete computer that I'm thinking must still be good for something.

You can peruse the base specifications of the 8660c here. I think I upgraded the RAM and the video card.

There must be something I can use it for.

Rudimentary home automation? DIY robotics? Simple porn storage?

C'mon, all you techno geeks! Use your imagination. Gotta be sumpthin'.

Have Your Prophets Call My Prophets. We'll Do Lunch.

Christ! More lunatics! This comment was left on my post about Misty Horner.

"HIDDEN PROPHET,
WHEN YOU BECOME ALARMED AT THE NUMBER OF BABIES BEING MURDERED
LEGALLY IN OUR NATION BY ALL OF THESE SATANIC DOCTORS YOU CAN THEN GIVE YOUR VIEW POINT, BUT UNTIL THEN JUST SHUT UP AND PRAY AND CONSIDER YOURSELF THE PROBLEM.
YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THROWING THE HORNERS INTO PRISON TO BE SODOMIZED SOUNDS LIKE YOUR A REAL
INTELLIGENT KIND OF GUY YOU ONLY AD TO ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED.FEAR GOD THE REAL PROPHETS ARE COMING AND I PROMISE I'LL MEET YOU!!!!!"

It is exactly religious fucktards like this commentor that lead to the unnecessary and completely preventable death of Misty Horner and her baby.

Go sell crazy somewhere else.

Idiots!

Blogger Improv

Lacking any real inspiration, I asked my twitterverse followers what I should blog about tonight.

No single suggested topic lept out as being worthy of an entire blogpost, so I'll just combine them all into a single post.


From princessofworld

"@xo64068 You could talk about me. I always enjoy that:"

Okay, I already made a liar of myself because of course she is worthy of an entire blogpost. Smart, funny, well read, sexy. Even poor, blind Homer could have spun epics about her. If you don't know who Homer is, maybe you should visit a fucking library you illiterate hack.

*****


From banky

"@xo64068 the spanish inquisition was neither spanish nor an inquisition."

I don't know if that is a suggestion that I do a deep dive into the subject of the Spanish Inquisition, with weeks worth of scholarly, annotated research and footnotes and shit, or just one of banky's brain farts. It's hard to tell sometimes. So I'll just take the easy way out.



There ya go, banky.

*****



From MarianLiberryan

"@xo64068 olympics? Beer? NASCAR?"

Christ! I don't think you could have picked 3 things I care less about (other than my ex wife). I LOATHE the Olympics! Sucks up every packet of high speed, high def TV time for weeks on end and there isn't a single fucking sport, competition or athelete that I care about. Not. One. What a waste of goddamn time. And don't even get me started on the fact that the Communist Chinese get a visit from the U.S. President and billions of dollars of revenue from American visitors and American television broadcast rights and I can't even get a fucking Cuban Cohiba!


I call Bullshit!


Beer? I haven't had a beer in years. Something about the combination of alcohol and carbonation that wreaks havoc with my lower digestive system. Or maybe it's the hops. Give me a glass of finely crafted, small batch bourbon over the greatest beer in the world.


I don't need to be putting anything in my mouth whose distinguishing properties include the word "head".

I'll leave that "sort of thing" to THIS guy.


NASCAR?


You mean Redneck Hockey?



Rural dipshits driving fast in circles while drunk, mullet-wearing, tatooed, whiskey tango, fat people wearing unflattering clothing with numbers on their backs and overly-complicated eyeware scream and yell like ass-raped Ozark canoers who kinda dig it, even without the lube and a reach around?


Yeah, I got nuthin' on NASCAR. Fucking hillbillies!

*****


From bullevard73

"@xo64068 You can blog about your new gay lifestyle"

You told me not to tell anybody about how much you love it when I go ass to mouth on you! Make up your mind! Don't make me lock you in the dog cage again, bitch!

"Bring out the Gimp!"




*****



From Darrenrules

"@xo64068 You could blog about your experiences riding the bus."

I could. But I haven't ridden the bus once this month because it has been either too hot or too stormy. I'm only interested in reducing my carbon footprint, saving the planet, and saving money if I am not personally inconvenienced in any way. As long as I don't have to go out of my way, get all sweaty, or get rained on, I'm a regular Ed fucking Begley, Jr.!

*****

I'm spent! Time to get shit ready for work and get to bed by 11.

G'night, my peeps.