you're the best around

Ah... The interior refinishing project is nearing completion (of this phase). The piece around the e-brake is finished, and the accessories panel is 1/3 painted (black) I just need to add the gunmetal. The console work is coming along slowly, it's been fiberglassed and cut. Need to touch up the cut area, sand it and re-install it. Then there's the wiring that needs to be hidden but that'll be a quick job. True to my nature, as I'm painting I realize it would've been great to take pictures; before, during and after shots. I wanted to do that with the heater core assembly too but we only have the during disassembly shot where we've almost completely disassembled the interior of my car. It looked pretty bad ass striped to the metal.

Let's see what's on CNN.com. China is imposing more restrictions on adoptions. Fat people can't adopt Chinese kids, neither can depressed people, or the unmarried. Wow, that pretty much describes me. Luckily I'm not looking to adopt a Chinese kid.
I just hate people like this. The scary part of this story is that the headline might actually be true. They took on 11 special needs children. Uh, I can't do the math but that's like 11 needs that are special, and not special in the 'different' sense. Because if that was true, then sleeping in cages is different. Funny thing, they're married, not depressed and mostly not fat. Guess they're qualified to adopt some Chinese kids. Just not special needs kids.
Miss USA still a role model. Uh yeah. I remember that little girl back in school that said that she wanted to grow up to be a princess or Miss USA. You don't have to use your brain in the future, just make sure you look good in a bikini and an evening gown. We'll come up with some generic answers for the Q&A section. Sure you'll life will hit its peak by age 20 but honestly, everything after that is just downhill (40-70yrs of downhill).
Aww, I was disappointed when I clicked on this link. The headline had me thinking it was like Kung Fu or something like that. Right? With a title like:7 Injured as Monks Storm Monastry. You think it's going to be some sort of action film with monks fighting in the courtyard, bouncing off the roofs and dust flying whenever someone got hit. But alas, they're Greek and they don't know kung fu.

panama

Got to love Yahoo! and their useless news. Drumroll please...

Crikey! we're not on this list. You'd think with the invention of automatic machine guns and nuclear weapons we'd be at the top of this list but we ain't even close. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised who was selected for #1.

Stupid is as stupid does. Teens aren't stupid, they're human. Just like the rest of us. We'd love the idea that kids would take our word in learning but that just isn't the way things go. They learn through experience; and experience is neither good nor bad. Sometimes we just have to reach out and touch the red-hot pot on the stove to find out that 'sh*t that's hot!' Now guess what, you'll be scared to touch stuff on the stove and when your mom tells you that stuff in the oven is like a hundred times hotter, you think I played around the oven when it was open?

I must be fricking retarded according to this study. And linking this paragraph with the previous one is this little news piece.

yeah, uh-huh

Great, now I've got to learn how to say, "It's OK. I'm on the pill." Yeah, that's going to go over well. They said it combines high blood pressure medication and a schizophernia pill. Nice, so the dude that was taking both medications was like, "Huh. Something's different."

Texas Instruments might have a little competition. OK, so it's not pocket-size like TI claims, but dang, it could make a nice addition or subtraction to any room. BAC is cool. If you're wondering what BAC stands for, it's 'Big Ass Calculator.' I wouldn't want to take it with me to take the SATs which is why I'm glad I'm 26 now.

Ah well, if it's endorsed by an online media source, it must be OK to do right? Call in sick, even if you aren't. Put the work load on your colleagues that have the integrity to go to work even though they want to spent it with family. Nah, I'm kidding. I don't have family nearby and no one visits, so it's easy for me to keep going to work during this holiday season. Plus, my PTSD really acts up around Christmas. Ha, that just sounds funny.



Well, the weather forecasters or shamans, as they were referred to yesteryear, are predicting snow sometime really soon. Perhaps tomorrow. I'm not going into my weather prediction rant, just to state the fact that I'm looking forward to some snow. Of course I wish I would've installed my heater core prior to this fact but it can't be helped. Oh well, with any luck I can get install it this weekend in my friend's garage. The master cylinder will have to wait until friendlier weather.

happy birthday scarlett

A 92-year old woman was shot and killed in Atlanta last night when police trying serve a warrant, returned fire after taking fire. There's some discussion on whether or not it was necessary to kill her after shooting three officers. What we're overlooking is that she actually wounded three officers. I mean c'mon, she's raised the grand total of officers shot in Atlanta to three! A 92-year old woman shot and hit three people when punks doing a drive-by with automatic weapons barely hit the buildings in front of them. That's got to count for something.

6 imans were removed from a flight because they were "flying while Muslim." Huh. Is that sort of like "driving while intoxicated?" Like being a Muslim is a temporary state brought on by an external event. Look, I'm not saying that it was right or anything but both sides have to be sensitive to the issue. Racism is everywhere, we may be "evolved" but not that much. Deal with it OK?

The poor students these days. Nerds aren't getting into colleges now. Aww, taking three AP classes, math league, and chess team? Guess what, not good enough. Never was, either. Academics and academic clubs aren't enough. Sports are important too, OK, so you'd never make the varisty team but at least you tried. It looks like you're more well-rounded. Plus there's the added fact that universities are forced to diversify their incoming freshman class because of political correctness. Stupid affirmative action. "I'm a black guy that didn't get into State, I carry a 2.0 GPA, that's racist." No, it's because you dumb. "Oh, I wasn't given the same opportunities as others." Then guess what, MOVE. It shouldn't be about quantity, but quality. I'd rather have 6 people that have the drive, determination, and ability to make something of themselves than have 201 people that can't figure out which side of the pencil is the sharp end. Even if this year it's 6 white guys. Try harder next year minorities. To prove my point, I'm pretty sure the only reason I got into college (back in my day) was because I was a minority. To which I promptly dropped out of, so that space I occupied freshman year could have been better spent on a white guy with similar grades that didn't get in because I took his spot.

not just to keep rain off my neck

There's a couple of things on my mind. Yes. More than just an obstacle for the guy behind me at the movies. First off, DAMN YOU YANKOVIC! I was fine until I started to play Minesweeper on my laptop. I surely am not White & Nerdy. Whew. With that off of my chest I feel a little better.
Secondly, there's an issue that is reminscent of high school. I recently got an RSVP from a friend to attend his wedding reception in Ohio. Now, do I RSVP for +1 or not? Usually I do, but this dry spell has got me worried. I've got two months (which lots can happen, or it could be like the last two months and nothing happens), but how does this work? If I +1 and the day comes and I'm still single, do I find a replacement? Or do I just go it solo? Yeah, not much of a dilemma I know but it's just like prom back in high school. Except the pool of people I'm working from is much lower now than it was back then. Yesh.
Third (completely seperate from item 2) is this concept that hit me. I sometimes hang out with two friends from college (they're married) but often times I feel like the third wheel, we go to the movies and have plans to go see Happy Feet sometime in the future. The issue is this: they're starting to invite other singles (friends/family) in their life that are females. Am I wrong to be thinking set up? One of the possibilities is another one of our friends from college, whom I do like, she's cool in the slightly crazy way. The other is his sister, I've never met her. Call me crazy, but is someone controlling my life? Is this the Truman Show?

it would make my day

Have you heard? Toshiba joins the massive recall of Sony-made batteries. Yes! That's great, I wonder if this laptop I'm typing on could explode on me? That would make an interesting story wouldn't it?
"Well, I was just sitting in my living room when *poof* my laptop started smoking and I felt a weird, sort of burning sensation in my legs. Oops, my laptop burned into them."
Nah, I wouldn't be able to do much now would I? Still, a little pain is sometimes necessary to have an interesting story to tell people.
OK, well, I have to go check and see if this laptop's battery has to join the recall. Wish me luck!

i am

I guess I'm not as retarded as I seem, or is it that I'm more retarded than I realize? Let's see, when I leave my place before I lock the door I have to hold my keys in my hand. I've never been locked out but I do this anyway. Then I lock up. Put keys in pocket and walk out to my car. Open passenger-side door with key (leave key hanging in door), throw stuff in, lock the door from the inside, and check to make sure my keys are where I left them. Have keys in hand and shut door. I've only been locked out of my car once in my 10 years of driving. Not a bad record. OK, back on track. Drive to work. In parking lot exit car, lock driver-side door from the inside, check to make sure I have keys in hand. OK! Close door.
You'd think with this OCD I'd be set right? Well, apparently not. My Blackberry requires a user id and password to change my email settings. This would not normally be a problem but I haven't updated my master list in awhile and I don't remember what user id I used for my Blackberry. In my paranoid state, I have a variety of passwords that get used with a vast number of user ids. I blame my dad, he taught me that. On the bright-side, none of my accounts have been hacked (not that I'm that important to be hacked), then there's the fact that I can't access crucial information on my Blackberry which makes me wonder how many other accounts I haven't updated.
See, this master list contains all the information a person needs to become me. *gasp* If someone else wants to be me, that's great because right now I don't want to be me. This all started when I was either 9 or 10, but back then it used to in one of those spiral notebooks and in a cypher that a friend and I created. Nothing complex, it utilized a 3-layer, 27-bit code. Which was complex as hell to create when you're in kid. My friend Chris D. had one part, I had the other, which could be combined to make the actual cypher, then you could decode whatever it was you needed. I think we only had the one cypher, so once you cracked that we were screwed.
OK, so I need to call PDA support and figure out what to do. I'll do that after work, I don't want to use work time for personal stuff (he says as he types this blog).

football is everything

Yesterday I spoke about how stupid religion can get. Today, I wanted to continue on the subject of stupidity.
Last Sunday night I saw what was probably the greatest commercial of American stupidity. No, I'm not talking about the trailer for Jackass 2 although that is a great example of stupidity. No, I'm talking about the new Nike commercial, "Football is everything." Advertising should have some truth to it. Football is not everything. It's not even half of anything really.
Let's look at this realistically. Maybe half of the high school football players get a scholarship to go play college ball. If they pass their four or five years of college then maybe about 400 of them go to the pro draft, out of those 400 maybe 200 will make the cut to stay on a team for a number of years. Now let's say they can stay in the pro for six years, so they'll be almost 30 years old. What now? A BA doesn't get you anything. Go back to school to pick up your Master's? or maybe your Ph.D. yeah that's not very likely to happen.
So what about those high school football players that didn't get to go to college on a football scholarship? Maybe some of them go to college and become successful people that make lots of money, have families and leave their high school football glory where it should be left, in high school.
Football is a means to an end. It's just like the Army. The reserves or national guard to be more specific. Most of the people I know are using the Army as a means. You get paid to learn a job, then if you stay in long enough you eventually become a leader. The reserves and national guard pay 100% of your tuition needs, whereas active duty only pays 75%. Still, not too shabby.
Active duty vs. a bachelor's degree. A soldier has four years of job experience in a specific field, day in and out. A college graduate may have a few internships, maybe a semester long one and maybe he was in a club that gave them some more experience. A college graduate has spent the last four years learning. The soldier has only eat, breathe, and slept the job. There's upsides and downsides to it all. One has knowledge, the other has discipline. One has more job experience than the other.
No one single thing is everything, least of all football. Scrap that commercial Nike and think honesty. It is the best policy.

good morning, fake greetings

Whenever someone walks past me and says, “Hey, what’s going on?” I usually have some sort of off-the-wall reply which makes them stop. This is usually good enough to get them to never ask me that again. I realize that certain phrases have become acceptable greeting. I go by the rule of lawyers though, never ask a question that you don’t know the answer to already.
Also unacceptable for a greeting is, “Good morning.” Good is something subjective. Are you trying to impose your worldviews on me? How do you know what kind of morning I’ve been having? You don’t know, so there’s no way for you to know that I am having a good morning. Strike one! When I tell people this, they automatically assume that I’m having a “bad” morning. Strike two! And don’t stick around and argue with me. Strike three! Accept the fact that from that moment on for the rest of the conversation I’m going to treat you like a retard. No, wait, I’m sorry. I don’t have anything against retards, it’s not their fault. No, instead you’re a dumbass because you have control over yourself but choose to ignore it. I have no patience for the dumb.
“Morning” is a horrible greeting. What’s the mean? You know how to tell time by whether or not the sun has risen? Thanks Mr/Ms. Obvious! Or are you implying that I’m a dumbass that can’t tell what time of day it is?
“What’s up?” is another horrible greeting. It’s a question! Questions like, “How are doing?” or “How’s it hanging?” are just dumb ideas if you truly don’t want a reply. I don’t understand rhetorical questions as greetings. Ask at your own risk.
Either mean what you say or just shut up. If I don’t know you, it’s perfectly acceptable to just nod or ignore my presence. That’s not going to hurt my feelings. You could just say, “Hi.” or “Hello.” I hate fake people!