Scott Stapp - The Great Divide
Picked up a copy of Scott Stapp's solo CD last Tuesday. Not bad, but nothing as good as what Creed put out. Mark Tremonti balanced out Stapp's self-centered (as in, looking inward or writing about himself) writing. Most of what Stapp writes are short verses and short, repetitious choruses. And he has this odd habit of either speaking or shouting on the CD, without following along with the music. One final complaint - I've never seen liner notes so messed up, lyrically. They had to have gone to print a few years before he finished writing. Either that or someone at the printer had a good laugh and re-arranged the structures of half the songs.
That said, "Surround Me," "The Great Divide," and "Broken" are great songs, and I've got a good feeling about "Let Me Go."
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
Christmas time approacheth
Christmas time approacheth...
And it doesn't look like Christmas out. Or anytime near Christmas. Sure, the sky is the correct shade of dour gray, but it's 50 degrees out and all the snow melted. If the trend continues, we'll be wearing shorts to go get the tree next weekend, an activity that, thankfully, the manager gave me Saturday off for. The holiday shopping season started, and we (at the store) all survived the Black Weekend with a modicum of difficulty. Not horrible, but we're seriously lacking in numbers (the percentage of sales drivers offered by an employee that are accepted by the customer) and everyone's just digging the hole deeper. According to my calculations, I worked about 40 hours last week. Not bad for a part-timer.
Sig 220
Last time I checked, "my" discounted Sig 220 was still at the gun store. It's mocking me, I'm sure of it. It's purposefully not being sold in order to tempt me. LOL Maybe at the end of the Christmas season I'll buy myself a reward for making it through the Christmas workload and my first semester of college. But then I think not, it makes more sense to get the CX4 Storm, or the really nice 1911, since both are compatible with guns already in the house. When you make as much money as I do, and when guns cost as much as they do, you have to be at least 98% sure of your purchase. Part of me thinks I just want one because Neil McCauly used one in Heat. Perhaps I should stick with my rule of "Never buy anything used by a movie character you liked." That's what kept me from getting a USP9 back in July, I didn't know if I wanted one because I honestly liked the gun or because Vincent used one in Collateral. Now I wish I'd gotten it.
Math test today
Hopefully I didn't screw up as bad as I did last week. No way of knowing till next Monday though. The teacher gave us 18 points of extra credit problems and then skimped on the instructions, leaving us all to blunder along trying to figure it out. ...and don't even bother trying to ask questions...
No hesitation
A friend at work asked me if I could take 3 of her hours one day next week, making for an 11 hour day for me. I said yes, and looking back, I said it without any hesitation. I'm still trying to figure out why I did this, and it occurs to me, I'd do it for any of the people there. Hmm...perhaps I just always do everything I can to help my friends. I wonder, seriously, if that's a good thing. On the flip side, if I take these extra hours, I won't be able to go home until about 10PM because my parents will be at my brother's ball game.
Savatage
I'm looking into starting to listen to the band Savatage. Supposedly they're very much like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a band which is near the top of my favorites list. But from what I've heard, Savatage doesn't appeal to me very much. At least I can download a few songs before I decide to buy the CD. Which reminds me, TSO's Christmas Eve Sarajevo (12/24) is on infinite repeat in my head. Good song. I look forward to seeing them in concert next month. I hear they put on a heck of a show.
And it doesn't look like Christmas out. Or anytime near Christmas. Sure, the sky is the correct shade of dour gray, but it's 50 degrees out and all the snow melted. If the trend continues, we'll be wearing shorts to go get the tree next weekend, an activity that, thankfully, the manager gave me Saturday off for. The holiday shopping season started, and we (at the store) all survived the Black Weekend with a modicum of difficulty. Not horrible, but we're seriously lacking in numbers (the percentage of sales drivers offered by an employee that are accepted by the customer) and everyone's just digging the hole deeper. According to my calculations, I worked about 40 hours last week. Not bad for a part-timer.
Sig 220
Last time I checked, "my" discounted Sig 220 was still at the gun store. It's mocking me, I'm sure of it. It's purposefully not being sold in order to tempt me. LOL Maybe at the end of the Christmas season I'll buy myself a reward for making it through the Christmas workload and my first semester of college. But then I think not, it makes more sense to get the CX4 Storm, or the really nice 1911, since both are compatible with guns already in the house. When you make as much money as I do, and when guns cost as much as they do, you have to be at least 98% sure of your purchase. Part of me thinks I just want one because Neil McCauly used one in Heat. Perhaps I should stick with my rule of "Never buy anything used by a movie character you liked." That's what kept me from getting a USP9 back in July, I didn't know if I wanted one because I honestly liked the gun or because Vincent used one in Collateral. Now I wish I'd gotten it.
Math test today
Hopefully I didn't screw up as bad as I did last week. No way of knowing till next Monday though. The teacher gave us 18 points of extra credit problems and then skimped on the instructions, leaving us all to blunder along trying to figure it out. ...and don't even bother trying to ask questions...
No hesitation
A friend at work asked me if I could take 3 of her hours one day next week, making for an 11 hour day for me. I said yes, and looking back, I said it without any hesitation. I'm still trying to figure out why I did this, and it occurs to me, I'd do it for any of the people there. Hmm...perhaps I just always do everything I can to help my friends. I wonder, seriously, if that's a good thing. On the flip side, if I take these extra hours, I won't be able to go home until about 10PM because my parents will be at my brother's ball game.
Savatage
I'm looking into starting to listen to the band Savatage. Supposedly they're very much like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a band which is near the top of my favorites list. But from what I've heard, Savatage doesn't appeal to me very much. At least I can download a few songs before I decide to buy the CD. Which reminds me, TSO's Christmas Eve Sarajevo (12/24) is on infinite repeat in my head. Good song. I look forward to seeing them in concert next month. I hear they put on a heck of a show.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Borrowed Time
Borrowed Time
Monday updates only so far, with that trend continuing until about February. I've been working hours that qualify as full time (this week I'm putting in three hours shy of a full-time store manager's schedule). What's left over I work on school work, sleep, and hang out online (a little), not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily in equal amounts.
I'm getting the feeling I'm running on borrowed time. Too many early days, too many nights of getting to sleep at 12-1AM. God only knows I can't get sick, I don't have the time. The only way I was able to finish one of my homework assignments last week was because my computer chewed it up and I got a 5 day extension. I doubt the teacher's gonna give that one out again.
I'm not digging this, to quote a Nickelback song. I wonder if I'm burning out. I didn't accept a 4key assignment and pay to become a de facto 3key because they can't find one. The extra hours mean I can't spend as much time at school as I'd like, figuring out my complicated programming assignments, which mainly consist of the teacher handing us the book and saying figure it out, and then lecturing on something we've already heard about several times before.
Thank God I have no social life, no real-life friends, and no close ones online. Even my parents are starting to express displeasure with the amount of time that I'm gone, and they've always been extremely supportive.
National Ammo Day and other gun stuff
I realize this is kind of creepy. I go straight from talking about being burned out to talking about guns. Have no fear, I'm not going to go off the deep end. I bought 800 rounds of 9mm for National Ammo Day, a purchase I really, really like. Contemplated getting a Sig 220 when one showed up at the friendly neighborhood gun store for under $500, but decided against it. Which means I'm back to my problem of what to get in May:AR-15 or a REALLY nice 1911. Or a Beretta CX4 Storm. Or a NIB Sig 220. If only all decisions had such happy endings.
More on work
I'm considering (after the holiday season blows over) jumping up to 3key. More money, same hours, only difference is I'd have to close the store some days. And then I wonder....If I'm burned out now, what will it be like when I take on MORE responsibility? Another customer hit on me the other day. Everyone thinks this is hilarious. Had an 8AM meeting yesterday, and then worked till 6:30-7PM. Fun. Sort of.
More on The Legacy
As I noted in my last post, a Mr. Recently Exhonerated is the prime suspect in the killing of a 25 year old photographer. As of right now, his computers have been impounded and are being examined for evidence of murder and/or disturbing interests. Leg irons and handcuffs have been found at his house. Mr.RE still maintains the police are framing him, that the whole thing was a setup, and that some mysterious lights he and one of his Devil's Rejects brothers saw are to blame. Yeah, right. The police force procured pints of his blood (he says it came from a re-opened cut on his finger, if that amount of your DNA is THAT easy for the police to come by, you're an absolute idiot with a clotting problem and a disfunctional memory), killed a photographer, burned her and her items on his salvage yard, buried her car there, and snuck her car keys, tainted with HIS DNA into his room.
I'm still wondering who we'd be burying if that photographer had've had a Glock.
Tacoma shooting
This one's weird. Preppy college student procures illegal, fully-automatic battle rifle found nowhere else but the Swedish military, conceals it on his way into the mall, wounds 3 people, and is apprehended by 3 undercover officers. Here's the weird stuff: The rifle is a Bofor's AK-5, found only in the Swedish military. Importation is totally illegal, and there are extremely limited quantities. A cell-phone call from a witness at the scene positively identified the rifle as the AK-5 in a "during the shooting" call to police/news media. The police respond to the call by LOCKING ALL EXITS, effectively trapping everyone inside. Witnesses report seeing 3 undercover police officers (Perhaps citizens carrying legally concealed weapons? We'll never hear/know.) at the time of the shooting. Despite such heavy firepower, only three people (to date) were injured.
I know I'm not the only one wondering what new victim disarmament bill is a few days away.
Savin' Me
Nickelback's excellent, best-ever song Savin' Me is running through my head on infinite repeat. Much better than their current junk single. I'm so disappointed in them. They released some raunchy piece-of-crap single in the US, everyone else gets Far Away. Ugh.
Monday updates only so far, with that trend continuing until about February. I've been working hours that qualify as full time (this week I'm putting in three hours shy of a full-time store manager's schedule). What's left over I work on school work, sleep, and hang out online (a little), not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily in equal amounts.
I'm getting the feeling I'm running on borrowed time. Too many early days, too many nights of getting to sleep at 12-1AM. God only knows I can't get sick, I don't have the time. The only way I was able to finish one of my homework assignments last week was because my computer chewed it up and I got a 5 day extension. I doubt the teacher's gonna give that one out again.
I'm not digging this, to quote a Nickelback song. I wonder if I'm burning out. I didn't accept a 4key assignment and pay to become a de facto 3key because they can't find one. The extra hours mean I can't spend as much time at school as I'd like, figuring out my complicated programming assignments, which mainly consist of the teacher handing us the book and saying figure it out, and then lecturing on something we've already heard about several times before.
Thank God I have no social life, no real-life friends, and no close ones online. Even my parents are starting to express displeasure with the amount of time that I'm gone, and they've always been extremely supportive.
National Ammo Day and other gun stuff
I realize this is kind of creepy. I go straight from talking about being burned out to talking about guns. Have no fear, I'm not going to go off the deep end. I bought 800 rounds of 9mm for National Ammo Day, a purchase I really, really like. Contemplated getting a Sig 220 when one showed up at the friendly neighborhood gun store for under $500, but decided against it. Which means I'm back to my problem of what to get in May:AR-15 or a REALLY nice 1911. Or a Beretta CX4 Storm. Or a NIB Sig 220. If only all decisions had such happy endings.
More on work
I'm considering (after the holiday season blows over) jumping up to 3key. More money, same hours, only difference is I'd have to close the store some days. And then I wonder....If I'm burned out now, what will it be like when I take on MORE responsibility? Another customer hit on me the other day. Everyone thinks this is hilarious. Had an 8AM meeting yesterday, and then worked till 6:30-7PM. Fun. Sort of.
More on The Legacy
As I noted in my last post, a Mr. Recently Exhonerated is the prime suspect in the killing of a 25 year old photographer. As of right now, his computers have been impounded and are being examined for evidence of murder and/or disturbing interests. Leg irons and handcuffs have been found at his house. Mr.RE still maintains the police are framing him, that the whole thing was a setup, and that some mysterious lights he and one of his Devil's Rejects brothers saw are to blame. Yeah, right. The police force procured pints of his blood (he says it came from a re-opened cut on his finger, if that amount of your DNA is THAT easy for the police to come by, you're an absolute idiot with a clotting problem and a disfunctional memory), killed a photographer, burned her and her items on his salvage yard, buried her car there, and snuck her car keys, tainted with HIS DNA into his room.
I'm still wondering who we'd be burying if that photographer had've had a Glock.
Tacoma shooting
This one's weird. Preppy college student procures illegal, fully-automatic battle rifle found nowhere else but the Swedish military, conceals it on his way into the mall, wounds 3 people, and is apprehended by 3 undercover officers. Here's the weird stuff: The rifle is a Bofor's AK-5, found only in the Swedish military. Importation is totally illegal, and there are extremely limited quantities. A cell-phone call from a witness at the scene positively identified the rifle as the AK-5 in a "during the shooting" call to police/news media. The police respond to the call by LOCKING ALL EXITS, effectively trapping everyone inside. Witnesses report seeing 3 undercover police officers (Perhaps citizens carrying legally concealed weapons? We'll never hear/know.) at the time of the shooting. Despite such heavy firepower, only three people (to date) were injured.
I know I'm not the only one wondering what new victim disarmament bill is a few days away.
Savin' Me
Nickelback's excellent, best-ever song Savin' Me is running through my head on infinite repeat. Much better than their current junk single. I'm so disappointed in them. They released some raunchy piece-of-crap single in the US, everyone else gets Far Away. Ugh.
Monday, November 14, 2005
The Legacy
The Legacy
I'm going to omit names here, to protect the guilty, innocent, and indifferent.
We've got the makings of a new horror movie brewing in the local area. On Halloween, a 25 year old photographer goes to an auto salvage yard out in the country to take pictures for a car magazine. Said salvage yard is run by a recently exhonerated rapist (who also has convictions for theft and throwing a gasoline soaked cat in a fire) , and a very "Devil's Rejects" clan including his two brothers, who both have records of spousal abuse, child molestation, skipping bail, and not paying their bills. Photographer goes missing. Several days later, the photographer's car is found in the salvage yard. As of the 12th of November, the owner of the junkyard (Mr. Recently Exhonerated) was charged with her murder - the evidence being his and her DNA inside her car and scattered all over the property, a burned camera and dismembered burned female remains in a "burn can," and her car keys and license plates, covered in his DNA (?) hidden in his room. Mr. Recently Exhonerated was arrested several days before the murder charge because of a .22 rifle and a muzzleloader also found in his bedroom.
The "Devil's Rejects" are claiming it's a setup by the county, as Mr. Recently Exhonerated was suing the county for $26 million due to 18 years wrongfully imprisoned. While I have no doubt the investigating parties want this guy to be "the one," Ockham's Razor suggests it's not a setup - and even I was convinced it was until I heard the list of evidence.
If this isn't a book/movie in the next five years, I'll eat my keyboard.
And then it struck me, as I was discussing this a few days ago with my family - this is the legacy of gun control. Helpless, forcibly disarmed young woman brutally killed by feral loser, who manages to get guns despite an outright prohibition due to his being a felon. Whoops. How did that happen? I thought there was a law against felons owning guns. This is what you get when you follow gun control - victim disarmament - through to its logical conclusion: Innocent, defenseless people being killed by those who have broken the law before and have no compunction about breaking it again.
It just so happens that our good Governer Doyle vetoed (last year) a bill that would've allowed this young photographer to carry a concealed weapon when she went into this situation. The same bill has come up again this year, and Doyle's vowing to veto it again. Some reason about the streets running red with blood, and not wanting to send a message that Wisconsin is a state that loves violence. Given the amount of the killer's blood that was found mixed in with the photographer's, it appears this young woman didn't give up easily. It would be interesting to see what she would've done with a Glock 27. I suspect that yes, in an alternate reality, there would be at least one death resulting from the carrying of a concealed weapon - the death of the man, that in this reality, killed an innocent person.
My Own Experience
A few nights ago, I'm standing in the parking lot of the mall where I work, and a car pulls up a few yards away. Mid 20s male gets out, notices me standing off to one side, and advances towards me, growling the cliched "What're you lookin' at?" I hang my head and say "nothing." He heads over to the entrance, also a few yards away, spends a few minutes with friends, after which they all head to their cars, stopping to verbally harrass several women passing through the parking lot. I wonder what state of health I'd be in now if I hadn't acted meek and scared before this punk. As is my habit, I was carrying the best defense allowed to me by the state - a folding utility knife. Stopping by a self-defense store a few days later, I inquired about better defensive weapons that I can carry. Collapsible batons? Illegal. Pepper spray? Illegal. Taser? Illegal. Here I am, attempting to find safer, less-lethal weapons than my utility knife, and my efforts to keep myself and those around me and preserve the life of my attacker are thwarted by our governer, who has obviously never heard of the concept of human rights, and who has definitely never been approached in a dark parking lot by a hostile punk. It's almost like they want me, or someone else, to wind up bleeding to death on a sidewalk someday.
How my own experience ties in
Both of us were forcibly disarmed. If anyone in this state (outside of the police and military) they are a criminal, whether they need it for defense or not. The law and governer decreed I am to be disarmed, and I was put in a situation where I could've been beaten up while waiting for a ride. The law and governer decreed that a woman with an interest in photography, a woman with her whole life ahead of her, be disarmed, and she was put in a situation where she was killed, dismembered, and burned beyond recognition.
Any member of the public who would convict me of illegally carrying a weapon, who would vote to restrict my right to carry a weapon - I wish they'd been standing in that parkinglot instead of me. I WANT THEM to know what it feels like to fear for your wellbeing as some belligerent jerk stalks toward you and you wish you had something more to defend yourself with than fists and a glorified razorblade. Above and beyond that, I wish there was a video tape of that young photographer's final, terror-filled hours - because I'd make the people who'd disarmed her, and the people who merely wished for her disarmament watch it and listen to her screams, every night before they went to bed. I'd make them watch the legacy of gun control.
And as for the governer, the police forces, lawyers, and "public servants" that uphold his decree that young women should die so our state "won't send the message that it loves violence," any official who would use force to disarm innocent people - they should all be tried as accomplices to her murder. They aided the man who killed her. Their actions took the gun from her hand that could've saved her life. They're as guilty as her killer.
I'm hearing
Marc Broussard's "Home," specifically the first verse, running through my head on infinite repeat. Excellent song. Catchy, well written (love some of the rhymes in it), great beat...it's an all around excellent song.
School & Work
I've looked over my class schedule for next year, and I'm liking it. 9 "core" credits, lots of free time. Enough free time that if I make it through the Christmas season, I'll think about throwing my hat into the ring for 3rd key manager where I work. As it is, the head manager wants me to take on the added responsibility of looking after our customer orders.
I spotted, while walking through the mall to my place of work, the manager who'd turned me down for a job at the last place I interviewed (well, she didn't actually turn me down, she just refused to call after promising to do so, I had to go in on my own after what I was told was the deadline and ask) before I got my current job. I almost, almost stopped and told her that in 5 months I'd jumped up the totem pole to become 3rd in experience, 3rd in "command" at my place of work. I didn't though. That would've been rude. Probably fun, but definitely rude.
I'm going to omit names here, to protect the guilty, innocent, and indifferent.
We've got the makings of a new horror movie brewing in the local area. On Halloween, a 25 year old photographer goes to an auto salvage yard out in the country to take pictures for a car magazine. Said salvage yard is run by a recently exhonerated rapist (who also has convictions for theft and throwing a gasoline soaked cat in a fire) , and a very "Devil's Rejects" clan including his two brothers, who both have records of spousal abuse, child molestation, skipping bail, and not paying their bills. Photographer goes missing. Several days later, the photographer's car is found in the salvage yard. As of the 12th of November, the owner of the junkyard (Mr. Recently Exhonerated) was charged with her murder - the evidence being his and her DNA inside her car and scattered all over the property, a burned camera and dismembered burned female remains in a "burn can," and her car keys and license plates, covered in his DNA (?) hidden in his room. Mr. Recently Exhonerated was arrested several days before the murder charge because of a .22 rifle and a muzzleloader also found in his bedroom.
The "Devil's Rejects" are claiming it's a setup by the county, as Mr. Recently Exhonerated was suing the county for $26 million due to 18 years wrongfully imprisoned. While I have no doubt the investigating parties want this guy to be "the one," Ockham's Razor suggests it's not a setup - and even I was convinced it was until I heard the list of evidence.
If this isn't a book/movie in the next five years, I'll eat my keyboard.
And then it struck me, as I was discussing this a few days ago with my family - this is the legacy of gun control. Helpless, forcibly disarmed young woman brutally killed by feral loser, who manages to get guns despite an outright prohibition due to his being a felon. Whoops. How did that happen? I thought there was a law against felons owning guns. This is what you get when you follow gun control - victim disarmament - through to its logical conclusion: Innocent, defenseless people being killed by those who have broken the law before and have no compunction about breaking it again.
It just so happens that our good Governer Doyle vetoed (last year) a bill that would've allowed this young photographer to carry a concealed weapon when she went into this situation. The same bill has come up again this year, and Doyle's vowing to veto it again. Some reason about the streets running red with blood, and not wanting to send a message that Wisconsin is a state that loves violence. Given the amount of the killer's blood that was found mixed in with the photographer's, it appears this young woman didn't give up easily. It would be interesting to see what she would've done with a Glock 27. I suspect that yes, in an alternate reality, there would be at least one death resulting from the carrying of a concealed weapon - the death of the man, that in this reality, killed an innocent person.
My Own Experience
A few nights ago, I'm standing in the parking lot of the mall where I work, and a car pulls up a few yards away. Mid 20s male gets out, notices me standing off to one side, and advances towards me, growling the cliched "What're you lookin' at?" I hang my head and say "nothing." He heads over to the entrance, also a few yards away, spends a few minutes with friends, after which they all head to their cars, stopping to verbally harrass several women passing through the parking lot. I wonder what state of health I'd be in now if I hadn't acted meek and scared before this punk. As is my habit, I was carrying the best defense allowed to me by the state - a folding utility knife. Stopping by a self-defense store a few days later, I inquired about better defensive weapons that I can carry. Collapsible batons? Illegal. Pepper spray? Illegal. Taser? Illegal. Here I am, attempting to find safer, less-lethal weapons than my utility knife, and my efforts to keep myself and those around me and preserve the life of my attacker are thwarted by our governer, who has obviously never heard of the concept of human rights, and who has definitely never been approached in a dark parking lot by a hostile punk. It's almost like they want me, or someone else, to wind up bleeding to death on a sidewalk someday.
How my own experience ties in
Both of us were forcibly disarmed. If anyone in this state (outside of the police and military) they are a criminal, whether they need it for defense or not. The law and governer decreed I am to be disarmed, and I was put in a situation where I could've been beaten up while waiting for a ride. The law and governer decreed that a woman with an interest in photography, a woman with her whole life ahead of her, be disarmed, and she was put in a situation where she was killed, dismembered, and burned beyond recognition.
Any member of the public who would convict me of illegally carrying a weapon, who would vote to restrict my right to carry a weapon - I wish they'd been standing in that parkinglot instead of me. I WANT THEM to know what it feels like to fear for your wellbeing as some belligerent jerk stalks toward you and you wish you had something more to defend yourself with than fists and a glorified razorblade. Above and beyond that, I wish there was a video tape of that young photographer's final, terror-filled hours - because I'd make the people who'd disarmed her, and the people who merely wished for her disarmament watch it and listen to her screams, every night before they went to bed. I'd make them watch the legacy of gun control.
And as for the governer, the police forces, lawyers, and "public servants" that uphold his decree that young women should die so our state "won't send the message that it loves violence," any official who would use force to disarm innocent people - they should all be tried as accomplices to her murder. They aided the man who killed her. Their actions took the gun from her hand that could've saved her life. They're as guilty as her killer.
I'm hearing
Marc Broussard's "Home," specifically the first verse, running through my head on infinite repeat. Excellent song. Catchy, well written (love some of the rhymes in it), great beat...it's an all around excellent song.
School & Work
I've looked over my class schedule for next year, and I'm liking it. 9 "core" credits, lots of free time. Enough free time that if I make it through the Christmas season, I'll think about throwing my hat into the ring for 3rd key manager where I work. As it is, the head manager wants me to take on the added responsibility of looking after our customer orders.
I spotted, while walking through the mall to my place of work, the manager who'd turned me down for a job at the last place I interviewed (well, she didn't actually turn me down, she just refused to call after promising to do so, I had to go in on my own after what I was told was the deadline and ask) before I got my current job. I almost, almost stopped and told her that in 5 months I'd jumped up the totem pole to become 3rd in experience, 3rd in "command" at my place of work. I didn't though. That would've been rude. Probably fun, but definitely rude.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Blogger screwed up
...so I cut this into two posts.
Heat-style holdup
...in Norway. A gang of 8 men, armed with G-3s and MP-5s lit a semi on fire in front of a Norway police department, then robbed a bank distribution center while the police were putting out the fire on their own front steps. The whole robbery took about 15 minutes. When the police finally showed up, the robbers, attired in gas masks and bulletproof vests kept them at bay with automatic weapons fire and CS gas, then drove off, later burning their vehicles to destroy evidence. Technically impressive, but I hope the one who shot the police officer hangs.
Work
Well, the store survived and prospered despite the Christmas adset (where we change all the ads and sales over to reflect the Christmas season), the massive Star Wars opening, and a week with only two out of four managers, myself number among those two. I got hit on at work by a customer and had to endure four hours of ribbing from an out of town manager and another employee. I wonder if she'll be back and we'll start this all over again. Worked with aforementioned out of town manager, great guy. Fun times all week.
Math
I'm surprised I'm doing so well. I've actually got a handle on some of this stuff. My math teacher freely admits to using an answer key to a seperate set of problems, makes serious typographical errors when showing us work, and explained hexidecimal to octal conversion wrong to me twice today. I hope this is her last semester teaching something so exacting as math.
Heat-style holdup
...in Norway. A gang of 8 men, armed with G-3s and MP-5s lit a semi on fire in front of a Norway police department, then robbed a bank distribution center while the police were putting out the fire on their own front steps. The whole robbery took about 15 minutes. When the police finally showed up, the robbers, attired in gas masks and bulletproof vests kept them at bay with automatic weapons fire and CS gas, then drove off, later burning their vehicles to destroy evidence. Technically impressive, but I hope the one who shot the police officer hangs.
Work
Well, the store survived and prospered despite the Christmas adset (where we change all the ads and sales over to reflect the Christmas season), the massive Star Wars opening, and a week with only two out of four managers, myself number among those two. I got hit on at work by a customer and had to endure four hours of ribbing from an out of town manager and another employee. I wonder if she'll be back and we'll start this all over again. Worked with aforementioned out of town manager, great guy. Fun times all week.
Math
I'm surprised I'm doing so well. I've actually got a handle on some of this stuff. My math teacher freely admits to using an answer key to a seperate set of problems, makes serious typographical errors when showing us work, and explained hexidecimal to octal conversion wrong to me twice today. I hope this is her last semester teaching something so exacting as math.
(C)Rap and other stuff
(C)Rap
Spend enough time in a music store, like me, and you might develop one of the following reactions to rap music: 1.Come to like it, 2.Tune it out, or 3.Develop an intense hatred for it.
I fall into that 3rd category, though I find it much more amusing to direct "cynical energy" at it. It's always intensely interesting to listen for the newest "song" to pop onto the radio and hear the latest miscreat extolling themselves as the best gangster/hustler/pusher/word-I-won't-even-use-on-a-blog-no-one-reads/illiterate, uncouth, immoral wannabe criminal. It's hilarious, honestly. I hear dozens of these morons talking about using/abusing/mistreating women, killing each other, and engaging in criminal enterprises every single day, every song, without variation. I'm surprised the market isn't tapped out/exhausted right now, that's ALL they "rap" about!!!
They'll talk about "keeping it real" and being "socially concious" and crap like that - it's bull, and they have a mental disorder if even they can't figure it out. Every single one of them claims to represent the "streets" (find me a ghetto street where known criminals drive Cadillacs AND avoid police detection, I'm just dyin' to see it) - and then they extoll and show off lifestyles not even the law-abiding middle-class can afford. Either you're poor and living in a hovel, or you're making better money than I'll ever see by performing. Pick, you can't have it both ways despite what you profess.
Outside of P.O.D., Linkin Park, and K.R.S. One, I can't come up with a "mold-breaking" rapper off top of my head, and heck, those first two qualify as rock. The entire festival of fools is nothing more than illiterate braggarts playing to affluent and immoral fantasies of relatively disadvantaged teenagers. And I'm not even so sure on the relatively disadvantaged part - 70% of the consumers of rap "music" are white, 30% are black. The majority of those categories combined CANNOT be financially disadvantaged, or this country is FAR worse off than I thought. Sad and sick are two of the best words I can find to describe this situation.
Would I, if given the powers of a god or legislator, put an end to this insanity? Of course not. The market, the people, want this. Any attempt to stem this river is going to drive it underground for real. Far be it from me to tell people what to like. I just find it irritating/amusing/sad.
No one ever went broke underestimating people's taste.
The Police
Two police officers just walked past the spot where I was eating my lunch. My brain registered the Glock 21s on their hips, registered that they were wearing uniforms, and then went back to my sandwich. Whereupon I pulled myself out of my complacency and thought "This is wrong."
Only average people who pass the tests to wear a different set of work clothes get to carry weapons to defend themselves and others in this state. Even if I, as a private citizen, am more proficient with that same weapon, I'm a felon if I walk around with it on my hip.
This is a travesty.
Either we have the same rights as police, or we're living in a police state. We can't have it both ways.
Spend enough time in a music store, like me, and you might develop one of the following reactions to rap music: 1.Come to like it, 2.Tune it out, or 3.Develop an intense hatred for it.
I fall into that 3rd category, though I find it much more amusing to direct "cynical energy" at it. It's always intensely interesting to listen for the newest "song" to pop onto the radio and hear the latest miscreat extolling themselves as the best gangster/hustler/pusher/word-I-won't-even-use-on-a-blog-no-one-reads/illiterate, uncouth, immoral wannabe criminal. It's hilarious, honestly. I hear dozens of these morons talking about using/abusing/mistreating women, killing each other, and engaging in criminal enterprises every single day, every song, without variation. I'm surprised the market isn't tapped out/exhausted right now, that's ALL they "rap" about!!!
They'll talk about "keeping it real" and being "socially concious" and crap like that - it's bull, and they have a mental disorder if even they can't figure it out. Every single one of them claims to represent the "streets" (find me a ghetto street where known criminals drive Cadillacs AND avoid police detection, I'm just dyin' to see it) - and then they extoll and show off lifestyles not even the law-abiding middle-class can afford. Either you're poor and living in a hovel, or you're making better money than I'll ever see by performing. Pick, you can't have it both ways despite what you profess.
Outside of P.O.D., Linkin Park, and K.R.S. One, I can't come up with a "mold-breaking" rapper off top of my head, and heck, those first two qualify as rock. The entire festival of fools is nothing more than illiterate braggarts playing to affluent and immoral fantasies of relatively disadvantaged teenagers. And I'm not even so sure on the relatively disadvantaged part - 70% of the consumers of rap "music" are white, 30% are black. The majority of those categories combined CANNOT be financially disadvantaged, or this country is FAR worse off than I thought. Sad and sick are two of the best words I can find to describe this situation.
Would I, if given the powers of a god or legislator, put an end to this insanity? Of course not. The market, the people, want this. Any attempt to stem this river is going to drive it underground for real. Far be it from me to tell people what to like. I just find it irritating/amusing/sad.
No one ever went broke underestimating people's taste.
The Police
Two police officers just walked past the spot where I was eating my lunch. My brain registered the Glock 21s on their hips, registered that they were wearing uniforms, and then went back to my sandwich. Whereupon I pulled myself out of my complacency and thought "This is wrong."
Only average people who pass the tests to wear a different set of work clothes get to carry weapons to defend themselves and others in this state. Even if I, as a private citizen, am more proficient with that same weapon, I'm a felon if I walk around with it on my hip.
This is a travesty.
Either we have the same rights as police, or we're living in a police state. We can't have it both ways.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Thank You John Kerry
Thank You, John Kerry
I'm not too sure about the dates here, so if I'm off by a day, oh well.
I'm not a fan of democrats, liberals, and other communist/socialist critters. In addition to policy so despicable it usually belongs in the realm of "could choke a pig," they stole the word "liberal" from the classics, who are nothing like today's liberals. But, on this day, I feel compelled to thank a democrat. That would be John Kerry.
I find John Kerry a little more disgusting than your average liberal politician. One, he was in a position to get into a position to do a great deal of damage to our country. Second, before being "outed" by Libertarian presidential candidate Aaron Russo, his website contained a campaign promise to reinstate the draft, though phrased in such a way that not only did it sound relatively benign, but it gave him a great deal of flip-flop room. Not surprising. Third, he loved the so called "assault weapons ban" and voted to extend and strengthen it. *hack, spit* So yeah, John Kerry was a disgusting little rat, and I could probably find any number of words to tack on after rat that would fit him appropriately, though that would do injustice to rats, who I hold in high regard.
Today is the one year anniversary of the 2004 Presidential election. It's also the one year anniversary of the day I became a gun-owner. The night of the vote I went to a sporting goods store and purchased the most militarily-useful rifle I could find, specifically, one John Kerry would've given his thumbs to ban. An assault weapon. I did this in anticipation of a coming ban, or possibly a confiscation, or worse still, the thought that I might one day be forced into a compromising situation by our benignly named "Selective Service." My rifle still fills all those roles, though I expect it will be needed less these days. Over the last winter I became somewhat proficient with it - not up my standard of a "rifleman" but close enough that I was comfortable using it. My skills with my rifle have dropped since then - it requires a good deal of time to practice and to keep up the physical end of things - time that I find myself having less and less of lately, but I'm still honored to own it, and I'm sure I could use it in defense of myself, my family, or country if need be.
Thank you John Kerry. Thank you for making me a member of the gun culture, for making me a gun owner. I never would've done it without you.
Now go, and slither through the muck on your belly some more, stalking and playing mind games with your deer. Not only is that where you belong, but I'm sure you'll find intellectual equals among your prey.
School
In a little bit I've got a programming quiz, and I've got an "emerging technologies" paper due in two weeks. Fun.
Revenge Of The Sith
Brought it home last night, and the book is so much better. Good movie, but the dialogue makes me cringe most of the time. The fights are good, and I like seeing characters with tormented minds. When these movies get remade, eventually, I want to see Matthew Stover do the screenplay and Michael Mann direct.
I'm not too sure about the dates here, so if I'm off by a day, oh well.
I'm not a fan of democrats, liberals, and other communist/socialist critters. In addition to policy so despicable it usually belongs in the realm of "could choke a pig," they stole the word "liberal" from the classics, who are nothing like today's liberals. But, on this day, I feel compelled to thank a democrat. That would be John Kerry.
I find John Kerry a little more disgusting than your average liberal politician. One, he was in a position to get into a position to do a great deal of damage to our country. Second, before being "outed" by Libertarian presidential candidate Aaron Russo, his website contained a campaign promise to reinstate the draft, though phrased in such a way that not only did it sound relatively benign, but it gave him a great deal of flip-flop room. Not surprising. Third, he loved the so called "assault weapons ban" and voted to extend and strengthen it. *hack, spit* So yeah, John Kerry was a disgusting little rat, and I could probably find any number of words to tack on after rat that would fit him appropriately, though that would do injustice to rats, who I hold in high regard.
Today is the one year anniversary of the 2004 Presidential election. It's also the one year anniversary of the day I became a gun-owner. The night of the vote I went to a sporting goods store and purchased the most militarily-useful rifle I could find, specifically, one John Kerry would've given his thumbs to ban. An assault weapon. I did this in anticipation of a coming ban, or possibly a confiscation, or worse still, the thought that I might one day be forced into a compromising situation by our benignly named "Selective Service." My rifle still fills all those roles, though I expect it will be needed less these days. Over the last winter I became somewhat proficient with it - not up my standard of a "rifleman" but close enough that I was comfortable using it. My skills with my rifle have dropped since then - it requires a good deal of time to practice and to keep up the physical end of things - time that I find myself having less and less of lately, but I'm still honored to own it, and I'm sure I could use it in defense of myself, my family, or country if need be.
Thank you John Kerry. Thank you for making me a member of the gun culture, for making me a gun owner. I never would've done it without you.
Now go, and slither through the muck on your belly some more, stalking and playing mind games with your deer. Not only is that where you belong, but I'm sure you'll find intellectual equals among your prey.
School
In a little bit I've got a programming quiz, and I've got an "emerging technologies" paper due in two weeks. Fun.
Revenge Of The Sith
Brought it home last night, and the book is so much better. Good movie, but the dialogue makes me cringe most of the time. The fights are good, and I like seeing characters with tormented minds. When these movies get remade, eventually, I want to see Matthew Stover do the screenplay and Michael Mann direct.
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