Your phrase of the day: Peppermint nightmare

I am an odd duck.  I woke up this morning and got the sudden and inescapable urge to write a short story.  Don't know how well it's gonna turn out, but I can't help but want to write it anyways.  Since the workday is beyond slow, I've practically got half of it done already.  the big difficulty for me in writing it is dialogue.  I always seem to know exactly what I want to write, except for when it comes to dialogue spoken between characters.  Since that's almost all of what the first half of the story is, it's kinda difficult to jot down.

In other news, it appears I'll be spending new years eve doing nothing but simulated sci-fi violence with some friends all day.  The way it's meant to be done.

completely missed the mistletoe (thank goodness)

Okay, okay.  Christmas is over.  I get it.  But hey, it still aint new years yet, and it seems the only time I get Christmas songs stuck in my head is after everyone stops playing them, so I still feel justified in this one.  That, and I totally missed one of my musical posts before the holiday, just let me get away with it, okay?

Unknown benefactor

I forgot to post on here that a while back there was a small present left anonymously for me on my desk at work when I came back from the holiday break.

Kind of an interesting anomaly to see a random coin from the UAE on my desk.  I still don't know who left it, or how it came to be here, but despite the fact that I'm certainly nowhere near being a coin collector, its an interesting enough object and circumstance that I may just hang on to this one.  Heck, with the way the economy the way it is, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's worth more than an American dollar.

and the flip side

Speaking of foreign things, I swear I can hear one of those awful European sirens outside along with someone speaking something over a megaphone.  Makes me feel like I'm wandering around in Shadow of Chernobyl again, or something like that.

yeah, that's totally what it felt like

Yet, there's more

Larry Corriea is another one of my (relatively local) heroes.  The guy certainly puts much better words to paper than I do, though I guess that kinda comes with being a best selling author.  So, I highly recommend going over to his place and take the time to read a lengthy post about the recent hot topic in the news.  I was also surprised to find out that he was one of the people behind Fuzzy Bunny Movie Guns, one of the coolest guns stores I have ever seen in the state.

In a completely unrelated topic, I forgot to mention that when the family came up, they also brang the dog as well.  If you aren't familiar with Breda, she loves water.   I mean she LOVES it.  her idea of a fun treat is to chew on ice cubes, seriously.  So, when the family brought her up here and she had her first encounters with snow, she looked like the combination of a cat on catnip and a kid at Disneyland for the first time, while hopped up on guarana rips.  Obviously this provided a good amount of entertainment.

Of course, she's named after another favorite person of ours, who has taken a more leisurely presence on the interwebs as of late.

More Christmasy than you

Saw this on Christmas Eve in the avenues.  No one will ever be more prepped for Christmas than this man.  Nobody!

Kinda of a blurry pic, I know.

So yeah, Christmas was a whole boatload of fun and games.  I always find myself doing enough stuff during the holidays that my tradition always seems to be completely disregarding any attempts at blogging until after the holidays.  We now return to your regularly scheduled programming. 

More wiki-walkabouts

Another thing I end up wasting a bunch of time on, is reading up on all sorts of articles about various unsolved cases on Wikipedia (the only good way I can get my fix after the passing of Robert Stack).  This is the best time of year to do it too, since it gets dark and cold outside so early in the day.  So, tuck yourself in, turn this music on, set it on repeat, and read up on some interesting stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isdal_woman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_Case
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dodecahedron
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_McCormick%27s_encrypted_notes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Twelve_Hawks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Aim_6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjaman_Kyle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ourang_Medan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jester - so far, I can really respect this guy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keddie_Murders
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salish_Sea_human_foot_discoveries

So yeah, enjoy all the creepiness, nightmares or unsettling feelings that may develop after reading.  Good night!

Full of win

The greatest quote I have heard in some time was inexplicably found on the usually ho-hum website of cracked.com:

"The F-14 was retired from Navy service in 2006 because the Navy apparently thought that recruitment was too high and they needed to become less cool."

Hilarious.  Yet at the same time, not outside the realm of plausibility either, when you consider that the Super Hornet that replaced it is not only more expensive, it's slower, less fuel efficient, carries less weaponry, has a shorter range, and looks nowhere near as cool as this:



VFAs suck, VFs rule.  Simple as that.

Totally thinking I'm changing my desktop backgrond at work to this.  Nope, wait.  just found one that has a bit more Christmas flair to it:

Merry Christmas!



Things I don't understand

Hooray!  It's just what everyone wanted!  Another rant with barely any point.  Perhaps this is just another one of my idiotic thoughts, but this is something that honestly drives me freaking nuts every time I hear the phrase/label uttered.

A while back I stumbled upon a few feminist/female issues bloggers whose goal was to (supposedly) help women feel better about their looks and accept their bodies as being beautiful.  That being said, why the hell do these very same people insist on calling models who are women that don't look like starving 13 year old boys with visible rib-cages, "plus-size models"?  If your goal is to help women get past all these labels society is pressing on them, and to devalue the strict (and borderline unhealthy) definition of what 'beauty' is to the mainstream, then why the flying fudgesicle of crap are you still making a concerted effort to differentiate between a 'plus-size model' and a 'model'?

Call me crazy, but I don't see why you have to call the people in that profession anything other than a model. You're simply hurting your own cause, by subconsciously subverting your goal (and giving in to the currently slanted standard).  It reinforces in the minds of those who read you that these people should still be differentiated somehow, that there should be a different standard for them.  I just find that more than a bit faulty and counter-productive.  Thoughts?

more mouthy nonsense

So, earlier I was lamenting to a friend (who happens to be a redhead) that the woman of my recent unrequited affections is already engaged, and how it kinda stung even after knowing for a while that I had no real chance with her.  I also mentioned that the likelihood of me finding another tall redhead to focus my attentions on is extremely unlikely. 

Previously unaware of my preference, she stopped me and said, "Wait, is that why you hang out with me?  Because I've got red hair?"
"No." I reply, "You're simply a fun person, who's also a joy to talk to."
"But do I remind you of her or something?"
That's when I busted up laughing so hard that I nearly started crying. "Oh my GOSH no!  Oh man, not even a little bit!  What kind of idiot do you think I am!?"

I found it incredibly humorous, but I don't think she saw it as overly so.  I mean, just because I like redheads doesn't mean that's what I rule all my interactions or interests by.  Though, I betcha a million bucks I'd have a crush on Brigid, if I met her.  I mean, seriously.   She's like Christina Hendricks, a fighter pilot, crime scene investigator, and master chef all rolled into one. Wow.....just....wow.



Hero envy?  Naaahhhh...

So yeah, my big fat mouth.   Possibly the #1 reason I can't land a cute girl.   Well, that and it's just not very often at all that I hold affections for anybody, really.  On the bright side, I should be more thankful for the awesome things that I DO have.  Like, at least I still have my awesome job (thank goodness for that!), a good shotgun, a Jericho, and really awesome friends who are willing to hang out, even after I emotionally sting them.  Promise I'll get better at that one.

Pro-tip of the day

When someone who knows about Star Trek, tells you that you would make a fantastic Klingon, they apparently don't have the highest opinion of you.  Not necessarily a very low one, but definitely not the highest.  Found that one out the hard way.

In other news, I'm especially looking forward to Christmas this year, as I actually managed to get gifts for all the people I care for, and the family will be coming up to visit my end of the state.  So yay.

I have no birthday

So thank goodness I really like Christmas.  Yup, I'm actually getting into the swing of things this year, so I'm keeping the trend of posting Christmas music for my weekly tunes.  There are plenty of versions of this song, I still can't find my favorite, but this one is quite good, and has a picture of one of the greatest (if not the greatest) Christmas moment of the last century.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day — St Peter's Choir

This is odd

Being the over-opinionated, bitter kinda guy that I am, I usually have something to say about....well....something, but today is nearly over and I still feel like a blank canvas.  It's been a little while since that's happened.  I may post something later, and I might not.  We'll see how the day goes, and hopefully I can conjure up something before the end of it.

Just shy of Angels 5

You know, I forgot to mention that  I made a stop by the Hill AFB museum again with a friend of mine a while back.  He hadn't been there in years and wanted to take his kids there.  I warned him just how much I'm into mil-air, and that if he took me there, I'd end up talking his ear off.  Lo and behold, I think we spent a full four and a half hours there with me flapping my gums the whole time before finally parting ways.  Told you.

This also got me thinking recently that I still haven't ever seen a Harrier II demo in the flesh.  You'd think that because I lived right next door to NAS Moffett (back when it was an NAS) for several years, I'd have at least seen one, but nope.  Since the fugly little F-35 seem to be coming on line quicker than I thought, I should really get that to happen sooner rather than later.  Maybe I'll see if I can make my way to the next airshow at NAS Fallon, or something. 

In the meantime, I need to stop visiting certain websites like this one, that does nothing but make me waste hours upon hours wishing that things like this could be my other vehicle:

Sexiest thing EVER.  Ooh!  It's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!

 

Cure-all

Okay, freshly baked blueberry muffins and mint hot chocolate is the remedy for just about anything.  Placebo?  Possibly, but that's the effect I'm looking for anyways.  Even better is the fact that I was given a nice Christmas present this morning from J:

Nothing like a good pin-up calendar to make your year.  Though, I dunno if I'll be keeping this one at work, it being all 'NSFW' and all.  But enough blogging, I gotta get back to my breakfast and it's potentially tooth decaying embrace.

Yeah, this is all evidence to me being what you call "professionally single".



I knew I missed my chance, but still...

Effing mood swings.  It's been a really long time since I've sworn this much in one day.  Stupid, smegging, mother puss-bucket, friggin' dumb, damned engagement announcements!  What's next?  Rabies shots for the Easter Bunny?  Ugh, I need to go shooting again.  Like, right now.  I need to destroy something in a safe and legal manner before I get really frustrated.  I wish there were more farms around here, so I could just go jackrabbit hunting.  Then I'd get the satisfaction of killing something while being productive, and possibly get paid for it.

Man, today actually seemed like it would almost be good, too.  May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the nappy beard that is this day.  Where's a good Anthrax outbreak when you need one?  I swear everything just seems to piss me off today.

Update: 










Yeah, this is still pretty much how I feel.  On the bright side, at least I'm not Drew Barrymore.  Then I'd actually be screaming. 

s-words

Not two seconds into the day, and I'm already deciding to jump on T-bolt's meme of the day.  So, here goes:

I've had a pretty good number of pocketknives over the years, but this one seems to always come out on top.  I got it sometime in 2003; and I actually came across it by chance.  I was working at a hotel at the time, and it was left in the lost and found for over 90 days.  Every time I look at it, I feel bad for the person who lost it, because it has served me far better than any other folding knife I've ever purchased or owned (and that includes some well-respected brand names). 

I'll admit, I probably haven't taken overly good care of it, but this thing just keeps soldiering on.  I even made it a point to buy some jeweler's torx screwdrivers and a sharpener recently, just to make amends for all the years of 'domestic abuse' to the piece. 

As a side note, I was having a conversation with a friend earlier in the week about James Hetfield, and it went like this:

Friend:  I really like his voice.
Me:  Yeah, you don't hear many like it these days.  I wish my voice was like his.
Friend:  He sounds like...his voice is like a dragon's.
Me:  Holy crap.  That is by far the coolest description for a voice I have ever heard in my entire life!

sounds of soothing

Went to a singing recital at the community college last night.  Pretty good stuff.  I got to hear a beautiful young woman I know sing, along with some random people I don't know.  I really liked the event, but the only downside is when you hear someone who is obviously very skilled and talented, but insist on singing some crappy songs; feels really anticlimactic.  Thank goodness the person I went to see was just fantabulous in every way (that's totally a word now, btw).

One particularly nice treat was the final song of the night was a Christmas song that I haven't heard in ages, that is far too underplayed.  Then again, I'm not sure it's too well known either.  As much as I enjoyed hearing my friend sing, that song was the thing that made the night for me.  An especially nice treat.  So, since I (as usual) missed my (usual) musical post on Sunday, here ya go:

It's what I do

So we have a young member of our systems staff I've mentioned on here before.  He has this silly little tendency to wear shirts that are just barely a size too small.  This gets kind of annoying really fast, as that makes it painfully obvious that he's walking around with his freaking glass-cutters nearly poking everyone's eyes out.  We've tried mentioning this to him, but he thinks we're just razzing him for the sake of poking fun at him. 

Now, 'round this time of year, our company decides that they are willing to buy us some shirts with the company logo on them.  Everyone is supposed to pick a style of shirt, what color they want it in, along with what size they need.  As I was placing these orders, it was suggested to me that I secretly bump the shirt size of whatever our young comrade specifies to the next size up without telling him.  I couldn't resist it.  It totally happened.

So the shirts arrived not too long ago, and we had a chance to see him wearing his better fitting shirt, and he still hasn't said a word just yet.  The rest of us figured that he's still in a state of shock, and is just reeling from the fact that his nipples are no longer being chafed, and that he actually has room to breathe.  To him I say, "you're welcome."

unprepared

I remember getting my Samsung Galaxy S, thinking that I'd be using the camera a lot.  Turns out because I never actually use it as a phone, I never have it on me when I need it.  I'll always realize far too late that I left it at home or at work.  Which is really frustrating, because I'll find myself totally useless when I run into something I really want to take a picture of.  Like yesterday morning, when we had some epic fog.  I mean it was some seriously beautiful, rare, visibility under fifty feet type of fog.  I had the urge to snap a pic right then and there, but lo and behold, no camera in my pocket.  Drats.

Though, one thing I did have my camera to take a snapshot of was my terrible fortune I got from Panda Express the other day.  I swear, the idiot who writes these things totally has it out for me, or at least has the completely wrong idea about me.

I'm thinking this was meant for someone else.

I have a monster too

Funny that sometimes I become so lax in my reading of the awesome list of blogs that I follow, that I end up just skimming over some without truly reading some if it.  This is a habit I really need to break, as I find that whenever I am pondering something weighty, it seems someone had just made an awesome blog post about it, that explains it far better than I could. 

That being said, please take a moment to read this excellent post by Law Dog on his blog.  It totally sums up the subject I've been thinking about the past few days, and is worth a read regardless.  It kinda reminded me of a statement I heard about some pansy people being upset about a rise in justifiable homicides.  Sad to hear that they don't get the fact that it's justified, hence the name.  I firmly believe that force and violence is extremely effective at ending injustice, and is sometimes required.  I will never hold reservations at using lethal force to protect myself, or others I care about.  I've been told I'm "less conventionally moral" and that I hold a very different view from the common person, but this is something I view as perfectly logical, sensible, and necessary.

However, I didn't always think this way, I used to live in denial of the monster inside.  I used to think I was simply 'a good person' and that no such thing dwells within me.  It ended up going out of control and ruling me.  Like most things in life, living in ignorance/denial of something simply endangers yourself and others.  Owning up to it and being responsible with it, is key.

On a related note, I've also come to realize that I forgot to add a few people to the good 'ol blog roll over there on the left.  One in particular I feel like crap for forgetting to include is A Girl and Her Gun.  Lots of good insights and info, along with good reading.  I highly recommend.  So go read, be educated, and have fun.

 

and that was your vital information

The only downside to winter, for me at least, is that it gets dark very quickly.   Now that in itself wouldn't really be a problem if I didn't already have impaired vision, which I think may be the true culprit here.  But I just hate those moments in which I'm driving around, then out of the corner of my eye I catch some movement, and look over to see a freaking Jedi walking around on the sidewalk!  However, it is a short lived elation, for as I drive closer, I notice it's simply a hobo in a bath robe.  Crap.

Pin four pips on that collar

So, I've been getting into a new webcomic recently called Failure to Fire.  It seemed okay, but the thing that got me was the series of comics they had on Mosin Nagants.  I was genuinely laughing out loud for all of 'em, because everyone I know (that's into guns), whether they liked Mosins or not, has done this (including myself).  Go give 'em a look:

Mosin Nagant 1
Mosin Nagant 2
Mosin Nagant 3
Mosin Nagant 4
Mosin Nagant 5

Also, as an update to one of my previous posts, it appears that the Navy will officially be naming the next carrier of the Gerald R. Ford class carriers (CVN-80) the U.S.S. Enterprise.  Hallelujah!

and a dollar short

Metallica - Fade to Black

Locutus of none

Sometimes I forget things.  Sometimes I forget important things.  Sometimes people are shocked at the things I forget.  Take yesterday for example.  I completely forgot that I had bought a ticket (along with the rest of the systems staff) to go see the restored and remastered Star Trek The Next Generation Season 2 episodes "Q Who" and "Measure of a Man" featured at the local Cinemark Theatre. 

It was simultaneously better and yet not as good as I thought they would be, if that makes sense.  It was awesome to see everything in high-def on the big screen.  It almost gave me the feeling like I was watching it for the first time.  However, from what I was told beforehand, I was under the impression that the special effects would be of a much higher quality, which they were far from.  I was also mistakenly led to believe they would have it in wide screen, which also is apparently not the case.  Somewhat disappointing, but still good stuff, and watching them again only reinforces my hardcore trekkie mentality.

Also what struck me as the show ended, was that it's only a few short days until the decommissioning ceremony for the real USS Enterprise.  It's kind of depressing knowing that there's not gonna be any more U.S.S. Enterprise on Star Trek (at least on TV), the Enterprise Space Shuttle Orbiter has already been damaged and is in disrepair, and now the first and last of the great class of warships of her name will be scrapped and gone in a short amount of time.  It's the end of an era, and truly the worst of both worlds.

P.S.  Note to the U.S. Navy and whoever names their warships: stop naming your warships after douche-bag politicians and give 'em the traditional kick-ass names you used to treasure, like Enterprise, Long Beach, Hornet, Ranger, Cyclops, Intrepid, Lexington, Coral Sea, or Reprisal (that last one is especially cool).  Heck, naming them after admiralty or other beneficial Americans that have already had ships named after them that aren't being used anymore would be good too, because then you can use names like Fletcher, Watson, Cogswell, Ingersoll, De Haven, and Gatling (oh yeah!).

A pic of the USS Cyclops, circa 1911.  (ripped from wikipedia)

Oh, here's an idea: the USS Cthulhu!  Now that's an awesome name for a ship.  Think about it.  Who in the hell would ever want to challenge a ship with a name like that?  Seriously Navy, you're welcome.

know what makes a bullet hole that aint' a bullet? Cuz I don't.

As much as I truly love it, there is one thing I can't stand about KSL's classifieds section; it seems like I see a ridiculous amount of airsoft/bb guns listed in both the Rifles and Pistols categories of the site.  Now, I don't mind airsoft; in fact, I can see some pretty cool benefits to it along with it being pretty fun (not to mention it being slightly cheaper than my beloved paintball).  But it just drives me nuts that 1. people are dumb enough to post something in the firearms category that doesn't involve fire at all (or even go bang for that matter), and 2. that KSL doesn't have a separate category for them on their site.  I'm thinking I'll have to write them an email about that once I get over my laziness to appease my latent OCD.

To me, this is just a warning that it's nowhere near as fun as it could be.

On a less teeth gritting OCD note, I tend to get an even more weird and random sense of humor when I'm very busy.  In addressing a co worker today, I couldn't help but use a high-pitched voice.  When I was asked why, I said, "I dunno, I just thought it would be fun."
She replied, "Hey, I'm a big fan of all types of fun."
"Just don't go saying that around the seedy parts of town."

Tearjerkers

So back to another edition of "Reasons why I am single".  This time it's numbers #1043 and #638, respectively. 

This morning I woke up still coming to grips with just how awesome my night had been.  I had talked to this amazing girl I know on the phone for hours, and near the end of our conversation, she told me that she was crazy about me, and I told her the same.  We set a time to see each other before ending our call.  I was completely elated; so much that I had a difficult time going to sleep the night before.

So there I am, singing praises as I hop into the shower, looking forward to my meeting with this girl.  As I'm in the shower, I suddenly realize I couldn't remember for the life of me, when I was supposed to meet this girl.  Upon further reflection, I couldn't remember placing or receiving that call either.  Then it hits me.  It was a mother effing dream!  Crap in a hat.  That's a real downer to start the day with: I'm so lonely that even my subconscious is trying to make me happy by instilling false hope.  That's bad.

On to the second reason: I have no humanity.  I cry at the things no one else cares about, and am stone-faced and downright disrespectful of all the other things everyone else cries about. 

Like later on this same day, when I was home for lunch, I found the youtube video I had been trying to find for along time, in which one of the last F-14 Tomcats to be retired does a flight demo and runs the engines completely dry before being sent to a display in a park.  Just hearing those GE F110 engines whine while straining and sputtering before they finally quit for the last time may be the single most heartbreaking thing I have ever seen on film.  I was nearly balling, and had to fight the tears before going back to work.  But then, right after I watch that, and hop back in the car to go to work, the radio decides to remind me of it again by playing that song by The Righteous Brothers: You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling.  That's the point in which I lost it.  So yeah, I ended up getting embarrassed (watch the first video while the other is playing in the background for maximum effect).

That actually started a conversation with one of my coworkers about tearjerker films and how I never cry while watching things that everyone else calls a tearjerker.  Things like Titanic, The Notebook (yeah, I will hate that one forever), West Side Story/Romeo and Juliet (same story anyways), Hope Floats, Forrest Gump, Marley and Me, The Lion King, Saving Private Ryan, Spanglish, or whatever the hell else normal people cry while watching.  I like most of 'em, I just don't cry while watching 'em.  However, that's not to say I don't cry when I see certain things on screen.

So let's list some of the media I have cried to, or brought me to the brink of crying (and probably still do):

Stupid questions

So, after exchanging the usual pleasantries with my boss, he asked me, "How was your Thanksgiving?"
To which I replied, "Good."
He then followed up with one of the dumbest questions I've heard in a while, "So what were you thankful for?"
A bit puzzled by the ridiculousness of the question, it took me a second to reply, "That my government continues to refuse to sign the ban on cluster munitions.  Love that."

He was speechless.  The moral of the story?  When people say there are no stupid questions, they're just making a stupid statement.

Time away

Going "home" for the holidays is an interesting thing.  I love seeing all my relatives and engorging myself on good food, all while relaxing away from work. But, it's simply an interesting sensation when you go to a place you've lived a good portion of your life, and it just feels like some place you're familiar with and not like "home."  Not that I don't feel at home or welcomed, it's just not my home, is all.

Also, as much as I complain about the tediousness of the drive to the underbelly of the state, I do enjoy driving enough that I still enjoy the trip.  It is pretty scenic.  That, and you never know what cool stuff you'll see on there way there and back.  I think I mentioned about how last time I saw a KC-135 making touch and go passes at the Cedar City airport, which was cool.  However, the attractions this time were a bit more mundane.  I just ended up counting the inordinately high amount of roadkill deer on the shoulder. I think I got to about 12 before I stopped paying attention.

Darn.  Looks like I just missed getting the roadkill in the frame.

Slipping up the right way

Oh, and here's some good music, and actually on Sunday for once.

more random quotes

So yesterday, I somehow managed to get the roomie to start playing Red Orchestra 2.  It's a really fun game, but with a pretty big learning curve.  When he first got into the game with me and my brother, he accidentally started pouring fine on to a friendly tank, when my brother started to inform him of his error.

Bro:  "Dude, you're shooting at a Russian tank!  You're on the Russian side!"
Roomie:  "Hey, how long have I been playing this game?  I'm not real familiar with what WWII Russian tanks look like.  Besides, I bet St.Grendel has a book for that"
Me:  "Yes. Yes I do.  I actually have a few"
Roomie:  "See?"

Also, a few months back there was another one that made me laugh pretty hard.  I was carrying my gun case (the one shaped like a guitar) from the car to the apartment, when an older woman noticed me and had to say something.

Woman:  "Oh, you're a musician eh?"
Me:  "Not that kind of instrument ma'am."

Good times.

Working holiday

So today was the day of my work's Thanksgiving shindig.  But the real joy is knowing I don't need to go to work next week, and that we practically have no work to do today.  A nice change of pace.   I think the most strenuous thing we had to do today was stock up the supply room with all of our snacks and sodas without our boss noticing, because he'll just end up mooching it off us without asking.  That, and the roomie insisted on test flying some remote control helicopters in the very same supply room.  yeah, hard at work here.

Yeah, hard at work here.

Hey, these are needed buisness supplies.

On a nearly unrelated note, I'm really itching to revisit Hill AFB Museum again.  If I don't go there once every six months I get all jittery.  Though, that may be a good thing for everyone else, since I've been told that taking me there is like letting a drug addict loose in a pharmacy.  But, without my fix, I'll just end up wasting all my time on flight sims and really moto youtube vids.  Like this one, or this one (seriously, these things are like porn for me). 

Just one improvement I would suggest to the guys at the Hill museum, is that they totally need to get their hands on some Harriers and a Tomcat or two, then it would be complete.  Though, it is an Air Force gig, so maybe they just aren't so keen on getting any more of those 'squid' planes.

I wish I could literally knock sense into people

I also forgot to mention a while back, that during the last night of the election, I saw some reporter on BBC, who said on live TV that Obama can't be racist because he's black.  So, just for the record (because a vast majority of reporters don't seem to like to fact-checking), according to logic, reason, and common sense, that doesn't absolve him of jack sh*t.  Being the same thing as something you seem to dislike, work against, or hurt is more likely to just make you a hypocrite on top of racist, in my eyes. 

Kinda like how the title of my last post slurs fat people.  Just because I'm fat doesn't change the meaning of that statement at all......crap.

It's like a million fat people cried out...

So yeah, Hostess is out of business.  Say goodbye to those cupcakes, ding-dongs, and the infamous twinkie.  Thinking about it, the thing that may upset me the most about it, is that a few years from now, when the younger generation watches Ghostbusters (assuming they haven't bastardized it with a crappy remake), the 'big twinkie' line will be just another outdated reference in an old movie, rather than being timeless. 

Actually, the reason I have such an interest in this story is that my close friend's father has worked for Hostess for 30 years at their Ogden plant, but now all that seems to be going down the tubes.

Oh, and as a side note, after doing some research, found out the leader of the union for Hostess workers is one of the executives of Sarah Lee (or was it Little Debbie?).  Yeah, that's not criminally shady at all.  Looks like putting Hostess out of business and throwing the members of his own union under the bus was his plan all along.  Twinkies. They'll survive a nuclear holocaust, but not the 'progressive' socialistic march of union thugs.

Almost made me feel better about CVN-65...

...if it were built, that is!

So, in between all the meetings, briefings, and free lunches, I forgot to post something cool I saw via The Unwanted Blog.  It is without a doubt, the coolest, most awesome, amazing, and nerdy thing that could have been: a 1:1 scale version of the Enterprise that was to be built in Vegas in 1992.  Go check it out.  It will send you into a nerdgasm induced seizure.

Click the pic to read the full story

As for a status update on the actual Enterprise, she's now home and awaiting her deactivation.  Ceremonies will commence on Nov. 28th - Dec. 1st; a mere three days after the mark of her 51st year in service.  Hopefully I won't start crying like I did when they retired the Tomact....wait....um....I mean, that'll be a sad day.

What did I miss?

My work is trying to kill me, all while trying to keep us all "healthy".  I just heard that HR was trying to discourage people from having candy jars on their desk (which everyone does).  My boss describing them as "fat pills".   Anyways, I thought it was an ridiculously extreme measure for a dubious purpose (reducing health care costs), because I don't think that's the problem.  The company often buys stuff for their departments that is just blatantly unhealthy.  Even today, sales was trying to get rid of caramel brownies, peanut butter brownies, chocolate strawberry cake, chips, and sandwiches that were all provided to them by the company.  Then there's purchasing, that is sharing oreo cheesecake from the cheesecake factory.  So shame on you HR.  You're the ones to blame for us having nothing but crap to stuff in our pie holes.

And to just give you a bit of stupid humor, here's a conversation I was having with a friend a while ago. My opinion highlighted in pink, because I can.

Her:  I like funny movies or movies with Jason Statham in them.
Me:  Wow. Didn't know about that Jason Statham thing.  That's just shocking. (I'm obviously not a fan)
Her:  Yeah, I wish I had a cardboard cutout of him.
Me:  I dunno if cardboard can withstand that kind of punishment...

Whoops

I might as well just call it Monday Music now that I keep forgetting to post it on Sunday.  Anyways, here's what I got for ya.  A bit different, but I like it.

Josh Garrels - Words remain

It's the fallout that kills ya

Another random thought of the day from yours truly.  What I said in retort to the age-old saying of "all is fair in love and war.":

  

No.  All is only fair in war.  For example, you never hear of anything like "global thermonuclear love."  But, then again, now that I say it, that sounds too cool to not give it a shot.

Man, I can be really retarded sometimes.

I miss my candy corn and zima

Now, those who know me may already know that I'm disappointed by the results of the election.  There's really a whole laundry list of reasons why, but both me and my roommate had a moment of silence for the one that means the most to both of us:  Say goodbye to anything resembling reasonable or affordable prices for guns and/or ammunition for the next four years at least.  Guess that passion is gonna be hurting for a while.  Statistics from AR-15.com about earlier years are listed below:

As a side note, the thing I hate most about the election has been the fact that every news outlet seems to be foaming at the mouth to make the coverage all about race and racial issues that are mostly irrelevant, rather than the vast multitude of things that actually matter.  Kind of like how absolutely nobody brought up the recent fiasco in Benghazi or the Operation Fast and Furious killing US law enforcement officers along with hundreds of innocent Mexicans.  Or how everyone in the media still insists the teapartiers are a racist organization, when really it's only focus is purely on economic issues, and government fiscal responsibility.  Gotta love all that 'fair and balanced reporting' stuff.

Oh, and bonus points to who guesses the refrence made in the title of the post.

I can feel it in my code...

In my typical "the world doesn't exist" style, I'm not writing about anything major that's going on in the news, the election, the aftermath of the storm, etc.  Just gonna jot down whatever crap comes to mind that's happening in my life.

So, over the weekend I had to go see Wreck-It Ralph.  I mean, being the nerd I am, there's no way I wouldn't.  I was kinda on the fence about this one, but it actually surprised me how much I was laughing at certain moments.  In brief, it's not only a good movie, but I think it's already become a classic for me.  So go watch it. 

In other news, the roomie will be gone this whole week for training classes.  What's funny is that we have known each other for most of our lives, but we hardly ever talk until one of us is gone for even the slightest amount of time, then we start gabbing like old women who haven't seen each other in years.

am I racist?

Ever since I was in high school, I've been of the opinion that a handshake was always good enough.  When people met me, they'd be trying to give me some kind of fist-bump, or whatever the hell else, but I would stop it dead in it's tracks and let it just remain either a five or a handshake.  It was a load of fun, because I was always surprised at how upset people would get by doing that. 

Granted, over the years, I've become less of a stick in the mud, and I'm actually willing to give people their stupid little hand gestures, which I guess makes me a hippocrite, or something.  However, whenever someone goes for it, I always have a slight pause in doing so, because I still hate it.  All I can think of when I have that happen is, "Dude, you're not cool, you're not black, and you're not 'street'.  You're just some random whitebread cracker from the suburbs, so just man up and give me a real handshake, or f-off." 

I'm thinking of going straight back to my old ways of just cutting people short on whatever gesture they try to make and only giving handshakes or fives from now on....again.  So there, I'm bringing the classic handshake back people!

Tough one to find

So Sunday came and went without me posting some music, so here ye be.

Is it over yet?

Today just sucks.  Not only is work being a pain in the butt, with all sorts of problems just coming out of the woodwork, but I got some terrible news last night.  I just found out a friend of mine is in the hospital after a seizure resulted in them getting a concussion, only to learn that their blood sugar is out of whack once they get to the hospital.  I'm gonna be taking a trip down to visit after work, but I just hate the feeling of knowing there ain't much more I can do. 

So that's my day so far.  There ain't much out there I can think of that will cheer me up.  Oh wait a minute, I think this might do the trick:

Yeah, I don't think there is a single picture full of more awesome than this.  Scratch that; I found one just a bit more awesome.

There we go.  Now my day has been made just a little bit better because of 'em.

Nacho House of Doom

Not unlike Tatooine, it's small, poor, out of the way, but dang if they don't make everything out of unicorn meat!  This tiny little place has quickly become a regular haunt for the systems staff.  You probably can't make out the details of the menu too well from this pic, but trust me, it's enchanting.  So much so that we must have come here at least five times this month.

We came here so often when they first opened up, that I think we single handedly kept them afloat.   Heck, I think the roomie is already betrothed to one of their daughters because they had no other way of saying thank you.

Secret Squirrel

I don't remember if I mentioned it here before, but the website Secret Projects has been taking up a considerable amount of my time.  It is to me what the land of chocolate is to Homer Simpson.  Once I registered, I found a dizzying mass of blueprints, technical specs, and photos of prototypes, mock ups, and concepts for military airplanes, missiles, and armored vehicles.   This place is more than amazing.

You absolutely have to register with the site to see any of the attachments though, otherwise you'll be missing out on most of the visual goodness.  However, even without that, there's still a wealth of historical and program information on a large amount of subjects.  It comes heartily recommended and endorsed by myself, so it just one more thing in a long list of reasons for me not to go out and socialize.  Yup, that's me: forever alone.

It's the most wonderful time of the year (I think)

Despite knowing better, I actually enjoy Halloween.  The only problem is that I tend to lack some imagination, so it ends up being another catch-22.  I like the holiday, I like dressing up, but I never have any good ideas for costumes, and when I do, I don't have the means to actually do it.  It makes the whole day a love-hate relationship.   Christmas and birthdays on the other hand, is super easy.  All you have to do is just listen to what people say all year, then surprise them by getting them exactly what they wanted.

Anyways, I'm also having a fun time realizing that I am completely unable to make plans anymore.  I'm one of those people who tend to get a bit anal when it comes to making plans, so I try to avoid it.  Now that I'm trying get back into the swing of making them, I come to find that I've lost all common sense when it comes to planning things out.  Great.

Open carry: my take on the who, what, why, where, and when.

Open carry.  The big topic.  I can't remember if I've harped on this subject before, but I can't help but feel a need to throw in my two cents on the matter now.  There are many differing opinions on the issue all over the interwebs, and many a gunblogger has devoted more than a couple posts on it, too.  However, what gets me on the topic, was that I ran into a entertaining young gentleman in person, who was very much against the idea; to the point that he carried on a very long argument against it one evening.

His arguments aren't without some merit, as this man works with law enforcement on a constant basis.  He believes that open carry is a stupid idea, because he feels it is intentionally trying to provoke or insight confrontation.  He also states (factually this time) that people who open carry are often stopped by law enforcement, and end up wasting police time.  He also notes the risk associated with it, in that with a visibly displayed weapon, you run the risk of someone taking your gun from you.  He insisted that if you can't conceal carry, you shouldn't carry at all.

Well, to retort, this is why I'm very much in favor of open carry, and get ready for another super-long rant.

Because I was feeling nostalgic

Again.

AIX 2.0 Soundtrack - Firestorm 

odd social life

So, went on another excursion to the local family fun center to celebrate my friend's daughter's birthday.  Maybe I'm just weird, but for me, laser tag, go carts, and arcades will not be getting old anytime soon.  I was also talked into bowling for a bit.  I'm usually pretty terrible, and I wasn't exactly doing great that day either, but I still somehow won.  Not like it means anything when you wax a bunch of kids and shut-ins at freaking bowling, but I still felt good about it.

Also, I think for the first time ever I actually got a good fortune under my Jones soda bottle cap!  Take a look see:

Now, hopefully they're talking about the one that involves wheelbarrows full of cash....or a tall redhead works.  Yeah, that'll do just fine.

Hitman, this is Assasin. Interrogative...

I like my job, but sometimes it just gets really fun.  had to test some new radios for the company's safety plan whatnot.  technically it's not our job, and we could have just let the safety officer handle it, but screw that noise, we're testing 'em. 

I dunno what it is about two-way radios, but when you're using em, it doesn't matter how old you are, you instantly revert to being a kid and feel the immediate need to buy some yourself.  We decided to go with some run o the mill callsigns for everybody.  I'm Assassin, the roomie is Hitman, and our network admins are Steel Rain and Raptor, and finally the junior member of the team is Chocolate Rain.

A kosher caliber

So I remember a while back saying I would post some results of my first outing with the Jericho, but then I encountered some issues with the built in ICS camera app on my phone.  So, more than a few weeks late, here's a couple of my groups with it. 

Now keep in mind that this wasn't the first group I shot; it being the third and fourth respectively.  It's been a couple years since I've owned a pistol of any kind, so being naturally out of practice, my first two mags shot through the thing were downright shameful (but at least none of my rounds missed the paper).  The groups shown also aren't my best, but considering my absence from pistol shooting and my rapid improvement that day, I feel pretty proud of 'em.  I love my dang Jericho 941.

Who pissed off Aquaman?

So I come in to work this morning and the ceiling looked like this:

So now my desk looks like this (after cleaning):

Yeah, a drain ended up clogging up, and now the IT offices are under a few inches of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen molecules, and it still sounds like weeping rock in here.  Despite the inconvenience and extra work it caused, the sound of the indoor waterfall can be quite relaxing. 

Reason why I am single #10,191

Coincidentally, the number of this reason is also the year of the reign of Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (the fact that I know this off the top of my head, is yet another reason why I'm single)

Anyways, I was conversing with a young woman I know, and she happened to mention that at one point she was involved in beauty pageants.  

Me:  Ah, you seemed a bit too accomplished at the "the royalty wave" for me to believe you weren't in any beauty pageants.
Woman:  No, I wasn't ever in any beauty pageants, I just ran a couple of them.
Me:  Well that's not any better!  That's like saying, "well, I wasn't in a concentration camp, I ran one."

Then the conversation ended with:

Woman:  Well, it was all a long time ago, so it doesn't really count at all.
Me:  Oh come on! Listen to yourself. That's like an old SS officer saying, "well, it was all long time ago, so it doesn't count."

Yup.  For all the ranting and raving I've done on this blog about equality and sexism, I'm still a pretty big jerk at times.  As for beauty pageants, I've never really been fond of them at all, but I'm not against them either, I just can't care about them either way.  I guess I'm just one of those weirdos that doesn't see vanity as a valid reason to do anything.  But then again, if you're throwing scholarships out like they're candy, well I guess I can get on board with that part.

Excellet training, I'd say

Saw this the other day:

I love it when the code monkeys have a good sense of humor.

More conversations while at work

Regarding the new James Bond theme song for Skyfall, with my roomie who knows absolutely nothing about music or musicians:

Me:  Yeah, it's done by Adele, it's pretty good.
Roomie:  Wait, I think I know who that is.  She's that fat girl, right?
Me:  What?  She's not fat.  I think she can be rather attractive, actually.
Roomie:  Well, she's bigger.
Me:  I think the term you're looking for, is that she's an 'ergonomic slum'.
Roomie:  (amidst laughter) Okay, but at least I knew who she was.

Okay, I have a somewhat high opinion of Adele, and I don't think she's fat, but I can't resist a good fat joke when the opportunity presents itself.

Telegram for you, Sir

Message to intertubes STOP Supplies low, but not morale STOP Car battery dead and needs replacement by tomorrow STOP Rest of day full of appointments that I shouldn't complain about, but am reluctant to go to anyways STOP I'm not feeling sick anymore, thank goodness, but I still have that lingering cough STOP Spent my time cleaning the house when I was sick STOP In hindsight, that was a bad idea STOP Nice to have a clean house though STOP Still have no idea as to what I'm doing this weekend because of multiple people requesting my presence STOP Just wish more of those people were single women STOP Obviously I've randomly been thinking of old telegrams and they way they had to word them for transmitting through Morse code STOP Don't know why I randomly decided to write a post like this, but now I fear I can't STOP in the name of love....

I would have loved trolling telegrams back in the day.  Once again, I am realizing I was born in the wrong era.  More to follow....

Update: Holy crap, I just realized this is my 470th post!  I think I'm gonna celebrate that, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow, when I actually have money.  

is it dark in here?

or is it just me?  So, I came down with something the other day, that has me sounding like a mix between Barry White and a random chain smoker.  That being said, I'm not too keen on writing at the moment.  Heck, it's getting to the point that I may just take the rest of the day off work.

When our powers combine...

There are now three Jerichos in the household.  No, I didn't buy another, even though I wish I had.  The roomie's just arrived yesterday, and we had to take a couple minutes and fiddle around with it. 

It's differences from mine are very interesting.  There are no import markings from KBI on it, or Century (those punks), neither are there any markings from Magnum Research.  It has these interesting little stamped marks on the barrel and trigger guard that have yet to be determined, so we'll have to do some homework on 'em.  It also differs from most in that it's a parkerized finish instead of blued, and despite being in good condition, you can tell the gun wasn't overly cared for before it sold, because of rust on the finish, and the gun wasn't even cleaned after it was last shot before being sold.

It's also a different model, the 941F which, has no decocking feature, and the safety mounted on the frame.  After holding it for a few minutes, I still wasn't quite sure how I felt about the frame mounted safety.  With how large my fingers are, the safety felt like it just kept getting in the way of the slide release. 

Another interesting difference is that I'm quite sure his pistol is of a later manufacture than mine, as the slide assemblies are interchangeable on both of my guns, but when I attempted to put my slides on his, they didn't fit very tightly.  The slide had a very loose tolerance and wobbled within the frame.  We thought it might be a difference with that particular model at fist, but further research indicates that shouldn't be a problem.  I did find out however, that later models made after they stopped making the .41 cal conversion kits had (ever so) slightly different frames, so that seems to be the primary suspect so far. 

I'll have post more info later as it comes in.

like a happy idiot

Just seems appropriate given the mood of the week.

Jeeves and Wooster Theme

Selective memory

I can't rememeber if I mentioned this or not, but I guess I'll have to state it here.  I'm a big gearhead when it comes to military aircraft.  I have all sorts of flight manuals, simulators, training videos, and even aircraft components strewn about my personal effects.  Another one of my coworkers is also a mil-air afficianado, and we're constantly butting heads over our opinions on the matter.

On one particular day, he got fed up and simply challenged me to a duel.  We would pick a flight sim and each of us would have a different plane and go head to head in some DACT.  He insisted I get the first choice, so I made my pick: the F-14D*.  I think he was upset by this choice, but then said he could still wax me (which he very well might, I dunno his skill level).  But the thing that made me smile was that my roomie chimed in at that moment and said, "I dunno if you wanna say that, he's pretty dang good at flying in those sims, I've seen him.  He doesn't just yank and turn, he knows other turns."  I was laughing for quite a while.

Makes me wish that freakin' Strike Fighters 2 had a dang multiplayer feature, because I'd really love to take on more actual people, and maybe even get into a furball.

*I love me the harrier, but if I can do BVR kills, I'm going for the 'cat.  The real choice is deciding which skin to use: Sundowners, Bounty Hunters, Wolfpack, or the fighting '84.

Formatting

Something that I find very annoying in Blogger, is that it seems to have some odd nervous tic of some sort, in which I will copy and paste something into a draft which appears fine, but after I publish it, I suddenly discover that it is formatted completely different than the place I copied it from.  Very annoying to have to go back and re-type it, because just copying and pasting will also copy the incorrect format.  I swear, between that annoying little issue, and my own terrible spelling and grammar mistakes, it's a wonder I'm still willing to keep posting.

Not much else noteworthy has been going on other than a whole crap ton of work and personal business, so meh.  Though, I did get an email forwarded to me from our programming manager, about software we were planning on buying from some company, whose rep had the most unfortunate name I have ever seen:



 

Details have been changed to protect the (hopefully) innocent.  Man, I hope they married into that name, because there is just no excuse.  Unless they were hoping for a shoe-in as the next Bond girl, or something.

Abravanel Days

I am one sad little individual. How is it I have gone so long without enjoying the symphony or never even stepping into Abravanel Hall before?

So if you hadn't guessed by now, I went to my little rendezvous at the Utah Symphony on Saturday.  The date itself wasn't all that exciting, but the concert was more than enjoyable.  An amazing atmosphere, excellent music, with a breathtaking soloist, and just a fun experience overall.  The attraction was simply billed as a performance of Pictures at an Exhibition, but we were treated to a couple of pieces by Prokofiev, which I think I enjoyed much more than Pictures.  I really hope I can go again sometime soon.

Alina is ridiculously skilled and talented

I also forgot to mention that I finally took my Jericho out shooting, and managed to actually make a respectable couple of groupings, after putting a couple mags through it to "warm up".  I also neglected to mention the fact that I ordered a second one, and that it should be here by the end of the week.

I'm currently having some issues with my Android, so it may be a little while 'till I'm able to get some incriminating evidence of all these exploits.