Only The Obvious...

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Monday Night Football

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburg Steelers

Ravens run a play that puts them one yard short of a First Down.

"Those Wide Receivers have to catch the ball and run past that First Down Marker to get a First Down."

Only Madden.

Al Michaels was quite for a few seconds after that. You just know that poor Al is sitting there thinking, "Dear God, what have I done to deserve this?!"

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Um... Yah...

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Here's a quote for ya:

"I have never been convinced that war was the best system to make a country democratic and help it escape dictatorship, even a bloody one,"
--Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

I totally believe him. It is not like war has actually changed anything for the better. Has it?

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And We're Waiting Because...

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It appears that some of the Big Dogs are hosting open topic link-fests. This is a great opportunity for us smaller guys to get some exposure. Thanks to The Indepundit, Mudville Gazette, Outside the Beltway, Cao, and Jo's Cafe for hosting these trackback-athons!

With so much going on elsewhere in the world, I thought I'd take things down a notch and highlight some local happenings.

First up, is the pending demise of one Stanley "Tookie" Williams. About damn time. An original Homeboy Gangsta-Man, Tookie was a co-founder of the Los Angeles Crips. Yes, that is right. As in "the Bloods and the Crips". (Additional info for Crips here and Bloods here) One of the first major distributors of Crack Cocaine and one of the antagonists in the '80s War on Drugs. Tookie was imprisoned for murdering four people in a 12 day period - a 23 yr. old 7-11 clerk first, then an Asian couple and their daughter at the motel they ran.

And of course, this all apparently boils down to a matter of Whitey picking on a Brotha, according to the usual idjits (yes, I intentionally spelled it that way). Then there is the good ol' MSM doin' their best to point out what an outstanding citizen Tookie is. The man is a murderer, plain and simple. Should have been executed many years ago. Still does not accept responsibility for his crimes. White, Black, Brown, or Plaid, your skin pigmentation does not matter... your actions do. Writing a couple of books and having Hollywood idiots make a movie about you does in NO WAY atone for the fact that:

a.) he murdered four people

b.) he should be held responsible for every killing, mugging, rape, and drug deal that his gang (who STILL rally around him and promise to retaliate if he's executed) has ever done.

Too bad we only do Lethal Injections or the Gas Chamber in this state.

Next, we have the proposed California Border Police. About damn time! A fully trained, professional Law Enforcement agency whose only job is to enforce the Federal Laws regarding our borders. Not only that, they can actively go after employers, and patrol inside the state, unlike the Federal Border Patrol. Petitions are being circulated to gather enough signatures to put this initiative on the ballot for voting. These are available here. Illegal Aliens are a HUGE problem causing severe Economic and Social repercussions. When hospitals have to close their doors, schools get overcrowded, and Americans get beat out for jobs by law breakers willing to be paid under the table for insanely cheap wages, it is long past time to step back and correct the problem.

Then there is The Governator. Ya know, I like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he speaks his mind... unscripted and from the heart. But when his advisors start yappin' too much, you get stuff reminicent of a certain Flip-Flop Artist. Double-speak does not a Good Governor make. I am glad that he is finally making a fight for his ballot initiatives Props 73-77. Hehehe... it was extremely amusing watching every Anti-Prop ad during last Sunday's football games IMMEDIATELY followed by one of Schwarzenegger's Pro-Prop ads.

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Marshall The Forces...

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Man! Looking back through my earlier posts, I am Slacker Central these days. Used to post multiple times a day. Now, it's 3 - 5 days between posts! *sigh* Need to post more... this is my only outlet! The Wife listens to my rantings sometimes; however, it is not fair to continuously do that to her. I used to take everything out physically on Heavy Bags / people in my former profession, but I have too much on my plate these days to do that without sacrificing something else... all of which would impact my family.

So on to current goings-on!

SMASH is calling for another Operation Thank You to conteract the public exhibitions of the Ghouls. These sick bastards are waiting excitedly for the 2000^th death of an American, so that they can use it as political propaganda. SMASH, a local San Diego resident, has been ever vigilant in making certain that wherever these types appear in our fair city, that there is a counter message waiting for them. He, along with the rest of the San Diego Chapter of Protest Warrior, have even succeeded in drawing media attention away from the loons on many occasions. Info is as follows:

OPERATION THANK YOU

Who: Anyone who supports the military.

What: A demonstration of gratitude for our military and their families.

When: Friday, October 28th, 4:30 – 6pm.

Where: The North Gate of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

How: With American flags, and signs that simply read “Thank You.”

Why: To express our gratitude, boost morale, and counter the negative message of the defeatist demonstrators.

In checking out the above-mentioned activities at The Indepundit (SMASH's site), I went over to Da Goddess' site (she has been to, and taken loads of pictures at, most of these events) for more info... and ran into this little gem.

The Boobie-Thon.

Two things I must say...

1.) Only in the Blogosphere can so much creativity be put to a fun idea for a great cause.

2.) WHY THE HELL AM I ONLY FINDING THIS STUFF OUT NOW?!?!?!?!

Well, the answer to number 2 there would prolly be that I need to be more active in my blogging duties again.

Now, on to things Test-like! Over at the Four Right Wing Wackos, Raging_Dave and Tim took the The Which Historic General Are You Test... so naturally, I decided to see which I was:

King Edward I You scored 70 Wisdom, 62 Tactics, 56 Guts, and 47 Ruthlessness!

Or rather, King Edward the Longshanks if you've seen Braveheart. You, like Edward, are incredibly smart and shrewd, but you win at any costs.... William Wallace died at his hands after a fierce Scottish rebellion against his reign. Despite his reputation though, Longshanks had the best interests of his people at heart. But God help you if you got on his bad side.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 79% on Unorthodox You scored higher than 29% on Tactics You scored higher than 56% on Guts You scored higher than 49% on Ruthlessness

Link: The Which Historic General Are You Test written by dasnyds on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Considering my Irish anscestry, should I now state that "It's MY island."?

Next, while cruising by Drudge, I saw this. WTF. I might be mistaken (I have been wrong once-r-twice before), but this is a far cry from the Real James Bond. Why do we have all of these Metros runnin' around pretending to be Guts'n'Glory type men?

Okies, I need to get back to work. That is all for now.

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On Travel...

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Question:

What do you do when you are a known repository for information that everyone goes to and, though you are happy to give assistance wherever you can, it starts to cause you to fall behind in your own duties?

Answer:

Write on your whiteboard in a prominent location that you are on business travel to a far away location. Then make a printout using Red Arial Font at size 56 pt. on a Landscape layout, with the wording to the effect of (or similar to) these words:


--------------------

On Travel.

Leave message at (Extension number goes here).

Unless you are (person who is expecting whatever report / project status / whatever)...

--------------------

Then Tape one to your chest, and have a co-worker that understands your plight tape the other to your back. It is simply amazing how much work you can get done when you are "on Travel".

Pictures to follow later... mebbe...

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He Who Smel't It...

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I wonder how long it is gonna take to end up on this guy's blog? After all, his mantra is "If your blog sucks, I'll find it and tell you why it sucks." And according to the posts, apparently if you have ever supported the War on Terror (that name still irks me... terror is a concept, yah? not a nation...), you are a Republican Kool-Aid sipper, and your blog sucks. Those that bash Bush or are "lefty" blogs get drooled over (though he does try to look like he isn't by throwing the "Non-Partisan" card), and do not suck.

Since I support said War, and I do not have cool graphics, and I have a Day-by-Day cartoon on my site, my blog should end up there soon. I'm certain that my sometime's knee-jerk gut responses will label me as a fringe Right Winger (and this link should help), and my inconsistant posts along with my non-existant comments (there have been 3, I just blew them away accidently when upgrading the comment section... no, really, I did !) will be the nails in my suckage coffin. And if not, then mebbe I can try to antagonize him.

Sweet!

Heheheh... he thinks SMASH is a Republican. Reading the post, it would seem that this Mensa candidate just glances at a blog long enough to find support for our military, and then declares suckage. And support for our military is what you will find at SMASH's Indepundit... in spades. His is one of the first MilBlogs that I started reading back when I first "discovered" this whole Blog-thing. I think the closest thing that you could find to a Republican leaning was that he dinna think too much of Donna Frye... but then again, not many people do. Also, the mayor at the time (Dick Murphy) was being called onto the carpet for his LOUSY performance, and he just happened to be Republican. Of course the San Diego City Mayor position is supposed to be a partisan-free position, hence the reason why you end up with several R's and D's running against each other with no Primary, all one big happy race.

Ya know, with all of the chest-thumpin' this Bad-Blogger (heheheh...) does about being "involved in the blogosphere" for a long time and how he "just do[es] it for sh--s and giggles" and he's content to "tend to step back and let the blog slide" if it gets in the way of Real Life™ (read as: can't think of anything to say that doesn't sound idiotic even to himse'f, but can't admit that the only original thoughts he ever had were spoon-fed to him by Kos), he reminds me of some people that I know that always trot out the tired old "I [am a Republican / am a Fiscal Conservative / support the Troops], BUT...". They try to build up some stature / sound authorative on the subject, and then they spew the same old tired DNC talking points.

TIME FOR A THEME SONG!!!! YAY!!!
(for those confused at the sudden inspiration for song, please read my second paragraph)

The http://bad-blogger.blogspot.com/ Theme song
(I would like to take this opportunity to apologize in advance to Inner Circle, who did the theme song to COPS, and whose lyrics I completely butchered below)

Bad Blogger

Whatcha want, watcha want
Whatcha gonna review
When http://bad-blogger.blogspot.com/ come for you
Tell me
Whatcha gonna review, whatcha gonna review
Yeaheah

CHORUS:
Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger
Whatcha gonna review, whatcha gonna review
When Kos ain’t got squat for you
(Repeat)

Surfin’ the scene at DU
Even there they don’ like you
Make yer own site
And tryin’ ta pick fights (aside: like I am!)
Indepundit
Lookin’ like a good start
Mebbe would help
Actually reading what yer posting about

(broke the 4-6-4-6-4-6-4-4 and the a-a-b-b-b-b-c-b, but, who cares! Make up yer own damn theme song!)

CHORUS

Kos naw give you no hits
DU naw give you no hits
Atrios naw give you no hits
But you try an’ get mcgehee give you hits
Hey hey

CHORUS
(Repeat)

Mebbe if’n I get your attention
I might just make yer list an’
That wouldn’t really change much
’cause your sites just plain sucks
What’s it like in yer fantasy world
Hey hey hey
What’s it like in yer fantasy world

Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger
Whatcha gonna review, whatcha gonna review
When Kos ain’t got squat for you
(Repeat)

(You're too blah, you smell like poo) <-- I've got kids, it's late, that's my best right now
(You're too blah, you smell like poo)

Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger
Whatcha gonna review, whatcha gonna review
When Kos ain’t got squat for you
(Repeat)

Announcer: http://bad-blogger.blogspot.com/ is filmed on location with the man of suckage, Bad Blogger.

Wow... that was kinda fun. Lessee if the water' chummed right. These types can dish out everything, but take nothing. Also, they tend to make things personal. Hmmmm.... wonder if this one's an E-thug. Better start watchin' mah back. *shivers go down spine... then realizes that AC vent is aimed at his back... stupid AC*

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Still Alive...

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Yay, me! I managed to revive The Wife's computer, saved the data, got her system some new upgrades, and come out alive.

Yay, alive!

So everyone may now stand down the Search-and-Rescue Teams that you were beginning to form, as per my request in my last post. Hey, don't give me those blank looks! *shakes fist*

Anyway, I was looking at some of the recent news, and I found this little gem: "Sen. Edward Kennedy Helps Rescue Fishermen". Wow. I bet that those guys are extremely grateful that Teddy's efforts turned into a "Sean Penn-esque" moment, considering his Legendary Water Rescue skills.

Then there is an entry for the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Department.

MilBlogger Blackfive is out-an'-about on travel, and managed to stop by the Walter Reed Medical Center. He only gave a short post on it, but take the time to follow the links and read about some of the people that he met. While you are at his site, make certain to check out the "Someone you should know..." section. EXTREMELY big section these days; however, they are great stories about some great men and women and the difference that they all have made.

More to come later...

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Well, Crap...

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This does not bode well. The Wife's system has been REALLLLY slow as of late. She decided she would prefer to start over with a clean wipe. Fortunately, we make certain to set up our systems such that reinstalling / reformatting the System partition does not erase our data, just our OS and proggys.

I verified that her data was in the correct place, and reinstalled the OS. Booted up just fine, started installing chipset drivers (weird, this system is acting a bit sluggish still, even during setup).

Rebooted.

...
...
...
...
...
...

Uh-oh.

One would think I would have some sort of backup solution in place at home considering I work in the Information Technology industry.

Yeah, if I canna recover data, it means lost data, but more importantly, lost pics of our kids.

If I do not update this blog by 10/18/05, please begin search and recovery efforts to find my body!

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Or Not...

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So apparently there was a vicious rumor that I was going to post back on 10/05...

*slaps forehead*

Been pretty busy. Mostly studying for my latest test. Blah. Failed it by one question. It seems from the report afterwards that I have IP Addressing down (aced that part), I just need to get a better handle on RRAS.

... and now I am getting grumps from The Wife about getting ready fer da Eye Doctor appointment (in 20 minutes). More later.

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Standby...

Micro-burst Transmitter: Online
...
Sending SitRep...

No, I am not dead (relief to some/others hopes dashed). New post to follow later tonight.

End Transmission...

New Favorite Movie...

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Wow.

OMG.

Best. Movie. Ever.

Guess which movie I just got done watching?!

I'l give you a hint:

...The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family - squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

When Mal takes on two new passengers-a young doctor and his unstable, telepathic sister-he gets much more than he bargained for. The pair are fugitives from the coalition dominating the universe, who will stop at nothing to reclaim the girl. The crew that was once used to skimming the outskirts of the galaxy unnoticed find themselves caught between the unstoppable military force of the Universal Alliance and the horrific, cannibalistic fury of the Reavers, savages who roam the very edge of space. Hunted by vastly different enemies, they begin to discover that the greatest danger to them may be on board Serenity herself...

I recently became a fan of the series when the Sci-Fi Channel picked it up. One hell of a fun show. Extremely disappointed that there was only ever one season of it. However, you do not need to be a fan of the series to enjoy the movie. It does help, but it is not neccessary. The best part is, it picks up where the series left off, so fans will get a sense of continuity, while newcomers will get the a great new story. Tonight was Date Night, and The Wife and I have been waiting all summer for this weekend because of this movie. One of my brothers and his girlfriend came over to watch the kiddoes for us, and off we went!

It did not disappoint.

Action a-plenty, great one-liners, awesome character development, and plot twists and turns that, even for the hard-core fans, to quote the captain of Serenity, "They ain't gonna see this comin'." This movie reminds me of those new commercials where kids are playing sports, and they are playing their hearts out. At the end they always ask professional athletes what they are playing for, and the commercial end with the phrase "For Love or For Money". Standing Joss Whedon's Serenity next to George Lucas' abominations gives case-in-point. Special effects are used to enhance the story, not replace it. Character develpoment is a Good Thing ™. And one does not need to sell their soul to make a movie.

From The Alliance, to the Rim Worlds, to The Reavers, this movie has it all. Guns, Swordfighting, martial arts, straight-up old-school haymakers, and bar-room brawls. High-speed ground chases to intergalatic ship combat Susense, action, comedy, and drama. My only wish was that they had figured out a way to work in "The Ballad of Jayne" somewhere.

If we didn't have kids, we'd be back there watching that movie again.

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