Stop spreadin' your seed, man...

Remember when I kept telling you all that I don't want to spawn any demon-seeds? Too much information, I know.

Yesterday I voluntarily chose to help the world in my own small way. Those lobbying for increased world population or generational replacement will not get any assistance from me. Puncture-snip-tie-burn-stitch. Rinse and repeat. The procedure itself was fairly painless. They only thing that I felt were the initial incisions, which were more like pin pricks, less painful than a shot. Of course there is a little discomfort now, but nothing that diminished activity levels, icepacks, an ottoman, and a remote control can't cure.

What was interesting to me throughout this process was how in-demand this procedure is. I made my initial contact back in February. My HMO requires a class prior to the procedure, and the earliest I could get in was in May. My procedure was performed yesterday. All in all, it took a little over 6 months to get to this point, which reflects the backlog of people stammering to get this procedure done, and this is only one of many facilities in the area.

I’m very relieved now that this is almost over. All that is left is a couple of return visits within a few months to verify the success of the procedure. Status quo until then. There are many unplanned pregnancies because many men don’t bother to complete the verification process.

I know it was the right thing to do. I should not procreate. The world is better off.

It's Bush's fault (again)

Well, well, well. Unless you weren't alive last year at this time, according to the media's "objective" recollections, you might think that only New Orleans was devastated by hurricane Katrina. Believe it or not, the alleged Bush created and controlled (and really mean) hurricane attacked other Gulf Coast states as well and just as hard. The reason that you probably don't hear much about them much anymore, especially this week, is because these other communities and states quit bitching about it shortly after the event and quickly started the reconstruction efforts.

Heaven forbid that the media highlights and commends the positive efforts by communities who took care of themselves, without the endless whining and blaming of the federal government, but that doesn't fit the media's standard Anti-Bush template. Reminding us of the ineptitude of the New Orleans and Louisiana state officials and agencies is of course a no-no. I can't believe how they continually get a free pass from blame. Not exactly a free pass per se, but assigned considerably less blame than the federal government. Why? Is it because it may put Democrats and African Americans in a bad light, even though a person's race or ethnicity has absolutely NO bearing on his or her compentency? Yet another example of the media's (and liberals in general) elitism, condescension, and patronization of the back community.

Why should it be the place of the federal government to have the primary responsibility for recovery and reconstruction? Shouldn't it be the local and state governments first, and then the federal government in a supporting role as required? Well, that is exactly what happened in the communities OTHER than New Orleans. It is so ironic that those that blame the government for their incompetence are the same people that want MORE and BIGGER government.

After the hurricane hit, do you remember all of those overhyped stories of murder, rape, mayhem, racism, and the conspiracies of the Bush Administration's black-hating efforts to blow up the levees and kill Democratic constituents? Funny that I haven't seen any retractions or crow-eating from the media busting these widely disproven myths. Instead, we get a Spike Lee movie.

I will agree with Mayor Nagin's controversial comment comparing New Orleans' recovery with the construction of the 9/11 World Trade Center Memorial in New York. Competing interest groups and political correctness will keep this "hole" empty for quite some time. Apparently one shouldn't "dis" the thin-skinned New York media...

More Doom and Gloom

It's so sad that the media feels the need to hype up almost every story before it disseminates it out to the great unwashed masses. Why must the media scare us to death into thinking that the world is about to end because the housing market has slowed down a little? Guess what - the housing market (like most markets) is cyclical. By definition, cyclical means there are ups AND downs - no, really! This is NORMAL behavior, not the end of life as we know it.

With all of the potential powder kegs going on in the world, like Iran, Lebanon, and radical Islamic terrorism, our media insists that the new season of Survivor, the freak John Mark Carr's second by second wherebouts, recalled laptop batteries (yes, BOTH my Apple and Dell laptops were affected), Tom Cruise, and the planetary demotion of Pluto are more relevant to your personal safety, security, and sanity.

Honey, please come home soon! The - voices - in - my - head - are - changing - colors - again.

Pseudo Empty Nestage

Wow, talk about polar opposite environs. I'm surrounded by the deafening silence of an empty house, less minor increases in decibel levels contributed by the resident felines, who are now emerging from the safe confines of the depths of our closets.

The decrescendo after the last few weeks of disruptions in our normal routine is a welcome epilogue. Let me esplain.

Every year, my wife borrows her nephew for a couple of weeks. These visits are great opportunity for her to stay in touch with her family, and it's one of the things that I love about my wife. This year her (almost) niece came down as well. My exposure to children (they're both 10) could be counted using only a few hands and has been generally limited to increments of less than 24 hours. Over the last few weeks I experienced many new (and positive) things, like having neighborhood kids over almost daily and overnight, actually talking to my neighbors for more than a few minutes, and feeling more a part of my community.

Of course, it also came with many challenges, although most of them were self imposed and aren't any great revelation to any parent. I did learn a few unpleasant things about myself (only a few?) during this visit and will do better next time around. My wife (as usual) was patient, loving, and wonderful. Me, not so.

All in all, the kids were great and I survived relatively unscathed, and still quite firm in my decision that I don't want to procreate. Sorry, Mom.

My wife just left with the kidlets to take them back home in Washington and then off to Montana for a few days.

Please drive safely and come home soon.

Back in the saddle

Last Friday was the first time in almost three weeks that all six of us Timeline boyz were able to get together for some recording, comraderie, and general mayhem. Between work and family obligations it's been tough to get all of us together. We were able to get in a keeper track for a portion of our 25 minute song, a jam or two, the rehashing of some of our other tunes on the new CD, and generous amounts of adult beverage.

All is good.

It's your job to just report the news, not shape the news

As a followup to my last blog, here's a link to an intersting video demonstrating the "objective" reporting of various mainstream media outlets.

Click HERE to watch the video.

I really enjoyed the Mark Twain quote. How relevant, especially today.

Call me a crackpot if you want to, but I do NOT generally trust what comes from the mainstream press, and here is yet another example of why. Ask yourself this: How many such stories, photos, and interviews have the mainstream press presented as fact and in context that you just took them at their word? And how many stories, photos, and interviews have the mainstream press shaped to support an agenda without giving you the whole story? I think that a new oxymoron should be added to the lexicon of the American dialect: objective journalist.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. PLEASE just report the news as it happens. Let ME interpret what it means to me, not what YOU want it to mean. If it's your OPINION, then please disclose it as such, not pass it off as just the regurgitation of fact.

Oh crap, I need to get more Calgon!

We will tell you what to be outraged about and when

Sad but true. Yet another example of the non-existent mainstream media liberal bias at work. Review these recent stories (if you can) and guess which one the press is touting as most relevant to your very exisitence:

[a] The hoards of vitrolic and anti-semitic statements about Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) from the LEFT wing bloggers. (Aren't they supposed to be the tolerance/anti hate speech types?)
[b] The murder of one and wounding of numerous others in an office of a Jewish organization in Seattle by an Islamic extremist. (crickets chirping... rinse and repeat)
[c] The predictible and persistent template framing of Israel as aggressors and Hezbollah as noble victims by the press. Now the international community is calling for a cease-fire in Lebanon (why not in Iraq?). Hmmm...
[d] Mel Gibson's drunken tirade.

If you guessed [a], [b], or [c] please step immediately at the end of the line over there, you require additional indoctrination, I mean, "training".

Yes, [d] is apparently the most (and only) important story that the mainstream press deems worthy of your short attention span. Aren't you glad that you and your children are safe again?

look at the little chickies, oooohhh aren't they cute, look at the chickies...

Hey, American Idol starts tonight! Oh boy! Oh boy! Amerika's favorite diversion returns to it's regularly scheduled program. All bow to the altar of ignorance, apathy, and control. Hey you, face forward, look directly at the TV, not over here! So sorry, your papers are not in order.

At least Cynthia McKinney lost her primary. What a piece of work. It's a start.

Home Sweet Home

Back from my top secret recon mission. Good to be home and back to some semblance of normalcy and routine. I'm glad to report that positive improvements have been observed and continued improvements are hopeful. We were glad that we made the trip.

I will also confirm the axiom that anyone who drives faster than you is a nut and anyone who drives slower than you is a moron. Sorry to say that more people passed me than I had the pleasure of passing. It must be another sign that I'm getting older or that I'm simply content to just get to my destination in one piece rather than 30 seconds ahead of the moron behind me. Thanks to my wife, I have attempted to control my Type-A suicidal driving tendencies (mostly) and be much more relaxed while driving. When you plan your time better and don't excessively fret over what time you get to your destination, the stress levels decrease dramatically. Just a suggestion.

On a completely different note, after numerous conversations with my dear father-in-law, I've determined that PEOPLE SUCK - people being defined more as groups and less as individuals. Something disengages when we choose to defer important decisions and responsibilities to others representing our particular "group". When that happens, apathy, disinterest, cynicism (who, me?) and lack of ownership of issues directly affecting ourselves overcome any sense of our own personal civic responsibility. We deserve the government and society that we allow to exist as long as we let others make the decisions and make the rules. I'm on a downward grade towards an impasse, teetering on the precipice of being insanely and cynically infuriated with our leaders, society, government, country, and world, or just washing my hands of whole thing and moving to a remote undisclosed location and living out the rest of my days in blissful ignorance. I’m leaning towards the latter.