The week is winding down...

Was thinking that I was gonna have an easy night tonight. I'd go in to my 7:30 class and spend about an hour giving the folks their second exam, and then go back home to the couch, and this friggin thing. But I had to go in instead and take over another class for a colleague who has been hospitalized with pneumonia. Another instructor stood in for me and gave my government class their test, and I took over a history class. What a ride. I took them from 1781 to 1800. It doesn't sound like a long period of time, but a lot of important shit took place in those few years. Those folks took more notes tonight than they had in a while. Love this gig. Hope my buddy is better soon. Pneumonia can kick yer ass, I'm told.

And to capture the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are some cute pictures sent to me lately. Someone found a little critter shivering on their porch, took it in and let it cuddle with the family pooch. How sweet. Thing is, I think that's the pose that a baby deer takes instinctively when they've been caught out in the open and they need to go to ground and hide.



But it makes a great holiday picture.



Bambi and the family pooch, showing us yet again that critters who we think of as natural enemies can actually get along happily in the warmth of the hearth.



Damn, that's cute as hell. Nice wood floors and leather furniture too.

What you don't see is that momma deer is nearby waiting for the danger to subside, so the baby can escape with momma and the siblings. But now these folks have kidnapped her baby, gotten their scent all over it, and the dogs too, which means mom will never go near it again. They will take it inside to let it warm up, at which point it will commence to shit everywhere.

They'll decide it's wrong to take in a wild animal, at which time they set it loose in the yard to wander, looking for mama, till it's chased down and torn to shreds by a pack of coyotes. End of Bambi. End of story. Another example of silly city folks meddling in the natural way of things, anthropomorphizing every critter they see and meddling in shit they don't understand.

They'll raise their kids to think of the deer as a pet, looking with scorn at the hunter who wants to harvest them as a resource, and then they'll head down to the grocery store to get their turkey wrapped in plastic. No gut pile necessary. No moral conflict. A nation of pussies, expanding exponentially across the nation like a plague. Bring on the bird flue now, please God.

Remember, the spirit of the holidays.

Talked to mom...

She's picked up the ham and the bird. It's apparently a big
sucker. Should be good times. Uh, jeeze, wait a minute...



Everyone will be there. We'll eat lots of good food, and
then hit the road to check out all the old spots. Can't wait
for that traditional after dinner family drive in the country.



Memories.

Give thanks everyone.



You could be this bastard. Which one, you ask? Spirit of
the holiday season, right. It's all about giving, not taking.
Come on, give till it hurts. You know you want to.

It's always better to give than to receive, right? I hope you
all get to visit with loved ones this holiday weekend. You
know there's someone out there who wants to see ya. Come
on, do whatever it takes to get there. Make the effort. Come
on, whatever it takes. Don't blow it. Happy Holidays. FHB.

Warning...

What ever you do, DO NOT click on the link over at Big Dicks place. If you value you still digesting lunch... Enough said.

And what's with the Michael Richards rant that's all over CNN? He supposedly went off on some hecklers at a comedy club and spewed a lot of racial epithets at everyone? I got home and turned on the TV and Paul Rodriguez was holding a press conference defending himself for having Richards on the stage. All these people were demanding an apology and saying that certain words should be banned from the stage acts at the club. Rodriguez, poor bastard, was torn between being mad a Richards and defending Richards "free speech" rights. His point was that it's a commercial medium, and Richards won't get hired back if he offends people. It'll be interesting to see how all this turns out. Richards publicists are probably going over different versions of maia culpa as we speak. Hilarious.

The news conference went on for 15 minutes. My first thought was that he might be pulling an Andy Kaufman routine, doing something outrageous to get attention and then tell everyone later he was testing the bounds of decency? I used to hate that shit when Kaufman did it. I hate to see comedians using average people as their targets, like in Jackass when they dress up as old people and try to shock pedestrians. Not funny. Hanging Steve-O on a tight rope over a pool of alligators with a chicken tied to his G-string... Hilarious! Anyway, Richards is rich as hell, so I guess he can flip everyone off and go live on a mountain somewhere. Question is, if he's rich, why the hell isn't he doing that now? You wouldn't see my ass again, that's fer sure.

Anyway, I'm off. Giving tests tonight. FUN! Hehehehehehe.

Update; There was major carnage. Arterial hemorrhaging in the halls. It was ugly, but I gave em this Wednesday off.

Another busy weekend passed by.

Took dad to eat Chinese Friday night, as per usual. I really look for ward to that dinner every week. The Shrimp Fried Rice and General Tso's chicken served there are to die for. We filled up, and then I took dad home. I visited with mom for a while, watched a little TV with her, and then went back to Killeen to get an advance ticket to the late movie at the local multiplex.

Went to see "Casino Royal" at the 10pm showing. I've been waiting to see that movie for a while, wanting to see what they would do with the franchise, and I have to say I loved the result. Safe to say that most people go to Bond flicks for the babes and the boom boom. Ok, there's the cool cars and the gadgets too. They are all there in this version, and the style is there too. Bond is still cool as hell. You want to be him in so many ways. And this new guy (Daniel Craig) can do the job very well. Loved him in "Munich", but don't remember seeing him in anything else. The love interest (Eva Green, late of "Kings of Heaven") reminds me of someone else. Look in those eyes and see if you don't remember Dayle Haddon, a hot little number who made a few movies and a few pictorials in Playboy back in the late 70s and early 80s. Anyway, This is the best Bond flick in years. I even love to see Judi Dench reprise her role as "M". She really does a great job with the character. A womans feel to the touching scene in the end (I'll never tell). The villain in this piece is the best in years and years. Mads Mikkelesen plays it cool, with the weeping eye scar, till the torture scene. I think he's got a real future ahead of him in the movie biz. Check it out.

Slept in Saturday, which felt great to do. Laid around and worked on this friggin' thing to finish up an online class I'm teaching (muh!). Threw some clothes on around 2pm and drove east to Belton to walk through a gun show that was being held at the expo center there. The show was mediocre. They usually are there. Fondled a few nice toys, but as I said in the update to the previous post, I'll never be a pistol guy. Mom called while I was walking through the show and told me she was putting ribs in the oven and they'd be ready in an hour if I was interested. So you can guess where I went for dinner. Did a few chores on the back yard, sawing a few limbs off a tree for her to earn my keep. She made BBQ spare ribs and taters and peas for dinner, and later when we were all craving sweets, I drove to the local Dairy Queen and picked up three small Heath candy Blizzards. A while later I drove home and still later fell into bed and snoozed.

Got up at 9:30am Sunday morning to shower and get ready for a trip. At about 11am, a friend and his wife and kids drove over, and we all headed South to Austin to visit the Bob Bullock State History Museum. My buddy needed to go there to fulfill a school requirement (write a paper about it), and I'd never been there, so we planned a trip. It was a very nice time. The museum is very well laid out and has some nice stuff on display. I think the Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon is a better museum of the states history (much more stuff on display), but this was a very nice time. They have a few very cool films that show over and over so you can walk up and sit down and view them at your pleasure. They tell the story of all the various groups of people who have made up the history of the state. Later we went to Papasito's (yep, that's two Sundays in a row), and then we drove home.

The upcoming week is going to be blissfully short at work, and an excellent opportunity to pig out again will be had at Moms on Thanksgiving. She called today to tell me that she has picked up a turkey and a ham to go with the dressing for Thursdays feast. I'll have to go in Monday and Tuesday to the early classes, and Monday through Wednesday in the Ft. Hood classes. I may give the Wednesday night classes the night off, since many won't show up anyway. It's hard to be a asshole and have class even though half the other instructors have told their people to go home. We'll see.

It's Fatty Friday again, and it seems like ages since I've been really disgusting and inappropriate, so here goes.

So, what's your idea of Diversity? How would it look?



Well, here's an alternate version. I guess I may be turnin' into a pistol guy. Jesus, like I need another thing to piss money away on.


I picked up a buyers guide magazine at the grocery store the other night, and I've been surfing through there, looking for something interesting. Havin' a hard time thinkin' about plunkin' down $500 to a grand for somethin' that doesn't take a red bakelite 30 round clip. I'm sure I'll get over it. There are gun shows this weekend in Belton and Austin, so I'll be spending the next few days mulling it over, fondling a few things, seein' if there's anything I need.

On another note, sort of an old story, but what's the deal with this new thing where rich white pop stars go to Africa and adopt someone's kid? Used to be Mia Farrow's gig, collecting 3rd world kids. Then Angelina Jolie goes over, and now Madonna. That heifer will do anything to stay in the news.

UPDATE; I went to a gun show today and fondled the HK and Sig Saur shown here. Both fit very nice in the hand. Choked on the prices. There was a guy there with a Bulgarian made AK-74M with a folding stock in .223 for about the same money. I'll never be a pistol guy.

Dig this...

Click on it. Another cool pic from the astronomy site. Eh?

Man, that was a busy weekend, and a long time between posts.

This last Friday, because the public school system doesn't give the kids Veterans Day off, I had to go in early to teach my dual credit classes in Florence. I basically blew the classes off, letting the kids study for other stuff while I surfed the web and checked my email. I went home after that strenuous morning and took about a three hour nap. On the way home I passed the local Veterans memorial where there was a large celebration going on, and the new local federal veterans cemetery, where a burial was taking place. Made me think about my dad and uncles, and all of their experiences and sacrifices for our freedom. A sobering drive.

At about 5pm, I set off to pick up dear old Dad for our regular trip to Dynasty in Temple to eat excellent Chinese food, as per our regular Friday custom. The food there is very good, and we have a good time eating there. The waiter told me that he knows it's Friday when he sees us coming. After pigging out and taking dad home, I drove up to Ft. Worth to spend the night with a buddy and his wife (the folks I rafted the Colorado with last year). My buddy's wife was out of there by 6am Saturday morning to go to work at Harris Hospital, where she's a nurse and takes care of very sick premature babies. It's a horrible job, which she does with amazing skill and courage. I know I couldn't do it. My buddy and I were up and out by 7am and drove up to a hotel across from Alliance Airport where we took a 10 hour class to qualify for concealed handgun permits.

Now, I'm really not much of a pistol guy. I have two (.380 Makarov semi-auto and a .22 Vaquero revolver), which may sound like a lot of pistols to people who don't own guns, but believe me, that's not a lot at all. My buddy has about a dozen pistols, no rifles, and a few shotguns. I've got about two dozen rifles and one old shotgun to go with my two pistols. From what I've seen, most people who have one gun are gonna end up with a few of them. It's like peanuts, or sex, or anything else that's good. You can't stop after just one, or in my case, one dozen.

The thing is, I don't have a huge desire to carry a pistol around, so I've never felt a big need to get certified to carry one. Most people I know carry one with them in their car on road trips whether they are certified on not. I did that once, after getting the Makarov, on a road trip to Colorado in the early 1990s. Didn't feel good having it hidden there, like I was borrowing potential trouble, so I never did it again. I was relatively new to being a gun owner then, and it probably wouldn't effect me that way now, but I still don't feel a huge need to carry a pistol.

Now, if I could carry one of these things around over my shoulder...



and cut loose with a celebratory fusillade on occasion, that would be a totally different thing. I guess then, my problem is I can't readily conceal the stuff I want to carry. Anyway...

We got to the hotel a bit early to make sure we were not late, and to take advantage of the ever present complementary breakfast. It was pretty pissy, but the biscuits were ok. Soon, the dozen or so students had converged, and the class began. We went into a conference room and set down to start the class. The first part of it went from 8am to noon, with a few breaks in there for the obvious needs. We spent the first few hours filling out the required state government paperwork that came with our packet, like finger print sheets and things, and they took our picture for the I.D.

Usually a person has to handle all this stuff themselves aside from the class, but this guy and his wife, who together run the class, do most of that stuff for you. Their names are Ricky and Helen Wilson, and Helen's sister Diana Fundis. If you are interested, their number is (817) 838-2626. They do everything you need to set the paperwork up to send in to the state, including serve you pizza and donuts for lunch and snacks, all for the price of $110. Many other classes are cheaper, but you have to go somewhere else to get your fingerprints done, or provide your own passport photos, or find someone to notarize the paperwork. They do it all. I recommend them highly.

After lunch, we drove about a mile and a half over to their property and qualified with our pistols. They used to live on the property there, but then the airport was put in and the government went to all the people who had houses under the flight path and bought them out. They still have the land, and raise cows on it, but can't live there any more. Several abandoned houses line the street, and some of the farm or grazing land is for sale there. We drove on to the property and down to a range they have set up in front of a natural burm. Silhouetted targets were stapled to particle boards and the first half dozen of us stepped up to qualify.

The class requires you to shoot 50 rounds at the target from 3 , 5 , and finally 15 yards. You need to be able to score about 150 points to qualify. The center of the target (about 10 or 12 inches in diameter) provides 5 points, the next ring 4 points, and the rest of the figure 3 points. I walked up and took the far right position on the line, along with 5 other shooters who stood to my left. I didn't realize at the time, not having shot in that sort of situation before, but being on the right meant that as I tried to shoot accurately I was going to be pelted by spent shells from all the other shooters. A bit of a distraction. I shot well, considering that I hadn't shot that pistol in about 3 years. One round out of 50 went slightly outside the 5 point circle. The center of the target was eaten almost totally away. Felt like Dirty Harry, with my .380 smokin'.

Those of us who shot first then moved back and the next 6 folks took their turn. One guy was havin' real trouble. Every so often one of his rounds would impact above the targets on the hill side. And also, a few people had trouble with their semi-automatic pistols misfiring or jamming. The few guys who shot revolvers were always grinning at that. Thing is, if you qualify with a revolver, you can only carry a revolver after you get your card. My little Russian Makarov performed well. One of the guys made a joke that we should have shot in the 5 point circle until we were assured of qualifying, and then made all the others head shots. The instructor probably wouldn't have been amused. In the end everyone who shot qualified nicely, even the dude with the occasional wild aim.

After that bit of fun (and it was really fun), we went back to the hotel for the rest of our instruction, the rest of the finger printing, and the 50 question exam. The exam was one of those deals where they basically tell you everything that's going to be on it ahead of time. Some people were taking down all the answers as we went along, but I figured I could wing it. Sure enough, I missed one question out of 50 when the time came to take the exam. Happily though, it wasn't one of the questions pertaining to when and wear you can legally shoot someone. I paid attention when that stuff came up.

So now I have to finish a few items on the paperwork, get a money order for $140, and sent it all in to the state office in Austin. Supposedly, within about a month and a half, if everything works out right, they will send me a card with my picture on it, like my drivers license, that will allow me to begin to carry a concealed hand gun. Chances are I won't carry one, but it will be very nice to be able to buy guns at gun shows and such without having to go through the background check. That is basically the reason I'm doing this. Maybe I'll take somethin' along on road trips. Who knows. Anyway, it was a fun and informative 10 hours, after which my buddy and I spent about 2 hours walking around the nearby Cabella's. We thought, "what the hell, we're here."

After that it was back to Ft. Worth, a stop by a place on Camp Bowie Blvd, across from the old theatre, where we picked up a couple of fajita wraps for dinner, and then back to his place where we ate, visited with his wife, who came home from work at about the same time that we got back, and then we watched about the last half of "The Outlaw Josey Wales" on their nice high def TV. I was on the road back home by 10pm, got to the house by about 1230am, and was in bed by 1245. Slept till about 930am Sunday, spent some time surfing the web and catching up on emails, and then drove my folks and sister to Austin to eat Mexican food at Papasito's. Back home by 930 or 10pm. Like I said, it was a busy weekend, but I don't feel tired. Anyway, I'd recommend anyone in the area who is interested in the course to call Randy. He's a cool guy, cowboy type, who lays it out pretty strait for ya. No bullshit at all. Enjoy.

This'll kill ya.

A friend sent me a little shot of wisdom. I thought I'd share in a short but hight quality post...

The definition of Political Correctness:

A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous leftstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

Damn, is all I'll say. Priceless.

And check this out. Some Frenchies having too much fun somewhere like Chad. Got to be the coolest job in history. And this will slay ya as well. Ok, those Top Gear guys have to coolest jobs. Love that show. Enjoy.

Well, I'm Baaaaack.

But I didn't take any pictures. I know, what a dumb ass. Well, I found these on the web for you to get something of a feel for the place.





I fully intended to get a disposable camera along the way, but would you believe we didn't see a single Wal Mart between Llano and Study butte. Other people took pictures. Maybe I'll get copies and be able to post em. We'll see. Settle for this one (click on it to see the larger view).



This is a composite shot of the alternate camp and chili cookoff, but the one I was at looks very similar. Lots of campers, trucks, tents, and home made shelters right out of some Hollywood western set. Yep, there's an alternate cook-off in Terlingua. There's even strife among chili cooks. The original cook-off started in about 1967 at the site where we camped this last weekend. Somehow, some time back in the 80s, there was a falling out among the sponsors of the cookoff, probably over the increasingly rowdy nature of the competition. Lots of drunks and idiots showing up to fight, flash their tits and get pissed drunk over a weekend in the desert, all of which detracted from the original feel of the weekend. So the calmer folks (more establishment, but still rowdy in their way) stayed in the original camp site, and the others bought land 4 miles down the road and built the place you see above.

To give you an example of the difference between the two, at the original spot, where we camped out this last weekend, there were about 120 chili entries in the cookoff. At the other, wilder site, there were 340 entries. Thing is, while the cooks were cooking chili, the other entertainment included a chili wrestling contest (think mud wrestling and substitute chili for mud) and a whole series of wet t-shirt contests. At our camp, we had lots of folks doing floor shows and karaoke renditions of Blues Brothers and Grand Old Opry classics. LOTS of drinking and fun but not like the other place. Ho hum.

Last year, when I was busy rafting the Colorado and my buds went to the cookoff without me, one of the younger guys in our group went to the other camp and took lots of pictures of the goings on there. When he got home, the local grocery store refused to develop his pictures. I guess that's an argument to get a digital camera. I wanted to see the sights, but wasn't in my own vehicle, so I was at the mercy of the others, most of whom have ether been there and don't think it's a big deal, or have never been over there or aren't interested. It costs $25 bucks to get the plastic bracelet that allows you to get in, and most aren't interested enough to pay the fee. I couldn't just commandeer someone else's car and go, so I jumped at the chance to check out the scene when that opportunity arose. As with many adventures, it happened completely out of the blue.

After the judging and awards had been handed out at our camp, with most of the awards going to the same old folks as last time, many of whom are part of a cooking group that is looking more and more like the chili version of the Medellin cartel, a few of the cooks wanted to go to the other camp and see the judging there. They knew some of the folks over there and wanted to see how they did in the judging. They were both quite loaded, so they needed a designated driver. The cops there are on the prowl for anyone who looks the least tipsy, as you can imagine. I'm not a drinker, so I was elected. I think they also maybe wanted a very large sober escort. Couldn't believe my good fortune.

As you can see from the picture above, the rowdy camp is a huge sprawling place, with vehicles driving around, churning up dust 24 hours, and everyone going from place to place in golf carts and 4 wheelers. It's got to be god awful in the heat of the day, but an night it took on the feel of the doomsday settlement in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome". We drove into the place, past the gate where we flashed our bracelet IDs. I'm driving their huge truck, worried some idiot in a 4-wheeler is gonna end up under the tires, simultaneously scanning the scenery for anything that might live up to the stories I've heard. I need to see some boobs or this whole thing is gonna be a bust.

We came to the first road block intersection and the DPS troopers waved us through. Cops were all over this place, trying to manage the legions of fun seekers, having a hell of a time doing it from what I could see. Guess they like to see the occasional tete as much as any other guy. There were vehicles moving all over, bumper to bumper, with intoxicated girls and guys yelling to one another and making gestures. A great time was being had by all. Wet t-shirts were in evidence all over, but I was too busy trying not to run somebody over to take a close look. We drove on toward the red covered amphitheatre (on the left in the above picture) where the judging was going on. We parked (I parallel parked that huge friggin' thing), walked over to the judging and looked for the folks they wanted to meet up with.

Sure enough, they were there, parked in their vehicles, standing on top to see the action. My friends introduced me, and then while they watched the judging I went wandering to see what was up. The t-shirt I was wearing went over big, at both camps. It has a silhouette of a Russian machine gun and red letters reading "thin the Herd". Several people pulled me aside to tell me that they loved it. I kept hoping to see lots of illicit merriment, but I guess I was too late. Turns out it wasn't much of a party compared to some of the things I saw in the Philippines or Thailand when I was teaching on the ships back in the early 90s. There had been lots of fun earlier, but we were just too late, and probably not in the right part of the camp.

After the awards were given out, they set off lots of fireworks to celebrate the end of the cook-off, which really looked cool on the clear moonlit night with the mountains as their backdrop. The sight of all those car headlights running in an endless line, the occasional 4-wheeler and police lights dancing against the hillsides, and the mix of loud rock music, revving engines, and the masses of humanity, all convinced me that next year I'd see to it that I came back in time to see the real stuff.

We went back to our camp and my friends were amazed to hear where I'd been. They'd thought I was helping to work the gate. We ate chicken fried steak and veggies, and later we walked over and saw a great show. They have live bands every night of the cook-off, culminating in the big show Saturday night. There's a guy who's been playing there for 15 years named Mark David Manders, but this time the big draw was Gary P. Nunn. I got to stand right off the stage and hear him play "London Homesick Blues", which is just about my favorite country song, and just about the best cut off Jerry Jeff Walkers album "Viva Terlingua". Me and all the crowd singing along with that classic... It was a perfect end to the whole thing, but it wasn't quite over yet.

We got up at about 6am and started taking down the camp, packing our shit in the trucks. We said goodbye to all the great folks we camped with and hit the road for the 8 hour drive back to Killeen. On the way home, we stopped in Llano and ate excellent BBQ at Cooper's. People come from all over to eat at that place, and my friends had never been there before. We got our food and sat down and saw that the Cowboys/Redskins game was tied up at 19-19 with about 4 minutes left to play. How cool would it have been if only those pussies had been able to protect that ball and win that friggin' game. Damn. Anyway, it was a great time anyway. Got home, stripped by the washer and dryer and took a long shower. Doing a second load as wee speak. Back to work tomorrow morning. It'll take a week or so to get all the crap cleaned and ready for the next trip.

Putting a few finishing touches to the gear, and heading off for a weekend at Terlingua (Viva!), near Big Bend.

Click on this to enlarge it. Purdy eh?


The dudes and I will be taking part in a chili cook-off there this weekend. I'll be eating LOTS of good BBQ (ribs and brisket), and sleeping like a baby in my tent. You should see my setup. It's a sight to behold. I do this well, and I believe in my comfort.



This was taken on the beach, somewhere along the Buffalo National River, a few summers back. Note the air mattress, sheets, and comforter. Everything you see there fits nicely in that red dry bag. For colder weather, I'll have a down duvet, down sleeping bag, comforter, flannel sheets, and a pillow. Was I shitting you when I said I know how to do this? I have it all packed in a moderate sized bag, ready to go. I'll see if I can get a few pictures this weekend. The fried chicken mom made us for the drive is chilling in the fridge, and I'm about to get up from this thing and put the make on the brochett shrimp, which is what I'll be serving tomorrow for hors d'oeuvres. It should be nice. Bacon wrapped shrimp, stuffed with cheese and peppers, covered in butter and grilled. Eh? And somebody asked me if I could cook.

And finally, this cartoon sums up my feelings about the season perfectly.



You guys have a good weekend, and I'll see ya later.

Well, that was bizarre.

That was a long blank weekend. Left town early Monday, leaving the blog with a blank white page. Figured that Blogger was screwed up somehow and that they'd probably be fixed by the time I got back. I got home this afternoon from spending the night in Dallas, and the friggin' thing was still blank. I could go into the dashboard and the template, but when I clicked on "view blog", I'd get a blank page. So I went in to the Template and republished, refreshed the screen to view the changes, and there was this nasty orgy of fat people goin' down on the screen. Made me wish for the blank white page again. So here's somethin' better to look at, with a holiday theme.

So all is right with the world. The trip to Dallas was fun. Stopped by my gun smith on the way and picked up a new toy. He built me a Hungarian side folder, but didn't charge me for the build. When I brought up the parts a few months back, he noticed that I had an authentic Hungarian receiver in the kit. Turns out he'd been looking for one for a long time for a build he had set up for himself. I remember him asking me If I'd trade my receiver for another and him saying something about giving me a deal on the build. So I was happily surprised when I asked him what I owed him and he said "nothing". Birthday came early this year.

Drove on up to Big "D" and met up with my buddy and his daughter at a book store near their house in Duncanville, after which we went to an Italian place just off 67 for lunch. Had a big, steaming Stromboli and some good bread. Then we just piddled around for a while. We went to his office for a bit, to a very cool gun store near SMU that specializes in antiques, then to a used CD store. The gun store is Jackson Armory on Rosedale. They have lots of stuff from the eighteenth and nineteenth century, as well as the modern era. They had a really nice old wheel lock rifle that must be 150 years old. Beautiful, but over in the corner, along with the cool old antiques, there were a few crappy looking Rumanian AKMs. Even saw a few Chinese SKSs. I love the old stuff, old civil war era rifles, but Kalashnikovs are like crack for me. Love 'em. Felt like going out to the trunk and pullin' out my nice new Hungarian folder, but didn't want to show off.

Spent a few hours flipping through the stacks at the CD store, and then bought "Grace", by Jeff Buckly. Maybe some of you have heard the cut "hallelujah" from this album. Very nice. Check it out. Later we met up with a friend of my buddies who works as a public defender in Dallas, and his girlfriend, and we headed for the theatre. He has one of those "Had enough, Vote Democrat" signs up in his yard. I tell ya, I can get along with anyone. We went to see "Flags of Our Fathers", and then to Mariano's to eat Mexican food. They hadn't seen the movie yet, and I wanted to see it again. Still very effecting the second time. Thing is, so far the crowds in the theatres I've attended have been very light, and mostly older folks. I wonder what kind of business the movie is doing. MSN says it's third, with about $10.2 mil. in box office so far. Hope the young folks go to see it. It's really good.

Anyway, as soon as we sat down they started asking me to explain all the history behind the film, to put it in context. The P.D. and his girlfriend, also a lawyer in Dallas, were completely clueless about the whole thing, knowing little or nothing about the war and the context. We noted that the flag raising happened at the start of the battle, and that it went on for a month or so after that. He then made a joke about how if Bush had been president then, he would have gone on TV after the flag went up on Suribachi and there would have been a sign behind him saying "Mission Accomplished". I had to bight my tong. Wanted to say something about "Yea, and as soon as you libs realized how bloody the battles were gonna be you'd be calling it a 'quagmire' and looking for a way to quit." The girlfriend said something about how today's generation couldn't have stood the pressure of that war. I tried to say something about how people today are very different from the generation that grew up in the 20s and 30s, but that the guys fighting in Faludjah had done a pretty good job, considering the environment they have to do it in. Noted the journalists traveling with the soldiers to put up the flag on the hill in the movie, and that today's version of Ernie Pile isn't just satisfied reporting the American side of things. He wants to show enemy video of American soldiers getting their heads blown off by snipers too. It didn't go over well. They've made their minds up. That's cool. So have I. Again, I can get along with almost anybody.

Then the subject of the new gun came up. I had to explain the whole process of getting the parts set and having it built, assuring them that it is all perfectly legal. I had to listen to the predictable line from the chick about "why do you need a gun like that?" And really had to restrain myself from saying something like "well, it allows me to have this stupid conversation every time I come up to this town and meet up with you liberal assholes." I explained very calmly that it wasn't a "need" thing, but a "want" thing. After she said something like "I just don't like those machine things", someone happily changed the subject. Ya gotta love clueless idiots with confirmed opinions about things they really know nothing about. I hear she's really good in a courtroom though, getting all those drug dealers and corrupt businessmen off on legal technicalities. So who's doing more harm to society, lawyers or gun owners? It's a quandary.

Got up early this morning and we went to a waffle house for breakfast. There was a 35 minute wait at the Cracker Barrel. We parted there, and I drove home and got to the house by about 1230. The folks called and postponed the planned birthday trip for sis to the Outback till Tuesday, so I'm here doin' laundry and thinking about which Chinese food place I'll patronize this evening. Anyway, I hope all your weekends were fun. I'm gonna' relax and start thinking about my next adventure. I'm getting psyched to go to Terlingua this Thursday. I'll have a short week of school and then four days and three nights of camping and eating awesome chili and barbecue. So you take care and try not to be too jealous. Maybe I'll have pictures to post when I get back.

Here's to a big sweaty orgy of fun for everybody on another Fatty Friday.

Ok, eeew. And dig Chewbacca there in the background. Very nice.


It's that time again. Another week has slipped away, never to be seen again. I say good riddance. It was a mixed bag for me. Started out good. Nice rainy days, with the sound of the rain welcoming me to consciousness in the wee hours of the morning. LOVE waking up to that shit. Love driving to work in it too, so long as it's not a real turd floater. God knows we need the stuff.

I'm at the end of the second week of this semester. The first set of exams are about to be loosed upon the unsuspecting students. Next week will be fun. First exams just in time for Halloween. Nice. Having a great time with a few classes, with the others are harmlessly moving along as usual. It's funny how one class will have a mix of students who speak up and joke and make the class fun, while another class will sit there and stare back in a trance. The whole thing has settled into the normal groove, and I just found out that I'm not going to get paid at the end of this month.

This is one of the real pissy down sides of this sort of gig. If they don't start the semester at the right time of the month, within the first two weeks of the month, the administrators supposedly don't have enough time to get the payroll paperwork in so it can be processed. So we adjunct instructors have to go an extra two weeks before we get paid. If yer like me, and you have so many bills goin out that you're living from one paycheck to another, times like this can really be a pain. Basically, we'll end up getting our money in three larger checks, rather than four regular ones. That will be nice, but the bill collectors don't care if some dufus in the main campus fucked up. Anyway, such is the life of those of us who toil away doing part-time piece work.

Also found out this week that the army is pushing a new thing for next year. They want the soldiers to be able to get more classes done in a shorter amount of time, so the college is going to try a new thing in January. They'll set up a few experimental classes that will last two hours a day, five days a week, for a month. Very much like the mini terms we do over the three week summer of Christmas breaks. I'll get the same pay for teaching a month long class that I get for teaching an eight week class or a sixteen week class (same total amount of contact hours with each). Sound appetizing? I'm psyched about it, just so long as I don't have to give up a few other classes to make the time for it.

Trading one class for another won't work. We just won't agree to teach the classes if it means we're losing money on the deal, not that the administrators would worry about that. Their main motivation is to get more asses in seats and sell more books, but they don't care if we get fucked out of a paycheck now and then. Cool. I know the situation and I sign the contracts, but it amazes me when they tell us how much they appreciate us at the faculty meetings and then try to dick us whenever it will furthers the cause. We just look at each other and shake out heads.

Taking dad to out eat Chinese food and then to another high school football game tonight. His alma mater sucks big nasty dicks at football. They've won one game so far, against the kids I teach each morning in Florence. How funny is that? It's still good times though, and dad loves it. I'll treasure these memories one of these days. Driving to Dallas Saturday to visit with a buddy, go to some new gun store he's found, and probably go see "Flags of our Fathers" again. Might even drop by the gun smith on the way and pick up a new toy. Life goes on. Sis turns a year older this weekend, so we'll be celebrating Sunday over a "bloomin' onion" at the Outback, and then probably some really sinful goodness at the marble slab ice cream place.

Next week will be lots of fun. Exams on Monday and Tuesday, Halloween in the Blogospere (should be fun), and then I'm going to a chilli cookoff in Terlingua, down near the Big Bend, from Thursday to Sunday. So everyone have a great weekend and I'll see ya later. Maybe pictures from Terlingua.

The end of a lazy but good weekend.

Had all sorts of plans for this weekend, most of which never materialized. Funny how that happens. I was going to head down to Austin to visit a gun show Saturday and check out the state history museum down there with a friend and his family, and then I was going to go up to Dallas Sunday to visit with another buddy (one of the Enchanted Rock campers). We were going to go to visit some gun store he's found up there and eat some nice food, and then see "Flags of our Fathers", which both of us were dying to see. I ended up not connecting with ether guy, sleeping in both days, doing about 5 loads of laundry (sheets and bedspreads and shit), cleaning up around my desk, going through and then throwing away a lot of old magazines and catalogs that have been piling up for months. Finally, I ended up spending Sunday afternoon with the folks and my sister, eating mom's fabulous spaghetti and taking my sister to see the 5pm showing of "Flags". What an amazing film.

Some of you may be disappointed to know that this isn't really a film about the Battle of Iwo Jima. Like the John Wayne classic, "Sands of Iwo Jima", this is really a film about the men who were there and what they went through before and after. It's about the flag raising, the men who did it, and what happened to them later. But It's really about how important that flag raising picture was to the people at the home front, and how the government used it to raise billions of dollars to help fund the war effort as it was grinding down to the end. The film is very moving, as I expected it to be. The scenes with the author interviewing the old veterans who are remembering the events of the war, and the story of the author and his elderly father had me just about balling. It was all I could do to restrain myself from blubbering like a fool. My sister too. Every time I see a film like this, like the opening and ending scenes in "Saving Private Ryan" where Ryan as an old man is walking through the cemetery, it makes me think how short a time I have left with my dad, how much I'll miss him one day, and how much I love him. We're losing about 1500 WW2 veterans a day now. One of these days, probably not too far in the future, my own father will be part of that statistic. We owe those guys everything we have. They gave us a huge inheritance, and I'm afraid it's being slowly pissed away. It makes me very mad to see it.

The scenes of the preparation and the battle are amazing, and the scenes of the bond drive after the battle (the events are interwoven back and forth throughout the film) are very moving and tragic, particularly when it comes to the story of Ira Hayes. Tony Curtis played Hayes in a movie back in the early 60s that is actually very good, but this version is much better. You see how he was repeatedly degraded by everyone along the way, and how he had no chance to grieve for his comrades who were lost, resorting to the temporary comfort of the bottle to deal with it all. Hayes' story is really the story of how combat screws you up for ever, and how some guys deal with it a bit better than others, but how you are never really the same. It's something we know a lot more about now, and something we need to always remember.

I was basically aware of much of the story going in to the film, even though I've never read the book that the film is based on. It's a story that's been told before, but this retelling is well worth seeing. The things they can do now with computer graphics makes you think you are seeing the real events unfold in front of you. It all amazes me, but the heart of this film, and the real value of it is in the emotion that comes from the human story. It's about these guys and their families. The mothers and the fathers, and the nation that desperately needed these heroes, who protested over and over that they were not really heroes. It's for all the sons who have never really been able to know their dads, and what they went through as young men. I've been saving pictures off the web ever since I've had this friggin thing, and a few are from Iwo. If you go to see the film, make sure you stick around and sit through the end credits. They show a lot of pictures like these that brings the events of the film into focus again. Here are the real guys. Enjoy.

The landing craft moving in to the beach.


Artillery shelling Japanese positions.


Supply ships unloading all the stuff they needed to fight the battle.


Marines, living and dead, strewn along the beach.


A Marine with a Thompson, taking aim.


The detritus of war, with Mount Surobatchi in the background.

Some of these are Hilarious, spot on. Enjoy.

Q. What is the difference between a drug dealer and a hooker?
A. A hooker can wash her crack and sell it again.

Q. What's a mixed feeling?
A. When you see your mother-in-law backing off a cliff in your new car.

Q. What's the height of conceit?
A. Having an orgasm and calling out your own name.

Q. What's the definition of macho?
A. Jogging home from your vasectomy.

Q. What's the difference between a G-spot and a golf ball?
A. A guy will actually search for a golf ball

Q. Do you know how New Zealanders practice safe sex?
A. They spray paint X's on the back of the sheep that kick!

Q.Why is divorce so expensive?
A. Because it's worth it!

Q. What is a Yankee?
A. The same as a quickie, but a guy can do it alone.

Q. What do Tupperware and a walrus have in common?
A. They both like a tight seal.

Q. What do a Christmas tree and priest have in common?
A. Their balls are just for decoration.

Q.What is the difference between "ooooooh"and "aaaaaaah"?
A. About three inches.

Q. Why do gay men wear ribbed condoms?
A. For traction in the mud.

Q: What's the difference between purple and pink?
A. The grip.

Q. How do you find a blind man in a nudist colony?
A. It's not hard.

Q: How do you circumcise a hillbilly?
A: Kick his sister in the jaw.

Q: What's the difference between a girlfriend and a wife?
A: 45 pounds.

Q: What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband?
A: 45 minutes.

Q: Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
A: Breasts don't have eyes.

Q: If the dove is the bird of peace, what is the bird of true love?
A. The swallow.

Q: What is the difference between medium and rare?
A: Six inches is medium, eight inches is rare.

Q. Why do women rub their eyes when they get up in the morning?
A. They don't have balls to scratch!

Oh shit, I was surfin' and I think I accidentally found the Cuban governments blog.

Go to this site and check it out. On second thought, it must be Miguel's personal blog because it looks too amateurish to be from Castro's propaganda machine. They've had too many years of practice to put out shit like this. Anyway, Peace out comrades. If Hitler were alive today, chillin' in some South American hacienda, you think he'd have a blog? Lets ask him.

Hey, remember a while back when I posted those pictures of the belly tattoos with the strategically placed belly buttons?

Well, here's the female version, I guess. Avert your eyes if yer squeamish. I found a T-shirt that had an image like that on it in Olongopo, Subic Bay back in December of 1990. Was on my way to the Persian Gulf on the USS Ranger. The image was that of a hissing tiger, but on looking more closely one eventually made out the curves of the ladies legs, and everything else. Needless to say, in many ways, Olongopo was an eye opener.

Here's another awesome picture from that astronomy site.

This is a shot taken from the shadow of Saturn, looking toward
the eclipse of the sun. Be sure and click on it to get the full effect.
Wild eh? Totally cool.

What kind of car would you be?

Try this little test. It's amusing. I was a Lamborgini. Go figure. And I'm so happy for Jeffrey, winning PR. Sucks that Uli and the others had to lose though. Their stuff was amazing. Knocks me out that they can come up with beautiful stuff like that. Wow. Cool car they gave him too. I'm gonna miss that friggin' show.

Most of the really important things I learned as a kid I learned at recess...

And now stupid shit like this is making it impossible for today's kids to learn many of those valuable lessons. Shister lawyers and stupid lazy parents are making it so that the kids can't be allowed to play outside for fear that someone will sue the school if little Johnny stubs his toe, or even if little Jane gets here self esteem bruised by not being picked for a team. I had to live with that little bit of public humiliation on a regular basis when I was a kid, and I knew it was because I sucked at the games they wanted to play.

Turns out I didn't care very much about their games, and rather than be hurt by the rejection, I learned to tell them to go fuck themselves when they didn't pick me. But if I'd wanted to be picked, I'd have worked harder to get better at the game. I had all those options back then, and the decision I was allowed to make is one of the things that made me the guy I am today. Now, all you have to do is go crying to the local representative of the Nanny State and they step forward to stop everyone from playing the games at all.

What sort of lesson does that teach the kids? What sort of country will they foist on their kids a generation from now? It's no wonder so many of the little bastards are fat as hell and spending all their time playing with computers. This nation is going to hell fast. Makes me sick.

A friend sent me these. Enjoy.

(click on this image to get the full effect...)



And in case you need to insult somebody:

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
-- Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
-- Winston Churchill (about Clement Attlee)

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries
with great pleasure."
-- Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a
reader to the dictionary."
-- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
-- Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time
reading it."
-- Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any
man I know."
-- Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
-- Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I
approved of it."
-- Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
-- Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new Play,
bring a friend... if you have one."
-- George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there
is one."
-- Winston Churchill, in response

"I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here."
-- Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
-- John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
-- Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."
-- Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
-- Paul Keating

"He had delusions of adequacy."
-- Walter Kerr

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."
-- Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt."
-- Robert Redford

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the
sum of human knowledge."
-- Thomas Brackett Reed

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears,
but by diligent hard work, he overcame them."
-- James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
-- Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
-- Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address
on it?"
-- Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
-- Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever
they go."
-- Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts...for
support rather than illumination."
-- Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music.
-- Billy Wilder


And...........


In Memoriam

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common
Sense, who has been with us for many years.


No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were
long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.


He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as
knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the
worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend
more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not
children, arein charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set into place. Reports of a
six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a
classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after
lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only
worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing
the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a Band Aid to a student
but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant
and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments
became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals
received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself
from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for
assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her
lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and
Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son,
Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers: I Know My Rights; Someone
Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral
because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and
do nothing.