Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Poor Timmy!

Haley! Timmy is trapped in the old Gunter mine! Go get help Haley, HURRY!

Wat'chu talking 'bout?
"Why? Why should *I* go help?"
"Well... because Timmy is your friend?"
"Really? And just why is Timmy my friend? Because he knows my name? Because I allow him to pet me? Because he gives me some of his hot dog from time to time? No! That makes me his servant not his friend!"


Yeah! Right! I'll get right on it!

"You are going to have to do better than that "He's your friend" shit! "
"Then do it because I said so!"
"HA! You don't even have body hair! You can't be MY alpha! So in your dreams bizarrely shaped hairless one! I in the meantime I am going to lay on your bed while you are trying to change the bedding and fart on your pillow for even asking me to do such a dumb-ass thing!"

Monday, January 23, 2012

I'll be rich in no time now!

Seeing my stock broker reduced to such depths yesterday really hit home for me. I mean a one time very successful financial whiz reduced to panhandling out in the street really got me to thinking.

In the art of business when you see a need you strive to provide something to fill that need!

Clearly there is need out there but what can I, one little nerdy redneck, do to fill it?

Yeah, I think this is really the thing!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Times are TOUGH!

Last Friday I went to see my stock broker. I usually do this stuff online but he was paying me for a change so I had to go see him.

I keyed the address into good old Map quest and I thought "Great! Out in front of the mall. THAT will really help narrow down where to find him in the mall! STUPID MAP QUEST!" Here see for yourself... (click pic to embiggen if you wish. (yeah, I make up words, leave me alone!))


I mean right smack dab in the middle of the road. C'mon!!

Well after a few laps around the building. I called him again and he said he had seen me drive by three times and look south, can I see him waving. Oh Shit! There he was! I had been avoiding eye contact with him which turned out to be really embarrassing in the end 

My Broker!
WOW. Retractions all the way around.... Map Quest is dead on! He was in the road! I'm sorry Map quest...

MMMMMmmm, I shore do loves me some humble pie y'all!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Random Shorties today...

I have a lot to do today and I have thought up a few this week none of which is long enough to make a decent post so I'm just gonna group up the shorties here...

There has been conjecture that perhaps Jesus was actually married. I just realized he was not. How do I know? When he was resurrected he actually left the tomb. A 33 year old married man would have been happy in the silence of the tomb. "Thank you father but I always wanted a man cave, I'll just hang here a while."

Social issues:

So why, why is it that now we call Killer Bees "Africanized". They used to just be killer bees.  Just out of curiosity are they gonna kill us with AIDS, famine or civil war. Maybe they will just cut off our hands?

So Why, WHY is an Orca which is only half black still a "killer" whale? Hmmmmmm? So does that make Obama a killer President? I mean other than the economy.

Why, why is it that the black cereal makes you go Koo Koo but the white cereal is Grrrrrrreat!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

I HAVE THE POWER!

My wallet was stolen last November. The credit cards were replaced within 10 days.

I am still waiting for a new a drivers licence. I was in Illinois then. I got online and sure enough I could get a duplicate issued and mailed ONLY to my home from the website. Makes sense and no problem-o because then my son could send it to me up north.

Ironically I had to wait for a credit card to be re-issued so I could use it on the website to pay the fee for a duplicate licence. :)

So in December I still don't have a licence so I check my credit card statement and the modest payment to the state of Texas never hit so I assumed I somehow or another did not complete the website correctly. You know some silly like not hitting the confirm button AFTER hitting the submit button. (Being a UNIX guy the plebeian "Are you sure?" thing of the GUI baby universe often throws me off! ;) )

So I hit the Texas  "Department of Public Safety" (State Police) website again and ran through the process again looking hard for the "confirm: or the "are you really, really, REALLY sure" button and I am pretty sure I got it right this time.

So along comes January and still no licence (several blog posts detailing many Christmas travel adventures with no valid ID will be written, this I SWEAR!)   So I get online again and I get a big red box saying call this phone number. Well it turns out I have been flagged for trying to get two drivers licences online and now I have to come in person to get it.

No problem, I moved home over Christmas so a in situ meeting is not the issue it would have been in Nov. or Dec. So I head on over.

The line stretches out the door into the parking lot. thank goodness it was a nice Texas day, in Illinois this line could be deadly (literally). When my spot in line gets to the door I see this GEM of government think....


A tough call; laugh or cry? I chose hysterical cackling followed by sobbing in the shower when I got home.

At first I thought I could have made an appointment and not stood in line?  Damn! THEN the stunning reality, the full soul crushing weight of the sign sinks in fully.... Even when you have an appointment you STILL have to stand in this line before your appointment will be "honored".     

As a man who thrives on efficiency I begin to shiver, then giggle then drool while still giggling. As a defense mechanism from such madness my mind detaches and floats away into a safer happier place. Why my mind chose to "vacation" in an old vision of the LSD inspired movie "Yellow Submarine" I may never fully understand. (Click play on the song below and keep reading, its a great sound track for the surreal tale to follow)

video

Only after vomiting off the edge of the sidewalk do I begin to regain contact with reality and as my super-ego reconnects with the wet ware I catch myself mumbling "yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine". Whoa!

I was getting many dirty looks from my fellow line inmates for vomiting but as I wiped my mouth I simply stated, "You did not think I was going to give up my place in line for that did you?" 
The dirty looks become glares.
Never one to back down in the face of reason I just growl, "You folks just better pray I don't have to poo before this is over" 

No more eye contact is made with me. I have firmly establish my alpha-ness over this line herd!    

Anyway, I eventually work my way up the head of the line.  

Sidebar... Back in the 90's I fell in hate with our Governor here at the time, you may have heard of him. George W Bush. He signed a law requiring all Texans to give their thumbprints like convicted criminals in order to receive a drivers licences. The Prints are digitally encoded onto a magnetic strip on the back of the licence so they can swipe you license and make sure you and the licence match.

Hi big brudder! Wanna play some catch?   I realize I have these old fashioned ideas about the Constitution and right to privacy and such so I was outraged. Me and perhaps four others (by my count)

Back to the present story... deep in the belly of the beast.... I reach the lady with the computer! "Ok sir, lost licence, no problem, I just need your social security card?" 
"Ooooo, I don't have it on me."
"I am sorry sir, you will have to get it, we need it to identify you" 
"OH!", tapping my side of her computer monitor, "You have my picture right here don't you"?
"I am sorry sir, I will need your social security card to identify you."
Pointing at the thumbprint reader "Uh, you have my thumbprints in that system there and here is a reader, you can't match that? After all that is why fearless leader Bush made us submit them right?" (sadly noting there can actually be benefits to evil which is why I suppose so many sheep accept it)
"Sir, I have to have your Social Security card to identify you."
"Do you know how easy it is to fake one of those? Do you know how long I stood in this line? Whereas the data you have in this computer is secure and I don't have to stand in line again"
"Sir, I have to have your Social Security card to identify you"
"So you are saying that if I was a mass murderer and the state police (you!) arrested me right now I would be executed as John Doe because I don't have a social Security card?  

Silence.

In exasperation at the prospect of another day in line I simply say "FUCK!" and turn to walk away.
In that snotty tone only a public facing civil "servant" can use she ordered me to "watch my language"
"No ma'am! I still live in this funny place called America and I actually have the right to be rude and crude. So FUCK!!"

I'm not proud but it needed to be said... much like lancing a boil. It ain't pretty but it's utterly necessary.

OK! Irony tiiiiiiiiiiiime! Are you ready? 'cause this here is the kicker!

If I had not double submitted on the DPS (State Police) website I would have had my licence without showing my SOCIAL SECURITY CARD! Ponder on that a bit people! Let that sink in.......Yeah, I know right!?

So yesterday when I posted a much shorter and less humorous version of this rant on facebook I closed with "Rick Perry has been Governor of this state for 12 years, if this is the best our state agencies can do after 12 years of his "leadership" then he has no business being president"

Today he withdrew from the race! CNN Story Here.

BWUH HA HA HA! Can you feel my power young jedi's? I did not know I had it either but you people better start being nicer to me.



{waving three fingers....} "Its very warm in here ma'am; You want to remove your top..."

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Obsolete but cool!

Most of you know my fascination with history. We are all standing atop an inverted pyramid of technology.

The apex of that pyramid is the sharpened rock. Then the antelope thigh bone. With a simple thigh bone in hand to multiply strength via the lever primitive man is no longer an easy kill for every predator on the Savannah! In fact the tides turned and smart predators leave those clawless, toothless primates alone.

Towards the  top of the pyramid and responsible for a huge surge towards the top is an old invention that changed the world yet many  people have forgotten they even existed!  I think it's time to reflect on that ancient technology if only for a moment and recognize it's genius!

BOOKS!

The acronym stands for Bio-Optical Organized Knowledge Storage.

It was a very cool concept! They wrote (then later printed) knowledge on paper frames and bound the paper stacks together and here is the key, they gave each paper frame an address! Then this is where it gets really cool! Then they used analog indexes (Yes ANALOG!) in both the front and back of BOOKS which contained analog pointers to page frame addresses inside the Knowledge Store so you could randomly access desired data without having to do sequential reads from the file header to the end-of-file marker thus eliminating full data scans resulting in a vast reduction in required I/O for a given data fetch!

It greatest flaw though was it was always a single-threaded process. Latch wait times for multiple BOOKS scans could run into minutes or even hours.

Still, it was absolutely brilliant stuff even if it is deeply obsolete now.

;)

Monday, January 16, 2012

Good thing she is pretty

I have posted twice about an old girlfriend named Cindy She does not "do the Internet thing" so i can kiss and tell here.

As I posted here,  at first when she could not get my name right I really did not think much of it since I have a bad case of mangled name disease myself. I mean I can remember the displacement of every engine I have ever owner and if it was an auto engine its' SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)  reliability ranking. Still, I mangle names. Go figure

I first realized she may not be all that brite that when we had been seeing each other for a few months and she called up bored and wanted me to come over. I told her that Erika (my room mate of nearly 5 years at that point) had been working a lot lately, I had barely seen her in a month and she was leaving on a 2 week vacation in the morning, I wanted to hang out with her tonight and catch up. In a voice so loud Erica could hear her  from across the room she demanded to know "WHO THE HELL IS THIS ERICA WOMAN!"
"Uh, my landlord slash room mate for years now."
"Oh"

That was my first real glimmer, there were many more glaring spotlights to come. We broke up last fall but remain friends.

After I moved back to Dallas.... I SWEAR TO GOD THIS IS TRUE! No exaggeration for comedic effect here! After I moved back to Dallas I got a text from her asking what my new area code was, she would like to call me but did not know my number so all she could do was text.

I swear!

Did I ever mention she used to me a model?

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Redneck side feels neglected.

For the last couple of weeks I have really been neglecting my redneck side. I have spent a lot of time on the computer and NOT gaming {gasp!}, I have not built anything or even destroyed anything. No off roading and no camping (since I got caught in the Memphis blizzard anyway! Does stranded at a rest stop count as "camping"?)

So for the last two weeks I have really neglected the 'ol inner redneck and he starting to get petulant. Trust me the last thing you want around is a petulant redneck!

At least one thing nerds and rednecks have in common is they are both lazy. Nerds love to call it efficiency but it amounts tot he same thing, how can I accomplish X with the least possible effort? So how can we de-peutualize the inner redneck?


Oh yeah, this makes him happy, for now at least.

That will do for now... I am back in Texas now and next weekend we have our big annual festival that is kinda geared towards rednecks. The festival title is simple..."Killin Thangs" (can you believe the spel chkr does not like our festival name what a dimmy!) That will cheer the inner redneck up tremendously. Note to self, I need ammo though, I broke open my last 1,000 round crate! EEEp!  

Friday, January 6, 2012

Sonic lied and my appetite died

OR

Chefs Suck Again!

So I pulled into Sonic breakfast yesterday morning! I (used to) love, Love LOVE Sonic.

I look a the menu...

Yeah! Thats the ticket for a hungry redneck clearing brush from his grossly overgrown house!
 So that work of art is what I ordered . This is what I got. What the hell is THIS ?...


Lies, Lies, LIES!

I am not really sure how but I AM  sure that somehow George Bush is to blame for this atrocity!

Oh,  the second headline of "chefs suck again"...I am only ripping on Chefs because 3 months ago I would have eaten this without a thought. Terry you are such an asshole to feed me like a living a god for 2 months and ruin me!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Chefs SUCK

Here is a post I meant to make anyway but another bloggers post about prepared food got me motivated...

Erika's residency in Springfield is nearly up and houses don't move that fast these days so I moved out Nov 1 (3 or 4 th actually and I STLL have stuff there! {sigh} being a nerd does have its downsides)

So I moved in with a new room mate, a working chef. As I moved in he began to unceremoniously go through my boxes marked "food" and throw most of it into a plastic tub labeled food bank. 

"Rob, I have very few rules here but your gas station food brings dishonor to my kitchen!" (exaggeration of course)

He gave me a very short list of foods I was allowed to buy and I was starting to think I had made an awful mistake moving in here. Then he swung open the refrigerator doors and there lay before my eye was an oasis! I felt fear as some sects of Christianity claim you get your own personalized heaven after the rapture.  This would be mine. When I saw this fridge I thought I had been killed (By an angry chef chucking 5 for a dollar mac and cheese into a plastic bin and had gone to my personal heaven
 His fridge was full of stackable half gallon bins some with spouts some with little fold open doors. They were nearly refriderator depth and stacked neatly upon each other. They had lables like "Pulled Pork", "Baby Rays 'secret' BBQ Sauce", " Pork Chops, "Sirloin, "tender loin, "Roast beef, "Bacon, "Sausage (links), "Sausage Patties, Then in grease pencil the last "stocked on" date.

Whoa! Hello gluttoney have you met nerdy organizatrional skills? I knew you would like each other!

Then off course neat stacks of sliced chesses;  pepper jack, colby, mozarella, cheddar!

Then he explaimed that one of my duties as his room mate was to help him eat food before it goes bad. He is really sick of throwing out food that is not appropriate for the food bank.


Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs -
What a fucking MORON!
 AS I lay on the floor cunvulsing mildly and choking on saliva my sadness at no longer having hot women room mates began to fade...Just a little though; Everyone (should) know the male hierarchy of needs for happiness... sex THEN food THEN machines - DUH! (Oh that is why this is the most erotic picture on earth! )  
As Kool aid would say - "OOOooooooooh yeah!"

 As usual I drifted off track... I have been having a really good record lately on weight loss! I was immediatly scared that access to so much incredible food in nearly unlimited quantites was really going to screw up my progress.

It did not!

Terry would actually prepare me meals and I would not INHALE them! I would portion them up and eat them over a day or two though. My weight loss continued while I continued to eat, meal after meal, the best food I have ever had over a continuous period in my life! It was like "sunday dinner" with the extended family as a child but 21 meals a week! (flashback! post roast, mashed potaotes and grandma's noodles and home made dinner rolls! (Damn, more drool in the keyboard) but terry's left overs brougth home were that good!)

The first morning I was there Terry asked if I wanted some coffee as I dressed for work. "Sure buddy!"
"Cream and sugar?"
"Yeah!" 
I sat at the kitchen table and nearly chocked on my coffee! It was the The Best Coffee I have ever had! "My god Terry!! OK, so what kind of "chefs seccret do you use to make your coffee so good!"
"Huh? It's just Folgers and a Mr. Coffeee"
"Huh? BULL!"
We may say "cream and sugar" in our cofee or tea. Have you ever had real life actual HEAVY CREAM and SUGAR in a cup of coffee! I have not and grew up on a  farm (I have heard you can get a cup of coffee like this at Starbucks but being hetero I have never been to a Starbucks)

While I ate all the gormet food I wanted everyday I continued to loose weight.

Then I packed up and left springfield for Dallas. I got caught in a blizzard and spent a day in a rest stop (full post forthcoming!) I started eating gas station food again! Burritoes and 2 dogs for 2 bucks etc. I had no problem with portion control but I would consume the portions is shorter order. I begandto be hungry too often again. Now back in Dallas with a fridge full of "normal" food I am not gaining but weight loss has stopped and it is a struggle again. 

I formed a hypothesis. Unlike the uneducated who believe in global warming, the inherent superiority of Japanese cars or that the problem with American education is that we don't spend enough money on it I BELIEVE in science and the scientific method.
1. I have observed a phenomena.
2. I have asked some questions and done some research. 
3. I have formed a hypothesis. 

However I would like to see some experiment confirm my hypothesis then like a REAL scientist publish my results and have independent confirmation of my repeatable results before I go around making asinine announcement of my "conclusions". (Thus making me more of a real scientist than many who call themselves scientists in this very dark age of politically correct "science") *

My hypothesis is that a a very good satisfying meal (much work to be done to lock down the definition of good but it has nothing to do with the common perception of "healthy")  Will alleviate hunger pain. That overall "satisfaction" plays a significant role in satiety. Perhaps as significant a role a volume.  

When I Had an omelets for breakfast with onion caramelized in butter and bacon fat, and then the main omelet cooked in bacon fat I would only eat a fraction of it and not get hungry again. Then my blackend roast beef sandwich layered with gooey pepper jack cheese, homemade (by Terry of course) mustard and mayo (OMG Who ever knew mayo had flavor and was not just a throat lubricant!? I sure as hell did not!) 

My urge for afternoon snacking was gone! 

For people who struggle with weight, give this a shot, eat a small but extremely delicious meal. See if the average period from meal time to begineing of hunger pains of hunger pains has a linear relationship with quality of eaten (defined by flavor!) vs quantity!  

Oh yeah, the tittle, so why do chefs suck? 'Cause when you move out and have to fend for your self again food is just never the same. Terry, oh Terry, how do you make that omelet so fluffy that if it did not have meat for weight it would float away! The egg portion would melt like cotton candy leaving the onions, peppers and saudage! I'm jonesing Terry, I need my fix! {Wailing} Oh Terry don't hold out on me this way!

 * I did not want to muddy the water by further wander off into bashing the junk that passes for science these days so her eis a one minute rebuttal to the idiots I hear on a daily basis. Data, oh yeah, all you "scientists" forgot that DATA is the heart of science not your arrogant repeating of what daddy told you like it is true....{disgusted sigh}

So 10 minutes of research (data, not some "journalists" OPINION) on each of my examples of really bad science above will show you

1. There is no verifiable repeatable data of global warming.  In fact, just the opposite. For many years now the UN and NASA has refused to release the data or the methodologies they use to create the models they say proves global warming. Making them VERY suspect. Then of course the The East Anglia incident provided the final proof the "scientists" at the UN center for Global Warming studies were knowingly lieing and not just the piss poor scientists we all thought they were.(we being people who believe in science)

2. In quality some Japanese cars are better than some American cars and vice versa.(DUH) That list varies year to year.(DUH) Oh, In any given year the top ten most reliable cars on earth (ranked by empirical reliability data  not OPINION! UGH!)  always includes some American models. With makes like Rolls-Royce, Mercedes and BMW in the mix that is saying something) So anyone who makes blanket statements on the topic (Either way) is an idiot. (their idiocy being repeatable and verifiable- Sadly)

3.  America spends more on primary education per pupil (BY FAR) than any other nation on earth yet we can only score above the top 20 nations on the topic of political correctness. Oh did I forget to say DUH?  :) Money spent != quality but most adults already know this

(sorry for the mini rant - I can only absorb so much stupidity before my body expels it in an ugly puddle - You know, it's just like a pub crawl - Then you feel better and you listen to these children spout off for a while again without laughing in their face)

Saturday, December 31, 2011

OK That SUCKS!

I just went up to the convenience store to get MILK and there are beautiful people every where stocking up. I did not really think much about it it IS Saturday night after all....

Then as I ring up my 2 gallon milk purchase the clerk says "happy new years sir"
"Is this new years eve?"
"Why yes sir"
"My God I am buying milk on new years eve?"
Yes sir, but on the bright side you won't regret it tomorrow!
"Oh, you don't know me, I have a real cow on back!"

The good news for the rest of the world is there won't be any 4 am "I LOVE YOU" e-mails in any ones mail box tomorrow.

For me though that just means an other Holiday tradition shot all to hell. Damn!

I hate Dallas!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Dishonor

Kwaii Lo! Your Christmas gift brings great dishonor to my house and your once proud family!

Go now in shame and pray that in the future you can perform some great task of sacrifice to wash the stain of shame from both our houses.

NOW GO!

Does your shame know no boundries Kwai Lo?

The gospel according to Steven Tyler

Let us lift our heads and open our throats.. Deep breath...

Now that your spirit is cleansed click the link!



video

Yep, I'm back for a while! I have a bunch of what *I* think are hilarious stories queued up ad ready to go, so grab the reins and hold on

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

I pray to CROM!

Ever seen “thereifixedit.com? It’s a site dedicated to redneck repairs.

I may have my own entry here but I don’t think it’s rednecky enough. :(  Still I take enough pride in it to show it too you here!

Washing machines are pretty simple to operate, spin the knob to the correct cycle and duration then press the knob in! My ex-girlfriend ( PB02) and her room mate both liked to slap the knob though (which is why I kept her around as long as I did! AR AR!)

So they broke the plastic tabs off the switch assembly that slide into the slots of the panel and then the switch would just flap free.

I fixed it once with fiberglass and explained (and demonstrated) how you could gently press the knob but these two were dedicated knob slappers  and broke it again in short order. So the next time I come over I get this lecture about how I suck at fixing things and how they called the repairman who wants $135 for a new switch (which in a perfect illustration of PB Syndrome it is somehow NOW my fault the washer is broken)  .

"Conan! What is best in life?"
"To see ya enemy driven before you and to hear da lamentation ov da vemon!"
So taking a lesson from the Old movie “Conan the Barbarian” I made an invocation to Crom, the God of STEEL. By golly if plastic won’t fix a plastic part then STEEL will! So where do you find steel in the normal household?

“ Cindy, I need your oldest, crappiest fork… one that you won’t mind me destroying.”

So here is a photo of the handy work. The tines of the fork are in the steel slot where the switches plastic tab should be. The fork is bent sharply enough that there is a tremendous pre-load on it. That fork is holding that switch TIGHT against the panel!

And if Crom and steel cutlery can do one thing, they can handle a little knob slapping!

Of *COURSE* you repair delicate electrical components with bent up old forks! DER!

Looks ugly works GREAT took ten minutes to repair and cost 2 cents woth of STEEL! It's goooooood to be a redneck! MMMMmmmmm caqn you feel it? Oh I can feel it!

However estrogen and Crom are incompatible so she ended up paying the $135 and getting a new plastic switch anyway.

Did I mention Cindy is VERY pretty? I should. It s a key point I think! lol


PS unlike Erika Cinda never reads my blog! lol!

In fact here is an old post about Cindy from when I was first getting to know her!  
              There but for the grace of God

Ahhhhhh, Life is good!

On that note, and to ramble off of on a radam access data path, I am now 3 years older than my mother was when "the Cancer" struck her down in her 40's.
Every day is a blessing and a joy!

Too many people forget that. They have not been to enough funerals - Yet.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

So that is where bad ideas come from!

Freaking nature! So this is where Jack Black and Disney got the idea for those horrible kung fu panda movies eh?


Wax on Bee-yotch!

 OOOOOO. Weird mental association there!  But now I must go to YouTube and listen too  "Sweep the leg Johny" (relating to the original Karate Kid movie). It's been years since Jules turned me on to that and every now and then I just need my fix! "Concentrate Daniel-sen! FOCUS POWER!"