Yesterday the SCOTUS handed down a spectacular decision on the second amendment. This is only the second time they supreme court has head a 2nd Amedment case. They have now officially called the second amendment an INDIVIDUAL right.
I'm very happy with this decision. I was worried, epescially after they totally hosed the property rights decision recently (eminent domain).
I found it interesting listening to the various pro/con gun control groups talk about this ruling. The more extreme 'con' groups were all declaring that we were going to turn into the Wild West. Guess what dumbshits. The Wild West wasn't that wild. Learn your history. Most of time people were too busy trying to stay fed. The 'Wild West' wasn't nearly as carzy as Hollywood would have you believe. The extreme 'pro' group were of course stating they could now challenge every gun control law on the books. Yeah, right. Nice try. That is NOT what SCOTUS said. You still can't yell 'FIRE' in a crowded room and claim 1st Amendment.
My feelings are this: Guns should be regulated but not banned. PERIOD. We should keep violent criminals from having guns, I have no problem with assault weapons being outlawed. Sorry guys, there is NO reason to hunt with or use for self defence an Fully auto-AK-47. I also think a waiting period and background check is ok.
That is the kind of gun control I have no problem with.
Anyway, the SCOTUS made the USA a much safer country yesterday. Thanks you justices.
No law abiding citizen sho
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
What's new in the bathroom
Jen and I have been working on a bathroom remodel for most of the year. We decided to completely gut the downstairs bathroom and start from scratch. To call the existing bathroom 'nasty' is an affront to all truly nasty things.
We didn't change the layout of the room. We merly replaced everything and added a few touches.
A couple of the big changes included a new glass block window (I did that!) to replace the crappy casement window, the additional of an exhaust fan (there wasn't one before!) and an in-floor heating system. We also tiled the floor and shower walls.
The picture above is the current state of things. The bug bundle of wires is the floor warming system.
We did MAJORLY screw up one thing. We waited way to long to clean the xcess grout of the wall tile and now we are having to carefully scrub it off with vinegar and water and try not to destroy 1,500 bucks worth of imported italian clay tiles. :(
Jen is working on the tile cleanup and I'm putting the finishing joint compound on the regular wall seams, screw holes, etc. Once we get these thigns done we can paint, seal the good grout and then we can isntall the new toilet and vanity!
We replaced the regular door with a pocket door and have't decided on what kind of door slab we want to use. It's a tought choice because we want to replace all 14 of the crappy luan doors throughout the house with the same thing. We'll use the old door temorarily. Anyway, after the bathroom is painted I can isntall the trim and jambs for the door.
Thats about it...new bathroom soon! YAY!
Monday, June 23, 2008
"shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits"
I am sorry for the rather adult theme of my title but I think it's the most fitting tribute to the man who created that quote of the seven dirty words. Mr. George Carlin. RIP sir. You were a funny S.O.B.
George Carlin was one of the filthiest comedians I ever saw. However, one thing that set him apart from other 'shock' comedians was that his used of curse words and derogatory slang were part of the comedy and not just thrown in to try and make jokes more funny. I've seen one too many comedians where if I took out the curse words their act wouldn't change.
I learned something cool about George today as I read his obit. He was the first host of Saturday Night Live. Dayum. That by itself if a great thing. That was back when SNL was funny.
I did get to see George Carlin live once. It was about four or five years ago at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, GA. Unfortunately I came away a little saddened. Somewhere down the line George's cynicism turned into deep bitterness and his normally witty and insightful banter became what I can only describe as angry. His show had it's moments. He was practicing a new opening monologue for an upcoming HBO special which sent Jen and I in a fit of hysterics and throughout the show there were moments where his old self shone through. I try to remember those bits and forget the other crap.
Regardless of his own personal demons, he was generally a funny guy who had a profound impact on American culture. I'm glad I got to see him live. You finally swallowed you limit of saliva.
RIP.
George Carlin was one of the filthiest comedians I ever saw. However, one thing that set him apart from other 'shock' comedians was that his used of curse words and derogatory slang were part of the comedy and not just thrown in to try and make jokes more funny. I've seen one too many comedians where if I took out the curse words their act wouldn't change.
I learned something cool about George today as I read his obit. He was the first host of Saturday Night Live. Dayum. That by itself if a great thing. That was back when SNL was funny.
I did get to see George Carlin live once. It was about four or five years ago at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, GA. Unfortunately I came away a little saddened. Somewhere down the line George's cynicism turned into deep bitterness and his normally witty and insightful banter became what I can only describe as angry. His show had it's moments. He was practicing a new opening monologue for an upcoming HBO special which sent Jen and I in a fit of hysterics and throughout the show there were moments where his old self shone through. I try to remember those bits and forget the other crap.
Regardless of his own personal demons, he was generally a funny guy who had a profound impact on American culture. I'm glad I got to see him live. You finally swallowed you limit of saliva.
RIP.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
What's on TV this week
Well, NOTHING. All my favorite shows are waiting an extra week for their spring sweeps so there ain't squat on.
What did I get this week:
Bones season finale: HOLY CRAP!!! Gormegon's appretice was Zach? Didn't see the coming. I di like the idea of it being sweets. BTW, that actors character in Waiting was great. "Like being the smartest kid with downs.." lol
House season finale: So Amber died. Bummer, she was smokin hot and a fun character who got under House' skin. Wilson is a sad puppy. Of course. He finally met a woman he wasn't going to self destruct on. Damn. A pretty good season ender for a show that was pretty stupid most of the season. I only watched it because it follows Bones.
Battlestar Galactica: Ok, how did everyone on the Galactica brain fart and let President Roslyn anywhere NEAR that base star? And WHO seriously thought it would be a good idea to reconnect the hybrid? I mean COME ON.
Lost episode before the season finale: Getting better and better. Keamy's gotta die. Die UGLY. I hope Ben gets to do it.
Favorite Lost characters in order:
1. Ben - Duh.
2. Hurley - Hurley RULES. He is only number 2 to Ben because Ben rules more
3. Sayid - badass but cool
4. Jin/Sun - They get the nod as the best couple. Both are badass in their own way.
Lease favorite:
1. Jack - complete, whiny pussy - nuf said
Anyway, Lost = win
Recent movies I watched:
Cloverfield. I liked it. It's a different take on the monster mash. Usually you get the military against a big monster. If it's an Asian film there will be an annoying little kid thrown in for good measure. In Cloverfield you get the perspective of a group of ordinary people who are trying to help friends and get out New York who peridically run into and out of contact with said military and monster. Nify but I really hate the shaky cam Blair Witch crap. It's worth a rental.
Aliens vs Predator 2. Gack. As bad as the first one. Lame. A perfect example of how to take two really great 'creature mythologies' and combine them to form a steaming pile of shit. The only good thing to say about it was there were a couple of good Predator head-shots in the uncut version.
I've got the new National Treasure coming is today. I'm not a big Nicholas Cage fan but at least his movies are usually entertaining enough to watch.
What did I get this week:
Bones season finale: HOLY CRAP!!! Gormegon's appretice was Zach? Didn't see the coming. I di like the idea of it being sweets. BTW, that actors character in Waiting was great. "Like being the smartest kid with downs.." lol
House season finale: So Amber died. Bummer, she was smokin hot and a fun character who got under House' skin. Wilson is a sad puppy. Of course. He finally met a woman he wasn't going to self destruct on. Damn. A pretty good season ender for a show that was pretty stupid most of the season. I only watched it because it follows Bones.
Battlestar Galactica: Ok, how did everyone on the Galactica brain fart and let President Roslyn anywhere NEAR that base star? And WHO seriously thought it would be a good idea to reconnect the hybrid? I mean COME ON.
Lost episode before the season finale: Getting better and better. Keamy's gotta die. Die UGLY. I hope Ben gets to do it.
Favorite Lost characters in order:
1. Ben - Duh.
2. Hurley - Hurley RULES. He is only number 2 to Ben because Ben rules more
3. Sayid - badass but cool
4. Jin/Sun - They get the nod as the best couple. Both are badass in their own way.
Lease favorite:
1. Jack - complete, whiny pussy - nuf said
Anyway, Lost = win
Recent movies I watched:
Cloverfield. I liked it. It's a different take on the monster mash. Usually you get the military against a big monster. If it's an Asian film there will be an annoying little kid thrown in for good measure. In Cloverfield you get the perspective of a group of ordinary people who are trying to help friends and get out New York who peridically run into and out of contact with said military and monster. Nify but I really hate the shaky cam Blair Witch crap. It's worth a rental.
Aliens vs Predator 2. Gack. As bad as the first one. Lame. A perfect example of how to take two really great 'creature mythologies' and combine them to form a steaming pile of shit. The only good thing to say about it was there were a couple of good Predator head-shots in the uncut version.
I've got the new National Treasure coming is today. I'm not a big Nicholas Cage fan but at least his movies are usually entertaining enough to watch.
Happy Anniversary to Us
Today is Jen and my third wedding anniversay.
Happy Anniversay to Us
Happy Anniversay to Us
Happy Anniversay to Us and you look like one too.
:)
Happy Anniversay to Us
Happy Anniversay to Us
Happy Anniversay to Us and you look like one too.
:)
Monday, May 12, 2008
Movie time
Yes, I'm lame. I still haven't seen Iron Man. I will.
What I am watching beside Battelstar Galactica and Lost is some stuff from Netflix.
I was The Golden Compass. 'meh' is about all I can say. The movie is based the first in a trilogy of books by Philip Pullman. The trilogy is called 'His Dark Materials' and the first book is 'Northern Lights'
Anyway, the story basically centers around a young girl who goes in search of some of her friends who have been snatched by 'Gobblers'. Basically, the Gobblers work for the church and are snatching the kids to perform experiments on them. See, in this world our 'souls' are external in the form of daemons. The daemons take the form of various animals and talk. Anyway, the church wants to separate people from their daemons because the source of the daemons, something called 'dust', is apparently a threat to their power.
Anyway, the movie centers mainly around her quest to find and rescue her buddies.
The Good:
The Armoured Bears. Picture a polar bear that talks and wears armor and kicks ass. Pretty well rendered CGI and jsut all around cool. I want one.
Chritopher Lee and Sam Elliot. Christopher Lee is always underused.
Sam Elliot was WAY underused considering the importance his character plays in the trilogy. He plays a citizen of the Republic of Texas. 'Duh'
The Bad:
Acting: It blew. The writers did a horrible job of scripting the books.
The movie ended early.
*SPOILER*
The girl rescues her friends and the other captured kids but the move ended there. There was a SIGNIFICANT bit of story afterwards that is kind of integral to the whole trilogy. It basically ties the entire story together. Way to go.
Overall impression: The movie was Daniel Craig's revenge (He's in it too). Sitting though this movie felt like I was sitting naked in a seatless chair getting my...well if you've seen Casino Royal you know what I mean...
I also watched King of Kong. No, it's not about a giant ape. This is a documentary about the world of virgins, er, competitive classic video games. Specifically, Donkey Kong.
Way back in the 80's Billy Mitchell, a jackass (and he is a COMPLETE JACKASS) not the WWII pilot who bombed Tokyo after Pearl Harbor, scored the world record in Donkey Kong. Basically, that moment defines this tool. Anyway, we get some back story on the whole things then we get introduced to a dude names Steve Wiebe (sp). This guy is a completely different sort of person from the rest of the crowd. He's an engineer working for Boeing who gets laid off the day he closed on his house. OUCH. He's married and has a couple of kids.
He's a normal guy who got dealt a shitty blow. Anyway, during his downtime he starts playing Donkey Kong in his garage and really really getting into it. He's a bit OCD and VERY competitive. You get this from interviews with his family and friends. Anyway, he eventually crushes the other guys high score. He video taped the whole thing so there would be a record of the feat. He then sends this tape into the 'Twin Galaxies' company which is a volunteer group of mega-virgins who basically took it upon themselves to referee these competitions and validate records, etc.
They are also quite clearly Billy Mitchell sycophants.
They basically find lame excuses to deny Steve his right to the record. The rest of documentary is Steve working hard to play head to head against Billy and prove himself. Billy "I'm a Kenny Loggins wanna-be" Mitchel dodges him at ever turn.
They never get to play head to head but what does happen is the Twin Galaxies and rest of the video game community realize what jerks they are and that Steve is a stand-up guy. They all apologize to Steve and welcome him into their community (Where I'm sure he'll never fit in since he's actually had sex with someone other than their hand).
The Good: Steve Wiebes daughter. She does quite get her dad's desire to get into the Guinness Book of World records. ("What's the big deal")
Steve Weibe's son: During the taping of his first record he comes into the garage yelling at his dad to "Wipe My Butt Dad!!' Stop Playing Donkeey KOOOOONG!!:' Major lollage.
The Bad: Billy Mitchel. Tool. 100% tool.
Really there wasn't anything bad in this movie. It was a well put together documentary and kept me interested all the way through.
Overall: Loved it. Make sure you stay for credits. They added followup information about Steve and Billy that is important.
What I am watching beside Battelstar Galactica and Lost is some stuff from Netflix.
I was The Golden Compass. 'meh' is about all I can say. The movie is based the first in a trilogy of books by Philip Pullman. The trilogy is called 'His Dark Materials' and the first book is 'Northern Lights'
Anyway, the story basically centers around a young girl who goes in search of some of her friends who have been snatched by 'Gobblers'. Basically, the Gobblers work for the church and are snatching the kids to perform experiments on them. See, in this world our 'souls' are external in the form of daemons. The daemons take the form of various animals and talk. Anyway, the church wants to separate people from their daemons because the source of the daemons, something called 'dust', is apparently a threat to their power.
Anyway, the movie centers mainly around her quest to find and rescue her buddies.
The Good:
The Armoured Bears. Picture a polar bear that talks and wears armor and kicks ass. Pretty well rendered CGI and jsut all around cool. I want one.
Chritopher Lee and Sam Elliot. Christopher Lee is always underused.
Sam Elliot was WAY underused considering the importance his character plays in the trilogy. He plays a citizen of the Republic of Texas. 'Duh'
The Bad:
Acting: It blew. The writers did a horrible job of scripting the books.
The movie ended early.
*SPOILER*
The girl rescues her friends and the other captured kids but the move ended there. There was a SIGNIFICANT bit of story afterwards that is kind of integral to the whole trilogy. It basically ties the entire story together. Way to go.
Overall impression: The movie was Daniel Craig's revenge (He's in it too). Sitting though this movie felt like I was sitting naked in a seatless chair getting my...well if you've seen Casino Royal you know what I mean...
I also watched King of Kong. No, it's not about a giant ape. This is a documentary about the world of virgins, er, competitive classic video games. Specifically, Donkey Kong.
Way back in the 80's Billy Mitchell, a jackass (and he is a COMPLETE JACKASS) not the WWII pilot who bombed Tokyo after Pearl Harbor, scored the world record in Donkey Kong. Basically, that moment defines this tool. Anyway, we get some back story on the whole things then we get introduced to a dude names Steve Wiebe (sp). This guy is a completely different sort of person from the rest of the crowd. He's an engineer working for Boeing who gets laid off the day he closed on his house. OUCH. He's married and has a couple of kids.
He's a normal guy who got dealt a shitty blow. Anyway, during his downtime he starts playing Donkey Kong in his garage and really really getting into it. He's a bit OCD and VERY competitive. You get this from interviews with his family and friends. Anyway, he eventually crushes the other guys high score. He video taped the whole thing so there would be a record of the feat. He then sends this tape into the 'Twin Galaxies' company which is a volunteer group of mega-virgins who basically took it upon themselves to referee these competitions and validate records, etc.
They are also quite clearly Billy Mitchell sycophants.
They basically find lame excuses to deny Steve his right to the record. The rest of documentary is Steve working hard to play head to head against Billy and prove himself. Billy "I'm a Kenny Loggins wanna-be" Mitchel dodges him at ever turn.
They never get to play head to head but what does happen is the Twin Galaxies and rest of the video game community realize what jerks they are and that Steve is a stand-up guy. They all apologize to Steve and welcome him into their community (Where I'm sure he'll never fit in since he's actually had sex with someone other than their hand).
The Good: Steve Wiebes daughter. She does quite get her dad's desire to get into the Guinness Book of World records. ("What's the big deal")
Steve Weibe's son: During the taping of his first record he comes into the garage yelling at his dad to "Wipe My Butt Dad!!' Stop Playing Donkeey KOOOOONG!!:' Major lollage.
The Bad: Billy Mitchel. Tool. 100% tool.
Really there wasn't anything bad in this movie. It was a well put together documentary and kept me interested all the way through.
Overall: Loved it. Make sure you stay for credits. They added followup information about Steve and Billy that is important.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A Trip to the Doc at 40
Last month I turned 40. Last year my sister and dad both were diagnosed with cancer. They had breast and colon cancer respectively. (Both are doing great now). Anyway, I call that a pattern so I decided I had better get over my dislike of doctors and go get a physical.
The physical was no big deal. Blood Pressure (118/85), pulse (68), reflexes, yadda-yadda-yadda. They also ask a ton of questions. It's all typical stuff used to establish a baseline medical history. I like to call myself very medically boring. I am happy this way.
One part of the physical that wasn't to pleasant was the inevitable prostate check. The NP who did the exam was a slim girl with slender fingers but *DAMN* I swear she used a telephone pole to check things. As I'm bending over waiting for the "slight discomfort" I tried to think of something funny to say. I ended up saying "I have about 20 jokes I could say right now but none of them really seem all that funny". Well, the NP picked up my slack and replied "You ought to see things from my perspective." Nice, thanks for making me laugh.
Other than that the rest of the physical was pretty normal. Since I hadn't fasted I had to come back for a full blood work-up. Jennifer and I both needed to do them so we did them last weekend. I got the results back yesterday and once again my medically boring status was reinforced. The only thing that needs addressing is my "good" cholesterol level. It's a bit low; however, my "bad" cholesterol level is in extremely good shape so it's nothing to worry about. The letter from the doc gave me some pointer on how to increase the good stuff with diet and exercise.
Because of the recent family history of cancer I will be getting an early colonoscopy at the end of the month. From what my dad tells me the procedure itself is no big deal "because the drugs you get are way better than the street stuff". lawl, thanks Pops. The worst part of the procedure is the stuff I have to do prior. From what's been described to me, it sounds like I have to basically flush myself out. Again, according to Dad, I'll have diarrhea like I've never imagined. Great. SOOO looking forward to that. Meh, I guess it's worth it considering the alternative.
pizza
NOTE: YIKES! I put my blood pressure as 168/85.. That would completly suck. Anyway, I edited that and put the correct numbers in...
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