Christmas Thoughts

It's been awhile since my last post... I know. I've had a lot going on -- both with the holiday season, with work, with being lazy and not writing anything worthwhile to post....

But today is Christmas -- the most worthwhile topic to discuss. So I'm attacking this from several different angles, some of which will be entertaining, some of which will be very serious.

The photo above I shot of our advent candles at church. I no idea that it would turn out like that, I frankly was just playing around. I love photography. It's somewhat of an accidental hobby. I had to take photos as a newspaper reporter when I first started out in journalism. I don't have a decent camera of my own --- so I use my work camera to explore my hobby. I think I'll start posting some of my work periodically. But I love this photo. I love it because it shows the peacefulness and beauty of this holiday season. When I look at it, I can't help but thank God for the most wonderful gift that he ever sent us -- his son. I thank God for all he has blessed us with, blessed me with, and pray that he wil provide comfort, wisdom, and courage to all who need it, not only this holiday season, but throughout the year.

This is a time of year that is very hard for me. My grandfather died in December 1999. Christmases since then have felt like something has been missing. But I know he is with me in my heart. And I know he is watching out for me. I miss him. I know anyone who has ever lost a loved one can identify with that feeling.

But I've been thinking about something else alot lately. We had a lesson at church a few weeks ago where we discussed with each other some of our Christmas memories and wishes. One of the ladies at our table when asked what her one wish was for this Christmas was for our troops to be brought home. Think about this - we have been in Iraq now longer than our troops were involved in World War II. Many of our troops have served multiple tours either in Iraq or Afghanistan, or both, since 9/11. Putting my political views aside on the war, I wish they would be brought home for Christmas, every last one of them. That would be a wonderful gift. I wish I could see each and every one of them get off their plane on the home soil and watch their loved ones run to them. Our men and women in the service are defending us and putting their lives before ours this Christmas and, knowing that God has a plan for each and every one of us, pray that they are kept safe and know that they are loved.

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So how has my Christmas season gone?

Here's a quick rundown:

I waited until the Friday before Christmas to shop for my wife. I hate buying women's clothes and am no good at it to begin with. I could not find anything I wanted to get. So Saturday we went out to the mall, I gave her money for clothes and she bought clothes. I went and grabbed a few odds and ends while she was doing that. Christmas shopping done.

Sunday we went to our early service at church. which we typically go to because my wife sings in the praise team. Music was great, as always. We wished our friends a merry Christmas. Ducked out from the children's play to finish some Christmas grocery shopping. After that, we went to my sister-in-law's for Christmas with the in-laws. My nephews (ages 7 and 6) along with my neice (2) loved their gifts. And we had a blast watching them open them up. We bought the 6-year-old nephew an electronic parrot which was the hit of the day.

Monday, Christmas Eve, was low key for the first part of the day. One of our friends lost her mother earlier this year so we invited her up for Christmas dinner at our house. Between chores to clean the house, we wrapped presents for each other. Christmas wrapping done. All gifts finally under the tree. Our friend came over, we had a nice meal, and then called some other friends to see if they wanted to go to the 11 pm Christmas Eve service at our church. So we all went to that. It was being led by our church's college students. There were a few logistical hiccups, which brought some laughs, but we had a very nice time. We came back, built a fire, and at about 12:30 opened our gifts to each other. Then we watched the Santa Clause 3. Went to sleep late and woke up about 9:30 am.

I called my folks and wished them a Merry Christmas. Talked to them for a while, and then we hit the road to my wife's aunt's house for Christmas lunch. Went and had some good food, fellowship, and conversation. Went to visit an uncle of my wife's who is in the hospital. Came home, and went out with the friends that went with us to Christmas Eve service to Denny's for Christmas supper. The place was packed. Considering it was either that, IHOP, or Waffle House, we knew we were in for a long line. But, that's what you get for Christmas in Greenville, SC when you go out for supper.

Friday it's off to Charlotte to spend the day with my family.

In the end, it was a fun few days. I enjoyed it - and do not look forward to taking the decorations down, nor to how much crap my wife comes home with in the morning.

Quarters and Candy

An interesting thing happened at the Hot Spot convenience store today (yesterday)

I was on my way home from work; I was hungry and thirsty. So I stopped in for my general standby - a bottle of Mello Yellow and a king size snickers. I was about to pay for it with my debit card, but saw I had some cash in my wallet.

I handed a $5 bill to the clerk and he gave me back my change, which included three quarters. As I start to walk away, I flip the quarters over to see what's on the back of them -- Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. I've been trying to find an Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah quarter since they came out this year. So I'm about to walk out the door when the clerk yells "Hold up, which states are you looking for?"

Huh?

His question piqued my interest. So I turned around and told him.

"I think I've got a Wyoming in here. Someone gave me one earlier," he says. He had noticed me looking at my quarters. Normally, I would find that kind of creepy -- and I still do, but his interest in the quarters had me interested.

He opens his register drawer, pulls out all the quarters, puts them on the counter, takes a roll out and breaks that over the counter, and we start going through them all.

No Wyoming, Idaho, or Utah quarters. So we struck up a brief conversation about coin collecting. He and I have both been working on the States of the Union quarter collection since it came out. Of course, I learned he's a lot more into coins than I am.

Neither one of us realized though as we were going through all these quarters that a lady with a little kid, who I'm assuming was her 5 or 6 year old son, had walked up behind me at some point with a couple drinks and a bag of Doritos in hand.

Suddenly her son says, "If you guys don't want all those quarters, can I have them?"

The clerk and I both raised our heads, looked at the little kid, and we and his mother all started laughing. The kid didn't find it very funny. "I could buy a whole bunch of candy with all those quarters," he said, now scowling at us.

His mother made some quip about him not eating the Halloween candy he didn't like, I thanked the clerk quickly, and left. I laughed about the whole thing as I got into the car.

Just Paint Me Green And Give Me A Dog Named Max

I used to get so excited when I was little when all the Christmas stuff came out -- the commercials, the music, the toys...everything. Now, as a grown adult, I can't stand it.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. It's my favorite holiday of the year. I love celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the spirit of giving. I enjoy giving gifts to those I love.

I just hate everything that modern society has done to dumb this beautiful holiday down to a Christmas rap being sung by a battery operated stuffed penguin with shades on and grillz on his teeth.

It is supposed to be a joyous holiday. It's not supposed to enrage people with incessant holiday commercials that guilt you about the crap you can't afford to buy or Mariah Carey on the radio two weeks before Thanksgiving singing "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

My wife thinks I'm a grinch. I bitch about the commercialization of Christmas every year. I bitch about buying gifts (I love giving them, just not buying them) I bitch about alot of stuff related to Christmas that is all due to the degredation of modern society's morals and character.

So to kick off the Christmas season, I'm going to make a list -- no, it's not my list of presents I want for Christmas (although an actual house would be at the top of the list) --- it's a list of the Top 10 reasons why I hate the Christmas season.

10. Holiday parties at work -- I'm not a social butterfly anyway. I especially don't enjoy having to put on a smile when I've spent the last several weeks just being annoyed at all the Christmas craziness. I have better things to do in the evening than come smile at people who I spend all day looking at. There are a few parties I look forward to each year, only two of those happen during the Christmas season, and neither are work related.

9. Lame-ass Christmas bonuses (or lack thereof) - Last year I got a bag of candy and a travel mug. The year before, at my previous employer, I got a freaking Home Depot gift card. WTF? My first two employers post-college gave us some real money. I don't mean to be greedy, but if your employees are doing a good job, reward them with something they deserve and can use.

8. Christmas commercials - for many reasons: first, they come on the TV or radio in October. Please wait until after Turkey day. They guilt you about what you're planning to buy or not planning to buy for other people. They're generally pretty damn stupid. And they're annoying to boot.

7. Decorating -- the house, the tree, pretty much anything. Never been a fan. We always end up with a strand of lights that doesn't work and I have to track down the one freaking bulb in it that is burned out.

6. Christmas decorations going up early -- in stores, in downtowns, on people's cars (of all things, when did this start? I've seen three people this week with wreath decals on their rear window. WTF?) Please wait until after Turkey day

5. Wal-Mart -- I despise Wal-Mart anyway. They're nasty, they're just... at least they're not K-Mart... but I hate having to battle 500 people in the aisles just because I want to get cat litter at a cheap price. Even at 1 am, which is my usual Wal-Mart shopping time, the lines are still a mile long -- although that could be because they ONLY HAVE TWO FREAKING CASH REGISTERS OPEN.

4. Holiday traffic -- it's like everyone on the road was given a temporary pass to be stupid from Halloween to New Year's (not that most of them aren't already doing stupid things) And it's compounded by the increased volume of cars on the road that are being driven to the local shopping/strip malls.

3. Getting the Christmas decorations out -- this always turns into a nightmare of "where did we put this, where did we put that," and then a sea of boxes and packing tissue.

2. Christmas shopping - I hate shopping in general, no matter when or where. I especially can't stand it after Thanksgiving. There are too many people and they all act like they've gone mad. That's why I avoid stores at all costs during the Christmas season.

1. Christmas songs on the radio two weeks before Thanksgiving. .... Again, Turkey day, wait for it.

Stay tuned sometime in the next few weeks for the Top 10 things I enjoy the most about the Christmas season.

It's Finally Fall!

This year, Fall arrived late around here, comparatively -- the weather and fall foliage.

I don't consider it Fall until people start to ask me why I'm not wearing a jacket.

Some of my co-workers started asking me that yesterday. I'm not big on wearing a jacket though -- or long sleeve shirts. It's weird to explain -- I just don't like the feeling of my arms being restricted.

Being originally from Pennsylvania, I have a totally different take on what is cold down here in South Carolina - not necssarily on what is hot though, because I think everyone can agree when it starts to get hot around here.

Fall to me is when the cool weather feels crisp... when it's an invigorating kind of cold. Highs between 50 and 60, I'm there. I can put up with colder temperatures -- yeah, when it drops below 40 it's rather cold, but still bearable. Once it gets below 30, the jacket is on.

Fall cold is exciting. It's that weather that when you experience it, you can't help but think about it being Football game cold. Some of my most favorite memories are hanging out watching football games, whether in high school or college, and not having to necesarily have a jacket on when the game starts but before it's over, you're like, "Yeah, I think I'll put it on." Something about that Football game cold just makes you want to scream louder for your team, and pull your girl closer.

Yet, you still want to hang around and watch the game because no cold can drive you away. Football games in 90+ degree heat suck. You just sweat.

Thankfully the cool weather has arrived. If it could stay this temperature year round, I'd be happy. But I like snow too, so bring it on!

Halloween - A Paranoid Safety Monger's Worst Nightmare

On Halloween night, our neighborhood suddenly became a treasure chest in the middle of everything.

The night would start off with our local fire department sounding their siren, probably around 6 or so. That was the signal we waited all year for. My sister and I would start out, mom in tow, with several other friends and their mothers, and hit the neighborhood. And for an elementary schooler, our neighborhood was HUGE! At the end of the night, it always felt like we had walked 100 miles. But the reward for the three or so hours of trick or treating was always worth it --- two or three plastic pumpkins full of loot. It was chocolate gold. And, man, was it an awesome feeling. Then around 9, the fire department would sound their siren again and that was the signal to go home.

Mind you, all this was done on the night that trick or treating is meant to be done --- Halloween night.

I just measured our old trick or treat route on Google maps. It looks like it was about 3.5 or so miles round-trip. If you figure 10 houses per 1,000 feet, that ends up being 277 houses. Figure half of those weren't handing out candy, so that still 138 houses. And 2-3 mini candy bars per house (or Reese's cups, the preferable treat of choice), that's between 275 and 400 pieces of candy. All this while wearing a plastic Darth Vader mask, strapped to my head with a rubber band, with a little slit in the mask to breathe through -- and a cool black plastic sheet painted to look like Darth's body adorning mine. Basically a cool trash bag. But it was cool, that's the thing.

Okay, fast forward 22 years.... The paranoid, safety mongers have taken Halloween and totally diluted it down to a parking lot bash.

WTF????

There are several things that I find totally screwed up/bizarre/stupid/and or wack about the state of Halloween these days.

1. The costumes --- Our nephews, 6 and 7 respectively, are wearing store bought, fabric, looks-like-mom-sewed-it-together-in-an-attempt-to-keep-her-kids-in-childhood-naivete-all-their-life skunk and kangaroo costumers....... WTF???? Costumes are supposed to be cool. You're not supposed to look like a farm animal. What happened to the plastic, slit-to-breathe-through masks? Okay, so someone said they were unsafe. Boo, hoo. It's unsafe leave the house in the morning, but people still do it.

2. Caravanning to neighborhoods --- We used to walk. (See above) People wonder why their kids are getting fat. It's not because of the candy -- it's dad and mom's job to eat most of it anyway. It's because they cart their kids around in the minivan with a horde of other kids to strategically targeted neighborhoods or houses, and they drive them from house to house. That takes the entire purpose out of going on foot, house to house.

3. Two or three nights before Halloween ---- Halloween is meant to be celebrated and conducted on Halloween. Don't vary it from community to community. That just confuses the parents and the kids. And the homeowners (you're not sure exactly which night everyone will be arriving) Do it on Halloween only. So what if it's a schoool night. They're kids. They're supposed to have FUN trick or treating -- and sometimes fun means staying up past bedtime on a school night.

4. Pillowcases --- One of the most greedy trends I have seen in recent years are kids carrying around pillowcases for their candy to be put in. Go get a little plastic pumpkin like your parents had before you. Get two or three of them. That way when they fill up quickly, you'll feel alot happier and prouder of your night's trick or treating efforts. It takes a lot longer to fill up a pillowcase -- and as long as it's not full, the kid using it is going to feel shortchanged.

5. Rudeness --- This relates to point four, but has several expansion subpoints to it. You don't just go up to the door and hold out your pumpkin/pillowcase, whatever the case may be, without saying trick or treat. It's rude. And the parents who allow their children to do that need to be smacked. Say 'Trick or Treat' and then after you get your treat, you say 'Thank you.' Those phrases are not difficult to say at all. I make it a point to let the kids know that they're being rude when they don't say thank you by saying, 'You're welcome....' if they don't. Hopefully that will set some little lightbulb off it their hand that they're being a greedy, ungrateful little brat. I just spent $30 on Halloween candy and they had better say thank you.

4. Trunk or treat --- This is new to me. The first time I heard about it was this year. Our church is holding one. When I heard of the idea, I was like, 'WTF???" It's just bizarre. You all gather in a parking lot. You fill your trunk up with candy. And the kids go from car to car, trick or treating.

Okay, like I said earlier, I get people are alot more safety conscious nowadays. The have a right to be. There are some scary, freaky people out there. But come on, let you kids have fun in the traditional way that Halloween was meant to be conducted. Just use common sense. Watch out for your kids. Go out with them. Don't go in a van. Use the old tried and true, one foot in front of the other, walking method. It will help teach your kids the value of hard work. And they'll have such a fun time going house-to-house, rather than subdivision to subdivision with mom - or dad - or both.

And don't let the paranoid, safety mongers take away the true spirit of Halloween!!

It's Not Clemzun!!

My wife and I have several issues with ESPN.

1. Their commentators seem to hate Clemson. No matter how good we're playing, they always have to nitpick the small negatives or talk smack about the players or the coaching. No matter who we're playing, they always have to talk up the other team or turn their negatives into positives. You rarely ever hear an ESPN commentator say anything positive about Clemson. They always have to rib us for this or that.

2. They won't shut up. Period. We just want to see the plays. We don't want their analysis about why THEY think Tommy Bowden is doing something. We don't want their dubmass comments like "That Clemson player looks like they're in pain." (If they're on the field holding their leg screaming, obviously they are) We don't want to hear them talk about some moron's opinion of shrimp and grits or where he's going to eat at the next football town he goes to. We just want to watch the game, hear the home announcer, and hear the referees' calls (whether we like them or not). I don't want to hear the EPSN commentators - period. So we often find that when we're watching the Clemson football game on TV, we've got the TV muted and we're listening to the game on the local radio.

3. CLEMSON IS NOT PRONOUNCED "CLEM-ZUN". Let't take a look at the structure of the word here, with a visual aid...

As you can see here, there is an understood "P" in the word Clemson. It is expected that the P be pronounced.

ESPN commentators are the worst offenders in the world about mispronouncing Clemson as Clemzun. It's like one of the nails on chalkboard type situations, where it just makes you cringe. Everytime I hear it, I want to throw my shoe at the TV.

A word to people who are unfamilair with Clemson -- If you do not pronounce the understood P, Clemson fans will think you are a moron. Everyone in South Carolina knows this. So for all you people out there who have never heard of Clemson, at least now you know to properly pronounce it. Okay, maybe it sounds a little redneck. Oh well. If you don't like it, you can kiss our collective orange butts.

An Interesting Couple of Months

My wife and I have been going through a bit of a transition for the last 5 weeks relating to our church.

Some background that might be relevant to this story:

• Our church, which we just started attending 2 years ago this month, has had an "Early Service" for just shy of 3 years. Apparently it wasn't easy to get set up. This is a 150-year-old church I'm talking about here where most of the session members in the church grew up together some 60 to 70 years ago.
• Last summer, our pastor left for a calling at a church in North Carolina. An interim was brought in about the first of December 2006.
• This Spring, our former praise team leader KDC announced she was leaving the praise team. Shortly after that, she told us that she and her husband had decided to start looking at other churches. KDC is a 5th generation member of our church.
• A new praise team leader was brought in at the beginning of August.
• While people at the church may say that they feel our "Early Service" is moving forward and is successful, a large percentage are scared of it being called "Contemporary" and for that matter don't want a "Contemporary" service even though they continue to deny this but we continue to hear backhanded comments about it through the grapevine.
• One of the things that attracted us to this church was that the Praise Team at the "Early Service" was singing songs we enjoyed -- because the vast majority of them were contemporary.

Now we're sort of at a crossroads. There have been a lot of hurt feelings in the past few months because of some issues a lot of people at the church have been dealing with for a long time. There have been and still are some hurt feelings because of things that were and weren't said during the hiring process of the new praise team leader.

Around that time we lost another member of the "Praise Team" because she and her husband felt that our church was no longer a good fit for them. So in the process, the Praise Team has lost a very special feel to it that had been key in developing a close bond between the members. And it lost two very special people, who I would go to the wall for any day.

At first my wife and I decided we'd try to tough it out even though we weren't too sure of everything that was going on and how we felt about it. After a few practices with the new praise team leader, it was evident that this was going to be a very bumpy trip down "Music-we-don't-want-to-sing-because-it-just-don't-feel-right Lane" with no evident end in sight. My wife was frustrated with that and other things. I had been running the sound for the Praise Team and the "Early Service." I got frustrated not only with the fact that she was frustrated, but also for other various reasons.

So we decided to take a break. It's been five weeks now.

We went to our "Traditional Service" a few weeks ago. I remembered very quickly why I have always felt somewhat of a disconnect with God in the traditional church setting. It is so regimented; the recitation makes you feel like a robot; and it is just stuffy. There is no inspiration to it. I don't feel like it allows me to be in touch with God as closely and to worship him comfortably, in a way I want to communicate with him. Our "Early Service" started off making me feel so much closer to God than I ever have in church. I loved that experience. I love being able to talk to God and have a worship experience with him that I enjoy. That may sound selfish, but I don't think people should be forced to all worship God with the same songs, the same recitations, and the same monotone methods week in ,week out.

I also enjoy being able to sing songs that are written in a language that makes sense in modern times. I know there are people that love the traditional old hyms. I've never been a big fan of that. I like the contemporary stuff.

That word in itself scares alot of people who grew up in traditional church settings. We're seeing it first hand at our church.

We went back to the "Early Service" this morning. It was weird. The new praise team leader has changed up the Doxology from what we used to call the Funkology because it had a killer bassline to some really singsongy, showtuney version. I couldn't sing it. I just shook my head dumbfounded. None of the songs that were sung this morning had any relation to the message of the Sermon at all -- which was something that we had been working on establishing more and more of until all the recent changes.

Now we're not sure what to do.

We have a terrific,wonderful, close-knit group of friends in our Sunday School class who are some of the greatest people we have ever met. We have great discussions and studies in our class; we have all grown together spiritually and been there to support each other through bad times and share each other's joys in good times. We have each other over to our respective houses for various events like Super Bowl parties or Halloween parties. Several of the couples from our class went on a trip to the mountains a few weekends ago, ourselves included, and had a blast.

We don't want to be disconnected from that element. But we're so frustrated with the worship styles right now at the church and some other people's attitudes toward those.

Our only temporary solution for the time being is to pray for guidance from God and know that he will help lead us down the path that he knows is best for our souls and spirit.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) "The Lord is the everlasting God, The creator of all the Earth, He never grows weak or weary, No one can measure the depths of His understanding, He gives power to the weak, and strength to the powerless, Even youth will become weak and tired, And young men will fall in exhaustion, But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength, They will soar high on wings like eagles, They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not faint"

It kinda seems appropriate to keep that in mind as we go through this transition.

What Skills Do You Know?

I'm a big fan of the Web site Fark. In case you've never read it, it's just a collection of random news or interesting articles from around the globe. I found the following link on it a little bit ago called 25 Skills Every Man Should Know, in which the following list is included. Let's go through this, shall we?

1. Patch a radiator hose
(I had to do this on a road trip to Florida once. I used our universal friend Mr. Duct Tape)

2. Protect your computer
(It's pretty secure. I just hope the ceiling tile above my desk doesn't start leaking anytime soon)

3. Rescue a boater who as capsized
(Eagle Scout here, hello! One of those things I learned in my Lifesaving merit badge class as a Boy Scout)

4. Frame a wall
(A friend of mine is in the construction business and I've helped him out on more jobs that I can count)

5. Retouch digital photos
(Ummm.... like, everyday. One of my job duties is photography)

6. Back up a trailer
(The last time I tried to do this, I bent the hitch connection on the trailer. I try to avoid this task)

7. Build a campfire
(See #3 -- although this wasn't part of Lifesaving class)

8. Fix a dead outlet
(See #4)

9. Navigate with a map and compass (Again, see #3)

10. Use a torque wrench
(Haven't had the need to yet...)

11. Sharpen a knife
(A guy I used to work with who likes to be called Chief is a Native American. He can put a pretty mean edge on a blade --- Again, see #3)

12. Perform CPR
(Thankfully, I've never had the opportunity -- here we get back to #3)

13. Fillet a fish
(Caught, cleaned, filleted, and cooked ---- mmm, mmm campfire cooked catfish is good eatin')

14. Maneuver a car out of a skid
(Following the first snowfall during which I had posession of a driver's license, my father woke me up that morning and said, "Get in the car, we're going driving." Went to a local parking lot, dad jerked the steering wheel, car started to skid, and he says "Now get us out of the skid.")

15. Get a car unstuck
(I had my first experience with this in 12th grade. I got my parents' car, a 4WD Subaru station wagon, stuck in a ditch while leaving a friend's house. Getting it out was a comedy of errors, involving 6 teenage guys trying to push it out, ankle deep in mud while I was trying to gas the car and in turn sprayed mud over everyone. A girl I had a crush on at the time happened to be leaving the gathering at the same time, so she turned her car to face mine with her car's headlights illuminating the scene. She locked her keys in her car. We both ended up having to call our fathers. Her father got there first. He jumps into the fray, with bedroom slippers on mind you, and yells "Alright boys, let's push". He proceeds to get muddy too. My father arrives. Then the father of the friend whose house we were at arrives. He gets his trusty 20 foot long, 6-ton chain, hooks it to his truck and pulls my car out. None of the fathers were amused, all though the crowd of teenagers were)

16. Back up data
(I do this on a regular basis. You never know when your computer might crash. I dropped my external hard drive on the floor a couple weeks ago. Luckily, everything had been backed up recently)

17. Paint a room
(Part of my Boy Scout Life rank service project was to paint the classrooms in my church's educational wing)

18. Mix concrete
(See #4)

19. Clean a bolt-action rifle
(I've never cleaned one, but I've fired several)

20. Change oil and filter
(This can be a very messy job -- but I've done it on a few occassions)

21. Hook up an HDTV
(Can't be that difficult. I've got the stereo, TV, two VCRs, cable box, and ATARI 2600 emulator in our living room all hooked together with relatively little confusion)

22. Bleed brakes
(One of the first car repairs I learned to do on my own was replace rotors and brake pads, along with bleeding the brakes. Jump make sure you pump the brake pedal several times after putting everything back together. I made the mistake of not doing that once. This is where the emergency brake comes into play)

23. Paddle a canoe
(*Sigh* -- see #3)

24. Fix a bike flat
(Do kids nowadays even ride bikes and have to worry about this? Oh yeah, the do they just wear those stupid looking helmets all over the place. When I was a kid, my friends would have laughed at me for wearing a bike helmet. We all EARNED our battle scars from our bravely performed bicycle accidents. I can't count how many bike flats my friends and I fixed)

25. Extend your wireless network
(I've been plugging away at computers since I laid my fingers on my first TRS-80 all the way back in 1982 when I was in 3rd grade. I have a pretty strong wireless connection at home right now with an encryption key that I guarantee will be challenging to pretty much anyone that tries to hack it. I'm not worried about extending the network right now though -- it does what I need it to)

So -- I dare say there are some more manly things that can be added to this. I don't quite think that some of the things on here are necessarily very manly, as opposed to semi-nerdy. But hey, we're all somewhat of a nerd in the various areas that pique our interests.

I think the opposite sex may have differing opinions on what constitutes a manly task also. Hence, the 25 Tasks a Man Should Know in the Bedroom list that we'll leave open for discussion at a later point.

Are you ready for some football?

It's that time of year again.... When only three colors consume the mind (at least my mind): Orange, White, and Purple.

It's Clemson football time.

Now I'm not going to pretend that I have ever really known alot about football itself. I didn't play it as a child. I really have no clue what most of the rules are. And I can't tell you anything about individual players statistics, past or present, let alone know their numbers.

Two of my best friends in the world, Banks and Rob, can tell you Clemson stats until they are blue in the face. And I admire them for that. That's just not my thing though.

The thing I like about Clemson football is the electricity of it. When you're in a stadium with 80,000 screaming fans, all pulling for the same team, there is nothing like it. From the tailgating, to the hanging out with friends, getting crazy, drowning the misery of defeat or revelling the victory, it is one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had.

In college my friends and I would start off every game weekend on Thursday night with a hearty round of drinks. That would lead to another round; and another round. And by the time Saturday morning came around, we'd drag out of bed to go tailgate with Banks' folks. We were all like their surrogate kids. They'd have food for everyone. and man, it was good. Banks' stepmom makes some wicked good food.

And no matter the win or the loss, we would always cap the game off with another round of drinks... and another... and another.

The whole game weekend experience was a series of foolishness, debauchery, and insanity the levels of which I cannot describe. In one particular instance that stands out in my mind thoug, on a Saturday in the pre-dawn hours, my friends and I strung a banner on the front of our dorm that read "God Has a Hard On for Tigers." By the time we rolled out of bed later that morning, it was torn down. Looking back, it was immature and I'm rather embarassed of it from a religious standpoint, but at the time it was ridiculously funny and still makes me chuckle.

Now that I'm older, I still love Clemson football. I love making snide comments about USC football. I love that instantaneous comradery that is established the moment you meet another Clemson fan or alum. We all have a very special bond and it's one of those things that we cherish.

But back on the being older train, the whole ceremony of the Clemson game, at least for me, has changed forms to a much tamer aspect. My wife and I have spent the weekend planning out a menu for a get together we're having at our place with a couple that we are great friends with.

The evening will consist of nibbling at the various appetizers my wife will have put together and not let me cook because she just doesn't like the way I do things in the kitchen and watching the game from the comfort of the sofa, floor, or chair, or whatever horizontal surface we decide to sit on. There will be some adult beverages involved... but nowhere near to the extent of which we used to consume.

The last time I drank too much, I blew out blood vessels in both eyes later that night from puking. I don't plan on doing that anytime soon. My drinking habits and tolerance have definitely changed since I was a foolish, young college student. Not that from time to time, I'm not a foolish, thirty-something, but that will be a topic to discuss in a later post.....

But now it's time to bring on the football -- and kick some Seminole ass. Go Tigers!

Something About Nothing

I don't know if it's writer's block or because I've been so busy lately. Maybe it's the wicked heat that we've been plagued with the last couple weeks.

I've sat down to blog three or four times over the last couple weeks and every time I do, I get about three or four sentences in and I'm like "....eh, I really don't have anything productive to say right now" or "I've got more important things to do."

Maybe the fact that I'm blogging right now at 2:15 am is due to the full moon outside.

Whatever the case may be, and as scattered and dysfunctional this post is, I'm still not sure where I'm going with this post....

So once I get my brain back in gear, I'll post something more interesting in the next few days.

Some topics I am pondering though:

• Why Fred Thompson hasn't announced his candidacy for president as of yet... Come on man, just do it. You've got my vote.
• George Bush's revolving cabinet doors.
• Why Wal-Mart insists on only keeping just one or two checkout lanes open late at night. And why they won't enforce the 10 items or less rule in the late hours. This really grates my nerves.
• I dare say Papa Johns has the best -fast- pizza
• I found a new gas station of choice today with gas selling for $2.38. That made my day

So, again, I'll be back in a few days hopefully. For now, I'm signing off.....

Other Things In Store

About a month ago, I applied for a job with one of the local municipalities. They are starting up a communications office and I thought that it would be a wonderful opportunity for me. The job would have been 1/3 of the distance from home than my current one is, would have paid a good bit more, and probably would have been a great next step for my career.

You may notice that I'm writing about the job opportunity in the past tense.

I didn't get the job. I got that call yesterday morning. And I wasn't too tremendously upset about it. Yeah, I would have liked to have had the job. I won't deny that.

I don't make near market value for my position. I have a 35 minute commute into work and a 45 minute commute out. During the school year, I work a lot of evenings and weekends.

But I really enjoy the job I have right now. It allows me to do things I enjoy, and I have some great coworkers - they're very good people to work with. I've made some friends at this jobs that I'll probably stay in close touch with for years to come; a lot of the vendors I've come to know are really fun to work with; and the students at the college I just have a blast working with, watching their antics, and just listening to the way the conversate with each other.

A college is a great place to work -- and I think the college I work at is a very special place. It's small and tight knit, but people look out for each other. There is a strong sense of family. We look out for each other.

I'm going to go into territory now that you may or may not agree with and/or feel comfortable reading.

Until recent years, I struggled with my faith alot. I've always been one of those people who has to see the concrete evidence or have things explained away by science. Alot has happened in the past few years that has really tested, yet strengthened my faith. I trust God completely with my life and know that he has plans for me that I am unaware of and that he knows what is best for me.

We all don't have the same beliefs. It is everyone's own perogative to develop and practice their own faith and beliefs. I have developed my own, but despite that, I don't feel the need to explain every aspect of my faith and beliefs to every person on the street nor do I have the right to judge people for their own beliefs. Nobody does.

I know God has plans for me. I guess that my leaving the job I'm currently in right now just isn't in his plans. And I am fine with that.

So What If I'm Picky

I went in to the Arby's down the street for lunch today. I placed my order -- and right before the cashier totaled it up (mind you, this was after she yelled to the cook that I had ordered a grilled chicken and bacon sandwich), I asked: "That doesn't have honey mustard on it, does it?"

Of course it did. I don't like mustard. So I told her I didn't want any on it, and instead wanted mayonaise. She yelled that back to the cook and gave me a look of disgust. I could see the cook give me a similiar look as he threw the buns away that he had already lathered with mustard.

My wife hates, but at the same time, doesn't understand the way I eat.

I don't like tomatoes. Period. I love ketchup. But just not tomatoes. I will pick them out of anything they're in -- even if they're diced. I will spend as much time as necessary to get all the tomatoes out of even spaghetti sauce or take them off of pizza. When I eat salsa, I make it a point not to get any of the chunky stuff on my chips - just the juice.

I DO NOT like any of the following: mustard, avocado, guacamole, olives, tomatoes, asparagus, artichoke, refried beans, spinach, red peppers, sour cream, cabbage, blue cheese, or cream cheese. I know there are some other things, but my brain is kind of fried right now and I can't name everything.

When I order things that I think will have any of the above in them, I will ask for them not be put on/in. If any of the above are on/in my food, I will pick it out or scrape it off before eating it. If I can't get it all off or out, I just won't eat it. It doesn't matter to me whether I'm at a restaurant or a friend's house or here at work. The one exception I will make is if I'm have a meal with people I don't know, at which point I'll reluctantly tolerate it.

What I have on my Pizza, mexican foods, and salads are probably the things that I am the most picky about. When my salad comes out with olives and tomatoes, I pick them all out and my wife shakes her head in bewilderment.

I went to Taco Bell the other day -- I asked for a steak quesadilla, beef burrito, and soft taco -- each only with meat and cheese. Again, I got one of those looks.

When I was working for my previous employer, we went to a rather posh restaurant in downtown G-Vegas one night called Soby's. After I looked at the menu, I decided that I am not getting anything I cannot pronounce so I ordered a steak --- and when I ordered it, I said something to the effect of "I don't want any garnishments or crazy seasonings on it, so can you just put a plain piece of steak on the grill and leave it a little red in the middle." To which one of my coworkers, a supervisor of sorts, says to me (again, something to the effect of) "This is not the type of place where it is suitable to do that. Please next time just order something and deal with it."

The thing that I think people have a hard time grasping is that I will not eat something I know I don't like or is seasoned with something that I don't like. It just ain't gonna happen. The same thing with clothes -- although I don't eat those.

The thing with clothes is that if I don't like it, I'm not gonna wear it. Period. This also drives my wife insane. When we go shopping for clothes, I do appreciate my wife's opinion very much because she's a much better judge of what goes with what. But, again, she'll pick out something that she likes and says 'I think this would look good on you' and 75% of the time I'm just like "Yuck, I am not wearing that." And about 75% of the time when I try to pick out clothes for my self, my wife is like "Yuck, I don't like that." So as far as clothes go for me, we end up agreeing roughly 25% of the time.

I'll admit I'm picky. Hands down, I'm picky. That's just me. So what.

The Magic of the Movies

My wife and I went to go see Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix on Sunday. We went to the local 600 seat, full-THX sound digitial theater. I like the sound and the chairs at this theater better than the other local ones. Plus, their matinee prices are a -little- lower than the others.

I hadn't figured it out until now, but I think I realized why their ticket prices are lower. Because their concession prices aren't any lower, matter of fact I think they're higher -- and you don't get nearly the amount of drink or popcorn that you do at other local theaters.

I ordered a medium soft drink, a large Mountain Dew Freeze for my wife, and a medium popcorn to share. When they handed us our order, I took one look at and actually said, without even realizing I was saying it, "What the hell is this? I get way more than that for my money at the Hollywood 20." The guy behind the counter just looked at me and didn't say a thing, so I grabbed the stuff and we walked in and had a seat.

20 minutes into the movie I had totally forgot abot being frustrated with the price of the concessions.

I couldn't get over how much better this Potter movie was versus any of the others. From the first scene to the last, it completely outdid all of the others. It answered alot of questions, but created many of its own. The action, the emotions, the story, the CG was all so much more exciting. But what really made the movie was the acting. The cast, Daniel, Emma, and Rupert have all grown up so much since the first movie and have really come into their own as actors.

But the part that in the movie that got to me more than any other was during the main battle scene when visions of Harry from all the other movies are being interspersed and then the emotion as Sirious sacrifices himself for Harry.

Now I'm probably one of the biggest movie buffs you'll ever meet. I absolutely love watching movies --- but the best way to do so is to see them in the theater. That experience just seems to heighten every sense and every emotion involved in watching a movie.

Kamran over at PointOfOrder recently had some really interesting comments on the topic of movies,also.

There are several movies as a whole that I will never forget seeing in the theater: Star Wars (all of them, save the new trilogy which I'd rather forget); The Black Hole (which is the only movie I can vividly recall seeing in a drive-in); The Rocky Horror Picture Show (saw it at the on-campus movie theater when I was at Clemson); Goonies, Gremlins, and Back to the the Future (the first three movies I can recall not having my parents around in and just me and friends hanging out in the theater watching on our own); and Raiders of the Lost Ark (the first movie that I remember just me and my Dad going to see on our own).

Then there are others that I originally saw in the theater that I always associate with the memory of a certain emotion when I see watch them again. I got a little misty-eyed when Todd was dropped off in the woods in The Fox and the Hound; when Forrest asked Jenny if Forrest Jr. had problems like him; or when the brothers die near the end of Red Dawn.

I distinctly remember my jaw dropping in fascination at the air combat in Top Gun; and how much I laughed at so many of the lines from Ghostbusters ("Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown!")

Then there are the sounds of the movies when you watch them in the theaters that you just don't get at home. The zooming of the car from one side of the theater to the other in Days of Thunder; the creaking and breaking apart of the ship in Titanic; blades slicing on ice in the Cutting Edge; or the blaster fire ricocheting around the garbage compactor in Star Wars....

And there is the smell of the theater (although the theater we used to frequent in college could have used some desperate help in this department) and the tastse of the previously mentioned, usually quite pricey, concessions. There is nothing better than that greasy, movie buttered popcorn to munch on while you're watching Rocky beat the crap out of Dolph Lundgren.

The movie experience is simply one of those slices of Americana that I hope never goes away. Sitting in front of a TV watching a DVD or Pay Per View may be convenient and cheaper, but the experience will never be the same.

No Fine, No Points, No Problem

I was involved in a minor fender bender a few weeks ago in Spartanburg, aka Sparkle City. I was at a stop light -- the light turned green, traffic started to move, I started to move. Then the guy in front of me slams on his brakes and I in turn slam on mine. Unfortunately, I hit his car -- I was going maybe 5 mph (at the most) at the time. Did very little damage to the other guy's Kia SUV but he insisted on calling the cops, telling me "Man, I gotta call the cops. You hit my car. I want my car fixed." I seriously think he's one of these guys who just likes to screw with people and their finances on purpose.

I was ticketed for following too closely. The Sparkle City police officer that responded wrote me a ticket for 4 points and $144. Neither the cop nor the dumbass that I hit showed up for court. This was the extent of my conversation with the judge:

Judge: Do you see the Mr. Dumbass here today in the courtroom?
Me: No sir, I do not see Mr. Dumbass.
Judge: Well, since the other party involved in the incident is not present, I am going to throw out this case.
--LONG PAUSE AS HE SCRIBBLES SOMETHING DOWN--
Judge: You can go now. Drive safely and have a nice day.
Me: Thank you sir.

I had spent the last three weeks dreading having more points on my license (I already have two from a speeding ticket earlier this year) and having another increase on my insurance. So I was one very happy camper as I walked out of the courtoom and turned on my evil grin as I walked toward the parking lot.

No fine, no points -- not a problem for me at all. LOL

Mine was the second case of the morning. In the case before mine, the girl who had been ticketed had her case dropped also because the other person wasn't there. We were lucky.

I wonder if the girl that was sitting beside me in the courtroom who looked like she had just done twelve lines of coke had a good day or bad day in traffic court. There was an old guy in the court room who reeked of cheap, stale beer. I wonder how his morning went. As I was waiting on traffic court to start, there was a girl who looked no older than 14 or 15 who walked in, pregnant to the nines, holding hands with a man of another race who appeared to be two or three times her age, walking in with a traffic ticket in her hands.

I'm a big people watcher. I have a very inquisitive nature about me and just like to watch how people act in various situations.

Traffic court is one of those places where you really get to see a diverse cross section of your community. You may see an attractive lady in a business suit looking at her watch every 30 seconds, or a disheveled teenager who looks like they were forced out of bed, being led into the room by what appears to be a very angry parent.

I kind of felt out of place because out of 40 or 50 people, I was the only one who had on a tie, other than the judge, and one of four or five people that looked like they had to cut out of their first couple hours of work to come plead their case. I can say that everyone pretty much had the same look of disgust that they had to be there at all. I liken traffic court to the lobby of the DMV. They're both like a box of chocolates - you never not what you're going to get.

But the highlight of the morning (other than, of course, having my ticket being dropped) was when the judge walked out. When I saw him, I almost had to stop myself from saying out loud "Wow, he really takes this naughty or nice thing really too seriously" or "Man, I bet the elves are having a party now with the big guy out of town." He looked like Santa. In fact, I'll bet he's been asked a time or two to play Santa. I'll bet he probably wouldn't have found it funny though if when I approached the bench I had said, "Mr. Claus, I've been a really good boy this year. So what I'd really like for Christmas (other than a totally tricked out Sony VAIO computer) is to have this ticket disappear."

I guess I got my Christmas wish early. Maybe Santa was reading my mind. So I got in my car, headed to work and heard the Kenny Chesney song "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem" on the radio. I then came up with the name of my next blog.

More on the Water

Congratulations to Buckeye Timmy and his wife Patti. They've recently found out that they are expecting their second child.

I think there definitely is something in the water.

The Status of the Water

My sister found out for sure a few days ago that she's pregnant. So she and my brother-in-law are expecting a baby Clemson tiger in February.

I think there's something in the water.

At least five couples at mine and my wife's church are in various stages of pregnancy. I found out today a coworker of mine is pregnant.

My wife and I have been married 10 years. Through those 10 years we've had alot of ups and downs financially and careerwise. We've had probably more than our share of discussions on whether or not we're ready to have children. We both want children very much.

I've always been the one that's been more hesitant about having children than my wife, for this reason or that, or whatever. But we've pretty much agreed that now we're at a stage that we are finally comfortable at to have kids and hope to put some plans and actions in motion in the very near future.

We were at a local store this past Sunday and saw some really cute baby stuff (the theme of which I won't mention just in case my sister reads this blog -- and I can't believe I just publicly wrote down the phrase "cute baby stuff") that we bought for her baby. It was the first time I really got excited buying baby stuff. Of course we've got two nephews and a neiece all under age eight on my wife's side, and have plenty of friends that have had babies, so we've done our share of baby shower, baby gift, and young child gift shopping. I enjoy buying them gifts. I adore and love my newphews and neice dearly and enjoy watching them opening their gifts. But my wife could take spoiling them to an unprecedented level given an unending supply of funds.

This past Sunday when we were purchasing the gifts for my sister's baby, that was the first time I just wanted to really truly spoil someone to no end and they aren't even here yet. It must be a blood-relative thing. I wanted to buy up everything in sight within the theme we were buying. I know that's really weird and totally out of character for most guys to say. But I can't even imagine how much those feelings are going to increase when my wife and I have our own child.

We've had the names for a son and daughter picked out for a long time. They are both a mix of family names and original names (nothing off the wall and none of this last-name as a first name business that people are finding so popular these days for some bizarre reason) - James Bradley and Ashlyn Elizabeth. But the more I think about it, the more I know that when the day comes, I think I'm really going to enjoy being a dad.

Happy Birthday America

She doesn't look too bad at 231 years old. Yeah, she's got some battle scars. She's a little rough edges from time to time. And her family doesn't necessarily treat her right all the time, but the United States of America turned 231 this July 4th.

---

As with every 4th of July, there are people who truly do recognize the symbolism of this holiday -- and show their patriotism. For many people though, it's just a day off of work.

(Granted I did enjoy my day off of work. We grilled out and ate some hot dogs and some hamburgers, and went to see some fireworks)

But I wish more people would recognize the 4th for what it truly is. I wish on this day each year that every American would take time to recognize that the freedoms and liberties we enjoy as Americans are due to the people who 231 years ago signed their names on a document that turned them all into traitors in the eyes of the British crown and essentially laid down bounties on each of their heads (There was a great editorial in the Asheville Citizen Times yesterday about this); because of the more than 1 million American service members since that day who have given their lives in the defense of that freedom; and even because of each and every patriotic American who casts their vote for our legislators.

I wish so many things for this country and it's people. But we're 300 million sisters and brothers who don't see eye to eye and are not perfect. We don't all agree. We can be a factionalized bunch and are always split on issues -- from Iraq, to the environment, to family values. We try to tackle domestic issues and we make mistakes. We try to tackle international issues and we make mistakes. But we do things right also. We don't all get along. And we never will. The fact that we are all so different and we want different things for our country, yet we all have the ability to affect change in it is what sets us apart from every other nation in the world. That is the beauty of America. It's kind of a paradox.

231 years ago 56 men who led ordinary lives did something extraodinary. They put their own lives on the line so that the promise of a new nation, of new freedoms for generations and generations to come, could be born. I just wish I could travel back in time and thank each and every one of them.

All Good Things...

(I think that actually WAS the title of a TV series finale...)

One of my favorite shows ended its official run on television last Friday evening. Stargate SG-1 ended after an impressive 10-season run. Save two movies that are scheduled to run this fall, the adventures of Jack O'Neill (aka McGyver), Teal'c, Daniel Jackson, Cam Mitchell, General Hammond, General Landry, Vala (what a babe), and Sam Carter (what an even hotter babe), have come to a bittersweet end - although Sam will be starring on Stargate Atlantis starting this fall, for which I am very thankful.

The series finale wasn't impressive. They could have at least given us a two-hour event. Instead they utilized an hour to tweak sci-fi elements of a previously used story (Stargate fans will know what I'm talking about) into another story that resolved almost nothing -- and left many unanswered questions.

Thankfully in Stargate's case, the upcoming movies should bring additional closure to the show. But it seems to be a trend now that when shows are ending, they just end badly. If they know ahead of time the show is ending, they tend to write some lame finale, resolving some questions but leaving many unanswered. If they're just pulled off the air, we don't get any resolution.

And it seems that the biggest offenders are sci-fi and action shows. Threshold, Surface, and Invasion were all pulled with no warning. Star Trek Enterprise's finale was just lame, as was Star Trek Voyager's. JAG's was okay, but still pretty bad.

The Wonder Years, one of my other favorite shows of all-time, ended with perhaps the one of the biggest questions in television history: Did they or didn't they?

Quantum Leap had one of the most frustrating series finales. It was bittersweet, answered many questions, reunited lost loves (Al and Beth -- still one of my favorite television scenes ever), but Sam never got to go home. I've been hoping for years that they would resolve this show with a movie. The lobbying efforts do still continue for this....

Viewers like myself often spend years watching a show evolve and change, and at the end hope for a farewell worthy of their respect. Whatever happened though to putting heart into the end of an era, a chapter in someone's life and in a television show's life? Growing Pains, Family Ties and MASH had excellent finales. My favorite all-time finale is probably that of Cheers.

Here's to Norm, Sammy, Diane, Fraiser, Rebecca, Carla, Cliff, Woody, and Coach.

Unrelated Topics On the Mind

I feel bad I haven't blogged in a few weeks. I have a few things that I want to just mention really quickly though. I may expand on these in the very near future, but for now I just wanted to get these out of my brain and onto paper (or the web, as the case may be)

1. Thomas Ravenel
For those of you who are unfamiliar with who Thomas Ravenel is, he is the (suspended) South Carolina State Treasurer. Earlier this week he was indicted on drug-related charges. This guy seemed sleezy from the get-go. He's just one of those types of people that looks like you can't trust him from the minute he opens his mouth. I am a die-hard, card carrying member of the GOP but this guy just is like nails on chalkboard. In every election since I was 18 I voted a straight Republican ticket - except in 2006. The one non-party line vote I have ever cast in my life was for Ravenel's Democratic opponent, Grady Patterson, who had been in office for years.

People like Ravenel are the reason why most of the nation thinks South Carolinians are an uneducated bunch of inbred hicks. He is an embarassment to the entire state. I don't understand why in the world ANYONE in a position like his would even think of being involved in anything remotely illegal. Yet politicians do it all the time. Again, this is a case of someone of status thinking they are above the law. And, fortunately for the justice system, the law caught up to him, yet unfortunately for the state of South Carolina, it makes us look like a bunch of drugged up rednecks. Thanks Thomas.

2. 9 Heroes
On a sad and tragic note....
Nine Charleston firefighters died earlier this week when the roof of a mattress store collapsed onto them as they were searching the store, which was engulfed in a massive fire, for anyone remaining inside. It was the highest loss of firefighters in a single instance since September 11, 2001. My thoughts and prayers go out to each and every family member and friend of each of these brave men.

3. Get in the game, Fred
Fred Thompson is polling very well right now, despite the fact he is not officially a candidate for president. A lot of people are saying he will bring a return a Reaganesque era to Washington. Frankly, I would like to see that. I think Thompson is really the only true unifying candidate the GOP is going to have and the only one who will be able to topple Hillary. Edwards and Obama are both a joke. The GOP can take them out of this game with relative ease if either survives the primary.

That's it for now.... more to come on Friday.

A Very Touching Tribute

I think every American needs to watch this. This video was made by a 15-year-old girl and was one of the top viewed videos on You Tube last week, and is dedicated to our troops. It is very hard to get through but I think it shows tremendous support, faith, and love for our troops - which I think more people need to show.

This war is being fought for many reasons. We may not fully understand or agree with some of those reasons, but these men and women are away from their families, they are fighting for the freedom of each and every American, and they are giving their lives each day. My only wish is that every American would be as understanding and supportive as the girl who composed this video.

Mom! It's Not Right!

ROTFLMAO!!!!

My hat is off to LA. Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer for throwing Paris Hilton back in jail!

I shook my head in disgust yesterday when she was released from jail for supposedly having some sort of medical condition. Now to see today that pompous, self-righteous Paris Hilton's bubble burst and she wasn't able to circumvent the justice system is a flicker of hope for those who are tired of seeing celebrities get away with things.

Celebrities need to know that acting like a spoiled brat and thinking they can get away with anything they want is not acceptable. What is especially not acceptable is for the justice sytem not to do something about people defying the law three times. One time should be enough for someone to be arrested and charged for their crime. Allowing her to slide through two warnings and only be arrested on the third is completely unacceptable. People, regardless of their status, should have to face the ultimate consequences for every instance of every crime they commit. There should be no leeway for people who commit crimes.

Of course, there have been countless instances where people of status and celebrity have gotten away with infractions, crimes, and the disrespect of the justice system and/or people of lower socioeconomic status. O.J. Simpson is probably one of the most famous examples of this -- a murderer never convicted of the crime just because he could afford the very best attorneys possible.

I am so tired of celebrities and the status in which popular culture holds them. I am tired of wealthy people as a whole thinking they are better than people who don't have much money, of them holding their nose up in the air, of them showing off their money by buying the expensive cars and houses and throwing it in people's face.

I hope this will be a sign to celebrities and wealthy people that there is justice in this country. Having money may help, but thankfully there are judges like Judge Sauer who will put their foot down against celebrities, socialites, and wealthy people who commit crimes and make sure that the rules do apply to them.

People who commit crimes, regardless of the crime and their own personal status, deserve to serve the maximum sentence applicable under the law. There are many cases in which I feel maximum sentences are too light. But as long as law-abiding citizens have the power to influence the judicial system, we need to make sure that we keep judges like this gentleman in office and push for more stringent laws and criminal justice procedures.

Yes, the criminal justice system in America is drastically underfunded. Yes, our prisons are overcrowded. And I understand that those are two of the major reasons why the justice system as a whole lets people slide sometimes. We need to seriously address those respective areas. But at the same time, we need to address rampant leniency in the justice system.

Enjoy being in jail Paris. You deserve it.

Why do I do this?

Ever since probably ninth grade I've tried to test the limits of my ability to stay up late.

It started off basically because I just wanted to stay up late. I wanted to be able to tell my friends "Dude, I was up until 2 a.m. last night." Whoa, cool man, were you like watching the latest heavy metal videos on MTV? Yes, from time to time I was. Or I was still working on homework that I should have done hours before.

In college -- well, staying up late in something that you just do. You go out partying. You're hanging out until 3 in the morning just talking about the latest topic of choice. You're plastering newspaper all over a friend's pickup truck at 3 am with campus police sitting a nearby patrol car watching and laughing their asses off at the situation. You're working on some homework that you should have done hours ago. Or you're on a VAX dial-up account and have discovered the world of BBSing, of GOPHER, of Lynx, of YTALK, and all kinds of really cool text based things you could do on your computer -- and imagining all the possibilities if this technology really takes off. Sooner or later you look at the clock and you're like "Is it really 5 a.m.?" So you grab a few hours of sleep before your 8 o'clock class. When your alarm goes off at 10 til 8, you throw on some deoderant, gargle some mouthwash, grab the closest, cleanest clothes and a baseball cap, and run to class.

Now as an adult, I've turned the past few years into trying to keep up with my younger self. But I do it by bringing my job home. Not that I need to do this -- I just like to stay one step ahead. Okay, so I get distracted by the TV. And chores. And my wife asking me to turn off the computer. So when I get to a point where I can sit down and work on what I wanted to work on, it's 11:30 at night. I wrap up at anywhere from midnight to 1:30 -- depending on how tired I am.

A couple weeks ago, I was falling asleep around 10 o'clock every night for about two weeks. I guess my body was trying to tell me something.

The wife and I went out with a friend of ours to a local bar a couple months ago to hear a really good group called Tokyo Joe (an awesome group). They played basically until the place shut down. I felt like crap for an entire week afterward.

So here I am in the wee hours of the morning and I'm blogging because I feel bad that I haven't posted in several days. I should have gone to bed hours ago. Spent some time watching Deadliest Catch with the wife, burned some CDs, did about 1 hour worth of work, and here I am. I have to be at a meeting for work at 7 am. It will take about 50 minutes to get there. That means I need to be out of bed no later than 5:50 am. Why do I do this?

When Pressing Zero Doesn't Work

I typically don't enjoy confrontation. As a matter of fact, I try to avoid it.

But calling customer service numbers really gets me riled up sometimes. Generally the hold times are enough to anger me. I spend 10, 20, 30 minutes waiting to talk to someone - and when I finally get to talk to someone, in the middle of the conversation they ask if they can put me on hold for no good reason.

NO YOU CANNOT PUT ME ON HOLD - I JUST SPENT 30 MINUTES WAITING TO TALK TO YOU. YOU ARE A MORON. DO YOU THINK I WANT TO WAIT LONGER?

"Sure, fine, go ahead" -- and so I wait for them to come back on the phone. Drumming my fingers on the desk.

So for today's story, I just had a really fun experience that took me nearly an hour to resolve.

This started with a notice I received in the mail a few days ago saying I had not submitted a UPC along with a rebate form for a cell phone I recently purchased. Which I had. I cut it off the box and included it with the rebate application, stapled to it at that, just like the instruactions said, and mailed it off. Then I get this notice.

So I call the phone number listed on the notice. Go through the automated menu -- several dozen times. No obvious way to talk to a rep -- it's all "Press 1 for a FAQ on this", "Press 2 for a FAQ on that." I press "0" repeatedly. With a lot of systems, doing this will put you in touch with an agent. Not this time. It instantly hangs up. So I call the headquarters of the rebate company.

"We're sorry. The only number we can give you is the one you already have," they say.

"A lot of good you are," I say, as I hang up. Then I call my cell phone provider. They give me the same blasted number. So I call it back. Go through every submenu, selecting every option. Finally I get an option to talk to a real person. By this time my blood is boiling and I'm about to go off on someone.

Luckily, this person was pretty understanding. They told me that there IS a record that I submitted a UPC. She didn't know why I was sent the notice that started this whole debacle in the first place, and she authorizes my rebate check. Problem solved.

Sort of.

In my eyes, the problem won't ever be totally solved until they either eliminate automated menus and your call goes directly to a customer service agent -- or they tell you up front on the main menu of their automated system that you can press "0" or whatever to talk to a real person.

What they have in place I wouldn't call customer service at all. Technology and computers are great and all, but sometimes I just wish we could have prevented automated menus from ever being invented. I generally get better customer service from the person behind the speaker at the McDonald's drive thru when they ask me if I want fries with my order.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Star Wars!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

(Bah bom, bom, ba dada, dom dom, ba dada dom, dom, dada da dom)

May 25, 1977 - A day that will live in cinematic history. The day that a rag-tag group of freedom fighters struck back at the evil Galactic Empire and changed the tides of science fiction history forever (along with the dreams of virtually every American male). Forget Farah Fawcett, Carrie Fisher was the newest babe whose posters were hung up across America. Han Solo became what Steve Miller had claimed to be -- a space cowboy and a gangster of love. Luke Skywalker (as dorky as he was) became the man who fired the shot, the proverbial death knell, which ultimately put the Empire out of business. C3PO was the first robot that people just wanted to smack. R2D2 became everyone's idea of the perfect robotic sidekick. And Chewbacca -- well, what can you say about a 7-foot-tall crossbow carrying, bandolier wearing mix between a gorilla and a dog - he was just bad-ass.

A few weeks prior, I had just turned three, so I vaguely remember watching Episode IV: A New Hope in the theater. But it was enough to wow me for life.

Star Wars became my favorite thing to watch, talk about, collect, and immerse myself into. It still is. Over time, I collected most of the toys (which, even though worse for wear, are packed away in my parents' attic). I've bought all of the multiple formats and versions of the original triology. I bought up most of the re-issued toys back in the 90s. I've bought and read most of the books. My wife calls it clutter - I call it treasure.

I can quote the original trilogy almost in its entirety, from beginning to end.

Plain and simple, I love Star Wars. And although I'm not very fond of the new trilogy (Jar Jar in particular), I will always have a fascination for the Star Wars mythology. Star Wars is responsible for my love of Science Fiction. It's probably responsible for my fascination with space exploration as a whole.

On May 24, 1977, I don't think the cinematic world had a clue what was about to happen or what it was in for.

May the force be with you!