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Firefly

2011-08-01T18:36:00.002-04:00

Back in 2002, Fox aired a show called Firefly. Unfortunately, in the Big Scheme over ratings (ONLY 4.7 Million viewers), it was cancelled after only 11 episodes out of 14, with a planned 7 year schedule. If you haven't seen the show, it's worth catching.

It aired recently one the Science Channel and was deemed the best Sci-Fi ever. When the show was released on DVD, it got excellent sales and there's still a grass-roots movement calling for a second season. While a new season might be fairly impossible since all the actors are older and have moved on, it's still one of my favorite shows to watch.

After the show was cancelled, Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), decided that the story wasn't finished being told, so he created the movie aptly named Serenity. With less details into how the crew got together and more details on plot, this movie culminates the original concept IMO. The Movie would be lost on most people if you saw it without watching the original 14 episodes, you simply need the back story on the characters to understand it.

What I like about this Series and the Movie was that in most Sci-Fi Space style shows, there is a huge difference in time from now until when the show is supposed to take place. While this show is 500 years in the future, the Planets and the Cities all have that Rural feel of when the US was expanding into the West.

The Space Ships are rough and not all "Star Wars" futuristic, there are very few "Ray Guns" and more conventional weapons. The show focuses on surviving in space after "The Alliance" has won the war against the Rebels with excellent character development. Each of the characters lends to the larger picture and plot of each of the shows. (Quick rundown of the characters below.)

1) The Captain and the code he lives by trying to make a living.
2) His right hand man that's really a woman that he fought beside in the war.
3) The talented pilot that happens to be married to the Right Hand Woman.
4) A gifted engineer that also happens to be a woman and is a mechanical genius.
5) The Brawny, less brainy guy that's crazy about weapons that offsets the rest of the crew.
6) A Shepard (Man of God) for spiritual healing that isn't exactly what he appears to be.
7) The Doctor that gave up everything to save his Sister and now is part of the crew.
8) His Sister that the Alliance is trying to find and capture that turns out to be surprisingly frail AND tough.
9) A Companion (legal prostitute) that has her shuttle (home & office) docked with serenity.
10) Various other recurring characters, some good, some bad.

The chemistry of the crew is "Just Right" IMO and each one of them develops nicely throughout the season. It's a shame that Fox gave up so easily on this show, it had a huge potential and still has a lot of followers hoping that something will change for a possible second season. I know I wouldn't mind seeing one, it was truly one of the Sci-Fi shows that you could really relate to because the characters are real people in a setting that's a little more believable than pointed ears. It was a refreshing change from your normal Star Trek, Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

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The New Employment Environment

2011-07-26T14:56:00.001-04:00

I am totally taken back by the new Job Market that we are facing these days. I've been looking for a job for about a year and the old days are dead and gone. Now I have to have a Linkedin page, search for jobs on sites like indeed.com & monster.com, read Craigslist ads, Email my Resume and then possibly get a one on one job interview, but more often than that, a Telephone interview.

Not only are employers checking for drug abuse, they have access to your Credit Scores now and search the Web for any Social Media you participate in. What ever happened to my "Time Off" being my business? I'm rather outspoken on occasion, does that make it a risk to be myself online? I am now to be judged by my Social Media conduct and not just my ability to perform the job in a Professional manner now?

Computing has come a long way toward making everything more efficient, but we hit the point of diminishing returns in regards to employment. When an Employer is able to access your out of work habits and thoughts, it really starts to get to the heart of how Social Media is changing our lives at a pace that outstrips most everything else. We might as well get on with the whole implanted RFID & GPS location devices at this point. Oh wait... Too late... Your new fancy American Express Blue card uses RFID and your phone has a GPS locator built into it.

Does anyone else find this scary?

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Sad but not unexpected news

2011-07-23T14:21:00.001-04:00

Sad but not unexpected news: http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2011/07/23/amy-winehouse-dead-at-27/

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Car Crashes

2011-07-22T16:44:00.003-04:00

Traffic ~~Accidents~~ Collisions...

There is NO such thing as a Traffic "Accident"... I don't know where people ever got that term from, but when your vehicle collides with another, it's called a "Collision". There is nothing "Accidental" about driving into something else, it's preventable.

Did that car "Accidentally" change lanes and clip somebody else's bumper thus causing an "Accident" or was there an impatient lane diver with poor judgement piloting the vehicle? What about the Drivers that txt, put on their makeup, read (yes read, I've seen this, it's scary), fiddle with their radios, dig around for a CD, mess with their GPS, etc... Isn't that "Distracted Driving"? So if they HIT something, it's not accidental because they could avoid a collision by NOT doing any of the above, right??? So it's NOT an accident when you hit something, it's a collision and chances are that the driver did something foolish to cause it!

What about aggressive drivers that weave in and out of traffic? If they hit something shouldn't it be called an "Intentional" because they were driving like boneheads? How could it be an "Accident"? They're driving super stupid and hit your car... The only accidental thing that happens is when your fist lands upside their head... OR, better yet, you can say you were bending over to tie your shoe, stood up and didn't realize how close they were standing to you when your head breaks their nose... That's an "Intentional Accident" with a smidgin of pre-meditation, where your head "Collided" with theirs, thus the loud and satisfying crunch you heard and it darn sure was no "Accident"!

What about the person that cuts you off when you are obviously too close for them to do it safely? And then they simply DIE right in front of you. This usually happens to me when I'm in a rush to get some place, but I think the rate doubles when I'm on my Motorcycle. If you lay into the horn, they still ignore you and proceed on their brain dead journey. Now if I hit them, it's because either A) I saw the possibility that they might cut me off and didn't slow down. B) Slowed down too fast and skidded into them (wet or dry), so I was going too fast in the first place. C) I needed a new car and if I can hit right at the front fender, the Insurance is going to pay because it's their fault!

The way I see it, when a Collision occurs, both parties share part of the blame. That can range from 50-50% to 99-1%, but there are always ways of preventing a collision. If you get cut off and you hit the person, YOU didn't take into account that the idiot would really do it and slow down to allow the idiocy to stream past the front of your vehicle.

If you have a "Lane Dodger" coming up behind you (if you failed to see them, it's your fault for not looking), and they hit your vehicle cutting you off, it's your fault for not slowing down a little bit and leaving them enough space to hang themselves. If it's a collision at an intersection, chances are: A) Lack of understanding on just what "Yeilding the Right of Way" means or B) I bet a good part of the time, lack of using Signaling Devices...They even make vehilces with optional Directional Signals now too! I swear, I see them around here all the time! The only exception to this is if you have a collision with a Cab in my area... Then it's 100% their fault!

So in conclusion, my take on Car Crashes = Traffic ~~Accidents~~ Collisions...

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Passing Time

2011-07-20T17:06:00.001-04:00

Does anyone else hum the Jeopardy song while passing time waiting for something?

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Comments about Nancy Grace on Twitter

2011-07-20T10:33:00.004-04:00

WARNING: I'm not sure if you like Nancy Grace or not, so if you do, DON'T follow this link, you won't appreciate the humor.

While I do believe her initial involvement in the Casey Anthony Case was genuine, she turned it into a Trial by Media and made, I'm sure, a killing in ratings with a good chunk of the female audience following this case IMO. The Hollywood Reporter posted some rather funny Tweets about Nancy Grace's reaction to the Verdict, here's the link: Casey Anthony Verdict: See the Best Tweets About Nancy Grace's Reaction.

Some of my Favorites: "I hate the idea of someone who's clearly crazy & dangerous going free, but that's apparently the deal with Nancy Grace," & -- "Remember, folks: in America, you're innocent until Nancy Grace spends every night for 3 years saying you're guilty." writes satirist Andy Borowitz.

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I Scream Over Ice Cream!

2011-07-18T14:35:00.005-04:00

OK, I have to ask myself: "How many Ice Cream trucks does one town need???" It seems like we are constantly being bombarded by Ice Cream trucks all day long into the early evening. On the weekend, there seems to be a concentration of these loud, obnoxious vehicles and our house seems to be ground zero for ALL of them!

What ever happened to the Good Humor trucks with their jingly bells? I remember as a kid, hearing those bells from 500 feet away, dashing to the house, begging the Parents for $, selling my soul with promised chores and racing after the truck to get my treat. Then we had the Mr. Sofie truck that had this very nice musical melody playing in a calliope-like manner. They always came in the evening, after dinner, with their soft Ice Cream offerings. Once they announced their arrival, out of respect, they would turn off the music and start to serve the long line of eager young faces scrambling for position around their truck.

Skip forward to present day... What the HECK is going on with these new Ice Cream trucks? There's no subtle bells or brief music any longer. They patrol my neighborhood like sharks and play all kinds of music, appropriate or not, in a steady stream that destroys any possibility of sanity! It's like they all got together and figured out who was going to play what type of music to assure total and complete utter cacophony should their trucks overlap on their daily routes!

I did a double take the other day when I heard XMas tunes coming from one truck. Another played music for about 30 seconds, paused, then this annoying, Valley Girl type voice goes: "Hello?"... These two rocket scientists came down my street following each other in direct competition, shattering the peace and quiet of a Sunday afternoon. As if that wasn't offense enough, these two genius's then stopped to have some sort of discussion side by side for about 5 mins and didn't bother to turn off the racket emanating from their respective trucks. Visions of Bazookas, Wire Guided Rocket Launchers and Shot\Machine Guns were rattling around my mind as this assault on my Musical Last Nerve was taking place!

On average, in a single day, I would say there are at least 9 Ice Cream trucks that visit my neighborhood in Summer, on a Daily basis. On a Sunday, I have counted between 12-15 visits, sometimes by repeat offenders, in a single day. At what point is this considered noise pollution, disturbing the peace or flat out harassment? I'm all for free enterprise, but surely there has to be some sort of ordinances that protect the residents from this constant assault?

Why are these trucks allowed to stop and "Stand" directly in front of my house while the customers throw their garbage out on the street rather than use the garbage slot on the truck 3 feet to their right? I remember our old Ice Cream truck people telling us not to litter and to use their can. This newer generation of trucks don't seem to care at all about their impact on a neighborhood and are only intent on sales of their products...

So let's predict how much longer it's going to take before I lose it... Before I break down and start screaming at the Ice Cream trucks, chase them down the street swinging a baseball bat at their Speakers to kill the awful music spewing forth with a handful of litter in the other hand that was deposited on my front lawn with no care from the vendor???

Place your bets folks, place your bets before you miss out and the event is over... In case I owe you money, if this does occur, you will probably be able to contact me in the local Jail. I'll pay up once I can raise enough cash to bail myself out.

I can't be the only person that's experiencing this...
Uggggggg! Enough said...

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JUST A BIKER

2011-07-16T10:34:00.001-04:00

Reposted with permission from another forum:

JUST A BIKER:

I saw you hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.
But, you didn't see me, put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.

I saw you pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.
But, you didn't see me, playing Santa at the local mall.

I saw you change your mind about going into the restaurant.
But, you didn't see me, attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you, roll up your window and shake your head when I drove by.
But, you didn't see me, driving behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you, frown at me when I smiled at your children.
But, you didn't see me, when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you, stare at my long hair.
But you didn't see me, and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you roll your eyes at our leather coats and gloves.
But, you didn't see me, and my brothers donate our old coats and gloves to those that had none.

I saw you, look in fright at my tattoos.
But, you didn't see me, cry as my children where born and have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you, change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere.
But, you didn't see me, going home to be with my family.

I saw you, complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be.
But, you didn't see me, when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you, yelling at your kids in the car.
But, you didn't see me pat my child's hands, knowing he was safe behind me.

I saw you, reading the newspaper o r map as you drove down the road.
But, you didn't see me squeeze my wife's leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you, race down the road in the rain.
But, you didn't see me, get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you, run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time.
But, you didn't see me, trying to turn right.

I saw you, cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn't see me, leave the road.

I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn't see me. I wasn't there.

I saw you, go home to your family.
But, you didn't see me. Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker, a person with friends and a family.
But, you didn't see me.

Repost this around in hopes that people will understand the biker community.
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Having Kids at 40 something

2011-07-16T07:31:00.005-04:00

The other night I was hanging out with a few friends at my Local Watering Hole and one of the occasional female customers that I chat with asked me a strange question. Some back story first thought: I had made reference as to how young 21 seemed to me now a days. There was a table of, what could only be described as "Kids" to me, but were indeed old enough to drink Alcohol. None of them looked legal to me, but I witnessed the bartender "proof" them. I later found out that some of them were as old as, get this... 23! Now my Daughter is in her 20's and I don't recall her ever looking THAT young to me as she grew to adulthood.

So here we chatting about memory road, and out of left field she asks me "Would you ever consider having kids now at your age?" Now this is a fairly well off business woman that always dresses well and has made sure she not reliant on anybody else, this is no nut case, we've talked before and we've had decent harmless conversation. So I replied "If I was still married or with you?"

Instantly my mind was off and running... I was remembering all the Joys that I experienced as a parent... The First Step and then getting woke up every 4 hours by a hungry Baby. Holding her in my arms with that Baby smell... And then lugging around enough crap to be a portable diaper changing station. That warm feeling when you are burping them and then that WARM feeling when they regurgitate down your back. How fast that first year went while raising Baby and then how fast a year of our lives went that we didn't get out much to do anything together other than for Baby...

A particular thought went through my head. My Daughter was fascinated with the VCR's tape door slot. I eventually got one of those child-proof slot guards, but that was only after several issues arose. When the VCR stopped working the first time, I found myself cleaning out the remains of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she didn't finish. When that VCR died, I kept it around as a project to eventually figure out what killed it in the future. It sat around my house for around 15 years before I decided it simply wasn't ever going to get fixed and that a new one was cheaper, and besides, we've moved on to DVD.

One the way to the trash, I dropped it and out popped a Dime! Yes, a dime... It seems that my little darling started her own savings account when she was young and apparently the VCR was her personal piggy bank. All of this flashed in my mind in like a second or two, like a micro burst of memory.

Fast forward to present, she replied "With me..." But it was too late, I was already laughing about the Dime and how my Daughter had foiled all attempt to repair that dang VCR! I was thinking about another Blog I had written several years ago in regards to selling "Genetic Material". Several other random thoughts bounced around my head while pondering her question.

She didn't say another word, just grabbed her purse and walked away, settled her check and left. OK, so what have we learned here? First off, don't wait until you are in your 40's to try to find a suitable mate to have children with. Secondly, if that was a pickup line or screening process, it needs work... So in the meantime, I guess that just killed any chance of having a serious conversation, or ANY conversation for that matter, with her in the future. Third lesson learned: Make Sure Brain Is Engaged Before Opening Mouth. I'll blame that on the Beer... I wasn't trying to insult her and I usually have more tact than that.

Whooooopsssieee!
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MY LIVING WILL:

2011-07-14T18:56:00.003-04:00

MY LIVING WILL: Last night, my kids and I were sitting in the living room and I said to them, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug." They got up, unplugged the Computer, and threw out my wine. They are so on my shitlist!

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10 things NOT to say to or in front of a Woman

2011-07-14T15:47:00.004-04:00

1) The "C" Word... Ever!
2) "I told you so"
3) "My X wife said..."
4) "You're wrong!"
5) "I don't like this gift (shirt, pet slippers, rob, underwear, etc) that you just gave me."
6) "You drive like crap..."
7) "It was only a kiss!"
8) "Lifetime for Women again???"
9) "Your problem is..."
10) Any name other than hers while in bed... (Unless you're trying to break up with her.)

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After the Casey Anthony Trial

2011-07-13T18:29:00.001-04:00

The Casey Anthony trial is over, but one couldn't tell by the Media swirl that is still running around. One can't go a single day without hearing something in regards to the trial: "She got away with murder", "I think it was an accident", "Man fights with woman while arguing over the verdict", "Casey to be released on Sun, July 17th", "The Jurors are getting threats", etc. I could go on but you get the point.

What is astonishing is that the entire Country has been sucked into this tragedy and this dysfunctional family's plights. The masses outside the courtroom trying to get a seat in the courthouse, the people milling about outside waiting for a verdict, the majority of the people expressing their outrage at the verdict, all give evidence as to just how deeply this case has affected so many people.

The news Media haven't finished with this yet either. There's InSession discussing all kinds of legal issues, HLN has Nancy Grace review the entire case start to finish, News Paper articles on all aspects of the trial, commentary all over on whether the State got the evidence in front of the Jury and any mistakes they made, and then on the flip side, we hear the same about the Defense. Commentary on the Jurors and how the system needs change...

So even AFTER the Trial, it's still being poked and prodded, discussed and argued over. Is there no end in sight? With the advances in technology, News is almost instantaneous now. You receive it on your TV, Cell phone or Mobile Device, Social Networking sites, RSS feeds, etc. How does one get away from this constant exposure of this sad case?

This is rash, but someone has to say it: Step AWAY from the Casey Koolaid and move on. Stop watching the coverage non-stop. Go shopping, watch other TV stations, stop discussing it with others, go out for a nice dinner, just something other than being enthralled by all the over exposure and media coverage.

I'm not saying forget this case and the lessons learned from it, but take a step back and take a break, regain some perspective.

Social Media

2011-07-12T18:47:00.000-04:00

So, if I'm going to blog about Cell Phones, why not the entire Social Media craze? Why is it that I cannot leave the house without my phone? I seriously get Separation Anxiety if I forget my Cell at my house. I WILL turn around and drive back to get it rather than go a few hours at the risk of not "Being in touch".

We've got people wandering around, so busy looking at their Cells, that we ignore each other on the street now. The first time I saw an IPad I was totally blown away by it. Now we have all sorts of Electronic Gizmos that we cannot leave home without. A family outing has become a checklist of Digital Equipment... PSP, GPS, Cell Phone, Kindle, Digital Camera, Netbook, etc.. And DO NOT forget the spare batteries and chargers for all these devices plus all the various cables and cords to attach them to our heads, vehicle, wall, etc.. You need a whole suitcase just for your electronics now.

Then we have all our Social Networks that we belong to like MySpace and Facebook, Message Boards, Search Engines, etc. And even more questions: Which Browser should we use? Internet Explorer, FireFox, Google Chrome? How do we have time to actually do anything aside from staying in the Network? We get our news instantly through RSS Feeds to our Mobile Devices now too, so that's a game changer right there, no more News Paper required.

How much further will this go? Are we going to get to the day and age where you have a Device inserted under your skin that handles your phone calls, tracks your location, acts like a GPS when you need directions and allows you to browse all these things via your mind? Seriously, what's left to do, what direction haven't we been yet? And all this has happened in the last 30 years...

Cell Phones

2011-07-12T12:38:00.005-04:00

The advances in Cell Phone Technology and Networking have impacted our society at even the most base level. 80-90% of Americans own a Cell, so the impact isn't Localized, it's a National event. Let me elaborate...

There are few, if any, places where your LG, Nokia, Samsung, Droid, IPhone, Blackberry, Motorola, Pantech, Sanyo, Sony Ericsson, Apple or Casio doesn't operate. How does this impact Society you ask? For one thing, when your Cell rings and you don't answer it, the person on the other side immediately thinks you've snubbed them. Face it, your Answering Machine (Wow, they still make these?) is now your Voice Mail and you carry it with you all the time. The "I wasn't home" while screening your calls doesn't cut it any more.

How deeply does this go? Have you read a book or saw a movie lately before Cell Phones? Doesn't it weird you out? Literature and Theater has lost a means to add Dramatic Tension!

Scenario 1: The Hero misses the Note left for him warning him that the bad guy is going to blow something up at a certain time and it gets blown on the floor... Nope, that doesn't work any more because nobody leaves a Note anymore, they call and leave you a Voice Mail or send you a Text Message.

Scenario 2: There's a car crash, the Hero has a broken leg and can't escape the vehicle but yet the Highway is 75 feet away. Too far to shout but oh so tantalizingly close... Nope, that doesn't work either because he just lips open his phone and calls 911 or they locate him through GPS and Cell Tower Triangulation.

Scenario 3: The Heroin is trapped in her car with a rabid dog underneath stalking her... Sooo... she calls 411, gets the Animal Control Office's number, calls them and is rescued.

Some of the best moments in Entertainment have now been nullified by our access to cheap Mobile Devices. I bet a bunch of people that read this are doing it via a Mobile Device yourself!

Think about it...

Forgive my Ads

2011-07-12T03:41:00.004-04:00

It seem that I haven't fine-tuned my Blog to include Skin Care Products, You Tube, Free E-Mail Marketing or Webcasts yet... Please only click on an Ad that you are truly interested in, you will only get my Blog suspended if you randomly click thinking that you are helping me. Honest traffic and forecasts on what you click on is measured carefully, so please... Just follow Ads you are really interested in and don't worry about anything else! I've simplified Comments but I would prefer you have a Google ID (Gmail or other Google service) before I let you post to avoid SPAM. Gmail is free and can be and be done here quickly: mail.google.com/mail/signup.

Please Do: Leave Comments, leave Impressions, leave Reactions, Share & Email, I need the feedback so I know I'm on the right track!

Thanks All, Peace Out!

I wonder

2011-07-11T19:24:00.002-04:00

Since the Casey Anthony Trial, has the Stock on Fabreze and Chlorox Wipes gone Up or Down? Just sayin'...

So if you are a Race Car Driver...

2011-07-11T00:02:00.002-04:00

So if you are a Race Car Driver... Is your Mantra "I can't Drive 55"???

Last Space Shuttle Mission

2011-07-10T23:41:00.000-04:00

How does this affect you? Are we giving up something that the USA has "Owned" for almost 40 years? How do you feel about NASA not replacing the Shuttles with a newer vehicle?
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Caylee's Law

2011-07-10T22:38:00.001-04:00

I don't want to harp here on what I think about the Casey Anthony Trial, nor the outcome of the verdict. What I will ask you is to follow this link, and if you believe that our laws need change, sign this petition please. So far, 18 States are drafting some sort of version of this law... All due to this petition. Link: Caylee's Law You CAN make a difference!

I'm sorry I took the Picture down because for some reason Google Adsense is giving me stuff about something and shut down any earnings potential, so anything that looks like it could be Copyright infringement will have to go. Although I've written and have the rights to all my previous blogs, I will now remove any reference to any other Social Networking sites now...?

The Feeding of the Kat Army - Written Jan 2008

2011-07-10T15:57:00.003-04:00

Ok, what on god's green earth could someone write about a mundane chore as feeding the cats? Lots… Because I have a lot of them. If you only have one or two cats, you're not going to understand what it's like living with nine... Yes, I said nine and they have formed a Pride, just like you see on Discovery or TLC.

This is a typical Sunday afternoon around here…

"Meow… Me-ew… Eh meow"… That's Sam, my Big Boy. He's rather vocal and we have wonderful conversations when he's in the mood to talk. Since he only likes to talk when he's hungry, we have this conversation frequently: He's ALWAYS hungry. "Sam, it's early, you have to wait half an hour, it's not time yet." This is usually answered by something like this: "Me me ek eh mow me ow eh." The Language of Cat, being a vocal language is not very friendly to the written word so I'm not sure if I got that just right there. There's some subtle hiss and purr with a touch of guttural in there that I cannot really convey.

"No Sam, it's early, sorry dude, you really have to wait and that's final." Now, I don't know how to say "F**k You" in Cat, but I'm pretty sure that's what this means: "Meeek ehhhwww." He always says that the same way every time I tell him he has to wait, so I'm going to assume I have that translated correctly.

Now, you need to realize that this cat is standing on his back legs to be as tall as possible during this entire conversation, much like a 2 year-old. He's also a rather large cat so he really is trying to look me in the eye and talk. He puts great effort into anything food, be it getting into the pantry and chewing his way through a plastic container or learning how to open the fridge. If it's food, he's motivated and I admire his tenacity for it. If only people were this dedicated to things that are important to them.

So, it's finally time and now we go through the "Round up" procedure. "Who's Hungry? Do I have any customers? Places everyone places! Kat, round up the troops!" No, dead serious… I say this every day, every time and these guys know what it means! Little furry blurs come out of the wood work. Why do we go through this? Well, you didn't think that nine cats would all be on the same diet did you? Silly you, of course not!

Let's see, Beau, Scooter, Max and Foxy get feed in the dining room, Sam, Katrina, Biscuit (AKA A$$hole), Sparky & Molly all feed in the kitchen. So the first thing to do is get them separated, hence the announcement that it's now time to stop watching Cat TV and get their furry little butts where they belong.

After role call, I go through the "Where's the bowls" quest. Usually they're were we left them last time, but sometimes they like to knock them behind things and the like. Now there's also a timing issue here. Who woulda thought, right? If the cats in the Kitchen finish eating before the cats in the dinning room, opening the door to give them water usually leads to A$$hole bolting through the tiny space with Sam & Molly hot on his heels.

So first things first, all bowls in the kitchen? Check. Bowls laid out in order of feeding? Check. OK, this is the tricky part. I have Sam and Biscuit with their paws up damn near to the counter trying to sell me, in Cat no less, that they are starving and their master hasn't feed them in a week. We have Sparky sitting on the couch verbally confirming their plight while Kat is circling the two boys and me. She is truly "Rounding up" the troops. She runs the show around here and they know it, so they pretty much go where ever she happens to be circling, which is always around me, so it works out… Our newest addition contents herself to becoming a Cat Trap, wrapping herself in and out of my legs, in what I truly think, is an attempt to trip me so I drop the food all over the floor prematurely.

Here's comes the timing part. Both Kat & Sparky will eat out of the same bowl politely, the Boys & Molly will not, hence we have one big bowl and three smaller. I hook the two small ones with the fingers of my right hand and grab the girls bowl in my left. "OK, Places! Ladies first, Germs Second" I call out. Molly is a head diver so I always throw her bowl down first so I can walk without getting tripped.

Kat stops her dizzying spectacle and hops up on the couch and I drop the bowl between the both of them just as she arrives. The whole time, I'm waving the bowls in my right hand to keep the boys on the floor begging. First one bowl, then the second and a quick head adjustment to get Sam's head out of Biscuit's and into his own. Told ya, he's the kitty with the plan. If he can eat the other cat's food first, who's gonna know, right? Now that we have Molly, this dance has become a 3 ring circus.

Here comes stage two and this is the part where timing is essential. I lay out the other 4 bowls, glance at Sam to make sure he's still occupied and open the pantry where we keep the dry food. As quickly as I can, with grace that only someone truly has done this countless times before, I grab the dry food container, pour the required amounts into the bowls and whisk the container away in a flash. I mean, I have this down so fast it's like 3-5 seconds and the door's closed.

I stack the 4 bowls in the order that the feeding will take place on the other side of the door. Checking again on Sam's progress and redirecting his head yet again to his own bowl, I make the dash to the door, slip through and intercept Foxy who is trying to get into the Kitchen. I drop her bowl and get a "Meow" of thanks, plop Beau's in front of him while he stares at me in disappointment that it's not wet food, Scooter and then… where the heck is Max? "Max? Max?"

Now Max is the cat that cannot be touched. We got him a little too late, and although after many hours of working with Scooter to get him to allow me to pet him, it's still a no go with Max. He just doesn't want people to touch him. If you try, you better count your fingers and toes after because you're gonna get hurt. He also likes to sing for his dinner but it takes a few minutes for him to warm up.

"ehh.. ehhh…. Ehhh Meow!" from under the safety of a chair where he's been watching my feet. "There you are, here." Now, I mean feral when I say no touchie with Max. I SLIDE the bowl over to him so he will eat without freaking out.

I grab their water dish and listen for Sam on the other side of the door, no shadows so either he's still eating or he's eating someone else's food again. Slipping the door quietly, I slip inside to get water, checking Sam's position in the room. "SAM!!! GOD DARN IT! GET OUTTA THEIR DISH YOU FAT SOB!" Since this is normal, I get the customary "Meeek ehhhwww" from him as he grabs one last mouthful from the Ladie's bowl and runs back to his.

Getting the water to the other cats go without a hitch and there's no food left in the Kitchen, now I get to clean up and… ZIP, quick as an eye, A$$hole slipped past me going back in. I swear he must have super kitty powers of slipperiness because trying to catch this cat is like a greased pig sometimes. "Hey! Get back here Biscuit!" And now you know why I call him "A$$hole"… Much crashing, Max is hissing at me, Scooter is looking at me like I'm crazy and I have a grip on Biscuit only to lose it again as he dashes toward the next bowl. He finally is out of bowls and sullenly "Allows" me to catch him and return him to the kitchen.

Imagine, this was a Sunday and not a Monday morning. Good thing I like animals or there would be Kitty stew for dinner one night…

Why Blog?

2011-07-10T15:26:00.000-04:00

I've been writing little short stories for years, some good, some bad, they litter old hard drives from computers long gone. All tucked in my lower right hand draw of my computer room. Yes, in that mess that I call a "Room", there is a little bit of organization. Why? Because each time I sit down and write, it's usually about something that has either happened, or inspired me to write about it.

This is the same guy that got told in English that I'd never be able to write anything worth reading, failed English so many times I lost count. Well, maybe not with a pen and paper, this seems to work much better for me considering I sometimes can't read my own handwriting.

Books have always fascinated me. We have learned how to document, using characters that mean different things to different cultures, all kinds of information. We use this gift for everything, no need to list anything, think about it.

I guess I started liking reading with CS Lewis' Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe when it was given to me as a child by Joann, my God Mother. She sent me the 7 book set and to this day, it's always been one of my favorite series to go re-read. Every time I read them, I get something new that I missed as I get older.

Add Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, Larry Niven, Isaac Asimov, Ann McCaffery, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Etc. The list is endless of who and what I've read over the years. Each book an effort from a creative mind and a story to be told.

So, even though I've always loved to read, because I can't spell a damn and would be sunk without Speel Chick (Gets through EVERY Time, hee hee), I was too embarrassed to share any of my Mental Musings. I also get bored after a few pages of a topic and prefer to keep things short and sweet, so there's no Stephen King Novel in me, not interested.

Anyway, this is a part of me that I have suppressed from public view for a variety of reasons. The Humor, Irony and Satire style is the way I think, it's a fun style to write in, and perhaps it explains how I can still be "Me" after all these long years. If I cried every time life got tough or something bad happened to me, I would be LONG GONE mentally. So I guess blowing off steam with little blurbs that probably border on insanity is what keeps me ticking.

I hope that I make you laugh and you can delight in the little stupid things that we face in life, things that seem SO serious and yet really doesn't mean shit in the scheme of the larger picture. If I can get a chuckle out of you on a bad day and you feel better after reading my blog, then I'm happy that I've helped someone get through another day a little easier.

Thanks for reading and the kind words.

Fid

Fid and his Keyboard (AKA, the true meaning of the word "Yeechh!")

2011-07-10T15:19:00.002-04:00

Written in 2005

I noticed the other day while gaming, that my keys were sticking a tad on the left side of the keyboard, especially the QWERTYASD keys. Being a smoker, I immediately suspected nicotine invasion of the keyboard. The part that puzzled me is that my ashtray is on the RIGHT side of the keyboard. Surely the right side should have cancer before the left? Being in a slightly ambitious mood I decided it was time to clean the keyboard.

A little back history on this particular keyboard is in order. I have one of the original cordless keyboards that Logitech made, so this baby is fairly old in keyboard years. It's ergonomic and I can type fairly quickly and for long periods on it so replacement isn't an option in my mind unless it dies.

Considering I'm also a gamer, the Proud Keeper of the Sacred Bullet Magnet© at Ioncross and a programmer, it's surprising that it's lived this long considering the punishment it takes when a program crashes before I save the changes or I die in a game. You wouldn't live long either if every time this happened a fist pummeled you. Considering whose keyboard this is, you can imagine that this is a frequent occurrence.

Anyway, since I'm getting old and my eyes aren't what they used to be, I figured that I should remove the keyboard to a well-lighted area so I could inspect it. Big mistake! What slob owns this keyboard??? Yech! Uh, OK… Um, I guess I shouldn't put things off so often because this thing was disgusting! How could it possibly still work through all this dirt, dust and nicotine?

So, I break out the box of Q-Tips (Cotton Swabs) and the Windex (Cleaning Fluid). I remove the batteries and decided to take the plunge. Dousing the keyboard with a generous helping of cleaning fluid, I noticed that as fast as I was spraying it on, it was dripping globs of brown goo off. Double-Yech! OK, over the garbage can it goes.

As the offending results of my mad cleaning efforts dripped into the can, I noticed that it's dripping from the edge of the keyboard where the plastic seam is. That can't be a good sign at all! I must have gotten it inside the device and now it's completely soaked on the inside as well. That's just great! Now I have to take it apart and make sure I dry it out so it doesn't short out. I get out my little screwdriver set and prepare to go in.

Now, mind you this is a really old keyboard and it's never given me a problem so I have never had a reason to open it. I carefully unscrew each screw being careful to not lodge it loose from the hole until I'm ready to remove them. Once they're all loose I quickly flip it upside-down so that all the screws will land directly under their corresponding holes just in case some are longer than others. Immediately all eight screws go flying all over the place thus proving to me once again that Murphy's Law will always visit my house no matter how well I plan for his arrival.

After finding the last stubborn screw that had conveniently found the nearest piece of furniture to hide under in of course the darkest shadow, I start to carefully pry up the plastic release tabs that are holding the front cover on. Once the last clip lets go without breaking I sigh a breath of relief that at least that part of the Operation went without any major catastrophes. The top is finally separated from the bottom and I'm ready to move on and dry everything out.

I carefully lift the top cover off the bottom a little bit and peek in the crack. I immediately drop the top cover and step back a few steps! Yechhhh!!! What kind of slob owns this keyboard? Where'd all that GUNK come from? I've been touching this thing? Double-Yech! Shudder…

Well, it isn't going to clean itself so I bravely move on. I warn The Wife that I'm going in and that if something should happen to me I love her dearly and my Life Insurance policy is up to date and paid.

Using more cotton swabs than I've used on my ears all year, I start wiping out the MUCK from the keyboard. I gently pry up a few keys at a time, working from the sticky left side to the right. It immediately hits me that I do not have this entire keyboard layout thing memorized and that the "W" key does NOT belong all the way to the left. Otherwise why would they call it a QWERTY keyboard? I now have a WEQTRY keyboard, and even though I'm a bit eccentric, even I don't want to be THAT different.

K, back to carefully prying off the keys and replacing them in the proper order… I'm going to remember that that for the first time an employee aggravates me at work by spilling something in their keyboard. I'll tell them it's the latest craze: The ACBDFE layout!

As I'm cleaning, I'm noticing two things. The first thing is that there's enough DNA evidence in this thing so that I never have to worry about being identified. It's amazing how much body hair you shed and I guess I know where it's been going all these years. Yech! The second thing I notice is that this keyboard was built before things got really cheap. There's a plastic tray that protects the actually flex board and all the Windex that I was worried about is safely sitting in the tray instead of lying on the business part of the keyboard. It dawns on me that I never had to take it apart and that it would have been fine because the Windex would have dried without ever touching anything important inside.

I finish removing all the offending yechiness and start to close like a heart surgeon. It's a good thing for me that all the screws are identical and the same length, especially after "The Great Screw Disaster of 2005" that occurred when I first started. I finish assembling my baby, pop a set of fresh batteries in and I'm ready to test out my ancient keyboard.

The first thing I notice is that I actually have to type on the keys that were sticking. No more semi-dead keys. I guess I was getting lazy and my left pinky took a break for a while. The second thing I noticed is that I can actually read the letters!

An extra bonus surfaced from this exercise. That sticky sensation I used to get on my fingers while typing on it has all but vanished in the garbage can along with an entire bottle of Windex! It's almost like having a new keyboard without the hassles of actually going to the store and getting a new one!

So here I sit typing away on my nice, clean keyboard sharing one of the most disgusting experiences of my life with you. Do any of YOU have the guts to clean YOUR keyboard?

***Update, this keyboard was replaced with a Logitech G-15. It's already met a quick death and I'm sure it's replacement will meet the same fate! ***

Got Cherry? - Written Jan 2008

2011-07-10T14:58:00.001-04:00

OK, any one that knows me knows that I have been a gamer from WAY back in the day. That being said, just playing a game gets boring. I like to explore all the different things that you can do in a game. I'm the idiot that will actually map an entire section of a game just to see what it looks like. So, is it any surprise that as a hyper personality, I have a whimsical side when it comes to Player vs. Player (PVP) style gaming? That doesn't surprise anyone, does it?

I used to play Freelancer a lot and we wrote a mod for it, including a total music re-write. So I got to spend a lot of time sailing around in a spaceship and being Victor's little Bullet Magnet. We never did figure out why if there were 3 of us flying together, the ship that usually took the full barrage of the first volley was mine. I still to this day think that Vic somehow had some custom code for my player name… I am convinced that there is some bit of Victor code that reads:

If Playername = "Fidgaf" Then BulletMagnet = True

So, anyway, before that mod, there was one previous that Vic had written and it ran on the Ioncross server. The mod was a hit across the Freelancer community and I was lucky enough to have found the server for which it originated. The only problem was that the mod unlocked a whole bunch of things that were good AND a bunch of things that weren't so good.

There was the "Uber" ship that everyone wanted to fly called the Anubis (AKA an-N00B-us), worm holes that weren't available in the regular game, all kinds of cool weapons and the Nomads for which it was to die for their guns because they used zero energy.

The basic premise of the game was to either take a bunch of missions or a bunch of cargo and work for various "Houses" to gain reputation, money, unlock new stuff, etc. You'd get attacked by various things, kill them or run, blah blah blah. The Pirates had the best missions so you had to temper working for them vs. working for an established house. Meaning you had to go work for the police and do their chump change stuff to offset the Pirate missions which always paid WAY more, otherwise you couldn't set foot (thruster, wing, whatever) in certain areas of the game.

The map itself was pretty large and it could take an hour or so to get across the vast universe. The solar systems duplicated our earth's structure where the "Liberty" forces represented the USA, Britonia = Britain, The Kussari = Orientals, Rheinland (spelling intentional) was Germany, etc…

Since it took so long to get from point A to point Z, you'd usually hang out in a system or 3 and look for ways to make money that didn't take all night. Unless if you had money, you couldn't make money. The first week on this server was spent driving water all over New York at a profit of about $4 a unit. Since the ship could only hold 20 units, you can see what a slooooow start it was. You could have 5 characters on the server, and with the help of a friend you trusted, transfer cash among them, but that first one was a bitch.

After acquiring the Anubis, going out to the wastelands to get Nomad weapons, the best tail gun & shield in the game and finding just the right setup of thrusters, I decided that I was going to hang out close enough to the Pirates so I could work for them AND still be able to work for a house to keep my "Good" rep up. Somewhere along that time period, we learned the art of jousting in a space ship.

There was this nifty little thing you could do called "Free Flight" that was their attempt at duplicating space flight, frictionless, what ever you did to turn was all thrusters and would drift and bounce off of things. This caused hull damage and if enough occurred, you had to fix it with some onboard Nanobots, Shield Batteries recharged your shield.

We'd get together and "Duel" practicing various tricks, getting the timing right to shoot someone coming at you at 800 meters per second while you were doing the same. Ever try to hit something moving at 1600 meters per second? We got pretty good at leading a ship so the person would literally fly into your hailstorm of fire. I won a LOT.

Why did we work so hard to get this good? Well, there was a small group of punks that learned how to use certain things to cheat. We called them the "Torpers" because they would sneak up on ships and use torpedoes on them without provocation or fair warning. They would attack a helpless Cargo Vessel, threaten to blow it up and extort them rather than earning their own credits in the game. Why did the Cargo ships pay? Because they were usually carrying something "Illegal" in their hold and didn't want to loose their investment.

Contraband, the only way to make a decent buck in the game. Smuggling was the fastest way to make money and boy, was it hairy. I decided that since I had already made a decent amount of $$$ I'd invest in a cargo ship. Now, somewhere along all that, I met Ricman. I didn't have the VoIP (Voice over IP) servers setup yet, so we're talking around 1999-2000. We had been doing the hardest missions together and raking in the $$$ so I trusted him.

This is when I started to discover the psychological aspects of online gaming. Most gamers are male and they are a SUCKER for a female gamer. I have YET to see an exception in ANY game I've played PVP. The older the male, the more this is evident, the more susceptible they are to female charm.

There was a group of us that hung out all the time, and I decided it was time to start smuggling in the cash. We had a ranking system, and although my kill rate was rather high, I could never be number 1 on the server until I got my cash maxed out. I created a new character and very quietly enlisted Ric to help me move over 20 Million Credits to it. This is the birth of "Little Red Flying Hood". Now, you can see where this is going, right?

There was a wormhole in the same system that we used to hang out in. It popped over to a Pirate base that sold "Cardimine", an illegal substance in the game. Using the largest (and slowest) Transport, filling your hold and running it to the mother planet in this system made killer profit. It also attracted every free loading brat that was on the server.

The transports have guns, but trying to kill anything in this view is difficult at best. The run could be done as long as the little dick didn't have cruise disrupters that would knock you out of high-speed flight. If you got hit, it was far better to negotiate a deal ASAP before a patrol caught you sitting there with a hold of stuff that they were going to confiscate. Having an escort is a far cheaper option though.

Ric escorted me for a while, but it does get boring for him. I created another character and set that one up Identical to my main character. One cool thing about this game is that you could "Park" in space and leave a ship pretty much anywhere, no need to land. Hence the birth of "Little Red Fighting Hood". Seeing a pattern here? I used to park this ship aiming at any place where I saw someone hijacking or attacking transports. A quick F1, switch characters, aim, hit thrusters to accelerate the speed of the shot and BOOM! Goodbye asshole! F1, switch back to my transport and get the hell out of there!

Now, on this server, we had a rep and everyone that thought they were a bad-ass came out to see how good we were. That being said, the last thing I wanted anyone to know was that I was smuggling. I'd be the target of everyone in the game, hence the Gender switch. Yup, Little Red was a 21-22 year old Red Haired woman that happened to also be Fid's younger sister. She was in collage and that's why she didn't get to play too often. Since we used the same computer that would explain my absence when she played.

Why do this you ask? NOBODY knew except Ric so my friends and even past enemies FLOCKED to her and helped her out. I had an ARMY of escorts that didn't want to get paid. I was getting even for all the times they blew up my Ric's or my original transport costing us millions of credits!

Since Little Red FIGHTING hood's rep was getting pretty well known and I'd made a fortune with everyone's help, I decided to give smuggling a rest, let things cool down and have some fun with the character. Considering I even changed the WAY I typed in the chat window, nobody caught on. Fid typed "Where U B Dude?" and Little Red typed "Where are you?". This mental separation became second nature to me and I credit it for giving Little Red Life.

We went back to jousting, me acting like the tough little n00bie Red Haired chick that I was supposed to be and they "Taught" me how to Duel. It never occured to them that I was a REAL fast learner and kept winning a LOT, perhaps something wasn't on the level? Na, Fid's Little Sister, must have the same reflexes... YA THINK? ;)

One guy really took a shinning to me and was my "Free" escort there for a while (coulda been all that dirty chat I sent him… ;) ). He was totally convinced that Little Red was a real breathing woman, that she thought older guys were "Hot", talked dirty to him and he was hooked.

Someone would threaten me? He'd jump in and defend me. I'd want to go somewhere, he'd want to go with me. This was a pain when I was trying to meet Ric to do a cash transfer, but hey, we got around it. Little Red had him wrapped and boy, did I get us in a peck of trouble… Guys cannot resist a Damsel in Distress, it's got to be something in us, but a woman in trouble needs to be rescued. Meet "Cherry Picker"… Gee, I wonder where he got that name from…? I totally had him wrapped and he was eating it up like it was going out of style.

Several years later, sitting on my Voice Server and chatting with a rather large group of people, we were reminiscing about the old days. We had the whole original crew hanging out and we were talking about what was fun about the game.

I made a comment to Ric along the lines of: "How about that Little Red? She was a Wild One, eh" and we both started laughing. Everyone was like "What are you two laughing about?" So, with much giggling, I simply said: "I don't have a little sister". Everyone cracked up because they understood that I was posing as a Chick back in the day and they all fell for it. Much "Good Job" and kudos at fooling everyone, all's fair in Love and Gaming, good play.

Then I realized… I had NEVER told Cherry the truth about that, totally forgot to fess up… And he was in the same channel… His shocked reaction was "You don't have a little sister? Who's Little Red then?" More laughter, and then dead silence as it finally filtered through his head… "Uh, I knew that… I just didn't want to blow your cover!" My response? "Sure you did… Still want that date Big Boy?" More laughter, kidding, Cherry Jokes ensued. Good times!

Got Cherry? I sure did!

11, 33, 44 and 111 - Written Jan 2008

2011-07-10T14:56:00.001-04:00

OK, I've been studying this for a while and I'm pretty sure that I'm correct. 11, 33, 44 and 111 are all important numbers! Why? Because those are the ones that you use on your microwave!

Yes, I have come to the conclusion that a crew of engineers have sat down, calculated the strength, square footage and the amount of X amount of high band sound waves (micro) of all new Microwave ovens being sold today.

My research included coffee, Chinese food variations (Chunky & Solid offerings), Frozen Bread Products (English Muffins) and the list goes on. Most of my findings were double checked and confirmed by my Daughter so I KNOW I am not going crazy!

Warm left over coffee in the AM while waiting for the new pot? No problem: 44. Got a little steak left over you want warmed through without over doing it? Same number. Chicken Quesadia? You're good with: 33. Got a full plate that you want warmed through? 111, check, stir food and use 33 or 44 to finish off depending on desired temperature.

So, why are some numbers NOT listed in my initial list? They're a waste, that's why! You don't need 22. If you have something that delicate, you ARE going to use 11, check it and then 11 again! It's human nature! No 55, why? That's what 111 & 33 or 44 are for!

So, it's with great relish I tip my hat off to the Engineers that have designed this simple scheme that makes warming up food easier on us average blokes!

Nobody uses 10, 30, 45 or 100, it's stoooopid… Go ahead, try to tell me I'm not right on this one! I dare ya! You'd be lying!

Privacy on the web, a true Oxymoron...

2011-07-10T14:47:00.000-04:00

Hmmm, has anyone ever gotten curious and did a Google search on their various nick names besides me? I was teaching Ma what a MySpace page was and realized that I have made absolutely no attempt over the years to disguise who I am from the world. In fact, I'm a sitting duck to a stalker...

On a whim, I started searching by the various nicks I use over the Web and discovered that a smart person could connect the dots and my Butt is about as bare as it can get.

Being the stubborn pain in the a$$ that I am, I'm not changing any of my nicks to avoid this unfortunate occurrence. I've used FIDGAF since I learned how to, um, "program creatively" back in the day so giving that up isn't an option.

I thought that using some variances of DDay, a play on my real name plus the connotations to the historic battle of Normandy would be a good nick in the dating world. Kind of shows where my head is at if you look up the true meaning of it on wiki-pedia.

Just in case the use isn't clear, I'll spell it out for you. It's simply the day that I decided I had enough and needed to have a better plan in life. The day I decided that I needed a Divorce and that life wasn't going to get any better until I grabbed the bull by the horns and made some serious changes. The day that I decided I'd rather be alone than absorb the punishment I was taking, financially and mentally, from my very soon to be X. The day I decided that I refused to be an emotional punching bag anymore.

So, where was I? Yeah, that Google thing... It's kinda unnerving to see a search that reveals so much of me. Everything is there, black and white. From the Total War Project to the Remix stuff TO and I did, to what Forums I've joined and, here's the kicker... MySpace ties my gaming name to my nick DDay, which in turn points to some of the dating sites that I've been checking out... So $h*t, my privacy is blown.

Then again, I'm a simple person so I don't have anything to really hide. So I'm active, take chances, adventurous and fearless sometimes. He11, you can even see a picture of me.

So, I put this to you: Have you searched your nicknames and, after reading this, are you going to just to see where you land in the scheme of things?

It's funny, it bothered me at first and then I realized I AM doing what I wanted to do. I'm leaving an impression on people so even if I died tomorrow, I still live on in some strange fashion.

Soooo.

Now that I really thought about it, I have to say: Frankly I Don't Give A F**k.

I really don't... This is me. You either "Get" me or you don't... F**k it, welcome to my insane little world. Tread carefully I DO bite back...
;)