Trailer Life

Take Notice

2009-11-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

"WE NOTICED"

President Obama:

Today I read of your administrations' plan to re-define September 11 as a National Service Day. Sir, it's time we had a talk.........

During your campaign, Americans watched as you made mockery of our tradition of standing and crossing your heart when the Pledge of Allegiance was spoken. You, out of four people on the stage, were the only ones not honoring our tradition.

YES, "We noticed."

During one of your many speeches, Americans heard you say that you intended to visit all 57 states. We all know that Islam, not America has 57 states.

YES, "We noticed."

When President Bush leaned over at Ground Zero and gently placed a flower on the memorial, while you nonchalantly tossed your flower onto the pile without leaning over.

YES, "We noticed."

Every time you apologized to other countries for America's position on an issue we have wondered why you don't share our pride in this great country. When you have heard foreign leaders berate our country and our beliefs, you have not defended us. In fact, you insulted the British Crown beyond belief.

YES, "We noticed."

When your pastor of 20 years, "God-damned America " and said that 9/11 was "America's chickens coming home to roost" and you denied having heard recriminations of that nature, we wondered how that could be. You later disassociated yourself from that church and Pastor Wright because it was politically expedient to do so.

YES, "We noticed."

When you announced that you would transform America, we wondered why. With all her faults, America is the greatest country on earth. Sir, KEEP THIS IN MIND, "if not for America and the people who built her, you wouldn't be sitting in the White House now." Prior to your election to the highest office in this Country, you were a senator from Illinois and from what we can glean from the records available, not a very remarkable one.

YES, "We noticed."

All through your campaign and even now, you have surrounded yourself with individuals who are basically unqualified for the positions for which you appointed them. Worse than that, the majority of them are people who, like you, bear no special allegiance, respect, or affection for this country and her traditions.

YES, "We noticed."

You are 9 months into your term and every morning millions of Americans wake up to a new horror heaped on us by you. You seek to saddle working Americans with a health care/insurance reform package that, along with cap and trade, will bankrupt this nation.

YES, "We noticed."

We seek, by protesting, to let our representatives know that we are not in favor of these crippling expenditures and we are labeled "un-American","racist", "mob". We wonder how we are supposed to let you know how frustrated we are. You have attempted to make our protests seem isolated and insignificant. Until your appointment, Americans had the right to speak out.

YES, "We noticed."

On September 11, 2001 there were no Republicans or Democrats, only Americans. And we all grieved together and helped each other in whatever way we could. The attack on 9/11 was carried out because we are Americans.

And YES, "We noticed."

There were many of us who prayed that as a black president you could help unite this nation. In six months you have done more to destroy this nation than the attack on 9/11. You have failed us.

YES, "We noticed."

September 11 is a day of remembrance for all Americans. You propose to make 9/11 a "National Service Day". While we know that you don't share our reverence for 9/11, we pray that history will report your proposal as what it is...a disgrace.

YES, "We noticed."

You have made a mockery of our Constitution and the office that you hold.You have embarrassed and slighted us in foreign visits and policy.

YES, "We noticed.."

We have noticed all these things. We will deal with you. When Americans come together again, it will be to remove you from office.

Take notice.

2119 Lincoln Ave

2009-11-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

This house is located in San Jose, CA and is the house I grew up in when I was in elementary school. The house belonged to my Grandparents until they sold it to my father. Originally purchased for around $11,000 back in the 1940's.

I found that it is for sale again currently for $850,000 Holy Crap Batman!

The house is zoned as commercial property so that's part of the reason for the high price tag. When I lived there it looked much different. It was white and the front yard was simple grass, no hand rails or any of the other stuff. The building you see behind the house was actually the garage at the time. Both the house and garage have been completely remodeled.

Old photo of me and my sister in the kitchen

I loved that old house. My room was up in the attic, it was a huge attic with a vaulted ceiling and hardwood flooring, real hardwood flooring. The staircase was in the center of the house and went down to a small room with 3 doors leading into the various bedrooms and the kitchen. There was an open arch as well that led into the family room.

The greatest thing of all was the huge metal grill that was laid into the floor, also hardwood, at the bottom of the steps. Beneath this grill was the furnace and when it was on you could stand on the grill and feel the blast of hot air rising all around you. The furnace was down in the basement which was accessible from a staircase in the kitchen.

I lived there until my father sold the place to a high school friend of his, Pat Amato who had a Shoe Repair business down the street. Amato purchased the house and had it remodeled. He continued to run his business out of the place for many years and eventually sold it. I don't know who the new owners were but they turned it into a salon. That was many years ago and it may have changed ownership several times since then.

The Insane

2009-10-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

The Insane - Short Film

Interesting. I like the way it ends...

Evil..

2009-10-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know.

DOBERLAND - Voodoo

2009-10-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Uploaded a new DOBERLAND video to my YouTube page, good stuff!!

DOBERLAND - Voodoo

CHAINSAW is Live!

2009-10-26T23:46:00.000-07:00

I finished it and uploaded to YouTube... not that the video has a plot or message or anything else... I was just bored and wanted to do a video.

See it here: CHAINSAW

CHAINSAW

2009-10-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Preview for an idea I have, not sure weather it will ever see completion but I am tossing some things around in my head at the moment..

Demonic Posession?

2009-10-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my girlfriend on Skype a while back and she had been telling me about some strange things that had been happening in her house lately. Her son has a sea horse toy that talks if you squeeze him. Twice in the past few days she told me that while she was the only one in the room it activated and began talking...

Then several days later her parents told her that while they were sitting at the kitchen table they both heard a man speaking as if he were standing next to them...

Strange to be sure, however what happened next was icing on the cake. As I said, we were on Skype and discussing these events when suddenly there was interference and as I looked at her image on the screen in front of me, her face changed... right before my eyes... I reacted quickly and captured the screen.. the above photo is what I witnessed.

When I look at this image it is very obviously a man's face, you can see a mustache, possibly glasses, or glowing eyes, but definitely a man's face. The room grew darker when her face changed and there is what appears to be smoke around her as well... My girlfriend looks at this picture and does not see these things. Really.

What is this? Perhaps just a computer glitch... or perhaps something else... we may never know.

Walking The Line

2009-10-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Things haven't been going too well these last few days. I am not sleeping, nor am I eating. I am drinking and going through a lot of stress and emotional upheaval. I am not going to relate the details, but I did happen to notice myself in the mirror today and was a bit shocked at the physical deterioration taking place.

Especially the dent in my cheek bone... I have no idea where that came from...kinda pre-zombiesque eh? Let's see what it looks like in another week..

Interesting.

Logging Diorama

2009-10-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

This is a diorama that my step father is working on. He has been into Model Railroading for some time and this is to go in a newly developing railroad
museum in Truckee, CA!

I had to reduce the picture quite a bit to fit it here so it's hard to see all of the detail that he put into this by looking at this picture.

Never the less, fine job!

Trailer Restoration

2009-10-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Almost done! I have 2 more panels to sand, primer and paint and it's finished. After I test the lights I will take it down to the DMV and see what I need to do to make sure it's legally registered to me. When I received this trailer there was no paperwork with it so I believe I can file something that will give me title...

Anyway, I have spent the last few days working on this little project and it was well worth the small amount of money I paid for parts and paint. I have been looking at trailers for some time now and just have not been able to afford one. I have a lot of uses for this.

Beyond restoring this thing I have been working on a few podcasts and some video projects. I have kind of taken a break from World of Warcraft and am enjoying the final days before the rain hits to get these things done.

White Trash Cookin' - Part II

2009-08-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

Yesuh! Fixin' to git mah grub on with sum Chicken Party Wings.... white trash style!! Sho'nuff the furst video was good and yawl wanted mo' so we got us some chicken wings and weez fixin' to start production on Part II this week!

RFID Update

2009-07-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hi, all:

Great news! This weekend millions of Americans learned about the dangers
of RFID in driver's licenses and other identity documents, thanks to a
major story by the Associated Press.

Here is a link to the article:

Chips in official IDs raise privacy fears

The article is a lengthy, in-depth investigation of RFID in driver's
licenses and passports by AP reporter Todd Lewan, the same tenacious
investigator who broke the story about implanted microchips causing
cancer a few years back.

Please take the time to read the article in its entirety. It clearly
indicts the poor security on so-called "Enhanced Drivers Licenses" or
EDLs, the border-crossing ID cards that have now been issued to nearly
200,000 Americans.

As I wrote in Scientific American last fall, EDL's contain RFID tags
that can be read from 30-feet away by the government, marketers,
criminals, and anyone else with an off-the-shelf reader -- right through
a person's pocket, backpack, or purse. They can be used to track
individuals, identify them for marketing purposes, or infringe their
right to anonymously assemble and speak out against injustice.

My article can be found here:

How RFID Tags Could Be Used to Track Unsuspecting People

Todd Lewan's article cites many pro-liberty folks, including Mark Lerner
of the Stop REAL-ID Coalition, Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF), Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center (EPIC), security researcher Chris Paget, and yours truly.

I was thrilled to see the article appear on the Drudge Report, The New
York Times, The Chicago Tribune, the San Jose Mercury News, the Los
Angeles Times, Fox News, Yahoo.com, and over 450 other newspapers and
media outlets.

While EDL's are bad news, the good news is that the word is getting out.
Please help us spread it even further by posting a link to the article
on your website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Digg accounts and
everywhere else.

In freedom,
Katherine Albrecht, Ed.D.
Founder and Director, CASPIAN Consumer Privacy

Meet The Voices From TL41

2009-06-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

I thought I should give you all a look at the faces behind those pretty voices in TL41.. Here is Annie & Lea

DAY 5

2009-06-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

It has been almost a week since I quit smoking. I'm feeling pretty good overall. I do still have the urge to light up and sometimes the urge almost overwhelms me. So far I have been able to kill the urges with a combination of resolve and support from the few people I have not shut out during this time. I also gain a great amount of support from the people on YouTube who have posted comments and given me positive feedback. It really means a lot during all of this to see response like I have. Thank you all who have taken the time to comment.

You can see the latest video here: Day 5 (I Quit)

Keeping My Mind Occupied....

2009-06-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

So I am working on a new podcast, it's about 1/2 finished and will be out as soon as I get some more girls to talk to me... I'm joking... really.

Good stuff!

Day3 (I Quit)

2009-06-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am still having the urge to smoke frequently throughout the day. I have begun fasting and will continue to do so for the next 48 - 60 hours. The fasting will help me to take my mind off the smoking as well as detoxify my system. I need to make sure I am almost constantly drinking water through the fasting process. Filling my stomach with water helps curb the feeling of hunger as well as flushing my system.

I spent the first half of the day cleaning my swamp cooler. I took the whole thing apart and pulled the pads out to clean them. They are made from waxed cardboard and they're full of sediment. They probably should be replaced but I have to order them since no local shop carries these pads. Anyway, I cleaned the whole thing and put it all back together. During that whole process I really only had one minor twang for a smoke.

I will post another video soon, maybe on Day 5 but until then I will keep updating the blog here.

My friend Miiska left a comment on the latest video!! Thanks sweetie :) you are the best!

I Quit

2009-06-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. To actually succeed I need to create a situation which will not allow me to fail. Certain conditions have to be met so that I can not backslide even in a moment of weakness.

Here are my conditions:

No cigarettes
No money to buy more cigarettes
No outside contact, no temptation
After Day 2, no food for the next 48 hours
No alcohol or soda during the fasting*, only water

These conditions ensure that I can not fail and I will quit smoking. The first 24 hours were the worst and I used alcohol to avoid dealing with the pain of withdrawal. I drank until I got sick, on purpose. It was my full intent to consume alcohol to the point of vomiting. This was keeping my mind and body from letting the nicotine addiction consume me.

In the morning I had somewhat of a hangover but not too bad. The strong desire to smoke was back as well. This day proved to be very difficult, however the trick is to occupy the mind. I did this by allowing my landlady and her dog psychologist friend to talk my ears off. Normally I avoid conversation with her as it is unbearable. This was different and I needed to be distracted even if I didn't care one bit about anything being said or discussed. It worked and I was able to get through the urges and curb them. At one point she lit a cigarette of her own and I had to leave. Interesting side note is that I did not have the urge to smoke when she lit one, rather it made me nauseous.

Lea doesn't like or understand my actions and is quick to tell me so, where Annie is not bothering me at all after I told her not to. She still thinks however that I'm being weird and extreme. Neither of these girls understands what I am dealing with or what it will take for me to succeed.

I still have a long road ahead of me. So far it is working and with perseverance I will succeed shortly.

* Fasting can be dangerous, you should learn the risks involved as well as the proper method for both fasting as well as introducing food into your system again after the fast.

TL40 - Full Circle

2009-05-01T01:34:00.001-07:00

I am having a problem with Blogger and the latest podcast is not posting correctly. here is a direct link to the file which you can use until I get the problem sorted out. I apologize for the inconvenience.

TL40 - Full Circle

I'm Back....!

2009-04-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

$172 later I have secured my unrestricted driver license! I am extremely happy. The original suspension was supposed to go until October of this year but for some reason it was lifted.

I am actually eligible for my Commercial Driver License which was an even bigger shock. I opted to obtain the Class C today because I was not prepared to take the written Class A test. I took the written test for the Class C and it was a piece of cake, but the Commercial test is a bit tougher when you haven't kept up on the little things that change year to year.

I can go back into the DMV at any point and upgrade it when I am prepared to take the written test. I will also need to get a Medical to put on file as mine has expired.

Things are looking up and moving forward... more to come..

Good Fortune

2009-04-19T02:25:00.000-07:00

So I went down the other day to see if I could get my restricted license which I would need until October when my real license was re-issued...

Holy shit.

I am holding a piece of paper in each hand right now. The one in my left hand is the DMV sanction which says quite clearly that my license will be suspended for 2 years. The document in my right hand is something the DMV gave me saying that if I pay roughly $200 dollars I get my "real" license back... now.

Well I am going to pay the money and run with it. I don't really understand what is going on and as I almost started to tell the DMV employee, it should be suspended for another 6 months. But I will go with the flow on this one. I quickly shut my big mouth.

This is a godsend for me, my timing right now demands that I be able to get out there and get work. Doing that with a restricted license would not only be a violation of my probation but difficult at best.

I am in the process of recording TL40 but this changes a few things in regard to what I was going to say. I am quite happy to make those changes.

Full Circle

2009-03-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Things are changing for me and I have a lot of things to talk about. I have taken time away from podcasting and have drowned myself in video games and seclusion. I have been taking the blue pill. I have done a lot of looking inward, reflecting on my life both past and present. During all of this I have not forgotten the people who I have met along the way. These people are my friends and I have been neglectful in keeping up my end of the friendships. I have been selfish but it has served a purpose for me in allowing me to focus on where I am and where I need to go from here.

I have met new friends during this time as well. All things happen for a reason, this fact is a constant and has proven itself time and again. I will be leaving the Vortex shortly and although I am not sure exactly where I am headed in the short term, I have long term goals and a path forward. October seems to be an important month in my future timeline. I do not believe this to be coincidence.

Shortly before I vanished from the podcasting community I was in the process of creating a video that I would like to release at this time. It was planned to be released some time ago but got shuffled away during my absence. The video is around 1/2 an hour long and honestly I am not sure how to post such a large file in a way that makes it accessible through iTunes. I do not want to put it up on YouTube so I am simply going to provide a link here for direct downloading if anyone is interested.

Originally this video was intended to be a bit longer and contain more than what it does now. However I feel that releasing it as is will be close enough to what the final version would have been to make it entertaining at the very least.

I said I will be leaving the Vortex shortly and that is true. This means that I will not have access to high speed internet for an undetermined length of time. Because of this I will be doing a podcast and releasing it before I leave here. I will be discussing my current situation and my path forward as well as talking about some new friends and touching base with old ones. Things seem to be coming full circle for me at this point and that is the title of the episode I am putting together [TL40 - Full Circle].

Look for this in the next couple of weeks, until then I hope everyone is doing well and if you are interested in the video just use the link below.

http://www.box.net/shared/praygmbkrl

Stitches

2008-12-20T13:17:00.001-08:00

Puzzle tore her leg open the other day. We don't know how she did it - but it was really serious. No blood, but the skin was peeled back exposing her muscle tissue beneath.

These are a few shots of her wound after the vet stitched her up.

Poor thing..

In The Studio

2008-10-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

I took a break from Trailer Life briefly to finish up KAST #3 with Annie and our guests Max and Wes from Zombie Tools. That show ended up being around an hour and 45 minutes by the time it was finished.

I am currently processing the audio content which was recorded the other night between myself, Eskimo and Trucker Steve. We ended up with 3 hours and 18 minutes of audio which I have been editing... and editing... and editing...

All great stuff and I am having a hard time with deciding what to trim out, I wanna keep it all! I posted the first segment TL38 the other night and am hoping to have Part II out shortly. It was great to sit down with both of those guys and shoot the shit.

Thor - Retired Trucker, Gaurdian Of The Vortex

2008-10-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

Thor used to travel the country with me. He enjoyed the open road for the most part, leaving a trail of his DNA traces in most states. Grudgingly Thor put up with the long hours on the road. Always in tune with his environment, he could feel the tranny kick down and hear the signal indicator clicking as we approached a rest area or truck stop.. even from a dead sleep he would bolt up and be ready to explore new territory.

Thor left Swift Transportation back in early 2006 and today he is in tune with his environment just as before but now that environment doesn't change from day to day. Most of his time now is spent guarding the Vortex against all manner of creatures... The deer & wild turkeys that roam the acreage looking for food. The feral cats that wander aimlessly almost seeking death.. the lizards, most of which no longer have tails due to Thor's diligence. And let us not forget the meat bees that constantly toy with him... yes he chases and snaps at them too.

But perhaps the creature that he loathes the most... the one whom he watches through the slits in the fence... the annoying presence that causes a low guttural growl to rise from deep within... hackles up, eyes locked on target - unblinking... His true adversary - The Land Lady!!! He despises her and takes every opportunity to let her know how he feels.

What did she do to him to provoke this response? Nothing really.. he simply just does not like her. Dogs are a great judge of character and I value Thor's judgment.