Violence in Liberia, Imagine That

Fox News reported, Friday, on an outbreak of "violence" in Monrovia, the capital of the West-African country of Liberia.

This story comes with a measure of irony to me because just a few weeks back I was watching a documentary on the History Channel about the DSS and the story took place in Liberia during the 1989 "uprising". Liberia is so volatile and dangerous that US government agents are required to leave their families behind if they are assigned to Liberia. Let me be the first to say that it was not an uprising. It was vicious gang warfare except everybody was running around with AK-47s, RPGs, anti-aircraft guns... You name it, they were using it. Mutilations and cannibalism were common practices done by the local populace. There was nothing sane about their actions. That documentary was one of the most graphic things I have ever seen in my entire life. It totally blew away "Saving Private Ryan", "Windtalkers", everything. The part that disturbed me the most was that it was real and those were only movies. There were shrunken heads on tables, intestines used at road blocks (which were controlled by the gangs)... I cannot accurately describe some of things I saw on that film. There was this one image, one I will never forget... It was taken from the middle of the street, looking down the street which lead to the city. Every inch of that street was covered in bullet shells. I don't mean 9mm shells; I mean 30 caliber and up bullet shells - COVERING the street. You could not take one step and have not stepped on a shell. This place made Mogadishu look like a walk in the park. And I guarantee you the fighting is just as bad, if not worse, today.

Now, to explain the strike of irony I had referred to at the very beginning of this post... Through the entire documentary, they had been interviewing all of the key personnel involved in the incident, ie: some of the warlords who were, more or less, running the warfare, the DSS agents, and various members of the government. At the very end of the documentary, a man expressed his thoughts that the fighting would start up again very soon because some of the more powerful warlords that had fled the country had started to return. Apparently, he was right.

With all that being said, the Fox News article does not give the fighting justice. It is much worse than you could ever put into words. When you go to sleep tonight, thank God that you live in America and say a prayer of protection for the Americans who are assigned to work in Liberia.

Crispy

Is Your Dell Laptop Running Slow?

As many of you know (I hope), Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for the Windows XP "operating system" a few months back. Well, after installing this update, many Dell Inspiron 1150 users noticed that their laptops were running at a near crawl (more so than usual with Windows). The reason being there was some SNAFU with the power management settings in Windows' Control Panel.

If it hadn't been for Consumer Reports' recent article, many users wouldn't have been able to remedy the situation because the hum-dingers at Dell decided to only send out notification emails to the Dell owners who elected to receive "support alerts from Dell online". Instead of Dell, at the very least, posting a NOTAM (NOtice To All Members) on their website, you have to go through their website, which was designed by a 3 year old, and search through their "Knowledge Base" (original wording) for the fix. After trying a few search terms that didn't yield the result I was looking for on the first page, I entered "SP2 slow performance" as my search query and it returned the page I was looking for, as the second and third results. If I hadn't already been to Dell's fix page (via the Consumer Reports article), I wouldn't have known that "Dell Inspiron 1150 Update for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)" was the page I was looking for.

If you are a Dell owner and you're just now finding out there is a fix for your snail-slow laptop, all I have to say is, "Dude, that's what you get for wasting your money on a Dell."


Crispy

P.S. - Hippies smell.

Some More Life Issues

I started writing this post on the 25th, but I was having trouble summing up everything that I wanted to say in it. I was also battling with some of the content because I didn't want this to come off as sounding like a "wanted" ad.

What possesses people who are already "talking" to someone to begin flirting and starting other dating relationships? Could it be that I am too old fashioned for these modern times? Is it that the concept of one romantic relationship at a time is passe`? I don't believe I am thatout of touch with society. I was talking with one of my closest friends yesterday and it seems to us that females enjoy playing the dating game. He and I, however, both gotten to the point that we're tired of playing games and only want to date girls who are serious about having a relationship and the possibility of marriage, since that is the whole point of dating. Are there any virtuous and mature young ladies still out there? I'm not interested in going out with a wiggle and a giggle. Don't get me wrong, those things are nice too, but if that is the sole attraction, you've already lost my interest. The conversation cannot end after the greeting. As my pastor says, back home in Florida, "Some people have the entrance of a palace with the contents of a hut." Maybe this is an unreal expectation but there has to be at least one girl out there with the entrance of a palace and the contents of a palace. Anything else just won't do it.

Some time ago, I decided to live by these words:

"I will never be labeled as 'average'."

And I'm not going to let a relationship take that away from me. For those of you who know me & know me well, you understand what I am saying. She needs to be a little extreme. I like to do things with full afterburners. I don't have half-commitments and wishy-washy stuff. Black or white. All the way or don't even try. If I go play a sport (recreational), I'm there to win. I'm not there to have fun. I'm there to give it 110% and do everything within my power (and within the rules, most of the time) to ensure that my team wins. Blood, sweat, tears, everything I've got. If it requires taking a pitch in the kidneys, so be it. As a joke I had with my Dad, "No blood? No broken bones? Get back in the game." It is one thing to joke about that. It is another to live by it, and that's what I do. Which brings me to another point...

If you say you are going to do something, then do it, please. If something comes up and you are going to have to back out of something you agreed to, then notify the affected parties in a timely manner. This is just common sense stuff. Even if you did forget, don't tell them that. Do try to be respectful of other people's time. Is it just me or does it seem like your friends are more respectful of you time, generally, than those who have a "closer" relationship? Maybe I've just run into psychos... I don't know, but it sure seems to be the norm these days.

I would like to hear some feedback from females in their late-teens through early twenties. I am rather curious what your opinions are on this matter. If you would prefer to not post your comments publicly, you can also email me.


This subject is probably going to be something that we will continue to visit and revisit as time goes on.

Crispy

Kerry & the 666. Coincidence?




I'll let you decide.


Read the WorldNetDaily story here.



Crispy.




Fictitious Emails

Since someone decided to send me one of those goofy hoax emails, I've decided to post this link. It'll save me the time of typing most of my opinions out. And before you send out some stupid email, please go to Snopes to first confirm the email is authentic. After you've been online for well over 12 years and you've seen the same stories four times, it starts to get a little old.

Please see the Internet Soapbox.

Thank you.
Crispy

Palestinians are Bed-Wetters

I knew that title would get your attention.

The Age (an Australian news site) ran a story today about how the Palestinians are training 12 year olds to grow up and be suicide-bombing terrorists. Please read this story. It is one of the most truly informational stories that I have read in quite some time about the Israeli-Palestinian relationship and the cause of the continual attacks and murders committed by the Palestinians. Itamar Marcus, an Israeli activist, former government adviser and runs a company that searches for evidence of the incitment of hatred against Jews said (about the Palestinians),

"You have a whole society that is giving the message to kids that Israel is your enemy and the whole land is yours, not just the West Bank and Gaza."

If you ever want to have the ability to be able debate Israeli-Palestinian relations again, you need to read this story. Nothing is going to change in that area until the Terrorist Society of the Palestinians is removed or is severely reformed.

Crispy

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award

NewScientist reported yesterday that Doug Perrine was been selected as the Wildlife Photographer of the Year. You can also find his award-winning picture on this site. Roz Kidman Cox, one of the judges who unanimously selected Perrine's photo, was quoted as saying,

"What makes the drama - the great swirling mass of frantic fish and the power of the, almost balletic, charging sharks - also creates the beautiful dynamic lines of movement and contrast of light and shade, silver and blue."

Doug Perrine said about the situation surrounding the photo:

“The sharks would charge through the baitball, bursting through the other side or shooting clear out of the water, their mouths stuffed full of fish,” says Perrine. “So intent were they on feeding that they often bumped me as they rushed past. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life.”

Sounds like fun!

Crispy

Israel Kills Top Hamas Terrorist

Read about it here.

Crispy

Heinz57-Kerry Flip-Flops Like Husband

In an article from SFGate.com, reported by the AP writer Beverly Wang, USA Today interviewed Teresa Heinz-Kerry the other day and she said:

"Well, you know, I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good," Heinz Kerry said in the interview published Wednesday. "But I don't know that she's ever had a real job -- I mean, since she's been grown up. So her experience and her validation comes from important things, but different things."

Today, 57 said:

"There couldn't be a more important job than teaching our children," she said in a statement. "As someone who has been both a full-time mom and full-time in work force, I know we all have valuable experiences that shape who we are. I appreciate and honor Mrs. Bush's service to the country as first lady and am sincerely sorry I had not remembered her important work in the past."

*insert foot-in-mouth here*

As WanderingMind said about 57 the other day, "In a perverse kinda way, I'd almost like to see Kerry win...4 years of this nit-wit would be hilarious!!"

Drive on, America. Drive on.
Crispy

Burn Your Witch Costumes! Don't Offend the Wicca Witches!

WorldNetDaily reported than entire school district in the Seattle, Washington area has banned Halloween activities because Wiccan witches (the real ones) might be offended by the long, pointy nosed, tall hat, broom-riding witch costumes.

I swear, our universe is going to implode because the concentration of nincompoops is way too high in Seattle. I, however, think that their reasons for banning activities is off the mark. Give me a break. A witch (who is a worshipper of Satan) is offended because a friggin' 6 year old is dressed up like that person?

Step off. If I was a witch, I'd be rather proud that someone was dressed up like me. For me, it is like when I see little kids running around in "Army clothes". That's cool, to me.

You seriously have got to read this story. It's great.

Crispy

Today in Sociology & America's Family Social Institutions

Of all my classes, Sociology has to be the class where our teacher wants us to bring up opposing points in an attempt to make us "sociologically mindful". Anyway, she gave us an assignment on Tuesday (19 OCT) that required us to read 5 chapters in our two books by today. Well, for some reason, I decided I'd put up with the liberal BS & take the plunge and read all five chapters. As it winds up, we only discussed two of those chapters. The first chapter was "When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work". The second chapter was called "College Athletes and Role Conflict" ("Exploring Social Life", Henslin, 2004).

Today, we were discussing how society "promotes" pronatalism. Well, someone brought up the fact that you get a tax deduction if you have children. I should also say that the class was rather talkative today and seemingly more willing than usual to offer our input. A gentleman from the rear of the room offered up, for our consideration that, there is a marriage tax. His example was a married couple, senior citizens, who are drawing social security then one dies. The remaining partner "hooks up" with another person who is drawing social security and they will keep more money if they just live together than if they were to get married. His point, in a round about way was that the tax deduction for encouraging pronatalism was invalid since taxes do not promote marriage (the traditional institution for raising children). His point was very correct. However, our teacher could not connect these dots, for whatever reason.

At about 15-20 minutes into the class period we were discussing the "When Work Becomes Home..." chapter. The example that was used in the book (true story from sociological study) went something like this: Mother (38) comes home from work (shift supervisor at plant), minute she walks in door, 16 year old (from previous marriage) daughter (1) needs to talk to Mom about stuff. The baby (2y.o. from this marriage) is still up (approx 11PM)(2), thinks baby should be in bed to hours ago (9PM?). Dishes are piled in sink (3). Daughter complains about step-dad & vice-versa (4).

1) In the average world that I'm familiar with, parents would drop dead if their 16 year old daughter wanted to talk to them about something. The fact that the kid is from a previous marriage is a red flag that she is going to need more time invested in her than you average 16 year old female simply because she has come from a home that was torn apart. How selfish can you be that you can't sit and listen to your daughter jaw-jack for a few minutes? Who cares if she's rambling? I'm sure it is more coherent than whatever leaks out of your mouth.

2) What responsible parent on the face of the earth lets their 2 year old stay up until 11PM? That's the time our freshman, here in the Corps, are required to go to sleep. More on the husband later.

3) Husband's turn! I think this one speaks more about the mother than it does about the man here. Remember, she said yes to him (the engagement, for my slower readers). Anyway, are you that incompetent that you can put the dishes, at least, in the dish-washer? It is a miracle you've survived to your current age. Another point, let's count the people here: 1 male, 1 female, 1 baby. Uho; that doesn't add up to "piled in the sink", even if there is a pot in there as well. Get a grip, biach.

4) You sure picked a real loser to marry. He's sitting on the couch screaming across the house at the daughter, "Tracy (daughter) I don't ever get any time to talk to your mother, because you're always monopolizing her time before I even get a chance!" What the heck is wrong with these people? [Random observation: I'm will to venture they all have dirty rooms and not one of their vehicles are clean. They lead very disorganized lives. They're probably late to most meetings, as well.] The mother apparently never consulted her daughter for her thoughts about the marriage before it happened. She also doesn't care about what her daughter thinks.

As our teacher continued to ask us questions about the reading (even though it was apparent that most/all of us had read the assignments), the conversation shifted to the increasing trend of second marriages (marry, divorce, re-marry), basically, why marriages didn't last as long as they used to. This is where things became very interesting. The same gentleman that brought up the point about the senior citizens earlier, offered his opinion about this question as well. When he was through, I was ready to give him a standing ovation. During his answer (I wrote it down, it was that good), he said one of the most profound statements I've ever heard in any of my college classes. He said, "They're in love with the idea of marriage, not in love with the person they are marrying." Think about the Disney movies and today's instant gratification. If there's trouble, I'm up & out of here because I am unwilling to invest the time & effort to make this thing work. (That's my weakness with dating, I will fight tooth and nail to make it work, even when it shouldn't.) Princess and the prince lived happily ever after... until the honeymoon was over and the true marriage began. See, the honeymoon should not be immediately after the marriage ceremony. I think the husband and wife should go on the honeymoon after one year of marriage. After all, the honeymoon is just a bunch of sighing, looking into each other's eyes & the "other stuff" the whole time... Strike a nerve? That's why you read this blog.

Sociology rant:

Gender ISN'T "socially constructed"!!! It is freakin' genetic.

End rant.


Crispy

Life Issues

You all know how much of a thinking person I am. According to Myers-Briggs, I'm a INTJ (44,33,78,78). I will 100 times out of 100 set my emotions aside and do what I think is right. Anyway, I do believe, and I always have but I wasn't sure when this would be, that there are times when you need to put all else aside and follow your heart. The trick however, is knowning when you use this opening. If you are ever in such a situation and you decide to follow your heart, only time will tell if you are making the correct decision. It may not show up for several months, even years in some cases, before you know, definitively, if it was the right decision. The piece of the puzzle here that holds up many people is that they are afraid to make a mistake. They are so paralyzed by fear that they will refuse to take action and an opportunity is missed. How much longer will you wait, waivering and cowering in fear? A person once said, "Listen to your heart, for they are the sounds that no one else can hear." There are many voices in this world, today. The key is to know which one to listen to and follow.

Crispy

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Crispy

"Fashion" I Think is What They Call It

What on earth is happening to our planet? (pun intended)

A town in northern Georgia holds an event known as "Gold Rush", which was this weekend. A buddy of mine was helping run one of the booths, so I was hanging out there keeping him company. As you can imagine, Gold Rush attracts people from every walk of life. I don't think I've seen so many WEIRD looking outfits before. There was this one kid, probably high school age (~16) that was wearing a chain with a lock (ie: MasterLock) locked around his neck. Needless to say, the rest of his clothing was four sizes too big & he was dressed mostly in black with a haircut that was worthy of hippy status. The next specimen (female) was wearing a plaid "skirt" which consisted of 3 threads going around her hip area, a pair of boots which had a sole that was about 3 times as thick as my jump boots, came up to her knee and appeared to be the same color & materials as desert boots (tan cloth). She also had some kind of jacket thing, and one of those goofy over-sized hats that look like a squished marshmallow. I'm not going to get into the 13 year olds wearing skin-tight clothes.

Parents (!!!), stand up and teach your children how to behave. Teach your sons how to be gentlemen. Teach your daughters how to be ladies. Parents, you've been here at least twice as long as you offspring. MENTOR THEM. Spend time with your children. Tell your kids they can be anything that they set their mind to. Give them goals; set expectations for them. "Well, I don't want to pressure my kids into doing anything. I want them to choose to what should be." HELLO? I didn't say tell your kids what to do. But how do you expect them to achieve if they have no direction or motivation? Track athletes run faster during a race than they do at anytime during their practice sessions. That is because they are surrounded by people who are striving to do their best and those people have a specific goal - be the first one across the finish line. Set your children up to be champions. Give them permission to succeed.

Crispy

Crispy's Tech Tips

I assume no responsibility for damage to your system as a result of the following recommendations. You probably screwed up the instructions somewhere along the way.

Firewalls - Without a doubt, go with BlackICE PC Protection ($40); stay away from ZoneAlarm. The current versions of ZA have had numerous problems. For example, the application controls don't always function correctly. Even if you uninstall ZA, it has been known to block applications still.

AntiVirus - After using Norton for several years, I switched over to AntiVir a few months ago. I am quite satisfied with this program. The only possible shortcoming that I have found is that it does not scan in/outbound emails. However, the program would block a virus/trojan from running on your system. When I first changed over to AntiVir, it returned several virus results that Norton's had never detected. AVG is also another good antivirus program. Some users swear by it.

Video Cards - ATI all the way. The two main (read: only) video card chip manufacturers out there are ATI & nVIDIA. Even though I am currently running a nVIDIA FX 5200 128MB AGP 8x card, I have become a fan of the ATI series of cards. nVIDIA needs to get their driver development department under control before I will purchase another one of their cards. Even the reviews by magazines have been in favor of the ATI cards.

Sound Cards - Creative SoundWorks. These are just about the only guys doing sound cards. The very least of a sound card that you want to purchase is a SoundBlaster Audigy (ver. 1).

Customized Startup - Click the Start button, select the "Run" option. In the dialog box that appears, type in "msconfig", without the quotation marks, then press Enter. For XP users, click on the Services tab & disable the "Messenger" service. This service has no relation to MSN or Windows Messenger. The Messenger service is a feature that allows network administrators to send a message to every computer on a network. This service has also allowed hackers and crackers to send fake messages to regular home users to direct them to malicious web sites or to send advertisements to random computers. Now, click on the Startup tab. Go through each listing and search for it on this page or at Google. Most programs can be shut down without having negative affects on your system.

General Software - There is no one program that will get rid of every bit of spyware/adware on your computer. For this reason, I recommend that you use several different programs to keep your system clean. SpywareBlaster, however, is the only program on this list that blocks spyware before it can infect your system. Ad-Aware, Spybot - Search & Destroy, Windows Washer $40.00 to buy, SpywareGuard, WinPatrol $20.00 to buy, HiJackThis, The Cleaner (trojan remover) $50.00 to buy. Download Accelerator Plus is a program that helps to speed up your downloads (especially useful for dial-up users).

Crispy

The LuMoWaMi Blog

Lucid Moments of a Wandering Mind

Check out LuMoWaMi, bloggers. It is a rather new blog, but it is developing into a great thing. I personally know the author and, trust me, you won't be disappointed. He'll stretch your intellect even more than I can. Take a peek, you'll be hooked after one viewing.

Crispy

"Shark Tale" (movie)... and a few others

*sigh*

It's bad when I start a post off with a sigh. From the previews, this looked like one of the worst movies ever made. Just another person trying to cash in on the great success of Peter Benchley's "Jaws", like that movie that was endlessly shown on the USA Network years back... Maybe some of you can remember the name. The movie was so poorly made that you could see the framework of the shark's body once the "skin" became wet, particularly in a certain aireal shot. But back to Shark Tale... It disturbs me that this is the second week since the movie's release and it is, again, the #1 box office hit and has grossed over $87 million. What the heck, America?

While I'm talking about movies this year, what was the deal with the Bourne Supremacy? Maybe it was just me, but it seemed from the minute the movie started, it was one big action scene. Lots of bang, boom, squeal, crash, and flash but by at the end of the movie I said, "Yeah, so?". Instead of wasting 120 minutes watching the movie, read this two sentence "Synopsis" from Movies.com:

"The retired assassin who has been going by the name of Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and his girlfriend, Marie (Franka Potente), have been living peacefully in India. When a Russian agent (Karl Urban) frames Bourne for the murder of two CIA operatives, the agency attempts to capture him, forcing Bourne to face his past again."

Then Bourne goes and starts killing people. He shows up in some girl's apartment (who barely speaks English) and says hey guess what! You're mom didn't really fly off the handle & cap your dad and then committ suicide; I killed 'em both! And then leaves. Oh, he said sorry, then left.

If you do go against my advice and watch the movie, you'll thank me for trying to save you from this abomination against God and man. Ya know, maybe I'm being a little hard. The three "facts" we found out were that Bourne was born in the midwest (city & state given) and we found out his birthday, along with his real name. Based on the classic "wow, that movie/trilogy sucked" pattern, I expect that we'll find out in the third that that isn't his real name, birthday or birth place (and yes, they are [sadly] planning on making a third one). Sorry Universal, I haven't seen the script yet, honest.

Since I don't want to leave you down, I'll talk about Shrek 2. Shrek 2 is, by far, the one of the best movies of 2004 (not that 2004 was a year of outstanding movies). Honestly, don't miss that one. Rent it and watch it with the kids, the girlfriend, whoever. Good movie. More on movies later...

Be good!
Crispy

All Hail to Tehran John!

Earlier today, WorldNetDaily reported the uncovering of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" that had been given to presidential candidate John Kerry by a pro-Iranian (mullah government) lobby, according to the chairman of Iran's Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy, Aryo Pirouznia.

It is believed this funding is why Kerry has openly promised to send nuclear fuel to Iran, as long as it was used for peaceful purposes. Only a few micro-seconds of thought will produce the conclusion that if the fuel is not used for "peaceful purposes", it will already be too late, by the time we figure it out. Since high ranking Iranian officials have been practically screaming for the development of nuclear weapons within the next four months AND large amounts of intelligence pointing toward the fact that Iran is attempting to create a nuclear arsenal, giving Iran this fuel would be suicide. If it wasn't suicide for the US, it would surely implicate America as an accompliss to murder, when the Iranians use the weapons to attack Israel. If you dare say that I'm out of my mind for thinking this up, let me point out two facts to you:

1)The Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been recently quoted as saying, "We must have two bombs ready to go in January or you are not Muslims."

2) Khamenei has a long history of telling "newspapers that nuclear weapons would be used to "destroy the Zionist regime." "

Once again, I challenge you to pull your heads out of the sand, America. The world in which we live today requires out full attention at all times. We can no longer live laxidazically. There exist, on this very planet, people who, from the day they are born, are taught that America is the root of all evil and that we need to be destroyed at all costs. There are people who strap bombs to their own bodies, fully willing, walk into a group of people and detonate themselves. We've had people fly planes into buildings, for goodness sake! What more is it going to take to get our attention, my fellow citizens? I understand that we will never be able to catch every terrorist. Do you expect that we idly sit by and whatever may come comes upon us? No. Rather, we should do everything within our power and then some to prevent such an event or any attack against American citizens or soldiers from ever happening again. If that requires doing violence in the farthest corners of the earth, then so be it. Our military is filled with men and women who have given their lives to the defense of this country. They are willing. How dare you ever disrespect a soldier of the United States of America. What have you done for this country that you think you have the right to spit on one of our soldiers? You have done nothing and will continue to do nothing constructive for this country because you do not have the mental capacity to see what you're doing is wrong. Nor do you have the courage to stand up for what is right. When you are in a restaurant and you see a soldier in there, you should have to fight other patrons to buy the meal of that soldier and his family . The same thing should happen when you see the wife eating dinner with their two children, but where is daddy? He's on the other side of the world sweating, fighting, bleeding and possibly dying so you and I can have our freedoms.

One of the greatest mistakes a person can make is when they confuse our armed forces with our government. A soldier doesn't choose where and when he fights. He is told when and where he needs to go. He cannot refuse. He has already given his life in the defense of this country.

Crispy

New Feature

If you run across a news headline that you'd like me to review and possibly comment on, check out my profile area. I'm set up an email account that you can send links to. If you have comments, please post them to this blog.

Crispy

Our (Rapidly) Degrading Society

Well, that didn't take long!

This one is such a winner that I can't wait until tonight to comment on it.

"School Board Bans Yearbook Photo Of Student Posing With Shotgun"

The photo that young Mr. Blake Douglas presented to the Yearbook Commity is one of the most professional-looking photos I've ever seen for a high school yearbook. There is no way that a person can look you in the eyes and say that this photo is "inappropriate". The photos that a senior has in his or her section of a yearbook should be decided by that person. I do agree that there should be some regulation, but that regulation should not ban fully clothed people in completely normal, law-biding situations from being shown in the yearbook. One could make the argument that since the shotgun photo is "inappropriate" for a yearbook, my fencing pictures are also inappropriate for a yearbook since I am holding a "sword" (as the uneducation should say) in my hand.

God-forbid we let our children be remembered in their high school yearbooks holding a shotgun in an extremely professional looking sportsman pose, but let the airwaves show images of some of the most hidious human beings on the face of the earth, known as terrorists, being shown sawing off the heads of other human beings, US citizens or not. Those of you who live with your double standards are some of the most depressing excuses for people one could think of. If you could organize the words which echos between your eardrums (which is simply a default repetition of the mindless drivle that your televisions produce), you could actually be productive members of society. I say you could be productive because you latch on to ideas that can hold no water at all, imagine if you actually latched onto an idea which was logical, made sense & was correct? However, instead of bothering to think and research for yourselves, you will believe whatever the "anchor of the week" spews forth. The same lack of orginal thought proceeding from your minds is the same silence that one can find in the Arctic tundra. As my own dad has said many times, "I wish stupidity was a crime."

No, you can't have your shotgun pose picture in the yearbook, but my 16 year old daughter can have more ink in her body that you can find in the pens of a college student's dorm room and more piercings on her face than you can put make up on. How long will people continue to emphasize the wrong aspects of society? Think up!! How much will a yearbook picutre affect us in 5 years? It won't matter. How much will the current direction of our nose-diving circa-high school/graduate culture affect us in 5 years? TONS. Those juvenile delinquents that you and I see running around everyday after the future of this country. Parents, step up & grow a backbone. If you need to go a friggin' website to learn about how to talk to your own kid about drugs, sex or cigarettes, you have serious issues that need to be dealt with. Use false courage or something. You're the parent, they're the child. Kick them into shape. How do you expect your kid to be a productive member of society if you don't teach them anything? Get a clue, citizens of America.

I would keep going, but I need to get ready for my next class. Good luck, America.

Crispy

Why Palestinians Should Not Have a Self-Governed State

A recent article found on WorldNetDaily, by Aaron Klein, said,
"Musa Arafat, the head of PA military intelligence and a cousin of Yasser Arafat, said, "The Palestinian security forces know who was behind the killing of three Americans in Gaza nearly a year ago, but cannot act against the factions while the fighting with Israel continues." "

Musa Arafat's comment is one of the most blatant lies I have ever run across. If the Israelis saw that the Palestinians were actually trying to police themselves and prevent terroristic actions, they would most likely hold off their strikes & incursions into the Gaza Strip, which the Palestinians claim is the reason why they can't police themselves up & bring justice to the guilty.

People commonly and frequently, without hesitation, verbally attack Israel because they strike back at the terrorist organizations that the Palestinian and Arab governments harbor every time they send a suicide bomber into Israel attempting to kill citizens of that country. Let me ask you, what would you do if, day after day, Mexico randomly sent a missile flying over into the US? Without hesitation you would say that we should level that spit-puddle of a country and then march into Mexico City with our Army & pimp-slap their president until our hand goes numb. Think about what you just said. You said we should strike back and defend ourselves, which means eliminating the threat, that endangered the American people. Why do people get annoyed with Israel for performing the same action? If you were bombed & blown up for years on end, don't you think you would be a little edgy and decide that it is time to start taking defensive action? I would be taking pre-preemptive action by this time, which Israel does and I commend such action. Afterall, what would a government be if they didn't defend their people or have some provision for defense of its citizens, whether it be a federal, state or even private industry or public organization?

For you readers who are new to my site, don't be disappointed. I didn't get very fired up about this commentary. I have a feeling that John Kerry will say something very stupid soon (some new, not the same old stuff as always) and that will give me something to go on a tangent about. Keep your eyes on the headlines, readers, something good is bound to turn up soon.

Vulcan Rock Quarry

Earlier this afternoon, I took a trip out to the Vulcan Rock Quarry in Kennesaw, GA. Most groups are given a tour that consists of a slide presentation about all of the vehicles that are used at the site. Then, they're shown a film of the drilling, blasting, collection, crushing & distribution processes. Finally, they go near the edge of the quarry and get a quick peek inside (down). The group that I was with was able to go down into the quarry (about 600 ft.) with one of the supervisors. From there, we were able to see, up close, the drill and all the heavy equipment used at the quarry. Then, we were allowed to dig through some of the rocks (I was there with a geologically-interested group) and take home whatever interested us. I must say that the view from the bottom of the quarry was like no other I've yet to see. If you ever get the chance, I strongly encourage you to take a (legal) trip to the bottom of a quarry. Also of note, I believe the only quarrying company that allows trips to the bottom is Vulcan. Vulcan is also the largest quarrying company in the United States. As an added tip, try to hook up with a local teacher. Your chances are better that you'll be able to go down to the bottom if you are with an educational group, since teachers tend to bring groups to certain locations semester after semester, they generally develop friendships with the quarry staff.

-Crispy

The BOB Acronym

Have you ever had to figure out what the intended acronym was for "BOB"? I know this sounds spaced-out already, but seriously, have you ever tried that? I must say the oddest result I came up with "Battery Operated Boyfriend". Try it!

Speaking of acronyms, that is also one of the things that I hate about the military. You know how it is, you see one of your buddies and they ask, "Hey, how was your weekend?" Then you're like, "Oh, it wasn't too bad. We left for our FTX on Friday at 1530 & finally got to our O.R.P. at 2145. That night, while I was pulling security, the OPFOR showed up. Then my M-16 jammed and I had to do a quick bit of S.P.O.R.T.S..." At this time you realize that everyone you're talking to is staring at you with that clueless, glazed over stare (which seems to be so common these days).
Translated that all means:
FTX - Field Training Exercise. This usually indicates that rain is imminent. Afterall, what is an FTX without rain & cold weather?
ORP - Objective Rally Point. Home base.
OPFOR - Opposing Force. The make-believe bad guys for the weekend.
M-16 - M-16. The P.O.S. (piece of stuff) the military believed, for so many years, was a decent weapon (rifle).
SPORTS - Slap, Pull, Observe, Release, Tap, Squeeze. What those random gyrations equate to is that you slap the bottom of the magazine to ensure it is correctly seated in the weapon, followed by pulling the charging handle (bolt, on most other rifles) observing the chamber for a double-fed round or other SNAFU (Status Normal, All Frigged Up). Then, you release the charging handle, "tap" the "forward assist mechanism" (pushes bullet into chamber all the way) then you can finally try to shoot again by squeezing the trigger. Sounds like it takes a while? It does. Would have been easier to just design a correctly functioning weapon, huh? (All hail the XM-8).

All that just to say that a 2 minute story turns into a 6 minute explanation simply because a civilian type asked a military type how his/her weekend went. I warned you guys I jump around a bit.

Food for thought:
If you were to choke a Smurf, what color would he turn?

Crispy

Welcome!

This is the maiden post on this blog. In all likelihood, this is going to be the first of thousands, if not millions. I plan to be posting over quite a variety of topics. One day I may be on a tangent about politics whereas the next day I may be going off about the poor quality of Microsoft products.

Be Safe!
-Crispy