Well, I’ve been a Storm 2 owner for a month now. I specifically said it that way, because last week I traded my phone in for a new phone. You see, ever since I got this phone, it has been difficult to hit the Escape key at the bottom of the screen. I finally came up with a fix, I gently “thwock” it against my hand or a solid object, and that part of the screen will start working for a couple of clicks.

Anyway, last Sunday, I went and traded the old phone for a new one, that supposedly had a hardware fix for the problem. At least I thought I got one of those phones. Right out of the box, the new phone actually performed worse than the original! I couldn’t swap it again, so I took it home and installed a “leaked” OS. This is an OS released by RIM (Research in Motion, the company that makes Blackberrys. Blackberry is not the name of the company) but not officially condoned by the wireless carriers. Well, the problem has gone down about 80-90%. I still have to thwock it, but not very often.

I have the applications I need, and they are working fine. I have it set up  the way that I like it, and this phone really does a lot for me, besides making and receiving phone calls. I would be hard pressed to be as effective in my life if I were to no longer have a Blackberry.

Ah, it’s that time of year, when all of the weird people gather together and have fun. MidSouthCon is here! People who like to wargame, people who like to Role Play Gaming (RPG), and people who just like to dress up as their favorite sci-fi characters. We’ll have storm troopers galore, Klingons,  and anybody else you can think of. Of course, I’ll be there, running the Gamerz Depot store in the dealers room. The store on Highway 178 will be closed, simply because anybody who would have come will be at the con anyway, and most of our stock is at the con.

With everything going on in my life right now, I never had the time to pre-register, so I’m stuck in the long line of those dolts who also didn’t pre-register. Eh. It really doesn’t matter one way or the other to me right now.

So, if you’re in Olive Branch, Mississippi this weekend, drop on my the Whispering Woods Convention Center and say hi! I’ll be the tall, handsome guy with a Bawls bottle in his hand who is dressed like a regular human being.

I was in Nashville last week, and my boss and I went over my performance review and annual bonus. When I found out how much my bonus was, what do you think I did?

I spent about half of it on a new phone.

Right after I was employed by my present company, I found out they have a BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server). This means they can get my company emails to my Blackberry. They only approve of certain phones, and the iPhone is NOT one of them. So, I bought an 8330 Curve, and have enjoyed it for about 13 months now.

Last Wednesday, I went out and bought a new Storm 2. It has a touch screen that “clicks” when you press down on it to select what you’re touching. UPDATE: I finally beat Wordpress into submission and got an image of the Storm 2. Here it is:

UPDATE 2: I’ve had it now for 2 1/2 weeks, and I still think it’s the neatest thing since sliced bread. It has its idiosyncrasies, but I still think it’s great. I’ve installed several apps that make my life easier, and I think it’s just plain cool.

I was checking my Twitter feed on my new Storm 2 (you did read the above post, didn’t you?) and came across this link: Rhode Island District Fires All Its HS Teachers.

The teachers union balked when the school superintendent asked for 25 minutes a day work. The teachers were getting paid *3* times the median income of the district, and still had a 50% high school drop out rate. So, when the union said no, what do you think this lady did.

She fired the teachers. All of them. This lady has a pair of brass cajones the size of shotputs, and they go clang clang clang when she walks. I think I’m in love.

Now, why can’t we do that here in Memphis? I mean, just fire all of the teachers and start from scratch.

Too much effort is being wasted on those who don’t want to learn. Just get rid of those who don’t want to learn. Don’t give them a diploma, and they are not entitled to social services of any type. Let them starve. They don’t care about putting effort into themselves, so we shouldn’t put any effort into them either. I am sick and tired of watching the schools on the news to the point I have turned the news off. They try different flavors of the same failed formula and wonder why it doesn’t work.

Hitting the reboot button and starting over from scratch I think is the way to go.

There just aren’t enough hours in the day any more. If you know of a way for the human body to get by without sleep and stay effective, please tell me where I can get it. Here’s what I mean.

First, I now have two jobs at work. They are intertwined, but I don’t have any free time any more at work for perusing the internet looking for interesting tidbits to comment here about.  The new job has actually crowded out the primary job for the time being. More staff has been hired, and hopefully my load will decrease over time, but right now I’m getting hit with 10-15 cases a day, each taking 30-60 minutes to fully process and close. Right now, I’m waiting on callbacks on 5 cases, which allows me the time I am using to update you.

Then comes other responsibilities. For one, I am following in the footsteps of my father, grandfather and at least one great-grandfather. I am in the process of becoming a Freemason. That requires time, because they don’t just wave a wand and go *POOF!* you’re a Mason. There are things you have to learn, things you have to know, and stuff like that. I’m sorry, but I can’t go into any more detail than that. 

And then there is Gamerz Depot. Yes, it’s still there, yes, I’m still pouring my heart into it to try and keep it alive.

I was counting the hours I’m doing everything throught the week, but I decided that sounded too whiny. I’ve made the choices to do these things, so I should either quit doing them or man up and shut up and do them. So, I’m shutting up and not whining.

I have the Flames of War Nationals coming up in 148 days, and I have to prepare for that. Painting (which has it’s own story), detailing, double checking details, making sure I have the right number of models on a stand (which if you have the wrong number of guys on a stand, you could lose the use of that stand, or worse yet, get you tossed out of the tournament. Yeah, these guys don’t dick around. They take their historical accuracy very seriously.

So, I am investing a lot of time in a lot of things. Some will pay off, some the results are still up in the air. All I know is I am very tired at the end of the day. I go to bed late, get up early and hard charging all day long. I’ve even taken to shaving my head at night just so I don’t have to spend the time doing it in the morning and saving myself about 15 minutes. When you have less than an hour in the morning to wake up, eat breakfast and groom yourself to look presentable, saving 15 minutes is a very big thing.

So, I’m done with my whine. I just wanted to say that I don’t have a lot of time for this anymore. I’m not stopping, but I’m not going to do 2-3 posts daily like I did when I started out. My life has moved on, and I have changed a lot over these past almost 8 years.

One of the concepts of recovery is when your illness is no longer the focus of your life. I have reached that point. My illness, while still present, is not the overiding force it was, that would drive me into the closet for 10-20 hours a week. I have filled my life with enough things, good and normal things, that I don’t have time for my illness any more. I hope to keep this blog as part of my life. It allows me to say things I cannot otherwise say. While not being quite anonymous, I can speak my mind and not worry too much about it. Anybody who wants to really dig can find out who I am, and I ask you not to do that. I don’t want to be “outed,” for that surely spell the end of this blog. I don’t want that to happen.

Let me sign off this post by saying that I have places to go, things to see and friends to make. I am no longer defined or confined by my illness. I am a person first, followed by many things like husband, father, and many more descripters before I get to “someone with Bipolar Disorder.” I’ll talk to you soon. As soon as I learn to give up sleep.

Air America finally bit the big one!

Well, I have been predicting this since 2005, and finally the rich Liberals have gotten tired of pumping cash into a failed and dying network. I don’t think it ever made it over 100 stations, although Memphis actually had an affiliate for about a year, WWTQ. They gave up after they couldn’t fit a piece of paper between their Nielson rating and zero.

I listened to them from time to time, but finally gave up. I listened to them just to hear what they were saying. But years of “Bush lied!” “Bush is a Nazi!” “Bush is EEeevil!” tends to grate on even the faithful after a couple of years.

Of course, the Liberals who ran it and supported it will blame Conservative talk radio. And everybody else as well. The reasons why Liberal talk radio failed are many and varied, and none of the reasons are their fault.

Let us hope that no more liberals without radio experience try to start it back up again. I would rather drill a hole in my head with a 1/2″ paddle bit than listen to any more Liberal talk radio. I’m sure there are tens of millions of Conservatives who feel the same way as I do.

Goodbye and good riddance.

Well, unless the Liberals can pull 100,000 votes out of their behinds, We have 41 Republicans in the US Senate. Don’t start celebrating quite yet. There are still a couple of dirty tricks that the Liberals can pull. They can use the “nuclear option,” Which would get rid of the 60 vote rule (because the 60 vote thing is just a point of procedure for the Senate), or the House could quickly vote on the Senates passed bill, negating the need for a compromise committee to unify the House and Senate bills for a final vote. If the House passes the Senate bill, then the President can sign it into law and it wouldn’t matter for “health care reform” if the Senate Republicans could block it or not.

There are a couple of other dirty tricks they could try, but I can’t think of them right off the top of my head.

Anyway, the most Liberal state in the Union, (guess who voted Democrat in Reagans 1984 49 state landslide) put a Republican into office. I don’t know enough about him to say he is a Conservative, because just because you are a Republican doesn’t automatically mean you’re Conservative and vice versa.

He is not against health care reform, but he is against this bill of health care reform. After the citizens of Massachusets have already suffered under a microcosm of what the national health care reform would be, they don’t want it, and I can hardly blame them.

Be happy, but don’t start celebrating yet. We still have a lot of work to do.

I just learned this morning that Left Wing Cracker’s long time partner has died. All of the details are on Facebook, where I do not/cannot go, but from what I understand, she had a heart attack, then suffered brain death sometime last night. She will, however, live on in other people as LWC & family has donated her organs.

My deepest sympathies go out to LWC and all of the family and friends that surrounded Lauren.

I just got an email while I was on vacation that my win several months ago in a Flames of War tournament at Gamerz Depot has me qualified for the 2010 Nationals being held this summer, somewhere up in Eastern Pennsylvania. Some details are still up in the air, but I’m starting to save for the trip. I hope to split the trip with somebody so I don’t have to pay a whole lot more than I need to.

I figured that if I drove up by myself, and stayed by myself, it would be right around $1,100. I can pretty much cut that in half if I go with one other person, and even more if I split it with others. So, since I don’t do debt, I’m doing it in cash, that I’m socking away some every payday. I missed last years Nationals because I would have had to go on my own, and I didn’t have enough time to save up. This time I’m doing it right, and I should make it.

Which means, I have to get on the ball and actually develop a good tournament list, and paint it, since it is a requirement that I use all of their vehicles and that they are all painted. I have about 27 weeks, so I should be able to get it done, since I paint at a glacial speed. I’ll have some examples up as soon as I think they are presentable.

I know this comes a little late, but I just wanted to make sure that I told everyone who reads this blog that I wish them a healthy, wealthy and just generally good 2010! May all of your good dreams come true.

I’ll get back on the ball soon, I’ve spent the last 11 days off work, and I am looking forward to going back to work so I can rest up from my vacation! It seems that I have more to do and work a lot harder on vacation than I do at my day job!

You can find this poem and more at A Soldiers Christmas.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
 

I had come down the chimney with presents to give,
and to see just who in this little house lived.
 

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
 

No Stockings by mantle, just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.
 

With medals and badges, awards of all kinds,
A sobering thought came through my mind.
 

For this house was different, it was dark and dreary,
 The home of a soldier, I could now see clearly.
 

The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in this one bedroom home.
 

The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,
Not how I picture a United States Soldier.
 

Was this the hero of whom I’d just read?
Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?
 

I realized the families that I saw this night,
owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight.
 

Soon round the world, the children would play,
and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas day.
 

They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
because of the soldiers, like the one lying here.
 

I couldn’t help wondering how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.
 

The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to one knee and started to cry.
 

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
“Santa don’t cry, for this life is my choice”.
 

I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more,
My life is my God, my country, my corps.”
 

The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.
 

I kept watch for hours, so silent and still,
as we both shivered from the cold night’s chill.
 

I didn’t want to leave, on that cold, dark night,
this guardian of honor, so willing to fight.
 

Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure,
whispered, “Carry on Santa…., It’s Christmas Day…., All is secure.
       

One look at my watch, and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend…. and to all a Good Night.

                        ~ Author Unknown *~

Please remember those who fight for our freedom this Christmas. They are my brothers and sisters. They fight on far away battlefields, not knowing if they will survive the day, willingly laying down their lives for our freedom, and you’d better damn well remember that. If you don’t like it, then get the hell out of my country. Just the thought of what they are going through for us has me on the verge of openly weeping.

Those who refuse to support and defend a state have no claim to protection by that state.

A collaborator is someone who feeds his friends to the alligator, hoping he will be eaten last.

Back in this post I worte about the smart grid system, and how it will lead to a control of our home thermostats in the name of “energy conservation.”

This is what I wrote:

Also, with monitoring now, control inevitably follows. California is already trying to control the thermostats of homes and businesses because they don’t have enough power. So your house temperature would be set by the government, not by you. Doesn’t that sound a little, intrusive? But it will be the future, maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but within 5 years, it won’t sound so far fetched.

Well, this article has the following paragraph:

Someday utilities hope to use the meter to control consumption by major appliances like air conditioners. But experts are still debating what technical standards the meters and appliances should use to communicate.

If I want to keep my house at 87 degrees in the winter and 24 degrees in the summer, as long as I can afford the utility bills, that should be my right! This BS of telling us what is best for us by the regulation of my major appliances is just another nanny state step, brought on my those frackin’ Liberals who don’t think that I can make decisions on my own, or that I should not be allowed to make decisions like that, because I’m not “aware of the environment” and how I’m “damaging it.”

We don’t own the software we use on our computers, (what, you don’t read the EULA? Shame on you), now the power we purchase will not be ours, what’s next? What else will be taken away from us in the name of “You’re not smart enough, you don’t understand”? We are already on the bridge to losing most of our freedoms over our own bodies by nationalizing health care. How about rationing of gasoline, to end the “wasteful abuse” by all those “evil” SUVs?

But Liberals need SUV’s, and control over their own thermostats. They’re smart enough to do it the right way, just not the rest of us.

Lord, save us from those who think they are saving us from ourselves.

Okay, another case of a Liberal knee-jerk reaction. The new Memphis Mayor AC Wharton’s administration is going to take steps to clean up the streets of the homeless using the police by ostensibly directing them towards resources, but will have the effect of chasing them out of town or putting them in jail. Put me down on the record for this not being right. A mailed fist cannot gently solve the problem.

Anyhoo, this story talks about the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, who has decided to get outraged over this issue. They want to protest until jobs and housing is made available for these people.

Umm, the reason why they are homeless in the first place is the fact that most of the homeless have a mental illness or a co-occurring disorder (substance abuse and a mental illness) which cost them their ability to hold jobs in the first place. Same thing with the housing, their illness precludes them from living in a stable environment. Their families won’t have them, and they bounce between the streets, mental health hospitals, or jail.

I know of four wonderful ladies that are doing exactly what needs to be done, and that is helping these people in a real way. I can’t mention who they are, or what they do. They are extremely Liberal, and I think I would expose them to embarrassment if I were to give their names on my blog. Just let it be known that they are doing the right thing, for the right reasons. They are counting the people who no longer need their help, not just those in their programs. They do it quietly, with only the praise of those whom they have helped as their reward.

Now, it seems like the MSPJC is going to do the same thing as detailed in prior actions of our illustrious President. They do press releases, make signs and stand on corners, and raise a lot of noise without really understanding the issue and doing anything sustentative about it. They will “raise awareness” and make a lot of noise and put public pressure on some people to “do something.” But, one or two news cycles after they are out of the limelight on this subject, they will pat themselves on the back, say they “did something” and go on their merry Liberal way, without doing anything other than giving the beehive a good whack. Meanwhile, the ladies who are doing the work get no recognition. That’s okay, they aren’t looking for any.

I may be wrong. I have been known to be wrong once or twice in the past. But this is my opinion of what will happen. MSPJC may just do something about the problem, even if only to get the mayor to stop this policy. But that still won’t affect the root problem and that is addressing why these people are homeless. Meanwhile my four ladies will continue on with their respective Good Fights, and help those who need and want help, one person at a time.

Okay. I found this post a few days ago and I wanted to let it simmer on the back burner of my mind. I think it’s ready to go.

The post talks about critical thinking and stuff like that. Read it if you’re interested. What got my goat was this:

I think the day will come when most people agree about most things, because they can’t be debunked. It will take generations, unfortunately, but it’s coming.

It is the nature of our species to want to understand. Just like few now contest the spherical nature of the Earth, the reality of human behavior in different social scenarios will eventually be beyond controversy. The reality, whatever it is (and as a progressive, I have my deep suspicions about what’s up) will just shine as fact.

I believe with every fiber of my being that the era of the Demon Haunted World is coming to a close. What we’re seeing now with healthcare reform, etc, is a death pang. A temper tantrum from the mythology-true-believers.

In the end, the truth always shines. It’s why Russia collapsed. 

At the end of the day, truth always wins. Humans are driven by nature to think critically and laterally. All they need is an (at least) mostly corruption-free fact base to derive facts from. So I don’t think it a coincidence that in 2008, Americans joined the rest of the developed world in proclaiming healthcare a basic human right. The masses are able, for the first time ever, to actually talk to and compare notes with citizens of other nations. And the truth, as it tends to do, shines.

This is wishful thinking. There is no truth. Even more important, there is no Truth. There are facts, but there is no “truth.” Don’t confuse the two. Truth is a universal idea, and I’m here to tell you that the universe is a pretty big place. What is the truth for me may not be the same truth for you, even when they share the same facts.

As long as there are at least two people, there will be disagreements. Even identical twins don’t agree on everything all the time.

Now, I’d like to poke a couple of holes in this quote above. When the Soviet Union started Glasnost, the newly freed press took the Communist government to task. The press pointed out all of the failures of the government, which pushed it to its downfall. With the Obama administration, the press is a willing partner in the coverup of what the administration is doing. Oh, they might report a little story, then drop the issue completely. That way they have plausible deniability. Oh, you didn’t read the 3 inch story on page E15? Sorry, you missed it.

When the press is in on the conspiracy, when appointed and unvetted ”Czars” make repressive policies based on new “interperations” of the existing laws of our country, When the administration out-and-out lies to the People and the press won’t call him on it, then we are in trouble.

When Republicans are in power, the highest form of patriotism is dissent. When the Democrats are in power, then the highest form of patriotism is obedience to the government. Does anybody see anything wrong here?

Other countries may have universal health care, but then again we aren’t other countries. Just remember, how many people leave their country for American health care, versus how many Americans go to places like Great Britain, Canada or Japan for their health care. I can give you the answer right now. Many and none.

Don’t think for a second that if we were to start universal health care, that we are going to maintain the same quality of health care that we enjoy now. It is physically and financially impossible. I’ve already gone into it, I don’t think I need to do it any more.

Besides, whatever happened to the “rugged individualism” that we Americans were known for? You know, personal responsibility and all that. Or have we become too dependent on the teat of government? Like Dr. Rogers said a couple of posts ago, if you get something without working for it, then someone else must work for it and not receive what they earned. Does that sound right to you? Because that is exactly what the Obama administration is doing.

They are taking from the “haves” and giving it to the “have nots.” But what happenes when the “haves” all get up and leave, and nobody is left but the “have nots?” When you’ve taken everything from the producers, and they have nothing left to give, how are you going to keep giving to the “have nots?” Because you can give the world to the “have nots” and they will waste it and still be the “have nots.” That’s why they are who they are. If they worked for what they had, if they earned it, if they took care of what they had, then they would be the “haves.”

If I were to take money from one person at gunpoint, then give that money to another (after keeping a modest 83% for overhead costs) then I would be arrested and charged with armed robbery. When the government does the exact same thing, it’s called taxation and “redistribution of wealth.” Tell me again how this is good.

Before I close, P L E A S E call, write, fax and visit your Senator. Tell them that you don’t want universal health care. This is going to be bad for the country and the People. If we don’t stop it here, there may be no stopping it. And that will be the disaster that will break this country.