I’ve begun to notice a widely accepted and predatory practice among business who are attempting to lure customers into their contract services. It’s called… the FREE TRIAL PERIOD.

It’s almost as bad as the whole FREE* issue. The difference lies in the fact that you are presented with every outward indication that this particular business is offering a trial period of service for you to evaluate your satisfaction with the product or service. What’s actually happening, is that a much more complex and risky deal is being hidden beneath a flashy advertising gimmick. What they’re really doing is attempting to play upon the natural human instinct of curiosity, desire, and forgetfulness in order to derive a profit.

Most “free trials” quickly end up annoying their potential clients because the simple exterior quickly peels away as soon as interest is shown. Let’s create a theoretical offer and I’ll demonstrate.

“New SuperTech3000 cellular phone offer! It allows you to make calls even while underwater!! 14-DAY FREE TRIAL! Hurry! Supplies are limited!”

You think, “Oh cool! I don’t know why I’d try to call someone from underwater…but that’s pretty cool. I’ll try it for 14 days and see if it’s worth the money.” Ah…will you now? Alrighty. You decide to contact this company and get yourself a SuperTech3000 for 14 days.

Oh! What’s this? You suddenly find out that the phone is $500, and requires either a yearly or monthly subscription for service. If you want the 14-day free trial…you have to give them your credit card information so they can bill your stupid butt if you happen to get forgetful enough not to cancel your subscription before the 14 days are up.

This is called the “ring through the nose”… if you don’t unclip the chain before 14 days pass…you are at the mercy of their contract. Oh are these people lovely? Wouldn’t you recommend them to everyone? If you participate in anything emblazoned with a “FREE” attached to the sign, you had best beware.

People are not in business to be kind to you, cater to your whims, do you favors or give out free things. Free…is never free. Free…is a way to get you to pay. Remember this, people. You’ll thank me for it.

Bottom line? If you can’t resist the “free trial period”….then invest in a memo book. Just because you’ve forgotten about Company X…doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten about you.

I’m outta here for now.

Upon relating my absent-minded behavior of the prior evening to a dear friend of mine, she insisted that I publicly and shamelessly indignify myself to the world by posting what happened, here….on my blog.

Are you feelin’ the love? I know I am. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, and as a testament to the fact that we all occasionally try to shove our heads up our respective posterior orifices… here is my story.

In preparation for the upcoming camping trip on Friday, my dear wife stopped by her mom’s house to pick up a brand new family sized tent that had been in storage for some time. My mother-in-law had won it at a raffle or whatnot some time back, but didn’t really have much use for it… so now it has become ours. New + Free = Happy Jason.

At any rate, the wifey and I had the foresight to pre-assemble the tent at the house prior to getting all the way down to our campsite and finding out that something was wrong or missing. As luck would have it, everything works like a charm! After assembling the tent and checking out all of the neat little gadgets included with our high-tech-portable-hut….I was informed that supper was ready, and to come inside the house. This is where the insult to intelligence began…

You see, there are two mesh pockets provided within the tent to place belongings in. This keeps sharp objects and loose personal effects from rolling around the floor of the tent (which can cause injury to the user or the tent itself, if rolled on or trampled on). There are also a few utility loops sewn into the walls as well. It was on one of these little loops that I clipped my car keys, so as not to lay on them when we went inside to inspect our little mansion.

They were left hanging in the tent when I went inside. After supper, I cleaned the kitchen up and told the dear wife that I was going to pack the tent back up and put it inside the tote bag it came in. I disassembled the tent, stakes, bow rods, rain fly, and equipment loft. I packed everything up nice and neat, and she helped me roll up the tent and pack it away. Everything tucked into the tote nice and neat.

Well……yesterday, at some point, our illustrious and infallible power company provided us with a nice power blink. I noticed, upon my arrival home, that everything that plugged into a wall and which possessed a digital clock…was blinking the “eternal 12:00” hour. At bedtime, I set the clock at my bedside to the proper time (mainly because I’ve neglected to replace the backup battery several times now due to forgetfulness.) and set my alarm to wake me up at 5:30am….or so I thought.

At approximately 6:00am, my wife wakes me and informs me of the time. I typically leave the house no later than 6:30 in order to arrive at work before 7:00am (clock in time). So, this gave me only 30 minutes (versus the hour I’d planned for) to get ready. All went fine and I was ready to start my truck….but where were my keys?

I looked high and low…retraced my steps….checked everywhere I typically lay my keys (as the clock ticked). I looked in my dad’s shop, my office, key rack, kitchen counter, bathroom, bedroom…nothing.
Well, it was now 6:30am and time to leave. Still no keys. Then it hit me. Could I have been that forgetful? The answer would soon come to me.

I had been asked not to wake my dear wife when I left for work today, because she had been given a day off from work as a “thank you” for putting in valuable time at her job. I’d already forced her to wake ME up this morning from me obviously setting the alarm for pm instead of am. Now I was about to wake her again by having to rustle through a folded up tent. I did…and she asked me what in the hell I was doing.
After telling her, she shook her head and let me continue my search.

I found them, still attached to the loop inside the tent, and promptly set off for my truck. I arrived and clocked in…at 7:04am. Granted, it’s a Tuesday… but it’s the second “Monday” of the week for me. As the great Paul Harvey says…

“And now you know…the rest…of the story.”

It’s been awhile since my last entry, so I reckon I better make quota huh? ~lol~ Well, let’s seeeee…what’s been goin on…

At long last, the camping trip is a “go”. We’re going to be camping on scenic Lake DeGray for the July 4th weekend. We’ll be leaving out this coming Friday to meet our friends down at the camp site. We’re doing the tent-thing and they’re bringing their tag along camper. I found out rather quickly that mid to early-70’s campers were NOT designed for 6’-7” hillbillies… the ceiling is at about neck level for me. So, if I go in there, there’ll be a lot of stooping going on.

I’m sure most of our time will be spent outside in lawn chairs or at the water. The only things that historically drive people inside their RV’s or campers are swarms of bugs, intense heat, or thunderstorms. I’m hoping we don’t experience any of the above.

This weekend was all about visiting our friends, setting plans in place, and getting their camper spiffy for the trip. I volunteered to help, but there wasn’t enough room for everyone to be inside the camper cleaning. My wife’s pretty short, so it was easier for her to get around inside the camper… and Chris pretty much had the outside covered, as far as a bleach-wash on any mildew.

I busied the kiddos with some ATV rides and video games. I worked on some of my Genealogy and grilled some hotdogs for supper. It was a good weekend. This week I have to concentrate on getting a fishing license and getting my truck’s tags renewed. Wouldn’t make for a very good camping trip if I got pulled over for expired tags….now would it?

Speaking of my Genealogy hobby… I’ve got several things in the fire at the moment. One of my ancestors supposedly owned a mobile sawmill and cut lumber for a local lumber company back in the 1920’s. I’ve asked a lady at the local historical museum if she’d look through some of her old photographs of that time period and see if (by some chance) my ancestor might be featured with that mobile sawmill. I’m sure I’ll be hearing back from her around mid-week… so I have my fingers crossed. I have a picture of his wife…but not one of him. He’d be my great-great-grandfather.

I also have trips planned to two southern Arkansas towns in the near future. I need to do some microfilm searches and land record searches on the earliest ancestor I have on record, to date. He was born in Tennessee around 1789. That would put his father’s lifetime right in the period of the American Revolutionary War. I’m hoping to get past this “data roadblock” I’ve been experiencing…and hopefully gain some information on his parents. I wonder if they were immigrants from the Old Country at that point, or if my lineage can be dated back to the pilgrims? These are the kinds of possibilities that keep me searching. It’s like a mystery novel…and each chapter holds new clues, and new discoveries. All I have to do is be persistent, dedicated, and crafty. Oh, and there’s the whole “extremely lucky” aspect that tends to help out at times when there’s nothing to go on.

I guess I’d better take a break from writing for now…. I have some work to get done. Gotta pay bills, ya know. As always… more later.

Ok folks… it’s time to ponder a question that’s been annoying me for a long time now. Acronyms. Note, that acronyms are not to be confused with abbreviations. Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word “abbreviation” as follows:

ab·bre·vi·a·tion: n. 1) the act or result of abbreviating : ABRIDGMENT 2) a shortened form of a written word or phrase used in place of the whole

So, an abbreviation is a shortened or truncated version of a larger word it represents. However, an acronym is something of a different color:

ac·ro·nym: n. 1) a word (as NATO, radar, or snafu) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term; also : an abbreviation (as FBI) formed from initial letters : INITIALISM

I bring this subject to light due to my observance (and subsequent resulting annoyance) of its continuous and somewhat absurdly grotesque overuse. It seems like everything has its own acronym these days. It’s especially true with regards to commercial advertisements for anything medical. Medical terminology basically consists of nothing BUT acronyms for every disease, treatment, body part, drug and billing procedure involved in the healing of human beings.

What’s wrong with the original word or words? Are they too long to pronounce with any form of dignity by the general populous? Is it an effort to confound the consumer with enigmatic truncations so that they will mindlessly assume that they don’t need to know the words associated with the acronym? Perhaps the medical community figures that by complicating an already dizzying series of Latin words into jumbled up acronyms, they will be more easily remembered?

One that seems to proliferate the television and radio these days is acronymed as “E.D.” ED stands for “erectile dysfunction”. A layman's explanation of this is that: “the ol’ penis ain’t doin what it’s supposed to be doin as well as it used to do it.” As a result, the medical community has capitalized on this wide-spread psychological, medical, or stress-induced state of sexual trouble with a catchy little acronym. It’s most likely a ridiculous and uselessly chivalrous attempt to protect us from some kind of assault upon our delicate moral sensibilities by the avoidance of uttering “erectile dysfunction”. But in an age of Real World, Dukes of Hazzard going Rated-R in the movies, and even so-called “childrens shows” having crudely disguised inuendo humor in them… what could we possibly be offended by in the term “erectile dysfunction”??

For pete’s sake, people… it took nearly 6 months before Rogaine would tell us what the hell they were providing a treatment FOR! Why would we pay money to go and see a damn doctor and inquire whether Rogaine was right for us… if we had no idea if it was a possible treatment for cateracts, bunions, hemmorhoids or baldness?? I assume it was out of pure luck or process of elimination that some poor sap with a receeding hairline finally was told was Rogaine DID…and then he spread the word. Talk about an advertising guffaw. Sure, it got the name out there… but how stupid does a company look when everyone knows the name of its product…and over 3/4 of those people don’t know what it’s used for…then probably only 1/4 of the 3/4 would even benefit from it if they knew? Very odd.

But, back to what I was saying… Acronyms. They’re everywhere. Think about it. USA… MPH… STP… OBGYN… LOL... YIM... MSN... XP... S/M/L/XL... PDA… PDF… PDQ… CST… ED…CAT Scan... AWOL…. DT&L… BLT… AT&T…. SBC…. SLT… DOA… R/T… GT… GTO… GTA… MP… AP…CD/CDR/CDRW…. RAM… ROM… CPU…. MPG… AM/FM... JPG…. GIF…. NBC… CBS…ABC… WTC…. WMDs…. AM/PM… AC/DC… ASAP…. it just goes on and on and on. You can probably think of a dozen that I haven’t mentioned yet. The system smothers you with cryptic acronyms for every damn thing under the sun these days. And why? So they can save money on text? So they can be trendy? Who knows. It just seems rather excessive to me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe I’m going to fix a BLT and a frosty A&W, then enjoy some R&R by watching some MST3K.

TTFN!!

I figured I'd take a few minutes and type up a new entry for today. We woke up nice and early this morning and headed down to Lake Degray to do some relaxing and swimming. We had a nice picnic lunch and I tossed the kiddos around in the water. I only got a little pink on the forehead from the sun... (thank you SPF15...the white boy's friend)

As I type this, I'm over at our friends' house for supper. We're going to hang out here tonight and then go to the mud races tomorrow. We might swing by a Civil War Memorial cemetery and see the monument erected there which honors the unit my ancestor fought with back in 1861-1865.

Well, supper is about ready... and I'm hungry. I'm outta here for now. As always...more later.

Alright kiddies, it’s time for another installment of the…. Oh hell, it’s another blog entry. Take it or leave it.

Well, what’s been going on with me? I got some much needed new tires for my truck. Michelin tires suck…plain and simple. The ones that came on my truck lasted a mere 25,000 miles. They were nearly bald. I decided to get some Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires after checking the customer reviews on them. They weren’t as expensive as the BFGoodrich’s I was eyeing. They should do fine until I can get some 20” wheels. Here’s a stock pic of them if you’re interested. Ok, well here’s one anyway. (I only wish the wheels came with em)


The spare tire cover for the wife’s Jeep finally came in. (pic below) I got it because it matches her front license plate. Being the “green eyed cat person” she is, I was sure she’d love it and she does. We’re going to be seeing the new movie Cars tonight with the kids and my folks. They’ve been wanting to watch it too. Sounds like a pretty fun time to me. Tomorrow, I’m gonna take the wife and kids out to the lake for some swimming, and then down to our friends’ place for the night, because on Sunday we’re headed out to the mud races near their house.

All in all, it should be a good weekend. Here’s that tire cover. More later.

I’d like to take a brief moment to address a pet peeve of mine. To whomever posted the advertisement and subsequent web addy in my comments section… please don’t be rude.

Like many other people, I’m constantly bombarded by annoying advertisements from every marketer under the sun. I don’t like them. And to invade my personal blog and comment section with a plea for business at your or anyone else’s website at my expense, is wrong.

I don’t care how relevent you thought it was, based upon my interests. Please refrain from posting advertisements. Thank you.

If I see anyone else doing this, your comments will be filtered out.

This weekend has been rather interesting, to say the least. A multitude of highs and lows have assailed me. I’d wager that it’s not unlike being blindfolded and strapped upside-down to the front car of the Texas Giant rollercoaster.

Let’s start with Friday, shall we? I finally achieved the “one year” anniversary date with my employer, so I decided to celebrate my newly acquired status with the company. Since I’m now eligible for 5 days of paid vacation and paid holidays, I chose to take Friday off to enjoy a long weekend. My father had mentioned that I could get a full 50PSI of water flow from the main line stub-up if I’d tee off from it just below the pressure reducing valve and create a “high pressure” faucet.

I figured it was a good idea, because 30PSI just doesn’t cut it when you wanna water a lawn or wash a car. He and I enjoyed the cool of the morning and fixed up the tee. It works great and I’ve got plenty of water pressure when I need it. I’d consider that a (high). I watched the movie Aeon Flux. It was pretty good, actually! It was somewhat reminescent of the old cartoon in many ways. I I considered that yet another (high).

Saturday was a rather full day. The wife had an early shift at the tanning salon, but would be free in the evening. The new X-men movie had just come out, so we were all anxious to go see our favorite mutants doing battle. I got the tickets online and took the boys to breakfast at the donut shop. We had a light lunch and went to the movie at about 5:00pm. So, donuts (high)…tickets and movie (high)…not a bad day.

Sunday was to be eventful as well. I decided that, despite the call for rain over the weekend, I was going to wash our vehicles. Having been fried to a crisp earlier in the year for not paying heed to Mr. Sun whilst meandering about without a shirt… I decided to apply some protection while I scrubbed and sprayed. Well, while that was a good plan, apparently it didn’t get applied to the waistband area of my lower back and…well… it’s currently a tad uncomfortable to wear jeans with a belt.

I started watching the Nascar race on TV and rest up from detailing vehicles… but plans had been set in motion to watch the finale’ of fireworks at Riverfest ’06 up in Little Rock. They always put on a great show, and I’d agreed to go. So… with my boy, Kasey Kahne, leading the pack (high) and less than 100 laps to go…we headed out.. I wasn’t too thrilled about leaving the race. It’s like being at the bottom of the 8th inning, with your team at bat, and you gotta go to town. I resolved myself to the fact that I’d have to get the race results on my phone and miss out on the chance of watching him win (if it was destined).

We got up to Little Rock and luck shined on us. I’d hoped that the old parking deck that I used when I was working up on the 16th floor of the Regions building would be open. It was. We drove to the top of the six story deck to where we could look out over downtown. Aside from one building obscuring some of the smaller, low-altitude explosions...(low)…it was a great show. About 10 minutes before the first morter was thumped into the night air, I got the news on my phone that Kasey had clinched the victory!!! So, there was the (high) that I was hoping for. The fireworks show was another (high) of the night. There was a slight dispute betwixt the ladies in our little caravan...(low)…but it was short-lived.

After arriving home, I was horrified to discover that my computer’s C:\ drive had suddenly developed a fatal error…either in my OS (operating system) which is Windows XP Home… or possibly a physical error on the hard drive itself. It was in a perpetual loop of rebooting that kept taking it to an error screen. I grabbed my “Restore” cd’s and resolved myself to the fact that I was going to have to reformat and reinstall my OS. It wasn’t a matter of losing a lot of stuff on the drive…it’d already been lost. I couldn’t access it or back it up. There was no way to get into the system. So… I figured I’d give the drive one more shot.
I loaded the cd’s and I’m still in the process of fixing up my Windows XP to be as close as it can be to what it was before the big FUBAR. So far, so good. At least I’ll know it’s the drive itself if it repeats the error.

Monday brought the threat of rain, but my dear wife would not be denied a trip SOMEWHERE in order to get out of the house on Memorial Day. Therefore, after much mulling about over destinations, we settled on the Zoo. It was close by… inexpensive…provided entertainment for all of us…and was away from the house. I needed to stop by the ATM on the way, in order to get some admission cash. That is…after I drove back to the house and got the wallet I’d forgotten (which contained not only my drivers license but the atm/debit card as well).

We then played hopscotch with patches of rain on the way up there, and I was sure that we were going to end up disappointed with the visit. When we arrived, wind was gusting at about 10-15mph and things were beginning to look rather dark. Not good signs for a day at the zoo…but we marched onward. We met up with our friends (who hadn’t forgotten THEIR wallet) and began to stroll around the exhibits. That’s about the time when the rain set in. We strolled back to the amphitheater for a dry seat, and hoped that the shower would be short-lived. It turned out to last and last. However, all was not lost. A bird handler was in the same area as us and came down to the stage area with an absolutely gorgeous bald eagle.

I instantly thought, “What better way to be reminded of the valor and bravery of our fallen soldiers on this day…than by staring into the fierce eyes of our nation’s noble bird?” It turns out that the eagle was a female, and I was even privileged enough to wear the glove and hold her teather. She sat next to me on the amphitheater bench while the handler went backstage to see if there was anything she might care to eat. Let me assure you… when you look into the eyes of a bald eagle, with a beak like a sharpened coat hook…and talons over an inch-1/2 long EACH…. you realize that this creature commands respect. I wasn’t about to do anything to hack her off. It was truly an honor I’ll never forget.

When the rain let up to a soft drizzle…we strolled on through some of the zoo. We saw a few animals and got sopping wet, but we had fun. The zoo has always been a sort of peaceful refuge for me when life has overwhelmed me. So I’ve never had a bad day there. I hope that one day I am able to give back a small portion of myself to a place that has given me so much. Appreciation for the simplicity and beauty of nature’s creatures is something more people should take time to discover. I would definitely consider this a (high) of the weekend…

As you can see, there were more highs than lows. So, by mathematical ratio, it wasn’t too bad of a weekend.

I’ll upload pics of the eagle on the next blog post. I still have to load the camera software into Windows XP. Thanks Bill.

Today’s rant is about the “Corporate Marketing Shell Game”. You might wonder what I’m talking about. Well, as luck would have it, you’re about to find out.

The “shell game” has been around for many, many years. The game involves rapid hand movements in order to confuse and divert attention from the object (typically a small ball) which has been hidden under one of three empty turtle shells. The shells are swapped around several times in random patterns and the player is then asked to pick a shell. Some unsavory game runners are able to use slight-of-hand to remove the ball from the shell so that the player can’t win.

This tactic of changing the odds has also been called “stacking the deck" because it was used in underhanded card games so that players rarely won. The corporate world has adopted an “open interpretation” view of marketing that amounts to a virtual shell game for consumers. It’s apparent in just about every gimmick thrown at us, as consumers. Perhaps you’ve seen the word “FREE” on something? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary gives one definition of “free” as… having a scope not restricted by qualification. However, people have now been conditioned to accept a new spelling of the word Free. Perhaps you’ve seen it. It’s now spelled F-R-E-E-*

The asterisk was added, recently, in order to help sucker would-be consumers into a situation whereby they believe they’re about to receive a gratis or obligation-free promotional offer. However, their hopes are suddenly dashed by the fact that the asterisk points to a phrase denoting something to the effect of “some restrictions apply”, or “subject to qualifications” or perhaps “see details”. This asterisk has led to a mood of disrespect for corporate marketing because it totally dismisses the whole root of the word, itself.

How are they able to bastardize this word? They use the excuse of “open interpretation”. They argue that they are, indeed, offering something for free. However, in order to actually receive the free item, you must “qualify” yourself for it. Technically, they’re avoiding false advertisement litigation by merely sidestepping it. By advertising only a portion of the marketing strategy, they’re drawing customers’ attentions to the part where they receive merchandise or a promotional item without having to pay for it. This is the bait for their participation in the marketing strategy.

That is when the shell game begins. They are told that in order to “qualify” for a particular item, they must meet a certain criteria. This can be anything from being approved for a credit account, to paying full price for the object…only to get mail-in rebates that they have to send in after a waiting period, to merely having to pay the shipping and handling costs for the object. One way or another, the corporate world will no longer give hand-outs in order to win customer loyalty. This is a sad realization. Because in doing so, they make themselves part of a sea of greed and selfish tactics that have embittered the buying public.

Years ago, marketers wanted to win the loyalty of paying customers by focusing on the needs of the customer (rather than lining their own pockets with every opportunity that they could invent). By keeping the “little guy” in mind, they made the buying-&-selling relationship into one of a personal friendship. Customers felt loyal to a manufacturer who had their best interests in mind. It was called “honest marketing” and it worked! Now days, business owners try to find gimmicks and loopholes in order to take advantage of overly-trusting individuals. It was rightly said that a sucker is born every minute. Don’t let yourself become one of them. Watch out for the ever-present asterisk. It is NOT your friend, friend.

More later…

I’ve decided to throw some more thoughts into the ol’ blog today. Yes, they’re weird…yes, they’re probably littered with unfounded poor judgement…and yes, I’m probably one of the most stubborn and hardheaded people on earth. Your point is?

Today I'm gonna rant about radio. Ah yes, we all love radio. There’s nothing quite like our nationally available series of AM and FM stations, pumping out a limited series of songs that record companies want to impregnate your mind with in order to sell more CD’s of any given genre. But that is made even more delightful by the daily flood of annoying, loud, and sometimes offensive advertisements that come streaming out of the speaker.

If it’s not some idiot trying to sell cars by screaming at you like you’ve suddenly gone deaf and he’s on his 14th cup of Java. Then, it’s some national health foundation or something, telling you to go get your tits squished at the breast exam center, or perhaps illuminating you to the fact that your prostate or colon is out to kill you. Perhaps it’s that lovely time when Candidate A is trying to verbally crap all over the reputation of Candidate B. And the latest trend is a string of so-called “live” telephone calls by morons who ask restaurants to provide ridiculous services to them in order to advertise another one that actually has that gimmick going.

Just this morning, I’ve heard at least 5 commercials advertising the need of individuals, 50 and over, to visit their doctor for a colo-rectal cancer screening…because your ass could be killing you. Keep in mind that the marketing coordinator for this health service obviously enjoys having things shoved up his ass, because he’s targeting a market of listeners with an average age of 26. The station I was listening to is an alternative rock station. Not many retirees I know of are smoking pot, drinking Jägermeister and planning a pilgrimage to Ozzfest ’06. Perhaps he should pay a visit to his doctor and have his head surgically removed from his colon.

Let’s not neglect an analysis of the “screaming car salesman”. Oh, what a delight they are. I know I’m personally thrilled by this bellowing baffoon, blatantly demonstrating his opinion of the buying public by treating them as impressionable, deaf, persuadable gimmick junkies. Now, we all know that in a sea of cookie-cutter car lots, restricted by the manufacturer by how much they must initially charge for a particular car, the lot owners much find an edge. They’re all vying for your attention and business. What a lot of them seem to be confused about, is this. Treating your potential customers like impressionable stooges isn’t the way to go about it.

Next on the list is the babbling “disclaimers” that are typically filled full of enigmatic acronyms and are, more often than not, read off at a speed so fast that it is almost indecipherable. Many times, this is tagged onto a sales pitch by a car lot. Other times, they’ll give you only a portion of the information and tell you to “visit our website for FULL details.”

Necessary as it may be in this day and age, in order to prevent (or at least reduce) the amount of frivolous lawsuits brought on by claims against manufacturers over uncovered loopholes. It’s become more of a state of advertising paranoia than anything. It’s to the point, now, that it seems to me almost laughably absurd. Hot coffee being labeled as hot. Do not place plastic bags over your head. Packets of moisture absorbant material in electronics having to be labeled “do not eat”. What in the hell is wrong with people nowadays?? I've watched Looney Tunes all of my life (and this is quite apparent)... and I've never once hit someone with a rolling pin, frying pan, or huge mallet. I've never jumped off a cliff or been blown up by a keg of TNT.

Why, then, are Saturday morning cartoons no longer Saturday morning cartoons...and when they're shown, they're censored to be "politically correct"?!? People need to wake the hell up, take off their sissy dresses, take responsibility for their kids and their behavior, and stop being offended by every damn thing someone says or does!!! Get a backbone, America!! Your grandparents had one... why can't you??

Well… I’ve rambled enough for today. More annoyances yet to come… stay tuned.

I guess it’s time to post another update to the old blog. Some people have been informing me that one is overdue. Alright…here goes….

Firstly, plans have been made for a camping trip in the near future, possibly in early June. The opportunity to actually have some paid vacation time has come at last. I haven’t had the chance to actually go anywhere with my kids in so long it’s pitiful. So, with the 1-year anniversary at my full-time job coming up… that’ll be a pleasant change. I’ll be eligible for a raise…paid vacation and paid holidays.

Well, thinking of the camping trip got me to thinking about my options for sleeping accomodations. Citing the fact that we don’t own an RV…5th wheel camper…or pop-up of our own, we’ll be renting one. Oh, we still have the option of a family tent. We’ve got one we’ve never had the opportunity to use. But I think we’ll be going the pop-up route.

That being said, my thoughts turned to how I’d get it there. I’ve got my Dodge truck… but it didn’t have anything to tow with. Oh sure, it has the Hemi…a tow-mode switch…and the trailer-tow package. But no ball… no hitch…nothing. So I talked to my buddies down at my place of employment about it. I happen to work at a place that specializes in heavy equipment and truck accessories. They took a look under the truck to see if they had a light truck hitch that would fit mine. What they discovered was shocking!

I bought my truck brand new with 7 actual miles on the odometer. It didn’t come with a trailer hitch. I’ve never had one on it. And to the best of my knowledge…there was nothing out of place. If you’ve never seen a bird before…and you see one with no feathers….you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong. Well, I found out soon enough that there WAS something wrong. The tow-bar (a tubular steel bar that hangs behind the spare tire and is welded to each frame rail) is where a tow-hitch is bolted to.

If a truck comes from the factory without a trailer hitch, the bolt holes are empty on the tow-bar. Mine had bolts installed. Next… there are typically two, round cutouts on the bumper. They are just beneath the license plate and are positioned to each side of the trailer ball hole. These cutouts, I was told, have to be removed in order to access the bolt holes for a trailer hitch to be installed. Mine had been removed before I even bought the truck. I never knew anything ever covered those bolt holes. Imagine my surprise to suddenly realize…that my truck was missing some equipment that I’ve been paying for over the past 2 years!!!

I promptly made a call to the dealership and explained the situation. They told me to bring the truck down. I woke up on Saturday morning and took the family with me down to the dealership. They took a look at the bumper…and at the tow-bar. Then, just to make sure, they checked the VIN number against the electronic vehicle manifest sheets for 2004 (the year my truck was made). Sure enough…it was supposed to have a factory Mopar receiver hitch on it. They apologized to me several times and promptly took the truck back to have one installed. I now have a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 with a shiny, new receiver hitch. It’s nice to get everything you pay for.

After getting this installed, I picked up a hitch tongue and a 2” ball, which fits most small trailers. I also got an adapter block which attaches to my bumper. It lets you connect your standard 4-pin trailer light “pigtail” to it for easy access…and it also has a hookup for a 7-pin barrel connector. The 7-pin will need to be wired to an electronic brake box which fits up under my dash… but that’ll come later. A pop-up camper doesn’t need trailer brakes. It’s just nice to have the option.

Mother’s Day went well. A lot of fun was had by all, and too much food was eaten (as usual). I baked a cake last night that I had originally intended to be for the actual Sunday festivities. I ran out of time, so I made up for it last night. Yea… I can bake a cake. After watching my mom do it many times during my childhood (which some might argue, continues to this day)… I picked up a knack for baking sweets. My kids don’t seem to mind. And whenever I get a hankering for a cake… It never costs more than a few dollars to have one ready in no time. I’m resourceful like that.

More later….

I reckon it’s high time I post some thoughts, gripes and commentary about the world situation, in general. (At least how I personally view it, anyway).

Many of you may be keeping up with current events. I’m not typically one of those who do. But, here recently, there have been a lot of newsworthy items that have come to my attention. Several of them honestly annoy the hell out of me. So… it’s time for a rant or two.

~ The Middle East Situation ~

Item 1: Car Bombs in Iraq…
Solution: Outlaw any civilian motorized vehicle within 2 miles of an established military outpost or site of mass civilian gathering. This way, if there IS a vehicle approaching, they’re either a terrorist…or extremely stupid. In either case, they can then be eliminated with extreme prejudice and there will be no more car bombing of military personnel or civilians en masse. If you spot a rather lumpy Iraqi with wires hanging out of his turban… walking toward an urban gathering or military compound…odds are, he’s a terrorist. Plug him in the head. Problem solved.

Item 2: Iran vs. Israel…
Solution: Iran is an extremely impoverished and desolate nation. Their only source of wealth may very well lie in harnessing nuclear power for civilian benefit. However, should these Islamic extremists start producing dirty-bombs or, at the very least, short-range nuclear armaments… then we have a very serious problem. These idiots literally think they have a shot at winning against Israel. That’s what’s so laughable. No nation on this planet will ever extinguish the chosen nation of God. It is not my place to question why people who descended from Abraham, yet do not recognize Jesus as God’s Son, are the chosen people. But, it is my sincerest belief…that if the United States ever turns a blind eye to Israel’s plight or hardship, and doesn’t stand beside her as an ally… we will fall. That’s just my view…take it or leave it. As for me… I’ll stand with Israel. (I’m just not wearing the derby, scraggly beard, and pigtails)

Item 3: Oil….
Solution: While it may not be the ONLY reason we’re there, trudging through the blazing sand, it is ONE of the reasons. The almighty gas pump beckons us. And while there are those few who live in almost god-like conditions with every amenity known to mankind at their mere whim… it is all just a matter of location…location…location. No oil = grass hut and flies. The richest sheik would be out back drinking goat milk with his genitals swinging in the breeze had it not been for the severely lucky fact that there are great pools of liquified dead dinosaurs beneath the sand. Now we find that there are petroleum fields in Russia that might help to bolster their shattered economic state and supply our need for energy. This will most assuredly draw heavy objection from the Middle East and hit them like a sledgehammer, financially. I feel that this might give the free world a much-needed and long-deserved vacation from the barrel that those greedy towel-heads at OPEC have had us bent over for several years now.

~ Illegal Immigrants & The Dilution of American Identity ~

I don’t care where you’re from. I don’t care what language you speak. I don’t care what color your skin, hair or eyes are. I don’t care what religion you are (as long as the practice of it doesn’t involve bodily harm to your fellow man). I am not a racist, bigot, hate-monger, white-supremacist, neo-nazi, skin head, Klan member….or affiliated with any other unsavory group of anti-social miscreants or hooligans. I’m a pretty easy-going and laid back kind of guy….

HOWEVER…

I am a staunch supporter of American patriotism, American jobs, American values, American traditions, American freedoms, American customs, American holidays and American language. It is my unwavering and infallible opinion that any person who permanently lives within the borders of the United States of America should be a fully inducted and legal citizen. Also… any citizen of the United States, regardless of origin, sex, race, religion, creed or custom…is an American. Black citizens are not “African Americans” any more than I am a “Euro-Native American”.

Cultural individualism has no place in National Identity. This great nation embraces the right of individuals to celebrate their heritage and ancestry through recognized holidays and celebrations. Whether it’s St.Patrick’s Day… Mardi Gras… Chinese New Year…Hannukah… Kwanza….Christmas… or any other known holiday, we recognize diversity and the celebrations involved with it. That’s what made America so welcoming to immigrants longing to live in a place free from oppression. They embraced the pride of being an American, regardless of their origins. It didn’t matter what color they were or where their ancestors were from. That was well-known. They were Americans…. And people still are, Americans. I respect any person who wants to become an American citizen and contribute their dreams, skills, talents and beauty to our nation. I love the rich heritage of the Latino community just as much as any other culture! However, many Mexican people are coming to America illegally…and we’re continuously letting them get away with it.

Illegal immigration into this country, whether it’s from Canada, Mexico, Cuba, or Papua New Guinea… is still a criminal act. It utterly baffles me how the definition of “illegal” can be vague to so many in legislation these days. There is no room for protest by those who shouldn’t even be here. How can our government lend an ear to those who have invaded our country with no regard to our rules or regulations…taken jobs in our system…neglect to pay taxes…and funnel their gains back to Mexico? Tax evasion, alone, is a felony offense. These people can’t even vote… and the government is actually hesitating about whether to enact stricter measures to insure that our well-known and well-established rules about immigration are enforced. The leaders of our nation are letting a bunch of blatant criminals dictate national policy to those we’ve elected to represent us. What is this world coming to??

Not only have we, as citizens, been forced to watch this steady migration of illegal Mexicans march across our border. But the manufacturing and marketing big-wigs of this country have taken it upon themselves to make it the “adopted norm” to include Spanish wording on every damn pack of merchandise from bubble-gum to baby wipes!!! Since when did Spanish become our obligatory second language?!?! We speak English in this country! More precisely, we speak the American dialect of English. We have Jewish, Irish, Russian, Italian, German and African people here as well. Should we not be unilateral in our marketing strategies?? I fail to see the inclusion of Hebrew, Gaelic, Russian, Latin, German or Nigerian instructions on my DVD instruction manual. Are these people not important, as American citizens?

Just like the slow and methodical conditioning of the American people to embrace “popular culture”, regardless of whether it’s sexual practice, moral laxness or political issues… we’re being slowly conditioned by the media to embrace the slow deterioration of our American individualism as a nation. Diversity among members of a nation shouldn’t mean the destruction of that nation’s identity as a unified embodiment of certain ideals.

Additionally, this country was founded on Christian principles, by Christian people, and established with the intention of allowing religious and personal diversity to take hold. This, however, did not include provisions for those with opposing views or differing religious beliefs to undermine Christian values, Christian traditions or the Christian symbolism and beliefs this government that was founded upon. You are free to believe what you want, and practice the religion of your choosing, with freedom from oppression. You are NOT free to slander, demean, tear down, undermine, belittle or criticize the plainly visible and tangible evidence of Christianity so adamantly illustrated through deed and writ by those who set the cornerstone of our society in place in the 1700’s. Enjoy your freedom….and respect the fact that the religion that you disagree with was practiced by those who guaranteed you the right to disagree. Their blood was spilled so that you have the right to believe differently. Now shut the hell up, because I don’t care what you believe. I have that right, as well.

It is said, and rightly so, that… opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one, and most stink. However, if you don’t like the smell of my opinion…get your nose out of my business.

Peace.

It would be funnier if it weren't so true...

Ok, I guess I’ll come ramble for a bit. Nothing super-exciting has transpired since my last entry, so don’t expect much. But, I was told that I’ve been slacking off in my “blog duties”. So, in an effort to sate the masses of dedicated readers (rolling eyes)… here goes.

Topic 1: Gas Prices Suck.

That’s no big batch of news to anyone. I just wanted to say that because I’m sick and tired of OPEC buying platinum-plated Rolls Royce’s while I’m eating mac-n-cheese. It’s high time we all went to an alternative fuel and let the towel-headed sheiks pound sand up their asses.

What’s wrong with ethanol? We can sure as hell grow us some corn! I don’t know so much about the CNG (compressed natural gas) option, because I have a sneaky suspicion that a severe collision might produce a miniature A-bomb effect and level several blocks. I’m not sure I’d wanna pay that kinda price for a fender-bender.

Topic 2: Jeep Being Recalled for Safety Issue.

Just got a notice about a safety issue that needs to be addressed on the wife’s Jeep. Apparently the oxygen sensor wiring stands a chance of coming in contact with the exhaust system at some location and poses a risk of an underbody fire. We can’t be having that. So the parts are on order and should be here by this coming weekend. It’s an unlikely scenario, but one that I’m not going to ignore…especially since it’s totally covered by the manufacturer.

Topic 3: Truck needs an alignment.

When I get time (and money) to get it done, the Ram is gonna need an alignment. It seems to be tugging a bit to the right. Not enough to notice unless you let go of the wheel on a long straight-stretch… but still…it does wanna wander to the shoulder. Also, I bought brand new “high-quality” brake pads for the front that are not supposed to make any noise whatsoever. I’m hearing a tiny, high-pitched intermittent noise from up there while driving. It doesn’t happen all the time, but I’m thinking it’s probably coming from those pads. I’ll probably have these double-checked when I get the alignment done… just to make sure.

Topic 4: Vacation is Due.

Citing the fact that the last “vacation” I enjoyed was a 4-day whirlwind journey to North Carolina nearly 5 years ago… two days of which included a non-stop, 13-hour, 840 mile drive each way. I think it’s high time for a decent paid vacation. That, hopefully, will be coming my way here in the next month. I will be celebrating my 1-year anniversary here at my current job, and will qualify for one week of paid vacation. I think a camping trip will be in order. I need some peace and quiet… some fishing time… and some sounds of birds and water. Down deep, I’m a nature person. But there are few times for me to actually drop everything and go out to enjoy the simple pleasures of nature. That’s part of the reason I want my 4-wheeler so bad. When I’m on one of those… it’s like I’m free. Cruising down some dirt trail out in the middle of the woods is like being an roaming adventurer on a horse in ancient times… just seeing where the road might lead you. I typically take along my digital camera to capture interesting scenery. Oh well… we’ll have to see if my “steed” can be purchased with the next Tax Return.

Topic 5: Sunburn is Gone.

Yup…the roasted slab of meat that was my back has now returned to somewhat of a normal state. It has blistered, peeled, and turned a nice brown hue. If I don’t suddenly develop a severe case of melanoma, then I think all should be well now. It still itches a bit, but it’s just in the areas where the peeling borders good skin.

I suppose I’ll write more later. Ya’ll take care now… ya hear?

The 2006 Jeep Liberty 4x2

In an effort to satisfy my readers who are chomping at the bits for a peek at the new Jeep my wife is driving… Here is a brand new pic of it, freshly washed. The pollen will most likely claim it again tomorrow, but it’s clean for the moment.

By the way... I know who you are "Anonymous". I've known since the first Comment. There are only two people who have ever referred to me as just... "J". It's not hard to figure out who you are.

Say what you want about Dodge… but the proof is in the pudding. Kahne pulls off not ONLY another victory for the season, but this makes the second time he’s done it from pole position!!! He fought off contenders Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart to clinch the Texas Motor Speedway victory on Sunday, and I couldn’t be more proud. WAY TO GO KAHNE!!!!

I did manage to get the brake job done. I wasn’t aware that 2004 Ram’s had double-piston calipers on the front. And I assumed (like many a truck before this one) that it had drum brakes in the rear. That’s not the case! I have 4-wheel disk brakes…and the rear are anti-lock. Pretty impressive! It took a bit of examination to determine just how to get things taken apart properly… but as with most automotive projects that come in pairs, the second set of pads were a breeze. I rotated the tires, too.

I also got a chance to go muddin’ with my kids on our friends’ ATV’s… so that was a blast, too. All in all…not a bad weekend.

Howdy folks. Yup, just me again... wandering in to toss a few lines down. Not much goin on, thusfar. I'm about to do a brake job on the front pad of my truck, then do a tire rotation. No big thing... but it takes a little time. I'll probably come back looking like a Nigerian from the elbows down, tho.

Oh, before I forget... here's the picture of our new front deck. We have plans for a much larger rear deck, but that's still in the works. My dad did the framework and railings, but a friend and myself did all of the knee-work on nailing the flooring in place.

I would have already had a good pic of the Jeep...freshly washed...but before I could take a shot, she decided to head down to our friends' house. (and they live on a VERY...dusty road) I'M TRYING! I SWEAR!!

More later, as usual...

Ok kiddos… I know I kinda left ya’ll hanging at the end of last week, so I’ll give you the low-down on what all happened.

Do I have the tattoo? No. I’ll explain why. As I mentioned in the last posting, I was going to head up to 7th Street Tattoos to get some inking from Adrian. The price & availability at the time I wrote the last post was still up in the air. I got an email from Adrian later that evening before I headed to my 2nd job…and he quoted me a price of $150-$180 dollars!!! I just about shit my pants. $180 for THAT??

Needless to say, I didn’t have that much to spend on something so simple and small. I decided to concede and check with the place that my wife got hers at. I was told over the phone that I’d need to come in and see the guy that ran the shop. I was told to bring the design and he’d give me an estimate.

I finished up at the 2nd job, and after having butterflies in my stomach all day long….headed into Little Rock to hopefully tackle this hurdle. I got to the shop, and walked in. Naturally, I was the only 6’-7” cowboy with no ink standing in the midst of the “Inked and Pierced” of our society. The feeling, I would imagine, is somewhat like being naked on the 50 yard line at the Super Bowl.

I signed in and wandered aimlessly about…checking out flash and artwork…and all manner of painful looking piercing pictures. Eventually, someone who looked like they actually worked there came out. After clinking her way behind the bar, she asked one couple some questions…then came over to me. I told her that I had a tattoo design that I brought…and wanted to get it put on my shoulder. Now, keep in mind that I’d just driven about 30 miles to get here.

She said, “Oh, we couldn’t do a custom design tonight. We’re already booked with work. But I can get you a price...I'll be right back.” Immediately, my adrenaline high was extinguished. I felt cheated…disappointed…angry….and a bit sad. She came back quickly, and handed me the paper. “Here you go!” she said with a smile. The paper read… $180. I just about shit my pants for the 2nd time that day.

It was at this point that all hope went up like an oily rag in a burn barrel. I left the place, still being watched curiously by some anorexic chick with a spike through her bottom lip and purple hair. I decided that, as usual, I would be the one cheated out of equal treatment. All the way home, I felt like a heavy wet blanket of disappointment and frustration was laying on me. I did my best to just move on, that evening…but I’m sure my mood didn’t set well with the wife.

Since then, I’ve talked with several people about my experience with the two shops. All of them have looked at my design, the color, the location and size. They all echo the same sentiment. I was being robbed. They’re all glad I didn’t pay the price. At least I apparently made a good decision by not throwing cash at the first artist who quoted me a price.

I’m still getting it… but I’ve got a few more places to check out, first. As for the pictures of my new deck…THAT’S D-E-C-K….I should be able to snap those tonight. Also, since we’ve “sprung forward” on Daylight Savings Time, it won’t be dark by the time the wife shows up. I should be able to get some photos of her ride as well.

I’ll post more later. Ya’ll take care until then.

Ok folks… I’ll scribble an entry in for today. It won’t be much, because the week has basically sucked a big hairy. But this weekend is shaping up nicely, if we don’t get rained out. The temp has finally come up to moderately tolerable levels. But with that, comes the chance for thunderstorms.

At any rate, weather permitting, I plan on FINALLY washing my truck on Sunday. I’m scheduled to work Saturday night (as usual) and Saturday morning is gonna be filled up with oil-changes for both vehicles, a haircut for me and a nail appointment for the wife. So, my best shot for a scrub-down on the big Hemi is gonna be Sunday. Knowing my luck… it’ll come a monsoon.

After a lengthy wait and some budgeting… I will finally be getting my tattoo. (design shown above) It’s my first, so I’ve heard every story that can be told about how little it hurts or how much it hurts. I’m not worried about it. I’ve been through bike wrecks…3-wheeler wrecks…knee surgery…root canals and having all 4 wisdom teeth pulled at once. I’ve had sunburns that blistered and peeled. I don’t think a little time in the chair is gonna kill me. ~lol~

The time is set for tomorrow night after work. I’m going to a place up in Little Rock called 7th Street Tattoos. I really like the work done by Adrian, there. He seems to really know his stuff. Naturally, pics will follow. (Yes, Really)

So, take a look at the shoulder in the pic, above. After tomorrow evening… it won’t be blank canvas anymore. ~lol~

More later….

In case I haven’t mentioned it already, and I don’t believe I have… Kasey Kahne won the Golden Corral 500 race at Las Vegas this past weekend after clinching the #1 pole position and enduring a rain delay.

He slipped as far back as 10th position, but they clearly had a winning game plan and Evernham Racing sent his Dodge Charger to the front of the pack to lead nearly 26 laps before edging out Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmy Johnson for the win.

It sucks that due to the rain delay, the race wasn’t televised. But, I still managed to hear highlites of it through friends of mine who have links to live audio for the races. They kept me informed.

This win comes after a lengthy period of good shows, but no victories. I was getting a lot of ribbing about my unwaivering support of Kahne around the office, but I’m vindicated now. This makes Kahne’s first victory since his astounding finish in Richmond during the 2005 Nextel Cup season.

Kahne will be on the track this coming weekend… I’ll be in my chair, cheering him on.

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Onto other matters…

We don’t need anymore rain. I’m fed up with cold-n’-sloppy… I’d like to have some warm-n’-sunny now, thanks. What’s with all this damn wacky weather we’ve been having, anyway?? I mean, sheesh… Mother Natures gives us 70 degrees…20 degrees…65…32…80…40…. MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND!!!

I mean, we get warm weather just long enough to set up my wife’s flower bed and get all her plants in the ground and manage to transplant our rose bushes… then we get 3 nights of temps at around the mid to high 30’s. I imagine our flowered plants are in shock about now. We’ll probably lose some of them, even though we managed to cover them from any frost.

I’m no hordiculturist, so what do I know? I just hope it’s all ok. We worked on that for a good while.

More later, I suppose.

Ok ok ok… So I made you wait a week-1/2. I seem to have this propensity for blog-procrastination. Hrmm… I need to work on that, I reckon.

So I guess yall would like an update. Ok. The flu is gone (thank God) and things were better…briefly. Now I’m battling Mother Nature and her orgasm-of-pollen. Yes, it’s that time of year again when those affected by seasonal allergies admire the colors, but wish they could put tiny zip-loc baggies on all the blooms. Zyrtec & Afrin & Kleenex…they be me mates.

There’s a few “rants” that I’m gonna toss out because, well, that’s kinda why I made this Blog to begin with. I’m sure that from time to time, my views might seem a bit narrow-minded or uninformed. That very well may be the case. I don’t claim to be right…merely opinionated. It was once said, and rightly so, that opinions are like assholes…we all have our own and all of them tend to stink. Be aware that this entry will contain ADULT MATERIAL.

That being said, if you’re easily offended or wear your feelings on your sleeve… you might want to steer clear of my blog. I tend to be rather blunt and to-the-point in here. Why, you may ask? Because nobody is forced to read this, and we all have a right to speak our minds. I just choose to do so in a non-offensive and somewhat private forum.
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Let’s see… the first item of business is… Piercings.

Oh my… where shall I start. The things I’ve seen people do to themselves on the internet for either shock value, or for acceptance into the “extreme” crowd, is just disturbing. It can range from one piercing by some barely 17 year old girl to look trendy… all the way up to some poor fool who has basically turned him or herself into a clinking monstrosity that once was part of mainstream humanity but sadly is no more.

They jab shit through their eyebrows…the bridge of their nose…the center of their nose…the side of their nose…bottom lip…top lip…cheek…ears…nipples…scrotums…penises…vulvas…clitoral hoods…and tongues. Some even stretch their earlobes out with these odd looking things that resemble the snap on the front of a pair of Levi’s. They, then, progress to these strange hoop inserts to further ruin their lobes. Some could quite literally use their ears to “jump rope”. It’s hideously sad.

A huge fad right now is the tongue-piercing. This is mainly done by young girls for the purposes of looking “daring” or “trendy” or “wild”…and has a sexual stigma attached to it that advertises their willingness to pleasure a man, orally. Some MEN actually get this done and look like total homo’s , in my opinion.

If large breasts being a visual distraction weren’t enough of a complaint by women… imagine the difficulty a man has with looking a woman in the eye when she’s got one of these things in her tongue!! How easy is it to pay attention to the subject matter at hand when you have the miniature equivalent of a ball bearing, door knocker or tiny, fluorescent sea anenome jumping in and out of view between their moving teeth?

As if men didn’t have enough problems with thoughts of sex… this just drags us back to the mental gutter with thoughts of … “Hmm… I wonder if she’s any good at that?” And not only that, at least 50% of women with this done (mainly the larger piercings) sound like a kid with Downs Syndrome. How intelligent does this make you appear? You want to be respected, but you sound like you’re trying to carry on an articulate conversation with the oratory skills of a deaf person.

Other piercings share a similar issue with the tongue piercing, in the fact that they tend to just get in the way of other actions. The tongue piercing is supposedly designed to be function as a sensation enhancer to orally stimulating the male. Regardless of whether or not this actually is the case… wouldn’t a clit-hood piercing pretty much interfere with the oral stimulation of the clit itself? Why would a man want to battle this metal stud out of the way in order to stimulate the woman? Not having been with a woman that’s had this performed to herself, I lack practical experience in this area. So, I can only surmise that it would be an issue. Perhaps it’s not….who knows?

At any rate… piercings just tend to be unattractive, cumbersome, distracting, and somewhat inhibiting of the body’s normal function. In addition to my “opinions” on this matter… a study has been released by the Academy of General Dentistry urging people NOT to pierce their tongues in an attempt to avoid costly dental work to repair chipped teeth. Damage is reported to typically occur to teeth directly adjacent to the piercing on either side of the tongue. Thick scar tissue can also be a factor around the piercing and, in some cases, a severe infection can occur.
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Item #2: Men with earrings…

Ok, I know this is even more controversial because over the past 20 years, it’s become more mainstream than alternative. However, there are still those among us who have chosen not to look like either a pirate or a pimp. If one wasn’t bad enough, now we have guys walking around with 2-karat studs in BOTH ears. I’ve never been a fan of men wearing earrings. But, like so many other people, I’ve come to accept it as something that’s not leaving popular culture anytime soon. Many rock stars wear them, and I can’t rightly shun their good music for a trendy piece of jewelry. So… as much as I don’t really like them, I’m forced to turn a blind eye to them. But the double earrings just look gay. I’m sorry. What are you… Yul Brynner, King of Siam? Damn.
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Item #3: What is the deal with the pot-heads??

Ok. We all know that Pot / Hash / Marijuana / Weed / Kronic or whatever the hell ELSE you wanna call that nasty, stinkin’ shit… is a) illegal and b) harmful to you. If you deny either of these, you’re only showing your own stupidity. I could post the proven medical side effects of suckin down this crap. And yea, I used to smoke cigarettes…. I got smart and quit before it was too late. So yea, I have room to talk now. I have a few questions….

1) What the hell is 420…and why does this number somehow coincide with these Kronic huffers?
2) Why do people think that blowing their money on this crap is cool? They end up in a useless, dull stupor, with an appearance like that of somebody suffering from intense allergies. SO dumb…
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Item #4: 56 hours a week with no overtime pay?!?!

Yup, you heard it right. I average that or more every week. No overtime pay. Why? Because I’m working 40 hours at one job… and an average of 16 or more hours part-time at my 2nd job. I get Thursday evening off to stay with my boys while the wife works late at her medical clinic, I get part of the day off on Saturday and Sunday is the only day I get time away from both jobs. I’ve been doing this for 6 months now, and it’s helped our budget. But, I’m getting tired of hardly ever being at home.

I either need to get a raise at my day-job… get paid overtime at my day-job… or find a job that offers more. That’s the only way I can drop a 2nd job and be able to go home when I should. I just don’t know what I’m gonna do yet.
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Now I’ll address the whole PICTURE issue. As you might have read, I’ve mentioned that I plan to post pictures of not only my wife’s new Jeep Liberty… but also of our new front deck. However, weather and time haven’t permitted me much opportunity to fulfill either plan since the time I mentioned doing so.
It’s either been dark, raining, or both ever since that time. I’m hoping that conditions will improve very soon and I can post some new pics. Until then, I ask for your patience and understanding.

Now that I’ve amused some of you, offended others, and probably have shown my age… I’ll let it rest here for now.

Oh… P.S. – I received a comment about me having turned my “comments” off on my Yahoo 360 page. I honestly don’t ever remember seeing a Comments section available on my Yahoo 360 page. I know there’s a Comments section available on MySpace.com profiles. But unless I’ve overlooked it or possibly turned it off by accident… I don’t think it’s on Yahoo 360. Someone help me out here if I’m wrong.