Thursday, July 31, 2008

I'm 33!

Buy me a beer... take me out to dinner... send me money... It's my birthday today!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Bringing out the worst in me...

You know how you can be a totally cool and even-tempered person one minute, then become a complete jerk the next? It's happened to me.

Usually it's due to certain people in my life. Whether it's because they've hurt me or whatever, I become a first-rate ay-hole whenever I'm around them.

It's not pretty... It's not right... but it happens.

I'm not making any excuses for my behavior. I think it's a self-defense mechanism to keep myself from being hurt by these people again. Still, I should be the bigger man and not let them get to me. I guess you can call this my mea culpa.

In any case, I'm going to follow the advice of Bill O'Reilly and stay away from these negative people. I'm finally where I want to be emotionally and I don't need or want these vampires taking away from my good vibes.

Party on, Dudes!

INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Today, I celebrate my Independence Day!

I'm free from that person forever!

I'm free from feeling like an inferior... I'm free from her criticisms... I'm free from her manipulation of my emotions.

I'm free from comparing other women to her and wondering if they'll be the same way as her.

I'm free to have my opinions, to have my taste in music, literature and movies.

I'm free from ever having her make me feel like less of a person. She will never have that hold over me again for as long as I live.

I have no more feeling for her.

I AM FREE!!!!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Garbled Communications

I must make a correction...

I had mentioned a certain person, who shall remain nameless, wanted me to die of a heart attack... this is inaccurate.

She wants me to die in a fire instead.

Lousy Motorola Cell Phone!

Well, considering I'm not a little pyro like she is, I doubt I'll be a crispy critter anytime soon... unless I forget sunblock at the games this weekend! LOL

Thursday, July 24, 2008

As I approach B-Day...

I must be getting old... it's still a week from my birthday and I'm already getting contemplative! It always seems like I'm this way, as July 31st rolls around.

As I wrap up my 32nd year on Planet Earth, I must say it's been an interesting time.

I've made some new friends, lost some old ones.

I saw my Swee Pea grow and walk and smile while I've had fallings out with almost every member of my family at one point in time or another.

I've won awards, I've hit rock-bottom.

I've been rich, and I've been flat-ass broke.

I've fallen in love, gotten my heart shattered, and tried to put the pieces back togeher (most times unsuccessfully), and I've been pining for her.

I've been fat, I've been sick, I've been injured, I've been getting better.

I've laughed, I've cried, I've been numb.

I've traveled and I've stayed home.

Yep... defnitely one for the record books.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Nightmare....

I was napping on my recliner today when someone came came into my apartment. The guy look familiar and he started toward me.

I tried to get up to tell him to leave, but I couldn't move... it was like I was made of stone. No matter how hard I tried to move my body simply wouldn't respond.

I let out a whimper as he approached me...

And I woke up. No one was there. And I was still napping on my recliner.

WHEW!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

WOW!

OCTOBER 2007


JULY 2008



What a difference two and a half months of working out and eating right makes!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Join the Party!

So what do actors Drew Carey and Clint Eastwood, Internet reporter Matt Drudge, and noted economist Milton Friedman have in common?

The answer's simple, they're all Libertarians.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to drop my independent status and come out as a Libertarian. I've decided to do this for several reasons.

1) Government has gotten too big. There are several folks in the South Dakota Blogosphere, including my good friend Cory, who feel that government is the cure-all-for everything from poverty to health care. If that's the case, why then are we paying more taxes than ever, while looking at a smaller quality of life than our parents?

The problem is with every new "program" that comes down from Washington, it costs US more money. In a lot of cases, there's redundancy and duplication that could easily be eliminated. In other cases, these programs are simply not necessary... such as "Corporate Welfare".


2) Government has gotten too inefficient.
All one has to do is look at the case of Father Gallagher to see this blatant inefficiency. Here is a man, who was approved for legal, permanent residency only to be denied later because of an "error". In other words, some fricking yahoo at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement probably lost the damn paperwork when they were on one of their 15 coffee breaks during his or her day! And chances are instead of this person being reprimanded, suspended, or even fired, they'll probably be promoted!

If KJAM, or Gehl Manufacturing, or even Citibank operated with this glaring lack of efficiency and effectiveness, chances are they'd be out of business by the end of the month if not sooner. But since this is government they can get away with it because they're rarely accountable! Which leads to...


3) There's no accountability.
Department of Education loses over 100-million dollars? No big deal. Pentagon spends $1200 on a wrench? Yawn.

How can government get away with this? Simple... they aren't accountable for or to anyone. Oh, sure, we have our say at the ballot box, but does anything ever get done? Hardly.

Of course, if you or I stopped paying our taxes to Uncle Sam, you can bet the IRS will be on us like stink on a turd pile! The government has every type of organization and agency to make sure we the people are held accountable... but who's making sure the government is held accountable on a daily basis?

And it doesn't end with government. We ourselves need to be held accountable... for ourselves. If I get fat (okay, fatter!), I have no right to sue McDonald's or Burger King for making unhealthy food. I should be blaming myself for not eating properly and not staying active. Things like the "victim mentality" have done more to ruin our country than any type of outside terrorism could ever hope to accomplish.

On top of that, if things don't go our way, by God, someone's gotta pay? Now I'm not talking about real injustice, but lawsuits over every frickin' thing. Folks like Neal Boortz have it right; we need to change our laws so that losers in a civil case have to pay the legal bills of the other party... a "Loser Pays" system (Sorry, Todd!) Or at the very least, allow the defendants to sue for legal costs should they win the case.

4) The major parties want to keep the status quo. How much so? In a recent spending bill, one of the riders attached called for taxpayer money to go towards offsetting the cost of the Republican and Democratic Conventions! $100-million worth! It's bad enough that these two parties have a stranglehold on the political spectrum, but it's asinine to allow taxpayer money to go towards keeping their snouts in the trough!

Every candidate for President likes to talk about "change." It's the hot new buzzword. And of course, for the Republicans and Democrats that means one thing... MORE GOVERNMENT. The Dems want more control over your pocketbook; The Reps want more control over your personal life. The Libertarian Party wants government to butt out of both!

I remember the Conservative Revolution of 1994, when the Republicans re-took both the House and the Senate. One of their big stands with their "Contract With America" was smaller government. There was some token moves, but it seems since then, the Republicans abandoned that principle. And THAT'S why they got their asses handed to them in 2006! That's why you see people like Bob Barr and Tom Selleck bolt the Republican Party and join up with the Libertarians.

Of course the party operatives, or as I like to call them "Thugs" and "Hit-men", want to intimidate you into voting for the Status Quo. Not through physical threats and torture like Mugabe, but through more subtle means, like the "wasted vote"

"If you don't vote for a Republican or a Democrat, you're just wasting your vote!"

WHAT ARROGANCE!

To think that my voice, my vote isn't worth spit if I don't vote for Piggy #1 or Piggy #2. That I don't count, simply because I want a third or fourth option. That my rights as a voter are invalid because I won't bear the flag of big government.

Well, to Hell with the Democrats and to Hell with the Republicans. All 3 houses (Represenatives, Senate and White) need some major remodeling.

I'm a Libertarian and damn proud of it!

Saturday, July 05, 2008

A Rockin' New Phone...


Okay... I got REALLY fed up with my E-815. I was tired of having full bars and it sounding like popcorn coming over the line. So seeing as I had the opportunity to renew early with Alltel (which will become part of Verizon at the end of December, BTW), I decided to get a new phone.

After some searching on-line and with the help of my friend Kelli at Pro Cellular in Madison, I settled on the Samsung Alltel "HUE".

Looking at it at first, it looked a little too simple... but that's the beauty of it. In the few days I've had it, I've been very impressed with its versatility. Here's my unofficial review... take it for what it's worth.

The Good...

1) Options. I haven't gone through all the features yet but I have a phone, world clock, GPS, tip calculator (very handy Thursday night at the Hillside Resort), and mp3 Player. In fact I use the mp3 player quite extensively, but more on that later.

2) Durability. I haven't had to test this out yet, but from what I've read and talking to Kelli, you can pretty much slam this thing against the wall and drop it in the toilet and it'll work like a champ. And seeing as I've been burned not once but TWICE on the Motorola RAZR, this was one of the first questions I asked Kelli when I was looking at it.

3) Multimedia. Like I said, I really enjoy the mp3 player on here. With the multimedia pack (that came at extra cost), I really am able to enjoy a lot of the features on here. The mp3 player is quite stable and with the earbuds, it produces a very nice sound. I use it during my workouts and it performs beautifully. The viewscreen had extremely good resolution which I like. And with that mulitmedia pack, I can actually download pics from my phone to the computer easily.

4) Appearance. You can change the appearance of the skin of the phone, which I like. Also it's a lot slimmer and more compact than the E-815 so I can put it in my pocket and not have any "bulges" sticking out!

The Issues...

There are a few minor inconveniences. For starters, I had purchased a couple of Axcess ringtones for the E-815. I could not transfer them to my new phone, which sucks.

Also, I'd like the option of a button or buttons on the outside of the phone to change tracks on the mp3 player. The volume buttons are a big help, but I'd like to be able to change tunes too!


The Verdict...


With my rebate and plan renewal, the phone comes to about $30. For the flexibility of a RAZR with a helluva lot more durability, I think I'm going to stick with this phone for a while!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

The 2-minte drill... and my political decision.

When I played high school football in Dell Rapids eons ago (okay, 15 years ago), we played Elk Point at home. Elk Point had embarassed us the year before at their field, 60-6 and it looked like we were going to go down in defeat, 14-0.

But in the final two minutes, we scored a touchdown, recovered a fumble on the kickoff and scored again to force overtime. And in Overtime, my buddy Pantusso caught a pass in the endzone to give us the win. It was stressful, it looked like all was lost, but in those final two minutes all was made right.

I feel that way right now with Father Gallagher.

Last night, I felt like it was "Game Over" in Father Gallagher's plight to stay in this country. I was ready to denounce my government and say for the first time in my life, I was ashamed of our federal goverment. I even sent Father a farewell letter, wishing him the best of luck and thanking him for all he did for my family.

But just like that football game over 15 years ago, the two-minute drill came into play once again....

Father received a call from Senator Johnson’s office informing him of positive progress with his immigration case. Father was instructed a) NOT to leave the country, b) that consideration of his case is progressing in communication with Washington DC, and c) that he should schedule an appointment to get his fingerprints and updated photos taken in Sioux Falls on July 14 (two weeks).

Orignally posted on HelpFather.com, July 1, 2008

Even if Father's case is reviewed and he's given permanent residency, he won't be allowed to return to DeSmet. But I would imagine that the Sioux Falls Diocese would keep him in South Dakota, perhaps working in Sioux Falls, or even going to another parish in the area. They'd be foolish not too!

But the damage is done and I'm afraid there are a lot of sore folks up in DeSmet. Father Gallagher gave his last mass this weekend in a service that had tears, hugs, and a standing ovation. I'm sure Father Stevens will be a good servant to the people of Kingsbury County, but I fear he has his work cut out for him. He'll have the spector of Father Gallagher to contend with, not to mention parishioners who have some ill opinions not only of the Federal Government, but also of Bishop Swain and the Diocese. Those sore feelings are warranted, but not at the expense of Father Stevens.

The heart of a community has been broken... I hope our government, who let all 20 hijackers that attacked the World Trade Center in the country.... who can't find bin Laden but can spend nearly a Trillion dollars on a poorly-run war... who are more concerned about covering their collective asses than doing what's right IN THE FIRST PLACE... is proud of itself.

For the first time in my life, I have been ashamed of my government. Because of the United States Goverment's inflexibility, arrogance and overall incompetence, a town and a beloved spiritual leader have been torn apart.

I'm happy that Father may get to stay. But I'll never forget the government's incompetence. And believe you me, I'll still remember when it comes to vote in November...

Because of this episode, I have decided to drop my "Independent" status and join a political party. NEITHER the Republicans or the Democrats are without blame in this cock-up. I will vote for neither McCain nor Obama, no matter how much lip service they play to the idea of CHANGE. Effective today, I now consider myself a LIBERTARIAN. I now realize that the government is a necessary evil and the least amount of it we have, the better off we'll be!