Just a thought...
If we gave Florida back to Spain we wouldn't have to hear about it every election cycle.

Inhaler = Bong

2 Students Face Expulsion For Sharing An Asthma Inhaler

She says she was just trying to help a friend, but now two students from Monument face expulsion after one loaned another her asthma inhaler.

Alyssa McKinney thought her friend, Breana Crites, was having an asthma attack during gym class. It happened at Lewis-Palmer Middle School. Both Eighth-graders were suspended for 10 days.

The principal told CBS4 he couldn’t talk about the case but said it comes down to two students sharing prescription drugs, which is against school policy.

What is insufficient about a sternly administered warning?
Maybe call the parents in to explain the situation and assure that other kids are informed of what can go wrong with good intentions.

You know, teach them. That is what schools are supposed to do, isn't it?

The principal sent a letter home to McKinney’s parents.

“I’m extending the suspension for five more days … and recommending expulsion from the Lewis-Palmer School District,” the letter stated.

Hey dude, it's called a sense of proportion. Get one.
The attitude here couldn't be any worse if they were passing a bong.

Watch Out For The Puddy Tat

Spent most of the day hanging out with an old buddy of mine. He's lives just outside the city of Temecula, where the pavement gives way to dirt. It still takes a half mile of dirt road to reach his spread: a few acres with a nice house he built himself along with a few out buildings.

Sitting outside and talking, we notice a few cottontails hopping through the yard. (the place is loaded with bunnies, mostly cottontails). His cat, named Puddy, takes off, chasing a bunny, and her pursuit fails.
I mention "Ya know, after all these years I've never made a rabbit hunt. Can you believe that?"
He couldn't believe it.
Another bunny tears through the yard...
Puddy goes after it, failing again.
"Hey, you got a rifle handy?"
He disappears into the house and returns a few minutes later with a .22 semi, handing me some bullets, explaining all he had left was .22 shorts, so I would have to manually feed, one shot at a time.
I glance at the rifle: Belgian Browning. Clean and smooth. Cool.
(For those that don't know, this is not a cheap rifle, and valued by those that have them.)
Ed is a legendarily frugal cheapskate. I could tell you stories that you would not believe, but his frugality is why he's a millionaire. So tight his ass whistles when he farts. The type of millionaire who takes his girlfriend out for the half-price deals, or uses a coupon at McDonald's (on the rare occasion he eats out).
Like I said, stories you would not believe. He has lived the DIY lifestyle since he was a kid.
"What you doing with this? I know damn well you didn't buy it."
Ahh... he's had it since the 70's, picked it up at a pawn shop for $75.
"It's about $500-600 now, maybe more. If you decide to get rid of it, talk to me first."

He tells me to take a few rabbits, and we'll cook 'em tonight, swearing on his ability to stew up a rabbit.

I press a load into the chamber, pull down on a bunny about 25yards out...
POP!
The bunny runs off.
Missed.
I got ready again, looked down the barrel...
POP!
Once again, shot too high.
"OK, Ed... next one is dinner."
No rabbits in sight, so I snuck around the shed, kept low and waited.
A few minutes later, a bunny steps out...
POP!
The bunny flops and spasms. Squeee... squeee...
And lays still.
I pick up the fallen bunny and walk back toward the patio.
Laying him down, "Gonna get my knife" and turned toward my car, parked about 15ft away.
Reaching through the window, I grab my knife and turn around...
Just in time to see Puddy dragging off our dinner, through the yard, down the slope, across the road, and into some brush.

Ed was laughing his ass off.

We'll be getting together later this week for a rabbit hunt (and dinner).
And locking Puddy in the garage.

The War Still Rages

Obama's War On Weed: White House Launches Crackdown On Medical Marijuana

Three years on, not a single Wall Street banker has been prosecuted after a financial crisis rooted in rampant fraud brought the global economy to its knees. President Obama's Department of Justice has more dangerous miscreants to worry about: medical marijuana shop owners.

The DOJ has launched an assault on medical pot dispensaries, vowing to shut down establishments licensed and regulated by state and local governments, in a reversal of an earlier policy, based on an Obama campaign promise to leave the shops alone as long as they followed state law.

And while major corporations have managed to get their federal tax bills down to zero, the IRS has determined that pot clinics can't deduct salaries, rent, the cost of bud or other operating expenses on their tax returns. If a business can't deduct those expenses, its tax bill almost always winds up exceeding even its profits.

All this, despite Barrack Obama's campaign pledge that he would not target the sick people of the nation.

As the government continues it's War On Drugs and deals daily with the overspill violence of Mexico's drug wars we get a policy that guarantees that more profits will be made from the illicit drug trade... an illicit trade that the administration made even more deadly when they ran guns across the border into the hands of criminal gangs... A policy that nobody has yet to pay a price for. (Except some Border Patrol guys, but you know... support the troops and all that.)

I'm really hoping that this becomes a seriously reported issue during this election cycle. President Obama has a lot of answering to do, and he should be held to account for it.

What Is More Fun Than A GOP Debate?

Watching shit blow up in a microwave, of course.

Actually, it's a commercial for Moe's Southwest Grill. I never heard of them before, but I'm fairly certain Moe doesn't use any microwaves in his grilling.

From The Catalogue

Today we have dozens of instruction manuals, television shows and movies showing us how to actually survive a zombie apocalypse. Thus, the only thing missing is the right equipment, until now.

The DoubleStar Zombie-X AK-47 is a weapon specially customized to battle zombie hordes by attaching a battery-charged chainsaw to the end of the barrel, as well as a EOTech Zombie Stopper XPS2-Z Holographic Sight which puts a biohazard symbol on your target instead of the classic red dot. DoubleStar hasn't announced when or if this will go on sale, but its less fancy DSC Zombie Slayer predecessor sells for $1,249.99, so the Zombie-X is likely to be a bit pricier.

Link

Like we learned in Boy Scouts: Be Prepared

This can have multiple uses besides zombie fighting. Take it elk hunting and that chain saw can make quick work of quartering the carcass for packing out. Or dismembering that tattooed punk with the face piercings (who was fool enough to call on your daughter) before you plant him in 'the back forty'.

I will be adding this to catalogue of "Cool Shit You Just Gotta Have."

I Am Winning

A couple weeks ago I laid down for another follow-up MRI. I need to do this every year to keep an eye on the bit tumor that still lingers in my head after the events of three-plus years ago.

First off, the Doc sternly cautioned me to not wait so long in between scans. Like I said, I'm supposed to have them every twelve months. I had the previous one in May... of 2010. Yeah, well... I got busy with other issues.
He wasn't accepting any excuses.
You see, if this thing starts to grow again, it will most likely expand northward instead of southward. Northern real estate, he didn't to remind me but did anyway, gets a lot more complicated than the already complicated enough lower region they were clearing out before.

Then he smiled and asked if I was ready for the good news.
Well, yeah...

The tumor is shrinking. Using before and after scans he showed me on the screen where it used to be, and where it now resides... in his estimation, it's shrunk by about half.

He was quite pleased. Shrinkage is not expected in the procedure I had, but it's been known to occur in rare cases.

Like I said before, I am Mister 10% through this whole set of circumstances. Usually falling into the 10% that doesn't cooperate as well as the other cases.
Given my history I wasn't completely expecting the tumor to stay exactly how they left it, but I was more or less preparing myself for future growth, not reduction.
I'll take it and be happier than I already was.

Now that my cranium has some empty space, I think I'll fill it with something. Bourbon comes to mind.
Salut!

I have been named Shadowy Out Of State Operative of the MOB. I'd tell you what my duties were, but then I wouldn't be shadowy.
In the meantime, nothing here will change.
Feel free to carry on with the normal levels of utmost respect that I've grown accustomed to.

Red Tails

Black History Month being just around the corner and all, I was expecting something more akin to Glory. I thought I was going to see a historical representation of the Tuskegee Airmen. You know... their struggle for recognition and respect? Maybe some good character representation? Guess again.

Set against the backdrop of Occupied Italy, we are introduced to the 332 Air Squadron. Thinking that Negro pilots lacked the necessities for front line aerial combat, the brass kept them out of the way and largely out of the papers, flying hand-me-down craft and relegated to menial tasks, like coastal patrol and attacking trains and truck caravans.

Eventually they get their big break: protecting heavy bomber squadrons and do a stellar job, earning the respect of the white pilots and... you get how it goes from there.

Much footage is placed on Aeriel maneuvers and over done explosions. The action kinda goes like this: Vroom-Vroom, boom-boom, Whoooooo!

In between all that Vroom-Boom-Whoooooo! there isn't much else that makes a great movie out of a solid idea.
The characters walk around like cardboard cutouts performing all the cliches you'd expect: the 'Nigger' slur fist fight; the maverick pilot; the guy who drinks too much; the overtly religious guy; racist Germans; romance with a local girl; the CO who smokes a pipe all the time...
It's a shame. There was a lot of talent on that screen depicting a diverse and interestingly believable collection of personalities. All of it wasted.

So what is this? A poorly done historical retelling of a first rate military unit? Or a sidetracked wham-bam-hooey intended to sell popcorn? I'm not sure. I don't think the creators are either.

Just as water and oil don't mix, neither do Top Gun and Glory. Red Tails can't make up it's mind as to just what kind of story it wants to tell, and suffers for it.

Really?

Utah school nixes Cougar as mascot name

...the school board expressed concern that the word "cougar" might be offensive to some women.

I don't know what is funnier: that the school board said this with a straight face, or that they are in charge of educating kids.

If you haven't voted yet, go HERE and vote for Fearless Maria, who's candidacy is cleverly disguised under the pseudonym "Mr. D".

You can vote once per day, so lets get it done.

Ghetto? No Thanks.

An in-development Microsoft smart phone app designed to help drivers and pedestrians avoid unsafe neighborhoods is proving controversial among some minority rights groups that find the software potentially discriminatory. Modern technology for cell phones just gets batter, don't it? Keeping it real, is all. There are those times when one would just be better off avoiding certain parts of the city.

Of course, this can go several ways.
Maybe an app that would help you steer clear of areas where driving Asians proliferate?
Or tall bridges through Portland?
A reverse app that takes you through Laguna Beach during high bikini season?

Oh, the possibilities...

Gotta love this money quote:

“Can you imagine me not being able to go to MLK Blvd. because my GPS says that’s a dangerous crime area? I can’t even imagine that,” she said.

But the rest of us can.
That is the idea, afterall.
I can't speak for Dallas or many other parts of ghetto America, but my experience in areas I do know about tell me it's usually best to avoid certain neighborhoods, and these neighborhoods quite often have an MLK Blvd running through them.

Systematic Injustice

The city of Costa Mesa will pay a six-figure settlement to a man who claimed a police officer planted drugs on him, resulting in an arrest and a guilty plea in court.

California has a "Three Strikes" law where a minor drug charge can effectively send somebody to prison for life.Though I believe that most cops are honest, I do know through personal experience that some of them have a tendency to not be. In this case, we have a clear situation where the cop was crooked.

Months after pleading guilty, the former Costa Mesa resident said he learned the substance was not cocaine after all. Timothy Slappy succeeded in having the conviction sealed and removed from his criminal record and, in March 2011, filed a lawsuit against the city, asking for $1 million.

And it seems that those who run the departments, such as District Attorneys are corrupt as well.

In the federal suit, lawyers representing Slappy claimed the officer planted the substance during the search, and that laboratory results that would have exonerated Slappy were kept hidden from him while he made his plea deal.

So, we have a D.A. who knew his evidence was fraudulent and still bullied an innocent man into a guilty plea.
Eventually, justice would prevail in this case. Who knows how many others might be living with convictions when we know how this case occurred.

It was in spring of 2010 that Slappy was called to Harbor Court in Newport Beach, where he said he was subpoenaed for a hearing regarding Harris and several complaints that had been filed against him.According to the suit, it was there that Slappy was told by Costa Mesa detectives that the evidence found on him was not rock cocaine.

Now, here is my bitch:Why was it necessary for the aggrieved to petition the courts that his conviction be expunged? Shouldn't that have been automatic? You'd think so, anyway.

The public needs to be notified as to the fate of Officer Harris, whatever punishment or discipline was administered... and to the D.A. and prosecutor as well.

No less than three people in a position of public trust need to face criminal charges in this matter, and at least two of them should be looking at serious jail time.

This story of what has happened here in Orange County and likely happens in several places across the country should be national news. In my opinion, it's more important to our notions of decency, justice and rights under the law than four Marines taking a piss.

Home Truth

Taken from Facebook:

"Jon Huntsman withdraws from the race. So are there any candidates left who haven't pre-agreed to bombing Iran? This is bloody insanity, you know that, don't you?

Besides Ron Paul, what may have been suspect about today's GOP in the past is largely confirmed today.

Babies Are Beautiful

Congratulations to Ben and Faith on the birth of Abigail Rose.

We Are Wizzing

The U.S. Marine Corps is launching an investigation into a video that recently surfaced online showing what appears to be several Marines in uniform urinating on corpses.
War is a messy affair. I don't blame any of the soldiers for doing this, or more, to fallen bodies of enemy soldiers.
Taking a video of it? Stupid.
Posting said video online? Stupider.

All in all, this is or should be a non-story, but it won't be.

But I am left to wonder... Are we in western society the only ones who are bothered when informed of stuff like this? I think we are.
It says something about us, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

She Aint Done Yet...

So the Colorado Hootchie Cootchie submitted yet another photo for the yearbook, only to have that rejected as well. LINK!
As if to demonstrate that two hootered blonds are dumber than one, Mother and Daughter took to the Today show this morning.
Mom has come around to fully supporting her daughter's decision...

When your child is spreading her wings you just want to come alongside and...

Not the wisest choice of words if you ask me.

If a situation can scream "No father in the home!", this is it.

Greetings From Cheesecake High

A Colorado teenager whose yearbook picture was rejected for being too revealing is vowing to fight the ban with her high school’s administration.

Nice photo. All it needs now is a stripper pole.
Of course it's a civil rights issue because any hootered blond can tell you about freedom of expression and stuff.

She'll get her 15 minutes, and maybe an offer from Playboy. Anything beyond that will require discipline, moxie, some intelligence, an agent and hard work.
Or a sex video.

Just curious... would a proper feminist be upset that Tebow won, or happy that Rothlisberger lost?
Must have been a moral dilemma watching that game.

The Never Ending Now

It was 1981. KROQ had a righteous habit of playing the music you would never hear anywhere else. They had the pop stuff mostly: The Clash, Devo, The Ramones. That is not what made them, though. It was the never-heard-anywhere-else sounds of Joy Division, The Smithereens, Echo And The Bunnymen, The Church... that defined what this station was all about.

I know...
It's a cliche, but I ain't lying when I say that this period of my life wasn't an easy one. Turmoil at home and troubles outside the home (I had managed to work myself out of allies) didn't leave many options for escape. (Where do you go when there is no where to run to?)

One glorious evening while taking a break from all the bullshit and drama at home, I did what usually seemed to work: I got stoned and went to bed, tried to drift off and was not having an easy time of it, when I heard this song for the very first time...
Instant affirmation.
Everything I was feeling and thinking was finally encapsulated and given voice. Frustration. Hopelessness. Confusion... and the notion that hidden among it all there was something to celebrate, even if I didn't know what it was.
As the song says, "You take your blessings while they're there".
(Right about now, if you're paying attention, you'll notice a connection to the title of this blog. I assure you, it was completely intentional.)

For some reason, this awesome song only made it onto the irregular rotation. It wasn't played very often, nor was the followup second release.
I'm tellin ya... if I was writing songs; if I could write lyrics, compose music and deliver a vibe THIS would have been It.
Undeterred, I fought like mad to get a copy of their album, which had to be special ordered because, like I said, irregular rotation on the irregular showtime for a station with an irregular playlist made them largely unknown. (this was before "Alternative" was synonomous with "everybody is doing it").

It didn't help that the dude at the record store had never heard of them. Sadly, they would stay that way.

The Chameleons would go on to be celebrated as The Greatest Band Ever Ignored By The Masses.

This was the days when if it wasn't on corporate radio, you wren't supposed to know about it. Even Rolling Stone, for all their counter-culture attitude, was/is about as pop-corporate/culture as you could get. They didn't write about The Chameleons, or any other band that I was following at the time. (They didn't even give credence to the Hardcore Scene that now they decide to celebrate 25yrs after it's demise.) In short, Rollingstone is a poser magazine. Fuck them. All of them. And their writers.

The band broke up early on, by 1986 I think. Reformed around 2000. Toured a bit, and dispersed again. Throughout it all, the band mates have always hung around together. They are true life friends, but involve themselves in other projects and don't seem to connect musically very often.

The current incarnation includes the front man, Mark Burgess and the drummer, John Lever. They perform under the name Chameleons Vox. It's actually quite good, still encompassing the brooding spiritually, the darker vibe, the sweet sense of tranquility lying just beyond the turbulence. It's a cleaner, more modern sound. A little less muddied, I'd say.

Hard to imagine how a band that many other 'larger' bands (like Oasis) name as a influence could end up commercially irrelevant. Thanks to the internet, I have been able to acquire everything they've ever recorded.

They got several albums, some several compilations, a few DVD's... all sought after by a small and dedicated fan base. When a latest compilation carries a small notation from the front man thanking all those who continue to buy the recent reorganisation of previous recordings, you know fandom has gone crazy (but he appreciates and thanks us for the new refrigerator he bought with the proceeds),
I would say fandom has reached cult status.
It's unusual I think.

More than once I've been involved in death-match style bidding wars on ebay with some bloke in the UK or Germany.
Strange times, indeed.
Strange how often it's some German dude who keeps trying to buy the shit I want. British, I understand. But German???? Sheesh!
German 80's music must really suck if you feel the need to go all blitzkrieg for a Chameleons limited Edition CD, whose lyrics you may not understand or even pronounce properly. Is it some genetic need to conquer other people and take their shit that drives them? I don't get it.
I'm tellin ya: them Germans don't quit. I hate them.
It's like there's a little music fuhrer inside their soul that needs to dominate others' desire for obscure music. But Germans are assholes, anyway. Who knew?
There is also a noticeable following of Spaniards, a few Portuguese. They fold much too easily. Not a problem for me, really.

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Anyway... I'll just wrap it up saying that there has rarely been a day in my life when the Chameleons haven't been supplying the background music to the struggles playing out within my soul.

I am who I am, and no doubt I'd have made my way without them, but I've enjoyed their company and probably always will.

(If you want to take trip into my head, follow the links and don't forget those little astrixy things just a few lines abve this one. It's not a bad place to be.)

*edited... i fixed the broken * link.

Super Creepy Crawlies

Scientists create freakish man-made monster ants with huge heads and jaws.

Nightmarish 'supersoldier' ants with huge heads and jaws have been created by activating ancient genes.

Scientists believe the monster ants may be a genetic throwback to an ancestor that lived millions of years ago.
Scientists say they can create the supersoldiers at will by dabbing normal ant larvae with a special hormone - the larvae then develop into supersoldiers rather than normal soldier or worker ants.

Authors Dr Rajendhran Rajakumar, from McGill University, Canada, and colleagues wrote: 'We uncovered an ancestral development potential to produce a novel supersoldier subcaste that has been retained throughout a hyperdiverse ant genus that evolved 35 to 60 million years ago.' (Sciency talk for "Hey, check this shit out!")

I'm hoping that science will find a way to create ants that stay outdoors and avoid picnic tables. Or maybe genetically modify fire ants to un-invade the south.

Nearly a Week

I've have very little to say and less to blog about this past week. It's not totally my fault as my attentions were glued to the goings on in the Midwest.
I felt that I just had to wait and allow events to unfold before I was sure that I had some clue to what it was I was looking at.

What has taken place will potentially effect many of us for years to come. This I recognise.
Understanding it is something else but I'm going to offer up a word or two. I have a blog, so why not?

Here goes...

Jerry Angelo has been fired as General Manager for the Chicago Bears. I think this was a few seasons too late. The Bears should have never gone three years without an effective O-Line, or reliable receiver corps.
This is all at his feet.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz has 'resigned'. He was on contract through the Super Bowl (yeah, big whoop), but chose to leave his office early, citing 'philosophical differences'. Yeah, I'll say. His philosophy says the Quarterback should be getting creamed on every snap, and Lovie Smith (along with Jay Cutler) disagreed with that vision.

The Bears should have never hired this asshole two seasons ago in the first place, His shit don't work unless you have 5 future Hall Of Famers starting on offense, and that would require better drafting and personnel hiring (Jerry Angelo), as opposed to grabbing washed up veterans that used to be decent and thinking you could plug a hole.
And why, oh why... would you want to run a scheme that guarantees your QB will get brutalized? Mike Martz should never calls plays again. Anywhere.

My suggestions for next year: the Bears need to spend some money in Free Agency for wide receivers, and draft O-line in the early rounds. In the later rounds, don't look at undersized speed-receivers anymore. We need big guys who can reach up and fight for the ball.
Oh, and get a new Receivers coach while you're at it.

I won't say the future is looking brighter just yet, but a glimmer of hope as been found beyond the horizon.