Guard Dog

If you have any boxes from when video games were still physical, stuff it in there. That's a good idea! I have many still ,all lined on on one of the bookshelves (my loft is wall to wall bookshelves)

Manny Ramirez has been released by the Rangers.

I really can't think of a single politician I have a shred of respect for. Marco Rubio was one I had high hopes for but he got to Sodom-Om-The-Potomac he became another big government type. There is not a single one I'd want to have any power over me and mine but they seem to take more and more every day.

Stephanie's ring came today. It's a 1.75 ct "floating" solitaire on 18k white gold. Now I have to hide it well enough she won't accidently find it. I highly doubt she snoops when she's here alone but you never know. It's going to drive me nuts though. as far as I can tell she does not suspect a thing. She still does not know where I taking her yet.

In a week you're going to trade two kids for two dozen Hurlie!

Happy Birthday Mal!

Both of my sea duty tours were on carriers, CVN-65 USS Enterprise and CVN-72 USS Abraham Lincoln. Thank god I wasn't on one of the small boys (destroyers, cruisers). We used to stand in the hanger bay and watch them get tossed around by the ocean while we barely felt anything. You missed out! Gator Freighters baby, that's the REAL Navy. Those carriers of your are bigger than the town I grew up in. You could get lost on one of them. No one ever got lost on an Amphib! The only ship where Marines outnumber sailors (and we let them know) OOORAH!

I don't know about that second part Hurlshot. The IRS has not only been caught trying to suppress political speech, they are still doing it brazenly. And the majority of the media coverage has been supportive of them. The Obama admin states it's within their power to use drones to kill Americans and not only was the press supportive for the most part they ridiculed people who opposed it. The majority of the media has become a willing accomplice in covering up malfeasance to help politicians they support. I wonder how much risk a petty and vindictive politician really takes when he decides to use his office or government power to "punish" an enemy.

I completely agree. That is one thing I would do over again. Not many decisions I would say that about. But like I told my nephew, you have to want it. You'll appreciate this though Shady. He asked what the best way to get in shape for boot camp is and I told him to run, run some more, then run more after that. And practice drinking LOTS of water. Sorry everyone else, only Shady & I would realize why that second part is funny.

To follow up on Hurlshot's comment (and others) about having nothing to hide, you are presuming to know what they are looking for. Right now the story is they are using this data to look for terrorist/criminal activity. Is it so inconceivable that this could be used to monitor speech, political leanings, searching out "enemies of the people"? Now that this thing exists and congress has reaffirmed it's future it can be used for whatever the whims of the regime of the day dictate. Don't forget the Obama administration once set up a website where you could report people who were speaking ill of Obamacare before it was passed. Tomorrows "terrorist" might be you if you have visited unauthorized sites or engaged in political postings or expressed opinions considered to be "contrary to the interests of the United States". If you think this program is harmless or even a good thing for you then you placing a hell of a lot of faith in your future political leaders.

I had a long talk with my nephew today. I feel bad for that poor guy. He had a college scholarship to play baseball but gave it up when he was drafted by the Astros. And he wasn't even a high draft pick, they took him in the 22nd round or something like that so his chances of advancing were pretty slim. Anyway he played two years in the minors before they released him. He never got past rookie ball in Greeneville. So he tried playing for an Indy league team in Las Cruces but that didn't work. So now he's working in Target part time and taking classes at a community college. He was thinking about joining the Marine Corps and wanted to talk to me about it. I told him it was the smartest thing he could do. Well, joining the military at least. I asked him why he wanted the Marines and he really didn't have an answer. I told him to check out the other services first before making a decision. The Marines are not an easy branch to be in. It's small, promotions are slow, life is... more difficult than the other branches. You have to have a high BS tolerance to succeed there. It's a game, and you have to play it. And you have to want it. You have to want to be there or you will be miserable. Anyway he asked a lot of questions that were all related to Boot Camp. I told him not to worry about that. Half of what he heard isn't true. It's not much fun but it's only three months long. I said to him he'd be in the Corps for at least three years and nine months after that, he had best find out what that is like. Best advice I could give anyway. I couldn't imagine being 21 with no money, no education beyond HS and few prospects.

Rays are in real trouble if they don't break out of this free fall real quick. The Sox are not going to oblige us by starting to suck. They've lost six of the last eight and the last five straight.

RIP Tarna, such sad news. We've lost a few great people here recently.

That's still a heck of a lot better than a tour group though. You should have them out to Colorado next time. There's no castles but you can always take them drone hunting!

Finished up the installation in Louisville this week. The airport authority is happy. The city is happy, their managing company is happy, my partners are happy and I just got home so I'm happy. Just a happy day all around! Now I'm going to catch a few Z's then watch the Rays/Dodgers game tonight. Then tomorrow I'm going fishing during the day and out with the GF at night. It's gonna be a great weekend! Life is good y'all!

I don't know about that Bruce. The liberal black man might well give rise to the libertarian right in the US and if it does you will see the US become much less interventionist in foreign policy. I don't know if that is a good thing to you but I think it is absolutely necessary. I've always wondered what the real reason for the Iraq invasion was. I've often speculated that is was to secure a stable platform on Iran's western border to compliment Afghanistan to the east. That was if war with Iran ever became needed they would be surrounded by enemies. That kind of tactical disadvantage might have been enough to keep them in line without fighting. But if that was the objective I'd say it was pretty well botched. But then again I think I might be giving the Bush admin too much credit. I don't think they were capable of that level of thinking.

Very cool! Looks like it was a great trip. You guys were just exploring at your own pace?

So you are taking Tri-Rail to Metro-Rail? Then a bus? So you are coming from somewhere in either Broward or Palm Beach to Dade and since you have two bus hookups you must be going somewhere out west. FIU maybe? MDCC seems less likely. Not UM you are not snooty enough. Am I close? You Sir must enjoy pain though. That is a hell of a commute using public transportation. But traffic is SFL is so bad that it's misery either way. 2/3 of Florida's 18 million people crammed into four counties of which 50% of the land is everglades. Nice place to visit but you don't want to live there! By the way folks, he wasn't kidding about being happy he wasn't shot. Miami is like Chicago south in that respect.

Nice win today to take 2 of 3 from the Giants. It's gonna be an interesting day tomorrow once MLB drops the hammer.

Remember Tale, Hemingway did his best work when he was three sheets in the wind. Joyce & Poe too.

Just woke up. GF still asleep. Time for coffee & breakfast and of course say good morning to you folks.

Damn those Red Sox. Apparently they didn't get the message they were supposed to be rebuilding this year! Big win in extras last night for the Rays. Will Myers is awesome.

Damn the Giants & Bumgarnder. He looked like he was going to get rocked in the first few innings then shut the Rays down afterwards. We'll get 'em tonight!

It's overcast today. GF is coming over soon. Sounds like a good day to just sit on the couch and watch Netflix.

Now playing the Falskar Mod for Skyrim. The REALLY did a great job with this. If you still have Skyrim check this out: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/37994/