Guard Dog

Now that IS funny. I'd bet the editor got a little "talking to" over that one.

Ditto, that was a great game today. Although it irritates me to no end to see Viktor Kozlov playing well now that he's long gone from the Panthers.

Just when I thought you could not be more obnoxious, you found a way to top yourself. i've underestimated you again...

Made two attempts to mount the engine. Failed both times because the mounts would not line up. It's only off by a few millimeters, but it may as well be a mile. I lifted the engine back out and put it back on the stand. I'll figure out whats going on today. It msy be this engine is just different in some dimension that it will not line up. It is a Chevy engine and Chiltons said the Rev I Camaro did come with this engine as an option (it was actually made for the 1970 Corvette). Anywya, if it won't line up I'll have to have the mounts milled out to accomedate it. That will set me back at least a week. What can you do though. I wish one of you could come over and help me with this.... I've got beer!

Now reading Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend by John Hircsh and With Wings Like Eagles: A History of the Battle of Britain by Michael Korda. I'm really enjoying this one. Speaking of which, if anyone has any reccomendations on books about the Battle of Britan or the air war over Europe in WW2 I'd love to hear them.

The Rage Of The Average Joe Actually, the biggest difference between me (and millions of others) and people like Joe Stack is I went home and got really, really drunk. And the next day started over, dead broke, from square one. Killling people does not fix what happened or makes it not happen to someone else. In fact the one I REALLY wanted to kill was my accountant/business partner for all the bad advice but he was even worse off then I was. The truth is, sometime you can do nothing wrong and still have s****y things happen to you. And the next guy can lie cheat and steal, never get caught and retire a millionare. Life isn't fair. Taking your rage out on somone else does not even the scales because the entity that hurt you, in this case the IRS, is a nameless faceless thing that is beyond your ability to damage. It's like being angry at God, or the weather, you have no recourse. You just deal with it an move on. That is what rational people do. Irrational people do what Joe Stack did. And this time it was agains tthe IRS but you can bet had it not been them it would have been someone or something else. You can't explain why irrational people do what they do. And you really can't stop them either. Trying to assign some political motive to him is just foolish. No one would have thought it political had he snapped and shot someone who cut him off in traffic. This isn't much different. Yeah, I know this isn't quite what I was saying earlier but this is my real $.02.

So in other words, not very close. Not really. But ask anyone that has dealt with them up close and personal and to a man and woman they will not have anything nice to say. They are, in a word, brutal.

Don't interpret this as me making excuses for this jackass, but I am surprised this hasn't happened more often. The IRS is as close as the US Government comes to true evil. Yes I know that they have a job to do and they do serve a purpose, but when you are destroying someones life don't act like you are enjoying it. If they deem you owe them money they will simply seize it, liquidating your assets to do so, even before you have recieved due process. If you do go to court or arbitration against them, they assumed to be in the right and the burden of proof is on you. If they take from you more than you owe you need to take them to court to get it back and if you do get it back, there is no interest paid for the time they had it, but by God you will pay (and pay and pay) interest on time you had money owed to them. I remember when I was audited, this arrogant, smirking, little **** just ruined my life and as I was getting up turned to the other SOB there and asked him if he wanted to go get lunch. I came as close as I ever have to comitting murder that day. As horrible as this it, I can almost understand his anger and I just can't seem to gin up much sympathy for the folks who were working in the office that day. Even though I know they were just regular people doing their jobs. I guess I'm just not a nice person.

That was fast, didnt need much work? The original engine was shot. The one I bought in Birmingham was in better shape. It needed new valves, stems, springs, had the valve seats remachined, new cam shaft & bearings, new front and rear seals, new pump, had the pistons remachined, plus I scrubbed the block and manifold with dry solvent and simple green (not together obviously). I worked on it every night for over two weeks now. I can't remember enjoying something more. I've got to say, and it may sound corny or just nuts but ever since I lost my job with AT&T, and then the accident I've just plunged into this really bad... I don't know, funk or depression I guess. There was definitely something missing in my life. I don't think restoring this car is the answer but it has sure made a nice band-aid.

I've finished rebuilding the engine on the Camaro. This weekend I'll take my first shot at mounting it if I can get someone to help me.

Careful Calax, you'll start sounding like me if you keep thinking that way!

Here is where I bring up the time tested wisdom of Monroe and Roosevelt (Teddy, the good cousin) of a strictly non-interventionist foreign policy beyond our own hemisphere. I know in the modern world we will never return to the Monroe Doctrine but it would be nice.

I went to Nashville w/ GF over the weekend. Her teenage sister stayed at my house to watch the dogs. Lets just say she was not up to the task. I think they locked her in the closet and had a party this weekend. Nashville was fun. We spent a lot of time hanging out in the bars on Music Row. She is really into country music and she actually knew some of the performers there. No one I'd ever heard of but it was a great time.

In before delete.

Needing a vacation to recover from ordeal of retuning from vacation = Very Bad

I try to make a point of not drinking too much before 7 pm. I blew that tonight. I knocked off work early today and stopped at the VFW on the way home. I ended up sraying there too long and drinking too much. One of guys gave me a lift home. I don't know how I'm getting over there in the morning to get my truck and go to work. Sounds like a sick day to me. Anywho, I'm going out to the back porch with a 12-pack of Icehouse and an ipod loaded with George Strait and Little Feat songs. Tonight I'm gonna teach the dogs and coyotes to sing!

Too many people agreed with the conspiracists. Made me and GD go apoplectic. Ok, so for the next one we only post theories we make up ourselves and see who can come up with tthe most plausable ones. There were a few about KOTOR 2 & 3 floating around that were just too funny.

My problem with it isn't so much the notes themselves, but the fact that she had just finished critisizing Obama for using the teleprompter. Now that IS funny. I hadn't heard that. Although, I must admit I haven't really been paying attention to the news for the past few weeks.

Hmm. Would you rather have Obama or Palin as President? Understand I am no particular fan of Obama's, but the idea of Palin as President seems appalling to me. Put me down for "None of the Above". I think I have a better shot in 2012 than Palin does.

Here's a conspiracy theory for you... a senior congressman, John Murtha, just died while undergoing surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital (term limited at last, this guy was so corrupt it was almost funny). Anywho, there is a conpiracy theory floating around out there that the Obama admin had him killed to prevent a new defense appropriations scandal from surfacing. As these things go it is a little lightweight and not very credible. There were a lot of them surrounding Clinton, some with just enough truth to make almost believe it. Conspiracy theories are fun, we should make a thread for that.

I find it funny that all the news clowns are in a snit over the "palm" cliffnotes yet say nothing when Obama uses a teleprompter to give a 2000 word pep talk to a bunch of middle school kids. Ever heard Obama off teleprompter? He makes George W Bush sound coherent. Bush almost never used one. But then you have to be able to read to get much good from them.

Congrats Krookie, thats great!

Great game, great win for NO, Indy played well too. The game was everything you could want. It did not have the last minute drama of the previous two but still great to watch. The Who get 4 out of 5 stars for the half time show. Like Hurlie said, they are looking a little long in the tooth. Some great commercials too. My favorite was the Doritos commercial with the dog and the anti bark collar. I also loved the McDonalds one with Larry Bird, Lebron and the other guy (can't remember his name) that was a take on the HORSE ads from the 90s. Too bad MJ could not be in it too.

It's funny but Blade Runner and BSG seem a little less improbable now. Actually Meshugger brings up a really good point. How long until they start producing a child version for the sickos out there? How will that be recieved? Would that help with the problem of sexual abuse of kids by giving the pervs an outlet or encourage it? There is one other thing about that robot that just makes me go eeww, when you are done with it you have to clean it out...eeww.

Doh! I missed that one...