Rule #3, Buddy …
January 31st, 2010
Mr. Police Commissioner needs to get his booger hook off the bang switch.
Archive
Archive for January, 2010
Cub Scouts and The Last Airbender
January 27th, 2010
This past weekend was our Pinewood Derby weekend! It’s like NASCAR weekend for 8-year-olds. Cars of every shape and size constructed out of pine and decorated (often constructed by DADS even though you know … you’re not supposed to, technically), racing down a 40-foot track to see who is King of Speed!
So when it came time to build the car, it was my job to help my son turn it into a mean, streamlined machine of perfect weight that would CRUSH THE OPPOSITION!
Our inspiration?
That right there is Appa, from the Nick television show “Avatar: The Last Airbender”.
It’s an American anime-styled show and frankly one of the best darn animated shows I’ve ever seen. Great for kids. Great characters, they deal with interesting things, and superbly written. It’s “kid” enough to keep a 7-year-old watching intently and goofy enough to get laughs out of parents. That beast above is the hero’s mighty steed. Appa. A flying bison.
A flying bison car. WHY NOT!?
So (with Dad’s help, of course) we carved it to shape. Bored a few holes and filled them with hot-glued BBs to get it to 4.9 ounces exactly. Hot-glued on a whole bunch of fur. Painted the arrow and horns. Glued on the eyes and the nose and set off for Pinewood Derby Day!
Here’s the boy with his “unique” car.
Now, I had a long conversation with him before this whole process started. “Son … do you want to try to build a super-fast car, or do you want to go for something you’re certain nobody is going to copy?”
He opted for creativity with this one in the hopes of winning a trophy for “most original” Pinewood Derby car.
And did he ever …
That right there is a happy little boy with a First Place trophy for “most original car”!
Next up … Regionals in late March about an hour-and-a-half from where we live. I hope there’s no other furry cars there!
As a super awesome bonus to this whole day … that fuzzy thing actually WON a race! He lost in the first round, won in the second, and finally succumbed to a speedy little car in the third round. So not only did he win a race for the first time, but got some hardware as well.
Awesome!
We Need Gun Control
January 26th, 2010
Or … so says this elitist swine.
Why would someone need more than say, five weapons? I mean really, from Saturday night specials to pearl handled .45 automatics, the obsession has verged on psychosis with our protectors — law enforcement — having to battle criminals who sometimes have weapons more powerful than police. And this happens all because it’s our right to bear arms?
Enough.
Some parts of our country have become armed camps.
Oh my. Where to start …
First … “pearl handled .45 automatics”. Yeah, I got a couple of those lying around in the safe. No big deal.
Secondly, let’s once again apply this screeching to the first amendment of the Constitution. Remember, the 2nd is just one Amendment away from the first, after all … the re-write?
Why would someone need more than say, five topics they’re permitted to speak freely about? I mean really, from peaceable assembly to saying whatever you want on a blog, the obsession has verged on psychosis with our protectors — legislators — having to battle criminals who sometimes have a larger listening audience than police. And this happens all because it’s our right to free speech?
Enough.
Some parts of our country have become filled with people speaking freely.
If it doesn’t make sense to curtail one right, then it doesn’t make sense to curtail another. Perhaps we should be looking at the behavior, not the object used.
Lastly … “Some parts of our country have become armed camps?”
Yeah.
Like Detroit, MI (#11 on the Brady List. Most Dangerous City according to Forbes)
Stockton, CA (#1 on the Brady List. 8th Most Dangerous according to Forbes)
Baltimore, MD (#5 on the Brady List. 10th Most Dangerous according to Forbes)
Camden, NJ (#2 on the Brady List. OFTEN the Most Dangerous in the US)
And let’s not forget places like Chicago and Washington DC (which, the Brady’s don’t rank … likely because it’s too embarassing.
Finally, all you need to know about the author of this diatribe is right here:
I mean, imagine what the outcome would have been if we would have had gun control laws, stringent gun control laws, as it related to Maurice Clemmons, who killed four Lakewood police officers?
Are you serious?
From his wiki entry:
Prior to his alleged involvement in the shooting, Clemmons had at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington.[2] His first incarceration began in 1989, at age 17. Facing sentences totaling 108 years in prison, the burglary sentences were reduced in 2000 by Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee to 47 years, which made him immediately eligible for parole. Clemmons was released in 2000.
Yeah. Gun control. I’m sure if we ban guns people like Maurice Clemmons would instantly become Boy Scouts. Instead, you have someone telling me how many I may own, when and where I may have them, what I am and am not permitted to do with them, why I should be tracked, registered, in a federal database, and considered dangerous because of my political views and ownership of a firearm while you coddle “misunderstood” criminals with rap sheets four miles long and call for even more restrictions on my rights because of their evil behavior.
Gun Control isn’t about guns. it’s about control. Period.
The Mass Effect of Gamer Geekness
January 26th, 2010
Okay, I love firearms and I’ve got a penchant for hurting people when it comes to martial arts training but my original and deepest love?
Video games.
I’m such a junkie. Father of three, running my own business, responsible (usually) human being, who loves gaming like a 14-year-old screamo who talks in txt.
My gaming addiction started waaaaay back when on a 1979 Fairchild F II. Now, I was but a mere puppy at this age, but a couple of years later when I had some hand-eye coordination I used to play it quite a bit.
It had this awesome game where you … uhh … drew lines on the screen. Hey! For a little kid it was teh most awsum evah!!!
Anyway, the Fairchild II was tossed aside for an Atari 2600 and eventually my parents were stupid kind enough to gift me an 8-bit Nintendo. The one where you have to blow on the cartridges to get them to work.
Hellooooooo Super Mario Brothers. I spent a lot of time with Mario and Luigi. Even more with Zelda which is where I developed my current deep-seated devotion to grand RPG storytelling.
So you can imagine my squee with glee when I came across something so GEEKY it’s dangerous. No, seriously … it’s REALLY dangerous:
Aaaahhhhh …
Anyway, eventually I ended up with a Sega Genesis (Rock ON Toejam and Earl!), Playstation One, XBOX, and then XBOX 360. All the while engaging in PC Gaming when whatever existing rig I had at the time could support it.
Now … the consoles are gone (Well, we have a Wii, but I’m not the world’s biggest Wii fan). And I have a Quad Core Uber-Machine with a pair of GTX 260’s in SLI and 6GB of RAM. The power supply in this thing warms the earth. When I turn it on, small villages in Africa lose what little electricity they have.
It can handle graphics. And in a few days, it’s REALLY going to have to.
Some of my favorite games of the past few years have been epic RPGs. Among them are Oblivion and Fallout 3 from Bethesda, and from Bioware – KOTOR (The first … NOT the 2nd), Dragon Age: Origins (finished it twice), and … Mass Effect.
Mass Effect caused a lot of controversy when all the prim ‘n proper folks heard about it because there’s ZOMG LESBIAN ALIEN SEX!!!11!!one!
Yeah, buddy! BOW CHICKA WOW WOW!
Anyway, Mass Effect received generally very favorable reviews. The game itself really challenged some taboos. There’s plenty of swearing, and the option of controlling how your character reacts to situations. For instance, there’s a scene where you’ve beaten a criminal scumbag in battle. He’s on the ground telling you everything you need to know to advance your mission. When the conversation’s over, do you let him go, or put your pistol to his head and blast his brains out?
Gee. Guess what I did?
Anyway, because of that above scene the game was dubbed “morally dangerous” because it included “explicitly graphic sexual intercourse” which of course it doesn’t. You’ll see worse on a promo spot for the Kardashian’s at 5:00 in the afternoon.
And now … more sweet Mass Effect comes to town. ME2’s launch is upon us here in the U.S. and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it.
Time Magazine reviewed ME2 and called it, “The Avatar of video games, except better written.” You’re in the movie, reacting, changing the story-line as you go. Play it again and you can have a completely different experience.
30 or so years ago I was a kid drawing a line on a screen. From that to Super Mario, to Zelda, Final Fantasy VII (the best one of the bunch), to Oblivion, to games like Mass Effect 2 which seems to up the ante over the original in every conceivable way. These are fine days to be a gamer geek and I’ll be enjoying every minute of it.
Article I, Sec. 8 Should Terrify You
January 24th, 2010
Better known as the “Commerce Clause“, will eventually be this Great Nation’s undoing.
This little piece of language right here:
…provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States
Is seen by politicians as carte blanche to do absolutely anything they want.
It’s what they invoke when the conversation of Healthcare comes about. Fairness Doctrine? Commerce Clause. Internet Taxation? Commerce Clause. And that’s exactly what they’ll invoke when it comes to gun control.
Gun Control? Interstate Commerce? Surely, you jest!
Maybe not. Look closely:
The Department of Justice, in a brief filed this week in U.S. District Court in Missoula, said that federal gun control is a “valid exercise of Congress’ commerce power under the Constitution.”
Allow me to translate:
We can restrict the Bill of Rights and render State Rights moot because the Commerce Clause says so. Nanny. Nanny. Boo. Boo.
Let’s jump over to those smart suckers at Cato for a little primer on the “Elastic Clause” also known as the Commerce Clause:
For proponents of a limited central government, the General Welfare Clause has been a source of great mischief. Interpreted elastically by constitutionalists of the “living document” persuasion, the Clause has helped serve up a gourmand’s feast of government programs, regulations, and intrusions that would have been unimaginable to the Framers.
Remember the language in this Clause and particularly the term “General Welfare” which lefties and their ilk take to mean, “Errr um … anything we want!”
I’m telling you. Read the Clause. Read the link at Cato. Then spend five minutes doing some searches and look at all the crap that’s been caused by Article I, Section 8.
Your firearms are not safe. Period.
Pissing Off Everybody, Aintcha?
January 21st, 2010
Obama ain’t too popular these days. When dorks like the Brady Bunch don’t want to hang with you, you know you’re a failure.
It’s like the Chess Club telling the Prom King he’s not allowed to join.
“It’s been a very disappointing year for us, especially considering what he campaigned on,” the group’s president, Paul Helmke, said during an appearance on MSNBC.
Heh.
Regardless of MA …
January 19th, 2010
The race is going on right now and with just under half reporting, it seems like Brown’s got a 53-46 advantage. That’s nice.
Prognostication time …
Regardless of the outcome of this race, Pelosi, Reid, Obama, etc. will find a way to pass healthcare “reform” (ie: an excuse to control and tax the crap out of you while bankrupting future generations).
They’ll push it straight to the President’s desk with the intention of “fixing” it after it’s passed. They’ll just get it passed as the first step with 51 votes.
If that succeeds, fury.
First … November 2010 elections will get real ugly.
Second … if repealing it doesn’t work, you’re going to see legal challenges from state AGs.
Third … if legal challenges do not work, you’re going to hear more serious talk of secession. Texas? Louisiana? Florida? Montana? Who knows, but it’ll get kicked around.
Fourth … individuals will simply refuse to be a part of it. Record numbers will refuse to file for taxes or pay any kind of penalty. Civil disobedience in the form of a refusal to fund socialized medicine by average citizens.
After that? Who knows … but it’s going to get worse before it gets better, I think that much is clear. You think the political environment in Washington DC is toxic now?
You ain’t seen nothing yet.