The boys are thirsty in Atlanta and there's beer in Texarkana...

The above quote has nothing to do with my life except for the fact that I have read it, heard it, and I like black T/As with CB antennas.


1) I was at a big band and gospel Christmas concert a couple weeks ago. I was ready to hear some rocking big band and soul. I got my money's worth. There was one thing, though, that made the whole thing almost unbearable.

I was surrounded by Yanks who were just a few years into retirement.

"I was at the garden club last night...."
"We had a wonderful women's meeting..."
"Applebee's has those wonderful low carb options and we tried those the other day and..."

Like fingernails on a chalkboard.


2) Right before Christmas, we visited an old AME church downtown. One of my dad's coworkers invited us because they were having a sort of veteran's appreciation service as well as some Christmas music.

Never in my life have I seen or heard such a service. It was completely awesome.

"I told y'all that we might have a little change in the program with the Spirit movin and amen here we go again. We gonna have some music by the wonderful _______ and amen you better be prepared to be blown away."

This white boy is considering another visit.

3) Yet another reason for you all to deny having any relations with me.

If I were to travel anywhere outside the US (which has never happened), I would go to some place that tourists tend to avoid. The Middle East is big on my list of places to visit, and I don't mean some tourist trap like Dubai.

4) I would like to own a bike some day. You know, a Harley or something along those lines. What frustrates me to no end are people who put their Harley on a trailer and then tow it great distances. It makes no sense. Why buy a ten thousand dollar bike that was purpose built for highway cruising and turn it into a trailer queen?

And don't even get me started about the scam known as E-85 Ethanol and government subsidies.

MPGs...

Why, oh why, did the President sign that energy bill?

Why, oh why, does the government have to push stupid regulations on auto manufacturers? It's not the manufacturer's fault that the customer wants to by a gas-guzzling SUV!

So Ford Motor Company, bless its little soul, is touting that it's new Edge SUV gets twenty-something miles-per-gallon on the highway. Gee, the same company just so happened to make my car thirteen years ago. My car is a luxury steel uni-body with a V8 that just so happens to get the same or better gas mileage as that ugly Edge. You'd think that with thirteen years gone by, Ford Motor Company would have the sense to make the fuel economy somewhat decent. Especially with the explosion of eletronically controlled valve timing and such. The fact that they think 26 MPG on the highway is something to tout is sad. I'll keep my Thunderbird, thank you, and the government will not be able to touch it.

I hate these...

"40 Secrets About Yourself. Be honest no matter what."

1- Have you ever been asked out? Not that I know of.
2- Where was your default picture taken? I don't have one.
3- What is your middle name? P.
4- Your current relationship status? Brother, Son
5- Does your crush like you back? That’s the dumbest term ever.
6- What is your current mood? Electric
7- What color pants are you wearing? LCS Red and White
8- What color shirt are you wearing? White
9- What is your favorite thing to do? Honestly, I have always felt at home when running from people who are trying to shoot me.
10- If you could go back in time and change something, would you? Sure.
11- If you must be an animal for one day, what would you be? Either a whale, so I could go deep down into the ocean, or a falcon.
12- Ever had a near death experience? Not that I know of…
13-Something you do a lot? Listen to music.
14- What do you want to be when you get older? A lot of things.
15- Who did you copy and paste this from? Steph
16- Name someone with the same birthday as you? Bill Goldberg.
17- When was the last time you cried? I’m not going to tell you.
19- If you could have one super power what would it be? To be able to breath underwater.
20- What's the first thing you notice about the opposite/same sex? Their eyes.
21- What do you usually order from starbucks? I hate starbucks.
22- What's your biggest secret? I don’t remember…
23- Favorite color? The color of any sea.
25- Do you still watch kiddy movies or tv shows? Noooooo…..
26- What are you eating or drinking at the moment? Oxygen
28- What's your favorite smell? Gunpowder or a Chevy small block.
29- Describe your life in one word what it be? Life….which is cool.
31- Have you ever kissed in the rain? How….schmaltzy.
32- What are you thinking about right now? Finishing this quiz.
33- What should you be doing right now? Practicing piano.
34- Who was the last person that made you upset/angry? Hmm….
35-Why are you doing this? I really don’t know.
36- Do you like working in the yard? Maybe.
37- If you could have any last name in the world, what would it be? My current one or Korbelak.
38- Do you act differently around the person you like? Define “like”.
39- What is your natural hair color? Muddy blond.
40-What did you think about this survey? It’s dumb, just like the rest of them.

Just when you thought chivalry was dead...

Road and Track reminds you that it still exists.

It's a Beautiful Day

This story just made my day...

Whoever made this decision is my kind of person.



LEAD: U.S. warship passed Taiwan Strait after stopover refusal in Hong Kong+

Nov 29 01:44 PM US/Eastern
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Kong+ (AP) - TOKYO, Nov. 30 (Kyodo)—(EDS: ADDING DETAILS)
A U.S. warship passed the Taiwan Strait on its way back to its home port of Yokosuka last week after China initially denied it permission to dock in Hong Kong, U.S. military sources told Kyodo News on Thursday.
The U.S. act is seen as warning to China as the United States has refrained from sailing through the strait since 1996, when Taiwan's first presidential election generated a crisis which led the United States to deploy two aircraft carriers to the area.
The sources said that after China's refusal on Nov. 21, the Kitty Hawk and five other vessels moved northward in the South China Sea, passing the Taiwan Strait from Friday to Saturday.
As the fleet passed the strait, warplanes were deployed from the flattop to guard the surrounding area, they said.
In the past two to three years, the Kitty Hawk making port calls in Hong Kong during the Thanksgiving holiday passed waters near Bashi Channel south of Taiwan to reach the Pacific on its way back to Yokosuka.
This year, the Kitty Hawk planned a four-day port call at Hong Kong from Nov. 21 for its crew of about 8,000. As it approached Hong Kong, it was refused entry for unspecified reasons. China later reversed the decision on "humanitarian grounds."
The flattop canceled the plan and returned to Yokosuka on Tuesday, four day earlier than it had originally planned.
China's refusal can be interpreted as retaliation against the recent U.S. decision to sell missiles to Taiwan as well as the warm U.S. hospitality extended to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, observers say.
Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, criticized the Chinese act, saying it was unlike a responsible nation. Responding to the Pentagon's criticism, the Chinese government has said the measure was based on a misunderstanding.
U.S. warships have for decades docked in Hong Kong during tours of duty, but since the territory's return to China in 1997 they need Chinese permission.

God Bless America

The Chinese know how to piss Americans off. Really. Prior to yesterday, most of the people who were really angry at the Chinese were parents of dead children because of some bogus Chinese toy. Hopefully, the Chinese have now angered 8,000 sailors and their families.


Earlier this year, the Kittyhawk strike group was doing joint exercises in the Pacific. Somewhere in that period, a Chinese submarine popped up in the middle of our ships and was supposedly within firing range of the Kittyhawk. If that wasn't bad enough...


The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Chinese Ministry for ------- Americans) has now denied the Kittyhawk and several of her ships access to Hong Kong for a long-awaited Thanksgiving port call.

Thank you, China, for angering several thousand more Americans. Some day, you may regret it.

George Washinton strikes back from the grave...

China voices alarm at dollar weakness
By Mure Dickie in
Beijing, Krishna Guha in Washington and Peter Garnham and Michael Mackenzie in London Published: November 19 2007 19:14 Last updated: November 19 2007
19:14

China on Monday expressed concern at the decline in the dollar, joining a growing chorus of global policymakers alarmed by the weakness in the world’s
main reserve currency.
Premier Wen Jiabao told a business audience in
Singapore it was becoming difficult to manage China’s $1,430bn foreign exchange
reserves, saying that their value was under unprecedented pressure.

You know what this means...


MORE PEOPLE WILL BUY OUR STUFF!

Standing on the Promises...

The other day something poked my brain and said, "God never breaks His promises."



Well...that's obvious.





Don't stop there, though! Think upon that statement for a moment...





Well, He's God. If He broke any of His promises...He can't break His promises, it's against His nature to do so, right?



Right. Why do humans break promises? The answer is obvious. We are fallen. Humans keep their promises sometimes, though. Also, we waffle when it comes time to keep a promise. Other times, it is physically impossible for us to keep a promise. I can tell my English teacher that I will turn in my paper online before the midnight deadline. Let's say that my computer crashes and I can't turn it in. Technically, I broke the promise. Did I choose to break it? No.

Stop there for a moment.

God cannot break His promises. Do you think He can be indecisive with them and even think about breaking them? Do you think a technical issue can keep Him from fulfilling a promise?

No. That's why we can stand on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail,

Standing on the promises of God.

GEOPOLITICAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT
10.09.2007
Read on the Web
Get your own copy

The Geopolitical Foundations of Blackwater By George Friedman

"For the past three weeks, Blackwater, a private security firm under contract to the U.S. State Department, has been under intense scrutiny over its operations in Iraq. The Blackwater controversy has highlighted the use of civilians for what appears to be combat or near-combat missions in Iraq. Moreover, it has raised two important questions: Who controls these private forces and to whom are they accountable? The issue is neither unique to Blackwater nor to matters of combat. There have long been questions about the role of Halliburton and its former subsidiary, KBR, in providing support services to the military. The Iraq war has been fought with fewer active-duty troops than might have been expected, and a larger number of contractors relative to the number of troops. But how was the decision made in the first place to use U.S. nongovernmental personnel in a war zone? More important, how has that decision been implemented? The United States has a long tradition of using private contractors in times of war. For example, it augmented its naval power in the early 19th century by contracting with privateers -- nongovernmental ships -- to carry out missions at sea. During the battle for Wake Island in 1941, U.S. contractors building an airstrip there were trapped by the Japanese fleet, and many fought alongside Marines and naval personnel. During the Civil War, civilians who accompanied the Union and Confederate armies carried out many of the supply functions. So, on one level, there is absolutely nothing new here. This has always been how the United States fights war. Nevertheless, since before the fall of the Soviet Union, a systematic shift has been taking place in the way the U.S. force structure is designed. This shift, which is rooted both in military policy and in the geopolitical perception that future wars will be fought on a number of levels, made private security contractors such as KBR and Blackwater inevitable. The current situation is the result of three unique processes: the introduction of the professional volunteer military, the change in force structure after the Cold War, and finally the rethinking and redefinition of the term "noncombatant" following the decision to include women in the military, but bar them from direct combat roles. The introduction of the professional volunteer military caused a rethinking of the role of the soldier, sailor, airman or Marine in the armed forces. Volunteers were part of the military because they chose to be. Unlike draftees, they had other options. During World War II and the first half of the Cold War, the military was built around draftees who were going to serve their required hitch and return to civilian life. Although many were not highly trained, they were quite suited for support roles, from KP to policing the grounds. After all, they already were on the payroll, and new hires were always possible. In a volunteer army, the troops are expected to remain in the military much longer. Their training is more expensive -- thus their value is higher. Taking trained specialists who are serving at their own pleasure and forcing them to do menial labor over an extended period of time makes little sense either from a utilization or morale point of view. The concept emerged that the military's maintenance work should shift to civilians, and that in many cases the work should be outsourced to contractors. This tendency was reinforced during the Reagan administration, which, given its ideology, supported privatization as a way to make the volunteer army work. The result was a growth in the number of contractors taking over many of the duties that had been performed by soldiers during the years of conscription. The second impetus was the end of the Cold War and a review carried out by then-Secretary of Defense Les Aspin under then-President Bill Clinton. The core argument was that it was irrational to maintain a standing military as large as had existed during the Cold War. Aspin argued for a more intensely technological military, one that would be less dependent on ground troops. The Air Force was key to this, while the Navy was downsized. The main consideration, however, was the structure of the standing Army -- especially when large-scale, high-intensity, long-term warfare no longer seemed a likely scenario. The U.S. Army's active-duty component, in particular, was reduced. It was assumed that in time of war, components of the Reserves and National Guard would be mobilized, not so much to augment the standing military, but to carry out a range of specialized roles. For example, Civil Affairs, which has proven to be a critical specialization in Iraq and Afghanistan, was made a primary responsibility of the Reserves and National Guard, as were many engineering, military-intelligence and other specializations. This plan was built around certain geopolitical assumptions. The first was that the United States would not be fighting peer powers. The second was that it had learned from Vietnam not to get involved in open-ended counterinsurgency operations, but to focus, as it did in Kuwait, on missions that were clearly defined and executable with a main force. The last was that wars would be short, use relatively few troops and be carried out in conjunction with allies. From this it followed that regular forces, augmented by Reserve/National Guard specialists called up for short terms, could carry out national strategic requirements. The third impetus was the struggle to define military combat and noncombat roles. Given the nature of the volunteer force, women were badly needed, yet they were included in the armed forces under the assumption that they could carry out any function apart from direct combat assignments. This caused a forced -- and strained -- redefinition of these two roles. Intelligence officers called to interrogate a prisoner on the battlefield were thought not to be in a combat position. The same bomb, mortar or rocket fire that killed a soldier might hit them too, but since they technically were not charged with shooting back, they were not combat arms. Ironically, in Iraq, one of the most dangerous tasks is traveling on the roads, though moving supplies is not considered a combat mission. Under the privatization concept, civilians could be hired to carry out noncombat functions. Under the redefinition of noncombat, the area open to contractors covered a lot of territory. Moreover, under the redefinition of the military in the 1990s, the size and structure of the Army in particular was changed so dramatically that it could not carry out most of its functions without the Reserve/Guard component -- and even with that component, the Army was not large enough. Contractors were needed. Let us now add a fourth push: the CIA. During Vietnam, and again in Afghanistan and Iraq, a good part of the war was prosecuted by CIA personnel not in uniform and not answerable to the military chain of command. There are arguments on both sides for this, but the fact is that U.S. wars -- particularly highly politicized wars such as counterinsurgencies -- are fought with parallel armies, some reporting to the Defense Department, others to the CIA and other intelligence agencies. The battlefield is, if not flooded, at least full of civilians operating outside of the chain of command, and these civilian government employees are encouraged to hire Iraqi or other nationals, as well as to augment their own capabilities with private U.S. contractors. Blackwater works for the State Department in a capacity defined as noncombat, protecting diplomats and other high-value personnel from assassination. The Army, bogged down in its own operations, lacks the manpower to perform this obviously valuable work. That means that Blackwater and other contract workers are charged with carrying weapons and moving around the battlefield, which is everywhere. They are heavily armed private soldiers carrying out missions that are combat in all but name -- and they are completely outside of the chain of command. Moreover, in order to be effective, they have to engage in protective intelligence, looking for surveillance by enemy combatants and trying to foresee potential threats. We suspect the CIA could be helpful in this regard, but it would want information in return. In order to perform its job, then, Blackwater entered the economy of intelligence -- information as a commodity to be exchanged. It had to gather some intelligence in order to trade some. As a result, the distinction between combat and support completely broke down. The important point is that the U.S. military went to war with the Army the country gave it. We recall no great objections to the downsizing of the military in the 1990s, and no criticisms of the concepts that lay behind the new force structure. The volunteer force, downsized because long-term conflicts were not going to occur, supported by the Reserve/Guard and backfilled by civilian contractors, was not a controversial issue. Only tiresome cranks made waves, challenging the idea that wars would be sparse and short. They objected to the redefinition of noncombat roles and said the downsized force would be insufficient for the 21st century. Blackwater, KBR and all the rest are the direct result of the faulty geopolitical assumptions and the force structure decisions that followed. The primary responsibility rests with the American public, which made best-case assumptions in a worst-case world. Even without Iraq, civilian contractors would have proliferated on the battlefield. With Iraq, they became an enormous force. Perhaps the single greatest strategic error of the Bush administration was not fundamentally re-examining the assumptions about the U.S. Army on Sept. 12, 2001. Clearly Donald Rumsfeld was of the view that the Army was the problem, not the solution. He was not going to push for a larger force and, therefore, as the war expanded, for fewer civilian contractors. The central problem regarding private security contractors on the battlefield is that their place in the chain of command is not defined. They report to the State Department, not to the Army and Marines that own the battlefield. But who do they take orders from and who defines their mission? Do they operate under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or under some other rule? They are warriors -- it is foolish to think otherwise -- but they do not wear the uniform. The problem with Blackwater stems from having multiple forces fighting for the same side on the same battlefield, with completely different chains of command. Indeed, it is not clear the extent to which the State Department has created a command structure for its contractors, whether it is capable of doing so, or whether the contractors have created their own chain of command. Blackwater is the logical outcome of a set of erroneous geopolitical conclusions that predate these wars by more than a decade. The United States will be fighting multidivisional, open-ended wars in multiple theaters, and there will be counterinsurgencies. The force created in the 1990s is insufficient, and thus the definition of noncombat specialty has become meaningless. The Reserve/Guard component cannot fill the gap created by strategic errors. The hiring of contractors makes sense and has precedence. But the use of CIA personnel outside the military chain of command creates enough stress. To have private contractors reporting outside the chain of command to government entities not able to command them is the real problem. A failure that is rooted in the national consensus of the 1990s was compounded by the Bush administration's failure to reshape the military for the realities of the wars it wished to fight. But the final failure was to follow the logic of the civilian contractors through to its end, but not include them in the unified chain of command. In war, the key question must be this: Who gives orders and who takes them? The battlefield is dangerous enough without that question left hanging."


Thoughts?

EOD...

Navy EOD forces are trained and equipped to deal with explosive threats ranging from unexploded sub munitions to improvised weapons of mass destruction. Navy EOD forces operate wherever these threats are located and present an obstacle to naval and joint operations. They conduct their mission in a multitude of tactical environments - on the battlefield, in minefields, underwater, on land, in urban settings, and on board ships, to name but a few.

Navy EOD has a critical role in enabling Special Operations Forces (SOF) mission accomplishment. EOD provides Navy and Army SOF with capabilities to prosecute weapons of mass destruction and terrorist devices. EOD forces also enable their movement through hazardous battlefield environments, which may include mines, unexploded ordnance, booby-traps, or improvised explosive ordnance devices.Underwater Mine Countermeasures (UMCM) is a mission area often associated with Navy EOD. Eight Mobile Companies are dedicated to the UMCM mission. EOD forces possess the Navy's only mine countermeasure capability in the very shallow water zone (depths of 10 to 40 feet). To this end they maintain three uniquely capable marine mammal systems for worldwide contingency employment.

Navy EOD forces also support a range of federal agencies. They assist the U.S. Secret Service in protecting the President, Vice President, and their spouses. They support the Department of State in providing protection for the Secretary of State and foreign dignitaries. They also assist various federal agencies during National Security Special Events such as presidential conventions and the Olympics. They accomplish this by performing key tasks that include initial detection of explosive hazards, intelligence exploitation, neutralization, and disposal. Moreover, Navy EOD is the only force within the Department of Defense that has these capabilities against the full range of threats in all environments.

Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians render safe all types of ordnance, both conventional and unconventional, improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear to include Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery (or disposal) of foreign and domestic ordnance. They conduct demolition of hazardous munitions, pyrotechnics, and retrograde explosives using detonation and burning techniques. They forward deploy and fully integrate with the various Combatant Commanders, Special Operations Force (SOF), and various warfare units within the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. They are also called upon to support military and civilian law enforcement agencies.

EOD Technicians’ missions take them to all environments, every climate, in every part of the world. They have many assets available to arrive to their mission, from open and closed-circuit scuba and surface-supplied diving rigs, to parachute insertion from fixed-wing and and fast-rope, rappel, and Special Purpose Insertion Extraction (SPIE) from rotary aircraft, to small boats and tracked vehicles.

The "crab," as it is commonly known, is the only joint service badge and can only be earned upon successful completion of The Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal.
THE WREATH is symbolic of the achievements and laurels gained by minimizing accident potentials, through the ingenuity and devotion to duty of its members. It is in memory of the EOD personnel who have given their lives while performing EOD duties.
THE BOMB was copied from the design of the World War II Bomb Disposal Badge. The bomb represents the historic and major objective of the EOD attack, the unexploded bomb. The three fins represent the major areas of nuclear, conventional, and chemical/biological warfare.
THE LIGHTNING BOLTS symbolize the potential destructive power of the bomb and the courage and professionalism of EOD personnel in their endeavors to reduce hazards as well as to render explosive ordnance harmless.
THE SHIELD represents the EOD mission which is to protect personnel and property in the immediate area from an inadvertent detonation of hazardous ordnance.
THE STAR in the middle of the bomb represents a Technician who has attained Senior EOD competency. The star in the middle of the badge, coupled with the miniature wreath and star at the top of the badge represent an EOD Technician who has attained Master EOD competency.

Give a little bit...

I heard a song on the radio today and something was revealed to me.





I cannot ask God to do anything in my life if I'm not going to give Him everything. I can't just sit here and say, "Change me, God," and just give Him some sin problem that I have. I need to give Him my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my delights, my tasks, my work, my ideas, and my thoughts. EVERYTHING that I think, say, or do needs to brought to Him. Giving Him just one or two things and then asking Him to change me is like saying, "Here are two nails and a two-by-four. I want you to build me a house." Of course it's possible for God to do it anyways, but then do I really have free will if he changes me without me being totally willing to give myself up?

What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you see this?

I was looking for a Hot Rod or Road & Track at the local drugstore, but all they had were those stupid tuner magazines that feature some babe (and maybe a car). This did not make me happy. Then I saw this, and it made me sick. If you want to know what a loser at life looks like, here ya go.

I started reading the first chapter of Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy, and a thought occurred to me. God gave us the gift of thought, so we should worship Him with it. Sure, we have to keep our thoughts from straying. But what good is there in following a rule because it says, "thou shalt not"? Why not keep our thoughts from evil things and worship God with them instead.

Also, what is the one thing that man possesses that another man cannot truly control or discern? His thoughts. Our brain is practically the most private place on earth with God being the only other one able to tell what's going on, so why don't we at least worship Him there? If you think about it, you can come up with some more sweet conclusions.

Have you forgotten?

Or do you still remember?

I do. Like it was yesterday...


I was ten.

My mom was ironing. I was doing math homework in my room. It was a Tuesday, so we were going to leave for 4-H soon...I was hoping that it would get in the way of my homework and delay it for a little while. My door was open, so I heard the phone ring. It was a homeschool mom. She told us to turn on the TV and I heard the exclamation from my mom...

That summer we had visited the memorial to the Oklahoma City Bombing. When I saw the two towers on the screen smoking, I thought it was an explosion (mostly accidental). Then I saw my mom sit down and cry. I read the words and the screen, and they said something about The World Trade Center. I confused this with the stock exchange, and images of being homeless ran through my mind.

Shortly after that, the towers fell.

Then we heard about the Pentagon.

My uncle was supposed to be in the Pentagon on that morning. By the grace of God, he was somewhere else. With my parents being in the reserves, we had people calling the house all day to ask if they were being deployed. My brother was out in the middle of the Med. when it happened. We didn't hear from him for weeks. My great uncle, a Lt. Col. and police chief (both Ret.), had a nephew who was killed on the north tower.


That day was a nightmare for a ten year-old.


If you know me well enough, you can probably guess my views towards Islam and terrorism. I do not need to express them and might not even do it when asked. You can probably guess for yourself.

I just have one request: Don't ever forget.

Current events...

1) We finished the T-Bird today. I am still elated. We should be able to get a tag for it this coming week and by then I will have my license.



2) While working on the car, the stool that you see in the picture had a wheel break off of it. There was already one missing, so it made things interesting. It all started when I went to get the camera on the other side of the car.



*Sound of dad wrenching away at lower control arm ball joint*


KRUNCH


"Uhhhhh...(!)...what was that?"

"I broke another wheel!"

"Wh-whaaat?" (My wheels were sitting on the ground next to dad)

"On the stool."

"Ohhhh..."

"Check it out, the ball-bearings all came out."


For some reason the sight was hilarious.



"At least it wasn't on the other corner, then they would be off-set."

Mimics redneck: "Yeah, I wanted to do that! Now it won't move on me!"


Leave it to us to laugh at something like that.


3) For those of you who don't know, I am taking three classes at a local private school. This way I can also play on the soccer team. We always sit together during break, and game day is certainly no exception. Well, as it turns out, one of the guys wants to sit next to his girlfriend at another table. (I think it's the other way around.) Anyways, the first time he did it, one of the guys tried to get him back over with us, but it didn't work. We let it slip. The next day, which was game day, TWO of them decided to sit at the other table. Three of us would have none of that and we made sure that they sat with us for the rest of break. : )


4) My geekyness can sometimes come out of nowhere, and when it does powerful waves shoot out of my head and stun any poor people who happen to be in the immediate vicinity. For instance, the other night I was doing dishes...


Me: Isn't that cool?

Mom: What?

Me: Isn't it cool how the acceleration pulls the water towards the outside of the pot, leaving the middle devoid of any water?
*Stirs pot full of soapy water vigorously with wooden spoon*
Me: And another thing...Isn't it cool how it just keeps on moving after I stop stirring? I mean, how cool is that?
Mom: I have something cool for you.
Me: What?
*Hands me pile of laundry*

Life must go on...




4) I received a letter in the mail yesterday telling me that I had achieved candidate status for the Academy. This was totally unprecedented.


5) I was born again a few weeks ago. We were caving in West Virginia and were making our way back to the entrance (which was a steel culvert pipe twenty-seven feet long, complete with loose rebar for handles). Our guides asked if anyone wanted to get dirty. I naturally volunteered.

"What's it like?"
"Like going through the womb."

It was. You couldn't turn around, flip over onto your back, or even lift your head. It was awesome.

The Story of the Wrecking Yard

One day while walking through a wrecking yard, I began to survey the years and years of neglect and abuse. There were so many cars that were once somebody's pride and joy, now rotting away in a field with little hope of restoration. My eyes caught a 1967 Plymouth GTX, sitting on its frame, with major areas of rust. 'What a machine,' I thought, whose history is typical of such a car.'

Purchased right off the showroom floor, a young husband explains to his new wife that this really is a practical car, compared to some of the other models offered.
It had room for the "future" kids and it ran really smooth. The 440 cubic inches under the hood meant nothing more than the fact that it had the power to climb up steep hills if need be (surely the wife wouldn't want to be stuck on an incline with young ones eager to get to church).
The 4-speed transmission would certainly help with gas mileage when on vacation, and the dual scooped hood was there so dad could have a little fun (I mean, c'mon: this is a real sacrifice).
The wife is eventually convinced that the car needs to be purchased, the money changes hands, and the GTX rumbles down the road. It is taken home where it is quickly admired by the neighbors.

As the years go by the Plymouth serves its family well. It's reliable, it gets everyone to work (as well as getting the kids to school), and dad has some fun in it on Saturday nights.
But it doesn't seem long until the car is considered "old", and with soaring inflation and especially gas prices, it becomes an 'impractical form of transportation.'
Although it was a great automobile that served its owners well for 10 years and never let them down, the Plymouth is sold to a neighbor's teenage son for a tenth of the original price.

'Some quick changes are in order,' thought the teenager. A set of mag wheels were installed and the rear end of the car was lifted up in order to make room for some unusually large tires.
A cheap red paint job was applied over the original black paint. The exhaust was replaced and the car was now heard coming from blocks away. Whereas before, the neighbors quickly admired it, now the only time they came out to look at the car was to take notice of new dings and dents it had acquired.
It became the eyesore of the neighborhood, and had gained a reputation as a real terror on the local streets.
Eventually all this hard abuse on the GTX would take its toll, and the once strong motor began to tire and eventually died. This owner grew from a teenager to a young man, and his interest in the car soon faded, and he gave the car to his younger brother who had showed an interest in it.

The younger brother had BIG plans for the now classic musclecar (which didn't look like it at the time). He would pull the motor, have it rebuilt, go through the entire drive train, then have a good body shop repair every panel on the car and paint it black once again.
He would do this as soon as time and money permitted, but until then the car would be fine parked in the backyard, where it could brave the elements for a few short months.
Months, however, turned to years, and body work turned to major rust repair.
The hood was even sold to a passer-by who noticed it in the backyard. The GTX became such a major project that the $300.00 that it could be sold to the wrecking yard for, sounded like a fair deal.

So here it is: the motor and tranny are gone, the interior is completely gutted and the rust is rampant. But if someone had the time, the resources and the desire, it could be made like new once again, and become the very desirable classic car that it was.

The same goes for that Olds 442 a couple isles away, or how about that Mercury Cyclone that needs just a little attention and a new front clip? And look at that VW Thing: remember those?
How about an old 50's Buick convertible: wouldn't that be a cool cruiser?
Climbing on top of the roof of an old pickup, its fun to imagine all these cars in their original form, but who has the resources or cares enough about a bunch of old neglected cars?
Some of mans greatest creations, these cars, yet rotting away in places like this all across the country.

Perhaps you are like an old car, your life having been something like the Plymouth GTX. You've worked hard and have always been reliable, but yet you are still just getting older.
Where has all your hard work taken you?

Could it be that you are like a hot rod, living life in the fast lane? The fast lane, yes, it seems short and sweet at first, but as time goes on, it gets tougher and tougher to master.
Maybe, in your case this has led you down streets that you wish you had never traveled.
Then again, you may be like the GTX as it now sits: neglected and beaten from the past, stamp-set in the present, in need of a total restoration.
Just like a car, we people eventually die, too. But as you sit in life's wrecking yard, who cares enough about you to help, or even could help if they wanted to?
Where are the resources, what will they cost?
Is there really any hope?
Who can escape time and death, anyway?
There is One who can do a frame-off resto…One who can fix you up right. One who always has the time and resources to make you Concours-ready. You just have to accept it.

Why?

Sometimes, people pick fights with very specific things that are mainstream in our society. Sometimes these things are more mainstream than we would like to admit, but that is beside the point here. These fights are usually picked because the one who is now on the offensive was once affected by this thing. They are usually motivated by something close to anger because of the fact that this thing once hurt them. You can call it resolve.

Some people fight abortion; others focus on drugs. Some people choose homosexuality; others focus on the origin debate.


Then there's pornography. In some way or another it relates to the above issues.


Sex doesn't have consequences. Children shouldn't get in the way of an act that was meant solely for the pleasure of those involved. In fact, children are a mistake. [Abortion]

It is addictive and we try to label it as something that helps release tension. Even the strongest fighter with the most resolve can fall if they put their trust in their own strength. [Drugs]

It encourages sex without discrimination towards gender through objectification of the human body. [Homosexuality][Belief in random mutations through natural selection encourages objectification and vice versa]

Here is the disturbing information that can be spread. It is not explicit or obscene; the numbers do the talking.




Every second - $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
Every second - 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography
Every second - 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines
Every 39 minutes: a new pornographic video is being created in the United States


Internet Pornography Statistics

Pornographic websites
4.2 million (12% of total websites)

Pornographic pages
420 million

Daily pornographic search engine requests
68 million (25% of total search engine requests)

Daily pornographic emails
2.5 billion (8% of total emails)

Internet users who view porn
42.7%

Received unwanted exposure to sexual material
34%

Average daily pornographic emails/user
4.5 per Internet user

Monthly Pornographic downloads (Peer-to-peer)
1.5 billion (35% of all downloads)

Daily Gnutella "child pornography" requests
116,000

Websites offering illegal child pornography
100,000

Sexual solicitations of youth made in chat rooms
89%

Youths who received sexual solicitation
1 in 7 (down from 2003 stat of 1 in 3)

Worldwide visitors to pornographic web sites
72 million visitors to pornography every month

Internet Pornography Sales
$4.9 billion



Children Internet Pornography Statistics

Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography
11 years old

Largest consumer of Internet pornography
35 - 49 age group

15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures
80%

8-16 year olds having viewed porn online
90% (most while doing homework)

7-17 year olds who would freely give out home address
29%

7-17 year olds who would freely give out email address
14%

Children's character names linked to thousands of porn links
26 (Including Pokemon and Action Man)


Adult Internet Pornography Statistics

Men admitting to accessing pornography at work
20%

US adults who regularly visit Internet pornography websites
40 million

Promise Keeper men who viewed pornography in last week
53%

Christians who said pornography is a major problem in the home
47%

Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction
10%

Breakdown of male/female visitors to pornography sites
72% male - 28% female

Country Porn Pages

United States
244,661,900

Germany
10,030,200

United Kingdom
8,506,800

Australia
5,655,800

Japan
2,700,800

The Netherlands
1,883,800

Russia
1,080,600

Poland
1,049,600

Spain
852,800



US Hardcore Pornography Titles Released

Year: 1988
#of Titles: 1,300

1989
1,350

1990
1,340

1991
1,505

1992
2,200

1993
2,400

1994
3,200

1995
5,700

1996
8,000

1997
8,000

1998
9,200

1999
10,300

2000
11,500

2001
10,900

2002
11,700

2003
11,400

2004
12,000

2005
13,588

There are 525,600 minutes in a year. 525,600/13,588 = 38.68 minutes per video.


Sources:Statistics are compiled from the credible sources mentioned. In reality, statistics are hard to ascertain and may be estimated by local and regional worldwide sources.ABC, Associated Press, AsiaMedia, AVN, BBC, CATW, U.S. Census, Central Intelligence Agency, China Daily, Chosen.com, Comscore Media Metrix, Crimes Against Children, Eros, Forbes, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Free Speech Coalition, Google, Harris Interactive, Hitwise, Hoover's, Japan Inc., Japan Review, Juniper Research, Kagan Research, ICMEC, Jan LaRue, The Miami Herald, MSN, Nielsen/NetRatings, The New York Times, Nordic Institute, PhysOrg.com, PornStudies, Pravda, Sarmatian Review, SEC filings, Secure Computing Corp., SMH, TopTenREVIEWS, Trellian, WICAT, Yahoo!, XBIZ


* At 13.3 billion, the 2006 revenues of the sex and porn industry in the U.S. are bigger than the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball combined. Worldwide sex industry sales for 2006 are reported to be 97 billion. To put this in perspective, Microsoft, who sells the operating system used on most of the computers in the world (in addition to other software) reported sales of 44.8 billion in 2006. Internet Filter Review

* A 2000 MSNBC.com survey found that as many as 80 percent of visitors to sex sites were spending so much time tracking down erotica on the computer that they were putting their real-life relationships and/or jobs at risk. "Until they discovered cybersex, most of these people had no problems with sexual addition", according to the survey’s author, Al Cooper, a sex therapist at the San Jose Marital Services and Sexuality Center in San Jose, Calif.

Hollywood currently releases 11,000 adult movies per year – more than 20 times the mainstream movie production. LA Times Magazine, 2002.

* "Last year, Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, pulled in $50 million from adult programming. All the nation's top cable operators, from Time Warner to Cablevision, distribute sexually explicit material to their subscribers. But you won't read about it in their annual reports. Same with satellite providers like EchoStar and DirecTV, which is owned by Hughes Technology, a subsidiary of General Motors. How much does DirecTV make off of adult product? “They don't break the number out. But I would guess they'd probably get a couple hundred million, maybe as much as $500 million, off of adult entertainment, in a broad sense,” says Dennis McAlpine, a partner in McAlpine Associates, who has tracked the entertainment industry for over two decades. “I would think it's probably more than what their overall profit is. The other areas are losing money. That's making money.” Then there are the big hotel chains: Hilton, Marriot, Hyatt, Sheraton and Holiday Inn, which all offer adult films on in-room pay-per-view television systems. And they are purchased by a whopping 50 percent of their guests, accounting for nearly 70 percent of their in-room profits. One hotel owner said, "We have to have it, our guests demand it.” From a CBS News Special Report, November 2003

* “Most girls who enter the porn industry do one video and quit. The experience is so painful, horrifying, embarrassing, humiliating for them that they never do it again.” Luke Ford, quoted by CBS News

* 42 percent of surveyed adults indicated that their partner’s use of pornography made them feel insecure. Marriage Related Research, Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D. Christian Counseling Today, 2004 Vol. 12 No. 1.

* 41 percent of surveyed adults admitted they felt less attractive due to their partner’s pornography use. Marriage Related Research, Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D. Christian Counseling Today, 2004 Vol. 12 No. 1.

In March 2005 Christianity Today published the results of a study called “Christians and Sex” in their Leadership Journal. 680 pastors and 1,972 laypersons were surveyed, with the following results:
* 44% of churchgoers want to hear more scriptural teaching from their pastors on the subject of sex.
* 22% of pastors feel they should spend more time on the topic.
* 85% of pastors say they speak about sexual issues once a year, while 63% of churchgoers say their pastors do so. Among those churchgoers who say they want their pastors to preach more about sexual issues, 47% say their pastor speaks about it once a year, an even bigger difference of opinion. A CTI analyst was quoted saying "Perhaps this desire for more biblical exposition on sexual issues exists because pastors are not speaking forcefully or clearly enough, while exposure to sexual images and messages in today's media is ever more heightened."
* 57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation.

Meanwhile, 74 percent of pornography sites display free teaser images; 66 percent do not include a warning of adult images. And only three percent require adult verification.
MSNBC: Scarborough Country

Please share this information.

And they swore an oath to be gentle unto the weak, terrible unto the wicked...

Now that I'm back from SI Camp, I guess I can tell you guys about some of the cool stuff that we did.

1) Lectures:

The material covered in the lectures consisted of intel history, careers, agencies, counter-intel, and various materials "recommended" for consumption. I think my favorite lecture was done by a man who was a good friend of Bob Hansen, the man who was portrayed in the movie Breach.

2) Teams:

The whole camp was split into six teams with each team having two separate divisions. For instance, my team was CIA. Within CIA, we were split into CIA 1 and CIA 2 with CIA 1 being the female team and CIA 2 being the male team. The teams represented six different agencies within the intel community: SOCOM, NRO, DIA, CIA, FBI, and NSA. At the end of the week, CIA was second overall in points.

3) Missions:)

This was obviously my favorite part of the week. Four missions were conducted throughout the week and the results affected our overall points standing.

Monday: Dead Drop. I was not able to participate in this mission due to the fact that I was in a heated argument with an interrogator at the time. My cover had been blown by a former TCC student who just so happened to spew out my real name in front of everyone. Yes, Calamy knows who I am talking about.

We were about to leave one of the buildings to start our mission when I looked out the window...

"Uh, oh."

"What?"

"You see those dudes with the guns in that golf cart over there?"

As everyone walked out of the building, they fired up the cart and came speeding over to the multitude that had gathered outside.

The first words out of their lips...

"Is there a Matthew Womack here?"

"Yeah, that's me."

Two more were called up and we were told to wait next to the cart. The one that was guarding us had a Steyr AUG and I was so tempted to take him down and run.

Alas, I could not do it. They transported us to a building were we waited outside the interrogation room. The guard at the door looked like an Easter Island statue. I decided to make some small talk with him...

"So is that an AK-47 or '74?"

He seemed somewhat surprised that I would ask such a question.

*Looks down at gun*

"74."

He then went inside the room. Oh, well. I tried.

Our team did not do well on this mission because of the fact that by the time they met the contact, our team had spread out too far to actually perform the dead drop. This was due to a lack of communication. *Ahem*

Tuesday: Interrogations. On Tuesday we had to interrogate five different people and guess which one was the baddy. I did not like this mission.

Wednesday: Arms Deal. We had to meet a contact out in some drainage ditch across a field. As we were crossing the field, a small band of guerrillas pounced on our group and make us spread-eagle.

She-guerrilla: "What are you doing here?"

Group: "We're humanitarian workers."

She-guerrilla to ME: "What are you doing?"

Matt Womack said: "We're looking for some children who have gone missing from their village."

It's amazing what the mind will come up with in a crunch.

SG: "I haven't seen any missing children!"

Big Ape who is waving M-16 around: "Should I teach dem a lezon?"

They took two of our guys for interrogations while a higher-up with "the black group" came storming in and demanded our release.

We later found the contact, who had a sniper rifle, and he gave us money and directions. We then located the arms dealer and he tried to sell me more than what we had originally asked for. (This was because of the fact that I was the team leader.) He demonstrated his merchandise by shooting off an RPG. After some quick and forceful demands, we were able to obtain a weapons crate. It was heavy and big enough that I had to help another guy carry it. As our team was heading back into the clearing, a security Jeep in the parking lot roared to life and came flying at us with lights blazing. This was not good. Even though we had the crate, I think that we still ran to the next contact before anyone else...

Next, we had to barter the crate for some blood diamonds. Through some more forceful demands, we were able to make a deal for 18 diamonds. As the dealer was counting them up, the security Jeep reared its ugly head again and we split. In the ensuing madness, a diamond was dropped. We thought we had seventeen. When we met our last contact, she counted out 19. The hand is quicker than the eye...

Thursday: The Great Rendition. The mission was conducted in a three story building. On the first floor was a nightclub that was dark like a funeral parlor. It was complete, though, with Mexican rap coming out of a CD player, a soccer game on TV, an artist painting obscure things, a bartender who glowered at everyone, a poker game, and an overall dislike from everyone for the security goons who slithered their way around the place like as if they owned it. Upstairs was a different story. A corporate party was taking place between members of Shell, Exxon, and BP. The occasion was the completion of an oil pipeline in the host country.

Before the mission, I had the wonderful task of splitting our group into three platoons with each having a leader and a communications officer. The concierge at the entrance was supposed to hand us three walkie-talkies for communication during the mission. The mission was split up just like the platoons. Platoon 1 (my platoon) would find the contact, who would give us certain instructions, and then relay instructions to platoon 2. Platoon 2 would receive more instructions on down the line and relay them to platoon 3. Since my cover story involved oil research, I had to mingle with the guests of the corporate party - which turned out to be a black-tie affair. My comm. officer and I made friends - again - and we worked well together. Since he was the international relations student working on his thesis, I offered my humble, uneducated scientist's theory, not "projection", on how the pipeline would benefit the country. This was an interesting topic of discussion with some of the other guests at the party as one of them turned out to be the daughter of a Venezuelan oil big-shot. (Who, of course, was really a puppet...but we couldn't say that.) We eventually went downstairs where we found the contact in the nightclub. We relayed our instructions to platoon 2, which quickly disappeared. I then instructed my team to mingle until we were needed again. After platoon 2 disappeared, two goons stood at the bottom of the staircase and made sure that no one made it upstairs to the party. One of the goons happened to be the former TCCer.

"Ben, man, how's it goin'? Man, don't you remember me? Sophomore year at Ohio State?"

As he's saying this, he's waving an M-16 around.

"Dude, I have no idea who you are...I went to CalTech..."

One of the guys who had been playing poker decided that he could get past security and go upstairs. I can think of only one reason why he would try to do this: Besides playing poker, he also pretended to be slightly drunk. Yes, drunk. He made it about halfway up the stairs before the guards threw him back down.

"Bunch of stupid people walking around with guns...not fair that we can't go up there...YOU BUNCH OF RETARDS!!"

I tried to keep from laughing as he meandered back into the club.

Later on, I was sitting next to him as he was playing poker. Someone poked their head in the doorway to the club and shouted:

IS THERE ANYONE FROM NRO IN HERE?

The soccer game and Mexican rap could not fill the silence that fell on the room.

Drunk: Man, who wants a bunch of spy people with guns walking around this place?

Me: Yeah, the guards are bad enough.

Drunk: Hey, weren't you in the party upstairs?

Me: Yeah, but I figur'd that if they are going to be treatin' you guys like that I might as well stay down here. Besides, it was too stuffy up there.

So I mingled in the club for a while. I played chess with one guy who got into an argument with the rest. He thought we should watch boxing, but that was too American for the rest of the locals who wanted to watch soccer. He beat me in something like five moves.

I also tried to get a drink from the bartender.

"Are ya staying (for the night) or are ya just here for a while?"

I didn't know that we were supposed to be "staying", so I said that I was there just for a while.

"Did ya pay the cover charge?"

"No, nobody asked me 'bout a cover charge."

"Go pay the concierge."

I told the concierge about the situation and she said, "Tell him that the concierge will cover it."

I got a shot glass full of Pineapple Jarritos. It didn't last very long.

Next, one of the guys playing poker said: Hey, did anybody bring a CD of something else? We've heard this one like three times already.

The humor provided a nice break from the stress of the mission.

Moments later, I looked around to see how my platoon was doing. I could not come to a conclusion because of the fact that half of it was missing! Half of my platoon, including my comm. officer who possessed the only walkie-talkie for our platoon, disappeared on me. After some quick words with the concierge, she told us to wait a moment there in the lobby. Behind her, two guards were talking to each other about something totally obscure. I was staring into space behind them while I was thinking about our situation. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the elevator door behind the guards open. One of the guys from my team poked his head out - along with his rifle - and ran to the staircase along the wall. Several more team members, all visibly armed, did the same.

The diversions that the mind creates in such a situation are amazing.

The concierge then told us to go outside where we would meet our team.

The end of that mission also meant the end of our aliases. As our team met, everyone was saying, "Hey [alias], what's your real name?" We eventually found out that we had three Bens on our team.

On Friday night, they announced the final scores. The top four teams were designated with a new mission and name.

"In second place: CIA. You will now be designated as Echelon Dark Steel. This coming week you will be transported to Pakistan to hunt down a man by the name of Osama bin Laden..."

Whatever you do, don't think!

1) This is something that has been frustrating me for a while. There are plenty of names for it, but examples present the problem better than anything else.

I was with some friends at the mall Saturday, the one that has the parking lot that floods, and we were waiting for some more people to arrive so as to begin a scavenger hunt (which, as we found out later, the mall does not allow). We were playing Guitar Hero II inside one of the video game stores. One of the guys picked War Pigs, and his sister said, "I love that song!"

Me: Why?

Little Sister: Because it's a good song.

Me: But it's an anti-Vietnam (war) song.

LS: Does everything have to have a meaning?!

Her argument was that I was being obnoxious because I just had to look at everything as if it had a meaning. Personally, I don't mind the instrumental part of War Pigs, but the lyrics can go out the window as far as I'm concerned.

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death construction

In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds

Oh Lord yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why don't they go out to fight?
They leave that up to the poor

Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait till their Judgment Day comes

Now in darkness world stops turning
Ashes where the bodies burning
No more War Pigs have the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of Judgment, God is calling
On their knees the War Pigs crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing spreads his wings

Oh Lord yeah!

Would War Pigs even exist if Black Sabbath had decided not to make an anti-Vietnam song? I doubt it. The main reason why they created the song was so that they could convey their stance on the Vietnam War.

In another discussion I had with a sister in Christ, we were talking about movies. She mentioned several movies that she thought were great, and I naturally asked her why. She said that they had good messages. But those movies also glorified sex and violence. The conversation took on a relativistic attitude quickly, so I went to an extreme:

Me: So...what about a porno flick? Are those good, are they okay?

Person: They are good for whoever watches them and enjoys them.

I'm sure you can imagine my mental response, but I simply pointed out that there is an absolute standard to which all things should be applied. Even though the one watching the porno flick might be enjoying it, it causes the viewer to objectify humans (as does violence meant for entertainment purposes) and violate God's image in his mind. It also rots in your brain and never comes out. It seems to me like we are afraid of applying an absolute Truth to all things in our lives to see whether or not they should be there.

When it was my turn to play Guitar Hero, I played You Really Got Me (VH version) and Sweet Child O' Mine. ; ) I thoroughly enjoyed it.

2) Dad came in the Camaro to pick me up at the mall after the scavenger hunt was over. The car would not start when we were ready to go home. This is a problem when you have driven the car for a certain period of time because the starter solenoid is right below the exhaust manifold. (D'oh!) My dad has dealt with the problem before, so he went into the Sears Auto department and bought a 97 cent screwdriver. After three electrifying attempts at charging the solenoid, which left permanent scars on the screwdriver blade, we went inside the mall and walked around for almost an hour. During this time we met an elderly gentleman who worked at one of the shops. We eventually found out that this man was a BM on a LCM in the Pacific during WWII. Conversations with such people always remind me of talking to my grandparents and great uncle. Eventually, we got assistance from one of the guys at the Sears auto department. We tried the voltage regulator and some other things before we realized that there was nothing more he could do to help us. By this time it was late. We were seriously considering the idea of having the car towed when dad said, "Let me try it one more time."

Never in my life has a V8 sounded so wonderful.

During the whole waiting period, two ambulances and a fire truck arrived in the garage near the entrance to the mall. The long waiting period gave me some time to think about their occupations. I gained even more respect for those people who work with EMS, Police, and the FD.

The lesson learned in patience is not the only thing I gained from the three hour wait. It also gave me some quality time with my dad, an opportunity to converse with multiple people, and an even greater respect for those who serve everyday in our communities.

3) I have become even more frustrated with Hollywood these past few weeks. With Live Free or Die Hard, I was hoping to see a good summer action flick. Seeing as the rating was PG-13, I hoped that it was just for the action. However, after reading the review, it seems like Hollywood wants to push the envelope when it comes to the rating. It is laced with profanity, a sexual scene, and the fact that John McLane hates his job. Why would I want to see a movie where I won't be able to forget some of the content and where the "hero" hates his job in the first place? Strike 1.

Transformers looked really cool. If I remember correctly, it was originally rated PG. When I read the review, I was dissappointed. I remember growing up with Transformers and it never had sexual references, "MF"s, etc. Strike 2. If The Bourne Ultimatum turns out to be like the other two movies, I am really going to be dissappointed.

4) Finally, I was at the park yesterday around 17:00. As I was kicking the soccerball, I noticed this dude using the pay phone near the parking lot. Warning bells started going off in my head. There wasn't anyone else near the parking lot, so the guy decided to look at me the whole time he walked to the restroom after his call. I said to myself, What's his beef? After a minute or two, he returned to his truck. A moment later, a guy turned into the park on his little motorized scooter. The scooter-dude pulled up right next to the truck and before I knew it, they had a little deal going. Scooter-man then pulled away and rode his scooter down the trail in the park and over to an apartment complex. The truck immediately drove away as well and I was left there thinking...

Next time this happens, scooter boy is goin' down

We got a leak to starboard...

Some big decisions are being made...which means that actions based on those decisions are bound to be important.


I have come to realize certain things in my life that need to be changed.

I have always taken pride in my love of cars. That's right, I obsessed over a stupid inanimate object and my knowledge of it was a little badge that said, "Ask me, I can help and make myself look like a smart-A in the process..."

It got so bad that it was driving my conversations with certain people.

"Oh, did you here about the new Lotus..." and then take the conversation from there. That's lame. A stupid car should not be what holds your relationship together.


I have also been slow to listen and quick to speak. To act in such a way is not only immature, but also a bad way of communicating with people. In fact, it affects our spiritual lives as well. If we don't take time to listen to people and keep our mouths shut, who's to say that we are going to stop and listen to God?




I am sorry for acting so foolishly in the past. I ask your forgiveness and that you continue to hold me accountable in the future.

God is good...

By RICHARD ESPOSITO and JIM SCIUTTO
July 4, 2007 3:01:02 PM PDT

The London bomb plot allegedly planned by a cell of doctors failed early last Friday morning because a medical syringe used as part of the firing mechanism caused a malfunction, ABC News has learned.
According to nonclassified documents reviewed by ABC News, and confirmed by multiple sources, both mobile telephones initiated firing mechanisms rigged inside a Mercedes E 300 parked several yards from the front door of Tiger Tiger nightclub failed despite multiple calls to the cell phones designed to remotely trigger the devices.
Had the fuel-air bombs successfully ignited into a superhot fireball filled with roofing nails, casualties were almost a certainty among the 500 or so patrons who partied late at the 1,700-person occupancy nightclub that perhaps best symbolizes London's vital nightlife scene.
Instead, at about 1:42 a.m., a vigilant ambulance crew on an unrelated call spotted a plume of cold propane from a slightly opened window of the car that contained patio fuel cylinders in the foot wells behind the driver and passenger seats, ABC sources said. When a bomb technician in a 90-pound Kevlar suit walked down to the vehicle to examine it, he also found a firing system rigged inside the car and another inside its trunk along with four jugs of gasoline. The technician successfully disarmed the devices..
A second Mercedes rigged with a similar incendiary device was parked several hundred yards away. Several experts on improvised explosives tactics suggested that the second device might have either been meant for patrons who escaped the first or to target rescue workers.
Within 14 hours after the plot failed, the same two men believed to have planted the bombs in London attempted what appears to have been a suicide incendiary attack on the doors to a terminal at Scotland's Glasgow Airport. That attack failed too. The vehicle failed to reach the doors, and its contents failed to ignite even after one of the occupants tried to douse the car in gasoline, setting himself on fire in the process.

PCWISDD

So I got my prescription today...





Sleepwalking Sailer -"What about 6 o'clock?" - "Oh! that's the torture bill.....zzzzzzzz"

CAG n' COB

Sensi-V Rapping

"Mr. Vogo, you walk like a tchiken..."

"Could you clarify what 'sexual abuse' means in this bill?" - "I cannot answer that question..." - "Ahhh...the chair(man) holds that question..."

Salty Fries (with a Big Mac, you meanie)

Vogo's toes

"Ben's like a bowling ball...he just mows them down." Number of strikes = 6

"IF U EVER WANT 2 SEE UR MOOSE AGIN..."

"My cannabis has been irradiated!"

"I'm not an illegal immigrant, I'm a real boy!!"

"Valerie Plame was pushing paper clips at Langley when her 'secret identity' was revealed..."

Hishnak's prunes...

Cruisin' in da' Buick

Getting lost in da' Buick...

Wrestling with Pat

Rap Cat

The most important things about CWIS, though, do not fall under this list. The most memorable do not either, as I have already forgotten some of them. These are the most important:

Accountability
Surrendering All
Revealing Struggles
Revealing Sins
Leaving Boyish things Behind
Becoming Spiritual Leaders

CWIS is about change, and the changes this year were the biggest I have seen in all four years I have attended.

The Conquest

For those of you now wondering why I would choose a Chrysler over a prepped Ferrari "Black Miracle"...

a small Volkswagen possessing a 650hp mid-mounted w12...

and a 1987 Oldsmobile possessing an estimated top speed of 278mph...

I cannot give you an answer that will satisfy you.

However, I can give you this from allpar.com:

"The Conquest was introduced in 1983 by a Chrysler Corporation that had yet to bring out its own sports coupe, the Dodge Daytona; that introduction would come a year later. The Conquest was aimed at import buyers who might have looked at the Supra, RX7, or 280ZX. A high performance grand touring car, the Conquest combined sporty, modern styling with an upper grade interior, advanced electronics, and many standard features. Full instrumentation was standard with an optional digital dashboard. Floor traffic from the Conquest was expected to help sell other cars.
A rebadged Mitsubishi Starion two-door, four-seat hatchback, the Conquest sold in small numbers and was based on the Mitsubishi Galant Lambda / Mitsubishi Sapparo (also sold as the Plymouth Sapparo). A traditional rear-drive, front-engined vehicle, the Conquest had a MacPherson strut front suspension and an independent rear suspension; the base engine in Japan was 2 liters, but Americans got a 2.6 liter single-overhead-cam engine with a turbocharger and single-point electronic fuel injection. Horsepower ranged from 150 to 198, with the TSi model getting a boost from the intercooler; a five-speed manual transmission was standard. The aerodynamic shape belied a truly aerodynamic car, with a drag coefficient of Cd=.32, about the same as the later Dodge Neon and quite good for the time (or for today). The Conquest ran until 1989 with few exterior changes, by which time the Daytona had its own turbocharger; it was replaced by the Dodge Stealth, a moderately restyled Mitsubishi 3000GT with no apparent Chrysler engineering.

In 1988, Chrysler published this press release:
'The Conquest TSi sports specialty coupe, imported for sale by Chrysler dealers, shows its world class ways in 1988 with the addition of an optional four-speed automatic transmission and new interior appointments to accent its aggressive performance personality. ... Performance highlights include a new 188-horsepower rating under the TSi's sleek hood, an increase of 12 horsepower for the strong 2.6-liter turbocharged, intercooled four-cylinder engine. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard equipment. The new beefed-up optional four-speed automatic transmission is now available.
Four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock rear brakes, an anti-theft system, automatic passive restraints and power door locks are just some of the TSi's standard highlights. New sporty five-way adjustable bucket seats, a new leather-wrapped four­spoke steering wheel and a new stainless steel exhaust system are added to a comprehensive list of standard equipment that help make Conquest TSi an outstanding value.
Conquest for 1988 is truly a driver's car featuring curve-taming 16-inch aluminum road wheels that are seven inches wide on the front and eight inches wide on the rear. The optional Performance Handling Package includes eight-inch wide front and nine-inch wide rear wheels with 225/50 (front) and 255/45 (rear) low profile tires and gas adjustable shocks for all-out handling and stability.
Exterior accents on the Conquest's performance check list include concealed halogen headlights, fog lamps in the bumper, a rear spoiler, rear wiper/washer with intermittent wipe feature, a new aerodynamic front air dam, optional pop-up glass sunroof and two new high-impact colors, Bright Yellow and Super Blue.
Interior touches include full analog instrumentation, split fold-down contoured rear seats, dual illuminated vanity mirrors, and fabric covered headliner, door trim panels, sun visors, armrests and quarter trim panels. Also among the more than 60 standard features that combine to enhance Conquest's comfort, convenience and value are automatic speed control, power antenna, electrically..:.controlled heated outside mirrors, adjustable steering wheel, a full complement of warning lights, and an electronically tuned AM/FM stereo cassette radio with six speakers and a nine band graphic equalizer sound system.
The Conquest TSi imported for Chrysler is backed by a 3-year/50,000-mile limited powertrain warranty and a 5-year/ 50,000-mile outerbody corrosion warranty. TSi has a 95.9-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 173.2 inches. Width is 68.3 inches and overall height is 50.2 inches. '"

In short, it was a cute, sporty little car. It seats four people so you can keep it after you start having kids (that is, until number three comes along). It came with a stainless steel exhaust system with a turbo-4 mated to a rear-wheel drive drivetrain. The suspension in the rear was an IRS (!) and it was somewhat adjustable.

My favorite cars are those that I can see on the street. They have to be cars that are simple in operation and TLC, yet complicated enough to be sporty (because these days sporty cars are seen as being complicated).