Aldi king's horses

Just finished our experience shopping at Aldi and saved a fair amount of money but what I always find interesting at Aldi is the people there.  I see people that are worse off than me and wondering what their story is.  Sometimes I see a small family that are obviously struggling-probably more than we are-and they still seem somewhat happy.  I see elderly folks that are obviously wealthy, but shopping there to save money.  I see people that look like they are at the lowest point in their lives and I see people that look like shopping at Aldi is the high point of their day.  I see people that are not much older than me now and they are suffering with health problems and obviously struggling financially.  I often wonder what the future holds for us.  I'd like to say that I am optimistic about things, but right now it is cold outside and the only thing keeping us off the streets is the good graces of family.  I want to be optimistic about the future.  Maybe this is just some carryover from the whole 2012 thing, the feeling of hopelessness that the end is near.  No, I didn't really fear that anyway.  I always thought that the 2012 thing was a change in the collective consciousness and towards the last moments of the Mayan calendar, I thought that perhaps the 2012 thing would usher in a new era where capitalism is restrained, healthcare and education are free and rent is affordable.  Now I just feel sore, cold and hopeless.  On the bright side, at least it is easy to lose weight when you can't afford many groceries!  Another plus is that I have had time to ponder things which, in turn, gets me inspired to write.  I have been working on my role playing game system "Destroy Your Ego" and am extremely excited about the "BREAKAWAY" setting for it.  Let's here it for escapism.  Thanks for reading!

Phonograph needle vaccination

I love technology using my new phone all I have to do is talk and my phone post post S here for me. Let's see me if I post more frequently sense I talk a great deal. I can already see me that this is going to be quite amusing.

I PASSED.

Overcome

I am retaking the test tomorrow.  I have studied like crazy for it and feel that I cannot study enough.  There is so much material.  I am overcome.  I feel like I have a lot riding on this.  I have yo-yo'd weight-wise for the last 3 months, but am on a down-swing as I type this.  Passing or not, I have to lose weight.  I can do that, though, if I apply myself as I have with the studying.  Still, I am overcome.  The closer it gets to 1:30pm, the more anxious I get.  I wonder, after studying Standard Operating Procedures for Firefighting and such, will I be able to do this job?  These people are amazing and I have the utmost respect for them.  Am I worthy of that same amount of admiration and respect?  Are they?  Are they normal people?  After working with them as I have the last year, I can truthfully say that they are not normal people, by any means.  Neither am I. Maybe I, too, can be as worthy of admiration and respect as they are some day.

COMIC SANS 180PTS CAPS BOLD!!!!!

for those of you that fell for it, the rumors about my death are NOT true. i am alive and well. as for those of you that have been sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting for more bloggin's from in my head and out of my pheengres, i am here for the moment and i hope that this post will do. that said, i don't actually have anything to say except that i have been dealing with work schedule being changed (without me being asked or told AND being written up for not coming in), and stuff like that.
i would like to take a moment to briefly mention that i am aware that i didn't finish reading the self discipline thing - again. i thought that if i did it online that i would have no choice but to do it, but i was wrong. for that i do apologize. i may finish it soon, since it has a tag over there in the sidebar. maybe some pics showing my weightloss too since that is another thing i have been doing is holding my pants up. because they are too big. because my waist is smaller.
one other thing is i have been madly working on Destroy Your Ego (formerly called MAYA the RPG. i changed the name on it so that it is more to the point and less 2012 mayan calendar fad sounding (which has NOTHING to do with the game!). Destroy Your Ego (DYE) is moving along extremely fast and i am sure will be finished and ready for playtesting in a week, maybe two depending on how late i get up and how late i get in from work and how much family stuff there is to do and how many chores there are to do on my off days.

DAY 2: FEAR OF SUCCESS

A subconscious negative perception about success can overpower our conscious desire to attain it.

woaaahh! hold everything

not a good morning. just found out the wife is getting her hours cut back, then while looking for a job for an uneducated person such as myself, i checked my email. has it been 3 weeks? i guess so. there it was. i failed the test by 5%. i guess i'll have to retake it. that's okay. it would have possibly all happened too fast for me since i still need to lose weight and all that. still struggling with the whole self discipline thing. my body is rejecting that book like a diseased kidney transplant or something. this was a tremendous setback for me. i am still in shock and don't know how i will handle it later. keep an eye on the news for me, just in case. thanks for the support/sorry for the let down.

PROMETHEUS

⋆⋆⋆⋆ good. not perfect, though. too many little nit-picky things. delivers.

i felt that some of the more important things in the movie should have been explained a little more to avoid confusion and this may be a problem with writing or editing. from opening scene this was an issue. what exactly just happened? you may ask yourself that more than once.
the direction was fast paced, maybe too fast for people like me with questions. this led to problems later on in the movie. we were introduced to some technologies of the future, but not thoroughly enough to allow suspension of disbelief later as these technologies become integral to the plot. this was my biggest problem with the movie. it was almost like the writers had tons of ideas, but didn't care to sell their ideas to the viewers too much and just went with it.

although many people rolled their eyes because the main character is a scientist struggling with faith (equipped with a cross), i felt that it is vital to this story and adds an element of interest. there is a little too much mystery in some of the character's actions making the outcomes a little hard to swallow sometimes, but my favorite character was the most mysterious android "david". well done, michael fassbender.

some of the action parts were a little clumbsy feeling, but the special effects were outstanding and completely overpowered this.

the space vessel 'prometheus' was beautiful and the interior shots were very nice. the technology, especially the computers, was more up-to-date looking.
i really liked the space suits. they seemed to be of a similar technology to the ones in ALIEN only a nicer brand name.
oh, and the engineers (space jockeys, what-have-you) were pretty cool, but there is another extra-terrestrial surprise that is quite impressive and there is some very interesting things going on regarding genetics and reproduction. too bad it is not explained at all. leaves one to question whether the writers know what is going on or not.
PROMETHEUS ends rather strangely with a hint of a PROMETHEUS 2.

today's post

you may or may not have noticed but in my more recent posts, i have began typing in all lower case. this may or may not be for one or more of several possible reasons:

1: i am not a capitalist.
2: i am making a statement against those people that type in ALL CAPS.
3: i am lazy and don't care enough to press the shift key.
4: i have no pinky fingers.

DAY 1: FEAR OF FAILURE

"The point: Subconsciously, we all link failure to humiliation. Fear of humiliation hampers our ability to make a strong commitment to our chosen endeavors, the big stuff and the little stuff. Commitment is a necessary ingredient of self-discipline."

it says in the book (exercise #1) to write down 3 past experiences that i perceived as mistakes, failures or just dumb behavior. as much as i would love to share these with you, i don't wish to give you any more ammunition with which to make any assumptions about me or to pre-judge me, so i won't. i did write them down and just like the book said i would, i felt my breath change and my muscles tighten in my neck. revisiting these experiences is not pleasant and the physiological reaction to simply thinking of them and writing them down was eerie when i payed attention to it. most of the time, i feel that feeling and don't think anything about it... just tense, anxious, nervous, etc.

so much for exercise #1. i reccomend you do it as well.

tired of sleep

i had a dream that i was running effortlessly. maybe that is why i am so sore this morning. i am starting to get a little bit irritated. although i am exhibiting control when it comes to food and drink and as a result am losing weight, yesterday and today, i woke up late when my plan was to get up and go to the ymca early. what happened? second shift happened. this shift is killing me. i have been battling depression and this shift is part of the problem. there are not any first shift jobs that i am 'qualified' for and no openings at my current job, so i am at a loss. i wake up feeling horrible every morning. i hate to sleep anyway. i have always felt that it is a waste of time. don't get me wrong, when i am sleeping and comfortable, that is just alright. but, for example, last night; i tossed and turned from one sore side to the other. then comfortable, my arm goes to sleep. the last hour of sleep is the worst, because i am uncomfortable and asleep, but partially awake-enough to realize i am uncomfortable, just not awake enough to do anything about it except go back to sleep. over and over and over.

what does all of this mean? you see, all along, (even as i type these words), i have known that i didn't have to go to the ymca early since it is open till about 8:00 pm. i could go any time before work. i clock in at 4:00 pm. what this means is that i am undisciplined. i am seriously in need of help here. if it were as simple as going to the store and buying discipline, i'd be okay. no, discipline would probably be overpriced. who knows. this stuff is gold, but it comes from your childhood or something. i don't know. i know that i don't have it. it is what makes so many people just effortlessly glide through life. i obtained a book by theodore bryant, msw, called self-discipline in 10 days. i am going to be applying this book to my life and, interestingly enough, my next 10 posts for you to enjoy.

the test isn't over

i know what i have to do. i have needed to for a long time. i have got to get in shape. that is part of the reason for applying for the position of firefighter. i know that it is hard work. i am not afraid of hard work. i just like to be fat. you know, it is easy to be fat. you just sit. and eat. and think. that is my life. sitting, eating and thinking. sitting makes me fat. eating makes me fat. thinking makes me depressed and so i want to sit and eat more. tired of that. i need discipline. desperately.

the following is a description of the physical abilit test for applicants, which simulates the job of a firefighter. Applicants are required to pass all components of the test within the alloted time. To pass the test, applicants that perform all ten tasks consecutively, without interruption, in proper sequence, within seven minutes. Throughout the test, applicants are required to wear an air tank.

TASK 1: HOSE DRAG (50 foot length, 3 inch hose, 57 pounds)
TASK 2: HOSE CARRY UP STAIRS (2-1/2 inch folded hose, 36 pounds)
TASK 3: HOSE PULL (50 foot length, 2-1/2 inch hose, 36 pounds)
TASK 4: SCALING 4-1/2 FOOT WALL
TASK 5: LADDER RAISE (20 feet, 60 pounds)
TASK 6: LADDER CLIMB AND DESCEND (about 10 feet)
TASK 7: CLIMBING STAIRS WITH DUMBELL WEIGHT (15 pounds)
TASK 8: FORCIBLE ENTRY SIMULATION - HIT TIRE WITH MAUL (8 pound maul, 77 oound weighted tire, 12-1/2 foot laung metal-surface table)
TASK 9: TUNNEL CRAWL (25 feet long, 2-1/2 feet high, 3 feet wide)
TASK 10: DUMMY DRAG (5 foot, 5 inch, 145 pound dummy, 45 foot drag)

Plus I will need to do sit-ups, push-ups and run 1/4 mile all timed.

i need to fully commit my life to this. i have said before that putting all of one's eggs in one basket is sometimes the only option, particularly if one only has one egg and one basket. i have since dropped all the rotten eggs and it is way too late for the multiple basket thing. if there is a chance, i can do it. if i don't it is because i don't want to. or they don't want me because i am too old and fat. this isn't a fatalistic outlook and i know that there is still a future for me if they don't want me, but the point is that this is what i want and i am going to do everything in my power to get it and i am not going to give up. i am not going to say or think "this is too hard for me" or "this is impossible". it isn't and i am out to prove that anything is possible and anyone can change their life with self discipline and focus. well, anyway...gotta exercise and get my haircut today. cya!

seventy-five questions later

okay i got there at 8:45ish. surprisingly not out of breath (i did take the elevator). we were told that we had 2 hours to complete the test. at around 9:30 we began the test. i chuckled because i couldn't help notice the sounds of all the #2 pencils filling in the little scantron bubbles.















the guy beside me finished in approximately 30 minutes. then another guy and another one. as i puttered slowly through the test booklet at airship velocity, using a pencil to fill in the bubbles proved to be more of a challenge than many of the questions. no matter how sure i was of the answer, though, the answer will have either been correct or incorrect. i began to struggle as questions about standard operating procedures began to appear. unsure about a lot of these answers, i could only guess. all i can do is hope that the guess was right on enough of them to ensure i make a 65% or greater. no matter how unsure of the answer, though, the answer will have either been correct or incorrect. i finished second to last and that included my pee break. 3 weeks and i will know something. if anyone is out there reading this drivel, shoot a prayer or two my way. thanks for reading!

C R A M

preparing to take the test for entry into the fire academy. i have studied the chapters on firefighter orientation, hoses & ladders and first aid & rescue. i now have to study standard operating procedures and emergency incident rehabilitation like crazy. up until this morning, i was distracted due to slight anxiety regarding the date and time of my test. i knew that all i had to do was log in and i'd see the date, but i knew it was in the next week or 2. some time later. i was thinking the 8th. i should have written down the date, but instead simply relied on the fact that the date was stored on the state of tennessee's website. i chose the date that would give me the most time to study, but unfortunately i have been preoccupied with the move for a lot of the study time that i have had. I went to the website last friday to find out, but noticed the website had changed. a new format and a brand new look. logged in and, to my dismay, there was no information about the testing times or that i had even applied. panicking, i called the number i had been emailed but there was no answer. left a message and got no callback until this morning when i was told that i am scheduled to take the test tomorrow at 9:00am est. i don't need luck, so you needn't wish any for me. what i do need is time. i can't get more time, but i can use the time that i have wisely by not blogging this unread and unreadable crap.

END THE NIGHTMARE OF BURNED POPCORN ONCE AND FOR ALL WITH THIS SIMPLE WEIRD TIP (FREE)

Does your popcorn ALWAYS burn in your small microwave?

Well then I have a surprise for you! Just think of how many times you have burnt thru a bag of popcorn?

You know each bag is like a whole precious dollar!

Over the course of a single week of cooking popcorn, just imagine Burning like 3 of those bags. Seem like a reasonable number? Well then multiply that times 4 weeks to equal 1 month and then multiply THAT number by 12 (because their are 12 months in a year) to get...What?

$42.00!!!!!!!!!

Just imagine taking 2 twenty dollar bills and one of those weird two dollar bills. Now just imagine taking those bills and setting them on fire in a microwave.

IMAGINE BURNING A WHOLE $42.00 EVERY YEAR WITH GASOLINE OR KEROSENE!!

Do you realize what you can buy with $42.00? Well I'll just tell you what you can buy with $42.00!

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN BUY WITH $42.00!!!!!!!!!!!

CLICK HERE ALSO TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN BUY WITH $42.00!!!!!!!!!!!!


THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT I FOUND OUT ABOUT HOW TO KEEP FROM BURNING YOUR POPCORN IN YOUR SMALL MICROWAVE!

WHAT YOU DO IS YOU TAKE THE CORNERS OF THE BAG AND YOU FOLD THEM UP LIKE YOU ARE FOLDING AN AIRPLANE MAKING THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE AND YOU DO IT VERY LIGHTLY AND THIS WAY THE CORNERS OF THE BAG DON'T GET STUCK IN THE MICROWAVE AND BURN THE POPCORN. COULD IT REALLY BE THAT EASY?

YES IT CAN WITH MY QUICK AND EASY TRICK YOU CAN DO IT!

scottophobia

free time is a missing puzzle piece that may have not been included in the box. you never really know. did the cat get it one day? did it get stuck between the box and the lid only to later fall on the floor and get kicked under the couch or something?
i have overcame my hatred for the sound of my own voice. i have done so while listening to my own voice reading the test preparation manual on mp3. i am not saying that it is in any way a good voice, but it isn't as bad as i used to think it was - you know, that is one of the main reasons i began smoking... i hoped that smoking would make my voice sound gravelly and mean; sort of like blind willie johnson (didn't). maybe with the right equalization and a pop filter, etc. it might even be radio quality [talk radio].




i am coming out of my depression, i think, despite the events of this last week. it just seemed like i screwed up constantly and if i didn't screw up, someone else did and i experienced the repercussions of their screw up. actually, all of last month was challenging [sucked]. i am glad that month is over now. i am actually looking forward to what the future has in store now. i am not (by any means [nor will i ever be]) cocky*, but i am starting to feel something that i haven't ever felt and i don't know what to do with it. i am starting to feel the tiniest amount of pride in my self. i think i am overcoming my fear of my own self.

*lord! i truly hate that word.

idk

having as much time to think whilst driving, i have sort of summed up what i have learned:
life is death
death is unavoidable
pain sucks-avoid it any way possible
help others avoid pain
everyone dies some day
today is a bunch of people's day to die
if you are alive it's a good day
enjoy beautiful things
laugh at yourself
don't do more than you have to unless you want to
don't worry about death don't worry
shut up, watch & listen

guitarkungfu

i've been practicing martial arts for years and, for the longest time, i have been considering using kung fu on my guitar (not a judy chop on it!). using kung fu to play guitar. Kung Fu fighting techniques were created upon studying animals and applying that knowledge to a fightng form that imitates the animal being studied. Kung Fu guitar is the same kind of study applied to guitar playing.

the sloth
this style of guitar playing is brought upon by the study of the sloth. it is a slow and graceful style in motion, but the grating sound is caused by the player using 'sloth-hand'; hooks, generally carved from wood and resembling a sloths claws, are used to both fret and rake acrose the strings. done properly, sloth-hand has a mystique that is rare in other forms of guitar playing. a simplicity, with very rich undertones.

Falling down

the fell i took a few days ago was representative of a lot of things going on in my life. aside from coming to terms with the fact that falling hurts more than it used to, mentally and emotionally i have taken a few falls, including a fall back into depression.

"stupid and useless. won't amount to anything. no discipline. freak. pervert. gross. never was. untalented. dorky. fat. ugly. pathetic"

you know what all depression tells you... that stuff.

i am cramming for the test of my life via the fpsi tpm 10th edition. this is only the first in what i can only imagine are countless countless life tests that applying for the position of firefighter will bring. let alone actually being one.

despite my downward descent into the realms of despair, i have remained positive regarding this venture and my position on this has not changed. besides, the fall didn't hurt that bad and considering all the physical work i had done, 1 fall while standing on a pile of broken down boxes isn't too bad.

still losing weight, i just need to really concentrate on food intake and cut out the sodium. i have slipped up a few times this last week, but not bad. i am not going vegan or something, just trying to practice a little m o d e r a t i o n. god that was difficult.

anyway, i managed to stand up after the fall and straighten my big-huge-pants and shirt, dust myself off and get on with things. there you go.

feelin' it

We have completed the move. this one was painful. During the course of this move, we only had 2, maybe 3 minor communication breakdowns and that was all. most importantly, I didn't even THINK of smoking a cigarette. My main problem was that, after eating sugar snap peas and carrots as a snack for over 2 weeks, not eating that and instead eating 1/2lb combo burritos from taco bell (among other atrociously unhealthy, but convenient and comfortingly delicious foods) made me feel just plain awful! My sodium intake skyrocketed and my ankles swelled, my feet hurt, my body ached, my head hurt, lips dry, vision blurred, sinuses bled, joints ached, i could go on. That will show me! I should have known better than to have the mindset that I was rewarding myself for all the hard work by feeding myself toxic/delicious crap. Despite the pain and the communications breakdowns we had, the move went pretty smoothly. here is how it went down:

saturday, may the 5th
rested that day in preparation for the trials ahead, packed 8pm till 2am

sunday, may the 6th
packed all day literally. all day.

monday, may the 7th
packed all day
2 pickup truck-loads of boxes moved that night
a/c unit froze up and started pouring water into the closet and then the hallway started to get sloshy with water. called the office at 5:05pm when we noticed it and maintenance came in with a 'tude. Said someone would come and wet vac the carpet, but we never saw them. Came back home, slept for a few hours on the couch.

tuesday, may the 8th
9am got truck uhaul
loaded furniture took first load at noon
loaded starting at 9:30 and moved all day
took 3 loads in uhaul
3rd one was washer, dryer, folding table, exercise ball and wavemaster punching bag.
slept on couch/recliner
the pain in my legs became excruciating. What caused it was pulling the heavily loaded green hand truck backwards up the uhaul ramp.

wednesday, may the 9th
took uhaul back
Jennifer's mom said we should fight the $70 back-charge we were being charged as a penalty for breaking the lease. We fought it and won! packed kitchen, closets and scott's room with Jennifer's mom
mentally in a bad state.
took 12 hours

thursday, may the 10th
cleaned apt, leaving only my music equipment and various other crap
had to go back to work

friday, may the 11th
picked up equipment that morning then went to work
jennifer went to work and afterwards, replaced drip pans that evening

saturday, may the 12th
installed the washer, unable to install the dryer-need to replace the cord with a 3 prong [instead of a 4 prong] plug.

sunday, may the 13th
went to see Jennifer's parents for Mother's day. My parents out of town.
completed the installation of the dryer

monday, may the 14th
was told we didn't turn water off after taking washer & apt is flooded (Bulls**t.)
replaced aireator on kitchen sink
repaired broken baby/dog gate
unpacked some things
re-tuned guitar
set up computer
smudged the apartment

courts

this is the last post from the apartment complex the courts of azathoth [waterford]. The place is evil. moving has been pretty bad, but we both have been thru worse. the worst part is yet to come...

A lot of things

It is today and as I sit here avoiding the inevitible beneathe a rather spectacular perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system, we are removing our quarters, lofting our dusty hoard upon our backs and moving to a new abode.

I have come a long, long way and at this point I can safely say that I am still not craving a cigarette. I thought about them a lot recently, seeing (my attention focusing on) strangers flick their butts.

Having been screwed by our landlords I wrote a letter (that was never sent) which will explain what has been going on pretty well:

First and foremost, it is not our desire to leave [the apartments], as
evidenced by our history with you previously in unit [x] and currently in
[y], but rather it is due to unfortunate and extenuating circumstances. My high
paying job of nearly 5 years came to an abrupt and unforseeable end. I found a
new job very quickly, but it pays almost half what I was previously making.
Because of this, I think it is obvious why it is in both parties best interest
for us to vacate the unit as soon as possible.

I was told by your associate [Mr. X], that we can only be granted a 60 day notice and would be charged for breaking the lease. I did explain our situation clearly, but he stated to me that there was nothing he could do about it but send an email to you, of which he read to me over the phone 3-7-12 saying that we would not be given any breaks, except that we could pay the fee over 6 months.

I am writing you because we feel that being charged for breaking our lease agreement and not allowed less than a 60 day notice despite these circumstances is reprehensible, especially when we have lived at the courts at waterford for 6 years. We think of ourselves as family and this treatment is more than unfriendly. It is deplorable.

Although I do appreciate the offer to settle the debt in house without sending to a collections agency, I protest the mere mention of a collections agency at all, considering we have NEVER failed to pay a single month's rent and we have never even paid a day late.

Our desire is nothing more than to be released from our lease without fault on
3-31-2012. We are not expecting our security deposit or our pet deposit back. We
should neither be charged for breaking the lease nor should we be charged for
the month of April as we will have vacated the unit by then. You can expect our
full cooperation in showing the apartment during our remaining occupation to
facilitate its immediate rental and prevent [the apartments] from any financial
losses. I hope that our imediate rental payment history and good-standing
account sufficiently indicates our continued accountability and sincerity.

Please let us know the feasibility of our request and if we can do anything to make the process proceed smoothly and to your satisfaction. Also, please let us know if you would like us to speak directly with any other management parties about our request.

Because of these events, we have been living day-by-day in a slumber, avoiding thinking about it, thinking about it, getting mad about it, crying about it and punching the wavemaster punching bag. Hard.

Needless to say, I have not worked on MAYA the RPG. Because of the upcoming film 'Prometheus', I did do some work on one of the settings for MAYA called, among other things, "Beyond Acheron". Otherwise, I have been almost completely useless. Working an extra 2 hours a day at my job for 4 days straight, I am tired when I get home and have not been sleeping well. That is about to come to a halt and I am ever-so-grateful. Yep, we are gonna have a roommate. We are going to actually be able to save money now!

I have been very political, mostly because of my involvement with the game NationStates. A lot of interesting topics have been coming up in the forums there which also connects to Beyond Acheron because of the government system that I devised for it is also the government system of my nation in NationStates: The Republic of the United Nations of the Earth (RUNE).

Still eating the good stuff, though. Along with a lot of bad stuff. Weather has been so hot I am dehydrated now. I am drinking water as I type this [sip]. Dust in my lungs, dust in my veins. I can feel the histamine in my blood and I ache. Benadryl night. Coconut rum night. Goodnight to a lot of things. A lot of old, bad things. Goodmorning to a lot of good, new things. Gotta get back to packing!

here i am talking about posture again

Paying attention to my posture has changed me. I feel more confident and I feel stronger and healthier than ever. I feel that my poor posture has caused a lot of my health problems and I only hope that these are reversible. Suck in stomach, stick out chest, roll shoulders forward, head up high, pelvis forward. Doing this has relieved small aches and pains in my hips and knees that I had while walking. Getting up was always difficult and walking after sitting for a period of time always hurt. Doing this has made it less so. I don't want it 'out there' that I am telling people to walk around with their pelvis thrusted but it makes the pain stop. ALSO while driving I used to, after about 30 minutes, intense pelvic pain, but the posture thing has totally eliminated it! The last time I had that pain in the car, I sat up as straight as I could, sucked in my gut, rolled my pelvis forward and slightly swivled my hips, first the side that was hurting me. I pushed that side forward so that my knee touched the dashboard, then the other side. I did it a few times and the pain completely went away. Maybe I should put some disclaimer here saying that you should consult a physician before trying anything here.
I have started mixing it up a bit more by eating the vegetables some times, other times crackers. I had some beers last night. I am just living. I am not trying to make a change that I will eventually fail at. I like coffee in the morning, sometimes mid-day too. Cheese popcorn on occasion. little debbies are a must! I just make sure that I eat something small every 2-3 hours. Cutting down how much sodium I intake is hard, but I am "trying" to drink more water. Trying is in quoties because I am not drinking as much as I need to, even if it is more than I used to. I will continue with these posts and eventually even post some poorly lit shirtless cellphone pictures of me in front of the bathroom mirror making a kissy face at the camera.

Drinking a lot of juice.  I went up and down 4 flights of stairs today.  did an upper body cardio workout this morning.  So far so good.

Not really starving now

Breakfast:
1 Quaker 'Oatmeal 2 Go bar"
coffee with 1-2 TBS creamer

Snack:
carrots
cherry tomatoes
sliced cucumber
celery
beefstick (jack's links big 9 pack cut into bite size pieces)
2 packs of 6 peanut butter crackers

Lunch:
P.B. Jamwich

Drink:
2 16 oz waters
1 diet dr. pepper

Exercise:
While driving I focus on my posture about 50% of the time, sucking in my stomach, holding my head up and my chest out.

You won't believe it, but I have done better on this routine than I have ever done on any other routine. Ever. I will post pics soon. I am starting to actually feel good about myself.

Prometheus Plot?

THIS WAS MY IDEA FOR ALIEN 5: REVELATIONS
There was a war between two different types of extraterrestrial beings. Both extraterrestrial types were bipedal, but one was reptilian-like and the other was more bug-like.



Both species were advanced biologists. The Bugs had developed a bio-alloy that is the mark of most of their technology. The Reptilians and had created their own slave races. This war spread out over hundreds of light years and over many centuries.

Towards the wars end, it had spread as far as the Zeta Reticuli binary system which was home to a relatively peaceful race of beings known as "the Greys" whose planet circling Zeta 2 was irreversibly destroyed.


Also, one of the bug-like race's spacecraft crashed on a moonlet orbiting a gas giant in the Zeta 2 system.


The Greys were not as technically advanced and were extremely spiritual beings that sought to become one with the creator of the universe according to their faith. With the destruction of their home world, some of the Greys became separated and sought revenge. They quickly allied with the Reptilian beings and stayed in contact with them. They were there when the "Reptilians" seeded the planet Earth and stayed even after the Reptilians left centuries later. The Reptilians secretly left a hybrid race (their descendants) in charge of the human slave race and the Greys were in contact with them.


They knew what was on LV426 and warned the descendants of the danger there but eventually there was some investigation.

Upon doing so, human investigators discover one of the bug-like being's spacecraft and inadvertently "wake up" the occupants, who upon analyzing the DNA of the humans, detect Reptilian lineage and then head to Earth planning to destroy all humans, to once and for all defeat their enemy.

This, of course, leads to a unfolding of events that resemble the events depicted in the Christian bible up to and including Armageddon.

ALIEN

EVOLUTION vs CREATIONISM in the classroom

I believe that NEITHER one should be taught in public school. They are nothing more than theories. One is based on modern texts and the other one is based on ancient texts, but both require FAITH which is not what public school is for. If it is required to make people happy, then a class on "Origins" should be an elective that you can take where these theories are discussed along with others. Maybe students can take Bio (minus talk about evolution) and their choice of either Origins or Religions of the world.

So far, good results...

Well my pants are getting loose and some people are saying I look like I have lost weight and that is when I am not sucking in my stomach. I think I have discovered something.

Respect your teachers!

This article will cover:
Teacher Salaries
Quarterly Evaluations for Teachers made Public and the teaching of EVOLUTION versus CREATIONISM in biology class.
I apologize for this post being so scattered, I have a lot of thoughts about this one...

I find it hard to comprehend why so many people have a problem with teachers. And the one's I have met are middle class, white, conservative, christian, republicans-successful people...you'd think they would be particularly happy that their teachers gave them good grades, taught them important skills like math, geography, American history... No, instead there is this almost insane amount of justifiable outrage coming from these people towards teachers for making "too much money". I believe that this is completely a product of some kind of media led brainwashing campaign because the argument falls apart and goes nowhere, yet these people still firmly believe that teachers get paid too much.

TOP 10 REASONS TEACHERS DON'T GET PAID ENOUGH

10.) Your spoiled brat
You know what I am talking about. This is the real problem, no accountability. Parents want kids so they can have a family, but they don't want to put any work in. Then they get pissy with the teacher when the child is still a dumb ass. You can't grow flowers in kitty litter. You need fertile soil. This doesn't just stop when you "grow up". This is another subject altogether. I'll cover it some time later...

9.) A.D.D./A.D.H.D
I know what this is all about since I was diagnosed with it as an adult. Imagine your mind is like a blender and you take your thoughts about what is going on in front of you, what happened yesterday, what you'd rather be doing right now and what would be cool to do later and throw them in the blender and press puree. That is what A.D.D. feels like. You get used to it, but it makes learning hard. Imagine being a teacher and having a student like that. Constantly dazed and daydreaming, drawing and never able to stay focused on what is being discussed. I remember teachers being mad at me constantly. Cutting up in class, making noises, forgetting to put my name on the paper, drawing, not listening... Now imagine a few of those children and one or more of them is hyperactive.

8.) Other Learning Disabilities/Undiagnosed
I have a friend that has this problem. A brilliant guy, but he has Dyslexia. I am not an expert on this one, but really, some students were in a special class for it. Others, like him, were not. There are lots of brain dysfunctions, disorders or whatever that affect the way we take in information, some that are not even known and in situations like that it can be very frustrating for a teacher.

7.) Asperger's
Symptoms of Asperger's. Keep in mind that there are many levels of severity and some students may have Asperger's and not be diagnosed. (Some may have these behaviors and NOT have Asperger's)

-Social awkwardness / no friends
-Obsessions / focused on one subject
-Lack of eye contact
-Sensitivity to noise / touch / feel of clothing
-Slow to begin talking
-Odd speech / extreme logic / very proper speech
-Anger / aggression / hitting others
-Craves ROUTINE!
-Appears lost / in own world
-Flapping hands
-Communication problems or motor skills problems
-Stimming behavior
Now imagine your class has one student that has Asperger's.

6.) Sex
It happened when I was in high school, but what if two of your students were playing doctor during nap time or when you left the room with all the other students cheering them on. It has happened before. Never mind the risk that you could be called a pervert or a sex offender for helping a student of the opposite sex more than they or someone else thinks is appropriate. Or if they make advances or they don't like you and they accuse you of making advances... need I type more?


5.) Bullies
Yay! Bullies! This is no longer just between students. Students are big and bad enough (and stupid enough) to threaten teachers now. I remember one of my bullies made a substitute teacher cry because he said something hateful to her.

4.) One word: Columbine.

3.) Drugs
Yeah as a teacher I imagine you would also have to act as a DEA agent and kids are taking pills now, so imagine one of your students coming to class starts drooling and wheezing and passes out on the floor.

2.) Parents
Parents having different expectations for their children that you have to live up to-especially having 30 students in a classroom means potentially 60 parents. "Trevor is allergic to peanuts", "Conner has got to make a C in order to get a scholarship...", "How come Skylar isn't talking to me?!"...

1.) THE JOB ITSELF
Teaching is not something that just anyone can do, first of all, you have to WANT to teach, then you have to know HOW to teach. If it were easy, we wouldn't have schools, parents would do it. I have been on the receiving end of some really poor teachers and I can tell you for a fact that there are some godawful teachers out there, I'd say that most of them are not actual teachers. My last encounter was someone supposedly teaching me how to do my job, only instead of offering any information, just telling me what to do when it needed to be done. I basically had to teach myself and I only did that because I HAD to learn because I NEEDED a job. First of all you need to know who you are teaching and then you learn how to teach to them. As a teacher, you don't get that luxury, with 30+ students...

EVALUATIONS
They have a VERY important job and it is a VERY difficult job, more so than ever before since teenagers are bringing guns to school. Yes, teachers should be evaluated. We all are evaluated. NO they should not be evaluated 4 times a school year and NO the evaluation should not be made public. I feel that this does little more than cheapen the role of teacher AND whatever respect the students have for their teacher will be lost when all that has to happen is the student behave poorly and not learn and the teacher will be gone and another one will come in.
Children need a role model and a teacher has the power to be one, but this power is taken away from them when the school does not treat teachers with respect. When I worked for the telecommunications industry, I remember when things were getting rough. All of my friends were leaving the company, people were disappearing left and right. We were being micromanaged, I felt like my cubicle was positioned under a microscope. They started evaluating us every week plus any time they noticed we did something they didn't "understand" Supervisors started acting like... well... this:

"Okay you need to do your job harder! I mean REALLY do your job harder!! Do your job or else... we'll have to talk... You are failing miserably... get off the phone! Come with me!"

I didn't feel respected and I eventually just started waiting till the day they would fire me.
At least I was getting paid well for it.

EVOLUTION vs CREATIONISM
I believe that NEITHER one should be taught in public school. They are nothing more than theories. One is based on modern texts and the other one is based on ancient texts, but both require FAITH which is not what public school is for. If it is required to make people happy, then a class on "Origins" should be an elective that you can take where these theories are discussed along with others. Maybe students can take Bio (minus talk about evolution) and their choice of either Origins or Religions of the world.

PZL-230 Skorpion

This little warplane was no joke. The Polish Air Force wanted an economical, modular design that could be easily modified, and Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capability. The Skorpion was armored and manuverable plus it could really do some damage. A later version even had some stealth capabilities. Compare it to the A-10 Thunderbolt II... Not sure you can do that, because the project was cancelled due to budgetary constraints, we'll never know how well it really could perform.


If I ran a country, I'd have a HUGE fleet of these little planes.


General characteristics

Crew: 1 (pilot)
Length: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 12.1 m (39 ft 8 in)
Height: 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 25.4 m2 (273 sq ft)
Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)
Performance

Maximum speed: 1,000 km/h (620 mph; 540 kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 0.85
Combat range: 300 km (186 mi; 162 nmi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Rate of climb: 90 m/s (18,000 ft/min)
Takeoff distance: 300 metres (980 ft)
Armament


Internal gun; up to 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb) ordnance

ALIEN Mythos

"I propose a more specific definition of "canon", and the use of a
different term, "mythos"

Canon- Multiple works that are presumed to form
a fully coherent whole, particularly in consistency of events, characters, and
science (biology, technology, etc.) New works are limited in what they can
introduce, and cannot presume to alter what has been put down in preceding
works.

Mythos- Multiple works which have central common elements,
particularly characters and/or setting, but are not necessarily consistent. New
works may substantially revise what has been put down in preceding works.

The biggest problem I see with an Alien "canon" is that even the
authorized films leave substantial issues that are at best unresolved and at
worst subject to contradictions. This is most glaring is the differing
portrayals in "Alien" (before a major edit) and "Aliens" of the origin of the
eggs. Are they the aliens' transformed victims (apparently the original
concept)? Are they laid by all aliens? Or are they only laid by a queen as seen
in Aliens? I propose as a solution simply not to try to reconcile the films, but
to treat them as something broader, matching my definition of a mythos. It might
be considered the sum of a real universe's history, speculation and folklore
about the aliens, Ripley and others.

David N. Brown, Forum
admin/moderator Fanfiction.net Dec 20th 2008, 9:04pm"

Prometheus

Trickle-Down

I understand the concept behind trickle down economics and I think that it is a sort of unmonitored and unchecked "spread the wealth" system that, in theory, would work fine, except when those that are supposed to be doing the trickling aren't trickling... well you have what we have right now in 2012. As I said, I don't have any real problems with this system, it just needs some fixes of which I will list here.

1.) Salary Caps - I am not talking about just for professional athletes, I am talking about for EVERYONE. Argue against it all you want to, it would fix problems that affect everyone and any other problems it created could easily be fixed too. The only reason you would argue against this is that you believe greed is good (Unless I am wrong).

2.) Minimum wage for a 30 hour work week MUST be equivalent to whatever the basic cost of living is for a single person. Why not 40? because if you work 40 hours, that is all you do pretty much. Economists recommend a 21 hour work week. I say that is too little, hence 30 hours. This would definitely make people feel better about their lives and they would probably enjoy working more if they didn't feel like that was all they ever did. Working 21 or 30 hours a week whatever the amount is should get your bills paid-Not your credit card bills and all that, just RENT, Gas, food, water, electricity, etc. The necessities. If you wish to work 40 hours, you get a reward that way. You get spending money or money to pay off your credit card bills.

3.) Welfare Reform - If you can't work for whatever reason, your basic necessities MUST be covered. I don't mean luxury. Kinda like prison. All people need to have access to free healthcare, housing, transportation, food, drink and clothing (plus anything else I can think of). I say free because these are things that people must have to live and be in a society.

Prisoners are given a place to live, healthcare, clothing, food and drink, etc.
and these are people that commit crimes. Some prisoners even get television.

I don't think that welfare should provide T.V.s for everyone, that's stupid. Yes, I am aware that very high taxes are the downside to this type of system. To encourage people to actually work, new products and services offering better clothes, personal transportation, entertainment, and products are obtainable by earning money in the same way that the system allows now (minus the ridiculously high taxes).

Speeding

People speed for a number of reasons which will be discussed here.

LATE
It is 7:50! You are running late for work. If you speed, you can make up some time. Lets do the math to see how much time we can save using the following formula:

TIME = DISTANCE ÷ SPEED

If work is 10 miles away...
45 mph = 13:20
50 mph = 12:00
55 mph = 10:54.54
60 mph = 10:00
65 mph = 09:13.84
70 mph = 09:24.38
75 mph = 08:00
80 mph = 07:30

Speeding will, at best, gain you a minute or two. A minute or two that is easily lost at a red light or when you are caught by a state trooper. Not to mention the obvious... Is it worth it?

OVER-CONFIDENCE

"Speed limits are only there for people that don't know how to drive."

"I am a good driver, so I can go however fast I want to."

"This is a high performance car."

"I am always careful, even when I am speeding."

"I have only had a few."

Being confident is not a bad thing at all, and being over-confident has it's advantages too. When driving, being confident is very important, but the feeling of overconfidence does little more than endanger people's lives. Over-confident drivers have other behaviors with deadly consequences, but for now we are just talking about speeding.

EXCITEMENT/THRILL SEEKING

ROAD RAGE/SHOWING OFF/FLIRTING

Our lives can be boring and monotonous, and it is easy to understand why people seek out dramatic situations in their everyday life, such as with speeding. It makes travel less boring and more like a roller coaster. It may seem harmless enough to the speeder, especially if they are also overconfident, but even if there is no danger present, the very act of speeding like this is scary to other, more cautious and respectful drivers. Speeding for fun is not only stupid and dangerous, but also shows disrespect towards other people.

IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY

EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT

Drivers that use this excuse say that the speed limit is more of a suggestion or a speed average. Although there may be some truth to this, the bottom line is that speeding is illegal, just like doin' crack cocaine. That said, state troopers aren't pulling people over for going 56 in a 55 zone usually and when they do people bitch about it like it is their constitutional right to go however fast they want to. On the freeway, when all the traffic is going 80 and the speed limit is 70, I'd encourage you to just get over to the right lane and go the speed limit. Chances are pretty high that at least a few drivers will match your speed and you will be safe to drive another day.

I think that I have covered all the excuses that people use for speeding and why they are not valid. So there you have it. Don't speed. Trust me, I am a professional driver. ;^)

Adele

I ain't trying to come off like some kind of deep person that is not impressionable and so original and all that, because I used to like some really bad top 40 stuff and I used to listen to Bette Midler and Whitney Houston. This isn't about me and my image-It's about music. It is hard to have feelings about things and to think about things. It's like people "join" so they don't have to think. I never had the option to join because I didn't fit it. I have never felt like I was part of a group. This may have caused me to be anti-group or whatever, but I never was given a pamphlet telling me what I must and must not like. Now, at great risk of coming off as a total douche-bag I will tell you all now that I HATE most pop music. I don't hate it all because I can TOLERATE some of it. Some of it I might even say I like. That is saying a lot, because I like this:



That said, I like this a whole lot:

first thing

i rolled out of bed and turned on my equipment and
started playing this morning. i played some skynnrd. i can
play freebird like crazy. lord knows i can't change. i was
pretty pleased with this recording, but i destroyed it.

Pierre Schaeffer - Apostrophe

Suck it in

As an experiment, I have been doing NOTHING more than just sucking in my gut, sitting up as straight as I can, rolling my shoulders and upper back up and forward and my pelvis forward and have noticed that my knee and hip pain has lessened and I can tell that I have lost inches. I am not weighing myself, but I ain't dieting right now either. This seems to be a secret that I'll share with you if you read this stupid blog. Thanks for reading, btw!

BOSS AW-3 Dynamic Wah

Very nice pedal from Boss. Sturdy, reliable & relatively easy to use. The Humanizer effect is interesting, allowing you to do more than just “wah”. Now you can “I-EE” and “AY-OH” as well, should you desire to do so. The “Down” is my favorite but there are enough settings that you are sure to find one you like. I found the controls a bit touchy and it was a little difficult to find the exact sound I wanted without a fair amount of knob tweaking. The pedal tends to be a little weak on it’s own but I play it after a tubescreamer and it sounds great. I’m sure there are better pedals out there, but none with a humanizer effect.

I'm a crastinator pro!

I'm writing this post because I should be packing up my stuff now. In my last post, you may have read that I am no longer working with T-Mobile. Although this is a very good thing, I now make almost 1/2 what I did at T-Mobile. We cannot afford to live in our apartment anymore. I officially gave the 60 day notice yesterday. Now comes the hard part.

Hot Chocolate

I fixed me a delicious mugfull of hot chocolate this morning. Here is how I made it:

2 Cups of milk

PLUS
2 TBSP Cocoa Powder

PLUS

2 TBSP Sugar

PLUS
1/2 TSP Cinnamon

1.) Heat the milk up in a saucepan on the stove at medium temperature to desired temperature.

2.) Add the cocoa, sugar and cinnamon and stir untill completely dissolved.

3.) Serve and enjoy!

Mixed emo

I really hate what has happened, though it may prove to be an even better opportunity for me to create some stuff. We are forced to leave our 2 bedroom apartment where I have a truly filthy mancave. We are moving into a house with a room mate and I will have a garage where I can set up my electronics projects and complete them and I will have a storage room in the house to set up my cheap equipment. We can save money so I can afford to buy a new amp. I guess I should have said that I love what has happened. Moving sucks though. I've been listening to a lot of psychobilly music and dirty south. I think these two styles should come together. What on earth would it be called?

"Looks like you missed your calling"

Well, I don't like to blurt out anything that I want to do, for fear of failure in the eyes of others. I have, in the past, maintained a safe middle ground by being cynical and skeptical-never making a decision. I have never needed to get in shape more in my life. I am not getting any younger and my body is beginning to age. I have been chubby/fat almost my whole life and have not shown any sign that I was going to change that.

I have always wondered what I was going to do with my life. Soldier? Archaeologist? Fighter Pilot? Police Officer? EMT? Nurse? CNA? Engineer? Psychologist? Musician? Writer? Game Designer? Programmer? This is not an exhaustive list, by any means. I have felt like I was lost my whole life. I knew that I didn't want to be a soldier, because I don't like the thoughts of killing other human beings (I save bugs), and Archaeologist and fighter pilot was excluded early on. I don't like to be judgemental and point fingers + I don't want to shoot people or be shot at, so police officer is not for me either. EMT, I thought about it a lot, but I don't like dealing with drugs and the healthcare system that much (although I love phlebotomy). I don't want to be a male nurse, even in the ER. I tried the ER out as a CNA and loved the job, but didn't get along with nurses too well as a CNA, there was a sort of attitude that CNAs or "Techs" are not as important a team member. Also, there was too much gossip, drama and backstabing going on. CNA... dear lord. I did that way too long and the pay is very low. The work is important and that is why I did it so long, because I did love what I was doing. If you can't pay bills, though, why do it? Engineer was ruled out due to my age and lack of time to go to school. I have to work full time to pay bills and it is just not an option. It would take me many, many years to be anything similar to what I want in that field. I haven't completely excluded it, but it is not very realistic. Psychologist was my first instinct when I was in the 11th grade. Took a class on it and enjoyed it, but ultimately I decided against it completely when I found out that with a degree, you are going to be a human resources person or a therapist and I don't want anything to do with either one of these. therapist, particularly after I started seeing one. (my own f---ed-up-ness made me not want to be a psychologist). I have always loved music. I inherited this from my grandmother and have always wanted to play music. I have never had a desire to perform, really, just to make music or even just sounds. This is not something you can make a lot of money doing so I have excluded it as a job. It is my hobby and that is all. As a writer or a game designer, I take way too long to produce anything because I am a perfectionist. My other grandmother had always told me to get into computers and so I have learned a lot about them and considered learning programing or whatever those whippersnappers are calling it nowadays. I think that I missed the boat on this, but it is not completely being excluded from my list. I am not excited about these options, though. I feel that they are not positions that allow me to be everything that I know that I can be or to do everything that I know that I can do. I have a sense of purpose and have felt that since I was a little boy in husky wranglers. Not an elitist feeling that I am better than or that I am 'special', just that I feel that I have a mission here and it isn't computers and it isn't engineering or working in the ER with sick patients.





Thank god I lost my job at T-Mobile. I started working as a courier and met many interesting people. All of them had something in common. They were almost all retired firefighters (a few were still firefighters, one was a police officer retired and another was a lawyer). Anyway, I worked with them for a while and never even thought about their profession.





One night, I came home late to the apartment and there were police officers driving thru the complex searching for someone. One officer flaged me down and as he approached me asked if I had seen anyone 'acting suspicious' around. I stated that I had not and that I had just got home. I said I'd let him know if I saw anyone and proceeded to the apartment. As I got to the door, I realized that I was going to have to take the dogs out as soon as I went in and also I remembered that there was a robbery in our complex a week prior. I set down my backpack and pulled out my flashlight to look behind the building, where I usually took the dogs since there is no lights back there and there are lots of trees. I figured that I would make sure that no one was hiding back there. I had a hard day on the job and didn't feel like being assaulted. I turned on the flashlight and immediately several police officers ran to me asking what I am doing out here. I explained that I was looking to see if there was anyone there. I was scolded by the officers, but what really affected me was that one of them said...

"looks like you missed your calling."

I was mad about that comment for weeks. Then one day, I realized that maybe I hadn't missed my calling. I realized that I have always been the person that wants to go help someone in need. Car wrecks (I feel the need to stop), someone falling (I want to make sure they are okay), I liked helping sick patients, but i always felt that I should be doing something more physical to help people. I am very strong and can carry a lot, I am pretty nimble for a fat guy, I am brave enough and cautious enough to go and do whatever needs to be done even if it is dangerous and I can withstand a lot of heat easily. I am very patient and bull-headed too. I am compassionate and very good with my hands. I am a very serious person (I can be just plain stupid too). These abilities are pretty much useless as a nurse or CNA. Since I have always believed that everything happens for a reason, I started to actually feel like I found what i am meant for. I started to feel my eyes tear up and not from being sad, but from being overwhelmed with emotion. I am still confused as to why I never even considered firefighter as an option when it feels so natural to me. Like it 'fits'. I even knew a girl in highschool that became a firefighter. I have always liked playing with the garden hose while watering the lawn. I am good with an axe. blah blah blah. Never once even thought about it. As strange as it is, this fact makes me feel even more strongly that it is my calling. I asked some of the guys about being a firefighter and they told me what the job entails and how to try out and all of that.




Anyway I looked down and then realized that I am not in the best physical shape of my life and THAT wasn't so good. I started to panic. I have till I am 39 to be a firefighter. The one good sign is that there can be NO SMOKINIG. I will never smoke a cigarette again anyway so I am on the right path. I have been trying to lose weight for a LONG time so this is all the motivation I need. I watched videos on the training and am not sure if I can do it now, but I know that I can in time. My main concern is to lose weight. When I don't weigh as much it will be easier to climb ladders and crawl on my hands and knees. Can I get in shape enough to make the cut? I don't know, but I am going to give it EVERYTHING that I've got starting today.

We'll just have to see if I actually did miss my calling.

J-20 Chengdu (Black Eagle)

The J-20 Chengdu
Role: Stealth air superiority fighter/multirole combat aircraft
National origin: People's Republic of China
Manufacturer: Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group
First flight: 11 January 2011
Introduction: 2017–2019 (planned)
Status: In development/flight testing
Primary user: People's Liberation Army Air Force
Unit cost: US$110 million (est.)

I love it's Canard-Delta/Twin-engine configuration and have since childhood upon seeing the movie "Firefox". This little puppy is stealth as well with AESA like the F-22 Raptor. Quite the contender, but is not expected to be operational till at least 2017.

Murcof

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/murcof-p544890

I've been listening to this a lot. I mean A LOT.
Particularly this one: http://www.allmusic.com/album/remembranza-r796002



This music has really dropped anchor in the harbour of my very subconscious and I now breathe it when I am doing things other than listen to music. Loading blood into my Ford Transit, Unloading blood, driving to Scottsboro, eating a Great Value brand doughnut stick or listening to reruns of 21 Jumpstreet. If I were to be able to make music, this is truly what I would want to make and I thank the maker of this music for doing so. It feels good, tense, mysterious at times, smooth and creamy always. This is post-a-licious.

LCD and obscure reference formula

I can listen to a lot of radio now on the job. Nosir, I don't like it. Awful music. I hate the direction that pop/rock and metal have gone. So formulaic. It's like they polled a bunch of teenage boys to find out what they like and made a bunch of bands from that. Also, being weird does not make you creative. You can try to be weird and may be successful at it, but eventually everyone will figure you out. Marketing Research is responsible for this; the worst garbage for us to listen to. Cold-turd-on-a-paper-plate bad.

T'Squapft's chili from the 'Outer Gods'

First of all, I am going to say that I am not a cook. I do like chili and presumably everyone that likes chili makes it. This recipe has evolved over time and may continue to evolve long after I post this. I don't always make it with the onions. If you have a lot of time on your hands and want to make it really authentic, you could use 4 Ancho peppers (the flat dark heart shaped ones not the fresh 'poblanos) instead of the tomato paste, just remove the stems and the seeds and let them soak in hot water for 30 minutes, then blend them into a paste. If you do this, you won't need the McCormick "hot mexican-style chili powder" either. As far as authenticity goes, some say that beans are a no-no, but I have always had chili with beans.

COMPONENTS
1 lb meat (coarse ground is best and use quality meat)
1 tsp oil
1/2 red onion diced
1 small can tomato paste
1/8 cup McCormick "hot mexican-style chili powder"
2 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp oregano
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can your favorite beans
1 can beer ("which one?")


INSTRUCTIONS

1.)Brown the meat and diced onion in skillet with oil.
2.)Transfer cooked beef and onions into the pot of your choice.
3.)Drain and rinse the kidney beans, add them to the meat along with the spices, tomato paste and beer.
4.)Cover and cook on medium low until it thickens, stirring frequently.
5.)Serve and enjoy only when the stars are right.

SERVING SUGGESTION
Refrigerate overnight.
Top with shredded cheese.

TIPS and TRICKS
Use Bud, or something, just nothing too dark because it makes your chili bitter...
If it tastes funny don't worry. This probably has something to do with the beer you chose. If it is bitter, add a little semi-sweet chocolate and if it is bland, add a little oregano and if tastes a little sweet, add salt.