In Case You've Wondered

My blog is where my wandering thoughts are interspersed with stuff I made up. So, if while reading you find yourself confused about the context, don't feel alone. I get confused, too.

If you're here for the stories, I started another blog: scratchingforchange.blogspot.com

One other thing: sometimes I write words you refuse to use in front of children, or polite company, unless you have a flat tire, or hit your thumb with a hammer.

I don't use them to offend; I use them to embellish.

jescordwaineratgmail.com

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

My Imagination...

...has taken a vacation....and didn't invite me along.

Bleh!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Proliferation of Wusses

It's like a societal disease. Can't do it? That's okay. Being a wuss is acceptable. The government will take care of you, or your parents, or you can just spend more of your ill-gotten cash on some more drugs to make you happy.

Meanwhile, those that work, and those that come from other countries, do the hard work, which requires rising early, living frugally and keeping the determination to not be handicapped by life. They do the jobs that "you just can't get Americans to do".

Where does it end? I have no idea, but it can't be a good ending.

I look at the unnatural amount of fat people waddling through their days and wonder about the decisions that led to their condition. Is it just too hard? Have you accepted mediocrity because others have? Are you proud of what you've become? Why don't you nut up and make the steps to be something more than a health risk?

What about those that game the system and steal from taxpayers? Have they lost their conscience? How about their friends and family? Don't they feel embarrassed? Why don't they something?

Then we come to the government:. Mostly worthless slugs rationalizing their ridiculous existence and having the ridiculous thought they're relevant. To add insult to injury, they believe we should take care of them forever because of the irrelevancy.

So, the proliferation of wusses continues. As I age, I become less tolerant and more vocal. I might end up getting my ass whipped, but I doubt it. Pushing sixty, I'm still in better shape than way too many people much younger than me. Besides that, I'm meaner, more tired and reaching the point I really don't give a shit if I hurt their tender feelings.




Friday, April 26, 2013

George Jones Has Died

George Jones was born in Saratoga, Texas, which is a small town I've worked in. He lived there, in Beaumont, Kountze and Vidor, which are three towns that are found in the southeast corner of Texas.

I was never a big bar hopper, so I never ran across George in any of the local taverns. I have friends that did; some even shot pool with George. He was well liked and notorious for the amount he drank. I never heard an unkind word about the man, although I did have a brother-in-law that would have had a reason.

My brother-in-law, Jim,  was helping clear some acreage for the Sam's Club. As they cleared what was some old growth, they found many fine oaks, and other hardwoods, which they cut for firewood. The cords were sold to anyone that happened by. The demand was high, so advertisement was unnecessary.

Jim was cutting up a red oak, when he noticed a motor home stop on the highway. Not paying much attention to the man that left the coach, he continued until the man walked up. When he turned, he found the man looked familiar. He realized who he was when the man stuck out his hand and introduced himself as George Jones.

George asked if the tree was red oak. When he found out it was, he placed an order for two cords and said he'd be back in a few days.

After a week, Jim decided George would never come back and sold the two cords of firewood to the next buyer that came by.

Jim would smile and shake his head when he told the story. At that time, George was developing the reputation as "No Show Jones", and it was a true description considering Jim's experience. Jim didn't mind. He liked the idea he met George Jones and said he was a helluva a nice guy.


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A Daily Observation

It's almost incredible how many people don't pay attention. It's not only the little things, it's the big things, which can change their lives.

With that written, I'll just shake my head and think of new ways to point out the obvious, without pointing out the fact that wandering through life with little more ambition than a tomato is not a way to increase your abilities.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Leaving the Horse and Buggy Days

I trim hedges with what looks like a big pair of sizzors. My wife wants to do this, with hedge trimmers and leans toward the battery powered trimmers.

I think this is a wonderful opportunity for me to shed a responsibility and gain a helper, but I'm clueless on the best models.

Any suggestions? Remember: foolproof, safe, long charge life and lightweight with an affordable price. Don't suggest some commercial product that weighs too much and has a battery that will start a dozer. While I may lean towards such a thing, my wife doesn't think that way and I damn sure don't need to piss off my partner.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

While I wasn't paying attention....

...my stat counter rolled over the 50,000 mark. That's incredible.

Thanks to those that visit.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A Message For The Good Citizens of Arizona

It's time you get rid of John McCain. I don't care how, but it's necessary. He's not a patriot and he's decided not to respect the oath he took when he assumed office.

If' you're confused, research his vote on the Senate gun control bill today.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Definitions and Irony

While the current administration is stepping around the word "terrorism", all evidence points to an intended use of random violence, which is what terrorism defines. Of course, it's not politically advantageous to point out the fact that all the billions spent on homeland security have only yielded a huge bureaucracy, ridiculous delays in air travel and the hiring of thousands of untrained individuals to search body cavities for weapons.

I can only hope the efforts to find the terrorists involved are more successful than those to find those involved with the attack in Benghazi.  If not, the good people in this country are in for some sobering thoughts; especially when they discover the intentional efforts of the media to keep them in the dark.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Blundering Bureaucrats

That's the only thing that comes to mind when I think of what goes on in Washington. The economy sucks, and too many people are out of work, but they think gun control and immigration reform are priorities.

I have solutions: Cut spending for useless crap, lower everyone's taxes and make it illegal to rent, own, or lease a dwelling in the U.S. without a valid immigration certificate or photo I.D. proving citizenship. Problem solved, so now the bureaucrats can go back to generating useless paper.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

So, Who Is Charged With a Federal Crime?

A Kentucky Democratic group called "Progress Kentucky" has members that secretly recorded a conversation between Mitch McConnell and some campaign advisors. The tape was given to Mother Jones; a news organization.

Connecting the dots, it seems there's a whole bunch of problems that developed. One: Mother Jones took a recording; never checked the legalities of how it was acquired; reported the story and now is exposed to civil liabilities, possible criminal activities and the wrath of a sitting U.S. Senator. That can turn out badly.

Next, we have two people that bragged about breaking the law, an organization that's trying to squirm away from their culpability and one of the two that taped the conversation placing all the blame on the other.

Now we wait. There are two ways that this can be handled:

- The F.B.I. can investigate, charges are filed and somebody finds they have no friends in the current Democratic Party.

- The F.B.I. investigates, the U.S. Attorney doesn't pursue any charges and the entire mess is swept under the rug.

Either could happen, but I have the feeling there are a lot of people crapping their pants, now realizing how deep this information may have gone without anyone reporting a criminal act. While members of the current administration may feel it was inconsequential, the same could be said of the Nixon Administration. In the end, the feeding frenzy was a bloody event. Hiding the information was much worse than the act.

BSOD - Epilogue

Windows is back as it was and should be; no critters, or software glitches, except one: Outlook won't open, which is one of those things I can work around forever; if necessary.

So, I've been lucky and learned some things. Now, the next big question will be to upgrade to Windows 7 or  8. Everything I've learned so far about 8 is there are problems, although that's expected right after a new version  is out.

Another thing is to tear one of the old machines at the office apart, steal the hard drive and turn it into a backup, or mirrored drive. I'll need to do a little research first.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

BSOD Part 3

I've been out in the field, so my repair of my computer at work has been in bits and pieces. Long story short: CD scan of hard drive; elimination of pesky critters; repair install of Windows; reload drivers and now I'll have to reload some software that was corrupted. Getting Windows activated was a bear and required extracting some CAB files for XP utilities.

I still can't find anyone to fess up to being on my computer, but when I opened Adobe Reader, the recently opened files had absolutely nothing to do with any work I do. Otherwise, I have a really good idea who was on my computer.

It's time to take one of the old computer, turn it into a printer server and lock everybody out of my computer with a password. Sometimes you just have to be an ass.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

I'm at a Loss

I was in Walmart this morning. On the way out of the store, I realized one of the coin operated rides is what looks like an angry boar. It caused me to wonder.

What is this about? What am I missing? What happened to the horsed, or stagecoaches? What is happening?

Somebody explain this to me. Is there some children's book that has a hero saving the world, while riding a wild boar? Maybe a Disney character? I can't figure this one out and need some help.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

So, I Need to Write

I don't have much to write about. I do, but I don't.

As I drive home, I think of a few dozen things to write about. Dumbass drivers for one, but when I arrive home, I realize my mind is tired and I don't want to write.

So, I'm hoping I'll have some time this weekend to write something.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Distractions

I started writing a short story this weekend. As I progressed, I realized the story was going in another direction and started changing the plot. Unfortunately, the distractions of Easter and - now - work, I wasn't able to finish. To make things worse, the motivating thoughts have disappeared like a drop of water on a hot sidewalk. Maybe they'll return this weekend.