So, I finally lost my 'spam-free' email address to spam. I didnt give the address out, I didnt share it with friends. Its there so I can have some web space.
I am getting roughly 87 new spam messages a day, and I havent given the address out.
Boy am I annoyed...
[If you aren't interested in the ramblings of an old man,
please stop reading now. If you're still there, pull up a chair
and listen.]
Is there anyone else out there who's sick and tired of all
the polls being taken in foreign countries as to whether or
not they "like" us? The last time I looked, the word "like"
had nothing to do with foreign policy. I prefer 'respect'
or 'fear'. They worked for Rome, which civilized and kept
the peace in the known world a hell of a lot longer than
our puny two centuries-plus.
I see a left-wing German got elected to office recently by
campaigning against the foreign policy of the United
States. Yeah, that's what I want, to be lectured about war
and being a "good neighbor" by a German. Their head honcho
said they wouldn't take part in a war against Iraq. Kind
of nice, to see them taking a pass on a war once in while.
Perhaps we needed to have the word "World" in front of War.
I think it's time to bring our boys home from Germany.
Outside of the money we'd save, we'd make the Germans
"like" us a lot more, after they started paying the bills
for their own defense.
Last time I checked, France isn't too fond of us either.
They sort of liked us back on June 6th, 1944, though,
didn't they? If you don't think so, see how nicely they
take care of the enormous American cemeteries up above the
Normandy beaches. For those of you who've studied history,
we have a few cemeteries in places like Belleau Woods and
Chateau Thierry, also. For those of you who haven't
studied it, that was from World War One, the first time
Europe screwed up and we bailed out the French. That's
where the US Marines got the title 'Devil Dogs' or, if you
still care about what the Germans think, "Teufelhunde". I
hope I spelled that right; sure wouldn't want to offend
anyone, least of all a German.
Come to think of it, when Europe couldn't take care of
their Bosnian problem recently, guess who had to help out
there also. Last time I checked, our kids are still there.
I sort of remember they said they would be out in a year.
Gee, how time flies when you're having fun.
Now we hear that the South Koreans aren't too happy with us
either. They "liked" us a lot better, of course, in June,
1950. It took more than 50,000 Americans killed in Korea
to help give them the lifestyle they currently enjoy, but
then who's counting? I think it's also time to bring the
boys home from there. There are about 37,000 young
Americans on the DMZ separating the South Koreans from
their "brothers" up North. Maybe if we leave, they can
begin to participate in the "good life" that North Korea
currently enjoys. Uh huh. Sure.
I also understand that a good portion of the Arab/Moslem
world now doesn't "like" us either. Did anyone ever sit
down and determine what we would have to do to get them to
like us? Ask them what they would like us to do. Die?
Commit ritual suicide? Bend over? Maybe we should follow
the advice of our dimwitted, dullest knife in the drawer,
Senator Patty Murray, and build more roads, hospitals, day
care centers, and orphanages like Osama bin Laden does.
What with all the orphans Osama has created, the least he
can do is build some places to put them. Senator Stupid
says if we would only "emulate" Osama, the Arab world would
love us. Sorry Patty; in addition to the fact that we
already do all of those things around the world and have
been doing them for over sixty years, I don't take public
transportation, and I certainly wouldn't take it with a
bomb strapped to the guy next to me.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not in favor of going to war.
Been there, done that. Several times, in fact. But I
think we ought to have some polls in this country about
other countries, and see if we "like" THEM. Problem is,
if you listed the countries, not only wouldn't the average
American know if he liked them or not, he wouldn't be able
to find them. If we're supposed to worry about them, how
about them worrying about us?
We were nice to the North Koreans in 1994, as we followed
the policies of Neville Clinton. And it seemed to work;
they didn't re-start nuclear weapons program for a whole
year or so. In the meantime, we fed them when they were
starving, and put oil in their stoves when they were
freezing.
In a recent visit to Norway, I engaged in a really fun
debate with my cousin's son, a student at a Norwegian
University. I was lectured to by this thankless squirt
about the American "Empire", and scolded about dropping the
atomic bomb on the Japanese. I reminded him that empires
usually keep the stuff they take; we don't, and back in
1945 most Norwegians thought dropping ANY kind of bomb on
Germany or Japan was a good idea. I also reminded him
that my uncle, his grandfather, and others in our family
spent a significant time in Sachsenhausen concentration
camp, courtesy of the Germans, and they didn't all survive.
I further reminded him that if it wasn't for the
"American Empire" he would probably be speaking German or
Russian.
Sorry about the rambling, but I just took an unofficial
poll here at our house, and we don't seem to like anyone.
So, I've probably told everyone I know, but I've decided that I hate working for other people.
So, instead of griping about it, I thought I'd get off my lazy duff and do something about it. Hence my brainchild...Boredom Productions.
I'm going to start a business. Who knows if I'll make money, who knows if I'll actually be able to quit my job...but I'm praying...
Essentially, Boredome Productions will do all things technical. Literally...
You want web design? Done.
You want computers? Done.
You want networking? Done.
You want service? Done.
You want digital Media? Done.
You get the picture. Anyhow, if anybody knows anything aout starting this type of things...let me know...I could use the help...
So, Dani and I are heading up the Mexicali trip this year, and so far its been good. All the planning on paper has gone well so far, and been fairly enjoyable. However, now, as we get into the training portion, the time when we have to train the students, now its a bit more hectic.
My weekly evening schedule is something like this now:
Sunday - Meeting
Monday - Gym
Tuesday - Youth Group
Wednesday - Gym
Thursday - Guys Group
Friday - Music Practice with the students
Saturday (7:30am) - VBS workshops
OH MY! Its just a lot...I hope I don't get burnt out.
Well, I've mentioned the 'double secret project' a couple times this last month...and several of you (like there are more than a few who read this drivel anyways) have asked what it is...here goes...
Brent and I were looking for some information on where to climb in Sonoma County. We tried forums, books, tourism bureau, you name it...nobody had ANY information (except one tiny pamphlet that Brent found. So we got an idea...
*/internal monologue
--We should make a website in Sonoma County where climbers (and there are a
--lot) can go and say "Hey everybody, Jimbo and I are going to Goat Rock this
--weekend. Anybody want to come???" and then people would respond, "why
--yes sir, and thank you for offering..."
/* end monologue
So, there we were a month and a half later, we still hadn't done it, and we were on to griping about something else...We never knew what was going on at Vertex. Vertex is the gym where Brent and I climb. Then, as if from nowhere, inspiration struck (actually, we we were complaing and people told us to shut up)...we should do Vertex's website...and we should do that community website we talked about...we should do them together...the ideas swirled, a torrent of schemes and design...overwhelming.
Anyhow, we decided to do it as a blog (so it would be easy to update on a regular basis). We sold Mark (the owner of Vertex) on the idea, and he gave us the green light. And here we are. Only a month and a half (or so) after starting and we are getting ready to go live. We are about 95% done with only a few changes to go. Its exciting. This will be the first product ever of my brainchild Boredom Productions.
Have a nice day...