June 26, 2013
June 25, 2013
The Only Ink I Want On Me
Is if my ballpoint leaks in my shirt pocket.
And, as soon as I got a tattoo, you'd hear a whirring sound from my mother spinning in her grave. (she'd do the same if I bought a motorcycle or hooked back up with any of a specific few old girlfriends) It would be my luck if I DID get an Asian inspired tattoo, it would say something like "Stupid Caucasian".
| You Should Get An Asian Inspired Tattoo |
 Mysterious and expressive, you like to show off, but you also like to keep some allure. |
And, as soon as I got a tattoo, you'd hear a whirring sound from my mother spinning in her grave. (she'd do the same if I bought a motorcycle or hooked back up with any of a specific few old girlfriends) It would be my luck if I DID get an Asian inspired tattoo, it would say something like "Stupid Caucasian".
There's Something Fishy About This Sport
In 2010, Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee started offering athletic scholarships in competitive bass fishing. The school is one of over 200 to have a competitive bass fishing team.
June 23, 2013
Bering Sea Bullies
I've been a fan of the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch since it first aired. Here lately, though, it's started going the way of most reality shows with less focus on fishing and more about creating a good guy/bad guy dichotomy between the different boat captains and highlighting the dissension in the crews. The producers of the show also seem to be "creating drama" where none needs to be; after all, as the show title says, it's one of the deadliest jobs in the world.
The show has slowly been losing my interest; where I couldn't wait to watch it, I simply don't care now. I won't go into all the drama that's happened over the last few shows but it was the last episode that's making me think I will probably start watching something else. I'll try to explain why in as few words as I can.
Most of the captains are superstitious and have rituals they do. That's fine, although when they pray to the "crab gods" I have to cringe a little bit. (I'm not an expert on Greek or Roman mythology, but I don't recall any crab gods) One boat, the Northwestern, has a crew member bite the head off a fish that they use for bait. I've never seen anyone really "forced" to do it and one of the part-owners, the head deck hand, will often do it.
Keith, the captain/owner of the Wizard, is more superstitious than most and that's saying something. One of his deckhands (Freddy), while on another boat, once shaved his head in a Mohawk cut to change their luck when the pots were coming up empty or nearly so and afterwards they started catching more crab. On the last episode, Freddy insisted a new hire (a "greenhorn") shave his head and the young man refused. Freddy went ballistic, threatening the kid and it's easy to see the greenhorn's days are numbered on that boat. (see excerpt from the show)
It's been disturbing to me to see the majority of the comments on the show's Facebook page about the incident; most people are saying they would have done it, that you should "do what the captain says you should do". What great little Nazis those people would have made! Several idiots said the young man's refusal to get his head shaved was an indication of how far our society has fallen while others said he should have done it "for the good of the team". I could rebut that on the post or in this one, but won't. It's really too asinine to try to explain why and how wrong they are.
I've been around hazing a lot; it started in junior high, when the eighth graders decided we younger ones had to be initiated into that level of school. The same thing happened when we entered high school and also in football. "Worms", the oil field term for "greenhorns" were also hazed during their first days on the job with practical jokes and the ritual of "doping" (a pipe lubricant) their privates.
I've already written more than I should have on the subject, but I don't understand how tormenting or bullying someone makes them a part of a team. After my jr. hi. initiation (being held down and punched in the chest with their knuckles, leaving a bruise that lasted for months) I swore I would never let it happen again....and it didn't.
People who like to haze or bully others all for the sake of supposed camaraderie or because of some asinine superstition are nothing short of psychopaths.
The show has slowly been losing my interest; where I couldn't wait to watch it, I simply don't care now. I won't go into all the drama that's happened over the last few shows but it was the last episode that's making me think I will probably start watching something else. I'll try to explain why in as few words as I can.
Most of the captains are superstitious and have rituals they do. That's fine, although when they pray to the "crab gods" I have to cringe a little bit. (I'm not an expert on Greek or Roman mythology, but I don't recall any crab gods) One boat, the Northwestern, has a crew member bite the head off a fish that they use for bait. I've never seen anyone really "forced" to do it and one of the part-owners, the head deck hand, will often do it.
Keith, the captain/owner of the Wizard, is more superstitious than most and that's saying something. One of his deckhands (Freddy), while on another boat, once shaved his head in a Mohawk cut to change their luck when the pots were coming up empty or nearly so and afterwards they started catching more crab. On the last episode, Freddy insisted a new hire (a "greenhorn") shave his head and the young man refused. Freddy went ballistic, threatening the kid and it's easy to see the greenhorn's days are numbered on that boat. (see excerpt from the show)
It's been disturbing to me to see the majority of the comments on the show's Facebook page about the incident; most people are saying they would have done it, that you should "do what the captain says you should do". What great little Nazis those people would have made! Several idiots said the young man's refusal to get his head shaved was an indication of how far our society has fallen while others said he should have done it "for the good of the team". I could rebut that on the post or in this one, but won't. It's really too asinine to try to explain why and how wrong they are.
I've been around hazing a lot; it started in junior high, when the eighth graders decided we younger ones had to be initiated into that level of school. The same thing happened when we entered high school and also in football. "Worms", the oil field term for "greenhorns" were also hazed during their first days on the job with practical jokes and the ritual of "doping" (a pipe lubricant) their privates.
I've already written more than I should have on the subject, but I don't understand how tormenting or bullying someone makes them a part of a team. After my jr. hi. initiation (being held down and punched in the chest with their knuckles, leaving a bruise that lasted for months) I swore I would never let it happen again....and it didn't.
People who like to haze or bully others all for the sake of supposed camaraderie or because of some asinine superstition are nothing short of psychopaths.
June 22, 2013
Banned Borat
Did you know Lebanon was the only Arab country that didn't ban Borat, the 2006 mockumentary starring Sacha Baron Cohen?
June 21, 2013
Sold!
I had been watching the listing for a long time; a few weeks ago it had the caption "Active Opt Contract" which means a buyer had made an offer and the seller had ten days ( I think ) to accept or reject it. It disappointed me, but since I hadn't yet won the lottery, there was no way I could have purchased it.
I had written about it earlier: Google Earth vs. Bing Maps. Of course, there was no way in my current financial circumstances I could have bought it, but it was fun to look at it and dream. (*some* might say that was a waste of time, but for me, it was fairly innocent entertainment and didn't hurt anyone but me and not much at that) I've always wanted some land out in the country, enough to raise a few animals and have a garden that wouldn't be plundered by neighbors or torn up by the local young hoodlums when I was gone.
The property was on the market for a long time, especially considering it looked like it was well worth the money. (the price had even been dropped by nearly half a million bucks not long ago) It made me wonder just why it was being sold. At first, I figured the springs might be drying up; I've seen that before with other similar properties. I'd find them on Google Earth and use the historical imagery to look at the water levels, then look again on Bing Maps. One such property showed a 20 acre lake to have dropped several feet in depth - the elevation tool isn't all that accurate, I realize, but the measuring tool showed at least ten feet of shrinkage of shoreline from past years.
When doing some cursory research on the Savoy, TX property mentioned above, I saw an article from several yrs. ago where the owner had hosted a "protest" meeting of concerned locals in the area. A power plant was going to be built not far away and in spite of their objections, the permit went through and the facility was built.
I sympathized with them up to a point - most everyone wants progress and energy independence, but there's also the "not in my back yard" crowd, the "NIMBY" movement. The new plant was far enough away for the owner of the property to not be bothered by noise, but after zooming out and looking at the location geographically-wise, I started to better understand their objection to the plant being sited where it was.
You'll need to click the screen shot, then envision a line from the power plant (in the bottom left corner of the graphic) going from generally southwest to northeast, the direction of prevailing winds in this part of the world during the spring and summer. You can then see any pollution/particulates generated by the plant would pass right over the property. (the "push pin" graphic is just the edge of the property- the houses and lake are up and to the left of it)
I don't know if that was the reason for the sale and also don't know if there was enough pollution from the plant to make a difference. What did concern me was later reading an article about the Keystone Pipeline and seeing where one of the proposed routes was sited: (the line was made by me and it was the best estimate I could make from the information I read)
So, perhaps the owner of the property was "gettin' out while the gettin' was good". I've seen loads of nice properties for sale around the Dallas/Denton area but there's also been a BUNCH of drilling down there over the last five or so years. None of the properties I've seen offer the mineral rights along w/ the land, either. Growing up in the oil business, I wouldn't have much problem with having an oil or gas well on my land...
...as long as it was MINE.
I had written about it earlier: Google Earth vs. Bing Maps. Of course, there was no way in my current financial circumstances I could have bought it, but it was fun to look at it and dream. (*some* might say that was a waste of time, but for me, it was fairly innocent entertainment and didn't hurt anyone but me and not much at that) I've always wanted some land out in the country, enough to raise a few animals and have a garden that wouldn't be plundered by neighbors or torn up by the local young hoodlums when I was gone.
The property was on the market for a long time, especially considering it looked like it was well worth the money. (the price had even been dropped by nearly half a million bucks not long ago) It made me wonder just why it was being sold. At first, I figured the springs might be drying up; I've seen that before with other similar properties. I'd find them on Google Earth and use the historical imagery to look at the water levels, then look again on Bing Maps. One such property showed a 20 acre lake to have dropped several feet in depth - the elevation tool isn't all that accurate, I realize, but the measuring tool showed at least ten feet of shrinkage of shoreline from past years.
When doing some cursory research on the Savoy, TX property mentioned above, I saw an article from several yrs. ago where the owner had hosted a "protest" meeting of concerned locals in the area. A power plant was going to be built not far away and in spite of their objections, the permit went through and the facility was built.
I sympathized with them up to a point - most everyone wants progress and energy independence, but there's also the "not in my back yard" crowd, the "NIMBY" movement. The new plant was far enough away for the owner of the property to not be bothered by noise, but after zooming out and looking at the location geographically-wise, I started to better understand their objection to the plant being sited where it was.
You'll need to click the screen shot, then envision a line from the power plant (in the bottom left corner of the graphic) going from generally southwest to northeast, the direction of prevailing winds in this part of the world during the spring and summer. You can then see any pollution/particulates generated by the plant would pass right over the property. (the "push pin" graphic is just the edge of the property- the houses and lake are up and to the left of it)
I don't know if that was the reason for the sale and also don't know if there was enough pollution from the plant to make a difference. What did concern me was later reading an article about the Keystone Pipeline and seeing where one of the proposed routes was sited: (the line was made by me and it was the best estimate I could make from the information I read)
So, perhaps the owner of the property was "gettin' out while the gettin' was good". I've seen loads of nice properties for sale around the Dallas/Denton area but there's also been a BUNCH of drilling down there over the last five or so years. None of the properties I've seen offer the mineral rights along w/ the land, either. Growing up in the oil business, I wouldn't have much problem with having an oil or gas well on my land...
...as long as it was MINE.
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