Thursday, November 13, 2008

Things that annoy me ....

Boy am I starting to sound like a on old fart. In no particular order these things tend to annoy me or have annoyed me in the past.

- Children who scream too long unnecessarily. I like kids and remember having fun but enough is enough when I have to hear it go on and on and on. Especially when there aren't any words being said but noise for noise's sake.

- Parents who let their children record the answering machine message because it's "So cute". If the kid can talk clearly then no problem but when I am calling your house I am trying to deliver a message I feel is important. The unintelligible noise of a small child is a waste of my time and I feel you are insulting me. I know ... lighten up it's fun.

- Coworkers who intentionally push my buttons when I am trying to get something done. When I am at work I am trying to get something done and you are unnecessarily slowing me down.

- People who are overly concerned with Political Correctness. I read the other day that Miss Lohan referred to Barrack Obama as "colored" and I thought. Well he is .... although I must admit that I don't consider colored as offensive. No more than African-American, Black or Negro. These, to me are for designation and clarification as opposed to niger which is plain offensive and insulting. I, being white, don't fully appreciate how offensive but I now it is offensive and there is no similiarly offensive title for a white person.

- That being said, people who pull the race card, religion card, this card or that card.

I guess that's all for now. I am sure I will add to this list in the future.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Don't get me wrong ....

Once again, don't get me wrong but in my quest to find people to blog with I have been cruising blogs looking for a kindred spirit and it has brought me to a new observation .... People with children seem to spend a lot of time chronicling their children. I guess it is good that I have never had children of my own because I fear I wouldn't have the right mind set.
I don't hate children, I don't dread children and I don't avoid kids (most of the time). I just don't see why people make such a deal out of them. It isn't like they are an endangered species or hard to create. People have been having children for thousands of years so it isn't that special an event. I am fully aware that some people have difficulties conceiving and I also know people are socialized to feel their lives are inconsequential if they don't have offspring. I also know that those who can't have children are the exception and not the norm. Especially if they are Hispanic and in the same apartment complex as I am. Damn Hispanic families can produce and therefore have to hoard the washing machines for a lot of children. Oh, was that not PC.
I see children as what they are ... replacement units to continue the species. Babies are sleeping, pooping machines but that's what they are. No need to make a big deal out them or expect them to be something they are not. I have met many really great kids too. They are funny, intelligent and insightful. Seeing the world through their eyes as they discover what you have long since ignored is enlightening and enjoyable. It's just they are what they are.
Actually, much like dogs at the dog park. The kids aren't the annoyance as much as the parents. The parents, especially the mothers of small children and those with daughters of any age are the ones who need therapy. I have gotten myself in some trouble over the years when I have violated some rule, I never knew about, when it comes to daughters. I almost got my Naval career ended because of that one. Apparently, logic and reason go out the window when it comes to daughters.
Since I will most likely never have children I guess I will never fully understand.

Friday, November 07, 2008

A sad commentary

The reason I got back into blogging is my wife is tired of being my primary social outlet. She told me to start blogging again to see if anybody will communicate with me. Well, after a week she asked me today if i had found anybody interesting to blog with and this is what I had to report.

I noticed something humorous .... I am 46 so when I started on my new adventure I visited some chat rooms, some forums and my Google search bar to find people to talk to. What I discovered is that Yahoo chat rooms have messages going by like a stock ticker. How do you keep track of such things? There was a chat room claiming bras make good slingshots. I then decided I wanted chat about something a mid 40s guy from Oregon would want to talk about. So I did a search for "Adult Chat". Guess what that opened?

Now, don't get me wrong, I spent 20 years in the Navy so none of this either offends me or is anything I haven't seen or heard before. If some person, hopefully a lady, wants to exchange "hot" topics with me that's fine. Hey, it's someone to talk to. I now have one site emailing me that local ladies want to talk to me but I must pay to read the messages they have left me.

What I find is a sad commentary is this. I found myself looking at my screen subdivided into sections and each was a web cam of a woman in her under wear sitting on a bed and I could chat with her if I wanted to. What I find so funny is that I could sit and type about her cleavage, her nice thighs, her comehither smile but if I ask her where is she at .... What is the weather like where you are at? What else does she do in her life? What do you think of Obama? What does she do for fun? I am a stalker. Some how that just strikes me as funny.

Well Obama won.

I'm glad. Not because he is the first Black (actually half black) president but more because there is now a Democratic majority in the Senate, House and the Governors. Maybe something will get done in Washington for a change.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Election Day

Well it's finally here ... Thank God. If we aren't hearing about John McCain and Barack Obama we, in Oregon, are hearing about Jeff Merkley and Gordon Smith.
For those of you outside of Oregon you haven't missed anything. These two spent more money on their campaign than any other senate race in America. What does that mean? For the last three months there has been a constant barrage of mud and crap thrown back and forth. Even the national committee were throwing millions into this slander campaign. The outcome was constant irritating commercials hourly on the TV. Back and forth, sling after sling until I personally don't think much of either of them. They want to be my representative! So much for what I believe in and what I want to do. We got my opponent is a lying SOB who isn't worthy to be living in your state let alone be your representative.
We have a candidate for Secretary of State that I voted for because his commercials were straight to the point and appeared sincere. I voted for him because I think he will do an honest job.
As for President, I voted for McCain. Not because I have a great affinity for him but I don't think Barack Obama will deliver on much of what he claims he will do. The man is charismatic and plays well with a crowd, he will do well in negotiations and on the international front, but I don't recall hearing him say how he would do these things. It's great to say you will do this or that. Hell, I could promise if I'm elected I would bring the troops home but how? I can solve the economic crisis ... How? I can deliver affordable health care .. HOw? I can get you a job .... HOW? I know that this is all campaign strategy, appeal to the people's imaginations but don't dare tell them the truth. I appreciate straight answers to direct questions. I want to know what my candidate thinks and not what he thinks I want to hear. Such is my naive world.
At least we live in a country where we have the right to vote for our leaders and express that they are full of, and slinging, crap.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Ok, I'm back

It seems my wife has decided that I need to talk to people other than her. She is tired of being my primary social outlet. So in the absence of a blog I am interested in I am going to try and blog again on my blog and hope somebody is listening.
I feel like a fisherman at a very large lake who hopes to get a bit.

Friday, August 10, 2007

My mother ....

My mother, my mother is a real pain in the ass to put it nicely. I know, I know all people complain about their mothers but my mother is in a class by herself. Let me start it off with of her five children she has been the major cause for four of them to either seek or be sent to therapy. On the other hand, the only one who hasn't gone to therapy is the one who went to public high school.
Everyone has flaws but my mother has two that really set me and most of my siblings off. The first is that once she gets an idea in her head she will not, even in the face of logic, give it up. An example, when I was 10 years old one of my brothers told my mother that he questioned my swimming ability. Mind you I was 10 years old. For 6 years in my teen years I was a summer camp counselor. At the age of 32 I got certified as an open water SCUBA diver. Upon hearing the news what does my mother say "But you can't swim."
Another example is that my mother hates my wife. I have been married over twelve years to this woman and no matter what my wife does my mother will fabricate stories on partial knowledge, jump to conclusions and do everything in her power to see whatever my wife does in a bad light. No matter what my wife does or what proof you present my mother she will not be persuaded that she is wrong. Imagine in your own life if everything your spouse did was twisted into something sinister. It's gotten to the point that my wife has said "If your mother wants you back, she can have you."
This leads to the second thing that really sets me off about my mother and I know it has been the cause of problems with my siblings. My mother will find the buttons she knows will set you off and she will intentionally push them. You can see the wheels turning in her head to come up what will really set her child off. Every one of us kids has different buttons and my mother adjusts her approach for each child. To this end I try to show no reaction around my mother because I have watched her give up on one tactic only to try another approach until she finds the button to set you off. I don't know what it is in her past or if she even does it intentionally but my mother lives off the negative reaction she can get from her children.
The impact my mother has on her children was first revealed to her in the late '50s when my second oldest brother had taken to stuttering and was in need of psychological help. The doctor told her and my father that she was the major cause of her child's problems. What was the result? My father decreed we were never to talk of it again because it upset my mother so.
So, as much as I would like to love my mother I just can't because I know the impact of her methods has been pointed out to her but she will not change her ways even if it hurts her own children.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Quizzes can be fun

I know that the quizzes you sometimes see on the Internet are sometimes informative and some are just plain stupid. The last time I tried keeping up with a blog I found the Okcupid! site that I have as one of my links. So I decided to keep it with this latest version of my blog. I discovered that unlike what my wife calls me I am apparently not a full blown Republican. In fact I am classified as a Libertarian in that I am Social liberal and Economically conservative. The real laugh was when my wife took the quiz she, who made me convert to being a registered Republican before she would marry me, is classified as a Democrat.
I was looking at these quizzes the other day and I found the one that claims to answer the question as to what body type of woman "trips my trigger". What the the result was didn't surprise me but what made me laugh was the first reaction I had when I saw the result was "No I'm not!". Then I thought about it and decided "That yes I am and what's wrong with result". So here it is, I admit it, I am a man so my ideal woman is large chested, small hipped and is cute in appearance. Me and how many other men? According to the quiz Heather Graham is my perfect body type.