Topglock.com: Politically Clueless & Stupid; not worth your time

I have to share an email I got and the response I sent back. But first I suppose a little background: I am FOR guns. I do believe that the population should have access to weapons, NOT just the governing body; to me, that’s some low-hanging, “we’re your overlords now” fruit that’s just ripe for the picking. Anyway. So when I moved out of So Cal, I wanted to arm myself appropriately. I figured on a simple pistol. Nothing major, I’m not planning on fighting the Russian infantry or anything, right? Just something to protect my family should anyone ever decide to enter with intent to cause harm.

So I registered with a website to check out prices & such; topglock.com. Well I registered my ‘junk’ email address because I figured I might get spammed. Was right! Most of it is legitimate self-advertising, so I don’t much mind. I figured, what the heck, if I ever actually DO decide to purchase, it might be from them and I’d like to keep abreast of any deals.

Well I won’t be purchasing from topglock.com, you can now rest assured. Their president is a flaming idiot. And by “flaming idiot,” I mean “blind following republican.” They’re one in the same, anyway.

I got a politically-charged email, urging me to vote the right way this November 4th, and according to him, that was for McCain. Because, apparently, without understanding of the terms “marxism” and “socialism,” he feels comfortable using them as labels still. Well here, I’ll let you read it:

I am a patriot and a true believer in the American ideal. I’ll share some of my story with you. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My father was a building contractor, custom cabinet business owner, and apartment complex owner. My mother worked in the banking industry and took care of my brothers and me. I’ve always been taught to do one thing in life: “Do whatever you want to do…but do it as good as you can.” To my parents, it didn’t matter what I chose to do in life as long as I did it to the best of my ability.

I looked up to my father’s success and often asked, “How do you become an entrepreneur/business owner?” His answer was, “You just do it. Find something you love and just do it.” In high school and throughout my twenties, I found that answer to be frustrating and irritating beyond belief, but now I see the truth of it. I still wish that I would have been coached better and been able to sit in the office rather than push-mow acres of lawn, work in the stain room of the cabinet business, and sweep parking lots, but I owe my work ethic to that as well.

After some soul searching and inspiration, an idea or two, and a small loan, I started this business from a small apartment, being newly married and with a new baby, often working 20-hour days. Over nearly 10 years, I’ve managed to build this business to a respectable level with the help, dedication, and overwhelming support of some wonderful co-workers. I’ve stood tall in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I’ve challenged the status quo in this industry and the “good ole boy’s network” that is prevalent here. As a result, I can look my children in the eye, look in the mirror and like what I see, and sleep well at night. We have and will continue to have challenges, but I will try to face each one with the same honesty and devotion to my employees and customers that I always have.

My point is not to brag, but to inspire. I started from next to nothing and built my success on hard work and dedication. This Presidential election is very much about that. Barack Obama is the first truly Marxist-leaning Presidential candidate that we have had in this country. ‘Marxist’ may seem like a strong word to throw out there, but look at what he has proposed. He is unabashedly in favor of a redistribution of wealth. Although that may sound nice to some, those people need to realize that all that will happen is a decay of our society as well as the beginning of the takeover of our American ideals. This country is about the ideal that a single person can make it happen for him or herself. Obama’s ideals are those that wish to take that away from you.

Think it isn’t happening? Take a look at the $1 trillion+ bailout that we are paying for. Our country now owns banks and private industry. I have to ask: where does it stop? We are marching ever further towards a socialist economy, led there by the people that we elect. In fact, my friend and I started the website www.dontbailout.com that sells t-shirts illustrating the people behind this enormous mess. My questions about the economic disaster are: “Where is the truth?” Who is to blame?” “And why aren’t these people being publically hung for what they have done?” The answer is that many in our government would have to answer for it and they aren’t about to investigate themselves.

So on to the Second Amendment. Let’s truly understand why our founding fathers put that in The Constitution. It wasn’t for self-protection (that is a natural right). It was to protect us from abuse of power from the government. I am in no way advocating starting a revolution, but if you can see past the horizon, you will see there is a point that we will need that power. There is a point that we will need to stand up and say, “NO MORE!” Look up what communist/socialist/Marxists nations do to gun ownership. I urge to you look at the facts and remember what becomes of socialist and Marxist nations before you consider your vote this November. Although you may not have all the faith in McCain (I certainly understand that feeling), please realize that at least he is not a socialist/Marxist and destroyer of the American ideal. Vote conservative and take the time to teach people around you about the American ideal and the importance of their vote. It is a sad day when polls show that nearly 50% of the people of this country are completely brainwashed and have no understanding of the country that they live in.

Here are some YouTube videos that may be inspiring for you to watch and listen to:

Obama on abortion with a rebuttal by McCain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcGFPR6H6aE

Obama on taxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=491_5WxfcgI

Newly uncovered audio of Obama on redistribution of wealth (socialism/Marxism) and cover story of DrudgeReport.com on 10.27.2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivL4c_3pck

Call the McCain campaign and urge them to start fighting with the gloves off! This is OUR nation and if we are to have a defender of it, I would personally like someone who is willing to kick the hell out of the other side of the aisle rather than someone who is willing to reach across it. McCain needs to realize that and finally see what is at stake here.

Best of luck to all and remember to vote!

Eric R. Thompson

President

TGSCOM Inc.

And of course if you know me, you know you don’t send a politically-charged anything unless you’re ready to discuss fact & theory, right?

You can just take me right off your mailing list then.  Shameful.  You're woefully uninformed, sir.  buzzwords may sound nice, but it's the meaning that matters.  "Marxism."  "Socialism."  Blah.  You don't truly understand what these words even mean, yet you are attaching them to someone you don't understand, and you haven't even bothered to look at the issues and the plans that follow them.  Yes, I know, he's BLACK OMG!!!!

Got news for you: the tax system always has been and always will be a system of redistribution.  That's EXACTLY what it was set up for and WHY it is tiered the way it is.  And it makes perfect sense; the people who make the most have the most ability to help support the system.  You idiots fail to realize certain, basic facts:  The richer you are, typically the more people you have working underneath you doing a LOT of the work.  These people are NOT paid according to the money they bring in.  If everyone was paid based on their ACTUAL contributions, you know what we'd have?  Communism.  Actual, true, theoretical, by-the-book communism.  

We don't like that, we like the idea that if you can organize the means of production in your favor, you deserve the spoils.  OK, but the fact remains that the people at the top are NOT doing the brunt of the work despite getting the brunt of the pay;  I fail to see how the CEO of Countrywide earned his MILLIONS of dollars, or the CEO of AIG, or hell, let's even throw some non-defunct company CEOs in the mix, too.  If we were each paid by the amount of actual work we did, the ditch diggers would be the rich men.  Here in America though, we like to believe that the guy sitting in the truck drinking a Coke and telling the ditch diggers how & what to do deserves more money.  We call it "Capitalism."

PAYING INTO THE TIERED TAX SYSTEM ALLOWS YOU TO CONTINUE SKIMMING PROFITS OFF OF THE LABOR OF THOSE BELOW YOU; IF YOU CONTINUE TO GIVE THE TAX BREAKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT LEAST AND FORCE THE TAX BURDEN ONTO THOSE WHO NEED ASSISTANCE THE MOST, THE SYSTEM FACES THE VERY REAL REALITY OF FALLING APART.  IT'S THE RICH-POOR DIVIDE, AND THE FACT IS THAT THE RICH MAKE UP A PALTRY % OF THE PUBLIC, AND THE POOR ARE THE VERY-VAST MAJORITY -- YOUR MONEY WILL NOT SAVE YOU WHEN THEY COME WITH PITCHFORKS TO TAKE YOUR SPOILS, AND SIR I'M AFRAID EVEN YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH BULLETS IF THAT DAY EVER COMES.

You don't want mutiny, you want status quo; you want everyone to be happy where they're at in the scheme of things.  Helping to keep the working class easily above water does many good things for EVERYONE.  If they have money to spend, that money will probably go to you.  Yeah you'll probably get taxed an extra 3% on those dollars you earn ABOVE $200K, but you'll have more of them to be taxed on anyway.  And furthermore, if they are not worried about slipping into poverty, they're less likely to critically examine the fact that they're doing most of the work and getting pennies on the dollar for their effort; they'll remain gleefully employed at their current state, happy to continue playing the game, and by extension, let YOU and other moderately-and-above wealthy people continue to play the game & make money for many years, for work you are no longer actually doing.

But hey, let's give trickle-down economic theory a go, right?  It might work!  Except, you know, for every-freakin'-time it's ever been tried.  Oh yeah, Reaganomics worked so well.  And hey, it's worked so well the last 8 years, too!  Let's take a look at the similarities, huh?  Inflation during both times?  High.  1980's we have loose oversight and the S&L collapse.  2000's we have loose oversight and the Financial/mortgage collapse.  Recession fears (and reality!).  Divide between rich & poor grows.  More people out of work.  Tax breaks go to the RICH instead of those making the least and who could probably use a tax break the most...   Coincidence?  Really?  Think so?

Suffice to say, I will not be buying from you.  You're scarily out of touch with reality.  But hey, go ahead, keep spouting fear & hate for that which you don't understand, and hey while you're at it, keep not looking into the facts of the matter or studying the economy & history and all those nifty buzzwords you keep throwing around without true understanding.  Keep the 'labels' alive, man.  You're a prime example of why we need better education in America.

Obama's not going to fix everything, he might not even fix that much.  But stopping the ship from sinking sounds like a much-needed improvement for our condition, rather than continuing the rich-folk spending & hoarding spree that got us to this dance.

I used to be registered republican.  I actually support the basic premise; the 'ideals' of republicanism, like personal responsibility, less gov't, etc.  But the reality is, the GOP does NOT do this.  They are corrupt.  They say all this pretty stuff, they say they're for "family values" thereby implying no one else is, which isn't true.  But the fact of the matter is, while you & everyone else like you is focusing on these buzzwords they throw around, they're legislating your house & home away.  Less gov't?  This has been the single biggest expansion of US gov't ever over the last 8 years.  They're taking away your personal liberties (have you read the PATRIOT act? you should).  They're giving money to themselves, and that money is coming from YOU AND ME.  Only the "in crowd" is benefiting.  So while I support the republican ideals, I reluctantly side with the democrats, because despite how you and your cronies like to frame them, the legislation usually is actually in line with my core republican beliefs.

When's the last time a republican balanced the budget?  It took a DEMOCRAT to do it, didn't it?  Personal responsibility?  Yet the republicans are knee-deep in deficit-spending; they're spending money that they don't have as a staple of their policy.  How is that "responsible?"  Answer that!

Now let's also specifically tear apart your linked bullshit:

ABORTION:
that video was terrible.  What, if you inject middle-school humor you suddenly have a point?  OK then, YOU answer the question, dipshit!  What, from conception?  Well then when's that?  Well any answer you're about to give seems like a rather arbitrary answer, and if YOU can arbitrarily come to a conclusion, WHY CAN'T I?  OK so I will:  Life starts in your balls.  And each time you jerk of, you're GUILTY of MURDER!!!!  And each time your wife has a period and wastes an egg, SO IS SHE.  And I will pass legislation to charge you as such.  Sound fair?  Or sound arbitrary?  But don't you see, that's EXACTLY what you're doing by deciding FOR EVERYONE when or what it is.  

His answer is FAIR.  It's a difficult question that is really dependent on the person involved, their religious & scientific beliefs, and other life experiences.  He cannot answer unequivocally for YOU, and as such, you shouldn't be able to answer unequivocally for HIM or ME or ANYONE else.

To fashion laws that only allow your point of view on the matter is DANGEROUS.  But it seems, anyone who doesn't support YOUR opinion, even if they do so in an articulate fashion with good rationale, is worthy of "warning."  

Passing laws to tell people what they can think is a very slippery slope.  Have you ever stopped to consider what happens if one day what YOU think is not in line with what the ruling class decides is fashionable or correct?  What then?  What if someone DOES decide that having a period or squeezing one off in the shower is a form of abortion; sort of "murder by inaction," for failing to create what could have been a human life.  What then?

This, in essence, goes against the very idea of gov't staying out of people's lives; you're trying to actively insert gov't into people's personal lives, legislating what they should believe and making them conform as such.  Ever think of it in that perspective?  So.... gov't is bad if they want to create social programs to lift up the populace, but it's good if they want to legislate what you believe?  This does not compute.

TAXES:
Wtf are you smoking?  It must be some good republicanized shit.  You're not actually showing anything that proves a point.  Have you an understanding of the tax plans?  Do you KNOW that "Joe the Plumber" isn't even a licensed plumber?  Or that the company he "plans to buy" doesn't even do enough business to qualify for that tax bracket?  And do you understand that this TAX INCREASE OMG!!! only affects people making over $200K annually?  What percentage of the population is that?  Want to take a guess?  The fact is, the MAJORITY of the population makes far less than that.  And did you bother to understand the full meaning of what Obama had to say?  That IF THESE TAX PLANS HE HAS IN MIND HAD BEEN IN EFFECT FOR THE LAST MANY YEARS, JOE WOULD HAVE PROBABLY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE ENOUGH TO HAVE ALREADY MADE THE PURCHASE, instead of talking about it in terms of future-tense still, in the year of 2008.

Of course you don't see all this; you're still too busy smoking that republican weed I like to call "I'm white & ignorant and therefore better,"  and searching for those reality blinders you need to put on before you leave your house for the day.

You should read a book.  I would recommend starting with something in History, and then moving on to Economic Theory and the history thereof.  Education would do you good.  I'd stay away from Porky Pig though, I don't think he's very intelligent;  that may be the reason you're so damn ignorant – the pigs you're hanging out with are bad influences.

So spread the word; topglock.com should maybe instead be called “Top Cock?” I’d vote for that. Sh!t, I mean, talk about being disconnected from any sort of reality. And hey, if you’re brave enough, you can even try and go to those links. They’re “great,” and by “great” I mean “Steaming piles of hateful, misinformed propaganda.” Which aren’t the same thing, but I was trying – for what, like 4 words? – to be nice to the guy.

Let’s all hope that he goes and gets that Education he so desperately needs.

Miles Losing His Hearing

I think Miles is losing his hearing. He’s old, and I was worried that he was getting to be ‘Old & Stubborn’ as well of recent. It just seemed that his behavior was such that he was deciding to “not hear” me when I was calling him or such. I had internally wondered whether it was actual hearing loss, or selective hearing loss; but I had just sort of accepted it was the latter.

But I still did wonder. And this morning, I think I got my first unequivocal proof that it is indeed actual hearing loss.

He’s a lab. If you have ever had labs, you know they’re food hounds. And if you’ve never had labs, now you know. Yes, they will happily eat until they explode. These are not dogs you can free-feed; Any food available is food that is consumed, it’s really that simple. Anyway. Our dogs eat well. Not only do we get them all-natural dog foods, but they also get our scraps & waste, which itself is all-natural & organic. This morning, it was eggs. The Girl thought that her eggs tasted funny (she’s a bit paranoid about spoilt food. “A bit” might be an understatement). So she left half of them on the plate, and since I ate mine and didn’t find anything wrong with them, I went to give the leftovers to the dogs. All the dogs but Miles were already in the Kitchen. So I called Miles.

He didn’t come.

This is unlike Miles. Where there’s food, there’s Miles. That’s just… Well it’s like cosmic law, dammit. I check around the corner, and he’s just sitting in the middle of the living room. Show him the plate and he comes like his butt’s on fire. Food still motivates him; alright!

But why didn’t he come when he was called? Well in this case, listening and coming when called leads to reward, and he knows it. And if it’s still highly-motivating for him, the only real answer is that he’s actually losing his hearing. I tested again about two minutes later, when all the dogs but he were outside. He was standing right next to me, sniffing the floor for food, and I called to him softly. I kept getting louder until he heard me. And it took a few tries before his ears perked. And even then, he wasn’t sure he was called, he was perking up to listen close to make sure he heard something.

Poor Miles. 12 Years old now, and he’s finally getting old. He’s going deaf, he’s getting slower, he’s getting a little grayer. At this point, he probably only has like a decade more to live.

OK you’ll have to excuse me; I have to go and give him a hug now.

Oldest, Least Funny Joke in HISTORY

OK so let’s set the stage: You’re outside washing your car or truck or van or horse & buggy, right? Someone, probably a neighbor or three, or maybe some guy that isn’t even from around your parts, sees you.

What’s the punchline?
“Hey you want to wash mine next?” or something similar.

Hey look, it’s not funny. It’s not cute, it’s been done before, probably a couple of times at least just today before you yourself said it again. It’s telegraphed, too easy to spot, and the polite smile & chuckle you get in return is actually code for “die you flaming moron.”

If you want to handle the situation even remotely well, avoid this classic “joke.” Maybe just mention that the car/truck/van/horse & buggy is looking clean, maybe even mention that yours needs cleaning too, if you must say something about it. Maybe even skip all that and just go for acknowledgement, as in “I see you’re cleaning your car/truck/van/horse & buggy today.”

But whatever it is you do, avoid the “wanna wash mine next” joke. Please. America is depending on you.

Apple Opposes Prop 8 in California

Late last week, Apple joined Google in publicly opposing Proposition 8 in California. For those who aren’t aware (what, are you living under a rock?), Proposition 8 is a ballot measure that is designed to change the constitution of California to specifically prohibit marriage between homosexuals.

Disclaimer: I’m a straight male.

I’m very proud of Apple. They, like Google before them, worded it correctly: it’s not a matter of marriage and whether you personaly support or oppose homosexuality, it’s a matter of civil rights. Passing this measure is a step in the wrong direction: it codifies hatred, making it legal to deny equal rights to a class of people based on a trait that doesn’t harm anyone else. Do I think homosexuality is ‘right’ or correct in any fashion? No. I do believe that it’s a genetic ‘malfunction,’ if you will. But I don’t believe that being homosexual somehow makes someone less a member of civilized society. They’re different, yes, but so am I, and so are you, and so is everyone else. If we don’t protect everyone’s right to equal protection of the law, then we have no room to complain if our personal rights are infringed or even expect that OUR protections afforded by the law are even valid.

I believe in equality for all, with the exception of those who would impose onto another. So long as the homosexuals are not trying to take marriage away from others, what’s the big deal? If it doesn’t limit your rights, do you have any real place to limit theirs?

I swear, it’s like Plessy v. Ferguson all over again, just sub gays for blacks.

Here’s what I think: anyone that votes “Yes on 8,” to limit the rights of others, should wake up the next morning to find out that they actually voted to limit their own rights, and not be allowed to… Do stuff they want. Hey, if it’s OK to limit other people’s rights, clearly it must be OK to have someone limit theirs too, correct? The ol’ “good for the goose, good for the gander” play.

I already sent my ballot in. No on 8, of course. Also, Barack Obama for Prez. Go America & personal freedom!

Random Bob, now playing "Bad Daddy"

On our eventual landing at the river yesterday, we role-played a little. I played the part of “bad daddy,” and the dogs played the part of “scared little children.”

It was bad on my part, but also? Oh-so-funny. Although, ahem, I didn’t actually get to laugh at the situation, The Girl did, as I was the “doer,” and thus she was the sole beneficiary of the funnies. Doesn’t that make her more culpable than me, anyhow? She’s the bad guy here really, I think. Anyway. The story.

As we landed on the river, I let the dogs out to roam the span. But I didn’t really feel much like parking it and picnicking at the exit/entrance from upper levels to lower levels, just in case we ended up with company, and also so that the dogs would not have such an easy path to follow to an out-of-sight street. So I stayed in the Tacoma and ventured further down the bank to find a nice deep spot for the dogs to play in, with a nice landing for us humans to sit on. The dogs were occupied with the mommy so they weren’t too concerned with my driving away.

Of course, I had to do something about this, no?

I found a spot, then drove back to pick up the mommy. I had a smile so she knew I was up to no good, but I didn’t quite tell her, just told her to get in so that we could drive to the spot I had selected. Made the sure dogs were not in front of us, then I took off like a… well, like an off-road truck on rugged riverbed, but fast enough that the dogs apparently got worried as hell that they were being left behind. Like I said, since I was doing the “doing.” I had to keep eyes forward and concentrate on not driving us into a rut or the river or something, but The Girl got to enjoy the heck out of the ordeal at the dog’s expense. Apparently, they freaked out and started charging for us as fast as they could. I imagine was hilarious, as The Girl was laughing as hard as I’ve ever heard her laugh, to the point of breathlessness.

When we stopped and they caught up with us, I let the tailgate down to sit on, and they took it upon themselves to jump on up, so as to make sure they went with us. Took a minute or two of convincing that it was just a joke and they were safe to roam and frolic, but they got the point, I think.

Does that make me a bad daddy? No, I don’t think it does. A case could definitely be made for The Girl being a bad mommy though. I mean, how rude; laughing so vigorously at the puppies’ expense. She should be ashamed.

Off-Road Trekking, kind of, but mostly river-trekking

Safari Trekkin’
Today we were trying to decide what to do since we both (The Girl & I) had today off. We finally decided to trek through some trails we hadn’t seen before. These were not hiking trails but driving trails, so there you have it. I found about 3 local trails on trails.com. I had to sign up for a trial membership to get the details, and it wasn’t worth it, but that’s history anyway, so on with today’s news.

The trail took us up through hills that we hadn’t even known existed before today. It was rather cool. These were steep slopes intertwined with rolling hills, dotted with cows at pasture and the occasional farm house. This was all quite removed from any town and was really rather impressive. We want to move to someplace very, very similar, in fact. What we saw was what we want to see daily. Today was sort of a reminder of what we’re really after in life. I want to be a semi-successful farmer, dammit, and go off-roading and hiking & trail-forging twice a week, and work cattle and land the other 5 days a week.

Anyway, this wasn’t as much 4x4-ing as I had hoped for. I could probably have made it with an Accord or a Taurus or something, albeit not as fast. And since it was essentially blockaded on either side by “private property,” there wasn’t anywhere to pull off and picnic like I had hoped, and let the puppies frolic in the open fields.

Sort of. See, it’s pretty open and yet wooded in places. And not only that, but there’s no buildings or homes or people for miles. Next time, some time in the future, we plan to totally squat on someone’s land for an afternoon and picnic. And maybe let the dogs try their hand at cattle rustling. Ha ha, OK maybe not the cattle rustling, but we’ll find a spot and frolic, frolic all day long!

But we’re not quite through yet.

Even though the prescribed trip was sort of a bust in the picnic arena, we did end up finding a place to park it along a river on the way back. A ‘main’ road back ran along a river and I managed to spy a little trail that led down to it. It was a hairy little trail, very tight and fun (!), and it landed us in prime location to hang out, have lunch, and let the dogs run around and play a little. This wasn’t some little creek, I mean this thing was some two football fields across, from bank to bank. Now since it’s fall and not spring, there was plenty of exposed bedrock, so we had a nice wide swath to park it on. All-in-all, it was a fun and productive day, despite the crappy directions of the trails.com “guide”. I don’t plan on getting into that, but just take with you that the road we found was quite less than expected, and also hidden behind a layer of verbal retardation that took two grown adults 30 miles & an hour to decipher.

The trial membership shall be cancelled shortly. Bleh.



New photos up
No new albums or anything, but I got a few good shots of the new guys and wanted to post them. Chase, especially. I haven’t had good opportunities to get many quality shots of him; black’s always hardest. But today all the variables were working in his favor, so I pulled of a good two or twelve at least. Check them out, huh?

Replacing my 3 year-old Salomons with the Help of zappos

First, the background
I’ve been running & hiking in Salomon XA Pro’s for 3 years now. When I first saw them, I thought they were the most hideous shoes on the showroom wall I was looking at, and the price! I was pretty sure I could find a decent hiking/running hybrid for less than that. Well I tried on literally every other pair, and in a fit of despair pulled out a set of them and slid them on.

It was love at first lace-up, if you can call it that. One of the things I love most about the shoes is the lacing system itself: you don’t lace them up like normal, you pull the laces – which are connected across – tight, and then slide a locking mechanism down. The excess lace tucks away into a pocket on the tongue. It’s awesome. It’s fast. It’s consistent. It doesn’t need readjustment! It’s almost flawless. If you’ve ever been camping and had cold hands and needed to tie your laes, you know the plight: it’s cold, it hurts your fingers, and you don’t have the dexterity to pull it off like you would like to. Well with the Salomons that’s not an issue any longer.

And they just felt “right” as soon as they got on my feet. None of the other shoes felt right. These were everything I could want in a shoe, and honestly? If I could wear them to work, I so would.



Second, getting the correct ones
They now make a couple of varieties; the normal ones and a Gortex-lined, waterproof variety. Well since they’re “Waterproof” and more expensive, all the local outdoor shoe places want to push them. Problem is, I don’t like the waterproof variety. They suck, and I can explain why.

Waterproof sounds good in theory, but the problem is – especially for an ankle-high shoe – if you encounter water, it’s going to get in the shoe. It’s going to go over the shoe boundary and inside. Which means that then, you’re foot’s wet, and it’s going to stay that way. So what it means is that yeah, they’re waterproof, so long as you don’t actually come across water in amounts that are worth mentioning.

Hey I like the thought too, it just doesn’t actually work.

So I prefer the regular ones. They breath really well, and drain really well, too. I use them as all-purpose shoes; they are my hiking boots/shoes, my trail running shoes, and my river shoes. Yeah, I will go straight into a river with these guys. See I know they will get wet, but I also know that they’ll dry out really fast, so I avoid the sloshy feeling of other shoes, especially “waterproof” varieties by sticking with the regular, breathable variety.

I’ve read about ONE instance where the Gortex makes sense: in sand. If you run along the beach or through fine-sand areas, the “waterproof” models will keep sand from seeping through into the shoe. And honestly I do run in a few places that I have problem with this, but I can just deal with it and hose them out when I get home; after all, they dry out fast, remember?



Third, the company
Some of you have probably heard of and used zappos.com before, so their mention isn’t news necessarily to you. I’d heard of them before too, but hadn’t used them until the day before yesterday. With just one hiccup, I can’t say I have anything but positive things to say about them.

I originally placed on order for red in 10-½. They didn’t end up having them, so they gave me a $20 credit on my next order, which I placed the next day for the same shoe in yellow or whatever color (it’s just highlights, I don’t really care. Picked red and/or yellow because those colors were on sale for an additional $20 off in the first place). But I f*cked up! I forgot to apply the coupon when I placed the new order, so I had to call them and get it straightened out.

Upon calling, I spoke with Darren. He looked up my order history, informed me of what happpened on the initial order, and then applied the $20 discount for me. THEN, he went even further and upgraded my free shipping option to OVERNIGHT shipping, still for free. So by the time all was said & done, I had my $125 Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultras for $82.60, and I have them on right now, 26 hours after I ordered them.

Needless to say, but so shall I anyhow: Kudos to zappos, and they’re highly recommended by the ‘bob.



Side note:
My foot has shrunk over my life. And not just that, either. First, I now wear a 10-½ as I stated earlier. But it’s not that my foot magically got smaller, it’s that the proportions and shape have changed over my years. I used to wear a 12 or so, but was also extremely flat-footed. Like, extremely. My footprint looked like the bottom-up view of my foot. You could see everything. However, as I’ve aged, I’ve actually developed an arch. Nothing major, but anymore I’d say I have what would be considered a normal arch.

Kind of interesting, I thought. Most people go the other way in life, ending up flat-footed with age. Huh.

McCain in the Final Debate of 2008

Well that’s done now. So what did we get out of it all?

McCain can’t do anything but “attack” and lie. Which is both dumb, and smart, I fear. See, he’s not talking about the issues, he’s instead attacking character. Well whether Obama’s a gentleman or an old fart is of less concern to me than what his stances are on policy. Not talking about policy means that you’re not telling me what’s better about your platform than his. However, fear seems to be a powerful sway over the regular constituency. And it helps when the only policy issues he brings up he lies about, too. Combine fear with the other guy’s policy which you’re lying about, and that can be a deadly combo. Refer to election 2004, and election 2000.

I am seriously tired of hearing McCain conflate Obama’s tax scheme with “raise your taxes.” It’s simply not true. He’s trying to drive people to vote for him by insinuating to them that their taxes will go up if they vote for “the other guy.” It’s old. It’s tired. It’s much like McCain around 2pm in the afternoon, methinks. And it’s just not fair. Look, I want to debate politics, of which “policy” is root. To me it’s more important to hear how you think your plan will be better than to hear about how you think ACORN is perpetuating the biggest voter fraud scam in history (which isn’t true in the slightest; if anything they’re the victims of fraud, having paid people to register voters and they essentially getting paid for not doing that. And he knows it).

And the whole thing about his butthole being hurt because Obama didn’t repudiate the statements comparing him to George Wallace? Untrue, too.

You know, last week he gained some major points with me for having set his rabid supporters straight about his nationality & such; this week he pretty much undid all of that. I mean, I wasn’t going to vote for him anyhow as I disagree with about 90% of his policy stances, but at least I could respect him as of last Friday; that’s not the case as of this Thursday, though.

Ho-hum. Doesn’t matter anyhow. I’m registered as a permanent absentee voter. And mine’s since been sent out. Even if Obama came out and said he endorsed McCain too, the vote’s already almost literally in the bag.

Apple Releases new MacBook Lineup

What I like about the new Apple MacBook lineup
The MacBooks – even the bottom dwellers – are now all-aluminum. This is awesome because having had an aluminum PowerBook before, I can attest that they’re much easier to keep clean. They are also LED-lit, which makes them brighter, and also means that they will be “instant-on,” meaning no delay from the time they light to the time they are full-brightness. Also: they ALL have backlit keys now! Like like like!

One of the things I think I LOVE about the news guys is that they did away with the standard trackpad. Now they’re made of glass, and instead of having a button at the bottom, the whole thing is a button. Click anywhere and it’s a click! Simple! Ought to make clicking & dragging especially easy.



What I dislike about the new Apple MacBook lineup
There are downsides, however. Number one is price. They seem to have gotten more expensive, which is a boo-hoo for me. The other is the fact that the processor speeds are actually slower than the last iterations. The top-end is the same, but the entry-level is now 2.0ghz, where before it was 2.2ghz.

This is partly made up for with the faster graphics processor and also the faster memory bus, but still – couldn’t you have at least stuck with the same speeds, Apple?

And, that’s it for my short list of dislikes.



Buying decisions
It’s been only about a year since I bought my current laptop. Is it worth replacing? No. I like the upgrades, and I shall have them in due time. However there’s not enough lacking in my current rig to really warrant the handful of $100’s that it would take to get the new guys.

So, I’ll wait. Unless I can find a sucker willing to purchase mine for close to the original purchase price. Any takers? It’ll be a collector’s item soon enough: Black MacBook? They don’t even make them anymore!

No? No one? Dammit.

Fun with Palin Headlines & Republican-Bashing

“Panel Finds Palin Abused Power, Broke No Laws”
That was the headline, folks, but, well… The very first line of this article reads as so: “A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner.”

So, I guess I’ll be the one to ask: How do you unlawfully abuse your power, but have broken no law? Is that even possible? Isn’t the definition of Unlawful sort of that by its very nature, you’ve broken a law?

Wow, you gotta hand it to those republicans; they can spin anything into a win.



“ Palin pre-empts state report, clears self in probe”
Can you even do that? I mean, how convenient, right? You’ve just broken laws (or not, I guess) by having been shown to have abused your powers, but everything’s OK because after all, you just clear yourself of any wrongdoing. Must be nice. Sign me up for that job. Hell, if she can do it, I refuse to believe that I cannot. Do I have to say it? Do I? OK, just one more time though:

Wow, you gotta hand it to those republicans; they can spin anything into a win.



However, they’re still losing
Which is great for America & Americans alike. Yes, even the rabid haters out there yelling falsities. Look dufuses, believe it or not (I know the answer to that one btw), we’re on your side. Yeah, it’s true. Look, Obama was right: you DO cling to your religions & guns, when in reality you should be clinging to a lifeboat. We’re sinking, people. Your current dire situations are not the cause of a black man or a liberal or a homosexual; you’re worse-off now than you were 8 years ago because of the “failed” economic policies of the Right. I say “failed” because honestly, it was a success for them. You think they’re you, that they’re on your side, but they’re patently not.

See this is the thing you have to swallow: they are not you. They may look like you, but quite honestly they’ve fooled you into believing who “the others” are: non-white, non-Protestant anyone. They’ve convinced you that it’s the niggers & the gays & “The Liberals” that are tearing apart the fabric of America. Bullsh*t. Look, gay marriage is not going to bankrupt your family. You won’t notice. Hell, no one’s even asking you to approve personally. I don’t. I don’t like homosexuality. But the thing is, it doesn’t really affect you the way your GOP wants you to believe. They tell you that they’re on your side, and that it’s all these other guys that are “different” that are the reason for your economic & moral decline. Sorry, but in reality, the reasons are plain & simple: money. They have it, and they have gotten it by taking it away from you, and giving it to themselves and their already-rich brethren.

The sooner more people realize that it’s been a game of misdirection, the sooner we all – you and I, the middle class, the majority of Americans – will be better off. I’m dead serious, folks. They say that it’s these guys over there that are creating your plight, all the while they’re reaching into your wallet and taking what’s yours; they tell you that they’re just like you and on your side, while rallying you against those that are noticeably “different.” This is a scam, because in actuality, the difference between the haves & have-nots is not color or sexuality, it’s merely money. YOU are different from THEM, the GOP. Your money in their coffers is all they really care about.

Think I’m lying? Look who’s being taxed the most. You. Look who’s being bailed out for being fiscally irresponsible. The Rich. They take your money, and they give it to the rich, after the rich have run through your life savings.

This isn’t a very fun game, now is it?

OK so now get over the blackness & the name; you know what you gotta do: Vote pro-American; vote Democrat 2008.

VoIP to become Reality?

It’s going to happen!
I ordered Vonage yesterday. With taxes, it will come in @ a hair over $19 a month. That’s a $31 savings every month. Or put another way, that’s two Round Table Pizzas a month. Supposed to be here shortly!



Maybe not!
There was an issue with trying to transfer our number over. Since Vonage relies on an internet connection and my internet is through my phone service… Well that poses a problem. I have to get the phone company to separate the two first. I envision problems trying to get this to happen properly.

Silver lining, though. I was investigating Skype as well, which is ALSO a VoIP service, but instead of using special hardware to plug your existing phone into your router & thus your internet connection, it basically just uses your computer as the phone. The the downside is that you don’t have a handset, but the upside is that you have a pretty cool speakerphone!

The other upside is that service – after I get ahold of a phone # for it – will be a whopping $5.50 a month. $5.50 a month! You know what that is? That’s another Round Table Pizza, baby, on top of the other two! There are catches, though, beyond the handset issue (which is a non-issue as we can get a headset for the ‘puter and be just the same about). For one, they don’t bill it as a home phone service replacement, because it’s not hooked up with 911 service. This is not really an issue for us, as we have emergency cell phones that will do 911 anyhow. The other issue, and probably the main one for me, is that the computers must be on at all times. Since they’re essentially the phone now, that means that if the computers are off, as are the phones. Not sure how I feel about that quite yet. There is one other issue that equally affects both; since they run off an internet connection – which requires a modem on a power source – if either a) the power goes out, or b) the internet goes wonky, we don’t have home phone. But hey, we got those emergency cell phones, right?

At this point, we’re considering it. Going to try and talk out the details, make a decision. We’ll either be letting the Vonage order go through and trying hassle with at&t to split up the internet service, or we’ll be placing a stop-order with Vonage due to difficulties with the phone company, and then jumping to skype.

That One!

Yes Senator McCain, that’s right: That One. That One is the the one we’ll all be voting for. That One is the one that has a vision that helps us all out. That One is the one that hasn’t put politics above their own moral outlook; I mean, talk about flip-flopping! Anymore you’re opposed to who you were just two years ago, in the arena of tax cuts for the rich, regulation, you name it.

That One. Yes, Senator McCain, That One. That One is the one that, according to the map here, has well over 300 electoral votes already, while you have less than 200. Yikes. And this map shows a similar story.

So while you’re busy lying about – well, pretty much everything – in order to shore up a base that really isn’t worth shoring up in the first place, the rest of us – the REAL moral majority – are going to go ahead and vote for That One.

Senator McCain, you’ve never been more right before in your life.

Tears of the Sun

You know I “accidentally” put this movie on our queue, I think. I was thinking hey didn’t this get pretty good reviews? and put it on our list. See what I think happened was I saw “Tears of the Sun” and thought “The Thin Red Line,” which was more or less fairly well-received. Turns out, “Tears of the Sun” is sort of, well, not.

It’s not a complete waste though, because it does have some redeeming qualities. None of these, however, are Bruce Willis. Hey it’s not like he sucked up the screen too bad, but I’m just saying, it’s a Bruce Willis performance, not a Morgan Freeman performance. No, the redeeming qualities come by way of the realities of war; seeing the atrocities that man brings upon other man. It really makes you ponder the very nature of your fellow man; are we inherently good? You’d like to imagine so, but seeing what we do in the name of “war” or “following orders” is maddening.

Hey look, I know it’s just a Hollywood movie, but it’s based on events, you know? And it doesn’t help that the opening sequence is news footage of unarmed people being gunned down in the streets.

I wish we had more autonomy to act right. What I mean is, the basic premise of this movie is that a leader of a tactical unit that’s pulling a select few American ambassadors out has a bout of conscience in the middle of the mission and decides he needs to help out the natives who are being “ethnically cleansed” in Nigeria. He decides to “abandon” the mission and instead of helping one white woman, helps everyone as much as possible. The rest of the movie is pretty dumb (for instance: they airlifted half of the people at first, but then we find out that a wanted prince is still with the other half and they’re hunting him down? Duh, should have put him on the airlifted chopper, perahps? WTF?), but I don’t think they wanted to do much except show how sick we humans can be to other humans without stopping to ask “why” at least occasionally, and to that end it succeeded.

But let’s be honest: when you set the bar at Palin Height, you really have no excuse for not clearing it, you know? Yeah I’d say that overall, the movie itself earned it’s 34% rating on rotten tomatoes. The message, however, did a fair bit better than that. But maybe that’s just because issues of humanity touch me more than others, who knows. I question this stuff frequently as-is, so maybe I’m primed on questions of the Human Condition.

Don’t watch this movie. If you want to question humanity and still see a decent war flick, do what I meant to do and rent The Thin Red Line. Or Saving Private Ryan. You’ll be better off. Unless you just adore Bruce Willis, but really, what’s that? All ONE of us?

Going VoIP Soon

I’m pretty sure I’m going to be doing the VoIP thing here pretty soon. Not sure how the internet thing is going to work without the standard home phone line, but I figure even if I have to pay ~$10 to keep it active just for DSL, I’m still saving us about ~$25 a month (after taxes). Hey that’s a couple of Round Table Pizzas, dammit! Totally worth the effort.

And you know, it’s not like we use the phone that much. The Girl talks with her mom & Aunt a bit, but they video chat over the internet anyway so the phone’s not in use. Me? Well I’m just not that popular. Friday was my Birthday, and I got a whopping 3 phone calls. The Girl responded that “everyone’s calling here today.” Because 3 people called to talk to me. Not. Popular.

So hey, with my unpopularity, I might as well save $25 a month and put it towards pizzas. Or retirement. Whatever, right? Right.

Yahoo! News: Babies & Sugar

So many things wrong with this headline
From my at&t Yahoo! Homepage: Couple’s accidental meeting surprises parents.

So the story goes like this: These two crazy kids are born on the same day 25 years ago at the same hospital in the same room. The mom of the son runs into this girl at work, as they actually work together. She sets up a meeting between the two, and they hit it off and get married.

OK now, two things strike me off the bat. First off, they didn’t “accidentally meet.” The mom set them up. The mom & the daughter accidentally met, but that’s not what the headline said, now is it? No, it said the parents were surprised that the children accidentally met 25 years later.

2nd thing, and one that happens often with at&t Yahoo! lately, is that it’s under the heading of “Dow Jones Marketwatch.“

Yeah you got me on that one, too. I haven’t the slightest how this relates to the Dow Jones Market. At all. But hell if that doesn’t stop Yahoo from giving us these stories about weekly, from house care to lawn furniture choices to proper BBQ techniques. All, apparently, related to the Dow Jones Marketwatch.

I had no idea they were that widespread.



Thanks, Captain Obvious (Formerly Cap’n Crunch)
Apparently, these cereals – not any others! – are high in sugar. Seriously, it’s spot-on journalism like this that keeps me informed. How the hell else would I be able to guess that a cereal like “Honey Smacks” or Cookie Crisp” or “Lucky Charms,” what with its colorful MARSHMALLOWS, might be unhealthy?

Thank you, Consumer Reports. I’m glad you’re out there, eating all the sugary snacks, instead of, say, testing vehicle safety or something.

?

Toyota Vehicle Stability Control & the 2009 Model year

When I originally went shopping for a new Tacoma, I was in the midst of the new 2009 releases hitting the sales floor. I wasn’t too concerned with whether the truck I got was ‘technically’ a 2008 or 2009, all I cared about was that it had the options that I was looking for; I knew what I wanted. Though we settled on a price for a 2008, it turns out that the option package they sold me on only exists on the 2009. So due to the hassle, the dealership has been nice enough to bestow upon me a 2009 for essentially the 2008, fully-rebated price. Sweet.

Well that’s strike one for the 2009/2008 model differences. There are others. Some that aren’t widely in literature yet, but that I have experience with. I thought I’d share to help some people’s search for answers out.

Prior to 2009, it seems that the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) that was available on the Tacomas was automatically shut off as soon as you entered 4WD. All the literature says so. All similarly-equipped vehicles act that way: the 4Runner, the FJ Cruiser, etc. But I had read in my manual for the 2009 some contradictory information, parts saying that VSC was off in 4WD, some other parts almost seeming to indicate that only 4WD-Lo caused it to shut off. In my initial experimentations on pavement, just pushing all the buttons, it seemed that from the dash indicators, that indeed in 4WD-Hi, the “off” lights stayed unlit.

I asked for clarification from the dealer, and their extended manuals unequivocally stated that indeed, the VSC systems turns off as soon as you entered 4WD at all. Of note though, was that this manual was printed in 2008. I was still a little wary of taking this answer as sound, even though the sales guy owns an FJ Cruiser that he said did adhere to this premise. His 2008, that is.

I had to wait to play with the Tacoma because I didn’t have a shell for the puppies until a month after the truck was purchased. And I wasn’t going anywhere without the dogs. But as soon as I got it, I was out at the local Bay to play in the sand a little. Put it into 4WD-Hi and hit the sand runnning. Take a few turns, and I hear *clack clack clack,* *Ding,* and see the VSC Activated light come on.

We have a winner, folks. Despite anything you may have read, in the 2009 models at least, VSC works in conjunction with 4WD-Hi. I can verify from personal experience.

It’s important on-road because for as long as 4WD-Hi has been around, the general consensus has been that in rain & slippery conditions, turn that on to maintain maximum traction. Well enter VSC and the “must have 4WD off” conundrum. What do you do? VSC is designed to help keep you on the road when you lose control. 4WD-Hi is designed to keep you from losing traction in the first place. Now you have to decide? So the consensus was sort of leaning towards keeping the vehicle in 2WD with VSC kept on. So then what’s the use of 4WD-Hi? Got me.

Well as of 2009 that’s not a conundrum any longer. You get both instead of having to decide – put it in 4WD-Hi and VSC still works, so you get to keep the traction aid, and also use the lost-traction aid as well.

Trust me, it is so. Trust the ‘bob; he knows what’s going down.

What’s still up for debate though, is whether the ‘bob likes VSC in the first place. Now that we’re getting our first rain of the season, I’ve had a chance to play around with it, get the tires spinning and fishtail around corners. The issue I think boils down to whether or not you’re a a “Driver” or you just happen to steer your vehicle to a destination. If you’re a Driver like me, then I think VSC blows; you know how to handle a vehicle, you know what the limits are and how to correct, and even more, you know how to walk that knife edge between fully adhered & fully-loose, and get the most out of a given situation. Most people just steer their car to a place, and for them, yeah VSC can be a lifesaver, I guess. What it’s doing is basically countering for these people’s lack of knowledge, and putting a Driver in the, uh, driver’s seat.

But for a real Driver in the first place, now it’s trying to counter bad tactics, even though I’m using good tactics. So basically, it’s two lefts, which doesn’t make a right. For instance, I got loose on the wet pavement going around a corner at modest speed. I was fully expecting the truck to fishtail, I was even trying to see what the VSC would do. But as soon as it got loose – before the VSC was even aware, actually – I was in recover mode, and started feathering the throttle and counter-steering. However, VSC was basically trying to do the same thing. Which means that in the end, I had counter-steered a tad bit too much, and was pointing slightly more outward (facing the outside of the turn) than I would have liked; I like to end up facing the direction I’m trying to go – with VSC at my aid, I was pointing the wrong way still.

Maybe I just need to change how I behave, who knows. Maybe I can make the most of it if learn to just keep in the throttle and not bother about anything else, let the VSC do the thinking.

But see that’s the issue! I still feel I’m better at it. The VSC is “guessing” the conditions and what’s necessary to right me; I actually KNOW the conditions and what is necessary to right me. I think I might just start turning it off first thing. 2WD, 4WD-Hi, who cares; I’ll fishtail to my heart’s content.

In Need of Backpack

I need a new backpack. You probably don’t remember, but awhile back I was looking for a new backpack. I’m back on the prowl now, I suppose. And what’s more, I’m looking at similar designs, I think. Sort of.

I want to be able to take my laptop safely with me when we go out & about. Why, you ask? Because I do use my computer (note this blog). It’s ultra-convenient. But the thing is, I really like being outdoors; I like hiking, I like chilling in what might be considered odd places to some more civilized individuals. And Basically I want the best of both worlds. I want to be able to enjoy my nature journeys, yet spend less time & home and in civilized areas using a computer; I want to just use the computer in the uncivilized areas!

So yeah, back on the prowl for something to fit my needs. No DSLR concerns this time, though. Just my lil’ Canon Elph that Could (when it’s not Couldn’t-ing, that is).