Saying no is a part of being a parent! / Its not tobaccos fault you smoke

So I was reading through my usual morning news this morning and found this article. This woman is suing McDonalds because of their marketing ploy towards children. Putting aside the fact that's an idiotic lawsuit lets talk about this specific quote.

"We have to say no to our kids so many times and McDonald's makes that so much harder to do. I object to the fact that McDonald's is getting into my kids' heads without my permission and actually changing what my kids want to eat."

Are you serious right now? What you are saying flat out is that you don't want to/can't say no to your kids about McDonalds? What kind of shitty parent are you? This is one of the things that has really gone wrong in the world. Your a parent lady, its your job to say no when it needs to be said. It's not McDonald's problem that you don't want to say no to your friggin kid!

Ok that being said lets go to the other great news story (sarcasm) of the day. In Massachusetts the superior court just awarded $71,000,000 tot he family of a life long smoker because tobacco marketed towards her as a child. Dude what are you two? The woman was 54 years old when she died and still smoked up to that day. Take some responsibility for yourself dude. How is it a company's fault for her continuing to smoke? If this was any drug other than smoking this would not happen, people die of liver issues from alcohol every year and people don't sue Budweiser.

This is a really big issue for my generation. I can only hope that we have more sense than our parents and take some personal responsibility for things. It's not always other peoples fault, in fact i bet most of the time its your own personal fault. Ugh!

Maine

So with my first Maine trip for as long as I can remember I wanted to touch on why I love my cabin so much. It isn't really what you would call modern, in fact this year marks the first year that we have ever had running water (we used to use a handpump) Nor is it even that "nice" a cabin, its an old logging cabin that really was only used for logging for one season. It's none of that that draws me to Andover Maine as often as possible....its this

Its the total seclusion from people. Its sitting out in the woods and listening to the sounds. It's the lack of TV and phone (although cell phones are still usable, I try to ignore them) It's having no one give you shit! It's the ability to feel a little closer to the natural world that we have so readily tossed aside. Makes you feel alive! Yay Maine!!

The holiday rush into the Maine chill

Sorry for the huge delay in updating. I, like my friend The Sailing Foodie, have been very busy with work the last couple of weeks. It has been an interesting/aggravating/rewarding couple of weeks, but lets talk about something more interesting....Christmas.

This is the unique time of year where the last two or three weeks of December are spent rushing around the world trying to finish Christmas shopping, hit up holiday/birthday parties, and planning all the parties that will happen in the whirl that is Christmas eve and Christmas day. Although Christmas is a time which I love it certainly is hectic. Because of that I wanted to focus this blog on two separate parts of the holiday season: Buying/decorating a Christmas tree and MW and my annual trip to Maine

First off is the tree. There is nothing better to me about the Christmas season than the day we get our tree and decorate it. Decorating was never a huge thing in my house and, since MW has 5 siblings, it has always been huge in hers. In the last couple of holidays we have spent one entire day getting all the decorations and hanging around enjoying each others company. This year was the perfect example of that. After buying our tree on Saturday we hit up the Flynn household for my little sister-in-laws birthday on Sunday (that's the first time I have gotten to say sister in law!) It was a very fun time with laughter as well as some excellent Disney karaoke on the WII. This was actually kind of a momentous birthday because it is the first one since MW and I got married. It wasn't to awkward and the day was ended with a great big hug by my other sister-in-law LF, which made my day.

After the party we returned home to decorate our tree, drink hot cider/cocktails, and watch the Grinch. It was low key and just plain fun to spend an evening watching the Grinch with my lovely wife.

The second part of the holidays I love is our annual new years eve trip to Maine. Unfortunately this didn't happen last year due to remodeling of our Cabin, but this year we are even more excited to go up. The cabin is new and improved and after dinner with my aunt MW and I will be experts in all our new gadgets (including a sweet new wood stove) To me there is nothing better than sitting at the cabin with some friends, having drinks, listening to music and just hanging. Sure we miss the ball drop and all that (no tv), but we can have a kick ass party and really enjoy each others company. Plus it is one of my favorite things to be able to go outside whenever and just sit and look at the stars, you don't see the stars like that down here.

So this wasn't the greatest of posts, but I wanted to get somethigng out to hopefully jump start the creative juices. Once I have time I have a couple of insightful/rageful/fun things to post so you will back to your regularly schedeuled "Damn your impudence sir!" glory. I leave you with an excellent picture of the Cabin in Maine a la new years 2008/2009

I am sorry Arnold....but fuck California

Alright I am getting really fucken sick of San Francisco. Stop trying to protect people from themselves. You have no right to do it! San Fransisco has so far tried to ban toys from Happy Meals and now some people in the city want to ban the right of a parent to get a circumcision

Now this post is not to debate the pros and cons of circumcision. Nor is it to debate McDonald's corporate responsibility (although dude it has to do with parents buying McDonald's not them offering toys). This is about the rights of a people. Your a fucken town San Fransisco! Stay out of private citizens lives! If people want to have a toy with their happy meal you have zero right to deny them that! Stop trying to protect people from themselves and start trying to balance the budget and make sure children are getting the proper education. Stop wasting peoples time!

A better blog post is to follow, this just got me going

Relax...your fine

So I had anew experience today, of which I am very glad. Usually when I get upset or annoyed about something I let it kind of run me for a bit. A good mood can go to a very bad mood quickly and it has always been very difficult for me to break out of that bad mood. Today I broke myself out of such a mood rather quickly, maybe 10 minutes.

I just stopped and took a second and it made all the difference. My mind can usually come up with things very quickly and my biggest problem when I get upset is that I don't slow my mind down at all. It jumps from one thing to the other, always getting more and more pissed off. Today I interrupted my mind by forcing it to focus on one thing, my little stone frog that I keep on my desk. By allowing it only to focus on the little frog my anger dissipated.

I took a deep breath and moved on. Sure I am still pissed off about some stuff, but it's nice to not get controlled by that anger.

What I would do in a Zombie invasion

So MW and I have been watching The Walking Dead and I have decided that the people who are writing the shows are probably close to the way people would actually react in a zombie apocalypse type of situation. This is causing me distress. I know that humans are animals that thrive on routine, but the thought that humans would just fall back into the social norms of every day life after a zombie invasion is just crazy.

In the show a medium sized group of survivors (from what I can see probably 6 guys, 6 woman and like 4 children) are trying to get through the zombie apocalypse. They seem to have fallen into gender driven roles (the woman clean and cook/ the men hunt and protect the group) Some of the woman are the show are clearly upset that the men hang around while the woman do nothing (understandable) Some of the men clearly do very little/nothing/dangerous stuff and don't help with anything (stupid people)

At this point it hit me. This particular group of people are just taking in random refugees? Why does that make sense. To me this is rule number one of survival. The social norms no longer apply, you need to look after your self and your loved ones.

In the show there is a guy who beats his wife and does no work to assist the group. Why would you allow him into this group? Just because he is a human doesn't mean he is going to assist you in surviving. If he/her isnt going to assist you then they can jog on. If the person reacts violently, than you must resort to violence or flee. This isn't down town Beverly man, this is survival.

The show also has two crazy guys that seem to have no want with people. Well then why the heck are they on the team? If that kind of situation you need people that will do work. not someone who will stand on a building starting fights.

Now thats also not to say that you need to like everyone in the group. So long as everyone is pulling their weight then that's what counts. If they aren't pulling their weight you have two options; leave or make them leave.

65 red roses....kind of an eye opening experience/ Hope

So MW posted a link on her twitter the other day that really gave me a kind of eye opening experience. The link was a news story on someone named Eva Markvoort. Eva was a 25 year old Canadian woman with Cystic Fibroses who live blogged her time leading up to a double lung transplant, her time after the surgery, her bodies eventual rejection of the transplant, and her eventual death.

Now I don't think of myself as someone who is easily taken aback or drawn into something, but this girls story just fascinated me. It also opened up a little more information in my eyes as to why someone would like blog/tweet a significant thing in their life, such as dying. This girls story has stuck with me now for three days and is really one of those things that remind you, no matter how bad things get, hope is still there.

This leads me to something that has always fascinated me about younger people, hope. MW and I were talking about this while watching the hockey game the other day, it seems so easy for children and younger people to have hope. We talked about the fact that a 40 year old who loses a limb often is depressed and has a huge issue adjusting (if they ever do). Why is it that a child of 4 or 5 can have a horrible thing happen to them and retain so much hope. It's a question that is very fascinating to me and I'm not sure I quite have an answer.

So keep hope my friends... its one of the most important things we as humans have.

I leave you with a quote that many of you will appreciate. We all know that I am a bit apprehensive about machines taking over one day. Maybe its the lack of hope and compassion that makes me the most nervous. I know this has been a bit of a disjointed post, but it's the end of the day Friday. I really encourage people to read Eva's story, if anything it's a story that will open your eyes a bit.

I leave you with this scene from I Robot

"Susan Calvin: What happened to you?
Detective Del Spooner: Headed back to the station. Normal day, normal life. The driver of a semi fell asleep at the wheel. Average guy, wife and kids, working a double. *Not* the devil. The car he hit, the driver's name was Harold Lloyd. Like the film star, but no relation. He was killed instantly. But his twelve-year-old was sitting in the passenger's seat. Never really met her. Can't forget her face, though. Sarah.
[fingering the necklace]
Detective Del Spooner: This was hers. She wanted to be a dentist. What the hell kind of twelve-year-old wants to be a dentist? Yeah, um... the truck smashed our cars together and pushed us into the river. You know, metal gets pretty pliable at those speeds. She's pinned, I'm pinned, the water's coming in. I'm a cop, so I know everybody's dead. Just a few minutes until we figure that out. NS4 was passing by and jumped in the river.
NS4 Robots: [from flashback] You are in danger!
Detective Del Spooner: [from flashback] Save her!
NS4 Robots: [from flashback] You are in danger!
Detective Del Spooner: [from flashback] Save her! Save the girl!
Detective Del Spooner: But it didn't. Saved me.
Susan Calvin: The robot's brain is a difference engine. It's reading vital signs. It must have done...
Detective Del Spooner: It did. I was the logical choice. It calculated that I had a 45% chance of survival. Sarah only had an 11% chance. That was somebody's baby. 11% is more than enough. A human being would've known that. Robots,
[indicating his heart]
Detective Del Spooner: nothing here, just lights and clockwork. Go ahead, you trust 'em if you want to."

mmm sleep

So I am not sure why, but the past 2 weeks I have had the hardest time staying asleep at night. I can think of one night in that time frame that I haven't woken up at least twice in a night. I am not sure why and no matter what I have changed it has stayed relatively constant. The only factor that seems to have affected my sleep was when I took some time walking Maddie to just think and reflect. Not worry about anything and just take a breath and relax. So that is my focus tonight, lets see if it works.

what do you want...a cookie?

Dear facebook/twitter/foursquare/friends-

I feel we must talk. First off I am very happy that we live in a land where you can vote and politicians are not chosen for us by the goverment. Let's get that straight right off. However I am getting a bit sick of being told by people to vote. Whether I (or anyone else) votes is not the concern of the public. Voting is a right, not a requirement. In fact I would be so bold as to say if you don't have an opinion, or if you like none of those running, not voting is a perfectly acceptable thing to do.

I am not sure where this push to have everyone in the country vote came from. I know that my mom and grandmother would always say you need to vote! Here is my question to all, why do I need to vote? Thats part of what makes America amazing, the fact that you do not need to vote to have a part/opinion/bitch about the government.

Now I am also not saying that I don't like to vote. I really and truly love to vote if I am informed on the issues being voted on. Nor am I saying whether or not I voted last night, I don't feel its really anyones business. All I am saying is that it seems to me we should encourage discussion and interest in political issues and activities instead of just saying go vote.

So please stop letting me know you voted on Facebook, I really don't care. And please don't give me shit if I DECIDE not to vote, its my right.

Love

Chris

Ps. I love debate so feel free to leave a comment if you feel that voting is something that everyone should be doing in all elections. I am not saying mine way is the right way, just that it's what I like best.

"...and then you go and do something like this....and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!"

So I have to hand it to Kittery Trading post. Once more I can love that place. I had this in my email this morning from the Maine Inland Fish and Wildlife:

Dear Friend of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife:

As you know from our recent email to you, IF&W had a Freedom of Access Act request from Kittery Trading Post for our customer email address list. The Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) is a law that requires a state agency to provide public records to anyone upon request. We provided our customer email address list to Kittery Trading Post, and Kittery Trading Post did pay the fee that is required to get that list.

Both Kittery Trading Post and IF&W apologize for any issues this matter may have caused you. The folks at Kittery Trading Post have always had a great working relationship with this agency and our customers. This email is to inform you that Kittery Trading Post has decided to return our customer email list to us unused. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership into the future.

Your Friends at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

What is a libertarian part duex

So I was looking at the Libertarian website this morning and decided to post their platform...I think these ideals just make sense.

Libertarian platform

Pictures of Maine

Ok so this post is a bunch of pictures of Maine! This is something I talked about in a post a long time ago. But I miss Maine a lot, especially at this time of year. The above picture is the closest I could get to a fall picture of the Cabin. For some reason I don't know where a lot of my Maine pictures are so I will do my best and get more pictures later. This Cabin has been my refuge for my entire life. Below are a couple of pictures of my favorite places/times/events in Maine

This is Lovejoy bridge. Although I haven't really started fishing or swimming here until the last couple years it has always been the quintesential Maine thing. I mean come on a covered bridge from like 100 years ago? Bad ass. Below and to the right is me fishing below the bridge.

To the right is a picture of my favorite fishing spot, Black brook. This particular spot is called the log bridge. At some point in the last 60 or so years a logger laid two large tree trunks across the brook, making it easy to fish the entire brook. The area around is overgrown and a little tougher fishing, but this log allows for a lazy day sitting and relaxing. On this particular day of fishing it happened to be pouring and four brave souls (myself, MW, MC and JB) braved it to have our 14 dollars worth of fun. It is always well worth it, even if you don't catch a thing.

The best part of the cabin is obviously being up there with a group of people that you love. Everyone around a fire with some beverages.....can't beat it. I will get some more pictures and update more about Maine later on

Your running for the Senate and you don't know the first amendment?

Really?

Christine O'Donnell please stop running for the Senate right now. If you cannot be bothered to even pretend to know the Constitution please just stop running for congress. The first amendment is the following:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

You don't see why/how that is a separation of church and state??

I had to add a whole new label for this....fucking stupid

Sure it may be a right, but personally you suck

I was reading this story on CNN today and it got me thinking. It is absolutely the Boy Scouts of America's right as an organization to not allow gays to be in it. Just like they should be allowed to exclude any other person because its a private organization. That being said what does that prove?

As a former Boy Scout who was very active throughout my time it sickens me that the BSA is going to take this stand. You are required to get 3 separate citizenship badges in Boy Scouts in order to rise in rank. How is it being a good citizen to hate someone because they are gay? If anything they should be encouraging people from every aspect to join. The more variety that is allowed in Boy Scouts the more the scouts will learn.

And its not a matter of someone teaching "gay" thought either. No BSA leader should be bringing in their personal views to try and change the way a kid thinks. You are there to teach them how to be a good person and how to camp. If you hate black, do it on your own time. If you hump goats, do it on your own time. Continue the rule that you must have at least two adults at all time. It's not like gay's are going to rape boys more than straights, its the rape part thats the issue not the penis loving part. Don't allow rapists, do your background check and let gays in. Where is the issue?

The point is for kids to have fun and learn there things. As long as that happens I don't see why someone being gay should prevent them from helping kids.

This is not a political post, but more of a social post. I think the BSA should be allowed to exclude gays, I just don't think they should.

God damn you freedom of information act Part II

Dude there was another Freedom of Information act request to the Maine department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife! That means once more my email (which shouldn't be public domain) is being released to a 3rd party. Why does Kittery Trading Post need my email that bad??

Fuck you Freedom of Information requests!

Since when is the Pentagon authorized to disagree with the Court?

Alright so usually I am very pro things that the military, as a whole, does. But where the hell does the Defense Department get off telling soldiers to remain quiet until pending appeals go through? This is America and the United States Court system has ruled that Don't Ask Don't Tell is unconstitutional. Fuck you DOD. You don't have the right to punish anyone who is following the law. Thats not how the United States of America operates. The law is ridiculous and unconstitutional in the first place, but you making a move to disagree with the court and not assure that the courts decision can be followed is unacceptable. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on D.O.D

Ps. A gay person can protect and serve just as well as a straight person. This is America home of the free, not America home of the free unless you are gay in which case you need to pretend you are straight or you may hurt your fellow soldiersfeelings. Your fellow soldiers don't like it then they should take a dishonorable discharge. They sign up to protect and serve the people and constitution of the United States, including people they dont agree with. If they don't want to carry out that charge then get the fuck out of the military you stupid cowards.

All the MMA kids will cringe at seeing this but it's the truth in this case.
" Mine is not to question why, mine is but to do or die" Do your jobs, I'm sorry your big macho-ness is offended by a gay person, just do your damn job

Why would you trust your children to an 11 year old?

Check this out

Putting the fact that she killed a baby aside why would you ever trust an 11 year old to watch a child. Ok so before anyone gets worked up and starts saying that they were babysitters at 11 I am not saying that it's an 11 year olds fault for not having the skills to babysit. I am sure there are plenty of 11-15 year olds (my sister in law LF is one of them) who do very well watching children. But think of it from the mindset of an 11 year old. To do that I will pose a scenario

Lets say that you are an 11 year old babysitter watching a 2 year old (like in the above scenario). Lets say that said 2 year old is running around and falls. Lets say they had something in their mouth. Now all of a sudden a fall is a very seriously thing that many (not all) 11 year olds aren't capable of handing. I think i would be ok at 11, but I am not even that sure of that.

Interestingly I discussed this thought with BQ and she mentioned that she took a baby sitter class before her parents allowed her to babysit. Fantastic idea! At least that way they will have a basic knowledge of first aid, CPR and many other emergency situations.

What the hell is a meme?

So in talking with MW (that looks really weird) she mentioned this thing that girls do on facebook called a meme. It happened in like Jan/feb with bra colors and it is happening again with places to put your purse. Apparently this is supposed to support breast cancer? Ok what? I mean thats great and all, I am all for supporting cancer research and all that, but how can I support you if I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. I mean this to me is not a cute lil prop, its freakin annoying. If you really want to support a cause why dont you give money, or bring it up in actual words to actual people, or help out. Posting some cryptic thing as your facebook status is just kind of annoying.

I guess this is why guys are never a part of these things. I was thinking the other day what I would say if someone sent me one of these meme request thingys and this is it....its freaking dumb.

Which brings me to another point that I wanted to discuss. Now I understand that self exams do not always reveal lumps or anything like that(this is everywhere not just the breasts people) I also understand that things such as mammograms and uncomfortable and also don't always work. But I am getting a little annoyed at people who bitch and moan about these things. Yes it hurts to get a colonoscopy and a mammogram. But here are your options a squeezed boob/ a camera up the butt, or possible death. I mean this is pretty much a no brainer. Luckily I haven't heard a lot of this form my friends, mostly in the media. But its like dude yes it sucks, but dying sucks more get over it.
This thought was brought on by reading a story about a high school junior who had to have his leg amputated after an accident. Obviously it would suck hardcore to have your leg cut off,but the kid said ok now I build up again. It confuses me that youth seems to give people an edge in this situation. Many younger people seem to have the ability to pick themselves up and move on, while many older people tend to wallow. This is not backed up by any scientific study, just my thoughts.

" Ahh I'm getting a little tired of this!" " You volunteered didn't you? We're paying you aren't we?"

So the wedding is over and things have calmed down a bit around the Williams' household (yay Williams household!)

I started out this blog with a clear cut direction, but have sort of had trouble getting things going. There are lots of things I would like to address (somethings random people have said about me recently, my AMAZING honeymoon to Florida with my lovely wife, the crazy changes happening at CSL (and my subsequent time in the penalty box aka BQ's new office). However I don't have enough to write on the majority of these topics that the people reading this blog probably haven't heard before. Instead I am going to focus on what seems to be the constant plauge in my life... stupid

This study says that 1 in 4 students/young adults binge drink.... yea? I mean is this really a surprise to anyone? But that isn't the stupid I am refering to, that little nugget is about half way down the page.

"Binge drinking increases many health risks, including fatal car crashes, contracting a sexually transmitted disease, dating violence and drug overdoses," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a statement.

Now at first glance you may not see the dumb. I 100% agree that binge drinking has many health effects. And also that everything stated in that statement is bad. However to say that binge drinking increases many health risks such as the above listed is ridiculous. Health risks are the risks associated to your health in a statement. The only one of the above that could be considered a health risk is contracting an STD. Drunk driving isn't a health risk, sure its a risk to your health, but its not a health risk. The fact that its a stupid statement could almost be ignored except for the person who said it; Dr. Thomas Frieden the director of the CDC. This man chose not to list any actual health effects of binge drinking; cirrhosis of the liver, dental and mouth problems, etc. He wants to get up on his soap box and make a social statement. You work for the CDC you tell me the health risks, we have politicians to tell us the social risks. Stop stepping out of your area of expertise when using the title director of the CDC. If you want to say Dr. whatever then fine, but you are brining in a federal institution with a reputation and to make inaccurate statements is unacceptable.

Ok so that was a pretty weak post, but for some reason this guy really got under my skin. I will post again this evening hopefully with a more thoughtful post.

Ps. Anyone name the movie the title is from?

Conscientious Objectors

For the longest time I had a real issue with conscientious objectors. I didn't understand (beyond getting drafted) why you would join the army if you didn't want to fight. After some news reading today I came across this article and it changed my views dramatically on what bravery and a conscientious objector really is.

To me this is the true measure of honor and duty. Here is a guy who was a conscientious objector, finding fighting to be against his religion. Instead of saying o hey I don't want to fight I am out of here, he took a fantastic approach. He became a medic. It seems to me this is the perfect thought for what a CO should be. This is saying that he wants to help people, he doesn't want them to be hurt. He is going out of his way to help his countrymen (and any others for that matter) by healing them. The fact that he won the Congressional Medal of Honor is not relevant (although I think its fantastic) Here is a guy who didn't abandon his post nor his duty and still followed his beliefs. I think more people should do this

Fall equinox/eating healthy

This year I am going to try something a little bit different than I have done before. I think I have gotten to the point where, although I still love partying and all that college stuff, I really want to make some changes. Usually I would wait for something like New Years and make a resolution that I probably wont keep. Instead I am going to try a new method for a year and see how it goes. I figure that around the time the seasons change I am always very motivated to make good life choices and changes, so from now on I am going to pick a couple of things for each equinox or solstice and try and keep those through the year.

The Autumnal equinox is on Wednesday, 22 September this year, so what better time to decide to try and be healthier than the fall harvest type time. Not only am I motivated by the seasonal changes, but there is so much good food in the fall.
MF and I went to Cannan Farm yesterday to pick up some fall type decorations and I was so excited to see all the pumpkins, squash etc. Such great food.

All of that was nothing compared to what happened today. Usually I am indifferent about apples, they are fine but I am not going to write home about them. I had an apple today and it was the most delicious thing! So it pops into my head, why am I eating sugary, greasy crap when this is way more satisfying. So this is where I need everyones help. I am going to try and eat more healthy and I need as many recipes as you all have. That seems to be the best way to find healthy food because you know the person you are getting it from likes it. So anyone who has websites with tasty food, cook books, secret family recipes, anything let me know ( BQ from The Sailing Foodie I am looking at you)

The second thing I am going to try and do for this Autumn season is to have less to drink. I dont think that I am over indulgent horribly or anything like that, but I think I would rather just do healthy stuff instead. It's so nice to wake up in the morning and be 100% clear headed, I find I sleep badly after drinking anything.

So those are my two "resolutions" for the season. After linking to BQ's blog my topic is somewhat similar, but that's ok. Now bring on the pumpkin pie!

T-Minus 110 Hours

So I think I can officially name this the home stretch now. On Saturday 25 September I will be getting married! It has been a very long ride, but it has also been a very informative one. I wanted to put out a couple of tips that I have learned through this process for anyone who is thinking about getting married.

1)Stick to your budget and be greedy.
Remember that it's YOUR wedding. It's not your mom's, sisters, brothers, aunt or friends. That doesn't mean neglect them, but if you really like something and they don't then fuck them and get it if its in your budget.

2)The price of everything is at least doubled when you say the word wedding.
Expect it.

3)People who say its all about you very rarely mean it.
Through this process we have only had about 4 or 5 people that have said its your wedding and meant it. I feel like we may be a bit lucky in this respect because we have such fantastic friends. Remember your family may love you but they also love themselves (no matter how cool they seem)

4)Be careful who you put in your party
Not going to lie this is one of the most important. Remember that these are the people who are your special forces/shock troops. Use them!! That's one of the things I wish I had done more. Instead we tried to do everything ourselves and the wedding party sat in standby, we should have utilized them!!

5)Weddings bring out the worst in family
The ABSOLUTE worse. You are going to get to see a look into the very fires of your families badness. They may be sweet and caring, but say wedding and it's like calling forth a demon that has no intention of being your cuddly friend.

The most important thing to do is remember why you are getting married. For us we were engaged for two years, a long time when you think about it. If anything our relationship has broadened and gotten stronger over time for one reason, we remembered that the wedding was about love. Take weekends off from wedding planning. Support your significant other (whether you agree or not) Talk to each other as much as possible. That's the most important part of a wedding.

I am pretty sure the ninja/zombie/robots have started their attack

So I am pretty sure that the ninja/zombie/robots (or any combination of the three) have started running espionage missions against me. So far this year these are the things I have lost
Brand new prescription sunglasses--killed in action
Belt--Missing in action (recovered)
Camera Cord--MIA
Hat--Killed in action ( New one acquired)
Bag of rocks--MIA (presumed captured by ninja/zombie/robots (update 20 Sept. a new bag of rocks has been acquired)
butter knives--many MIA (ok this wasn't me but was at the house)
Shoes--MIA (recovered from CV)

This is just insane. I never loose this much stuff, its just crazy.

Also I am pretty sure those crazy agents snuck into the Ipswich Town Hall and messed with our marriage liscense. I have to call since my dad's name is listed as Peter Horward instead of Peter Howard...how does a ninja/zombie/robot sneak around so easily??

Thank God I have my frog

So the wedding has, of course, added extra stress to MF and my day. Actually not so much the wedding just certain childish events/people (who will remain nameless) That being said it brings me back to my last post....I forgot my bag of rocks. So the day when I need to calm down and have a little nature, I forget them. Luckily for me I also bought a small frog made of Amazonite from South America. This little frog makes me happy and gives me a place to focus my energy a bit. I find the best way to calm down a bit is to pick up the frog and really just study it and let me head relax a bit. Am I turning into some occult/new age crazy person?? I dont think I am, but stay tuned...

Below is a picture of my little stone frog, I am now fielding name ideas for said frog

sorry for the delay/grounding

Sorry for the delay in posts everyone. It has been a very stressful last couple weeks (with the wedding planning and all that) I would love to delve further into it, but I think that may not be very appropriate so instead I wanted to talk to you about an interesting calming technique I learned about recently that has really helped me through this ridiculously stressful time.

I have always been very interested in the super natural/spiritual/occult or whatever you really want to call it. To me it makes just as much sense as religion and I have always really thought of the two as one in the same. There are natural forces in the world (there is no way to dispute that)and it fascinates me to no end what people from different places have built off of those natural forces.

Recently I have been on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kick (yea I am not ashamed to admit it)And I have become interested in the actual practice of Wicca, not the witchcraft practiced in the show. I had done some reading into the topic when I was just getting into college, but never really had a lot of luck.

Being a little better off financially I actually went to the book store and found a couple of books on the topic. One of the books was what you would expect cast spells blah blah blah. The other book however was what I had been looking for all along. It delved more into the history and information on Wicca. Inside of that book I found a chapter on grounding.

Grounding is the idea that you take all of the bad energy out of your body and put it into something else. From what I think energy is a natural thing, whether it be "bad" or "good" is all in how it is making you feel. The person in book said the best way to describe was how Obi Wan described the force in Star wars
"It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. "

When there is an abundance of energy you feel stressed or overwhelmed. As a trick to book suggested both meditation and grounding. I found grounding a bit easier. The idea is to picture the energy in your body that you want to rid yourself of and then picture yourself pushing that energy out. This has really helped me through the stressful times of the wedding planning and all that. It may seem goofy, but if it works then that's what counts.

Ps. I am once more reiterating to the world since it seems some people may have forgotten. Don't fuck with my loved ones, or we will have issues.

Also a dumbass

Also a dumbass

unreal

I had a very bad day today, but will hopefully post on this again later as its a ridiculous story.

This kid is fucking stupid. If I was his dad I would sue him for being a dumbass

Banning of novelty lighters will not reduce the novelty of fire

Ok so today I read that Massachusetts has banned novelty lighters.

A novelty lighter is a lighter that is made to look like something else, a truck, a Christmas tree, a smurf, etc. I understand why this rule was made, they look like toys and kids like to play with toys. Kid plays with lighters, lighter set kids on fire, kid is injured or worse. However this legislation will not do anything to change the amount of fires caused by children playing with lighters and matches. This is just another perfect example of the state stepping in when its an issue with the parents/adults in these situations. Why is your kid able to get a hold of a lighter, whether it look like a smurf or a lighter? That is the issue here, adults responsibility. It's not the manufactures fault that irresponsible people leave lighters around for children to play with. As long as the exists then fires like this will happen.

Unfortunately there is no real way to solve this issue. Instead of recognizing that fact the state of Massachusetts besides it needs to tell law abiding intelligent citizens that they cannot own these types of things because so people act irresponsible with them. Are you serious? This is one of the huge problems with this state. The people who are getting punished by this law are not the ones who are causing the problems. The ones causing the problems will just continue to do so with lighters and matches, are we going to ban them next? How about shovels? For that matter what about steak knives, fork, spoons, toothbrushes, electricity, pools, dogs, cats, bears, cars, trucks, streets, buckets that can fill with water, glass, shoe laces, hand sanitizer, cleaning products (just to name a few.) These are things that you can die from due to negligence. Its not the lighters fault, the guns fault, Ben Franklin's fault, or Henry Fords fault, its the people who are negligent and leave these potentially dangerous things around for children to play with. Grow a set and take responsibility for child proofing your house from all of the above.

Want to go for a drive? Careful they are watching!

A recent news story caught my attention as an amazing affront to the US Constitution and freedom in general.

In 9 western states now law enforcement can place a gps tracking system on your car without a warrant or any type of court order. Say what? This is America, we have the clever thing called freedom. If I want to drive around in the desert where drugs are being grown (example from the news story) that is allowed! Driving past them, looking at the drugs, is not a crime. So why does the US Government have the right to track my car? Its not their business where I go. Nor is it there right to know.

Now I know the popular thing to say to things like this "Well if you haven't done anything wrong than you don't have to worry" That's not the way it works. I am a free citizen to go and do what I choose,so long as I am within the law. However if I just happen to have a friend who is a drug dealer or something that means that a GPS tracker could implicate me in drugs or something? No its up to the state to prove I am guilty, not up to me to prove I am innocent.

This, to me, seems like one of the worst decisions in legal history. Whats next? Tracking devices on phones, shoes, in our heads? Yes its a big jump from GPS in the car to GPS in our heads, but its not out of the realm of possibility. Are we going to have to carry around a little national ID card with a GPS chip in it "for our own protection"?

You know what give me my right to bear arms, my right to go where I want, and I will take care of myself. I don't need your help government, thanks for asking.

Scott Brown/Sarah Palin/Current Events

I am not a huge Scott Brown supporter (neither am I against him on everything though) I am not even a fan of Massachusetts, I think this state sucks. But Sarah Palin shut the fuck up. Don't talk about Massachusetts, your from Alaska, talk about that. Don't tell me what the people of Massachusetts want, obviously the majority wanted Scott Brown. Thats how democracy works. You failed to win vice president then decided that the end of your run in Alaska wasn't worth it so just shut the fuck up.

That being said I wanted to do a shout out of topics in the news recently that I have read about which fascinate me.

First up Jimmy Carter in North Korea to free a US citizen from the DPRK. Now I have always been of the mindset that, if a country holds a US citizen hostage then we take action, but not if we break another countries law. This guy broke the law of North Korea, guy deserves to be in a N. Korea jail. Do I think his sentence was fair, no I don't, but that DPRK law. So why are we sending in people to negotiate for his release, a guy breaks our laws in our country and I hope we don't let him out.

The UN peace keeping forces and how much they suck. So how do 400 people get raped when a UN peace keeping force is down the road? They use the excuse well we didn't know. What do you mean you didn't know? You were warned of a large force in that area, you know that these types of forces have a history of rape. Put 1 and 1 together people. I am not a huge fan of the UN (love the idea, meh with the reality) but if you are there to do a job then do the job right.

Mothers/Fathers killing their babies. So when did it become a mental health issue to be annoyed with your baby. Like the fact that you don't want to have a baby, or that you are annoyed with it doesn't give you the right to kill it. There is the person in Europe (I think Britain but im not sure.) who killed 8 of her babies because she didnt want to have them or ask for contraception. I'm sorry to any mental health person who thinks this is a mental health issue, but these people are shit. I think they should be taken out back and shot like the dogs they are. You don't kill a baby, that's just off limits. Even many murders think child killers are scum.

Thats all for now. On a more personal note the wedding is in less than a month. It has been a very up and down ride to get to this point (with planning and all that fun stuff) but we are almost there. So hope to see you all at the wedding on the 25th!

The R-word...what are you four?

The R-word

It seems ridiculous to me that we have to a point where we can't even mention the words that people find offensive. Now we have to say things like the C-word, N-word, and the R-word. Well I got a word for all of you, the F word. Fuck you guys

It sickens me that effectively words are being outlawed. Outlawed words, this is America for God sake! We have something called freedom of speech, remember that little amendment? I am not saying that you have to use a word if you don't like it, but if you can not even say that word ever then I have no respect for you. If Jennifer Aniston uses the word retarded then its her own choice. I think that I should able to call people cunt the same way others use dick. I don't because it offends people, I sicken even myself.

This is America and we have a law against totalitarian bull crap like outlawing words. No there isn't a law out there that outlaws them, but I am worried thats the next step. People need to mind their own business and live life, don't concern themselves with what others think. They can think whatever they want so the pressure that is exerted on people to think and say what society wants is just horrible.

MF and I have had this discussion before and I know that many don't consider this outlawing of a word. Which is true in the strictest sense, but it scares me that could be the next step, so I feel I need to put it out there now.

The running of the brides

While we are on the topic of society I would just like to point out that this is the stupidest even in the world. I mean people get hurt and fight at this thing...it's a dress you will wear once!
Crazy man

So what if you deaf your still a theif

Ok as many of you know I think that the whole PC movement is the worst thing that has ever happened in human society. No I am not saying that being PC is the worst thing a person can do so don't get all worked up. However as a society PC is what's going to cause us to collapse (that is if the machines don't get to us first.)
Read this

First of all the response by Forever 21 was fantastic, the security guard didn't follow protocol so he is already suspended.That right there (and any further court proceedings due to the violence of the guard is a different story.) What does this guy being deaf have to do with anything. They didn't tackle him because he was deaf, they tackled him because he fucking stole shit. The fact that he is deaf shouldn't even have been mentioned in this story. Being deaf shouldn't afford you any different rights then anyone else. I mean how is this story about a deaf guy and not about the fact that people are mad a security guard at the mall tackled someone? I dont give a shit if your gay, black, white, middle easter, Australian or have no legs. It doesn't make you special or anything, you are just like every other person. So if you steal shit then you should pay for it.

"An advocacy group for the deaf wants the clothing store chain to train workers to be more sensitive to hearing-impaired customers.
"We're making sure that it won't happen again," said Patricia Hughes, CEO of the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAD)."
That statement right there says it all. Be more sensitive? The mother fucker stole shit. Its not an issue of him being deaf, he broke the law.
Stupid PC

Tragic accident? You got hit by a fucking train!

Ok lots of things are tragic. A fire that burns down a house, the death a child, a car accident.... but getting hit a train?
This story literally made me shake my head. Yes of course it is tragic for his family and friends....but you got hit by a fucking train. Why did you get hit by a train? Because you and your dumb friends decided it was a good idea to try and run across a bridge after you saw the train coming....after you saw it coming? Sorry dude, sucks you got hit by a train, but wasn't there a brain cell somewhere in there that was like hey probably not a good idea?

Also whats with people getting hit by trains? I can understand if you have a medical emergency in front of a train, or you get pushed into the train, or maybe even that you tripped in front of the train. But people still get hit by trains and are killed when they are on train tracks or something like that. I mean the train is on tracks it's not like it can go very far out of a straight line. Just dont stand on those three feet and you will be fine!

Seriously? You are the President!

Are you serious?
Alright this is just plain crazy. President Obama has led the presidential race in times appearing on prime time cable shows; Jay Leno, David Lettermen, ESPN (for the dumb college basketball bracket)and now The View. Dude you are the President, not some kind of ridiculous TV celeb. You are supposed to be controlling the most powerful military in the world. You could be helping with the crippling economic issues so many people are having right now, or maybe trying to help out with the current job market since college grads are coming out with no job and 100 k in debt. But no you decide to go on The View.
I understand the thought behind it. Touching base with a group who you haven't touched base with. As one of the comments on the bottom of the stories says the group that watches the view doesn't necessarily watch CSPAN. That being said thats what you have a press group for. The presidents job is to get things going, not go on TV. So far he has gotten nothing done on some of the most important issues, but goes on TV. Stop going on TV and do work. Try spending the time you would be on the View balancing the budget or some other activity that I deem a bit more important than what Whoopi and Barbara have to say.

Hi America remember me....the citizen?

Ok so I found this article on CNN earlier today

Why are we doing joint military drills with S.Korea. What happens between North and South Korea isn't our problem. So now we are saying to the N. Koreans that we are activly preparing for war. Dude we need to worry about us...the United States. Forget Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran etc. We need to pull in and protect our own borders. We have people illegally entering the country and a lack of man power to preven this, but we have two wars going and are doing drills in the faces of another country that hates us? Dude come on. We need to worry about us. If people believe in the UN and all this stuff then they should be handling the S/N korea issue...not the United States alone.

But lets go a step further back from this. How much does a war cost? How much money are we spending in Iraq and Afghanistan right now that could be used to help American jobs or to help American infrastructure? And you are going to waste more money to send out troops to another place to fight in another war that the people involved dont want us in? Well fuck them, let them fix their problems and we can worry about our problems.

Laser weapons...the next step in war

read

So it scares me that this is an actual technology now. Things that had always been in the realm of make believe and science fiction are coming true....is the rise of the machines next?

What is a libertarian?

What is a Libertarian? more to follow....

This is a great definition of the way I view Libertarians
"Are Libertarians liberal or conservative?--Libertarians are neither. Unlike liberals or conservatives, Libertarians advocate a high degree of both personal and economic liberty. For example, Libertarians advocate freedom in economic matters, so we're in favor of lowering taxes, slashing bureaucratic regulation of business, and charitable -- rather than government -- welfare. But Libertarians are also socially tolerant. We won't demand laws or restrictions on other people who we may not agree because of personal actions or lifestyles."

Bad parenting actually exists....

Are you serious?

So I read this news story and it actually went as far to say that people who leave their kids in the car (the kid died of hyperthermia) are not bad parents. What the fuck are you talking about?? That is the DEFINITION of bad parenting. You forget about your kid in the car, leave them there, and they die?? I mean if thats not bad parenting what is?

I am not saying that those people are bad people or meant for this to happen, but it IS bad parenting guys. Sometimes people are to blame for what they do! Criminy

A great story

This is a great story and, since a lot of my posts are bitching about stupid, I am glad to put up a story that makes me happy

illegal is illegal no mater your merits

I just read this news story about a Harvard student who was illegally in the country, but will nto be deported until his case is heard. How can that be allowed? You are here illegally, he knew he was here illegally because he was using a Mexican passport to board planes. You being someone who goes to school in Harvard doesn't give you the right to violate the laws of the United States of America. This is not a stand saying I think immigration is wrong, but if you break the law coming in then how can you be trusted not to break it again. You have already broken the law of the US pal, you are here illegally...key word illegal. Call it undocumented if you want, but if I have to follow the US laws then you do too.

This isn't about open borders either (although I personally think open borders is ridiculous) this is about violating law. The law is one the books and he violated that. He should have to pay the price just the same as any one else.

Just plain awesome

I love it!

You mean I actually have to pay for power?

Read this

I know that this story does not have all the details, but if the power company followed everything they say is their policy then its the ladies fault she is dead. Just because you need a machine to help keep you alive doesn't mean that you are owed power. If I need to pay for my power, than you need to pay for your power. If the lady was sent all these notices and stuff and didn't pay then I don't feel sorry at all that they shut off the power. I am so sick of people thinking they are owed something.

"Is a happy meal happy with out a toy?"

That is a fantastic question and was asked in this article

Apparently this group CSPI has decided that McDonalds (a private organization) having toys in their happy meals is making our children have bad eating habits. Its not that parents who bring their kids to McDonalds and pay for said happy meals. It's the 4 year old that wants the toy thats being influenced. Dude i don't care they are kids, just ignore them. Tell them no, its really that simple!

Best quote ever
""If you can't control a 3-year-old child for a toy, God save you when they get to be teenagers," Gage told the Los Angeles Times"

Gun control

I love this opinion piece
This is what I have thought so many times. Why is it that only guns fall under the category of if someone dies with it its the guns fault? What about knives? Or baseball bats? Or golf clubs? There is a comment at the bottom of the page that says that the reason guns are in this category are that they are made to kill things. Well how about knives? They were invented to kill people and animals, so why are they different. Anyone who wants to regulate the device itself is stupid. Its an object, it can't shoot by itself. Besides that criminals don't care about breaking laws like this. Its only the legit gun owners that are being punished. Imagine what would happen if they started limiting everything that could kill someone????

Does drawing distinctions perpetuate racism/discrimination?

Ok so I love to read news stories and to really try and figure out whats going on in the country. The thing I notice all the time in my reading is the distinction that the author draws and the effect that has on life in general.
For example lets take the scenario that a person gets shot by the police. In this scenario you have three things present; the police, the person getting shot and the bullet.
Now add in a describing word, lets say green (since i dont want people to think im racist or anything crazy like that.) Now the sentence reads like this; The green person was shot by the police. Now my question is why do you need the green? The fact that the person was green is not adding any information to the sentence.
Now lets change it a little bit again; the person was shot by the police because they were green Now green means something.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that it seems to me that society (although it likes to pretend to want equality for all) really wants to draw as many distinctions as humanly possible. By adding what color someone was, how they were dressed, or their ethnicity that changes the whole meaning of a sentence. Now if those things were the CAUSE of something then they are vastly important, but if they are just describing words they are rolling the thought in a direction that it may not need to go.

In a recent study that I saw on CNN children were shown a picture of 5 children ranging from pale white to dark back and were told to choose the best one. The majority of them chose the white one. When asked to pick the worst the majority picked the black. Now just the wording of this question ruins this entire experiment and here is why. If you ask a kid which is the worst and which is the best then they will choose two. That doesn't mean they think the worst thing they picked is bad, just that something needed to be worse. Now you may say well why do children think black kids are the worst.... they don't. Think of what the color white versus the color black are. Black is associated with the dark, scary, unknown. White is associated with light, good and known. To think that 5 year olds on that scale picked the white girl because they hate black people is the stupidest thing i have ever heard. What they should have asked is what do you think of these pictures? Are any of them bad or do you think they are all good? if they say one is bad then ask why.

I know this is a jumble and really probably only makes sense to me, but I think that the world needs to think of the meaning of what they are saying and report the facts, not the thought behind the facts. By saying black and white, gay and straight, male and female when its not needed is just making the divides more clear. Instead report the facts and if those words have something to do with the facts and what happened then address it. Just because a guy kills a girl doesn't mean he hates girls. Just because a person of one race kills a person of another race doesn't mean it happened due to race. Many times a crime is committed for no other reason than hate in general, not a specific hatred.

I will revisit this later as i think I can make more sense of it outside of work

Just because a girl dresses like a slut doesn't mean she is one. Just because a young guy dresses like a gangster doesn't mean he is one (and even if he was it doesn't mean he deserved what was coming to him)

Fuck this lady

Sorry for the lack of link in my first post....click here

Fuck this lady. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you can demand to have it taken down. Just because a portrait is of someone you find to be a reprehensible person doesn't mean that every one has to tip toe through the tulips when mentioning him around you. This lady claims to not want to forget the past, well fuck her. I think she is a goddamn hypocrite who wants to remember just the good and not that bad. And don't get me wrong, if she wanted to do that thats fine. However the second you demand that a picture be taken down because you don't like it i think you are a pathetic human being who wants to live in a little fantasy world.

Fuck you lady, grow up! If you don't like it don't go, don't prevent other people from seeing something they might enjoy.

10-15 with the option of life

Really?

Look I hate rapists and child molesters just as much as the next guy. But you can't just keep adding time to their sentences. If this is an issue then make the original sentencing harsher. If you do the time that you were given then they should let you out. The power to extend someones sentence is ridiculous. I mean thats why we have laws, in order to assure that no one has that kind of power. If you want to give them indefinite life sentences for rape and child molestation then do it, but you cant just keep adding time, this is America we have laws ( This is a rather police state-ish move by the Supreme Court)

Immanent Domain

More on this later, but I wanted to get it down before it got lost in the day to day.
Immanent Domain

Ok so as promised lets talk a bit more about this article. Immanent domain has to be the stupidest idea I have ever heard! How is it legal for the government to take your land. I dont care how much they offer to pay for it they should require the owners permission. I mean the best way I can think of it is that it would be like them coming to me and saying that they needed my house in Maine to do something. Despite the fact that I wouldn't sell the place for any amount of money they would take it from us, the rightful owners. Despite the fact that place is on its third generation of people going up to it, they would take it. I mean can I take land from the government? Why are only they allowed to exercise this magical power of legally taking land from the rightful owners?? unreal

See this is what happens

Read this

See this is what happens when people just want to add new laws. I haven't read the law, but if Trasnocean is covered under this definition and law then the state/federal government has no right to go after them. This is the issue when laws are not updated or taken out when they are outdated. Yes i know thats a large amount of data and all that, but this is why laws and rules need to be more thought out and not just added on top of one and other

A star on Earth...really?

As i was perusing the news as I do every morning I came across this article Now I have been trying very hard lately to be better about working all day while at work and not slacking off by writing a blog about something that pisses me off. I had to stop and take a minute and write about this.

Why does it seem to anyone to be a good idea to make a small star on the Earth? How is anyones mind is that safe. We have zero control over that kind of power and they are going to try and make a star to solve the energy crisis? How about trying to solve the "We just got blown to shit because we tried to make a star" crisis? It seems like someone didn't quite think this one true? I mean yes I am sure that a star would have ample power to solve our power needs, but how can we control that kind of power when people still get killed from electricity, which is only a fraction of the power??

This really brings me to a bigger issue...why does man think he can control nature? I mean nature has proven us time and time again that despite all of our "advances" in technology we are no match for the awesome power of an earthquake or flood, so who thought that we were ready to tangle with the power of an star?? ITS A FREAKING STAR!!

The insanity defense

Ok so I haven't posted in a while, but its only because I have been very busy. Lots of ideas have been floating around my head and I always had the moment where I said to myself man I should write about that but I didnt. I have a couple spare minutes at the end of today and the first news story that struck me today was the use of the insanity defense.

For those who don't know what it means the insanity defense means that a person is found innocent of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect. In other words they were crazy when it happened and therefore not responsible for themselves. I have been having a moral dilemma recently about this excuse. Now before people jump to conclusion I am not saying that they were not crazy when they did something. People act outside of what they normally would when they are mentally disturbed no doubt about it. The issue I am having is whether or not that is the publics issue.

Bear with me. If a schizophrenic (or whatever mental disease you want to choose) can take medicine to control their condition and murder someone when off the medicine then they can use the insanity defense. I mean you may have been crazy when you killed the person, but you stopped taking your meds and made yourself a danger to society. Isn't that what our court system is supposed to do, protect the public. Now I am also not saying that I think that people should be thrown in jail if they are insane. I think they should be put into a facility for a set amount of time (and beyond if they are not cured) I am not sure if this thought in my head is really what i believe is right, but I am having a really hard time with the insanity defense lately.

The case in MA right now is the John Ogdren case in which he went into a bathroom at his school and killed a random classmate that had never done anything to him. To tell the truth if you plan the crime the the extent this kid did and then you kill them I think that you deserve to be put in jail. I know thats counter to my previous thought of going into a mental health facility, but you killed an innocent kid who did nothing to you.

Thoughts?

Supreme Court justice retiring....third story??

So today it was announced that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will be retiring at the end of this current court session. This is not a liberal or conservative view on the high court, but why is this the third story on the Boston Globe?? This is a man that has had a personal hand in shaping the way that the legal system of the United States operates. This should be the biggest story in any news paper who's audience hasn't had a deadly shooting, fire or natural disaster today.

The fact the Deval Patrick says the adults failed Phoebe Prince is not as important as this. Neither is the routine Jonathan Papelbon follows before a game.

Local news media get off your ass and cover the real news. Whoever takes Justice Stevens place WILL help shape the way laws are enforced and that should be #1 99% of the time. Period

trying people for someones suicide.

So the story of Phoebe Prince has been an interesting one to say the least. It is sad that a young girl felt the need to take her own life, but I have been having a real hard time coming to grips with the fact that they are trying others for bullying her to death. I am not even saying that that isn't why she killed herself, but I can't help but see a place for abuse of this legislation.

First off what is bullying? I tried to google the legal definition in Massachusetts, but couldn't find any so this will have to do.
"A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself."

Let me put out a scenario for you right. Lets say that your teenage son doesn't get along with your neighbors teenage son. They go to the same school, but are fine there, its only when they are at home that its a problem. They like to call each other names and bluster about like young adults (boys) are prone to do.
Now lets say that the neighbor boy kills himself. Lets ASSUME for this scenario it was unrelated to what your son is doing. Obviously there is no way to prove that, but for a second lets assume. Now his family could say well your son bullied my son and now my son is dead therefore its your fault. Well in this assumption we know that this isn't the case.

Obviously thats just a thing that could happen, but in there is one very important factor...THERE IS NO WAY TO PROVE IT. Bullying doesn't equal suicide. And its not even considered negligence or anything like that. Maybe in this case it doesn't apply, but the thought needs to be put forth before it becomes a law. What about the first person who isn't nice to someone, but isn't the cause of their suicide...what about them?

By making legislation against bullying they are saying that its never ok to do anything that anyone doesn't like. Can you say the beginning of the end????...I can

technology is overrated

So it's been a while, but lets get back into things.

The rain has stopped in MA so that's a huge plus and the current temperature in Beverly is 83 degress. Glorious.

Now onto technology. As some know MF and I have gotten rid of cable all together, a monumental step many have said. I say nay. I think its a great step. I was worried that I would miss it and that I would be bored and have nothing to do, while that isn't the case at all. One we still have netflix and the ability to watch movies, but also I think that your mind is forced to move onto something else when TV isn't there to occupy it. I have plans for this lack of TV (including an hour of guitar playing a day, more reading and more character development.)

This leads me to a thought I have probably 10 times a day. Why can't I just move into the woods and live. Well obviously there is the lack of knowledge enough to live in the woods. That could be learned though. The other thing is the idea that life would be worse. We wouldn't be able to enjoy any of the modern amenities such as lots of TV and things like that. We would have to get some sort of small job to support electricity as I am pretty sure MF would leave me if I said I wanted to live in a hovel in the woods with out electricity. But you could find a perfectly good house in Maine and live there and have minimal contact with all these fancy technologies. Cutting out technology all together would be bad, but keeping very to nature and only enjoying those technologies every once and a while would make me sooo happy.

I wanna go to the woods!!!

what is a right?

Ok so this post is a bit strange because I am going to try and not state my opinion on this matter. This post is about health care being a right.

For those of you who know me you already know what my stand on government run health care is, but I have found it interesting listening to others argue about it lately (whether it be for or against)

I have heard so many liberals people make the following statment. Why shouldn't everyone have healthcare, its the peoples right to have it. Ok I feel its not that I need to make this statement. No one has a right to a right. I know thats confusing so let me explain. The definition of right (as pertaining to your unalienable right) is an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition By this definition nothing is a right until it is guaranteed by law or tradition. That means you cannot use the argument its a right until the law is passed, then it becomes your right.

Now for the conservative side, . You say well in order to guarantee your safety we need to infringe on your rights. HELL NO. This has to be the stupidest idea in the history of man kind. It is a right for the sure purpose that you cannot (or are not supposed to)be able to infringe on it. THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT A GOVERNMENT CAN EVER DO. MY RIGHTS ARE THERE FOR A REASON SO THEY WILL STAY THERE AND YOU (the government) WILL NOT VIOLATE THEM IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM.

So in closing, liberals don't try and use rights as an argument for a law, just say what the merits of the law are. Conservatives stay the hell out of my life and don't even think about overstepping your bounds......

For all those who argue about the Second Amendment right to bear arms it is my view that the government violating ones rights is one of the reasons the founding fathers put that into the document, we have the right to stand up and defend out rights!

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

thats right I said it

Fuck you PETA

Hows that for a short and sweet post?

Ps. Let me eat the food I want, no one is telling you to stop being vegan/vegetarian.

Ireland Picture Gallery

So I was looking online today and found a photo gallery about the troubles in Ireland. They look like pretty powerful pictures so I decided you'all may want to look. Check it out

New Jersey Woman

So have you heard about this?

Its all about a fat woman who wants to reach 1000 pounds. She has a website where people can watch her eat and pose in a bikini.

Now I think this is very odd, but if thats what the lady wants to do all the more power to him. The crazy part is how mad some people have gotten. I mean if the woman wants to be half a ton then let her.

And dont try the she is driving up health care costs argument, because that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. We are trillions of dollars in debt, for the country (not just healthcare) so dont tell me how this one fat woman is costing tax payers thousands.

She is fat and happy, I say all the more power to her.

Besides any future health problems are HER problems not ours.

Survival, stupid and the human race

Ok so I know that I haven't written in a while, I have just been very busy and have not had the chance to.

This entry is about something near and dear to my heart...stupid. I hate stupid. I hate stupid more than anything else in the entire world. Now that is not to say that I hate people if they doing something stupid, or if they make a mistake, or if they act stupid. I am talking about the deep down stupid that can only be represented by things like the following

-People on Jersey shore
-The fact that a pair of jeans can cost upwards of 50 dollars despite the fact the material, labor and transportation couldn't equal more than 10-15 dollars.
-Welfare
-People who can't make up their mind no matter how much thought is put into it. SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT
-People who try and influence others with lies
-Baby Boomers ( yea I said it. And no I do not think that all baby boomers are stupid or evil, but i do think that their generation has set us back)
-The human race

Ok the last one needs some explanation. I do not dislike the human race ( I used to but thats a different post). In fact, through talk with MF and the Varnsi, I have grown to respect the risk and reward of a species that is not adapted to fit anywhere well. Have you ever thought that thought? Humans are adapted to live everywhere somewhat well, but no where very well. Well I digress

The stupid in the human race is evident more now than it has been in the past because of one thing, our ability to adapt. It is what makes us a unique species,but its also what makes us a scourge on the earth. Now this isn't some crunchy hippie shit either. I dont think that we could destroy the Earth is we tried, life always finds a way (to quote Jurassic park)I am talking in the fact that we are using our cognitive abilities to do all of these things to "help" mankind and are no longer in natural balance with the environment. Through medicine and technology mankind can defeat many of the things that once kept our population in check; disease, wild animals, weather etc.

Now I think this is starting to change. Everyone has noticed the increased amount of natural disasters in the world. The severity and frequency of these events seem to so much more. Now some would say that this is due to news and the advanced ability to report, which I partly agree with. That being said nature recognizes the fact that humans, as a species, cannot be supported. The increase in natural disasters, disease (every kind of flu known to man) and increased violence due to people is natures way of trying to get our population back in check. I really am convinced of it.

Now everyone knows about my survival team, but in case you don't lets talk about it. In my mind I always have a running tally of what I would do should the world resort back to the wild. Lets say a terminator-esque type situation occurred. What would I bring, where would I go, who would I go with? Now many would think of the obvious, food and water. And yes I agree that these are two things that are necessary, but I suggest looking at the people around you for your most valuable assets. Yes water and food are good, but anything that you can store will be done within 10 years (lets be realistic) We do not have the ability to carry years and year and years worth of food that would give us the nutrition we need to survive. That problem can be solved by the type of people you bring. Bring smart people that can improvise. Bring people that have skills and leave those behind that do not. Bring both woman and men because otherwise your group will not survive (there is a reason we are both here). So I know invite you all to help me out. What other traits are necessary? What priorities do you think should be at the top?

tax repeal

Luckily since I wrote my last post they have repealed the 5 dollar tax on talking to a REAL person at the registry. Kudos to all those who stood up against that ridiculous tax

So you want to talk to a person?...that will be five dollars please

Read this

This is the beginning of the end I think. People keep laughing at me at work because I am convinced machines are going to start taking over the world, but here is some proof. They are going to start charging a five dollar fee to talk to a person at the RMV. A 5 DOLLAR FEE...ARE YOU KIDDING ME? They want to discourage people from going to the RMV branches, step one on the path to a completely online country...Two words for you.... fuck no.

As many of you know I always have a survival team rattling around in my head. Obviously it is made up of my friends and family, but it details what jobs I think people would be most good at. I am now taking all applications for my team... please include your name, viable skills and job you think you would excel at (including secluded housing, cooking, first aid, etc.) That way once the world is taken over by said machines(starting with the computers at the registry of motor vehicles)we will be prepared to carry on the human race.

Anti Bullying

This post refers back to my post on zero- tolerance. In this article it speaks about how anti-bullying legislation is under review in both the senate and the house limiting bullying. Although I agree with the fact that bullying is (and always will be) an issue the second you pull law in it becomes more than an issue.

If legislation is passed that means it is law. The second something turns into law then (in reality) it is zero tolerance. Yes it is up to the district attorney on whether they want to press charges, but from the schools point of view it is zero tolerance.

This is going to turn into something like you son called my son a name so now he is expelled and may face criminal prosecution? That is ridiculous, but that is the only way schools can operate. They cannot go against federal legislation limiting bullying. By taking the power away from the schools the government is essentially saying that bullying is now a crime. Bullying is part of life, life is not always a good thing. In fact if life is always a good thing then you are screwed because you have zero idea how to react when something bad happens. To think that something like bullying is being encroached upon by the federal government is sickening.

Here is a thought, pay attention to your kids! I know that is not going to solve all the bullying issues, but sometimes its YOUR kids fault, not the other kid. People voting for this bill are essentially trying to pull ranks on parents and schools on how to deal with issues. Bullying is such a wide term that to legislate it is going to do more harm than good. Would it do good? Yes, but I don't want my kid going to court or the police station because they get in a fight with someone. Fights happen, bullying happens. This is going to take out the common sense factor that schools have now (not that they use is) to punish children as they see fit.

zero tolerance

Read this

I actually laughed out loud when I first read this article. I completely agree with the point that there is no reason for a girl to get arrested because she wrote something on a desk. I think that in itself is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. The thing that made me laugh was that the people who are now outraged at this are the same people that pushed so hard for zero tolerance or completely shat on schools when something happened that they felt should have been forseen.

The whole idea of zero tolerance is pretty simple. These are the rules, if you break them (no matter how small the thing is) you broke them and you have to face a penalty. The thought that zero tolerance works for common sense is a silly thought, you make zero tolerance rules so that common sense (in fact thinking at all) doesn't come into play. Zero tolerance is taking things out of the hands of those who would have made the decisions before (in this case teachers).

I have a split thought on zero tolerance rules such as this. On the one hand I am a very literal person, you broke the rule you pay the price. That being said I think that me being a common sense person wins out in this case. The zero tolerance rules need to be taken out of use and the teachers (in this case) need to be trained on how to react to these types of situations to best represent the opinions of the school administration. The issue with this type of training is that it impossible to teach common sense. That's something that people have to learn on their own. Maybe a clear cut policy and the option to call in an administrator, department head, etc would work best?

I guess really what I think should happen is that, instead of adding all these zero tolerance rules, reduce the amount of rules you have for more quality rules and training for teachers and administrators so that they can properly enforce the rules. This goes the same for laws. Stop adding stupid laws and make the laws we have better. (what I am thinking of specifically in the case of law is stop locking up people for doing drugs(hurting themselves) and give harsher sentences to violent offenders (hurting others)) I know thats a lot of () sorry about that!

I will leave you with this quote from the above article
"There is zero intelligence when you start applying zero tolerance across the board," he said. "Stupid and ridiculous things start happening."

Thoughts?

Outdoors

So I have finally hit the part of every winter that I start getting a little moody wishing for spring. Some would call that SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder, I call it tired of being stuck inside when the outside is cold and dark. I don't think it needs a name it just stinks.

That being said I have decided to write a post about the thing that makes me most happy (except of course for MF who kicks natures ass) Nature. The outdoors has always been a big part of my life. I did boy scouts and cub scouts and all that fun stuff, but I also have my place in Maine. My place in Maine is my refuge, probably my most favorite place in the world. I love it when we have massive amounts of people up there for a real party and all that, but I love it most when its a couple people and I can just get outside.



This is a picture from the winter. I have to find a good summer picture and put it up.

Fishing is the time when I feel the most relaxed. I can get away from everything and just sit on a brook and fish. Although of course I would like to catch something, I don't really care if I do or not. This time also gives me the ability to reflect back on the great things about my life. Its easy to focus on the crappy parts, but sometimes its tough to really get a grasp on all the great things in life. My favorite spot is a nice little log bridge over a small brook in backwoods Maine...glorious.


My favorite fishing spot (left)

It makes me excited when it gets to this time of year and I know that sometime in the next 2-3 months the snow will be gone and I will be able to once more sally forth into the great unknown of Andover Maine with my two favorite girls (MF and Maddie) and just relax :)

Cant believe I didn't bring this up!

Ok so this will be a short post, but I cant believe I didn't bring this up when I first heard about it. A Boston woman recently sued her realtor for not stating that the person below the condo she was thinking about buying smoked. She sued him for $405,000. The woman had been in the condo on multiple occasions and smelt smoke, but still bought it anyway. Despite the fact that personal freedoms are going to hell in this country it is still a condo owners right to smoke in their own condo. If this woman had an issue she should have gone to the condo owner. In this case she did and the owner reiterated that he was following all building codes and regulations.

I found out today that this woman lost! It was not the decision I thought was going to come from this case and I am very happy at the Suffolk District Court members who reached this decision in less than an hour.

This is America! People are allowed to smoke in their own homes. IF you dont like it dont live there.