Void Where Prohibited

Happy New Year

and Blessed Be all of you.

This promises to be a quiet night for me.  Which is just fine.  I've never been much of a party person.  I usually end up sitting in a corner feeling depressed.  Or maybe just morose.  I don't think I've ever really had a bad New Year's Eve except for a couple spent away from my wife in a foreign land.  But even those weren't bad, just not great.

Probably the one I remember most is when I was... hmmm 19?  20?   I was working at the Arco station on the Sunshine State Parkway.   Southern most plaza.   The night was quiet.  Hardly anyone was out on the highway.   I was scheduled off at 11pm although I didn't have any plans that night.  When my relief roared up on his bike he was drunk off his ass.  Just swell.   So I told him to go lie down in the locker room and just stayed the rest of the night.   At midnight the dispatcher wished everyone a Happy New Year and the wishes were echoed up the Parkway.   I had one call out, probably somewhere around 2 or 3am.  Someone had tried to use a barrier to cut his car in half.   Fortunately he only got a couple of feet through it before stopping.  He wasn't hurt so the trooper took him and I hauled his car off the barrier, picked up the odd pieces and pulled it back to the station.   And that was it for the night.  I just walked around to keep awake and watched the sun come up over the palm trees.   It was a beautiful dawn.

And one of the best parts?  My boss said "thanks for staying".

Happy New Year

Monster Cable: MonsterCable Offers Wilted Olive Branch To MonsterMiniGolf

Monster Cable: MonsterCable Offers Wilted Olive Branch To MonsterMiniGolf.


My letter to Mr Lee of Monster Cable:

Mr Lee,


    After reading your comments, and as an audio/videophile, I'm more convinced than ever to never buy any of your products and to convince my friends and family to also not purchase your products.

    Since trademark infringement suits should bear the burden of showing that a confusion in the marketplace due to the similarity in names is in effect I am more sure than ever that you are simply being a dick.

Thank you,

David W Neylon, Sr
Chandler, AZ

Who could harm this child?

CRIME, GUNS, AND VIDEOTAPE: Odds Are Recovered Child Remains Are Caylee Anthony’s.

Skeletal remains of a small female child were found today within blocks of missing three year-year old, Caylee Anthony. A utility worker found the remains that were wrapped in a plastic garbage bag and duct tape.

This is enough to make me believe in Heaven because that means there's a Hell where the person that did this will suffer for all eternity.

Steampunkt

Your result for The Steampunk Style Test...

The Explorer

7% Elegant, 55% Technological, 17% Historical, 68% Adventurous and 51% Playful!

You are the Explorer, the embodiment of steampunk’s adventuring spirit. For you, clothing should be rugged and reliable, and just as functional as it is attractive. You probably prefer khaki or leather, and your accessories are as likely to include weapons as technological gizmos. You probably wear boots and gloves, and maybe a pith helmet. Most of what you wear is functional, and if you happen to wear goggles people had better believe that you use them. In addition to Victorian exploration gear, your outfit probably includes little knickknacks from your various travels. Above all, you are a charming blend of rugged Victorian daring and exotic curiosity.

Try our other Steampunk test here.

Take The Steampunk Style Test at HelloQuizzy

Give me a F**KING break!!

Monster Cable: Monster Cable Sues Monster MiniGolf For Trademark Infringement.

Monster Cable has decided to sue Monster MiniGolf for trademark infringement. Monster MiniGolf is a family startup by Patrick & Christina Vitagliano glow-in-the-dark monster-themed minigolf franchise with 23 locations. Monster Cable, which has an illustrious history of suing anything and everything with Monster in its name, makes the expensive cables that Best Buy is always trying to upsell you on that are no better than coat hangers.

100 Things

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.  (Disney World actually.  But close enough.)
8. Climbed a mountain.  (does a big hill count?)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.( (oh HELL no) I'm going to leave Breda's comment.)
12. Visited Paris.  (The Paris in Las Vegas?)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. (Mickey D's Triple Cheesburger.  Epic Fail.)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.   (Held a calf once.   Well sort of picked one up)
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon. (you're kidding right)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice. (how about at the Venitian in Las Vegas)
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. (yea, too many times.  All the relatives wanted to see the falls when we lived in Western NY)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community. (lived in Western NY, hard not to)
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (but it didn't last very long)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.  (not like a cliff or anything)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait drawn.
48. Gone deep sea fishing. (I'm assuming that drift fishing counts)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  (the replica at the Paris Las Vegas.  :) )
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain. (anywhere I got the chance)
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.   (I was on TV a couple of times)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.  (not the restaurant I assume)
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. (helping my daughter of course)
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp. (but got there just as they closed for the day)
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar. (just one taste.  yuck)
72. Pieced a quilt. (helping my wife)
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades. (hell, I used to fish the Everglades)
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone. (let me count the ways....  or not)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. ( I seem to remember something as a child)
85. Read the entire Bible. (just parts)
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life. (ok, the house WAS on fire, but I don't think it was that bad yet.  but she was old, frail and in a wheelchair.)
90. Sat on a jury. (murder trial in Buffalo, NY)
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club. (Science Fiction Book Club.  Not something that actually met)
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby. (technically my wife HAD the babies. )
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.   Many, many times.