I often wonder whether the lack of discussion about politics and the state of the world is because people are truly apathetic (ie they don't care), they are scared to speak up (ie the jackboots are gonna kick your door down), they feel they are too unimportant to make a difference, or perhaps they are just fine with the way everything is? A trend I notice is that jokes and sillyness garner far more comments and or discussion than serious posts or even political parody. Now I am not overly political, but gosh darn, we have this awesome tool called the internet, and hundreds or thousands of people can read the words we all write. So if somethign disturbs you, why not put it out there? If you disagree with your government, or the way something is done, why not discuss it? This is the age of INSTANT communication. I think that the key to democracy and freedom is the ability to voice opinion. Over the last few years, I, myself, have been through some confusing times, and recently, I have began opening my eyes more and more. I am not saying everyone should speak out by any means, but if you care at all, let folks know! Everyone pays taxes. Everyone votes. But not everything works out the way you want, or the way it is promised... I say read lots. Take in to account everyone's perspective. But above all, think.
Everyone is likely familiar with the zillion scams you get in e-mails... The list is endless. Ebay, Paypal, credit cards, banking... I get mails to verify my account and password from banks I have never even heard of! The ones that are frightening however, are the mails from outfits that you *do* deal with. It isn't like I would fall for them EVER, but usually, they begin along the lines of... "Dear Paypal Customer," Well I got one last night that began "Dear gevans96@***mail.com," This was surprising but what got me in the end was that almost every other word was spelled incorrectly. Typos abound. I mean really, the perps here have GOT to be retarded. The only people stupider than these scammers are the people who actually fall for it! Kinda reminds me of the bank robber who got laughed out of the bank for mispelling "Stick Up" on his robbery note...
Just letting folks know I am indeed painting. I have one entry complete for the Chick Challenge and am doing good on another already. One of the rules however, is that I cannot post pics of them finished or in progress until the contest is over. Sorry no other painting updates :( Hmmm. I may be able to sneak one mini in between my entries. We will see, though my second entry is taking quite some time.
Well I remember waaaay back in the 80's... there were uproars all over about heavy metal bands putting subliminal meesages in their music... Play the album backwards and kids all over were suddenly killing themselves, their friends, their dogs, and all sorts of nastiness. It was great fun teasing the people who made that rubbish up, and I even remember going to a Church group meeting in University entitled "The Devil in Heavy Metal"... They covered the backwards subliminals as well as the album covers of the day. One of the biggest guys that always got the brunt of the attacks was Dio. The pose was brilliant. The sign of the Goat... Yeah! Even his name upside down spelled "EVIL"... Holy Diver was one of the most controversial album covers of the day, featuring the drowning priest, bound by chains, with the Goat-Beast looking down!
Ronnie James Dio
Naturally, many heavy metal artists throughout the 70's, 80's and even the 90's used gimmicks like this to sell millions of albums. Fans ate it up like chocolate covered chocolate... I ate up... But what if there actually were subliminal backwards messages? I remember the senseless Lawsuit against Judas Priest about the two kids who killed themselves after supposedly listening to "Better By You, Better Than Me" over and over, and magically picking out "Do It" as the impetus for their suicides... what if. Naturally, in that instance, the band was innocent.
George W. Bush
Surfing around, I found this picture on Classy Warfare and thought I would suggest a few things... If in fact there was a trend of metal artists doing these messages as jokes (I hardly think they could be taken seriously if they did truly exist) where does this end? Perhaps we should all record George's speeches on vinyl... Wow. Obviously, the man with his firm Christian beliefs has something hidden and evil inside him, waiting to get out. I knew it was all a ploy from the start. Play his inauguration speech backwards and see what happens! Heh... Perhaps a thousand answers could be had. Perhaps it would make more sense than half the stuff we here from him normally. Perhaps he apologises to the world every time, but know one clicks in. Whatever happened to the PMRC anyhow?? I do hope that readers realise this is meant to be fun and not a serious attack on anyone. Naturally, the picture can perhaps show some folks how Mr. Bush does not always think before he acts, and how his actions could be misinterpreted by millions...
Another news article on MSNBC reveals that the culprit who released a variant of the Blaster Worm received 18 months jail sentence...
Jeffrey Lee Parson was a High School Senior student when he modified the Worm and released it, causing devasting effects on at least 48,000 computers (including one of mine I had just re-formatted and had to re-format again!)... “I know I’ve made a huge mistake and I hurt a lot of people and I feel terrible,” Parson told the judge. Yeah, burn in hell bastich... You did it for kicks and now your gonna get what for :D *** UPDATE *** Hmm interestiung point of view from Tekgnosis... I disagree completely. The security hole is there, but since this kid KNEW what the original Blaster was doing, to alter it and re-release it was doing it willfully and with pure intent to disrupt people's computers... To use the security hole for a joke virus is fine, but the raw damage wilfully caused by him was purely intentional. If *I* was releasing a computer virus, *I* would be doing it for entertainment....
So what happens now I wonder. Juan Manuel Alvarez, 25, wanted to commit suicide. He parked his SUV on the railroad tracks and waited for a train. The train comes and he chickens out and flees his truck.... Now after a horrendous derailment, 11 people are dead and over 150 people injured, not to mention the cost of equipment and other damages obviously ensued by such a collision... This, taken from an MSNBC News article... "Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said prosecutors filed charges for 10 counts of murder with “special circumstances” of committing murder through a train derailment. Under state law, special circumstances allegations can make a defendant eligible for the death penalty. Cooley said the complaint would be amended to add another count to refer to the 11th victim, found in the wreckage late Wednesday night." An eyewitness said the train went from around 55 miles per hour to zero in 2 seconds, sending passengers flying down the isles, and leaving a twisted wreck on the tracks, and parking area nearby... So this guy who wanted to kill himself for whatever reasons (I suspect suicide is a greedy, self-indulgent pastime at best*)chickens out, kills hoardes of people and may now get the Death Penalty... Man, that is irony. Too bad so many innocents have to pay. *Note: I do not think all suicide cases are self-indulgent, attention getting devices. Some people truly suffer from depression and othe rmental disorders. I pity them and hope that some day, such things can be cured to eliminate these terrible feelings... *** UPDATE *** I think the common sentiment here, and one I totally agree with, is that this person should most definately NOT get the death penalty. In fact, I am of a mind that he shoul dbe incarcerated and kept on life support for hs entire sentence... The Death Penalty is the easy way out. I think maybe this is one issue I have with it. Another is always when the wrong guy gets it, but that is simply not the case here... Let him rot in a cell, preferably with a big roommate named "Bubba"...
So I was reading Wil Wheaton's Blog this morning, and he writes about the endorsement of Alberto Gonzales as the U.S. Attorney General. He would seem to have flagrantly sloughed off the fact that torture is wrong and goes against all forms of human rights. This is an excerpt from the Blog: "While it is vital that we defeat our enemies, we must not become them in the process. As a nation, we must stand united against Alberto Gonzales and everything he represents. Torture is not an American value." I am not American. I am Canadian. But my eyes are open. You may disagree or agree, that is what freedom and choice is all about... But that being said, some of the occurances at certain Prisons and in the field would lean thinking towards the idea that in the fight for "Good", perhaps some people are losing site of what they are truly fighting for. I disagree with the war from the start, but by God, do not become the enemy to fight the enemy. How many prisoners are being held right now, with no charges, no nothing? What happened to rights? Maybe the US policy is geared more towards "American Rights and Freedoms" as opposed to "Human Rights and Freedoms..." Well enough of that... Please read on for more on Wil's site. *** UPDATE *** Further reflection leads me to believe that under current conditions, a replacement would likely be nearly as bad. Sadly, until the root of the matter (whatever and whomever that may actually be...) is fixed, not much would change. By making a statement against these people though, there is a glimmer of hope with regards to getting there...
Well, most of us know about the Redshirts. You know, the guys on Classic Trek who either had no names, or stuck around as a security dude for a few episodes only to be cooked by Space Pygmies...
The first red shirt death came in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" when Matthews was pushed off the precipice by Ruk into the bottomless pit. Rayburn bought it later to become the second red shirt death in Trek lore.
OK, now for a list of red shirt deaths in TOS history (total of 28)...
FIRST SEASON (4)
What Are Little Girls Made Of? (2) -- Security guards Matthews and Rayburn killed by Ruk. Arena (1) -- Lt. O'Herlihy sees something, then gets zapped by Gorns on planet Cestus III. The Devil In The Dark (1) -- Unnamed security guard gets cooked by Horta.
SECOND SEASON (19)
The Apple (4) -- Lt. Mallory stepped on an exploding rock; Lt. Kaplan got hit by a lightning bolt; security guard Marple was clubbed over the head; ensign Hendorf met a poisonous planet. The Changeling (4) -- All unnamed security guards zapped by Nomad. Obsession (4) -- Ensign Rizzo, three unnamed security guards have blood sucked out of 'em (note: Mr. Leslie was one of the three security guards who died in the first attack, but he's shown recovering in sickbay after the second attack and was never pronounced dead). Mirror, Mirror (3) -- All unnamed security guards killed by Marlena via the Tantalus field. By Any Other Name (1) -- Yeoman Thompson crushed to a handful of dust. Friday's Child (1) -- Security guard Grant sees a Klingon, takes a Capellan weapon in the chest.
The Omega Glory (1) -- Lt. Galloway killed by Captain Ron Tracy. The Ultimate Computer (1) -- Ensign Harper simply gets in the way of M-5's new power source.
THIRD SEASON -- (5)
And The Children Shall Lead (2) -- Pair of security guards get beamed into open space. "Thanks, Captain." Elaan Of Troyius (1) -- Engineer Watson wonders what Kryton is doing, suffers the most pathetic death in TOS. That Which Survives (1) -- Transporter operator ensign Wyatt is for Losira. Wink Of An Eye (1) -- Crewman Compton finds death an accelerating experience.
The problem with a list like this is that now I have to go and watch all my episodes to verify it! I think my favorite is still the guy in "The Apple" that is walking down the path and steps on the exploding rock...
5 million or more people are homeless in Asia after the big Tsunami and 300,000 are dead. The US has pledged $350 million for Aid and is considering increasing this by another $300 million. That is a total of $650 million that they are sending or whatever they are doign with it, to help in these countries. Seems very nice. Bush wants to get another $80 BILLION to perpetuate the war based on lies overseas for another two years. That is 230 times the original amount they are sending for aid, or 123 times if they do send more. Something just doesn't seem right here. The whole "War on Terror" sham is bad enough, but this is a total mismanagement of resources IMO. If the US wants to seriously be considered the world's Top Power and gain the respect of everyone that they crave, then perhaps they should consider a new path to this goal. I am going to pull some numbers out of my butt now, since I am not an authority in these areas, but say it costs $100,000 to build a very nice modern house in North America, it could be half overseas. This would be a large uber modern dwelling... capable of supporting a very large family. With $80 BILLION the US could literally build 800,000 houses in North America, or double it or more overseas!!!! I am sure my guess of $50,000 in a third world country is really out to lunch but it is just an idea. With $80 BILLION, US scientists could easily develop an alternate fuel supply and cease hostilities to oil rich countries that are no longer their pawns... Stupid waste of money. Stupid waste of life. Stupid world we live in.
Well January is nearly over and everyone is still talking about the New Year's Resolutions they have made. Well most people. Some have already given up the ghost. Now this whole idea of deciding to better oneself in some way or do more of this, or less of that for the next year seems almost inane to me. Really, do you think perhaps that "i am going to quit smoking this year" is a good resolution? Okay, on the surface, all is well. Sounds great, and since I smoked for almost 20 years, and quit COLD TURKEY (because I am strong...) I can understand how important it is for folks to quit this filthy habit (and for that matter, never start!!!) That being said, what is so important about one particular day... the turn of the New Year, that makes people decide this now? Perhaps the subtle signals thathave built up over the previous years would be a better deciding factor, like the terrible coughing, and horking up of giant black loogies that should not exist every morning... or the shortness of breath experienced when trying to flee from the fuzz after robbing a gas station to steal smokes and lighters (since the smokes cost so much now)... How about "I am goign to get on track and lose lots of this excess phat this year...". This is another show stopper that realistically most people fail on. They sit on the couch with their beer and chips every night, while their swollen hearts try to pump blood to all of the extremities and can't decide to lose soem weight for their own sake before New Year's? Perhaps the hint that "heaving your ponderous bulk" around a couch isn't a good sign... or breaking a sweat when you put your shoes on? No. It takes a friggin New Year's Resolution to make these decisions. Not even your family doctor telling you to lose weight or you could die is good enough... Then most people never follow through anyhow. For example, last year (I am guilt of these silly ideas as well) I said I would try to paint one figure a week. I thought it would be great for some extra money and I would have a most impressive on-line gallery. Well I think I was doomed from the get-go. Not only did the "crunch" time load get to me, but in the end, there were months when I was lucky to finish ONE! Ha. So when all is said and done, don't waste your time. When someone says *Joyyyyyy* "I am going to stop giggling at my boss' toupee this year" you should tell them to sod off somewhere and do it to save their job... not for New Year's...
Alright, they aren't really rules. Well they are, but really, how much control do we have over our own spaces? I mean, realistically, I can write whatever I feel like writing. I think that is fair enough, though if the Space is open to the public domain some content is likely not allowed. As we can see from our friend Jubal, his space was removed for the content. I know there was a lot of bad, bad language, but I suspect it was the pictures of him and his buddies cavorting about with the inflateable sex doll... All be it, they were on average very funny pictures :D
So back to my rules... Most of the time I am pretty even tempered, and once ina while, I may get caught with a strong statement about something, or maybe just a rude joke (hehe... sometimes I may even get carried away ranting about folks....) but I think commenters can also be partially responsible. It is easy enough to delete comments, and I suppose some posters don't care. Other posters obviously want their comments to stick around, and therefore, can use restraint when picking those nasty words!!! At any rate, please comment away! If there is something you think that would be neat to discuss, let me know. I am game :D (not gamey just game)... *** UPDATE *** I cannot take responsibility for anyone's Spaces addiction. Please use Google or a similar search engine to find an Addicted to Spaces Support Group (A.S.S. Group) near you....
I was thinking about how fortunate I am to have more than the average number of arms and legs, and I stumbled upon this:
Harold Connolly won the hammer throw gold medal at the Olympics despite having a left arm that was merely a useless stump!!! As for having more than the average number of limbs, reason this: Say 1 person out of every 1000 (very round figure) has had either a limb amputated due to a horrific farming accident or a dehabilitating birth defect... so 0.5% of the population has LESS than two arms or legs. Therefore, if you actually have a full set of two arms or legs, then you really have MORE than the average number of limbs... So now, you can wake up every morning and be thankful that you are above average in so many ways!!!! Two fully functional arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, two testicles... Oh wait. Maybe two testicles...
Alright, it has been subzero for ages up here, and half my car has been frozen up for weeks. The wipers are a go, but there was a healthy build-up of ice and such in that sort of area. So the other day I was scraping the ice out and I broke of the plastic mounting that holds your wiper fluid nozzle... Now mine are basically a solid piece with the hose attaching underneath. The break occurred along a thin area, so the only hope I have is to super glue it back on, but the stress is too great I think. Garrr... and now it is miraculously +10 outside, and everything is melted, muddy and gross. I *need* wipers... :( I think I will try again at lunch today, when it is warmer. Probably just too chilly last night. I am simply glad the -35 weather is gone, if even for a few days only!!! *** UPDATED *** Alright, with some brain cell usage, I went and removed the rest of the mounting. I brought it inside my office, buffed up both edges with soem fine sand paper and superglued them together. Once firmly attached, I re-attached the hose and the mounting to the car and everything appears to be proper :P
Well, the time for the annual Chick Challenge painting contest held at Deus ex Machina is on now! This is a great classy contest where many of the best painters take part. The idea obviously, is to paint female figures. First you must send in unpainted versions of your figures, and then the painted versions by the 20th of February. There are several different categories, including Fantasy, Sci Fi, Steampunk and many side-challenges as well. So far, there are over 100 unpainted entries. Should be really fun. I have 3 entries ready to go now, but one of the biggest rules is keeping them all anonymous until the voting is all over with! Should be great fun, and since it is my first go at it, I don't have much hope, but you never know!!!
Well after my last rant about the school closures, I will keep this one short. It snowed last night. The school is closed today. I hate to use strong language but give me a f*#king break!!!!! The roads are plowed. The principal is standing at the locked doors of the school with 40 kids.... These people need to grow some serious nards. I mean really... 3 days off this week. I wanna become a teacher too now :P
School Closures.... Man, when I was a kid.... School was NEVER closed. There were some days in the winter that the farm kids couldn't come because of the busses, but there was still school. I remember walkign every day, no matter how cold it was. Last week? My son had two days off because it was too cold... erm, don't they hold classes inside? This week? Two days off because of freezing rain. The first day, I could see no busses running because of the number of Carling matches going on, but the second day was perfectly fine for driving, and probably +1 in the morning. Then there are these so called "PD" or Personal Development days that the teachers have. Every second friday (or more). Couple that with 2 months of over summer, 3 weeks or something at Christmas as well as Easter Break, and our kids are really getting the educational shaft! What do our fees pay for? I think it is time that people grew some damned skin and did what they are supposed to do. Teach. And while I'm at it, why not let all the kids have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches again??? That is one of the stupidest rules I have EVER heard of. One or two kids in school are allergic to nuts, so no one is allowed to take peanut butter sandwiches? No trail mix? What about friggin granola bars? Oh gee, better just keep your damn allergic kids at home.... There was a kid in the US that died from an asthma attack because of the school's "No Drugs" no exceptions rule. By the time they found his medicine stashed away somewhere for "safekeeping", the poor kid was dead in the office. Zero tolerance is a pretty lame escape route. Stops people from thinking. If your kid is allergic to peanuts, let him and the teachers know. Don't decide no-one can have a darned peanut butter sandwich. And open the schools... silly bedwetters....
Holy schnikes am I beat this morning... I thought I would sleep better, but all week I have gotten up at like 5 or something and I don't normally get up until 6:30... You would think maybe I could go to bed earlier, but that isn't likely to happen. Maybe tonight...
Well I have finished two figures from Hasslefree Miniatures, but I can only display one as the other is for an on-line contest. Here is Oko, the Jade Assassin...
There are more pictures of her on my website... She is painted all in greens, and has a nice contrasting belt for some extra color. The glyph on her back is an authentic Chinese Glyph "Tsui" or "Deep Green"... The base is sculpted from greenstuff and painted to resemble a stone floor.
Last night it was raining. I know, to most people, that means nothing, but up here, when it is January and it rains, it is nothing but bad news. At any rate, this morning, the roads were very icy to say the least. The highway wasn't too bad, though we were cruising at a comfy 20km/h under the limit, but in town, it is a different story. Of course, this is perfect for Carling (see my December 24th entry...). Funny though, the worst part of the weather was the fog. Yeah, it has been foggy all day. I sit and look out my huge office window, and I cannot see past our parking lot. This is kind of eerie as I can normally see all the traffic further away, and way off to the horizon even. The world could end outside my little foggy bubble and I would have no idea. A ten car pile-up a mere 200 yards away, and I would be oblivious. Vogon ships descending to annihilate the earth in order to make a new Hyperspace Bypass? I would be clueless. Of course driving is difficult, but wrestling with thoughts of giant yellow slab-like ships that I cannot even see is far, far worse. I hope it ends soon.
This is sort of a rant and peeve, but at the same time, I can recognise the inherent value in such things. Our company is very wide open. We have a lot of field staff, well, mostly field staff in fact. Then there are those of us who never leave the office (well except to maybe go home at night if we're lucky). Now we tend to have these safety meetings in our Office maybe once a month. Our company takes Safety and all very seriously which is good. The problem I see now, is that the majority of the people who attend these meetings are the people who in fact, rarely leave the office. Today, we talked all about Fatigue Management. How guys can work too long on a job site, and the amount of days on and off and all that. Well basically, our Safety Officer stood there talking to a bunch of 8 to 5 folks about working days longer than 12 or 16 hours and all this... I mean really. Wrong crowd. So here is a room full of office workers, passing out with Fatigue, talking about Fatigue Management on Jobs... Joy. Really, it was quite entertaining. Gimme a break. Then there is the bit about hidden dangers around the office... Watch OUT! The photocopier bites sometimes!!! There is no window in the door, so you could open it into somebody coming through the other way The sidewalk may be a bit icy, so be careful. Avoid those slips, trips and falls.. I mean really. It's winter, and I think any human that deserves to be breathing that lives around here would know to be careful. Lastly, I think that the phone could very possibly give you a shock if you are cutting the wires with a pair of scissors while talking on it. I think this could happen to a few folks... maybe. I guess at the end of the day, I am happy that my company takes a serious approach to safety. I would likely not work for a company that did not. That being said, some organisation in order to get the message to the RIGHT people may be in order... Back to regular programming now please!
Well the birthday weekend turned out pretty good! Had a lot of fun, drank a few beer, played some Test Drive EOD and Call of Duty, and had a good visit with relatives. I was very lucky to get the "Heroes of the West" boxed set for the Lord of the Rings from Games Workshop, as well as some winter boots, dress shoes, a new touque, gloves and many other things. The minis will be a long time in the painting, but it looks to be a nice set for me to work on for my personal collection. I also got the latest Moorcock book concerning Elric, The Skrayling Tree. I have been waiting for this in paperback for ages, and voila! My wife goes and finds it for me! I may have some mini pics up tomorrow night, we'll see. But now it's back to the regular week soon!
I was born one frosty morning, on this very day!!! Well actually it was like 35 years ago, but yeah. I don't feel any older surprisingly. You would think that the transition from 34 to 35 would be more traumatic. I mean, it *is* an entire year... I wonder why people always ask you that on your birthday. Generic person - "Do you feel any older?" Me - "No dumbass... it is only about 8 hours since it was yesterday..." Actually, it is nice that people acknowledge birthdays. I suspect it is much more appropriate to give presents and celebrate a day like today than other holidays... Maybe just cause it's MY birthday, but still :D Send birthday money to my Paypal gevans96@hotmail.com so I can go buy tons of miniatures!!!! Just kidding... or not :P
"Why don't we just wait here awhile ... see what happens ..."
I think the image really says it all. Damn... plugged the car in so it started fine, but the ignition is almost frozen, the stearing is almost frozen... I know it is really cold because the seat is like a solid rock. I don't like living here anymore. -40 is too much! Oh, the title is the last line in the movie "John Carpenter's The Thing" when MaCready and Childs are sitting sharing a bottle of Rum, watching the camp burn up. Soon, they will freeze to death in the antarctic wasteland... well, that's really what I feel like here now!
The age old question... Who was the BEST Captain of the Enterprise. Well, personally, there is no contest for me. I mean, Picard was okay, but he was a talker, a dreamer... The guy from Quantum Leap? Bah. I picture him in a dress. The geek from Ferris Buehler? Tough call there. He didn't even get his tractor beam and his ship was toast. So the only real challenger to Kirk's greatness is Picard... And here is the big debate. 100 reasons why Kirk is better. 100. Kirk is a leader, not a follower 99. Kirk never really got into the 'kinky' jumpsuit look 98. Kirk has sex more than once a season. 97. One word: Hair. 96. Another word: :Pretty-good-looking-can't-see-the-weave-wig! 95. Kirk can beat up a klingon bare-handed. 94. Picard is a frenchman with an English accent. 93. Kirk would date Beverly Crusher - and damn the consquences! 92. Kirk never drinks tea. Ever. 91. Diplomacy for Kirk is a phaser and a smirk. 90. Kirk would personally throw Wesley off his bridge. 89. Two words, shoulder roll 88. Kirk doesn't wear dresses when admirals arrive for lunch. 87. Kirk once said "I've got a belley-ache--and it's a beauty." 86. Kirk would never sing to children during a crisis. 85. Kirk can almost drive a stick shift. 84. Kirk, almost single-handedly, re-populated the Earth's whale population. 83. Kirk says "Prime Directive? What Prime Directive?" 82. Kirk knows 20th century curses. 81. Kirk was NEVER infiltrated by the Borg and used against the Federation. 80. Kirk ate little colored cubes and still remained relatively healthy. 79. Kirk made do with obviously low performance technology. 78. Kirk never pretends to be a barber in order to gain a tactical advantage. 77. Kirk wasn't shy about taking his shirt off--even around those pesky Yeomans. 76. Kirk would never waste a holodeck on something as stupid as Dixon Hall. 75. Kirk never once stood up and had to adjust his shirt. 74. One word: Velour. 73. Kirk can beat a Vulcan at Chess 72. When Kirk was Picard's age, he had retired from Admiral and took to climbing rocks. 71. When Picard was 37, he was captain of the lowly freighter Stargazer. When Kirk was 37 he was captain of the flagship Enterprise. 70. Kirk liked a good belt of Liquor every now and then. 69. one word. Iman 68. Kirk looks good with a ripped shirt. 67. If Kirk ever met a Ferengi, he would rip off it's head and S**t down its neck. 66. Kirk says "Shoot first and wait for retaliation." 65. Kirk's first officer NEVER tells him to stay on the bridge. 64. Kirk never leaves a room to bawl someone out. 63. Kirk doesn't rely on the wisdom of a janitor to get him out of intergalactic scrapes. 62. Two words, Funky side-burns 61. Kirk never asks his bartender for advice. 60. Kirk never once said "Abandon ship! All hands abandon ship!" 59. Kirk is not politically correct. 58. Kirk never got "dumped" by a woman for an intergalactic busy body named after a letter of the alphabet. 57. Kirk never wore green tights and frolicked about in Sherwood forest. 56. If there ever was a klingon on Kirk's bridge, Kirk would likely be dead. 55. Ever heard of a bar shooter called "Make it so."? How about a "Beam me up Scotty. then? See the difference? 54. Miniskirts. 53. Kirk's girlfiends always look good in soft light. 52. Kirk never went anywhere without a whole bunch of guys in red shirts. 51. Kirk's first officer didn't play some wimpy instrument like the trombone. 50, Kirk had more dates than his first officer. 49, The extent of Kirk's knowledge of Klingon vocabulary can be roughly translated as "GO F**K YOURSELF!" 48. If it doesn't speak english..it's toast. 47. Kirk wasn't some prissy archaeology fan. 46. Picard's middle name isn't tough or as awe inspiring like Tiberius is. 45. If Kirk finds a strange spinning probe, he blows it up. 44. Picard never met Joan Collins. 43. Picard flunked his entrance exams to StarFleet 42. Picard hadn't fathered any children; Kirk--probably millions 41. Kirk has a cool phaser--not some pansy Braun mix-master 40. Two words: Line delivery. 39. Picard grew up in a quaint little French vineyard, squiching grapes with his toes, while Kirk slung bails of wheat and hay in Iowa to put himself through school. 38. Kirk emphasises oritations with pertinent hand gestures. 37. Kirk once made a cannon out of bamboo, sulphur, potassium nitrate, charcoal and then fired diamonds into the heart of his enemy. (Need we say more?) 36. Kirk is not put off by green skin. 35. Kirk knows how to deal with peace loving hippy goofs. 34. Kirk once fought a greek god. And won. 33. Kirk barely asks for suggestions. And when he does he asks Spock only. 32. Kirk doesn't let the doctor tell him what to do. 31. One word: Fisticuffs 30. Kirk's name is hated throughout the universe. 29. Kirk appreciates Shakespeare, but he doesn't let it show. 28. You can never lock up Kirk for very long. 27. Kirk's eulogies can actually make you cry. 26. Kirk plays God with lesser cultures, then exploits them for resources. 25. Kirk's son would never drop out to become a musician. 24. Kirk can climb a Jeffries tube and fix anything. 23. Kirk never hired an engineer with punk glasses. 22. The Klingon's didn't have a word for Surrender -- until they met Kirk. 21. Kirk's bridge is not beige. 20. Two words: Crane shot 19. Picard likes wimpy violin music -- and coerces Data into playing it. 18. Picard allows cats on board, while Kirk beams away even really cute things, like tribbles. 17. Kirk is a cultural icon -- Picard is just some guy who;s really nice. 16. Kirk specifically ordered a swivel LA-Z-BOY for the bridge. 15. Kirk would never touch SYNTHAHOL 14. Kirk looks distinguished in reading glasses --and nobody dares calls him 'four eyes'. 13. Kirk can infiltrate Gangsters, Nazis, and even the Pentagon -- easily. 12. Picard likes painting nudes -- for art's sake. 11. When Kirk doesn't trust Romulans he fires on them. When Picard doesn't truat Romulans, he gets fired at.(And the final 10 now!) 10. Kirk never once, ever, wore a weiner wrapping Speedo bannana hammock on shore leave. 9. Kirk never gets his command codes locked out by some pimply acting ensign. 8. Kirk doesn't test the engines, he just fires them up. 7. When Kirk says BOLDLY GO, he MEANS it. 6. Three words: Flying leg kick. 5. Picard's crew would never think of him as a sexual object. 4. Kirk travelled through THE GREAT BARRIER, met God, and wasn't even impressed. 3. Kirk's bedroom is a passion pit with electric sheets. 2. Kirk would never let his Chief of Security wear a pony tail. 1. One word: Balls.
In case there is still any doubt at all, pictures are worth millions of words:
Kirk ready to kick arse.
Picard playing a little flute.
Pretty much sums it up I would say... *** UPDATED *** I have found an awesome site that has OVER 1000 Reasons why Kirk is better than Picard!!! Go check it out now!
Alright... I like to play my guitar once in a while. I have for years. I like fast and heavy tunes, especially with a classical influence. I grew up in the 80's mainly so many of my influences are guys like George Lynch, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen. It is fun trying these styles, though it would be easier if I actually practiced more than an hour a week. Lately, I have found all manner of new Power Metal bands, and after finding that the band Dragonforce, has this Guitar Pro format tablature (they are a very quick band to say the least) I wonder if it is worth buying. It seemed to work pretty slick on the old demo version :)
Maybe I just need to practice more, and then I can use my ears like in the olden days. I did have a blast the other night, watching some of my Metallica 19.98 Cliff 'Em All video. That was a blast. Before they sold out. Long hair, heavy tunes, and a good dowsing of "F*ck you James..." Heh. Whatever happened I wonder....
Well, overall I had a pretty decent weekend, right up until 4 am on Monday morning. That is when the power went out. Now normally, this isn't a bad thing. I mean, at 4 am, everyone in the house is sleeping, and by morning, our heroes at the utility company have solved the problems without most folks being any wiser. Well not so. If it was 4 am that the power went off, the wife woke up at 4:05. Normally, we have a light on in the hall... no light. So she is freaking out about no power. Noises. bangs... the house is cooling and tends to make these noises. I just want to sleep. I try to explain everythign away, and suggest that sleeping in the dark makes no real difference since it is dark behind your closed eyes anyways. Everything is settling down in the darkness, and along comes the cat. Well dash it all, there is a new batch of "What was that?" and "Shhhh...". Finally, it is quiet. The cat found a new chair to cover in hair, and we are drifting off to sleep at about 5 am. Clump, clump, clump, up the stairs comes the boy. "Moooooom.... the power went out...". So after a brief fit of sarcasm, and a strong denial to allow him to sleep in our room, I say to sleep on the couch upstairs and let me go back to sleep. No flashlights... why waste the batteries? I mean GO TO SLEEP! In the dark even!!! So off he goes for a while. Maybe 10 minutes, and he can't take it. So now he wants to sleep on the floor in our room in the corner. Well, I have been up for a good hour and some now, with the wife being nervous, and I don't need him talking, fidgeting and doing all those young fella things that they do when they are supposed to be going to sleep in the dark... So I suggest that I will go and sleep on the couch, and perhaps they can keep each other up int he bedroom. Well, within half an hour, the power comes back on. This is good, because it was -30 outside, and the house was really getting chilly out of the blankets.... Another half hour, and I am getting up for work. Sounds pretty droll of course, but the kicker comes at 7:10 when I go out to start the car.... Grnnn Grnnnn grnnn grn. grn. Damnit. I check the power, and the block heater IS plugged in. I haven't moved the car all weekend, but of course! The power was out for ages this morning... So I try again. Grnnn Grnnnn grnnn grn. grn. Nothing. Even worse now, I have flooded the beast. This could take ages. I swore. I went in the house and got the lad ready to walk to school (not too far, but it is a might chilly out)... Tried the car again at about 7:50 and... Grnnn Grnnnn grnnn grn. grn. Well, the only thing I could do, and likely the only thing anyone in their right mind could do... call work and let them no the situation and that I will be in asap. Of course, I went back to bed.
Well I have not talked a lot about miniature painting, but after the longish holiday break, it is really time to start getting cracking. Now I am not one to rush as I really liek to take my time, and get smooth blends, fine details, and an overall polished miniature when done, so maybe I can shoot for a couple a month, or 3 maybe if I am lucky! On my table for imminent painting right now are the following figures: A special "commission" for Kev White, the Sculptor for his own company, http://www.jenova.dk/hassle/front.htm, Hasslefree Miniatures. It is a Pirate style Space dwarf. Kjaran. Very cool and finely detailed mini. I will be starting right away! Also from Hasslefree, I have a Minstrel who bares an amazing resemblance to myself to do, though I need to figure out how to convert his TINY lute into an Ibanez electric :P. Also, a couple of very scantily clad girls, namely a gymnast and a pole-dancer.... These shoudl sell okay IMO. I also want to start on several of their martial artists. The names elude me right off, but one is a cool Dragon man in a Kung Fu pose. Should be fun, and fits in nice with my current Wizardry addiction. Another couple of projects I need to get cracking on are Workbench articles for http://www.theminiaturespage.com. These are pretty in depth and involve many step-by-step pictures, and the figures must be completed to a high level. They are a swashbuckler, and a Drow priestess from Darksword miniatures. Very finely detailed and should be fun to paint! The last thing I REALLY need to get cooking on is another special commission that has not been started yet and it has been a year or more! It involves the use of a lot of Sculpey to create a subterranean cavern scene and will house a slew of mushroom men, and other classic Underworld dwellers, such as an Illithid (Mind Flayer) and perhaps a giant snail! Anyways, I will be sure to post updates when I get them done! After time off from my real job, and no painting either, it is hard to get back in the groove of doing both!
Alrighty! At some point today, I will be switching out my gay looking Dell piece of crap (the small wafer-thin ones) for a brand new Uber looking AMD machine... Pretty fancy, it has a window on the side so you can see all of the little bits and bytes swirling around in there. Okay, maybe not, but I can now accurately monitor the dust build up inside my machine. Definately glad to be rid of this Dell thing though. The new one even has a burner, so watch out all you anti-piracy fools :P I think I have bought enough Metallica parafenalia over the years to justify downloading ONE MORE ALBUM!!!! Actually, I already have the entire 4 albums I like. The rest suck.
Well it has been pounding snow down all day now, and the roads are crap. I heard there was a 60 car pile up north of Calgary.... Highways closed... stuff like that. Be careful driving out there folks, or there will be a number of Carling Matches to check scores on in the morning...
Well some of my facts are most likely sketchy at best but I am always amazed not at the government and what they do, but at how the people in general respond to what the government does. The People: "Why not go and do this to help? Why don't you do anything???" The Gov: "We are discussing what to do and have several plans..." The People: " Well dammnit, hurry up! There are people starving, and more important, the Americans are laughing at us again..." The Gov: "Alright, we are going to spend millions on aid and send this mind-bogglingly useful water purifying and aid Unit to help out." The People: " Why is it taking so long? Hurry up you foolish inefficient government that we elected..." The Gov: "It takes time to deploy such a mind-bogglingly useful Unit to the correct place. Alright we have sent the Unit and are going to help these people with pure water and so much more..." The People: "Do you think it is a good idea? Why are we wasting our money on this? Maybe we should send them cash... Stupid government..." You see, it is really a Catch 22. We, as The People, demand action and accountability. This is the same with the general public or the Honorable Opposition members in Parliament. However, when the government does act, suddenly EVERYONE changes their tune, The People, The Honorable Opposition, everyone. It drives me nuts. We elect our government. Fair enough. It is as close to true democracy as we will ever know. Now the problem with our Governmental system is that once elected, it seems as though everyone else tries their hardest to defame and disagree with whatever is decided. I see this constantly with petty bickering in Parliament. Instead of workign together with the elected party, everyone always tries to One-up them. Stupid buggers. They behave like spoiled schoolchildren. Us as the voters are no better. In Alberta, we elected the Honorable Mr. Klein for what seems like a lifetime now. Sure, we are all mighty oilfield rednecks... we love our 4x4 pickups and our snowmobiles. Of course, as soon as the Honorable Mr. Klein opens his mouth, everyone jumps down his throat... "How can Ralph say that? He must be drunk..." Everytime we get a natural gas bill or a power bill, we curse the name of the Honorable Mr. Klein and his government. "Thanks for the Privatization Ralph" we all say... So why is he re-elected? Cause the People are lamer than the government... Bah... Politics are impotent... (not politicians... politics :D) and I am glad we are helping out overseas! All the power to 'em! Go get 'em Mr. Martin!!!
Well there was never any doubt, but Canada again proves to be the hockey giant in the world. Granted, Pakistan didn't get a team in the World Juniors to give em a go, but I think we are safe! Awesome game, great players. It is nice to see after missing so much of the "pro" level rubbish this year. I think I much prefer watching Baseball now anyhow, but the game last night was real good. The announcers were even funny sometimes. "They gotta start calling these Russian guys for diving. They go down faster than free beer at a Frat party..." "Looks like he got two minutes for being strong..." Too bad the rest was so bad! Heh.
A.R. Anal Retentive. I post this under Health and Wellness since personally, this project affects my Wellness, and if I am not careful, it could affect the A.R. Bastich's Health. Man, try as I might, there is one guy I try to avoid doing work for in our office over and above the rest. Nothing personal against the guy, except he is older, and is somewhat slow and anal. He has very special standards he likes to see on his drawings (that are really a HUGE waste of freaking time considering anyone in HIS position should not need such mundane things) and now I am stuck having to do a bunch of work for him. Not a new job no. I am now the third person to work on this job. It came to me basically as a "add the new data to the drawing" deal, and hand in for his review. Well after getting a bit familiar with the existing drawing (I *am* the third person to work on it and i have never heard of the project before) I begin to realise that there are a zillion mistakes, as well as a zillion things not even done yet. Now my quick half day job is suddenly growing into a week long project for this guy. I don't mind fixing up other people's little mistakes, but trying to sort out what is missing and what is not is more difficult. I have no file folder either, so anything I need to check from the previous folk's work has to be dug out again from scratch... Grrr. Time to take a step back. Relax. Breathe... I guess I get paid no matter what, but stress free work is much nicer. Oh, the A.R. Bastich shall hereto be referred to as "P.O.D." or Priest of Darkness (cause I picture the old guy as the secret Satan cult leader in one of those low budget horror titty flics... You know, the nice guy from town that is the mayor or something but turns out to be the knife wielding evil dude who sacrifices our Big busted Heroin to Satan much to the dismay of some other people who can't act....
Remind me again why we live up here int he "Great White North"... I hate cold. I hate snow. I hate winter. I don't even think it's pretty any more as my eyes can't handle how bright snow can be. Last night? -33 celcius without the windchill.... that is ludicrous. I saw a guy riding his bike to work yesterday morning. He was dressed up sure, but give me a break. Gotta be nutso to do that, or simply have no choice. I don't know how much of a break we are supposed to get but maybe up to about -10 by wednesday... (clasps hands tightly in prayer)...
Well after a nice week off, and some pretty lame attempts at helping remodel the boy's room, I think I am not ready for work at all! Well, that's not all true. I am just not ready for the early mornings yet :D
Lets see, we had a great Christmas, and apart from the white knuckle drive home Christmas night in the blizzard, and the odd bit of cold work in the garage, it was a good time off! We saw lots of relatives, for both Christmas and New Years, and visited with soem friends as well.
The boy's room is being redone in some new color and this is 95% thanks to the wife. I have helped do a little lifting or reaching, but she has really done all the work. Looks really good so far, and the Mopar theme she is using rocks out!
My new patchcords I got for Christmas work sweet, and now I can play tons of music and not have the constant hum and static produced by half-chewed patch cords. There goes a little more free time it would seem :D But I have to nail "The Sentinal" by Priest. Love that song. BTW, the new album, "Angel of Retribution" will be out March 1st in North America :P
Now time to get cracking. I took time off from almost all of my usual endeavours, including painting, so now, back to work and trying to get figures done. I have decided this year, to try for two high quality figures a month minimum as last year I thought 4 would be okay. Seemed like a lot of pressure though, so I am lowering it now. Not that I can't still do more, just that I won't feel like I *must* get them done.
I played a lot of games over the holidays too. Still hooked on the Wizardry 8, and playing Call of Duty doesn't seem to get tiresome at all. Even got a kick ass ship for Freelancer, so all my games are good to go now!
Well, I've been busy helping (only a small bit) with remodelling the boy's room, and playing a lot of games on the machine, as well as visiting family over the holidays, so my Blog has taken a big hit! Anyways, the New Year has dawned on us, and it is the same as before. Still snowing, and still -25 out.
Oh well, best wishes to everyone this coming year!
All opinions shared on this site are strictly my own. Some people may disagree and that is fine, but rude comments or overzealous debate will be curtailed. I enjoy civil discourse, and encourage independent thought. I oppose George W. Bush and his Wars based on lies.
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I have lived in Central Alberta almost my entire life, except for a 4 year stint when I was younger in Swaziland, and about 5 years in beautiful BC. I have a wonderful girlfriend and am expecting very soon! I work in the engineering field and enjoy writing in my spare time.
George W. Bush 
