So, this post has been building up for quite some time. These are things that really irritate me and I’m gonna get it off my chest here. If you decide to disagree or take issue, you’d better watch out, ’cause you just might make it onto my next list

1. Trolls: These come in various forms. For this post’s purpose, I’m speaking specifically of the A%^H*(! who are trying to steal technology from my company because they are too retarded to come up with any of their own. Especially when I offered to do it for them. Get lost or you’ll have a shit storm that you can’t possibly imagine!
2. PETA Freaks: There are idiots who hover Craigslist and terrorize anyone and everyone who makes a post regarding pets. Everyone is considered a puppy mill if you’re trying to place a puppy. News flash you morons: if you’ve ever seen an actual puppy mill, you’d stop. Sorry to disappoint you, but not everyone wants a leftover dog with no record of origins, health, etc. Get a clue. And while you’re at it, get a life!!!

   It also irritates me that Craigslist puts up with these guys. They can apparently flag and ad and have it removed without anyone questioning it. Well, question it or you’re going to become less and less relevant as a tool. Guys like me have grown tired of using you and and it’s only a matter of time before we invent something that will replace you.

3. Flakes: I’m specifically talking of people who say they’re absolutely going to do something and then completely neglect to do it. Things change. At least have the courage to say so. Don’t avoid me or change the subject.
4. Naysayers: You know what? There are two kinds of people in this world. There are those who create new things, whether they’re companies, products, inventions, etc. And there are those who don’t. There’s nothing wrong with being someone who doesn’t. But if you want to be a skeptic or naysayer, stay as far away from me as possible. I haven’t got the time nor the patience for you. I don’t need you trying to drag me or those under me down. We’re trying to accomplish things. We’re making things happen. We’re trying to change something, whether it’s the market, our lives or the world. If you wish to be miserable in your existence, go right ahead. Be high and mighty. Be self-righteous. Be you. But be in another state or I’m gonna help you get there.
5. Illogical people: I’m mostly thinking in terms of politics, but it can apply everywhere. This whole thing with Obama speaking to the school kids is one example. I am glad my kids’ school opted not to air the speech. For you to tee off and talk about knuckle-dragging right-wingers is pretty damn arrogant. Go drink your own Kool Aid. If I don’t want my kids to hear it, that’s my prerogative. Don’t sit there and tell me it’s another assembly function, because it isn’t. It wasn’t on the school agenda before the school year. Every year, we’re finding new ways to teach our kids less and less. Now we’re gonna pull the kids out of their classes, cut short their training by some more hours, but then talk to them about the importance of learning. Give me a break. It’s inconsistent. Do it at night. BTW, if the parents of our school had chosen to participate, then it would have been our decision. These are our kids. They’re not Mr. Obama’s kids. We’re the guardians. At least for now. And no, I wouldn’t have pulled my kids out. That would have been illogical too.
6. Universal healthcare: Almost everyone I know has some form of health insurance. According to some stats, as much as 85% of Americans have it. So to reform the entire system for the remaining 15% doesn’t make much sense to me. My wife and I don’t have insurance. With my new company, I haven’t turned it on yet and I refuse to pay the high prices of COBRA while hoping my family stays healthy. It’s insurance. It’s not supposed to be subsidized healthcare. And that’s a very different thing. When my wife needed to get her foot cared for after filling it with glass, we were seen. We were taken care of. She got immediate medical treatment. No one turned us away. No one sent us packing. And we didn’t fill out a ton of forms. I am so sick and tired of hearing how people can’t get treated because they haven’t got insurance. It’s nonsense. And if it’s a situation of necessary surgery, then there is state financial aid. Doesn’t sound glamorous. But it’s there. If you need something more special than that, then chances are good you’re not going to get it covered by your universal HMO anyway. So move on!
7. The Sen. Wilson incident: I firmly believe Sen. Wilson was wrong in his actions but right in his sentiment. I believe the president lied as well. But I’m of the opinion that the office of President deserves more respect than the person occupying the office. And for that reason I believe the senator should have bitten his tongue for a more appropriate time. But what really bothers me are all of the derogatory comments from people on Facebook wanting to punish him and ALL THOSE PEOPLE that think like him. Well, screw you. I also think the president shouldn’t have received a blow job from one of his interns. I guess that makes me shallow too.

   We’re allowed to think for ourselves. We’re allowed to have our opinions. And we’re allowed to voice those opinions. Now, if we exercise that right, we should do so with information. Back things up. Support your opinions. And allow others to differ with yours.

   BTW, for the record, I haven’t watched Fox News since the elections. If you wish to blame my source of information, go right ahead. I get that daily email from the NY Times. Have at it.

8. Non-military experts on what it’s like to be in the military: Let’s face it, the military, and public service for that matter, isn’t for everyone. If you were in the military, a police officer or firefighter, thank you for your service. I enlisted in the Navy right out of high school. There was no war when I enlisted. I did it because it made the most sense to me. I had no idea that at some point we’d be going to war with Iraq. Things happen. That’s what we sign up for. If you wish to thank me and other service men, you’re welcome. And thank you for being thankful. But please, don’t try to tell me how you understand what I went through. I was in the Navy and don’t even try to tell my brothers I presume to know what they’re going through. That’s ridiculous. When I was in, I was single. I didn’t have a wife and kids. Shoot, I’m only gone for 2 days from my family. I’m only in CA right now. But I miss my family terribly.

   Also, if you happened to miss out on going in and are feeling a patriotic bone, that’s okay. But don’t feel compelled to tell all of us you wish you would have gone in. We all have things we wish we’d have done differently. I got out in 1992 and wish I would have stayed in the reserves. Life goes on. Telling you that doesn’t make me feel better. And I don’t presume to think it makes you feel better. I had the opportunity to go back in in 2003. But at that point, it didn’t make sense for my family. Part of growing older and wiser is learning to live with the decisions we make. That’s one of the best lessons we can pass on to our kids.

So, that’s my list for now. I may add more to this list. I’ve never really put that much thought into this. But it seems like a good thing to periodically update.

People, we live in America where we’re allowed the freedom to express our opinions and thoughts. Don’t for a second expect everyone to be on the same page as you. Here’s a reminder, if you don’t like something, you can always move on. I was seriously irritated by a friend’s Facebook post yesterday trying to relate the Kanye West incident to that of Sen. Wilson. They’re very different things and I really took offense to his post. There was no need to get all up in arms on his wall. I exercised my right to ignore it. That’s what my website’s for.

Take care of yourself. And while you’re at it, take care of someone else who can’t help himself, return the favor and or who might be the antithesis of all you hold dear.

My 6 year old son is at that age where he has outgrown his 12″ bike. It’s so bad he cannot even turn the pedals. So I figured I’d take him to get the next size up, which is a 16 incher. Well, apparently it’s only okay to need a 16″ bike if you’re a girl. They had every flavor of 12″ bike or 20″ bike, but nothing in his size, except if he wanted something with Barbie or Cinderella on it.

We went all over the place. We went to Walmart, Target, Performance Bike and so on. We drove to Loveland, Longmont and Fort Collins. I easily put on 200 miles trying to find something for him. The irony in the whole thing is we actually had found a bike for him at the Super Target in Longmont, but we hadn’t decided to get him it at that time. We kinda wanted to look around first.

Now, I should mention that I had ruled out anything that tried to resemble a dirt bike. I can’t stand those ones that have all the fenders, fake tail pipe, etc. And I don’t want my son riding a bike with Disney characters. That was okay a couple of years ago. But not now.

Anyway, we found a couple of alternatives as we drove around. Performance Bike had a really nice one, but it was 3 times the price of the Target one we saw in Longmont. So then we went to Walmart and found a no frills one. But it looked pretty cheap and flimsy. The bottom line is that nothing quite stood up to the one we first saw at that Target in Longmont. Obviously, we could just go to the next closest Super Target. Right? Well, that would have been too easy. We tried a Target, a Super Target and couldn’t find the bike. Just those princess ones.

Finally, it’s after 8pm on a Sunday and we’re heading back to Longmont to get the bike that we first saw and liked the best. Our boy isn’t napping like usual. Nope. He’s up and anxious to get there. But guess what happened as we pulled into the parking lot? We saw our son’s bike be ridden away by some other little boy. But that wasn’t the best part. We only worked at this 2 days straight. It had become an adventure. But imagine our surprise when our son burst out with, “those bastards!”. Were we shocked? Or did he just sum up exactly what we were thinking? We just told him not to say that at school.

Not sure of my overall feelings on this. I was really looking forward to watching Lance Armstrong get back into it after a 4 year absence from the sport. Man it would have been awesome to watch him smoke people and to quiet the critics about doping, steroids, etc. Well…, it didn’t quite go like that.

The first week of the Tour were the most exciting for me to watch. Each day there was endless drama about who would be the leader for team Astana– Armstrong, Leipheimer, or Contador. And each day, you got to hear them all downplay it. Ironically, while all of this was going on, I really didn’t hear all that much about drugs, cheating, etc. So this year’s race did accomplish something.

In the end, it wasn’t the performance I was expecting. But perhaps it was much more. I have never seen Levi Leipheimer ride so well. It was too bad he had to leave it early due to an injury. At various points, I was really rooting for him.

It’s hard for me to get too excited about Alberto Contador. He’s not Lance. But despite how much I didn’t want him to win, he was nothing short of amazing on those climbs. I know what it feels like to get that “kick” as you’re going up a climb. For a guy my size, it doesn’t happen often. But when it does, it feels great. This guy just kept kicking and kicking and kicking. There was simply no stopping him.

Then there was Lance. I liked how he referred to himself as an old fart on the last real day of the race. At 38, he’s hardly old. But he certainly is at a disadvantage versus the younger Contador and contenders. Despite the fact that he didn’t win, Lance was still Lance. I don’t care what any critic says. The guy took 4 years off and began training earlier this year for the race. He still kicked butt. He still earned my respect. And after it’s all over, I’m still in awe of him.

For next year, it would be nice to see a little bit of a re-organization. It’s hard to watch such top contenders on the same team. I really didn’t like the drama that was created. I suppose it’s like watching baseball with a team full of stars. But I miss the old days where the team was organized to protect the leader. Next time, let’s have a definitive leader as opposed to waiting to see who emerges.

Sometimes you can’t quite explain why certain chains of events occur. You can try. But no matter how much effort you exert, things can’t be explained.

Well, I’m through trying to rationalize. I’ve got a new gig. And as far as I’m concerned, I have a lifetime supply of tackling fuel. Some of my friends, have never had the fortune of watching The Waterboy. Here’s a clip for their benefit.

Well, what can I say about life on a farm that I haven’t already said? Anyone who has known me for any length of time has to get a good chuckle over the thought of me raising chickens. But I shall endeavor despite recent discouragements.

Two days ago, our house was hit by what I can only descibe as a serial killer of chickens. Yep! You heard me right. You see, while you might think of this as a simple act of nature– a fox feeding on chickens, I have to remain a bit more cynical. On Wednesday, we lost four of remaining five chickens in broad daylight. The culprit was a fox. And the sucker wasn’t afraid of me at all. He simply stared me down and then sauntered off, after the carnage.

But what was really wrong for the whole thing was that the chickens were in immaculate condition. There were no chunks missing. There was no blood. Last year’s fox attacks resulted in headless lumps left in the chicken pen. But not with this fox. Their chicken necks were merely broken as they were left to flop around.

Our neighbor has lost more than forty chickens to this fox, and similar, disturbing results. His show chickens were killed and left pristine, as if posed.

I’ve thought about contacting the FBI’s BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit), but let’s face it, there’s not a lot of experience to glean from. After all, there aren’t a lot of reported cases of serial killing foxes to build a profile. So, I’ve armed myself and I’m waiting. Foxes are creatures of habit. Yesterday, I stood ready and set a trap for the wiley fox. But he showed up before I could zero my scope on my Gamo rifle. I managed to get a body shot in, but it didn’t take him down. I am hoping he will come back by this afternoon so I can try to get a head shot in now that my scope’s sited. We’ll have to see.

Out of all our chickens, we only have one left– Olivia. Olivia also happens to be our oldest chicken. Well, I guess the fact that she’s the only one alive makes her the oldest. What I meant to say was that she has been with us longer than any other, previously living, chicken. Her theme song is I will Survive.

Wish me luck!