Gaming in the Cloud

Time for a piece on technology. I'm not talking about driving around airborne cars, or our sneakers lacing themselves, but we're working on it. What I am talking about it something that those that are gamer's would understand. Especially those who are heavily vested in their cellphones. Game developers you are on notice as of now.

A little history first.

So once upon a time ago, you weren't saving anything. The arcade era was in full swing, and you played to beat the game in a single sitting. Even the original tough guys Atari and Intellivision were no different. But then came the next evolution when Sega and Nintendo came through the door. You could continue from save points in some games. Others just needed a password. And boom, you no longer had to start at the beginning. Which in some cases was a REALLY good thing, because many of us lost countless hours to the likes of the various Mario Bros, Zelda, Metroid, and then some. And in case you're wondering, yes, I still know the Konami code.Things stayed this way for a while, as the games themselves would evolve in graphics instead of storage.

Then came the dark times. New systems that had incredible graphics and new ways to save came out But they were so over priced, you were cutting grass for more than a summer to save up. Systems like the 3DO, CD-i, and Sega Saturn took advantage of having real actors, on real sets pushing the story of the game. Mad Dog McCree, Wing Commander 3, The Daedelus Encounter, and Night Trap to name a few. The systems were way ahead of their time. You could save your place in the systems memory itself, and play music CD's. Man, I killed a lot of Kilrathi back in those days. My first taste of the awesomeness that is playing video games in full surround sound.

But like all hardships, things turned around. Sega launched it's final system, Playstation and Xbox were born, and we were now saving our games to memory cards. And memory cards brings me to where I wanted to be today.

Today, we have a hand full of quality portable gaming options. And with them advanced gaming. For many of us, the bulk of those games are on our cellphones and tablets. And this is where developers have taken a step back. Sure, many games will save progress at certain points. Most have you set up a login to track your stats and keep your friends. But what happens when you upgrade your phone? What happens when you go from your phone to your tablet? What happens if, (gasp) something happened to you phone like damage, or even losing it? Well, quit simply you're out of luck. Only parts of games are backed up on to memory cards, but you usually end up having to wipe and start from scratch again. And save points in games just aren't there on the cards. Being that we are in a world of cloud computing (oh no, he's going to make sense again) why don't developers not only bring back the ability to save to a memory card, but into the could itself?

It's not just annoying sometimes, but down right aggravating when you've finally gotten to a great point and then are looking at losing your game. Because lets face it, nobody really wants to go back and forth between a current phone and an old one. And let's look at that cloud save, customers would be able to switch out devices without worry! Just upgraded your phone? No problem. Just activated a replacement phone? No problem. Gave your old Xperia Play to your kid who loves that old Spiderman game? No problem.

Not long ago +Alexander Maxham made a great point about mobile device storage in general. Some people want to stay with cheap devices with an SD card, but others would prefer to have a solid device with cloud storage. (Alex, thanks for that by the way.) Mobile gaming would be able to expand that further, bridge the gap, and lead the industry in a new direction by opening that cloud storage. I know for sure Microsoft has at least looked at this with the Xbox 360 some, so I'm sure the likes of Sony and Nintendo have at least eyeballed it as well. So not only would our mobile gaming be better, but our consoles would be looking at going in the same direction as well. Better gaming all around! Those people who stay away from mobile gaming, for fear of not having an agreeable way to save their session would probably be a lot more likely to reconsider and ..... wait for it.... spend some money on a game for their phone. But no, the game industry couldn't possibly want that. What's a few million bucks from happy customers, new and old alike?

But to quote Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

Quality Sushi in the Desert

I've always loved seafood, and fish. Now I know some are looking at that statement and thinking, "it's the same thing." It's not. If it doesn't come from the ocean, it's not seafood. If you've ever been fishing, and pulled a bite out of a lake, river, or other fresh water source, you know what I'm talking about. And I'm not talking about the breaded stuff you'll find at the local Walmart. Then one day I hit one of the best places in the world for one of my favorite dishes. I got stationed in Okinawa, Japan. It's a bit like letting a cat loose in a fish warehouse without storing the fish.

Welcome to Okinawa

Then I came back to the U.S. and learned just how accustomed to quality food I had become. With exception of living in a coastal city, you're going to have a hard time finding restaurants with "real quality" seafood or fish in the U.S. Being that I moved to New Mexico, I figured it would be a long time before I found something resembling the food I left behind. What's that? Red Lobster? Come on, that's the McDonald's of seafood. Sure it's decent food, but doesn't compare. And just because a place says it's a real Japanese kitchen, or seafood house doesn't make it so. Get rid of the theatrics and actually sit down for the food alone, it's not that great. Sadly, for a good while the best sushi to be had came out of an Albertson's grocery store.

My wife enjoying some quality food.

Now my wife didn't used to like seafood much. But she's slowly become more adventurous over the years. And recently has learned that sushi is good! A friend told her about a place called Sushi Hana here in downtown Albuquerque. So we checked it out. I was shocked, and overwhelmed with joy because it's the real deal! My wife even planned a surprise birthday party for me there.

My birthday cake made by my brother Stephen. You can contact him for your personalized cake at:
https://www.facebook.com/SweetToothDragon

They have a large selection of delicious morsels. And even cater to those who don't care much for sushi, but love noodles. So now I have a spot where I can enjoy quality seafood and fish away from home. And it gives me a place to reflect on the good ol days.

Unplugged Review

So recently I discussed unplugging, and my quest to settle on an mp3 player. Well kiddies, I finally got an mp3 player that meet my needs. I settled on the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2. And so far I'm pretty happy with it.

Is it perfect? Well no, but nothing is. So time for a quick rundown. It runs smoothly, and has no trouble keeping up or multitasking. As you can see I have a couple of apps downloaded to it, with is great when near WiFi. But of course, I'm breaking away from that as well. So onboard it has 8 GB's and supports external memory via SD card up to 32 GB (though some testers have had luck with some 64 GB SD cards). So I can drop a ton of music on it, and a couple of games for that down time as well. It is running on a slightly dated version of Android, Gingerbread, but that's fine. Gingerbread has been good to me, and I'm not looking to replace my computer. WiFi is strong, and the Bluetooth is as solid as we can expect. I had no trouble connecting to my Roku with either.

Sound is pretty good, though I find it to be high towards the treble and low on bass, though that can be adjusted with various apps from the market place. Typical of FM radio, it uses wired headsets as the antennae. But I have say here that it is one of the best FM players I've ever used. I don't have to position the device in a certain direction, nor do I have to fidget with my ear-buds. It just reaches out and grabs those stations, and holds them well. And volume from the two speakers on the front is solid. I actually don't have to even turn it up half way and can hear my music strong.

Here on the back you can see the rear camera, no flash. It's nothing great but works well. It also came with a few different back plates as well. Ultimately you can see which one I chose obviously. The front camera is only VGA, but it works well for what little purpose it really serves. Here's a picture of yours truly using that VGA camera.

So far I'm pretty happy with the direction I'm headed. Now it's on to the next phase. Time to decide on a basic phone that will suit my needs. So in the immortal words of the late, great Paul Harvey, "Standby for news!"

A Rant for the Future of TV

So a few years ago I cut the cord. No more cable/ satellite TV. No more letting the industry gouge me on what I want to watch. Will I still overpay some? Sure, anyone that watches anything outside of just having rabbit ears on their TV will always be overpaying at some point. For instance the cost of a DVD costs a fraction of what we usually end up paying, even when something is on sale. So I invested in a Roku. LOVE IT!

My Roku (Angry Birds Edition)

It sets me up with what I am willing to pay for, and I can stream it when I'm ready. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, PBS & PBS Kids, etc. It's all there. But once again, the industry got those of us that have cut the cord in a position for it to laugh at us. Sure, it's not bad to have to wait a day or two for a new episode with some networks. But others (ala Turner Networks to name one) are jerks about it. Now I can understand still having us pay. For instance, I don't mind purchasing a full season here or there. SouthLAnd, SOA, and a few others, I'll happily shell out a few bucks for. But it's really poor decision making to force people into cable to watch something. Some networks say, "We have it online now!" And technically they do, so long as you're a paying cable subscriber. But that's garbage. Now, I'm not saying they have to go to a service like Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu. They could open a website for subscription on their own. Or even put their product up for purchase on Google Play, Xbox Video, iTunes, etc. If they run their own site, they don't even have to worry about a middle man.

After all, why should someone have to pay for cable when they only watch a couple of actual cable channels? It would make more sense to go a la cart, or through a streaming service. In some respects I wonder if it's the individual companies unwillingness to move forward and take a chance with new technology such as smartphones, and multimedia devices like tablets, ipods, and Android mp3 players. 

What's more is it punishes those who are trying to better live within their means, or just plain can't afford the luxury of cable. And make no mistake, it is a luxury. I hope the streaming companies such as previously mentioned, and others like Crackle keep putting out quality original programming in addition to the various other content. So to all who see this blog, I recommend cutting the cord and putting more pressure on the networks to move into the modern technical age by putting their products online for us. If YOU work for a cable provider, please put my suggestion in your local suggestion box. 

Mother's Day

So today is a reminder to all the mommies, that at one point, they put out, and a few long months later, we all ripped through their vagina like a high school football team through a paper banner. Yup, I went there.

In my case it's probably more of a a mixed bag of, "that's my boy," "bastard destroyed my body," and "I knew I should have swallowed." I've been that big of a pain her butt over the years, and have no intention of letting up. (Just my way of saying I love you +LoisAnn Brock.)

Then of course, there's the I love you and congrats we all give to our significant others who we sacrifice on the alter of pain. As if we didn't have enough on our plate, I stuck a seed of slow death in my lovely wife as well. And in a fraction of the time it's taken me with my own mom, I've been a burning pain in her butt as well. She's been ready to smash my head clear out my butt with a frying pan on more than one occasion. (Just my way of saying I love you +Erica Rominger.)

So, Happy Mother's Day. And no, I still won't apologize for what happened to your vagina's.

Sensory overload. Time to unplug.

I recently took on a mission. I'm looking to unplug a bit. Not get completely away from the web mind you, but release it some. Ease my grip from the desire to be plugged into the ongoings of everything a bit, and get back to basics. It seems more and more that we as a society are plugged into everything. I'll use myself for an example, as I have become typical in this respect. This probably rings true for you too. At least in some respect.

I almost always have a computer running around me. If I'm not on a computer, then odds are good that I have my smartphone in hand and something going with it. And even if I'm somewhat broken away from it, I'm on my Xbox, playing a multiplayer game, complete with my mic dangling from my head. Everything is plugged in.

And while it does provide a lot of convenience, it has also become a bit of a crutch. A simple conversation, I'm still doing something on a computer or my phone. Dinner with the family, my phone is in my free hand. TV is off so I can sleep, phone is back in hand. Taking my son to school, hold on a moment while I put in my earplugs so I don't miss anything on the way. Bathroom... fortunately I refrain from stupid duck face and other bathroom pics, but yes, there's a good chance I'm playing games or texting in there like everyone else.

Sensory overload.

I'm sitting here and I'm thinking to myself. When was the last time I enjoyed some time with my wife without looking down at some screen? When was the last time I truly just sat and enjoyed the scenery without looking a a little glowing screen? When was the last time I sat down to eat without reading posts, or something else for dinner? When was the last time I sat down and had a conversation outside of work where my attention was on nothing but the conversation?

So I've decided to unplug some. It's time to go back to a basic phone. It's time to get an mp3 player that's not constantly connected to the web. It's time to get back to enjoying scenery. It's time to be sitting down for a conversation and giving that person 100% of my attention.

So to do this, I'm forcing myself to break some habits, and form new ones.

1) Turn off the cable. Check. We did this a couple years ago, and it's been a wonderful change. I wish we had done it sooner.

2) Limit time on the computer. Hard, but doable.

3) Cut the smartphone, and go back to a basic phone. Very hard. But I do have my computer for most things that are on it. Aside from a few games which can be forgotten, or played on a tablet during computer time, the thing that's hardest for me is my music. Which brings us to 4.

4) Get an mp3 player. I love my music, it's a crutch that has always been with me. Listening to my parents record player when I was little. Basically taking over their first walkman and making it my own so I could listen to the radio and tapes as I went to sleep. (I probably listened to the Cars, and the Grass Roots more than anyone on the planet because of this). Even those goofy radio earphones in the 80's were part of my collection. And with the exception of USMC Boot Camp, I have always had a walkman of some sort with me. Everywhere I've been, music has been there.

5) Get out more. Time for walks or just finding more to do outside.

So the most critical part here, at least to me, is finding a music player that I can be happy with. Something that will hold a ton of music without me having to constantly re-sync with a computer. 2 GB probably seems like a lot to most people, but for someone of my tastes, it's a joke. I have well over 25 GB in the cloud alone, without looking at my CD collection. And my taste from now to 10 minutes from now can change in a rabbits heart beat.

In addition, I want something that will last. Not some cheap POS that will die after a 3 foot drop from my desk. Something that can handle the occasional drop without issue. And will last me for a while. From what I've been reading though, mp3 players have become cheap and disposable since most people rely on their phones for this entertainment now. As much as I despise Apple (I'm a Linux user that goes to Windows as needed) I find myself leaning more towards getting a dreaded iPod. It's not to say that it's the end of the world. But I'd rather not.

So my mission continues. If anything this rings a bell for you, you might look at making some changes too. What do you use as an mp3 player? Would you recommend it? How do you unplug from an increasingly plugged in world? ESCAPE THE MATRIX!

Ultimate Badasses

You have to love how people respond to the question of who their all time favourite MMA fighter is. The responses are hilarious, and highlight how little the average fan know about the sport. While I'm not putting down the fighters, as many are pretty damn good, I am sitting here wishing the average fan would vest a little more time getting educated before opening their sewers. Typically responses include the likes of Couture, Liddell, GSP, Silva, Bisping, etc. Fighters that for the most part are still fighting, or in some form still a face for the UFC in general. Sometimes you'll get a name from the recently defunct Strikeforce, but that's about it.

The average fan doesn't give a thought to other organizations such as Invicta, and even more rarely female fighters such as Michelle Waterson or Holly Holm. But the Holy Grail that isn't but a whisper are the early days. I'm talking the tournament style fights that occurred long before Dana White got involved, and actually had UFC banned in many places, and had the far east fall in love with Pancrase . Styles where fighters would gather, and then have multiple fights in a night where they would climb the ranks to be the ultimate bad ass in the land. We're not talking some 5 minute round, where the ref would stand you up if he didn't like what he was seeing after a few seconds. We're talking knock down, drag out, 30 non-stop minutes of beating your opponent senseless. Back when men like Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, and Tank Abbott ruled the cage.

You have the great Gracie family who have not only shown that size isn't always a factor in a fight, but have given the world what it knows as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Dan Severn who would tie his opponents up like a pretzel and ended his career recently with over 100 wins to his name. Now you're probably looking at the other names and thinking to yourself, "What the hell is he smoking?" So I'll start with Ken Shamrock. Yes, he's an obnoxious ass who needs to get away from the sport. However, if you take a look at his early career, his prime if you will, he was a great fighter. He racked up wins and was a submission machine. Up until his first retirement, he was a top fighter. I had a discussion with a friend the other day about Tank Abbott, who made a valid point. Tanks career is similar to Shamrocks in that he started off as a man to be feared. While his record was never spectacular, he was a man that would win or lose in spectacular fashion, and almost never allowed a fight to be left in the hands of the judges. Win or lose, someone was getting knocked out, or choked out, end of story. And this kept pace until his first retirement as well.

Retirement is where Shamrock and Abbott are virtual mirror images. Both went to "pro wrestling" organizations for brief runs. And then both returned to the world of MMA to pretty much trash their records, and look more like street thugs than fighters. Both talk an incredible amount of crap, which doesn't work well since they don't win often. And neither one of them seems to believe that they have nothing left in them. The only reason they get fights is so small organizations can put a name on the marque to generate a little more money.  Which is sad. Apparently some managers think they'll be able to recreate the Rocky movies with an old MMA fighter.

My point is this, while these are fighters that have either had good endings to their careers or crap, they were pioneers that rarely get credit. For MMA they are the Babe Ruth, Roger Staubach, Wayne Gretzky, Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, and Hulk Hogan. Fans need to look at the history of the sport, commentators and practitioners need to teach the history when they can, and owners should make it a point to remind people of the fighters that made today’s sports possible. I love Mir, Nelson, and many of today's other fighters. But lets not forget the days of old either. Tribute is due. And knowledge brings more enjoyment, and pride to the sport.

Laundry the hard way

The curve balls life throws can be funny sometimes. So our washer went out. Total bummer. But at least we have alternatives as to how we can wash our clothes. Funny how we always take things for granted until they crap out on us. Oh well. But it brought back memories of boot camp.

Good ol MCRD San Diego made sure we wouldn't forget laundry day. Just another example of how Marines are different from others. For laundry day we would go behind our barracks where we had huge concrete slabs with water faucets spread out every few feet. Just like you'd hook a garden hose up to. And it was COLD. Which was one of the few refreshing points of going to boot camp in the summer time, yet I digress. So what would happen is that we'd put some laundry detergent into our individual canteen cups, and fill it with water so we'd have our soapy water. We'd proceed to soak our clothes. Then we'd take a scrub brush (scuz brush in Marine lingo), dip it into the soapy water, and then scrub the muck, crap, and whatever unholy crap we had gotten on our cammies that week, out of our clothes. Once that was done, we'd hose them off with the fresh water from the faucets again to get the soap out. Finally, we'd wring out all the water we could, and hang our clothes, in an orderly and proficient manner, hang our clothes on old fashioned clothes lines to dry. Trousers in one area, shirts in another, again with socks, and underwear.

And then, the next morning, dry or not we got our clothes off the lines, feld up, and stowed away in our foot lockers. It made it easy to figure out why military footlockers always smell like mildew. Yes, mystery solved. Keep it in mind next time you're at a legit military surplus store that sells used gear.

Scuz Brush

Foot Locker that may or may not stay in one piece

Laundry Day Circa WWII. It obviously hadn't changed much by the time I got there in 2000.

Pizza by the Balls

This one's a shorty. So a few weeks back I came across a post on Facebook that looked delicious. So I shared it, and gave it a try. It was a hit! It was devoured so fast everyone was disappointed they couldn't have more. So for those that don't follow me, I'll share it here complete with the picture that came with it. Try it, do a variation, we're talking pizza here man! We had it as shown and with Canadian bacon. I'm thinking a fire Hawaiian may be needed in the near future. I don't know who came up with this recipe, but kudos to whoever it was.

PIZZA BALLS 
3 cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (10 per can), 
56 pepperoni slices, 
block of Colby cheese, 
1 beaten egg,
Parmesan, Italian seasoning, Garlic powder,
1 jar pizza sauce

Cut the block of cheese into 28 squares.
Flatten a biscuit out and stack pepperoni and cheese on top.
Gather up the edges of the biscuit.
Line up the rolls in a greased 9x13 in pan.
Brush with beaten egg.
Sprinkle with parmesan,
Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
Bake at 425°F for 18-20 minutes.

Use the pizza sauce for dipping

It's a game, not a dating site.

Games. It happens a lot with guys, and I with some women too. I find it annoying as hell. So here I am, I have my lovely smartphone in hand, and I'm looking to kill some time. So I do what so many others do, and I pull up a game on my phone. Doesn't matter what it is, a scrabble like game, mini golf, dice, or name that tune, I always run into the same problem. You send out an invite to start a game with a random person, and if you're the same sex you get declined almost every time! It makes it hard to find a good game. To make matters worse, you get some moron who wants to ask age, if you're married, etc. What the french toast! It's a friggin game, not a damn dating service!

So briefly I tried an experiment on one of them. I put up a random pic that doesn't show a person. It was obvious people didn't look at my screen name. Instead not only was the game accepted, but I'm getting in game messages asking if I'm a girl, where I am, how old I am, if I'm seeing anyone. Yeah, YOU ARE SOME DUMBASSES! And what makes it worse is that it's not all school kids, it's grown adults doing this! As soon as I changed my pic to show who I really am, it came to a screeching halt, and again I'm in exile with most men. Which isn't all bad, because at least when I do get a game going, I know it's someone like me that actually wants to play the game. 

This is where good parenting comes in and parents limit, screen, and spot check what they allow their kids access too. Some of these deviants are down right disgusting. Yes, that includes women. Seriously, you're not going to get a date from playing a game. Do these people really think they're going to find love in a round or words with friends or draw something? Just because I played word feud with you, does not mean I want to marry you. In all honesty, you're lucky if I even respond to a message outside of "good game" or "rematch". 

A lot of people are complaining that they can't find love. Here's why. IT'S NOT IN A VIDEO GAME! Unplug for a while, get a job, move out of your parents basement, and learn how to talk to real live people. Oh crap, what a concept! Talking. It's not a new invention, it's just one that seems to be lost in the gibberish of text talk and playing Wii instead of actual basketball. 

Crap Gifts

A couple of days ago I got a crap gift. We all get crap gifts at some point, but this is one I almost took personally. The other day, one of our transporters come in and says, "Hey, I hear you like cigars. I brought you one of mine to try." Keep in mind he's dead serious. He then proceeds to hand me a cheap gas station monstrosity with what I like to call, a bitch cap. It's that plastic piece at the end. You almost got to see what this little thing looks like once stuck into one of the dog turds in my backyard.

At first I wanted to laugh and say, "What the heck is that?" And I told him what I prefer to smoke. Names like Gurkha, and Vegas were quickly lost on him and I knew I was talking to a novice. But then when I mentioned basics like Churchill, or Torpedo, and the deer in the headlights look told me he's not just a novice, but totally ignorant in the world of cigars. Keep in mind I do try to keep things in layman's terms here.

So I took this as a reminder that sometimes, people do give us things with the best of intentions, and just don't realize what they are doing. They're not necessarily the village idiot, though they may be. They're just uneducated. In this case, I believe a bit of both came into play. Still, now I need to decide what to do with this POS that some would call a cigar. You may end up seeing a pic of it stuck in a dug turd yet. I'm open to suggestions!

MMA Underdog

MMA. Love it or hate it, it's the sport that's taking the world by storm for the past decade. While it was breaking ground, and gaining momentum, you have to give Dana White credit for launching it into the spot light. Minus the hair, he really is the Don King of cage fighting.  But today I'm looking at one of my favorite fighters Big Country Roy Nelson.

Why? Because he is opposite of what people want in a fighter. He's not a big trash talker. That mantel has been taken by Chael Sonnen, and is continually targeted by many others. He isn't an arrogant, spoon fed, neanderthal. Brock Lesner not only got that crown, but is too stupid to realize it. Nor does he have the look that makes the groupies go nuts. I'm pretty sure GSP has owned that for a while now. No, he's a average guy, with a head for fighting, that's built like Dan Conner with a mullet. Essentially, he's carrying all the cards that make for a good underdog in that respect.

Here's a guy that's had quality training, and was an IFL Champion. But ended up in highly contested bouts, and in organizations that couldn't even make it through breakfast before they closed shop. Then he tried out for, and qualified for The Ultimate Fighter. Hey, a little recognition, great! But then that starts to get shot because here comes Dana White mocking him, and making it clear he doesn't like him. Basically Dana comes in and pulls a page one how to be a douche bag out of Vince McMahon's book by judging the book by it's cover. Now while the show went out of it's way not to promote Roy, it did have a few points where he got to show his mind. In one such scene he's at the TUF house explaining to the other fighters the concept of fight smarter, not harder. He explains you don't have to set out to hurt the other guy if you don't have too, you just have to keep working him over. Clearly it was brushed off by the others. In what I felt was a genius move to prove his point, he showed it in a fight against Kimbo Slice. Basically he laid on top of him in a crucifix position, and continually hit him in the head in a manner that was basically tapping him until the ref was forced to call the fight. Brilliant!

Then came the moment of truth, his fight for a contract. Knock out of the night! He made Dana White eat crow! The boss said, no way. And he showed him up big time. Then he says he's going out for some burgers while rubbing his belly. You have to respect that. Then, in order to try to wash him out of the UFC, Dana tried to feed him to a supposedly better fighter. KO of the night again! His legacy in the UFC has been highly understated in my opinion. The only three fights he's lost have been to decision, and even one of those was awarded fight of the night. And they were to other top rate fighters. Every single win however, has been via KO or TKO, with every KO and one TKO being awarded knockout of the night.

Any way you cut it, he's a dangerous guy to get in the cage with. Aside from promotion, his biggest flaw is typical of a big man. He gets gassed really fast. That's just my opinion though. He's an underdog if for no other reason than the fact that Dana White doesn't care for him and wants him gone. And I love an underdog.

Motorcycle Blues

Time for a brief venting session. Is it just me, or are mechanics getting worse? For instance you take your car in for some basic maintenance, and you tell them to let you know if they see anything else that needs or will soon need work done. They hold your car hostage for a week, give it back with just the maintenance done and say it's good to go. Next thing you know, you're broke down on the side of the road. When you finally get your death cage towed into the garage they say, "Yeah, this has been bad for a while. It should have been replaced about a century ago." Hey dick, you said it was good a week ago! And it doesn't matter if you go to a second garage to get it looked over, because they pull the same thing!

Then you have our lovely motorcycle mechanics. Seems like most places you're looking at a week just to get a friggin tire changed. Now on my bike, I can understand having to wait a few days. After all it's almost 30 years old, and doesn't use a common tire size after all. But for an oil change, and carb cleaning to take 2 weeks... really? Absolute crap.

This time I took my beloved motorcycle in, I knew it would probably be a couple weeks. It's been 3 weeks, and I'm still waiting! Yes, order the new tire. (I blew my front tire stem coming off the interstate). I TOOK them a new gauge box. (My old one died, about a year ago and I'm tired of not having accurate readings). I needed a new front right blinker, since the bulb died. (They have it in stock). And it was due for an oil change and have the carbs cleaned. #1) I'm not just in for a quick oil change and out, I'm here to give your work that you and I both know you're going to overcharge the crap out of me on man time. #2) We're looking at some $$$ being spent. Not a little, but 1 full paycheck minimum. Which bring me to #3) Call and tell me what's up, it's been 3 damn weeks! I know customer service has gone the way of the dodo bird, but how about some damn courtesy! 3 weeks, and I have to call you to find out the status of my bike!

All this prime riding weather, and I'm stuck waiting. Got invited to go on a ride on Tuesday when I'm off, and had to tell them what's up. What's worse is they weren't surprised either! I miss my old shop. They had good customer service, and got the job done. Wish I had a place close by where I could learn to do this stuff myself. I'd open my own garage.

Friend Speak

You've got to love the difference between how you talk to your regular friends, and how you talk to your best friends. I mean really, think about it. You see your friend and you're like, "hey, how's it going?" Then you see one of your best friends and you're like, "Hey shit for brains, would you ask your wife if I left my underwear at your place when I was bangin her last week?" To which you would get an equally derogatory response or worse. And considering a lot of my best friends are people I served with, it can get pretty ugly if you're looking in from the outside.

Today I was on a social network and put up a post. 

And within a couple of comments it went from I love you, to you're a man whore. And of course, in good old fashioned ribbing, it escalated from their until we had nothing left to throw at each other. +Shane Snyder you're still my #1 man bitch. 

And of course, some of the crap we talk about really is crap. After all, aside from grossing out a sibling, or spouse, who else are your going to share your bowel movements with. Color, size, smell, when the hell did I eat corn? Then of course there's that one time you might even snap a picture of it and text it to them with that comment, "You're the bomb!"

Then of course you have to keep in mind, these are the people you can go a long time without speaking to for one reason or another. But when you do get together, it's like you just saw each other yesterday and it's No Holds Barred, you can talk about anything. And I do mean anything. This is probably why us veterans get along better than anyone else. +Mike Flavin you know what I'm talking about. The past, what's happening now, while putting down a cold one and smoking a cigar. And the best part, even if it's embarrassing, it's really not.

These are the are the people you go to with your relationship problems and tell you to suck it up. Then they turn it around so that both of you can talk crap about the person who just dumped you. Or they'll tell you to stop being a pussy, have a beer with them, and then take your sorry butt home and fix things because you're screwing up. No sugar coating either. They'll smack you up side the head just as fast as they will the person who screws with you. 

In the end, they're just another part of the legacy you'll leave behind. Best friend? Bullshit, that mofo is FAMILY.

Brief encounters of the trigger finger kind

The mighty cigar. While I admit that there are some women that enjoy them, not to be confused with the Monica Lewinsky incident, it is a pillar of manliness. Anyone can smoke a cigarette. And lets face it, most people look like total idiots with a good old fashioned pipe hanging out of there mouth. But a cigar, there's something that says, "I am what I am, now piss off."

They come in many shapes, and sizes, but I'm looking as something a bit more basic today. Now there are three groups I want to focus on, flavored, gourmet, and natural. Keep in mind this is how I look at them. By flavored I'm referring to your cheap, girly smokes like Swisher Sweets, Black & Mild, and your assorted crappy gas station smokes. These are the pieces of crap that stoner's actually believe hide the scent of their marijuana, or help mask the taste of their bud because their taste palate can't stomach it. While sure, they can serve as an occasional treat for the novice smoker, or a quick fix while you're out and about, they're generally a waste of money and burn through entirely too fast. Really, anyone that enjoys wrapping their trigger finger around a nice stogie on a regular basis will agree that these are the bottom of the barrel.

Then you have gourmet cigars. These are the carefully flavored beasts that take a cigar, and then add an extra something for those people who find a natural cigar a bit too meaty, or like something with a bit of taste for that post meal smoke. CAO is one of many groups that really locked down on this with cigars such as Moontrance and Eillen's Dream. Personally, my all time favorite cigar in this group is the Erin Go Bragh with Irish Cream. This area serves best when you have novice smokers around as well, because they're not usually as overwhelmed by the smoke as they would be when you have a group pulling off of a natural. They also smoke longer than the "flavored" group and are much smoother.

Finally you have the natural group. These are your good old fashioned stogies. They are blended so you have the more earthy, coffee, and/ or nutty flavors. We're talking truly blended beans and spices, with a nice oily wrapper. Sometimes even with a true dash of peppery goodness, combined with some ceder. They're much heavier, and are not generally for the virgin smoker. While some can be worked into, someone that isn't accustomed to what they can offer can easily become overwhelmed by them. These are what I normally enjoy, and my wife makes me take outside. These are more in line with what your grandpa probably smoked back in the day. You can bite down into one of these and not worry about it being done 15 minutes later. Many a night I've sat back on the porch with a nice adult beverage and spent an hour or more with my trigger finger wrapped around a Churchill and basking in its glory while enjoying a sunset, or the night sky.

So to those who truly want to enjoy a cigar, DO NOT buy some cheap piece of crap at the local gas station. Instead take your butt down to a local smoke shop, even better if it has an area set aside for members to smoke, and actually spend some time talking to the people there. Sure, it will cost a little more than the gas station, but you'll enjoy it a lot more.

Wear a Kilt

April 6, which was yesterday, is National Tartan Day. It's a day to celebrate Scottish heritage. I, of course am of Scottish, Irish, and German decent. Yes, that's me up above back on St Paddy's. In case you're wondering, no that's not the family tartan, but my other family USMC. None the less it's a holiday where families come out, eat, play, mingle, and of course show some Scottish pride.

If you look up WWI pics, you'll even find that Scottish troops were still wearing kilts into battle back then. Bet that scared the shit out of the enemy.

There's nothing more manly than wearing a kilt. Just ask Sean Connery.

And just for the ladies, here's Gerard Bulter.

And if you're not of Scottish heritage, it's okay. There's plenty of tartan's out there, and most families would take it as a compliment if you wore their colors. So go get yourself a nice kilt, or else Rowdy Roddy Piper might smash a coconut over your head.

Man Fridge

So last night I got home from work, and cracked open a nice adult beverage. Guinness in case you're wondering. And I'm sitting there reflecting on when I left active duty, and when my wife and I got together, tied the knot, and expanded our family. And it hit me, THE FRIDGE IS HER'S! I know, I know you're thinking it's insane. But it is my random thought so PFFT. :-P

I was thinking back to when I first got my studio, and was on my own without worrying about inspections, roommates, random people just popping in and helping themselves to whatever. So one of the first things I did, is what any self respecting, single, Marine with a man cave would do. I filled the freezer with an assortment of frozen pizza's, and loaded the door with Jagermeister, and ice cream. Then in the fridge part I had a gallon of milk, orange juice, a couple 12 packs of soda, some lunch meats, cheese, and condiments, then I loaded that bastard with an assortment of beer. Oddly enough, the only beer that didn't get drank right away was the Coors Light. But the drawers, doors, and shelves where loaded to capacity with Guinness, Heineken, Coors Extra Gold, Grolsch Lager, and whatever else seemed good at the time. I all honesty, I probably should have gotten a liqueur license for the fridge alone.

Now I make the trip across the kitchen and I'm greeted by leftovers that I alone will eat. Leftovers! Food my wife and kids treat like a disease! I never had leftovers when I was on my own, or when I had roommates. It was all eaten the night before. Leftovers were nothing more than a distant memory of Junior High.

So I told the wife today. I want my own fridge again. I don't care if it's a mini-fridge, but I'm getting one. Now I have to figure out where to put it.

The awesome power of a fully operational waterbed.

I LOVE my waterbed. LOVE IT! Sleeping is one of the things that's always been rough for me. It hasn't always been trying to get to sleep, but rather staying asleep or getting good sleep. I've had hard beds. Hate em. I'm had mid-ground beds, just meh. Soft beds are better to a point, but if they're too soft then I feel like I'm suffocating in them. Might as well just put a pillow over my head at that point.

One place I've always felt at home is on the water. I mean, if I could just back float for a couple hours without having to worry about the whole drowning thing, I'd sleep in a pool or in the ocean. Swimming, SCUBA, are two of the most relaxing things in the world. I've even fallen asleep in the bath, and occasionally during a good shower. Even the sound of water is relaxing. I've had the opportunity to sleep in a couple of waterbeds here and there, and have always loved them. Then a few years ago I finally had the chance and got a nice king sized waterbed.

Magical. Now, I don't always get straight to sleep. Too much crap running through my head. But just laying there is relaxing. I can adjust the heat for the cold months, which is better than an electric blanket. Turn it down low, or even off during the summer months and it's nice and cool. It's almost as good as sleeping in a pool. A waterbed on a house boat is probably Heaven.

Now some people think it's too much maintenance, and what if there's a leak. Well, I did have one leak after I first got it. A half dozen pin sized holes. Proved a real pain in the ass for a couple hours. But after draining the bed, and having my step dad come help me lift the mattress and pick up a patch kit on the way over, problem solved. And I haven't had a leak since. Now, I probably will eventually true, but it's easy to get a wet vac on some water than it is to clean up mattress stuffing. Plus, it's a small price to pay for the ultimate in sleep comfort.

To shave, or not to shave?

Me today
<====


                      Me about a month or so ago
                                                    ====>











Well, times they haven't changed. I used to be I couldn't make it more than a couple weeks without shaving. I tried and tried. Just couldn't do it. But then something happened. Around Christmas time I finally go so that to could handle not shaving and actually started to like having having facial hair. A co-worker even commented how it seemed like I had something different going on every week there for a while. I'd be shaved clean one week, a chin strap the next, a goatee after that, even just a mustache for a while. But finally I just went with the goatee. It just seemed right.

Well apparently I'm not the only one that felt this way. Because I decided to shave it on a whim. Not only did my wife say, she didn't approve, but that I look like a kid! A couple of co-workers have made comments echoing the disapproval. And to lay it all out there, I do feel a bit like I'm missing something. So, it's time to grow again! But to grow what exactly remains to be decided. So I'll just start with the full beard and treat my face like a Bonsai tree to see what feels right from there. This could get interesting.

Thanks Lizzy Spit

This post is from the fun side of the Force today.

Score #Spits 1 - Trolls 0.

Last night a troll decided to take a stroll through some public posts in the land of Google Plus from months ago. And in true troll fashion they took a moment to make a nasty comment. I didn't take the insult, as I find humor in how small and closed minded some people are and pity them. I made a brief, yet polite comment back and dropped the subject. Within minute, however, I was once again looking at sheer class and kindness offered in the form of the awesome +LIZZY SPIT. Within just a few short minutes, not only did she remove the trolls ugly comment, but actually took time to briefly message me that she had as well. Much thanks and love to Lizzy. #iamaspit #thanks #love

An observation about people

Something I've noticed over the past few years in the Operating System ecosystem that is, is that people are funny about what's on their computer Vs what's on their phone. Think about it. You have your hardcore Windows, Mac, Linux users for the most part. And they bash the hell out of each other. But then you look at what smartphone they use. Windows users love iPhones, Mac users love Android, Linux on Windows Phones, or any combination of the bunch. The love doesn't seem to survive the jump into the world of phones.

Linux users I can see being torn. Afterall many of us look to the various flavors of Linux to escape the proprietary garbage of Microsoft and Mac to a point. But with Google's Darth Vader like chokehold on Android, it's not really any different in a lot of respects. Still it's easier to swallow a Linux user on Android because of the relationship between Google and Ubuntu, and the accessibility that is there for that OS.

Microsoft has done pretty good with Windows Phone in recent incarnations, but with a bit of stumbling. Their future is still uncertain. Then you look at Mac. Steve Jobs was a great salesman, I'll give him that. But as predicted Mac is struggling since he died. Combined I recently read an article which points to the iPhone as being the main culprit in the virus and malware problem that smartphones are seeing now.

Maybe this is part of the reason Blackberry has survived when the likes of Palm and Symbian have been written off. Now we're looking at Samsung, Ubuntu, and others wanting to get their own flavors out there as well. Competition can bring better things, and having a bigger selection to chose from isn't neccessarily a bad thing.

Thar she blows!

Well last night got fun in a hurry. The wind was kicking like Jean Claude Van Damme sparring with Chuck Norris. Come about 5pm got a call from the neighbor asking if the dogs were okay because their tree was blown over. Needless to say, I left work and hauled ass home. Dogs were shaking like leaves but fine. Power was knocked out, and the cinder block wall took a hell of a hit. It shifted a few degrees. Not bad in all. So we all hopped on our cellphones and called the the power company. 5.5 hours later they FINALLY showed up. Took them about an hour to get the power back up and poof, gone. Now is the clean up stage. My neighbor brought over his chainsaw today and started cutting. On the plus side we'll have plenty of fire wood.

Grand Theft 80's

Holy crap kids! I was treated to a horror tonight. It was yet another piece of evidence to add to why I can't stand a lot of modern music. Originality didn't just go out the window here. It committed seppuku.

So I'm on my way home, channel surfing the radio and for a brief moment I get a blast from the 1980's so I stop and listen. That's when things went south. And by south, I mean screaming down the Hades Highway. I'm talking about Pitbull's Feel This Moment featuring Christina Aguilera. A-ha should be on the phone lawyering up right now, screaming that Pitbull give back their only hit or pony up a huge settlement. Normally I could care less for this guy, he's neither here nor there. But this one song got to me.

Hey Pitbull, the 80's called and want its song back! Yes, I heard the lyrics. Brilliant and genius are two of the things you called yourself. Afraid not pal. You're far from the first to take part of a song. I'll stay to your brand and remind you of the Vanilla Ice/ Queen issue. I hope you're old enough to grasp what I'm getting at. But I'll give you kudos for realizing that people do like some retro in their tunes.

Then their Christina Aguilera. Holy crap, you are no Whitney Houston or Celine Dion. Just in this one "song" I heard your voice crack more than once. Thank the producers for that screw up. I swear her voice is more and more like a dog with razor wire being run over its nuts.

This is a far scream from even a minute acknowledgement. If you really want to honor someone with a tribute, take note from how others have done it in the past. Or even currently. In the past few years we've seen Disturbed put their spin on Land of Confusion of course done by the wonderful Genesis. Then you have Five Finger Death Punch doing Bad Company which of course was made famous by Bad Company.

Now I know what you're saying, that's all rock. So I'll refer you to the awesome Harry Connick Jr doing his own spin of Danny Boy in the movie Memphis Belle. I'll tell you now, if I ever hear someone takes a dump on the likes of the Rat Pack, Mills Brothers, Andrew Sisters, etc you'll see a rant that would make Dennis Leary blush.

Road Trips and Past Memories

Took a little road trip with my brother last week. Primarily it was a business related trip, still working on settling my dad's estate, but it was good to see the old stomping grounds down in Silver City, NM for the few hours we were there. Man has that town changed since I left back in 1998. Just going down town and not seeing my dad's bookstore there anymore feels weird. Even the old Gila Theater is a ghost of itself. A old fashioned single screen built back in the 1950's. I can remember seeing many movies there once upon a time ago like Her Alibi, and The Land Before Time just to name a couple. These days it's closed with crappy displays up in the windows. Even the landscape of WNMU has changed. But there are old standby's that have stood the test of time such as "W" mountain, Kneeling Nun, the Drifter, Buffalo Bar are still there in what's left of their glory. I really need to take more pictures when I get down there.

But the weather was perfect. Had some down time while our lawyer was doing his job before we had to leave town. A bonus of small town living. He was able to get things drawn up, get it to the courthouse for signatures, the works before the end of business. Good stuff.

So here's where their will be some pics for a change.

First I'll start with Big Ditch Park. Basically it's a walkway with benches that runs next to a big ditch. The ditch is the result of runoff that literally washed away the original main street back in the day.

  Now here's a pic of "W" mountain. The first is a shot from a distance driving into town from neighboring Tyrone, NM.

Here's from the middle of town. You can see exactly where it is from the Lube & Wash which was built long after I moved away.

Look just to the left of the sign. It helps to enlarge the picture.

And to close, a piece of childhood memory. The park in Tyrone where my grandpa taught me how to play basket ball. A bit run down these days, but still in use. Yes, it's all metal, and the slides are pretty high.

The pill box to the right is a new construct.

Another rant about music.

Back to the music kids. It amazes me how today's pop culture will feed until the point of purging on the media mainstream. Kids today will know everything you can find on the likes of Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, etc, but don't go beyond that. The music underground has essentially become independents that haven't broken through into the mainstream yet, or are members that refuse to sign with major labels for fear of corporate media forcing them to sellout their gimmick for something else.

What brings me to this? Easy, recently I've tried talking to some people about their music and have gotten an overwhelming similar response every time. "Oh you wouldn't like it," or "Oh, it's new so you wouldn't know it." As those who truly know me, know I listen to a bit of everything, so I'm well versed in different areas of music. Hell, it's hard not to be when you grew up with your dad jamming in the living room at 3 in the morning on a school night, like it was no big thing.

One main area is with people who "think" they know what the rave scene, and tech is all about. I love the assumption that I don't know anything because of my age. One college kid made that assumption clear just a few days ago when I asked about a song. The first thing that came to mind was, "I was listening to Orbital, The Shamen, Praga Kahn, KLF, and a plethora of others when you were just being conceived!" No really, this is someone that was literally just being born when Traci Lords was cutting her first music album, and they think I don't understand. So I name off a few groups, and they are clueless as to who I'm speaking about.

Today's raver's are increasingly only familiar with what's in the mainstream. Part of it I blame on the DJ's, and part on the fact that kids are not encouraged to look beyond the MTV hype of today. And it's in all areas of music. You mention Black Flag, and immediately Henry Rollins is the association. You mention Metallica and  Cliff Burton is an unknown. AC/DC and Bon Scott who? Belinda Carlisle is in Purgatory apparently because nobody under 30 has a clue who she or the Go-Go's are. And Bananarama is confused for a name game played in pre-school and early grade school.

It's sad and funny all at the same time. It's a testament to an earlier rant that what passes for music today is a joke, and a bad one at that. We really need a new surge in music badassery that gets people interested in it, and the bands again.

So for those about to rock, I salute you.

Water Bottle Randomness.

In a bit of randomness here, I love my blender bottle. Actually, more the springy thing that's in it. What kills me is that everyone always asks, "Are you drinking a protein shake?" NO! Even my own kids, who should know what I'm drinking do this. But that's alright.

Usually it's just water. But fairly often I'll put a small packet of some sort of juice mix in. The spring ball thing mixes it up nice, and I don't have to worry about pesky clumps getting stuck in there robbing me of the awesomeness I'm paying for. On the rare occasion I put a lemon wedge or something in my water, that same ball is great a pummeling that wedge for me too. Sometimes it gets stuck in there, but most of the time I don't have to worry about that. Yes, I like to have some pulp in there.

The other reason I like it is, it's not stylish. It's just a plain jane bottle. So I don't have to worry about anyone wanting to misappropriate it at work. It's plastic, so I don't have to worry about dropping and breaking it, and of course the top seals nicely so I'm not having to deal with spills at my desk unless I'm being a slob. Finally, it can get tossed into a bugout bag quickly for plenty of other uses down the line.

And that's my water bottle randomness.

Tattoo

Hey there kids! Tattoos. Some people love em, some hate em. Some get them, later regret them, and later try various procedures like laser removal to get rid of them (to varying degrees of success). Either way, it is a personal choice. And now here's my thoughts on them.

Tattoo's should always have some sort of meaning. Not a name of a boy/girl friend as they can come and go. In the people I've met these are the most commonly regretted, covered, or attempted to be removed. And they shouldn't be, "oh that's cool, I'll put that in my skin." Also later regretted by many. The hand or foot prints of your new born child, for instance, are something that have deep meaning for every parent. Music notes, sheet music, or an instrument for a musician or in memory of a loved one who played music. A common theme among military members, including this one, are military based tattoos. Branch, occupation specialty, quotes, motto's, meat tags, etc.

You see, for me, a tattoo is a visual representation of who you are, where you've been, and what matters to you. So when I come across someone wanting a tat, or sporting new ink, just because it looks cool, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "what an idiot". And this is something that many tattoo artists agree with. However, they also have to take the stance of #1) ink is their livelihood, so they can't very well turn someone away unless it's a matter of ethics or conscience, and #2) if it's something that someone really wants to put in their skin, it's on them.

So before you go and get some fresh ink, or even your FIRST, sleep on it for a while. Is it really what you want? How likely are you to regret it later? What does it mean to you? Is it something you would be okay with your own child seeing or getting one day?

The next thing that I'll go into is location. Location, location, location. Where should your ink be. Well it's a personal choice as well. But in general I would recommend keeping future employment opportunities in mind.  While tats are art, not everyone views them that way. In fact, some people down right loathe them and will disqualify you for that alone whether they'll say it out loud or not. So make sure that where you get them is easily concealable. Personally I think anywhere is okay as long as you can cover them when needed.  Places like hands, anywhere above the neckline, especially the face should be avoided. Even below short sleeves should be avoided if possible. Forearms can be easily covered for interviews, but you should keep in mind that it can get hot in the summer, and some employers will have you cover up regardless of time of year.

Tats are becoming more acceptable, but it's better safe than sorry in my book. But the bottom line is, do what's comfortable for you. It's your skin. Just do everything you can to ensure that you won't regret it later in life.

~Crypt Keeper Burt

Life dreams, journeys, opinions, and advice.

A lil bit on joining the military here. Before, during, and now years after I'm still asked, "why would you join the military?" My retort, why wouldn't you? I'm of the opinion that every able bodied person should serve at least one term. But that's just me.

For me it goes back a ways though. I come from a family where damn near every generation has had at least one person go into the military. It's not required, expected, pressured, or even really talked about. It just happens. So there may be some bias there. My personal journey started way before that though. When I was little, I'd line up all of my toys to face off against each other. I knew from a young age I wanted to be in the service, I just didn't know what branch, and I wanted to be a cop. By the time I was in high school, I can still recall many people telling me I was nuts, or trying to dictate which branch to go in because "it was safer." Safer? My opinion hasn't changed on this part. Screw safer, if you're looking for safety go lead a pack of girl scouts at a bake sale! It doesn't matter what branch you're looking at, "safer" shouldn't be a consideration.

Bottom line is regardless of the job you want or end up with, the military is there to look the Grim Reaper in the eye, smile, piss on his feet, and call him a pussy.

Then came the vast majority, but not all, of my teachers and the outspoken ass hats that never had the balls to serve telling me I'd never graduate let alone make it. Now, I'm the first to admit I was a jerk once I hit puberty. After some time bouncing between private and public schools, and moving around, I finally got in gear. I buckled down on my school work, got my grades up, and then applied to NMMI.

For those that don't know NMMI is an 4 year high school, and 2 year junior college with an Army commissioning program. Some refer to it as the West Point of the west. Oh man, I had so many people tell me I wouldn't make it a week there, it made me sick. Upon getting there, I learned that because of how different the curriculum was (private school credits don't carry over to other schools in my state), I'd graduate much later as well. 2 years late! Yes, I was 20 when I finally graduated. Not only did I make it through 2 years, I graduated, and to this day I'm still in touch with some of the best friends I'll ever make from there. It was while I was here I finally enlisted in the USMC.

Even after making it through NMMI, going back home was a nightmare. Not only had I proven the nay-sayers wrong, but they continued to say I'd never amount to anything and wouldn't make it through boot camp.

I can remember the flight out to San Diego still. A group of us flew from Albuquerque, NM together. Made it to the USO where we were told where to go to wait for our bus to MCRD. Finally a few white busses pulled up and were wer rushed in, and told to keep our mouths shut by what I viewed at the time as the worst recruiter in history. After a while, this same person would tell us to put our heads down and look at the floor as we continued on. Finally the bus came to a stop, another guy jumped on the bus and started yelling at us in a tongue that I can only describe as an alien dialect as we were rushed off the bus and onto some yellow footprints. The journey began, and I'd not only gain new life long friends, but a new family. And I will be able to claim the title of US Marine until the day I die.

So why join up? To serve. To be a part of something bigger than yourself. To be a part of a small, and unique culture or warriors. To know that your work made a difference somewhere. To accomplish what others can only dream of. To travel to places you'd otherwise never see. To meet new people. To develope special skills that others lack. To find character that others only dream about. And to know you'll never know what it's like to regret not stepping up to the plate and showing just how big your balls really are.

All these years later, I can look back with pride. I graduated from a top notch school. I became a Marine. And was a military policeman which allowed me to kill two birds with one stone. I proved all the nay-sayers wrong. I accomplished everything I wanted in my childhood  quickly. Now I set goals, and look for new achievements just for me. I don't care about the nay-sayers anymore because they're all wrong. I've become a parent. And recently added collge grad to my list of completions. So regardless of hurdles, I look forward to lifes journey and take my time in choosing what direction I want to go in it these days. You can do that once you've learned how to accomplish your goals and dreams.

So my advice to everyone is this. Figure out what your dream is, and go for it. Use the nay-sayers to fuel those desires. Even if you don't join the military (I'll admit it's not for everyone) don't wait. Once you know what you want, look at what you need to do to get there, and start taking the steps. Even though you may not be able to take them all at once, the ability to take those other steps will present themselves in due time. Just keep moving.