Well, another weekend passed with me working half of it and getting yet a tad bit further along on the downstairs remodel. I installed two doors on Saturday before getting called to work. The main bedroom door and the one hiding the hot water heater and furnace. Next is to tile the bathroom floor and do that door, then the laundry bi-fold doors and the closet doors. No biggy. After that is the carpet and then we be dunno, Danno! But, hark! What do I hear wailing through the still air? Besides Brandon singing along with the Naked Brothers Band? Yikes! No, its the upstairs bedrooms calling my name for their up-do! After that its out to the garage. Cant wait. That particular part of the house is my superhero enclave. My space. My dungeon. Hideout, escape, retreat.........ok, you get the point.
Last week was most definately a grand affair! We the people managed to step on the Democrats attempt to give our country away by objecting their ass right out of commission! I love it! Politics at its best. The public was definately served a righteous helping of justice. They try to pretend its not an amnesty but by definition and abviousness, it most certainly was. You take 20 million illegals and give them the right to stay here as well as all the social services they want and tell em to bring all their families over here too and make them legal to stay. Gee! Lets see how that works......hmmmmm.........first their illegal, having broken our laws and now they are legal and all is forgiven and, by the way, here are all the things you demanded. AMNESTY! Duh! Even a blind impoverished middle eastern castout could see that! But, look out! Here comes inmate.....er.....I mean president Bush. He's gonna try and force the Republicans to vote for it next time. Wonder how he plans to do that? I guess we'll find out whos more brain dead in congress in the coming weeks. The people who wrote the damn bill in the first place and the president or the ones who are currently against it for changing their minds. In any event, I'm locked and loaded for the impending civil war to follow should it get passed with amnesty. No way I'm giving up the sovereignty of my country that easily.
The fam and I cant wait to go on vacation again next year. We want to do our honeymoon all over again but with Brandon this time. A week at Disney World and a week on a cruise to relax and wind down. Woohoo! We didnt go anywhere particular this year. In January we took an impromptu road trip to Las Vegas and checked it out. There is more shit to do there than I ever knew! We saw Celine Dion in concert......I love my wife, yessireebob, I do! But, the next night we saw the Go-Gos! Damn can those babes still rock!! Went and did the Star Trek experience at the Hilton. Way cool. Brandon thought the Borg invasion interactive show was real! HA! He was hauling ass calling to us to hurry this way! What a crack up! He thought it was cool when we walked by the Klingon and I sounded off out loud "KA-PLOK!", slamming my closed fist into my chest and the dude responded perfectly and then grunted and walked off. Klingonese is an actual language, you did know that, right?
I cant wait for next month! Its the NHRA Mile High Nationals at Bandimere speedway in Denver! Yeah buddy!! Big Hemis, big blowers, lots of Nitromethanol and a little bit of fire make for a way cool experience! This will be Brandons first time. I cant wait to introduce him to the world of Nitro drag racing! He sees the drags on TV and thinks their cool and likes watching 14 time world champ John Force on his reality TV show Driving Force. I like watching Ashley......uh, but anyway.........I cant wait to get there! July 13, 14 and 15! Woohoo!! Its gonna so great seeing the look on his face when we are right there behind a Nitro Funny Car or Top Fuel Dragster in the pits during a test fire! They start the engine on alcohol and then in comes the Nitro! Its loud as hell and so violent by nature! You can actually feel the concussion of each exhaust pulse in your chest and ears. Then when you least expect it the driver will pop the throttle and it hits you square in the chest like the hand of God pushing you backwards! How is that for a definition? One month till D-day! HA!
Well, there is the update. I hope someone takes a look here once in awhile. I know I dont keep up well with this thing and havent figured out alot of it yet. The next step is to start putting some pics in here. My wifer-difer Danielle may step up and start putting things in here which means the whole thing will get changed. Oh, well. She may well put more into this than I do.
Ok, I spose its time to get busy. Besides, its lunch time.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Finally, a few words from our sponsor.....ME!
Its been a few months since I put this blog together, inspired by my cousin April, and I must say that maintaining such an entity is a very serious undertaking indeed. You see, my life consists of only a few things. Work, work and, oh yes, more work. Being a locomotive engineer is demanding as hell and it seems that as soon as I get rested legally I'm gettin called back to run another train. It's fun work but it can get to be a drag. This last half I worked 12 times in 15 days and for each time I go out its two days in a row because we go from Grand Jct halfway to Denver, then zip to the hotel for our 8hrs and then back on another train to Grand Jct. I get home and its either later that night or the very next day early the phone rings. Oh, such is the life of a railroader. Thank God for the women who are married to us, kinda like being married to the mob without the violence, that can deal with this hectic schedule.
Other than that, I am trying to remodel our house as best I can with the small time frames that I have in between runs. Our little ole shanty is just under 1200 sq. ft. and is a tri-level, the basement of which was "finished" when I moved in 2 1/2 years ago. I cant imagine the state of mind the people were in that did the work but to put it mildy it looked like @#$*#% hell! I, too, am guilty of not gettin any before pics that would prove beyond any doubt that they were on some kind of drugs.
Needless to say, the first modification to the house was to add a roll up door to the back of the garage leading out onto the patio in the backyard. I figured why waste a perfectly good parking space. I also finished the inside of the garage where the supports and runners for the door go. I still have to finish the rest of it. Then there was the upstairs common bathroom. It needed new paint and caulking as well as a rearrangement of some shelves and towel racks. Believe it! They put the towel racks behind the can and the shelves on the wall opposite, right in front of you. To be graphic, sit on your crapper and stand up. You lean forward to get your balance for the manuever. Guess what you hit your head on every time? Those damn shelves! Did I mention they must have been on drugs? If your not convinced, you should have seen the bathroom downstairs. Anyway, we trimmed the wall out for a bigger medicine cabinet, put in a new light fixture, painted the existing vanity cabinetry and put in a mirror, some pictures, new switch plates and the door recieved new hinges and knobs. The entire bathroom took on a completely new persona. Amazing!
Then I went for the downstairs. Hoo boy! I, as a single bachelor, used the downstairs as a hobby room. That is, I had about 90 sq. ft. of HO scale train layout down there and a ton of crap stored under the benchwork. Everything had to go to storage and the layout was disassembled and framed for transport. I took a chance and advertised it and some dude called and bought it! How cool is that? Then I tore out the bathroom down there. It was horrifying! I so wish I had pictures of it. As a matter of fact, I may somewhere. It was only a 3/4 bath so it was a shower. A horrible conflagration of the nastiest color tile from the floor of the damn thing all the way up to the ceiling including the ceiling! YUCK! And to top it off all the fixtures were gold with a little green on there, too. Nasssteee! I've used a sledge hammer on the railroad, but I never enjoyed it more than breaking out that old shower. I had to knock out the walls adjoining the bedroom as well. They had it angled and I needed to frame it all back in square because I put in a tub/shower insert and drywalled around it inside the bathroom and drywalled the adjoining walls in the bedroom. I even insulated the common walls so it would be warm in the winter and quiet in the bedroom when someone was in the shower.
The bedroom has a support beam down the middle of the ceiling. They put the most butt-ugly stick on conduits along the wall and that beam leading out to a stretch of ancient tract lights. Ooooooh! They went with the train. I wired for ceiling lights, drywalled in my access holes and then did the entire bedroom and bathroom in knockdown texture. I did the ceilings on both sides of the support beam in popcorn accoustic texture. It had to match the rest of the house. The bathroom recieved a new vanity, sink, fixtures (not gold), toilet, medicine cabinet and tile. All thats left is to prime and paint and replace the blue carpet in the bedroom and lower stairwell.
Once that part is done and Danielle and I get moved downstairs it will be the upstairs bedrooms turn. All they need is paint and carpet. The main floor is the real doozy. Its the living room and kitchen. We are knocking down a wall and opening it up. All new appliances and cabinetry and hardwood floors. A little paint and shazam! Done deal. Then I can finish my garage and replace the other two garage doors and start thinking about repainting the outside of the house. Whew!
So, as you can see, I was a tad bit excited to see what April did to her bathroom. Its good to know that I'm not the only crazy one in this fam.
Other than that, I am trying to remodel our house as best I can with the small time frames that I have in between runs. Our little ole shanty is just under 1200 sq. ft. and is a tri-level, the basement of which was "finished" when I moved in 2 1/2 years ago. I cant imagine the state of mind the people were in that did the work but to put it mildy it looked like @#$*#% hell! I, too, am guilty of not gettin any before pics that would prove beyond any doubt that they were on some kind of drugs.
Needless to say, the first modification to the house was to add a roll up door to the back of the garage leading out onto the patio in the backyard. I figured why waste a perfectly good parking space. I also finished the inside of the garage where the supports and runners for the door go. I still have to finish the rest of it. Then there was the upstairs common bathroom. It needed new paint and caulking as well as a rearrangement of some shelves and towel racks. Believe it! They put the towel racks behind the can and the shelves on the wall opposite, right in front of you. To be graphic, sit on your crapper and stand up. You lean forward to get your balance for the manuever. Guess what you hit your head on every time? Those damn shelves! Did I mention they must have been on drugs? If your not convinced, you should have seen the bathroom downstairs. Anyway, we trimmed the wall out for a bigger medicine cabinet, put in a new light fixture, painted the existing vanity cabinetry and put in a mirror, some pictures, new switch plates and the door recieved new hinges and knobs. The entire bathroom took on a completely new persona. Amazing!
Then I went for the downstairs. Hoo boy! I, as a single bachelor, used the downstairs as a hobby room. That is, I had about 90 sq. ft. of HO scale train layout down there and a ton of crap stored under the benchwork. Everything had to go to storage and the layout was disassembled and framed for transport. I took a chance and advertised it and some dude called and bought it! How cool is that? Then I tore out the bathroom down there. It was horrifying! I so wish I had pictures of it. As a matter of fact, I may somewhere. It was only a 3/4 bath so it was a shower. A horrible conflagration of the nastiest color tile from the floor of the damn thing all the way up to the ceiling including the ceiling! YUCK! And to top it off all the fixtures were gold with a little green on there, too. Nasssteee! I've used a sledge hammer on the railroad, but I never enjoyed it more than breaking out that old shower. I had to knock out the walls adjoining the bedroom as well. They had it angled and I needed to frame it all back in square because I put in a tub/shower insert and drywalled around it inside the bathroom and drywalled the adjoining walls in the bedroom. I even insulated the common walls so it would be warm in the winter and quiet in the bedroom when someone was in the shower.
The bedroom has a support beam down the middle of the ceiling. They put the most butt-ugly stick on conduits along the wall and that beam leading out to a stretch of ancient tract lights. Ooooooh! They went with the train. I wired for ceiling lights, drywalled in my access holes and then did the entire bedroom and bathroom in knockdown texture. I did the ceilings on both sides of the support beam in popcorn accoustic texture. It had to match the rest of the house. The bathroom recieved a new vanity, sink, fixtures (not gold), toilet, medicine cabinet and tile. All thats left is to prime and paint and replace the blue carpet in the bedroom and lower stairwell.
Once that part is done and Danielle and I get moved downstairs it will be the upstairs bedrooms turn. All they need is paint and carpet. The main floor is the real doozy. Its the living room and kitchen. We are knocking down a wall and opening it up. All new appliances and cabinetry and hardwood floors. A little paint and shazam! Done deal. Then I can finish my garage and replace the other two garage doors and start thinking about repainting the outside of the house. Whew!
So, as you can see, I was a tad bit excited to see what April did to her bathroom. Its good to know that I'm not the only crazy one in this fam.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Virginia Tech and CNN special report
Ok, everybody wants to hear my opinions so here I go on my latest piss off! I just watched a CNN show called Investigative Report about the Virginia Tech massacre. Albeit, I am saddened by the events that took place, I am outraged at the media coverage! Every damn anti-gun clown on the continent is coming out of the closet to lobby against guns and they all want to take away our 2nd Amendment rights. They reported that the young man who shot all those people on the VT campus would not have been able to proceed with his agenda had he not been able to buy that gun. Not true! If he had not been able to buy that gun, his demented mental state would have pushed him to buy a firearm off the street right along with all the rest of the criminals in our country and around the world.
By having a well armed society of mostly law abiding citizens who wish to protect their families and property from the criminal element, we exist in a state of deterrance. This is what we had with the Soviet Union during the cold war that kept us from blowing ourselves off the planet. Deterrance is the act of keeping the other at bay by the inference of having a superior weapon or defensive system in place and not being afraid to use it. Right now in many countries around the world and in many states right here at home we have right-to-carry laws whereas law abiding citizens can be trained and permitted to carry a concealed weapon on their person in public and in our vehicles. Sound scary? The criminals think so too. Thats the point. If someone wants what you have or thinks he can break into your home and rob you, rape you and kill you to get what he wants, he will think twice before doing it if the probability is high that you might be armed inside and he could wind up getting his own ass shot off in the process. This is deterrance on the homeland front.
By voting for anti-gun legislators and condoning the gun control lobby that want to take away our guns and our 2nd Amendment rights, you are opening the door to the criminals because they will end up being the only ones armed in our country besides the cops and the military, the cops of which are underpaid, undermanned and underarmed. They are not equipped to protect and serve us all in a timely fashion to avoid a tragedy.
Riddle me this batman: How far would the VT gunman had gotten if only one of his victims were permitted to carry a concealed weapon and was at the time? We would be having a hero's parade in Virginia and possibly 29 less funerals.
Now, imagine this. During this killing spree, what if a citizen saw the killer walking across campus carrying his weapon and the news of there having been a shooting was already out? If this person was of the character to possess a firearm in his home and declared that he wasnt going to let this murderer get away, how would things have turned out then? Is it possible that the person would attempt to detain the killer? Maybe. Would he risk his own life to save others by trying to detain him? Maybe not. Would someone coming along with a gun of their own to detain him distract him from his course? Possibly. Is there someone out there with a permit and a gun and having found himself in the position to make a difference actually put himself out there and shoot the killer? Is it possible that an innocent person could get shot instead? Always. But these thoughts are what can keep the criminal from doing the crime. He himself does not know who is out there that can foil his plan or take him down. I'm not talking about vigilanteism. Just citizens who are equipped to come to the rescue in an obvious situation or protect themselves in like kind against someone intent on hurting them or taking their life or the lives of their loved ones. As long as the criminals have access to undocumented firearms, we the people must have legal access to guns as well. Without our 2nd Amendment rights, we could all carry knives, which most of us do anyway. But, have you ever heard the saying, "Why would you bring a knife to a gunfight?"
The side with the most effective weapon will prevail. This is the first tenet of war. If we the American public expect to win the war against crime, we must be armed better than they are. If we let congress use every tragic event as an excuse to strip us of our 2nd Amendment rights and take away our guns and our ability to purchase them legally, we will be surrendering to the criminals and gangs. But, in actuality, we too will become the same as the criminal because my ass will be down there in the back alley looking for my next gun to replace the ones my wonderful government took away from me. I will always have the means to protect my family no matter what it takes.
In states that have right-to-carry laws there has already been a drastic reduction in violent crime. Criminals are getting shot and found later in hospitals and some just bleed to death. But people are saving their own lives because they have the means to fight back effectively. There have been numerous reports of police officers in standoff situations with criminals whereas armed citizens have come to aid the officer and help effect the arrest of the criminal. What higher honor could a citizen in our great land have than to be able to aid a peace officer take down a violent offender by bringing the tide of change to the odds at hand? Just another example of how most law enforcement communities are undermanned and underarmed and how one armed citizen made a difference in a situation where backup was not imminent. In that instance what was the driving factor that led the criminal to surrender? Deterrance. Just the knowledge that he was outgunned made him put his weapon down and give up otherwise he was more than willing to keep shooting it out with the cop.
We all have to work together to fight crime and protect ourselves, our families and communities from the criminal elements that exist.
My cousins oldest son knows what it is to be confronted with a potentially life threatening situation. Thank God the guns they had were only toys with the orange tips removed. But at the time he didnt know any different. And those boys were too young and stupid to even think of the what ifs. What if her son enjoyed outdoor sporting? What if he was a gun owner? What if he just looked like a kid but in fact was a 21 yr old adult? And what if in addition to that he was also permitted to carry a concealed weapon and was at the time? What would they do when confronted with a real gun being put in their face? If they had their brains attached to their asses when they were about to confront him over a damn ipod they may have thought twice before risking their lives for it. If all the criminals in our country had this mind set, we would see a dramatic reduction in violent crime in our country, cities, communities and homes, on the playgrounds and in the parks. It all wouldnt disappear overnight, but the majority of it would go away fairly quickly. The small time isolated incident stuff. Then we could concentrate on the bigger fish. By "we" I am referring to our men in uniform. "The Blue." They would be able to work the big problem while just as a result of things being the way they are on the civilian front, the small time crap wouldnt exist as prevalently.
Ok, I'm done venting now, but this is a real issue. Crime of the nature that we need to fix is real. Having a well armed public is a necessity. What happened in Virginia is a tragedy of exponential proportions when you consider the accessibility of firearms on the black market to the criminal likely to effect such an agenda. Deterrance is the only way to fight it from a personal point of view. As a citizen, you and we all have the right to carry and bear arms, not just as a nation against another nation by order of the commander in chief, but on a lower level as a citizen and person who respects life and liberty against the criminal elements that do not. Dont let your government take this right away from you. That is what they want to do. They can only see cutting the head off to spite the nose. You need to write and call your congressman, senator and state governor and tell them to oppose any anti-gun or gun control legislation and explain that you need them to commit instead to the eradication and confiscation of illegal arms smuggling, to effectively take these undocumented weapons off the streets and to find ways to disarm the criminals rather than the law abiding public. Without deterrance, we have no defence against them.
By having a well armed society of mostly law abiding citizens who wish to protect their families and property from the criminal element, we exist in a state of deterrance. This is what we had with the Soviet Union during the cold war that kept us from blowing ourselves off the planet. Deterrance is the act of keeping the other at bay by the inference of having a superior weapon or defensive system in place and not being afraid to use it. Right now in many countries around the world and in many states right here at home we have right-to-carry laws whereas law abiding citizens can be trained and permitted to carry a concealed weapon on their person in public and in our vehicles. Sound scary? The criminals think so too. Thats the point. If someone wants what you have or thinks he can break into your home and rob you, rape you and kill you to get what he wants, he will think twice before doing it if the probability is high that you might be armed inside and he could wind up getting his own ass shot off in the process. This is deterrance on the homeland front.
By voting for anti-gun legislators and condoning the gun control lobby that want to take away our guns and our 2nd Amendment rights, you are opening the door to the criminals because they will end up being the only ones armed in our country besides the cops and the military, the cops of which are underpaid, undermanned and underarmed. They are not equipped to protect and serve us all in a timely fashion to avoid a tragedy.
Riddle me this batman: How far would the VT gunman had gotten if only one of his victims were permitted to carry a concealed weapon and was at the time? We would be having a hero's parade in Virginia and possibly 29 less funerals.
Now, imagine this. During this killing spree, what if a citizen saw the killer walking across campus carrying his weapon and the news of there having been a shooting was already out? If this person was of the character to possess a firearm in his home and declared that he wasnt going to let this murderer get away, how would things have turned out then? Is it possible that the person would attempt to detain the killer? Maybe. Would he risk his own life to save others by trying to detain him? Maybe not. Would someone coming along with a gun of their own to detain him distract him from his course? Possibly. Is there someone out there with a permit and a gun and having found himself in the position to make a difference actually put himself out there and shoot the killer? Is it possible that an innocent person could get shot instead? Always. But these thoughts are what can keep the criminal from doing the crime. He himself does not know who is out there that can foil his plan or take him down. I'm not talking about vigilanteism. Just citizens who are equipped to come to the rescue in an obvious situation or protect themselves in like kind against someone intent on hurting them or taking their life or the lives of their loved ones. As long as the criminals have access to undocumented firearms, we the people must have legal access to guns as well. Without our 2nd Amendment rights, we could all carry knives, which most of us do anyway. But, have you ever heard the saying, "Why would you bring a knife to a gunfight?"
The side with the most effective weapon will prevail. This is the first tenet of war. If we the American public expect to win the war against crime, we must be armed better than they are. If we let congress use every tragic event as an excuse to strip us of our 2nd Amendment rights and take away our guns and our ability to purchase them legally, we will be surrendering to the criminals and gangs. But, in actuality, we too will become the same as the criminal because my ass will be down there in the back alley looking for my next gun to replace the ones my wonderful government took away from me. I will always have the means to protect my family no matter what it takes.
In states that have right-to-carry laws there has already been a drastic reduction in violent crime. Criminals are getting shot and found later in hospitals and some just bleed to death. But people are saving their own lives because they have the means to fight back effectively. There have been numerous reports of police officers in standoff situations with criminals whereas armed citizens have come to aid the officer and help effect the arrest of the criminal. What higher honor could a citizen in our great land have than to be able to aid a peace officer take down a violent offender by bringing the tide of change to the odds at hand? Just another example of how most law enforcement communities are undermanned and underarmed and how one armed citizen made a difference in a situation where backup was not imminent. In that instance what was the driving factor that led the criminal to surrender? Deterrance. Just the knowledge that he was outgunned made him put his weapon down and give up otherwise he was more than willing to keep shooting it out with the cop.
We all have to work together to fight crime and protect ourselves, our families and communities from the criminal elements that exist.
My cousins oldest son knows what it is to be confronted with a potentially life threatening situation. Thank God the guns they had were only toys with the orange tips removed. But at the time he didnt know any different. And those boys were too young and stupid to even think of the what ifs. What if her son enjoyed outdoor sporting? What if he was a gun owner? What if he just looked like a kid but in fact was a 21 yr old adult? And what if in addition to that he was also permitted to carry a concealed weapon and was at the time? What would they do when confronted with a real gun being put in their face? If they had their brains attached to their asses when they were about to confront him over a damn ipod they may have thought twice before risking their lives for it. If all the criminals in our country had this mind set, we would see a dramatic reduction in violent crime in our country, cities, communities and homes, on the playgrounds and in the parks. It all wouldnt disappear overnight, but the majority of it would go away fairly quickly. The small time isolated incident stuff. Then we could concentrate on the bigger fish. By "we" I am referring to our men in uniform. "The Blue." They would be able to work the big problem while just as a result of things being the way they are on the civilian front, the small time crap wouldnt exist as prevalently.
Ok, I'm done venting now, but this is a real issue. Crime of the nature that we need to fix is real. Having a well armed public is a necessity. What happened in Virginia is a tragedy of exponential proportions when you consider the accessibility of firearms on the black market to the criminal likely to effect such an agenda. Deterrance is the only way to fight it from a personal point of view. As a citizen, you and we all have the right to carry and bear arms, not just as a nation against another nation by order of the commander in chief, but on a lower level as a citizen and person who respects life and liberty against the criminal elements that do not. Dont let your government take this right away from you. That is what they want to do. They can only see cutting the head off to spite the nose. You need to write and call your congressman, senator and state governor and tell them to oppose any anti-gun or gun control legislation and explain that you need them to commit instead to the eradication and confiscation of illegal arms smuggling, to effectively take these undocumented weapons off the streets and to find ways to disarm the criminals rather than the law abiding public. Without deterrance, we have no defence against them.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
SHAZAM!
Good morning! A new revelation occurred today for man in Western Colorado. Attempts to figure out his new blog finally come to head. He also finally found time to investigate said blog and discovered what he was doing wrong. Lightning struck and man fell from chair. Overwhelming sense of accomplishment leads to upswing in postings. More to come at a later date.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
OZZFEST TICKETS FOR 2007 ARE FREE!!!!!!!!! YESSSS!!!!!!!
Too damn cool! I was just on my Ozzy Osbourne fansite and they just announced that all tickets to Ozzfest this year are free! And they are kicking the tour off this year right there in San Bernardino. Just go to ozzfest.com and they will announce the exact dates and where to go to get your tickets. What a frenzy this is gonna be this year. I have an eyeball peeled and plucked for this one. I missed seeing Rob Zombie in Denver last year. Bummer.
Cousin Kev joins insanity! Creates his own blog!
Hey, how ya doing. Whats up? Ok, April, I did it. Lets just hope I can do it half as well as you did yours. I dont have alot of time to mess with this thing but will do my best to get new stuff on here every now and then. I'm gonna get Danielle on here too, so maybe between the two of us we can tell folks how things are going around the Adams castle. But, since I did it, it only seems right that everyone else should jump in and do one too! Hell, we can all be the blogginest bunch around! HA!
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