I haven't always been so jaded

Somewhere along the line it seems that I've become less emotional, more detached, more selfish. My wife asked me why I thought I was a nice person on the drive home from diner the other day. I couldn't think of a good answer. As a true geek in school I remember being a much nicer, more tolerant human than I am now. Am I becoming one of those grumpy old men? Just the thought makes my face purse up with contempt for myself. From this day forward, I will put forth a modest effort to become more like the nice guy I used to be.

Hmmmmmm...
Now that I think about it, should I be worried my wife said such a thing to begin with? Hell yea I should! This nice guy thing needs some quick tweaking.

I'm a poker junkie

Man this poker thing is like crack. If you haven't ever played...DON'T! If you get any good at it, you'll find yourself hopelessly addicted. A friend invited me to play in a bar about six or seven months ago. I had never played before but had seen it on TV and wanted to try it out. They play little mini tournaments here at no cost to play. I used to think it was cheap entertainment until I figured that every time I go I spend an average of $30 on a bar tab. Multiply that by 3 times a week and I could make the payments on a decent car. Maybe you'll see me a the WSOP. Anyone want to loan me the $10,000 to buy a seat?

Gobble Gobble

Happy turkey day!

I'm thankful for...

my wife and all the support she gives me.

my health (in spite of the cold I seem to have contracted.)

my beautiful home in the woods.

my friends who seem to be ever present when I need them.

The Golden Corral and the folks who served me on a holiday where I had to work as well.

plenty of reading material to get me through my 9 hour shift.

Yea, I may be a little weird

I don't know where my love affair with airplanes started, but it stuck. I have enjoyed riding in them ever since I was a kid. My parents were divorced when I was too young to remember them ever being together, so every summer my brother and I would go visit my father. He was a mechanic for one of the major airlines and would get passes for us to fly. That's where the roots of my airplane fetish came from. It took some time for those roots to take hold though. My personal belief is I always had the inclination to fix things as well as the joys of flight. The problem was that these traits I was endowed were never cultivated by my step father or my mom. Neither one of them could fix anything that required more that duct tape or chewing gum. As I grew up, I became the person that fixed things in my house because I had a true knack for how things worked. I could figure just about anything out without the instructions. Mechanical things that would confound other people seemed simple to me. As I became a teenager, I eventually discovered my talents and flight desires. My biggest obstacle was my lack of motivation. I was never a fantastic student because I never applied myself (I'm sure that shows in my writing). By the time I actually became a motivated human being, I had already joined the Army as an artillery man. The only reason I ever talked to a recruiter was he said I could be a helicopter pilot if my scores were high enough. They weren't. I missed by 2 points. My reasoning for joining anyway...There was probably no other way for me to make it through college without a little boost from Uncle Sam. As much as I HATED the Army, It was probably one of the smartest things I ever did. Almost everything I've accomplished I owe to that two years of punishment I endured. I have a degree in aviation, my pilots license, a beautiful home, and a good job. I'm a lucky geek.

And You Know Who You Are

I started this blog to get my words out on "Paper." Let's start with what has been at the forefront of my mind lately. This country is really starting to piss me off. Why the fuck do you people (and you know who you are) feel the need to tell me what to do with my life/property/opinions. For example, if you are offended with one of the words I just used, go find another friggin blog to read!!! It's only a word. It can't hurt you in any way. This is MY blog and if I offend you start your own blog with no "F" bombs in it. You have the RIGHT to do that. You people that feel the need to tell me what to do really must find more creative things to do with YOUR time and YOUR life.

Example: I met a gentlemen, right around 9/11, he was a super nice older gent. A Vietnam vet, he wanted to show support for his country so he erected a small flag pole in his yard and flew the Stars And Stripes. Fast forward about a week and he receives a note from the home owners association in his subdivision saying that his display of patriotism violates the rules. He refused to take the flag down. They proceed to fine him $50 dollars per day while the thing is up and eventually threaten to have it removed at his expense. I drove by his place on my way home, just to see if the thing was an eye sore. His yard was immaculate, his home was in excellent repair, and the flag was quite tasteful. I understand the reasoning behind homeowners associations but this kind of communist crap it taking things too damn far! When you can't fly the flag of the country you live in the yard YOU pay for, it's time to reconsider your choice of places to live. This is why my home is on three plus wooded acres. Its mine. If I don't feel like mowing the grass this week, I WON'T! If I feel like parking my car in the yard, I WILL! And if I feel like running around the house in my birthday suit, I CAN, because it's mine and I pay for it, not you!

Example II: Lets talk about smoking. Exactly when did it become a crime to smoke in this country? Even the American Indians knew it was bad for you because it would "take your wind" if you smoked the peace pipe too much. So to those morons who try to play it off like they didn't know...PISS OFF. Now, before you go off on me in the comment section, let me qualify a few things first. Smoking in your typical 9-5 work place is not cool because people have no choice when they go to work. They can't get away from it if their coworker in the next cube is chaining a pack of Newports. They have to go to work to live/pay bills ect. So, in situations like these (ie no choice), smoking should be banned. Why on earth do you people (and you know who you are) feel the need to ban me from smoking in a bar or restaurant, or any place where you DON'T have to be? No one said you HAD to eat at the local pub. There is no need for a smoking ban in these places. The business owner already had the RIGHT to make his establishment non-smoking if he chose to. By making it a law you just did two things, 1 took away someone else's RIGHT to run their business as they see fit and 2 hurt their business by eliminating some of their regular customers who won't go there anymore because they can't exercise their RIGHT to smoke. If you NONs (and you know who you are) chose not to go to these places eventually the owners would implement their own bans without your friggin meddling. Some examples, McDonalds, Taco Bell, and just about every other fast food chain banned smoking in all their American stores quite a few years ago and they didn't need a law to do it.

Example III: Seat belts and helmets. Why a law? My body and what I do with it is my business. I could argue that SUVs are more dangerous than me not wearing a seat belt. When little miss soccer mom in her 7000 lb Tahoe comes barreling down on me while I'm in my 1500 lb bug, I'm telling you, It's not going to matter weather I'm wearing that seat belt or not.

Example IV: Why do you assholes give one flying shit weather gay people get married or not? MYOFB. Gays deserve every RIGHT you enjoy. Call it a union, call it Joe, but whatever you call it why the hell should you get a tax break from the feds just because you're hetero?

Smoking, censorship, seat belts, freedom of expression. I thought this was the land of the free.

Next on the list for you people (and you know who you are):

fat people
drinking
sex

To those that might be curious: I have been a non-smoker for some time now, I've worn a seat belt every time I've been in a car for as long as I can remember, and I've been married for 8 going on 9 years.

Whew I feel a little better now.

OK here we go!

Hello and welcome to anyone who has happened upon my little corner of cyberspace. I would like to start my little blog by stating that I am in no way a writer and I just started this site as a way to get my words out. Call it my own personal therapy. There are no rules yet so feel free to post any comments you might have. Please also be aware that I'm not going to sensor myself so you WILL see the occasional curse word in here. My goal is to post at least three times per week. I haven't figured out how this program works yet and, although the title says I'm a geek, I'm not a geek of the computer nature so deal with it or move on. Also, I am going to remain anonymous so please don't ask for my particulars. Just know that I am Glenn the plaingeek.