Spayed or Neutered

"I am not only uninterested in having children. I am opposed to having children. Having a purebred human baby is like having a purebred dog; it is nothing but vanity, human vanity." Ingrid Newkirk founder of PeTA

I thank God Almighty that this woman has removed herself from the gene pool.

Gruffest Billygoat Update

The IP ban list has grown a little. If you can ban IP addresses from commenting but have not, I assure you these IPs belong to nasty little Trolls that you don't want in your comment threads. If you can and do ban IPs, take a look and help yourself. If you have Blogger comments you still have the trash can button and comment moderation to help you out. Be vigilant because there is just no telling what will crawl out from under the bridge.

• 65.110.230.200
• 24.9.243.169
• 70.92.127.65
• 69.231.187.51
• 24.126.246.190
• 207.200.116
• 69.144.158.58
• 172.194.72.188
• 12.110.14.162
• 70.110.105.191
• 69.231.127.60
• 24.126.254.45

Time for a Big White Hat Award

This one is long over due. When a person moves to Texas they need to spruce up a little. Ted Nugent is now a Lone Star Treasure. Texas is glad to have him. Though his signature camo cowboy hat looks good, here is a Big White for him. He deserves it.

This man goes on safari in Africa and stops to teach local tribal people how to hunt so that they don’t have to starve. He uses his celebrity and his personality to preach against drug abuse. He reminds hunters that conservation is our God given duty. He entertains our warriors by doing USO shows.

I also respect him for doing what he loves. He turned playing a Gibson Birdland into a multi million dollar business. It seems he has always done what he loves. What a fantastic character.

Hungry?

Since I am blogging on my lunch hour, I’ll blog about food. There used to be a Chicago style Hot Dog place in my neighborhood. It closed down. It has been a while. Many of you don't know anything about these hot dogs. Many of you look at the picture and think, "Yuck! A hotdog is not supposed to have tomatoes and peppers!" Many of you need to try it. The Chicago style Hot Dog is a treat to be enjoyed as it comes. Don't custom order it. Don't get anything on the side. The hot dog was invented in Chicago. They do it right. What West Texas has done for Fajitas, Chicago has done for the hot dog. You can't improve on perfection.

It starts with a poppy seed bun. Then add an all beef sausage (Vienna Beef is the traditional brand). Next, Mustard, PickleWedge, relish, Tomato Wedges and Sport Peppers. The Peppers are the key. Finally top with Season Salt (Celery salt is also traditional).

Hat Tip to Rush for the idea.
Hat Tip to Allen Brothers Steaks for the picture.

Available Light

No. I am not selling a Jeep Cherokee. However, this picture has some personal significance. A few days ago I promised Alex (my 9 year old) that we would go take some pictures. So today I put a digital point and shoot in his hand. We went to an old park. He likes cars and took several pictures of them. I was impressed that he composed so well. I looked on the view screen and remarked, “You did a good job son.” He said, “I wanted the jeep to fill up the whole picture.”

He then had me pose in front of an old electric commuter train. “Stand there and turn your head to me. Got it!” He really seemed to have a grasp of what to do.

After a while we walked across the parking lot to the train station. He was anxious to take pictures of a bronze horse sculpture. He was terribly interested in the little bronze fly.

He peered up to the big bronze face. He thought it would be funny to get a tail shot. He was terribly disappointed when he missed the mocking bird that was only two feet away.

A camera can bring things out of a person. It can bring out the wonder of world around you. It can exegete the creativity that has been buried. We have photoshop. We have fancy studios. We have our wild imaginations. But nothing can compare with what we find naturally. Nothing beats viewing this world in the available light. Especially when the light comes from the spirit of a child spending a little one on one time with Daddy.

I am convinced that the wonders of this world are there for a reason. I’m not talking about Giza or the Colossus of Rhodes. I’m talking about the fantastic design of a snowflake. I’m talking about the humbling Pacific winds on the Oregon Coast. I’m talking about the breath taking sunsets of West Texas. I am convicted that God Almighty put things on this earth for my personal enjoyment. One of those things is the look on my son’s face as he comes to the same conviction.

A big white hat tip to Mountain Mama.

Like Steve says, God is Good.

Trolls, Treasure Trolls and how to deal with them.

Most of us have dealt with trolls. They find us by using search engines, hopping links or chasing back comments we have made. Most of them have no blog to call their own. Some do. Most of us delete their comments. Some of us block their IP addresses from our comments.

I have come into contact with a type of troll which is new to me. These are not the semi anonymous non-blogging variety. These are not the anti-something liberal stoppers by who think they can pick a fight and win. This species is special. I call them treasure trolls.

Treasure trolls can have many identities, even multiple parody blogs. They are ruthless in their commenting. These treasure trolls think they have us all figured out. They try so hard to get into our heads. The sad thing is it seldom works.

My latest encounter is Bettie Jo. I am pretty sure that Bettie Jo is also Philbert and Esperanto Manimal. I picked up this one from my buddy Espella Humanzee. The multiple personalities make this one a real treasure. The Esperanto personality is really good. It is a full fledged parody of Espella. I personally feel this is flattery. It may not be as good as the Texas Monthly Bum Steer Awards. But it is good flattery none the less. Fools insults are always good flattery.

These days trolls have taken to changing IPs on a regular basis. Many are college students with access to many computers. This being the case, I have adopted new tactics. I have started to edit their comments very creatively. Also I will post comments under their identities. These comments are typically calculated to infuriate them. Upon seeing this happen the trolls go away in a big hurry.

I must point out that the comment threads on my blog belong to me. They exist for my own pleasure and I can do what I want with them. The comment threads on your blog belong to you. You may also do whatever you please with them.

Posting IPs is also a big help to other bloggers. I know many of you want to comment here freely without fear of picking up trolls. Here are some IPs you may want to ban:

65.110.230.200

24.9.243.169

70.92.127.65

69.231.187.51

24.126.246.190

207.200.116.

12.110.14.

69.144.158.58

172.194.72.188

12.110.14.162

24.9.243.169

71.246.178.186

69.231.118.241

If you are a troll, don't think you're guaranteed a link. These trolls are special.

For Marriage and Freedom

I don’t really know the truth. History and antiquity are fairly vague. So, I will share with you the story I was told as a child.

During the reign of Claudius II, a decree was issued by the emperor. No young men of military eligibility and no single soldiers could marry. Claudius felt that single soldiers were better soldiers and he had little respect for the institution of marriage. More than that, Claudius II held the philosophy that the empire existed for the purpose of bringing him prestige and wealth.

Valentine was a Christian who thought that the emperor’s prestige and wealth existed for the purpose of giving peace, order and freedom to Romans. He married soldiers and their brides according to Christian rites in defiance of the emperor. He felt in this case, it was more important to follow God than men. Valentine rejected the notion that the emperor was deity. He saw the emperor as a servant of God not a god himself. He saw marriage as an institution established by God. Marriage was above the control of a little man in a toga with leaves on his head.

For this Valentine was jailed and sentenced to death. His own wife had died years before. He fell in love with the jailer’s daughter who brought him food and company. Knowing his doom was certain, he wrote a letter to be given to the young lady after his execution. The signature read, “from your Valentine.”

Valentine is a hero of old lore. I don’t know if the story is myth or fact. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 the day, the date of his execution, to honor this man. In 1969 the Roman Catholic Church dismissed it as an official holiday.

What is more romantic than the story of a faithful idealist who died in love and for marriage and freedom? Happy Valentine’s Day, my friend. May God bless your life with love and your marriage with romance.

Mi Trabajo

The most satisfied people in the world are the ones that do what they love. How fantastic would it be to actually make your life’s work, your work? If you can’t find a sense of purpose in your day, are you leading that life of quiet desperation Thoreau warned us about? How do we come to realize the value of our work? Is our work truly valuable?

Friend, we write these posts because we wish to express ourselves. We get pleasure when folks express appreciation for what we say. We get upset when folks say something hurtful about what we say. We say. We share. That is why we are here.

I have determined that some of us have more to say than others. Some folks blog a little then quit. That is fine. They said all they cared to. We have to be content to enjoy what they offered and move on. Others are never spent. They write post after post or book after book. They paint picture after picture. They give speech after speech.

From an early age I talked too much. I drew too much. I wrote too much. I still do. I think I always will.

I like my job. I accomplish things there. But, it is not what I want to do. I want to express myself. Right now I fix equipment. I want to write things people want to read. Now, I write comments about how I fixed the equipment. I want to create. I currently maintain. I want to find interesting people. I currently hunt down contaminants. I want to get up early in the morning. Right now I go to bed late in the morning.

So step by step I am changing what I do. I am going to make the creative outlets pay off. Today’s step: I’m buying a camera. I’m getting a mid priced camera that is suitable for personal and professional use. For me, this is better than paintbrush or a chisel. I love photography. I’ll be working with the best light expert in the business. He has been doing this work since DAY ONE. He is really creative. This is all of course, contingent on my wife letting me have the camera for a minute or two.

Unicyclist Update

Back in November I posted a unicyclist story.

The question was, "Is this a unicyclist or a unicyclist impersonator?"

I have an update. Wednesday evening Jason approached me at work. He had a wild look in his eye. I asked what kind of mischief we were about to get into.

He said, “I’ve seen him.”

“Whom?” (Yes, I actually use the third person inquisitive.)

“The Unicyclist!”

“The one with the face like a fishing lure?”

“It is more like a tackle box.”

“So was he……?”

“I was driving in to work and I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He was peddling away on that contraption. He really is a unicyclist.”

“I wonder if he has a job yet. Maybe he is still looking.”

I told Echo about it. She looked at me with a shocked countenance. “I saw him here in Plano with the unicycle in his hand. He was applying for a job at target.”

We have dubbed him, Tackleface. I will be lurking around to get pictures soon. I want Tackleface to run for mayor. This dude could be to Dallas, what Leslie is to Austin (just not in drag).

The Music Died

I know rants are not my forte. Today I have to rant. What happened to country music? How did we go from Keith Whitley to Honkytonk Badonkadonk?

I was a teen in the eighties, I listened to more metal than country. But, I can remember being able to tune into a country station and hear something decent. Now I can choose any country station on the dial and give up before they play a song worth my time. Most of the songs sound like a parody making fun of me. Little of it appeals to me in the least.

The clever lyrics and smooth melodies have given way to Top 40 with a twang. Even accomplished artists have gone the way side. I heard a song from Merle Haggard that was so political and antiwar that I think he has become one of the hippies he used to despise.

So until somebody starts classic country stations in Dallas I am confined to my own collection. Shame. A little part of America seems to have died.

Shhhhhh

I am particularly ornery tired and mean this evening. I want quiet. I don’t want to listen to anything. I am not merely disgusted with noise. No, I have a distain for words.

I want to have a quiet evening. I want this more and more lately. Quiet.

I don’t want it as a lifestyle. I just want one quiet moment. I want quiet time with God and my wife. The beautiful thing is we don’t even have to speak. We can communicate without making a sound.

So excuse me. A quiet place is only three bedtimes away.

A little work week fun.

I had a little fun with some visitors today. I went to sleep as soon as I got home this morning. About eleven o’clock the doorbell rang. I got up and stumbled to the door. I crack open the door and look outside. Two very attractive Hispanic ladies are standing outside wearing Sunday dresses.

I say hello. They say that they are Jehovah’s Witnesses and ask if there are any Spanish speakers in the house. Somehow in my stupor pure comedy comes right out, “Nadie habla español aquí.” They looked at each other in total confusion, then thanked me and let me go back to sleep.

Last night Jason, my coworker, had some more fun with Roxxanne.

I get a text page reading, “BWH, when you see me, will you please tell me what ‘bull way’ and ‘up dog’ mean. Jason keeps asking me about them and I don’t know what they mean. He said to ask you. Roxxanne.”

Later Roxxanne comes over to where I’m working. Jason is lurking and watching. “BWH, what’s up dog?” I reply, “Not much dog. What’s up with you?” She gets that one and scowls a bit. “Ok, what’s bull way?” “A bull typically weighs at least a thousand pounds.” “A thousand pounds of what?” “Beef, Roxxanne. Beef.” “ Uh, I still don’t get it.”

Before it is all said and done, Roxxanne will get as mean as we are. She's probably going to leave me a nasty comment.