Just a Guy

AKA the story of my life. I am constantly running into weird stuff. It happens so often that all I have to do is call my buddy and say "ready for another addition of strange things are afoot at the Circle K?"

Which he replies "what weird stuff is going on now?"

Just in the last 2 years since my ex-wife and I split up things have been nothing but weird in my life. My ex was trying to get me laid. She tried repeatedly to set me up with a friend of hers knowing it was just going to be for sex. I passed. I was scared of what the woman might be planning. About a month later I had been chatting with a woman in Georgia and she booked me last minute planes tickets to come out there for my birthday which just happened to be Labor day weekend. Of course I went. How many times is that going to happen in your life. I had to go.

The first time my ex met my current girlfriend she hugged her. Just walked right up to her and wrapped her arms around her. Creeped my girlfriend out.

3 years ago my girlfriend was my employee. At the time neither one of us acknowledged the attraction to each other. I was married and she was living with some one. Then after my ex wife and I split up and several months had passed I ran into a friend of my girlfriends who also worked for me back in the day (which was a Wednesday) and I had told her I was back in town and single but never mentioned current girlfriend. A short time later I received an email from my now girlfriend on MySpace asking if I remembered her. Me being me, I went straight for the kill (I know poor choice of words but I am listening to AC/DC right now and it seemed fitting), telling her I had always had a thing for her but because when we met I was married, she was with some body and she worked for me I had kept that to myself. Her reply, ditto.

That was just over a year ago and I have never been happier. It is weird when you get to have your fantasy. For 2 years she had appeared frequently in my fantasies. I had also appeared in hers. Then as time went on and we discussed people we knew from the past here in Chico, we were amazed how many people we both knew. I had even met her ex husband years ago. One of my former room mates was a friend of hers. Funny how life works out.

So let's see what other weird stuff have I gotten myself into. I once lived with a lesbian room mate who was dating a woman that had been part of the only threesome I have been a part of. That was a great 23rd birthday present but an experience that did not live up to the fantasy. Yes Sy before you start it was 2 woman and me.

In writing this I have been examining all aspects of my past. I spent 4 years in the Air Force where I lived 8- 10 years of experience. I have been to other countries. I spent 3 months in Panama and 2 in Honduras.

I have seen how the poorest of the poor live. I was in the middle of no where in Honduras.

I have see death and destruction. I lived in Oklahoma City at the time of the bombing and lost a dear friend. I got married the first time 12 days before it happened.

I have seen riots. I was in Panama when the labor riots started in 1995.

I have seen lives change over night. I have seen all four seasons in one day. I have seen hell freeze over. Any one that has ever lived in Oklahoma that is not from there will agree with that.

I swam with a shark. When I was stationed at Patrick AFB in Coco Beach Florida I used to swim in the ocean at night when I could not sleep. One night I felt something bump my leg. I look next to me and I saw a 4 ft shark. Now the shark never tried to bite me. The bump I felt was from its tale as it swam along side me. I could have reacted with the thought of how cool it was to have a shark just swimming next to me and enjoyed the experience. I wish I could tell you that is what happened. The truth however is that I shot straight up out of the water and flew through the air for 100 yards to the shore. Not a proud moment.

Before I left Florida in August of 1993 I was walking along the beach at night. I had switched to the walks after the shark incident. (Sy there may be an interview for your.) I saw something off in the distance by the water. I could not make out what it was. As I got closer I thought maybe 2 people were down there having sex. It was late and dark and I was still a good distance away. When I finally got close enough to see what it was I was surprised to see a sea turtle coming up on the shore to lay her eggs.

When I was in technical school in the Air Force I was in Biloxi Mississippi stationed at Keesler AFB. The only redeeming value that Biloxi has are the 2 following things. 90 minutes west and you are in New Orleans. At 18 my little green card (military ID) got me into any bar on Bourbon Street. You go 90 minutes east and you are in Panama City Florida. Lots of fun but I recommend not staying in the small town 20-30 miles inland that we had chosen for the cheap hotel room. Let me explain. We went into this little town on Friday night and went into the pool hall. We were minding our business not talking to any one. We were just shooting some pool. After about 30 minutes or so I looked around. I noticed 2 things.

1. Every woman in there was looking at us like they were about to throw us on the tables and molest us.

2. Every guy in there was looking at like they were going to stake us down to the pool tables and beat us to death.

We left very soon after that.

I have broken a heart or 2 and have had mine handed to me on a silver platter more times than I care to remember.

I have a mini me, AKA the Dude. His birth was nothing short of a miracle. My ex wife had thyroid cancer and had the surgery to have it removed and then a follow up radiation treatment. My son was conceived within a window of time that the radiation could have killed him or caused deformities. After the first sonogram he looked somewhat normal. After the second one I knew he was a little dude. It was not until he was born and I held in my arms that I was finally able to breath sigh of relief and cry tears of joy.

I have been a whore. I have been a drunk. I have been naive and ignorant. I still am in some ways.

I have seen a lot and I have done a lot and because of everything I have seen and done I have come to a couple conclusions about life. Life lessons as they were. I have learned the simplest pleasures are the best. I have learned to love with everything I am or not at all. Life is too short not to. I have learned life is not fair. I have learned that I still have a lot of learning to do.

Well this post started as one thing and evolved into something completely different. Seems to becoming the norm. In closing I will say this. It really is true, no matter where you go there you are and if you're not happy with where you're at then move.

Posted by Jccjr at 01:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I live in an apartment complex that allows you have dogs. they even have a large fenced dog run for you to take your dog to do their business. They have even provided pooper scoopers to clean up after your best friend. Most people like myself use the scoopers and drop it in the can they have provided. However every time I take the Umanator out to the dog run I always find piles left by dogs whose owners are douche bags. What they fail to realize or care about is that if they continue this practice they could cause the rest of us to lose the ability to live here and own a dog. This ticks me off to no end. It takes 30 seconds to scoop it and drop in the pail and replace the lid. Show some consideration you douche bags.

Posted by Jccjr at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have been commenting on this article over at Babeled and it got to me to thinking that I wanted to explain why I refer to myself as The Movie Whore. I am sure no one was wondering which is the number one reason to do it. Again this is my show and my warped brain. So her ewe go down the rabbit whole into the twisted and scary place that is my mind.

Qualifications to be considered a movie whore.

1. Must have received gonorrhea of the eye from watching movies that are so bad they should be outlawed. Examples: Including but not limited to Zombie Nation, any sequel to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Transmorphers, Alone in the Dark or any other Uwe Boll movie.

2. You know what a Troma movie is and you watch them avidly. Examples: Toxic Avenger 1-4 and the cartoon. Tromeo and Juliet, Sgt Kabuki Man NYPD, Terror Firmer, Surf Nazi's Must Die and others.

3. Must be able to cross genres with your knowledge. Examples: Christopher Reeves was not only Superman but also made a movie with Jane Seymour (Yummy) called Somewhere In Time. You know that Russel Crowe worked with Denzel Washington prior to their latest theatrical outing and you know the name of the movie. Worth 5 cookies.

4. Know obscure shit. Examples: Christopher Lambert is a master swordsman that is nearly legally blind. Ellen Barkin was once in the Porn industry. Rebecca Demornay has a doctorate in Psychology. The Last Starfighter was the first movie to extensively use CGI and the technology was originally pithed to George Lucas for for the original Star Wars.

5. You own Xanadu. I do.

6. You have worked or currently work at a video store because you wanted to. Examples: I have done this twice. I actually worked in a video called Ray's video that had the most complete collection of movies in California and was next door to Ray's Liquor. So yes the original Clerks spoke to me on a very personal level. I can walk into a room and within 5 seconds name the movie on the TV even if I have not seen it. Give me the plot and I can name just about any movie that has come out in the 30 years. 5 cookies to anyone that can stump me. Using IMDB is cheating.

7. You know the movie this quote was used in. "No matter where you go, there you are." 5 Cookies to anyone that can name it with out looking it up and 5 more for being able to name 5 actors in the movie without having to look it up.

8. You thought the argument over whether or not destroying the second Death Star was morally wrong was one of the most brilliant things you have ever seen.

9. You re-watch movies you know are bad just because it has been a while since you have seen it. Examples: Refer to this article I wrote a while back.

10. You own or would like to own the following movies: Including but not limited to Ice Pirates, Big Trouble in Little China, My Big Fat Independent Movie, Xanadu, Starship Troopers, The entire Kevin Smith Collection, entire Mel Brooks collection, entire Monty Python collection, Any Godzilla movie that does not star Matthew Broderick, Far Out Man, The Last Star Fighter, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey, and the Evil Dead Trilogy.

11. Lastly Bruce Campbell is one of your personal heroes.

I hope this clears things up a bit. I had a lot of fun writing this and did it with out having to look anything up. So it is with all confidence that I once again proclaim that I am The Movie Whore.

Posted by Jccjr at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I got my brand new computer yesterday. I bough an HP. I am not a MAC a user. Vista is not Windows, it's MAC.

So Wednesday night I was like a kid the night before Christmas. I did not go to sleep until around 4 because I was so excited. Of course The Dude did not care that daddy had only 2-3 hours of sleep and coffee was not having it's normal effect. Around 12:30-1pm I saw the Fed Ex truck and reverted to being 8 years old. I began the process of pulling everything out of the boxes and systematically setting up the monitor, speakers, and tower. Then I turned it on.

Here is where things get interesting. I had also ordered the transfer cable because I had a lot of stuff on my old machine that I wanted to keep. So here I am on the floor in the living room with my new computer humming along while I am trying to get the old computer configured for the transfer. What I did not realize is that I was going to need the internet on both machines for little bit as I figured out how to transfer my Firefox bookmarks and passwords. I ended up using Google Browser Sync and it worked flawlessly. Now I was on the ground on all fours unplugging my Ethernet cable from one computer and plugging it in to the new one. Now keep in mind that every five minute I have Eddie (girlfriends 8 yr old daughter) and The Dude coming in the room to tell on each other. Things like this make me think that if you only have one you are not a real parent but that's another post. Where was my girlfriend? Being that she is smarter than me, she hid out in the bedroom reading knowing I was involved in this project and nothing would go smooth. I spent about 2 hours setting up the transfer yelling at kids, making dinner and being accosted by Uma (the dog) and Dartanian the cat.

OK so everything is transfered and I am ready to go right? Wrong. I sat down in my recliner and put the keyboard in my lap, grabbed the keyboard and began searching for my treasured files. First the start button is gone. Replaced by this little windows symbol. I click and I get this thing that kind of looks nothing like Windows. So I figure I would go to My Computer and look. My Computer is gone. You have to go through the start menu and click computer. Then the window looks nothing like the Windows Explorer window I have know and love. Hunting stuff down in Vista is an adventure of Indiana Jones proportions. It sure as hell looks pretty though, especially with the LCD flat screen monitor. Greg you were right about that. There seems to be a lot of extra stuff on here, more than what you have with Windows. If you want to tweak something or check your network connection you have to click about 4 times instead of just clicking the icon in the tray.

I have come to the conclusion that I have to take everything I know about PC's and flush it down the toilet. it's like learning how to use a computer all over again. I am sure I will comaplin about it from time to time. I am off to take the wookie Drewbacca to work (one of my friends, if you saw him you would under stand why we call him Drewbacca). Drewbacca is a wookie and lives at Jeffs's house. Jeff's house is now the Millennium Falcon and Jeff is Jeffe Solo (pronounced Heffay). This does not make sense. Not even in my warped little mind. Have fun kids.

Posted by Jccjr at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is something that has been bothering me for a while now. I have one child in the public school system here in Chico and it seems now they are getting weeks off for no apparent reason. OK so well there is a reason. They think kids need more of a break. However they seem to be oblivious to the fact that many house holds do not have a parent at home. So every time they give the kids a week off we have parents that are scrambling to find care for their kids while the parents have to work.

This usually ends up with the parents calling family and friends or shelling out big cash to have their kid in a program or daycare. If they can't find anything then they have to take time off work. There really are not that many employers that are sympathetic to this nor should they be. Your kid is your responsibility not theirs. You made a commitment to your employer to be at work and in return they give you money. This comes from a parent of 2 kids. The schools job is to educate our children. If our kids need this break then why not make the school year shorter. Of course then we as parents still need to have the summer taken care of but at least then it is something consistent that we can plan for.

I already can hear "they give out a schedule at the beginning of the year" and really if that is all you have then wake up and join the discussion. Yes I am a little hot on this issue and have taken the tongue out of the cheek. If you need this reference explained, please do us all a favor and stay indoors.

Normally I try to leave emotion out of my posts but this is one that really gets under my skin. I would file this under rant. That means that I am in no way trying to present a rational or intelligent argument. It means that I am venting and I am not really concerned about offending anyone. Actually with my mood this morning the more offended you are the happier I will be. We all have those days from time to time. This is one of those days. I am angry about a great many things that are going on in our country and this topic just happened to be the straw that broke the camels back. As always I invite your comments as I believe that blogging is not a spectators sport. It is a participatory event.

Now back to the kids. I love my kids. But my kids can drive me crazy faster than any one. It's because they know you won't actually follow through on some of the threats we as parents throw out there. Our kids know how to push our buttons and when you take them out of their structured environment and give them free time and then give them paranoid parents that will not let them do all the stuff we did as kids because we have seen too many horrific news reports about child predators. If I had a week off as a kid and one of my parents were at home, they would not have seen much of me anyway. I would leave the house at 9 or 10am and be gone all day until near dark. I grew up on Heather Circle just off 5th Avenue and Mangrove. My play area went from Hooker Oak Elementary to Lindo Channel. I had from Sheridan to Mangrove. I had a big space to go play and have fun. I had a big area to find new and different ways to nearly kill myself on a daily basis doing something stupid like kids do. Now we are so protective of our children that we are stealing their childhood away. I realize I have gone another route but hey this is how my brain works. Even though I am aware of this I still have same fears as the rest of you. Somewhere along the way we as parents forgot the freedom we had when we were young and replaced those memories with our fear. Every so often when we get together with other parents we talk about those memories but the conversation always ends the same. Even when I am out and about and see some kids doing the same things I did as a kid I always think "do their parents know where they are?"

So now back to the week off. Yesterday I had dinner with my girlfriends family. One of her Uncles is a teacher. His statement was that the kids are still in for 185 days and he gets paid for 185 days regardless of how they split it up and he likes having the time off. That may or may not be a typical answer for a teacher. I don't know, I have not talked to enough teachers. Let's say for the sake of argument that it is the typical response. Then here is my answer. Hey moron your job is teaching kids and you get the summer off. Why in the blue hell do need any more time off. The rest of us that are not teachers get little to no time off and we work 52 weeks a year. If we are lucky we get the occasional holiday off. Try stepping into the real for a while and then maybe you will understand what this puts us through. I am a little over the top on this and that is on purpose. Some times going over the top is the only to get any ones attention. Normally I like to take a calmer and more intelligent approach but some times it just feels good to let go and rant like a mad man and damn the consequences. To sum I can end my argument in one simple statement. Life is not fair and if you expect anything different, you are only setting yourself up for disappointment.

Posted by Jccjr at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by Jccjr at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I do not just write here. I also post for a site called The Rusty Lime out of Australia. Great bunch of people from across the globe. Check them out. So I posted the first law as nothing more than a sarcastic comment and Joe Marco called it Jim's Law. This of course got my head spinning at 1:30 am and so here is a list of laws I came up with or stole from elsewhere.

* Show me a man that does not watch porn and I will show you a corpse.
* If at all possible take a nap with a friend.
* Some people are born stupid others have to work at it. Which are you?
* If you ever feel the need to justify what you are about to do, then you know it's wrong.
* If there is no snow on the ground then there is no reason for it to be cold.
* Do something nice every day and don't tell anyone.
* Learn something new every day.
* All I have to do in this life is die. The rest is optional.
* If you feel you have to do something try not doing it once in a while just to see what happens.
* Laugh at yourself.
* Do something passionately every day.
* Tell some one you love them.
* Say I love only if you mean it.
* Don't lie to others.
* Don't lie to yourself.
* Own at least one pet.
* If your kids never say "I hate you" your are doing it wrong.
* Take a moment for yourself.
* Regret nothing but own up to your mistakes.
* Show me a person with ADD and I will show you a blogger.
* If you don't have ADD try Stumble Upon.
* Behind every good man/woman is someone just aching to take him/her down.
* If you move to a new city take a day to get lost and find your way home.
* Forget about forgiving and accept.
* Do something silly every day.
* I like cheese.
* Speaking of salsa where is my hamster?
* If you have no singing ability what so ever remember that before you get drunk on Karaoke night.
* Karaoke is Japanese for tone deaf.
* Do not mess with peoples phobias.
* If man was meant to jump from great heights he would not need a parachute or a bungee cord.
* Learn to make a perfect omelet.
* Don't go into the woods if you are the slowest person in the group.
* Never poke a supposed dead body.
* Don't discriminate. Hate everyone equally.
* Give a homeless person your change.
* Don't believe anything you see on TV.
* Swear when it is appropriate.
* Enjoy the simple pleasures and be annoyed by complicated things.
* Talk to yourself.
* Answer yourself.
* Don't argue with yourself. That's when the guys in the white coats show up with an I love me coat.
* Do something stupid for the sake of doing something stupid. You know like posting a blog of laws you make up as you go.

P.S. In case your wondering the puppy in the picture is a full grown chihuahua queens land heeler mix. A little freak of nature but one of the loves of my life, and yes she naps with me frequently.

Posted by Jccjr at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

See the article here.

Now I know people that work there that are being pretty tight lipped because they need there benefits and are afraid of being fired. If they talk to anyone. So I know only what is in this article. However I used to work there so I have my own ideas of what is going on. You know I predicted this with the article I wrote about my worst employer ever, talking about my experiences working there. I would be willing to take a guess that the jobs not being shipped to Redding are going over seas.

Blue Shield takes 150 jobs out of Chico and this pathetic little news blurp is all we get. Are you serious? Again I say that we impose a tax on companies that ship jobs over seas. Charge them a tax per position equal to the total compensation value of each position then see how cheap it is for them to put Americans out of work. I am so sick and tired of watching American companies sell out their own country. Any one that encourages this activity needs to remove their head from their butt post haste. I could go on but I am finding that my emotional attachment to this subject is making it difficult to go on a full blown rant. Aw F*** it. A ranting we will go.

Keep in mind this is a poorly thought out rant and I may make assumptions that are not true. I am ranting irrationally. I can live it if you can. If you can't then move along there is nothing to see here.

Ok I am pissed the hell off. Evey time a company ships a job overseas it adds to the financial stress of the nation. If jobs are being shipped overseas it encourages Americans to save money not spend it out of fear that they will be next. By not doing anything to deter this practice our government is helping the corporate world destroy our economy, then these corporate twits have the audacity to complain and whine about a problem they created. Until the government does something to curb this practice the economy is not going to bounce back no matter how many rebate checks they send out. These douche bag CEO's and executives need to be publicly humiliated for the greedy selfish bastards they are. This is why i have no faith in the stock market and feel we should go back to privatley owned companies and do away with the publicly owned company concept. It then forces you to make decisions based on what is best for the company not what will increase the stock holders gains. Think about it. If you want to give away shares of your company then give them to the employees and no one else. No one has the right to profit off some one else's work. To those that defend this business practice I suggest removing your head form your butt and take a look around at the reall Americans that are suffering because of you and your like. Ok I think I am done. Keep in mind that was rant and was not thought out and I am sure it is filled with wrong assumptions. I don't care that is what a rant is.

Posted by Jccjr at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Any fan of the Boondock Saints just screamed in excitement. How fitting that he makes this announcement on St. Patrick's Day. See his video announcement here.

If you have no idea what I am talking about then I suggest watching this movie immediately. This is easily one of my all time favorite movies and has a cult following that rivals any other movie. yes, even Rocky Horror.

Posted by Jccjr at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was watching Dune again today and when I saw Patrick Stewart I naturally had thoughts of Star Trek. then I had a question. So in the future they have all this wonderful advanced medical science. They have a cure for cancer. They have cure for everything we know about. Which makes me want to ask this question. How is it this far in the future that they have not found a cure for male pattern baldness?

I know it's best not to dwell on such things, but such is my life.

I wonder if I am ging to go anywhere with this.

Maybe.

You think.

I do.

OK

So where are we going?

This way.

Which way?

No that way.

Ok

So here we go.

Now if you are still here I will explain the above. I have my personal blog that I write and I have a new weekly piece I call Blog Storming. Blog Storming is me sitting here just wroiting what ever thoughts may be going through my head. It is an exercise in exploring my ADD. Now you know. Proceed at your own risk.

"Inconceivable!"

"I do not think that means what you think it means."

Yes I am watching The Princess Bride again. Watching with the family as I type. How you ask. Well I have a small computer desk that I can put my Lazy boy behind and sit in my recliner while online. I put up with the kids talking through the movie and they put up with me typing through the movie. It's fair trade. Now for something completely different.

Did you here they have a new bionic eye that works on cats? They say in two years they expect to give a blind person sight with bionic eye. Really cool stuff.

Tomorrow Is St Patty's day. Did you know that the irish these day are not big fans of his. Neither are historians and scholars. Know why? He did not chase out the snakes, he chased out the Druids. You know the mystics we still know absolutely nothing about. Thanks dude. Now we will never know what Stone Henge is for.

Now I love my Stumble buitton. Maybe a little too much. AnwayI have blogs set up as a tpic to stumble. 90%of what I come across is blogs telling me how to blog or monetize my blog. Hey nitwits do something original you douche bags. I hit thumbs down a lot. Sometimes I leave nasty comments. Depends on how annoyed I am and how many of them I have stumbled in a row. In other news

there was news.

I like cheese.

I have lost me. If you find me, please return me. I miss me.

So yes actually I do know that insane but since only the truly insane don't know they are insane I think I am safe from the I love me coat. Next

I hope you enjoyed this little trip down the rabbit hole that is my sorted little mind. Untl the next time, be excellent to each other and party one dudes!

Posted by Jccjr at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I invite my readers to leave comments. I love the comments I get and I actually look for comments that are contrary to what I have presented. The more time some one takes to create their comments the more of an obligation as a blogger I feel to publish their comments. I guess not everyone is as open minded as I am. I wrote this originally as a comment on similarly titled article and this morning saw that my comments went unpublished. I am restraining from saying what I really think as to keep from acting petty. However I will publish my comments as an article. If you disagree feel free to put together your own political party ideas and I guarantee I will publish any comments anyone leaves. You can read the original article here.

I don't think I would need two lists just one.

Bill of rights covers equality for all. End to special programs for minorities, gays and women because everyone would be equal.

Forget socialized medicine and go back to practicing real medicine. The cost for medical school would be dropped significantly but I would make it harder to pass the courses so that only the truly best and brightest would become physicians. You fail you are out no make ups or do overs.

No federal tax dollars to be spent anywhere because there would be no federal tax as the current income tax is an illegal tax to begin with. If you want to argue that point then by all means show me the law then we will talk.

States would have control to govern them selves while the federal government be there merely to protect liberties granted under the constitution.

All drugs would be legal and anyone over 18 could buy whatever they wanted. It is not the governments responsibility to keep you from hurting yourself it is your responsibility. See theory of evolution, survival of the fittest.

At 18 the government recognizes you as an adult and society will expect you to act accordingly. You may drink at 18. If you can die for your country at 18 then have a beer while you are at it.

There would be no superseding federal law unless it applied directly to the constitution. Again states are responsible for governing themselves.

Borders would be locked down and anyone found here illegally would be immediately deported regardless of their situation.

I would urge states to adopt a zero aid to addicts. The rest of the state did not make you an addict so why should they pay to clean you up.

Conviction and imprisonment removes your rights protected under the constitution and you be part of the new federal chain gang. Oh and no such thing as white collar crime. All crime does the same time.

No foreign military outposts.

Patents on alternative fuels and designs for other than gas engines would be null and void and accessible to the public. Copyright law lasts 1 year in all cases then it becomes public domain.

If a state does not want separation of church and state and you don’t like it, then move to a state where they have decided to separate the two. If the majority voted it then you live with it. Same goes for death penalty.

Government raises for elected officials would have to be voted on by the people not the politicians.

The only federal taxes would be excise taxes on all products not made in the USA. If you are US company that manufactures overseas then you pay the tax. The tax would be proportioned to the number of jobs that your overseas manufacturing cost the US citizens. Roughly $200,000 per job that could be done by an American. That’s right for every 5 jobs you ship overseas you are taxed $1 million.

No electoral college. Not needed.

No media reporting of election results until the next day. Violators can join the Chain gang.

Federal Reserve would be gone. Since our gold has been sold we would have to move to a silver standard.

The US military would receive a 10% cost of living adjustment per year.

I am sure I could go on and on but really I already have.

Posted by Jccjr at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I want to start by saying that I am basing this all on my experience at Blue Shield of California from 2004-2005. I have no idea what they are currently doing but I am willing to guess things have not changed. Again this opinion and perception and I make no absolute claims.

Where to begin. I left United Healthcare (UHC) to go work for Blue Shield of California (BS) because BS offered me nearly twice my UHC salary. I was actually quite happy at UHC but my ex wife had just had thyroid surgery to remove cancer (She is fine with a full recovery) and it looked like it would be a while before she could go back to work. By taking the BS job I was able to provider her with the ability to stay home with the kids. After discussing it we agreed this was best for us and our family.

I was a supervisor in their ITS Host Claims department in Chico. I should have known this was going to end badly when I got my team assigned to me. I walked around introducing myself to them and taking a couple minutes with each of them to start building a rapport with them. This is something any personnel management training courses will tell you to do. With each person I got the same response. I could see it in their eyes. They were terrified when we first started talking and then confused because I was treating them like real people. I should have run for the door.

You know the beautiful thing about being a non for profit company, you can blow large sums of money frivolously on any one in the company you choose. For example bringing together every member of management in the company in Tahoe and putting them up at a ski resort for 3 days for a cheer leading session. They rolled out their pretty new slogans and insisted it was time to set unreasonable goals and expect to achieve them. In a large crowd we tend to lose IQ points and buy into what is going on around us. When i returned and started going over this stuff with my team all I could see was a depressed group of people that just saw their lives getting tougher. Standards were raised and raised again and raised again.

I fought a lot these changes and was really a champion of my employees sticking up for what I thought was the right thing. Which doing the right thing was a BS value at the time. I don't know if it is anymore. However I was met with the same words over and over again. "You just don't understand."

"That just is not the BS way."

"I don't think you know what you're talking about."

Then something happened that I feel was the most worng thing in the world that you could to do some one. There was another department of keyers in the building and BS decided to give that work to EDS to do. People had a choice, they could take a severance package apply with other departments or apply with EDS. My mom went to EDS and that nightmare is another article. Those that chose the severance package option were required to work in our department under me until a certain date and then they would receive their severance. They had to stay until that date, if they quit they did not get the severance. If they were fired they did not get the severance. This would have been all well fine and dandy had BS lived up to their original promise. Instead when EDS could not meet the dates they had promised that severance date got pushed back indefinitely. So these people were sitting in a new department with little training on the way claims were keyed in this department and were generally regarded as second class citizens. As there supervisor I did what I felt was the right thing and constantly pushed for a firm date. I protected them from a lot of things that were trying to be unfairly pushed upon them. Again this is my opinion and perception and should not be regarded as cold hard fact. Time went on and I was being encouraged to weed them out. No one ever told me out right to try and find ways to fire these people.

This is what really drove me over the edge. I was miserable stuck between trying to do what was the right thing (which was a BS value at the time that I was supposed to emulate) and working in the most oppressive environment I have ever seen.

Not only was there all of this going on but also the ever present threat of closing the Chico office. They built a really nice facility in Redding and immediately moved the customer service department up there. Ever since it has been a forgone conclusion that Chico would be moved to Redding. No I find it interesting that their lease in Chico is up soon and that the owner is looking to sell the building. You do the math and make your own guess as to what will happen. People will be told to move to Redding or find another job.

I have only scratched the surface of my experience there. To give you an idea of how bad it was for me to work for this company, when I got fired, I went home and told my ex-wife and the first words out of her mouth were "Oh thank God."

Many of the employees that were there while I was there stayed because it really is the only place in Chico to make that kind of money with out a degree. I have 10+ years of management experience and I can't get an interview much less a job in Chico as a manager. People stay their out of a lack of options not because they like working at BS. Next week I may be applying at Carl's Junior to flip burgers.

Like I said at the beginning I have no idea what is going on in that office today but I doubt it is any better.

Also the building is up for sale and BS has their lease ending with in the next year. Expect them to be closing up shop soon.

Posted by Jccjr at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I check out file sharing news daily and today I came across this article that both ticked me off and gave me pleasant surprise. NBC has joined with several other big names to provide legal movie and TV shows to watch for free. What is this little experiment" Hulu.com. I spent some time checking it out and while they have not loaded all the complete seasons for a lot of the shows, I do see a good beginning and would actually like to see something like this succeed. I am actually watching The Riches right now. I even found the first season of WKRP, the move The Usual Suspects and my favorite skit of all time, Homey the Clown.

I see this a step in the right direction to curb piracy. Piracy will never go away. It has been around since we figured out how to record music and video. It will still be around long after we are gone. However I do like the idea of the big boys starting to put the content out themselves and doing it for free. Granted you still have to put up with some commercials but it really is a small price to pay. They make their money off the commercials to fund the site so we can watch for free. I signed up and I am looking forward to spending some time watching some of my old favorites like the original Addams Family.

Again the site really is not complete with all episodes but like I said it is a good start and I will actually support this to help keep the law suits down and keep pressure off ISP's to invade our privacy by analyzing every packet that travels on their service which is what some people are calling for. They insist it is the ISP's responsibility to monitor for illegal downloads. Even though there are many legal downloads available through the torrent system it is widely pushed as fact that most Bit Torrent traffic is pirated content moving through the wonderful web. I am not in favor of having any ISP monitoring mine or anyone else's traffic. We have right to privacy and if the big boys are going to play ball and invest in sites like this then I am willing to meet them halfway.

Posted by Jccjr at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I realize in Chico those are fighting words and here is my response to those that oppose. First it's cheaper. When I was in The Air Force it was cheaper for my first wife and I to do all of our grocery shopping at Super Wal Mart than it was on base. They even had outstanding meat and produce. If you have been in the military you know what that means. If not well then get over it and realize that a lot of us in Chico are broke just scraping by and a Super Wal Mart would help us out tremendously. We all know Wal Mart is evil and they use unfair business practices but that's how capitalism works. Get over it, move on and shut up. You are only hurting me and every other family in Chico that could benefit from having a Super Wal Mart.

When I hear some one say they don't shop at Wal Mart because they are driving the little guy out my response is "Must be nice to have that kind of money because I can't afford not to shop at Wal Mart."

I am not interested in your property values since I can't afford house. I am not interested in your not wanting those kinds of people in your neighborhood when I am forced to live in the middle of college town because it is what my family can afford. I have degenerates all around me. I have been looking for work for 3 months. Unless you are going to offer me a good paying job with benefits so I can move to a better neighborhood, your cries against Wal Mart mean nothing to me or any of the other families in Chico that would welcome a cheaper place to buy our groceries. Seriously get over it.

If I could afford to shop elsewhere I would, but I can't and I love Wal Mart.

Feel free to leave your comments disagreeing with me because I believe in posting every comment. Especially the ones from people that disagree with me.

Posted by Jccjr at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I am not real sure how this is effecting the rest of the world but I would think it would create concern the world over if the US gives up on Net Neutrality. What is Net Neutrality? Here is the first paragraph from Wikipedia.

Network neutrality (equivalently net neutrality, Internet neutrality or simply NN) refers to a principle that is applied to residential broadband networks, and potentially to all networks. Precise definitions vary, but a broadband network free of restrictions on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, on the modes of communication allowed, that does not restrict content, sites, or platforms and where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams would be considered neutral by most observers.

What does this have to do with strange bedfellows?

Believe it or not but Pearl Jam, The Christian Coalition, NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), OK Go and the ACLU join together in Washington to discuss net neutrality with the House Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Taskforce. I am not sure how this issue is being viewed oin other countries but here I see it as a major juncture for free speech and idea sharing on the web. I hate to say this but in these kinds of matters as the US goes, so goes the world. If we can get away with it anyone can. So if the internet is turned into in a place where only certain companies get the full benefit of the net then it becomes no better than the boob tube sitting in your house with some one else choosing what content you have access to. Maybe that is overstating what may lay ahead but not by much. Can you say 1984, I knew you could.

I almost forgot the article can be found here.

Posted by Jccjr at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was reminded recently by my girlfriend that I am indeed The Movie Whore. I was on a website with free streaming movies. I decided to watch Doom. You know the 2005 bomb staring none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I have indeed seen the movie before and I do acknowledge it to be a steaming pile, however it's an entertaining steaming pile.

At least I think so. I am not saying I would own it but on a Saturday afternoon it's a nice diversion. My girlfriend seemed to be in pain as I told her what movie I had found and was planning to watch. She pointed out the groups of people it pissed off from the fans of the game to fans of Dwayne Johnson. She also made statements that it was the worst movie of the year that year, I got curious and know how to use Google.

Yes I searched out the worst movie of 2005. I got several results but the one that stood out was "Alone in the Dark" (Really bad game movie starring Christian Slater) as the worst movie of 2005. I could not disagree as I mistakenly watched this movie a second time because it was so bad I had blocked it out of my mind that I had originally seen it. Yes it is that bad. Then again I am the Movie Whore and should retain such knowledge. I watched Doom anyway. She gave me that "you really are just you" look and my day continued into the evening and I went to sleep.

Here is where I tell you that my girlfriend is the self proclaimed Queen of the Geeks. Not 2 hours prior to me writing this, the love of my life made a wonderful statement as we were discussing how to spend a $50 gift card she got. I recommended buying a copy of "Across the Universe" which was just released to video within the last couple of weeks. A great movie for any Beatles fan or for anyone alive during the Vietnam war that remembers the cultural things (Timothy Leary, anti-war protests, etc.) going on. I swear as God as my witness this wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, woman of my dreams said "We need to buy a copy of Ice Pirates."

This really is a movie that I love. It really is a horrible movie but is fun and entertaining. Keep in mind this is the same woman that gave me hell for watching, not buying or suggesting a purchase of the movie "Doom" just sitting down and letting it stream to my computer. For some reason this strikes me as funny and I really don't know if anyone can really appreciate the laugh I get out of this but I am smiling as I am typing. What is the point of all this?

Well here is a list of bad movies that really are entertaining. When I say bad movie I am referring to the B-movie. Movies that were made to be bad but entertaining.

* Bubba Hotep, starring none other than the king of the B-movies Bruce Campbell. Other works of Mr. Campbell that bare mentioning here are Evil Dead, the whole trilogy and generally speaking any movie he appears in. I can't wait to see "My Name is Bruce" where he plays himself. A small town is being attacked by monsters or something and they all see Bruce as Ash (His Evil Dead persona) and come to him for help. Should be horribly hilarious.

* Rocky Horror Picture Show is arguably the greatest cult classic of all time and has secured a space for Tim Curry in history that will never be removed. Love this movie. This is a horrible movie by any standards, but is quite possibly one of the most entertaining movies ever, especially if you can find a theatre that will play it on the big screen. Do your own research to find out what I am talking about. Google is a click away.

* Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure/Bogus Journey. Horrible movies about time travel and the afterlife but again quite entertaining and the best acting Keanu Reeves has ever done. By the way what ever happened to Alex Winter? Apparently he can be seen in a series that was on USA called "Saul of the Mole Men" , own it.

* Men at Work. Charlie and Emilio made this crappy movie and it was actually pretty damn funny. Garbage men find a dead body and uncover a conspiracy to dump toxic waste off the coast of southern California. Great one liners. Own it.

* Starship Troopers, the original. Bad movie, bad acting, bad dialogue, bad bad bugs. If you ever just want to sit back and watch death and destruction then this is a fun movie. Giant bugs, the big man on campus becoming a soldier and a leader, and to top it all off NPH. That's right boys and girls former star of Doogie Howser MD, Neil Patrick Harris. No NPH wouldn't do that. Well he did and I own it.

* Godzilla 2000 makes up for that serious piece of crap with Matthew Broderick that pissed off every Godzilla fan on the Planet. Here is Japans wonderful answer to that waste of film. Yes it is the guy in the rubber suit but that is part of what made Godzilla great when I was I kid watching bad movie after movie after Saturday morning cartoons were done. Own it.

* Big Trouble in Little China is one I proudly own. Kurt Russell is a whore. He is probably also quietly one of the greatest actors of our time but rarely does a movie to showcase his actual talent. Instead he often takes on projects that let him have fun. The Thing, Overboard, Escape From New York/LA, Tango and Cash to name a few. Big Trouble in Little China is again a horrible movie but you can't help but to get sucked in and by the time it's over you realize no matter how bad a movie is it can still be entertaining. Own it.

* Serial Mom is one I throw in because it is just plain funny. Kathleen Turner plays the a woman that most of would want to slap if we met her. Beverly Suthpin is the all American housewife. Makes pies, recycles, is part of the PTA, does not allow you to chew gum in her house, goes bird watching and on the side is killing people all over town. Worth the watch, one I own.

* The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension is the grand daddy of them all. Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Clancy Brown and Ellen Barkin. Buckaroo has a Japanese father and white American mommy and he is a physicist, a neural surgeon, has a rock band and just happens to be the guy the president calls when shit goes down. This movie is the epitome of a B-Movie complete with bad acting , bad dialogue, bad special effects, bad music and a lot of fun. Of course this is my most prized possession.

Feel free to share some of your B-Movie favorites. You may have one that I, The Movie Whore has not seen. Thanks for playing C-ya on the flip side.

Posted by Jccjr at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I kept coming across this NSFW and had no idea what it meant. When I learned that it stood for Not Safe For Work, well let's just say things got loud for a bit. Let us not forget that if you are at work you probably shouldn't even be on the DAMN INTERNET!

Seriously, why should I sit at home on a Sunday surfing and have to put up this shit. From what I understand this originated in forums warning people of sexually explicit material or audio containing profanity. That is straight from Wikipedia. Ok so this started in forums, this means you were at work on forums. How is this by itself not A DAMN CLUE THAT YOU SHOULDN'T BE THERE ANY DAMN WAY YOU DOLT! You probably already signed the piece of paper that says not to be playing on the internet with company property, and yes I know we all do it anyway, so you are already fired if they catch you at whatever your are doing so who in blue hell cares if sexually explicit or not you damn idiot. This is one of the dumber things I have ever heard of and I shall not tolerate it. From now on anytime I see NSFW on any site I will go out of my way to tell site owner why he/she is an idiot. Really you don't wan to get into this one with me. I am amazed I have not used F*** several hundred times already.

Don't give me the common courtesy argument. Your are already where you are not supposed to be so no additional warnings are necessary. Any one that uses NSFW on their site is a blatant douche bag and this whole thing is a travesty, a sham, a mockery and dare I say it a traveshamockery. I know me. I could go on ranting about this for hours on end. Instead I leave you with these parting words of advice. If you don't want to get fired then simply follow company policy. You are adults and should be able to act accordingly while at work. That's what they F***ing pay you for.

Posted by Jccjr at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Be warned I have no idea what this is going to be about but I am fairly certain at some point you may ask if I am on LSD. With that out of the way let us see what happens.

So here I sit brainstorming my blog or blog storming. What is blog storming well the first image that comes to mind is that of a large dark cloud with random blogs pages falling from the sky. I warned you. This may get weird.

Ok so what to write. Hmm... I like cheese.

Speaking of salsa where is my hamster.

I have lost me if you find me please return me because I miss me.

Then I went on to see that every time I hit stumble and it pops something from the topic weblogs, it is a blog tips blog. WHAT IN THE HOLY BLUE HELL IS GOING ON! Then I read an article saying 90% of new blogs fail. Do you see a link? I knew you could. If every one is writing about how to make money blogging and how to be a better blogger and the people reading it is other bloggers that are writing the same shit, then how the hell do you expect to set yourself apart.

Then I got up and got a smoke. I will be right back. For the IM afflicted BRB.

Where was I? oh yes I was blog storming. Trying to figure out what to write. So then I hit the stumble button again and now I see one of those silly user made de-motivational posters. If you don't know what I mean scroll through some of my articles and I am sure you will find one. Don't worry I will wait. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and we continue. If you needed longer than that just wait til after I finish. Please.

Wait you have a little more time while I search the vast resources of my mind to find another topic. Wait no you don't, I found something. Is it weird for your ex-wife to hug your girlfriend the first time she meets her? I only ask cause it happened. My ex-wife is the same woman that tried to hook me up with a friend of hers for a booty call. She wants to double date with us. The only reason I even talk to her is because of the Dude (AKA my son, you know the cute kid kid in the picture of me on the right).

I was thinking last night about something some one left on a comment for the "Time?" article I wrote. I put it on 2 other sites. Some one presented the idea that time is physical. Interesting idea. If time is physical then it can be manipulated. Imagine time in your hands like a ball of silly puddy. What would you make? I think I would make a snowman. Ok a puddy man, a time puddy man that traveled back and forth through time buying stocks and getting rich until he he came the owner of Microsoft, Apple, IBM and the Federal Reserve. It is a private bank after all. He would be the ruler of the free world going back in time to kill the parents of all that might oppose him. Since he could travel in the future he could snuff you out before you even knew you were going to oppose him. Wrap your head around that while I come up with something else.

What was that?

No, not right now. I am sorry the voices are running rampant right now. I like the voices. They are my friends. I am never really alone with them around. Now for something completely different.

The funny thing about all this is you really have no idea how many topics I skipped while writing this dribble. In case you did not notice from the warning at the beginning this is all done on purpose. Kind of scary isn't it.

I have a choice in front me, do I continue making you doubt my sanity or do I find something of substance?

While I contemplate that I wanted to let you know I saw 3:10 To Yuma the other night and it was incredible. It was funny to watch a guy from down under and a Welsh guy portray characters from the old west.

I came across a picture of a flaming shot and it reminded of a story from my Air Force days. I was 18 and stuck in Biloxi Mississippi for training. Me and a couple friends went to go out drinking. We started the night at Burger King. We ate then played on the playground until we go kicked out for throwing the plastic balls from the ball pool at each other and playing war in the playground. Mind you we were still sober at this point. Next stop, Toys R Us. We threw footballs down the aisles, over the aisles, bounced on the bouncy ball animals and still no one came to talk to us. We stepped it up a notch and started riding scooters around the store. What can I say cramming 2 years of advanced electronic theory into some ones brain in less than six months can have some adverse effects. We finally make it to the bar. The Tropical Daiquiri. There were 2 women behind the bar and we were the only 5 customers they had. So after a few daiquiris and a couple shots the bar tenders start offering me free shots just to see what I will and what I won't drink. So after another couple daiquiris and 6-10 more shots we get the brilliant idea to do flaming shots of Everclear. For those that do not know Everclear has the highest percentage of alcohol of any booze. It is pretty close to moonshine. I go to blow it out and next thing you know my hand is one fire, the bar is on fire, my buddy next to me his arm is on fire. Surprising part of this story is they kept serving us.

Who else is sick and tired of those late night phone chat ads? I only ask because one in on right now. Some of these girls on the commercials are hot and some just scare me.

I just skimmed through and saw that I have made a grievous error. I told you I smoke. Oh no how could I do something so stupid. Now you hate me for smoking. But let me tell you something. I smoke so that others may live because if I didn't I would kill some one.

Ok well I think that may be enough of a little trip inside my mind. Again I would like to thank Mirjam at Me Myself and I for this idea. Until the next time remember to be excellent to each other and... Party on dudes! have a great weekend everyone and thank you for indulging this rambling mad man.

Posted by Jccjr at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have been running a little experiment on another site I write for. I asked my readers to give me topics they would like to see me write about. One of my regulars gave me this idea.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this one. The original idea came from Jack Gamble who is a contributor for Babeled. I like the site and stop by daily, They are some interesting cats.

I thought about this and decided if I was going to make this movie I would have to a lot of prep work. First I would have to do a lot of research on a lot of bands. I would need to listen to their music, talk to their fans, and try to talk to the band. The music would have to be good. It would have to be something a lot of people could get into. Would have to find a band with a large area following with die hard fans that are convinced all you need to do is see this band live once to become a fan. The band themselves would have to be interesting. They would need to have some Spinal Tap like stories to tell.

Once I picked the band and spent a year with them I would write the script. In the script I would use nothing but actual events from both the bands perspective and the fans. Casting would have to be done with unknowns. No cameos except from the band. Shooting would all be done on location at the venues where the band actually has regular gigs. We would shoot in their homes, in their cars, in all the places they live their lives. I am not making just a movie but an authentic representation of what it is really like.

The soundtrack would be nothing but the bands music. The performances in the movie would be the actors lip syncing to the bands songs. I would even have them write the score. The DVD would have hours upon hours of the band telling me their stories, talking to their fans, concert footage, the whole kit and caboodle.

Why do we need this movie you ask?

Can you think of any other way to shut American Idol fans up?

I do actually have a band in mind. Floater, check them out.

Posted by Jccjr at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This happens to be a topic I follow daily with interest. I read this article. the article presents an interesting argument of copyright vs property right. The article covers this argument better than I could. Give it a read an let me know your thoughts.

Posted by Jccjr at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am over 30. I am a dad. I lost my cool. I am ok with that. Now for a few real sentences to explain.

When we are kids we spend our childhood looking for an identity. We look for that identity in our parents, our siblings and the other kids at school. No matter where you go in this country and probably the world at some point there is a separation of the social classes. Some become cool kids, some nerds, some geeks, some stoners and the list goes on. What we fail to realize is that we are all outcasts of some sort or another. Each one of us looking for acceptance and most finding in one group of people or another.

Think back to your school years. Think about the social hierarchy. Think about where you fit in or did not fit in. Look at who your friends were then and who your friends are now. You might see a different group of people. Back in the day, which was a Wednesday, you were judged based on what you liked. It was all about what kind of music you listened to, what clothes you wore, what sports you played and who you were friends with. It was all about what was cool. If you were not cool you were a target. You were always worried about some one finding out about some dark secret you had about something you were really into but it was not cool. Think D&D. If some one had found out you would have ostracized by your so call friends and just another target. When I look back the geeks, dorks, and nerds they were the ones that had the right idea. Instead of being worried about being cool they liked what they liked and while they were prime targets for cruelty of many forms, they stuck to who they were. Now that's cool.

Then we left school and moved on. Some of us went to college, some of us went into the military, some of went nowhere. No matter where you were there was still this expectation to be cool. There was still this desire to fit in. We still pretended that we liked certain things to impress our friends. Look around where you work. Think about the groups of people you see. Think about what you might be hiding.

Well at some point in life if truly want to be happy you have to look what you truly do like and embrace it. Forget about what clothes you should wear. Forget about what music and movies you should like. Forget about what books you should be reading. Forget about what should be and embrace what is. Embrace who you are.

Now that some of you are wondering who I think I am and how dare I question your life, relax. I know this does not apply to everyone and if you are getting upset it just may apply to you. The hardest person to be honest with is your self.

Let me use myself as an example. I will be brief. During the school years I was still playing with G.I. Joes and Transformers when I was in junior high. Definitely not cool. So I hid stuff. In high school I had a mullet. Hey, it was the late 80's and still allowed. Let me put it this way, my senior year was the year Nirvana hit the scene. In those days I was a stoner, not so much because I wanted to get high, but because I had a mullet and I liked loud rock and roll. I liked wearing a leather jacket and ripped up concert t-shirts. I liked the holes in my jeans and wearing bandannas.

I went into the Air Force and the mullet went away as they shave my head. It still was not cool to like Slayer or Gwar. Ok so it's never really been ok to like Gwar. So to fit in I got good at playing pool. That was the social group was that was cool. I drank like a fish. That was part of being cool. For the next 4 years I tried to find ways to fit in with the ever changing group of people that I would come in contact with. I got married because everyone else was. Can you say insanely stupid? I knew you could. I forced myself to enjoy hip hop. If you are a metal head you understand the monumental nature of that statement. I danced. I wore baggy clothes and rode around with a guy that lowered his truck. I hate lowered trucks.

Over the next 9 years I was into what ever was cool. Not really into it but I tried. Did good to. Had the right girlfriends (after my divorce), wore the right clothes and watched the right TV shows and listened to the right music. Then this wonderful thing happened 3 years ago, I turned 30 and had the Dude ( the little guy in the picture). Since then I have allowed myself to delve into all the things I always wanted to. Now I love being a geek. All the bad movies I pretended not to like I proclaim loudly as my favorites. I even earned the nick name "The Movie Whore" because I will watch anything. I actually own Xanadu. I willfully watched Transmorphers. I wear whats comfortable. I listen to Cracker, not Uncle Cracker. I love Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune, Bill and Ted's, both movies. I like minivans.

The point of all this in not to tell you about me, but to show you it's ok to be the biggest geek in the world. It's ok not to be. The point is to find what makes you happy and damn the consequences. Like whatever you want and be whoever you want ot be, just be honest to you and who you are. The right job, the right clothes, the right girl, the right anything should be what's right for you not what some one else thinks is right for you.

Posted by Jccjr at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I use the Stumble Upon add on for Firefox. One of my topics for stumbling is weblogs. I would say at least half the blogs I have stumbled upon are about gaining readers and how to make money blogging. I have been reading these entries for about 2 weeks now and I have discovered that I will never make money writing a blog. I am not a niche writer. I don't have something that interests me that much to devote my writing to it. I write about whatever interests me at the moment. I then spend the next couple of hours researching and making sure that I am not talking out my butt. I don't write about what I think people want to read about. I write about what things I would take the time to read.

The real question is do I want to make money blogging? I would say yes and no. I would say yes because to get paid for exploring the world around me through writing would be awesome. I say no because I am not willing to pigeon hole myself. I say no because I write a variety of stuff that does not have enough appeal to enough people to keep them coming back. I write here not so much to get read but see if I kind other ADD people that can appreciate that I go all over the place. I think to think people will be interested and my ego tells me everything I write is worthy of being published and commented on. We all like to think that from time to time.

I really think the only that I will get paid for writing is if I take a job as a writer somewhere that allows me to be the oddball writer on the staff. At the end of the day I will continue writing and people will read occasionally. I am quite happy with the way things are. I think if I was writing for money it would take the fun out of it and make it a job.

So this is what happens when I wake up on a Saturday and can't think of anything else to write about. Have fun.

Posted by Jccjr at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)