Metal Trooper

Islamo Facists

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:59:27 GMT

Benito Mussolini wrote of Facism in 1932:

"Granted that the XIXth century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the XXth century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the 'right', a Fascist century. If the 19th century was the century of the individual (liberalism implies individualism) we are free to believe that this is the 'collective' century, and therefore the century of the State."

Thus George W. Bus is more a Facist than the Islamic extremeists are. Thus I really want to stop hearing the Neo Cons say Islamo Facists.

Wikipedia defines theocracy as:

"Theocracy is a form of government in which the divine power (in monotheisms the one God) governs an earthly human state, either in person (e.g. as incarnation in a human) or, more often, via its religious institutional representative(s) (e.g. church, temple, mosque), either replacing or dominating the organs of civil government as clerical or spiritual representative(s) of god."

Thus the Islamists are using terrorist tactics to establish an Islamic theocracy in the Middle East, esp. Saudi Arabia.

I wish people would stop listening to George W. Bush. The man is either a flat out lier, complete fool or BOTH and the American are too stupid to see either.

Update

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 20:13:46 GMT

I'm officially single again, it was an amicable split.

Bucky is still free and another trooper is dead. That's 4 this year!

I have a day off and we're bustin out the grill for a labor day cook out!!

The new hotness

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 20:41:05 GMT

HELLZ YEAH!!

Funeral for a friend

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 00:22:23 GMT

I went to a funeral for Capt. John J. McKenna USMC and a fellow Trooper today. I went through the academy with him and now he's gone. That make's it 4 people I've known who have died in Iraq. I got so mad when I saw his weeping mom walking away from his grave with a folded flag clutched tightly in her hands. She should have her son not a piece of fucking fabric!!!! I'm tired of watching good americans die for a worthless cause. We are spending 51% of our national budget on the military industrial complex to fight terror. 2,900 people died on 9-11. 400,000 people died from smoking related causes and 40,000 in car accidents in 2005 in the country. Why are americans so afraid of terror that we let the president run rampant on the world and our civil rights? We let his friend's companies have no-bid contracts. We let him destroy Arab countries and alienate or allies which only creates more terrorists and anti-american animosity in the world. I wish someone would do a scientific study and figure out "For every terrorist we kill we create ___ more." I'll bet that number is higher than 1. AHH I'm not happy today!

John McKenna

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 05:16:35 GMT

Trooper dies in Iraq
By Mary Fairchild, Freeman staff

Kingston - A state trooper from the Ulster barracks who was serving with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in Iraq was killed in combat Wednesday, authorities said Friday.
Capt. John J. McKenna IV, 30, of Clifton Park, was attached to the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment of the 4th Marine Division out of Albany. He was killed by enemy fire while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Glover of Staten Island was killed at the same time.

Capt. McKenna joined the state police in February 2005 and was assigned to the Ulster barracks last fall before being recalled to military service, according to state police Capt. Patrick Regan, who heads the Ulster barracks.

"He was a voracious reader and loved history, especially military history," said his sister, Allyson Zehrfuhs of Clifton Park. "He went to Iraq this last time because he felt it was his duty to bring the men that he trained there. He felt he needed to protect them."

McKenna had served previously in Afghanistan and Iraq from June 1998 to August 2003, Regan said. He was a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton.

"The New York State Police are proud to have had Trooper McKenna serve in our ranks," state police Superintendent Wayne E. Bennett said in a release. "His dedication will forever be remembered."

U.S. Rep. John E. Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, called McKenna "a hero in every sense of the word."

"We are deeply humbled and grateful for Capt. McKenna's service and commitment on behalf of America," Sweeney said.

Gov. George E. Pataki issued a statement offering condolences to the families of the two fallen soldiers. "Often you see people who put on the uniform and protect us here at home, as police officers, troopers or firefighters, have that same desire to protect and fight for the American people and put on the uniform of our United States military," Pataki said. "Their selfless acts of courage and heroism remind us to continue to pray for their families and the families of those proud men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting our freedom."

McKenna, who grew up in Brooklyn, is survived by his parents, John and Karen McKenna III, who had moved to Clifton Park just eight days ago, and his sister. He had been living in Clifton Park since 2003.

His body is expected to be returned to the U.S. today. A wake and funeral will be at the family's Catholic church in their Brooklyn parish, with details to be announced. He will be buried in Saratoga County, in the Saratoga National Cemetery.

How many more will be taken? He was a friend of mine from the academy and I will always remember him as a genuinely good person and a positive force on those around him.

9-11-01

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 21:07:28 GMT

SET UP
I was working for UPS at the time and living in an apartment complex on Union Rd in Cheektavegas. I was with Birgid a little over a year and we both attended Buffstate. I worked the pre load (3-8 am) at work that morning and got home from work at 8:30. The weather was beautiful, clear sky's and cool weather. I was performing my morning ritual which consisted of the very exciting come home, watch CNN while I eating a bowl of cereal, take a shower and go to school.

I was in my brown swivel chair in front of my TV when it came across. "Breaking News" "We are getting reports that one of the towers of the World Trade center in NY has been struck by a plane." That's when they showed it for the first time, two giant towers rising twice as high into the clear blue sky as any building near them, one with a gaping, smoking hole near the top. It was amazing seeing it for the first time.

At first I thought about how the Empire State Building was hit by an Army bomber in the 40's. I remember thinking about what this building would look like when the fire burned out and you could see through it. I remember wondering "how the hell are they going to fix it," getting all the materials up there, putting scaffolding up and such.

Then it occurred to me. "How did this happen?" It's 2001 not 1945. We have have computer guidance systems, air traffic control and jesus christ its not raining, the sky is as clear as could be. What are the chances that this happened by accident? How many things would have had to go wrong for this to have happened by accident.

That's when I decided I needed to call someone. So I called my parents. My brother Don answered the phone and I made him go downstairs and turn on CNN. His first reaction was "What the fuck happened?" I explained what they had said thus far. It was unbelievable.

After talking to Don for a short time I decided to call Shawn but him mom answered and he wasn't up yet. Without saying would you just go wake him I talked to her for a little while and she turned on the TV. While we were chatting a plane flew in the background of the towers. It didn't occur to me at first that it was flying awfully low, lower in fact than where the tower was hit. At the precise moment a ball of flame erupted from the other side of the towers. I thought at first that the tower already being hit had exploded. Then it hit me and everyone else watching. ANOTHER PLANE HAS HIT THE OTHER TOWER! I jumped out of my chair and shouted "THIS IS FUCKING TERRORISM!"

I decided not to go to school. I was going to stay home and watch this. Reports were coming in from all over of bombs going off. The Pentagon was burning, a report of the capitol building getting hit came in, which proved to be false. Other reports of other planes missing popped up. One was supposedly over PA. This was all surreal. How could not one but 4 planes have been high jacked at the same time?

The first tower collapsed and a short while later the other. I wept. How many people had just died? Where was this going to take our country? I knew one thing for sure, I was going to get called up. I called my mom and told her to take any calls for me from the Army, I was going to get my hair cut.

I went and by the time I got to my parents house the call had already come. Donny was there with his buddy Joe whom I had never met before. George Bush was talking about the attack and Joe asked who that was and when I indignantly told him "That's the president of the United States George Bush" he replied with "Wasn't he president in the 80's" Yes he was was the only possible response."

So I went to the armory around 1:00 pm and was one of the first guys there. We worked non stop packing our gear until 11:30 when the captain told us we were going to be entering the gates of hell the next day. He dismissed us until 3:30 am. I went home, refused to see my girl friend, which proved to be a mistake. I was thinking I need to sleep, I'm going to need the energy tomorrow. But who could sleep in those conditions? I picked Brigid up to say hello and good bye on my way to the armory. We picked up Heather and we were off.

9-12-01

We left Buffalo in the Humvees around 6 or 7 am and didn't get into Manhattan until dark. It took so long. It seemed like we were stopping every hour. When we entered we crossed the George Washington Bridge. We were over 200 blocks from the WTC. While we were on the bridge I thoguht the humvee was on fire. It smelled like there was an electrical fire inside it. So I opened the window to let some fresh air and realized that the smell was coming from outside. It turns out that night the wind shifted and was pushing the smoke over the island instead of out to sea like it had been. That was such a creepy feeling. We worked our was to the Javit's Center where we got our first glimpse of the smoke rising to the south down the West Side Highway. We all wanted to jump back in the humvees and drive down there to help start pulling bodies from the rubble. But it was not to be. They had people doing that and we were to sit here and wait. We slept on mattresses on the ground in the basement of the Javit's Center.

And wait we did. It seemed like an eternity. There was 10,000 people estimated killed. The number was falling but it was still a terrible number to think of. Almost three full days went by before they found us something to do. I went down to ground zero, as they were now calling it, for the first time on 9-15. Our whole company was bussed down and we were staged in a shut down hotel restaurant and we were told that Gov. Pataki was considering proclaiming a state of marshall law. It seems there were reports of looting and the whole area was unsecured. They were expecting the call at any moment but the call never came. I wound up getting out of the restaurant and getting my first glimpse of the rubble. The magnitude was incredible. The TV did no justice to the sheer size of the mess. Everything was covered in grey dust and the air was so dirty. To this day i refuse to believe the reports that came out over the next few days that the air was as good as they said it was.

We wound up setting up a security site where we were in charge of issuing access passes for workers from FEMA and the utility companies. I spent two weeks in all there and was allowed to leave early because I was a student. In all my unit stayed there a month and a few people volunteered to stay as long as a year.

The whole situation was sureal. It was terrible seeing pictures of people missing all over the place. 2,976 people died. I was honored to take part in the recovery of a great city. I'm upset by the things that have transpired since. I don't know if its too soon for the WTC movie, but I know I don't want to forget the details of those days so I did this reflection.

Memories

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:54:44 GMT

I was thinking about some of the incredible things I did while I was in the Army this morning and how as time goes along I don't want to forget about them. I was thinking I should write a book, but I don't know if what I would write about would be interesting enough for a book. I do think that I would like to put my thoughts into writing, so I think over the course of the next few weeks I will be composing a few enteries about some of the more important things I feel I was a part of while I served.

Update from current events:

- Ash and I are settled in our apartment.
- I hate moving.
- I'm off for 8 days!
- I'm going to see From This Day in Endicott on Fri.
- I'm going to NYC this Sat. with Shawn.
- I downloaded Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisited yesterday. I forgot how good that tape was.
- I graduated from the academy a year ago today. I can't believe how fast the time goes.

Still working alot.

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 11:37:20 GMT

So they still hav'nt found Bucky Phillips (the guy that shot a trooper last month). They believe he's in Western, NY now. I hope they get him soon.

Now two weekends in a row have been fucked up. Last time it was Bucky, now it the floods. The village of Walton is pretty devestated so we've been working extra down there to preserve order and prevent looting. So far everything's gone pretty good. This is my weekend off and I was hoping to go home to hang with the new girl and finish my tatoo but 30 hours of OT has messed that up. Melanie is cool and I like her alot thus far.

Things are going good otherwise. We think we've (me and my 3 trooper roomates) found a new apartment here in Oneonta. Hopefully it pans out and we can get our move on.

Working ALOT

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 10:39:01 GMT

I have to work 7 am to 7 pm today and tomorrow. When I get out I will have worked 81 1/2 hoours in 6 work days spanning 7 days. I'm tired, my body hurts from walking and searching cars for 12 hours yesterday and I'm sun burned. But when I finish work tomorrow I'm going to Buffalo for 4 days!!! I cannot wait.

My two cents

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 15:12:21 GMT

I recently watched I ♥ Huckabees and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Both made me think alot and I've decided to take a few days to mull them over before I posted (that and I've been busy working).

Let me start with I ♥ Huckabees. This movie deals with existentialsim which according to Wikipedia is "a philosophical movement that is generally considered an outlook, or a perspective, on life that pursues the question of the meaning of life or the meaning of existence for the "existing individual". This question is seen as being of paramount importance, above all other scientific and philosophical pursuits. Existentialism also considers the psychological importance of existence and deals with concepts such as anxiety, dread, freedom, awareness of death, and consciousness of existing."

According to EricAndopedia existentialism is "BULLSHIT." Who gives a fuck? Why waste your life wondering what the nature of life is, where you fit into it and how you should change to best fit. Just live. Be yourself and do what you want. That's what I say. That's how I live.

Next off we have Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I was originally forbidden from seeing this movie due to my psychological state, post-break up. I now think it was in my best interests that I did this. As I watched this movie I felt really bad for Jim Carey's character. He was a nice guy. Kate Winslet's character was a psycho bitch. She had died hair and wierd clothes that she thought made her "artsy." I can't stand people like that. I like genuinly artsy people. She was not one of them. I don't see how those two could make things work. She was REAL mean to him and he'd be better off with out her. As I watched it and the end of the movie approached I found myself saddening due to wanting a girlfriend which is ok and expected. What I didn't experience was remorse or any want to be albe to have the memory erase procedure done on myself which I think I would have felt had I seen this movie 18 months ago. Nor did I think of her at all through the movie and that made me feel good.

***EDIT***
I realized that after I wrote this I didn't comment on the movies themselves. As movies I found both terrific! I ♥ Huckabees was very funny and I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. Mark Walberg was particuarly funny. Eternal was great too. Who would have ever thought Jim Carey had the acting skill he wields back in the In Living Color days? Man on the Moon and Eternal Sunshine both show how gifted he is and his range is incredible. He can go from slap-stick to impersonation to drama seemlessly.

Thank You Sabres

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 06:52:51 GMT

Fuck! 2-1 going into the 3rd. I was already envisioning sabres.com and the opening page saying Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals Monday June 5th, 2006, HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY, with a big motherfuckin' Stanley Cup in the background. sigh....

It was a good run and I got to see them win game 1 of the EC finals in person! That was one of the coolest experiences of my adult life (and I've done some pretty cool shit in my day, so that's saying something!). I was in Iraq during the '03-04 season and there was no '04-05 campaign so I was hockey-anemic. Thus I went to the pre season home opener and the regular season opener (6-4 win! Too bad Zhitnik scored). I watched as many regular season games as possible (I work a messed up schedule and live 175 miles from Bflo in an area where the Sabres and Rangers split MSG). It was an unforgetable run. Going back to Sept if you told me the Sabres would have been up 2-1 with 11 mins left in game 7 of the EC finals I NEVER, ever would have believed you. Thank you Sabres for alot of great memories.

The City of Buffalo will suceed someday! (I promised myself I wouldn't cry...)

Three things

Fri, 26 May 2006 16:16:39 GMT

1. Bush sucks. Bush orders documents seized in Capitol Hill search sealed "Bush's move was described as an attempt to cool off a heated confrontation between his administration and leaders of the House and Senate."

So he interferes with a federal investigation? Forgive me if its ignorance, but I don't understand this. What is the point of waiting 45 days in an investigation? I'm a cop and know that investigations are almost always time sensitive. In my job if things are delayed 5 days the SGTs are usually on peoples cases to get things moving. Ugah!

2. Bush sucks. I watched the HBO documentary Baghdad ER yesterday and I must say it makes me real sad that our guys are still dying and being wounded there. They say in it that 90% of all wounded soldiers there survive which is a testement to the Doctors, medics and nurses stationed in Iraq. They are angels in camoflage. It also speaks for the technology they have at their disposal. But that means soldiers are coming home missing arms, legs and covered in burn scaring. I feel terrible for the wounded and killed and their friends and family. They are being lost for a senseless cause.

3. The Da Vinci code movie was very disappointing. (Spoiler allert! If you havn't read the book/saw the movie or both don't read) They changed the end! Why? I understand when books become movies they change, cut and edit details from the book. Its inevitable otherwise the movie would be 6 hours long. But why change the end in this movie? It didn't save time, explain things quicker or easier for the audience and negated a real nice part of the book. Also why the scene where Sophie's grandpa gets all pissed while shes reading into her parents past? He always nurtured her inquisitive nature. That was also unecessary and out of context with the character's personallity. I was disappointed with it overall, I'm also disappointed in Ron Howard. I had such high hopes for the movie because he was in charge.

Work

Wed, 24 May 2006 13:08:12 GMT

Started at 7
1 trespass complaint
1 domestic dispute
1 prisoner relay to jail in Cooperstown (25 min. ride)
1 agravated unlicensed operator (18 suspensions) who got arraigned and sent to jail in Cooperstown.

All by 11

Then we had a DWI from a rollover car accident who we had go to the hospital with, a car deer accident, false burglar alarm, a citizen curtesy transport and paperwork after midnight.

It was busy!!!

Now I want to sleep but can't cause Ash looses his nuts today and my car is getting worked on. Then later the Sabres will thrash the Hurricanes in Buffalo and Lost's 2 hour season finale is set to the DVR during the game. Its gonna be a good night!

Because its 2:57 AM

Mon, 22 May 2006 07:26:05 GMT

And post in LJ is the thing to do at 2:57 AM right?

Well I havn't posted here in the month of May largely because I havn't had much to write about except:
My new tatoo from 5-1-06:

and...

My trip to see the Sabres trounse the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Raleigh, NC!

So I'm pretty psyched about this turn of events that seems to leave of in Lord Stanley's door step. We're 9 wins down, 7 to go. Its time Buffalo got something to celebrate!

The chain of events that led to going to NC are as follows. I didn't get to go to any of the previous playoff games due to scheduling conflicts. But as the Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators I said I'm not going to be left in the cold during this magical run, I will see and support the Sabres along thier ride to the cup! So tickets for the third round went on sale last Wed. They were available online, by phone and in person at the arena and at Tops. They sold out all three games in 16 mins and I didn't tickets. So in my dispare I went online and saw that the Hurricanes had pleanty of tickets available. So I made a few phone calls and decided then and there to buy 3 tickets at 101.83 in the nose bleeds. I was worried in the beginning that I made a mistake. That people would cancel, it would kill me with work ect... It wound up being one of the best decisions I ever made!

Sean came out from Buffalo Fri after he got out of work at noon. He got to my house aroung 6 pm. We were on the road by 6:30 enroute to Rich's house in VA. We got in his place at 11:30. After a little bull shitting we were asleep by 12:30. We were up bright and early and on the road to Raleigh by 7:30. We got to the RBC Center by 12 which was perfect because the game didn't start until 2. We purchased beer at the local gas station and found 1000 Sabres fans partying in the lot. It was one of the best times I've ever had at any sporting event.

That's when we met Tom Galisano, the Sabres owner:

I was feeling like shit all day due to some medications I took the day before for an ingrown toenail but getting there and enjoying the high 80's weather and seeing all the fans there lifted me up.

We went in the stadium to racious chants of "HERE WE GO SABRES! HERE WE GO!"

The game was great the Sabs won in usual 1 goal fashion 3-2 after being up 3-1 and getting goals from Kalinin, Brier and McKee.

On the way out I witnessed a celebration

I drove home this afternoon and I don't work until 7pm tomorrow, so not even work is able to interfere with this weekend of weekends!

It was just incredible, now we just gotta keep it going and win that cup!

David Cross

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 02:21:47 GMT

I recently discovered this comedian/actor that I was familiar with only from his film works. I got a copy of one of his stand up routines and listened to it at work the other day, wilst flying my ass off from call to call. Little did I know the razor sharp wit I was about to be exposed to. He is liberal, informed and down-right scathing of religious, conservitive, red neck, republican Bushites. He is absolutly brutal. Well the one hour of stand up I now have on my iPod isn't nearly enough for me, so I looked up his website and found this:

From his open letter to Larry the Cable Guy
"I fartingly bought the book and took it home with an excitement I haven't experienced since I got Bertha Chudfarter's Grandma drunk and she took her teeth out and blew me as I was finger banging her while wearing a Jesus sock puppet in the back of the boiler room at The Church of the Redeemer off I-20"

Truly amazing stuff

So the funniest thing happened...

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 03:12:19 GMT

Tonight during the Sabres Game 2 thrashing of the Flyers I was talking to my Mom on the phone when a Catholic Charities commercial started playing. As I was talking and half paying attention I noticed a girl that looked like my ex. I thought to myself as I stopped talking to my mom in mid sentence "no that can't be her, your just seeing things." Then at the end of the commercial with her baby in hand and the guy upstairs behind her she say's "One for all."

That's when I mentioned to my mom "I just saw Brigid in a commerical."

She replied "oh the Catholic Charities commerical? Your grandmother called and told us about that commercial a month ago, then we saw it two weeks ago, I just figured you saw it already." And my dad in the background tell my mom "All for me" refering to her greed.

That's when I replied "not all cause I sure as hell am not going to be donating to that charity!"

So I tell my roomates about it and Ron tells Joe, from across the house "YO ANDO'S EX-GIRLFRIEND IS ON TV BEGGING FOR MONEY!"

We were up 6-2 and I was on top of the world!

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:53:28 GMT

LETS GO BUFFALO!!!

Update

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 18:02:41 GMT

Tent. Schedule for vacation:
Thurs. 3-6-06 finish work at midnight. Go home pack up.
Fri. 3-7-06 drive to Herndon VA. Party with Rich.
Sat. 3-8-06 drive to Charlotte NC. Party with Max and NIHM.
Sun. 3-9-06 and Mon 3-10-06 Party in NC.
Tues. 3-11-06 drive to VA. Party there.
Wed. 3-12-06 drive to Oneonta. Party.
Thurs. 3-13-06 to Sat. 3-15-06 Party in Buffalo, with dog.
Sun. 3-16-06 Easter at Gramma's hizzie.
Mon. 3-17-06 Drive to Oneonta. Sleep.
Tues. 3-18-06 Sleep more, recover.
Wed. 3-19-06 Return to work, try not to be sad.

Well my vacation was SWEET! I went to North Caroline from Fri to Mon. I picked up Rich in VA and had dinner with him and Barb. Rich didn't want to leave, but I made him cause Max really wanted us to come down that night. So we went and didn't get to Max's house until 3 am. I put down a couple of beers and hit the rack, I was way tired. We woke generally early of Sat. and I considered going for a run, but the way Max's apt building is set up was kinda wierd and I didn't have a key to get myself back in. I should have run and had I known what was in store I would have.

We left the house and went to IHOP and had some greesy shit served by a non english speaking deaf waitor. From there we went to a music equipment store in down town Charlotte, got some stuff for Max's bass cabinet, took it to his practice room and helped him assymble it. Then we went to Max's house and started drinking. It was 3 pm. We watched the Family Guy movie and left at 5:30 to go to the practice room again to get their shit ready for the show. We went to the show and I was pleasently suprised by the opening act American Murder whom I had low expectations for. Nihm went on next and were good, they look and sound exactly like they did 7 years ago last time I saw them play with a few minor changes. I think they're really good at what they do and desreve more than they get. But such is things with metal bands these days.

We crashed at like 3 am and woke to do it right on Sunday. Mind you were in lent and I'm not into catholocisim, so it didnt mean anything to me but Rich is so it was just kinda funny. We went to eat at this Thai joint near Max's house and the food was really good! We washed our gormet meals down with some Sing Ha and went to Dave and Buster's for some video games... and 25 oz Guinesses. After 4 hours, many air hockey, skii ball and bowling games we left and went to the Flying Saucer where they have 200 beers on tap! We were there sampling beer for about 4 hours then left and stayed up at Max's house till 2 am or so. I never got drunk per se, but did wake with a terrible hangover the next day. I guess 14 1/2 hours of drinking will do that to you.

So with a hang over I drove 400 miles back up to VA spent the night drove to oneonta and back to Buffalo.

I dont specific blow by blow account of my time in Buffalo but it was nice being home and just being able to go out, do stuff and not have the time constraints of my usual weekends home.

Now I'm back in Oneonta and sick of everything even more than I was before. I'm sick of the bars filled with 20 yr olds bitches. I'm sick of not having anything to do on my days off besides walking the dog and watching DVDs. I'm ready to move home buy a house and settle down. Blah!

HOLIDAY

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 05:19:47 GMT

I'm on vacation till the 18th motherfuckers!

Work

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:12:41 GMT

So work this week has been crazy busy!

Its just been call after call. All day. I was SO shot when I got out last night that I watched the new episode of Sopranos on the 'ol DVR and went to sleep.

I had a call in a trailer park that absolutly pissed me off. I get there I've dealt with this chick before. She's complaining that her little cousin is trying to damage her car. Well I do my investigation (I don't feel like typing it all out and I told this story WAY too many times yesterday) and there is nothing I can really do and in the end I could just wind up arresting everybody, so I tell her and she flips! I leave and she called to complain to my boss. I could have chocked her with my bare hands! But I feel much better today.

On to other news, I'm going on vacation this week!!!! I can't wait.
Tentitive itinerary:

Thurs. 3-6-06 finish work at midnight. Go home pack up.
Fri. 3-7-06 drive to Herndon VA. Party with Rich.
Sat. 3-8-06 drive to Charlotte NC. Party with Max and NIHM.
Sun. 3-9-06 and Mon 3-10-06 Party in NC.
Tues. 3-11-06 drive to VA. Party there.
Wed. 3-12-06 drive to Oneonta. Party.
Thurs. 3-13-06 to Sat. 3-15-06 Party in Buffalo, with dog.
Sun. 3-16-06 Easter at Gramma's hizzie.
Mon. 3-17-06 Drive to Oneonta. Sleep.
Tues. 3-18-06 Sleep more, recover.
Wed. 3-19-06 Return to work, try not to be sad.

There you have it. Should be fun, expensive and alot of miles on my car (which already had 22,000 in the 9 months I've owned it).

Tony Soprano...

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 06:36:45 GMT

is a bad ass dude! Just thought I'd let you know in case you didn't.

NY

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 15:25:45 GMT

So Fri my friends Shawn Curtin and his fiance Laurie came down to visit. The plans were to hang out here, see a movie, get dinner and then go out for drinks. The movie we wanted to see wasn't playing so we decided to go to NY earlier than the planned Sat morning.

We left on 10 mins notice and we there at 9 pm. We made a reservation at the Carter Hotel on W 43rd St between 7th and 8th. I like that hotel. Its cheap, 140 for 3 people and 1/2 a block from Times Sq. You get your on private bath and a king and queensize bed. Only problem we usually bring our own blankets and pillows. We didn't this time and lucked out. The room was real clean.

When we pulled into the parking garage under the hotel and were walking out when a guy made a comment to Shawn about his hat. It was a guy by the name DJ Clark Kent. He told Shawn he has the largest New Era hat collection in the world, 6000 to 7000 hats. I told him Shawn designs hats for New Era. They exchanged cards and Shawn told me that he was the biggest connection he's ever made cause the guy hangs out with Jay-Z. That was pretty cool.

We went to a restaurant in Little Italy and a bar in Grenwich Village. Fri was alot of fun. We got back to the hotel at 3:30 am and were back up by 8:30. Sat we walked through Central Park with coffee in hand then walked to stores I would never otherwise shop at for Laurie. From there we took a cab to Soho and did shopping there all day. I got to watch Shawn design a one of a kind pair of Nike sneakers at the NikeID store. That was the coolest thing I've ever been a part of. Its a super exclusive store that you have to know someone to get in.

We walked down to ground zero after going to Yellow Rat Bastard and then met my friend Julie, who was on duty for NYPD, in the Lower East Side. After that we got a ride up to the hotel in her patrol car. The whole weekend was great. I've discovered new parts of the City I've never been to and am getting to know my way around other areas better every time I go.

Now I've gotten some good sleep and have to work noon to midnight today. No fun. But its ok, 2 weeks and then I'm on Vacation for 2 weeks! NC is not prepared.

S for Scary

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 06:32:38 GMT

V for Vendetta.

Seen it? I did tonight. First off its nothing like the Matrix and alot like it at the same time. Hard to explain. What isn't hard to see is the premise: Through fear of terrorism and erroding of rights the British Gov't is taken over by a 1984-like shadow government that proclaims "the people need to understand why they need us."

Its kinda scary when you think about the fact that the people of the US are paralized by fear of terror and WMD's. Is it worth defeating terror if we loose ourselves in the fight? I believe fear of terror is ridiculous. Think about it this way: 2800 people died on 9-11. 1300 people died from hurricane Katrina and hundreds are still missing and each year 400,000 Americans die from smoking releated illnesses. That's 142 Sept. 11's each year. So...

We are spending more money on defense this year than the rest of the world combined. 51% of our national budget is going to the military industrial complex. We spend that much money to fight terror and 12,7% of the people in this nation live below the poverty line and 16% of Americans are uninsured. That's money that could be spent on education, national health care, medical research, poverty assistance, alternative energy source research and environmental protection.

God I'm beginning to sound like a liberal hippie more and more each day.

The total money spent in Iraq is approaching 1 trillion dollars. Thats1,000,000,000,000! Imagine if we spent 20% of that money on strategic strikes at the heart of the terrorists and fighting their financial networks and the other 80% on spreading American goodwill throughout the Middle East in an attempt to show that America cares about muslims and arabs and wants a cooperative coexistence on this planet with them. Imagine where we might be today.

Or perhaps I'm just thinking WAY too deep into a comic book movie.

Updates

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 00:02:02 GMT

Well I'm pretty happy today.

I refinanced my car loan today. Lowered my payments $182 per month. I got my tax return and tomorrow I get paid. Tomorrow's check is going to be BIG, nearly double my pay. I get my physical fittness incentive check, 16 hours of OT and my 1 year pay raise. When I get paid tomorrow I'm going to squirle away $5000 for a house that I plan to buy in the fall. Then I'm going to try and put away $250 every two weeks. I'm hoping to put away another $3000 by Sept. Then I get to buy a house in Buffalo and never have to pay rent again!

I treated myself a little too. I bought a few DVDs and started a weight collection. I'm going to try to buy a new peice of equipment a month so I won't have to pay a gym for their facilities. Another way I get to stick it to "the man."

Generally I'm doing real good. I had a date last week that while successful I'm confident in moving on from. She was ok, but I can do better. It just feels nice to have the luxury.

I don't think I've ever had such an up beat post.

Iraq

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 18:50:43 GMT

I was reading cnn.com this morning and its talking about the seemingly inevitable civil war thats taking shape. "Three bombs in Sadr City kill 36." When I was there Sadr was a very powerful guy and the US was having trouble figuring out how to handle him. It seems they actually dealt with him in a positive way. He's still powerful but he supported the elections and is releasing statments to try and curb the Sectarian violence. That last part isn't working. I have a new idea about what we need to do in Iraq.

I've never liked the "stay the course" position the administration pushes. I also don't like the "leave today" line the Dem's push. The Republucans would have us slowly bleeding to death for 10 years there and a Viet-Nam-esque pull out years from now. The Democrats would have us leave behind the most powerful terrorist haven in the world. The civil war that would erupt would be the best training ground for terror one could imagine. I don't like either senerio.

We need a new strategy and a truly multinational taskforce. How do we do this?

First off we must admit we screwed up. Go to the UN and EU and tell them we thought it was about WMD's and we were wrong. I don't think it requires us to admit we lied (or our administration lied for that matter) and it would be foolhardy to ever expect such admittance.

Next we need to say in the beginning it wasn't about terror, but it is now. Europe is alot closer to it than we are and it would be in their best interests to help us fix this problem. Thats not going to happen until we say were sorry and ask for forgivness, the egos involved cover entire proud countries.

Then if we can put together a truly multinational force I will support the misssion there. We need 500 to 750 thousand troops patrolling Iraq, providing security for their infrstructure and people. Training, supporting and encouraging the Iraqi security forces and giving them a fighting chance. This is the only way as I see it to come out of this with a safe and stable Iraq not in strife and invasion by Islamist forces from Iran and Syria.