Bare-Naked Irony

The Department of Homeland Security apparently does strip searches when it believes it’s necessary.  Well, I think you can take things too far sometimes.  And that’s happened just recently in the case of an Iraqi woman who flew into Florida.  Her son lives there, and he had defected from Iraq back when Saddam was still in power.  She was just coming to visit.

Well, as the story on MSNBC put it, Homeland Security believed the woman had suspicious aquaintances and detained her.  Then, during the questioning, they had her strip-searched.  Now, mind you, this woman was in her forties.  Yikes!  I’m sure she really appreciated that ;)  Anyway.

The U.S. Government did apologize to her, but that was after they had sent her packing.  In fact, they deported her to England of all places.  Heh.  But, that’s not where the irony comes in.  OK.  So, in the screenshot below–now, I’m sure this is all by chance–you’ll see the article’s headline on MSNBC along with an ironic banner ad on the top of the page.  The ad is being run by the CIA.  Now.  You have to admit that’s sort of ironic and funny.

And no, I didn’t doctor this screenshot.  That’s what was on the top of the page when I was there :)  It had me laughing for a few minutes.

I Got Coal!

Na.  I didn’t.  Honestly.  I got everything I asked for.  I was a good ogre

Merry Christmas everyone!  Yeah.  I know.  I’m one day late getting this on here, so shoot me ;)  Anyway.  I must have been a good ogre because I got everything I asked for, and a little more.  Right now, I’m sort of hyped up on caffeine, chocolate and sugar.  Oh, and I’m at work :P  Unlike some lucky people I’ve got to work the rest of the week.  That’s what I hate about working at a newspaper: you never get a day off.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and were as lucky as me to get everything they had asked for.  So, what did the ogre get?  Well, nothing too terribly exciting.

Books:

Books 3 and 4 of Horatio Hornblower series
Ways To Be Wicked
Grave Peril: Book 3 of The Dresden Files

Movies:

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Misc:

Clothes (a few shirts, some sleep pants)
England Glenwood Sofa
Steve Silver Strasburg Dining Table
Steve Silver Strasburg Side Chair x4
Steve Silver Mission End Table
Steve Silver Mission Sofa Table

See, I told you, nothing too terribly exciting.  Except for My Super Ex-Girlfriend :)  LOL  That movie is hilarious.  Oh, and the furniture for the new house is pretty awesome, I suppose, considering all that stuff added up to just over $1000.  And it’s nice stuff, too.

The Move

I’ve had fun for the last week moving things from the old lair to the new.  And now I’m almost finished :)  All that’s left is the computer stuff and the furniture.  I was surprised, actually, how smooth things have gone thus far packing, loading, and moving.  It could definitely have been a lot worse.  But, it is funny, though, no matter how much you have packed you always find something else.

I have found some interesting things as well while going through my stuff.  I actually have some original Nintendo Power comic books.  These were done by a company called Variant.  The coolest thing about these is that they’re actually quite amusing.  I have one that features Link and Zelda and one that features Mario.  And they’re in mint condition, too :)  I wonder if they’re worth anything.  I mean, I must have got these just before the SNES came out.  They’re dated 1990, first editions to boot.  They must be worth something!

I meant to scan them into the computer and post them, but I kind of got to doing other things.  Tonight will be especially busy for me as I plan on working some more on my latest short story, Arrow Zulu.  Yeah, I know.  I’m kind of a perfectionist so, when I work on these “short” stories it still takes me awhile.  The scary thing is that I have like over ten stories inside my head right now.  Some I want to do as novels, others just as shorts.  Anyway.

The moving is still in progress and it probably won’t be until the beginning of next year that I’ll be officially, fully moved in.

Ronan And Spam Karma 2

I’ve actually got around to putting up the latest version of Word Press, Ronan.  This one has some extra security features that the previous version lacked.  Also, I’ve installed Spam Karma 2 to get rid of those pesky spammers.  So, soon I’ll be re-enabling the comments without registration.

Soon I’ll probably install a few more plug-ins to enhance functionality.  And I might even through up some forums, which I’ll probably use bbpress for that, too.  It should look pretty cool when I’m done

Sexy Nurses

Oh yeah!  OK.  I’ll calm down for a minute.  *Drools*

I was sifting through the news articles at MSNBC.com and came across one about a new restaurant that opened last year in Arizona called the Heart Attack Grill.  Apparently, the operating premise is to take the red meat and Hooter’s girl idea and go a step further.  Instead of waitresses wearing simple short-shorts and halter tops, the ones at the Heart Attack Grill actually wear little nurse uniforms.  And the customers are called patients :)  LOL

Well, as you can imagine, some people got just a little upset over all of this.  Can you believe that?  Yeah.  Old prunes.  That’s who was getting upset ;)  LOL  Anyway.  I respect women, and I definitely respect the nursing profession.  But, come on.  Why can’t we just have a little fun?  I mean, the women who work at the Heart Attack Grill know it’s just for show.  And no, they aren’t strippers.  I don’t see what the problem is.

Most of the customers are men, anyway.  One nurse complained that it hurts the image of being a nurse.  That’s BS.  How is that hurting the image of nurses?  I mean, there is actually a shortage of nurses out there.  Maybe if it’s made out to be a sexy thing–like being a model–then more young women and (yuck) men will choose to become nurses.  That’s how I look at it.

Yeah.  Yeah.  I know.  Us men like to fantasy about hot little nurses already.  But, that’s just how it is.  You can’t change that.  Oh, and hope this post doesn’t offend anybody, Ogre is just trying to have a little fun.  Like Robert D. Raford on the John Boy and Billy Show likes to say, “we live in the United States of the Offended”.  Gees.  That’s so true.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16112393/

Future of ON

I’ve never been good at writing these kinds of things, but here we go.

OK.  So there’s been a lot of confusion lately over the network, and what’s going on.  Well, originally I was just wanting to get out of it, get away from the network–and that will happen eventually, but I want it done the right way.  So, I’ve decided to stay around and wade through, at least, the next year.

Now, to me, it seems that most of you are confused by what Besim has been saying.  And he’s not lying to you in some regards.  When I spoke to him last I had decided to leave the majority of things with him.  And just be “around”.  However, since then I’ve decided to just stay onboard in my current position–the money man.  Anyway.

As you’ve all probably seen by now Besim has done a new design for TWC and what not.  Well.  For all the crap you guys have given him, I think it looks pretty nice.  By the way, the pink stuff is like pink marble ;)  Although, Besim says it’s red.  I guess you could say it’s either.  But, seriously, I want to get ON back to how it used to be: fun.  Lately, it’s just become a stagnant pool in the corner of the lair.  All this uncertainty is killing me too.  That’s why I’ve decided to end all the speculation with this post.

Believe me, I’ve been getting bombarded with email and email, pm after pm, about the network and who owns it.  Well, I’m going to say right here, in my final, final decision, that I own the network, technically.  And right now I’m not wanting to sell or relinquish it.  I do appreciate some of things that Besim has done over the past month.  However, I want to maintain my current place, and I want to start getting things going again.

I do feel bad, though, for keeping everybody in the dark, including Besim, on my latest decision.  But, I just feel like it’s the right decision.  Now, what’s going to happen when Bryan (Mithras) leaves completely in January?  Well, I think we’ll be able to manage.  Over the past few months there’s been more than a few people who have helped fix things that were beyond me that I think we’ll be OK.  The network just needs fresh blood.

And there are some plans to eventually allow me to pass things over.  Mainly, I’m wanting to keep things in the fans arms.  However, I want to make sure as a network things move forward for each site.  And that we get things so that we can actually add new sites and what not.

I’ll release more plans soon, but I hope this little “press” release makes things clearer.  Sorry guys.

The New House

All right.  Finally!  Here are some pictures of the new house.  Well, actually I had put them up yesterday.

The house is approxiamately 1700 square feet.  It has a vaulted ceilings in the great room, master bedroom, and master bathroom.  In the master bathroom there is a good-sized walk-in closet.  Also, there is a whirlpool tub and two-person shower.  The first bathroom is at the end of the hall where the bedrooms are.  Bedroom number one and two are in the front of the house.  The kitchen is the left of the foyer when you come in the front door.  The kitchen, living room, and dining area are open and combine to create the great room.  Just off the dining area is a laundry room and the door to the two-car garage.  Oh, and there is a coat closet and linen closet out in the hall.

The two glass things in the wall in the living room are niches for displaying things.  What?  I”m not exactly sure as the previous homeowner had them installed when the house was built.  The appliances in the kitchen are sort of cheap, but other than that, this is a very nice house.  There’s no gas in the neighborhood so everything is electric, which is better since right now gas is expensive.  The fireplace, however, is propane.  There’s a small tank next to the house.  It’s not a huge one, so I couldn’t care less.  Anyway.  Here’s a link to the pictures.

http://www.fromthecookpot.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=95

LCD, or Plasma? Choices…

I went out today to get the utilities setup for the new house, which I’m closing on tomorrow.  It was pretty simple, actually, and only took probably about an hour or so to get the water and electricity changed over to my account.  I’ll have to wait on the cable, though.  And for right now I’m simply going to be using my cell phone.  Anyway.

Afterwards, I took my da out for lunch.  We ate at a Japanese takeout place in town.  It wasn’t too bad.  I’d been there a couple of times before.  I had the steak hibachi, which I think I should have gotten the chicken, because the steak was a little undercooked.  Not that it’ll make me sick or anything–we’re not talking about hamburger meat here–but some of the pieces were a little tough.  It felt like I had to chew and chew.  Other than that, though, it was good.  I especially liked the large pieces of sweet carrots that you get on the side.  Emm… Them things are tasty ;)  Almost as good as some nice…bones.

Then, I went up to the card store to buy my mom a Christmas card and ended up getting sidetracked by another store: HHgregg.  HHgregg is a new chain of electronic stores that opened up around here recently.  And God!  They’ve got a huge selection of TVs.  My mouth hit the floor when I went to the back and saw the entire rear wall and side walls loaded down with both plasma and LCD TVs.  Of course, a salesman was pestering us, but he was actually knowledgeable on everything.  So I didn’t mind too much.

I just felt bad knowing the guy worked on commission and that I wasn’t there to buy anything.  I know the feeling.  I’ve worked retail before, on commission, and the sales really make up a nice chunk of your paycheck.  And to help somebody but get nothing in return kind of sucks.

However, after walking around for a little bit, my mouth salivating, I was almost tempted to fill out a credit card application–6 months no payment, no interest.  Yeup.  That’s definitely something that had me thinking.  LOL  I’ve been there, too, before.  I used to use that tactic on people, but hey, it works.  It’s all good.  Now, though, I have a dilemma.

I had been thinking about going with just a straight LCD, but now I’m considering a plasma.  Why?  The sizes.  The prices.  Sure, I can get the Panasonic 32″ LCD that I want for about a thousand bucks.  However, I can get a Panasonic 37″ plasma for about $1,399 on sale, which isn’t that much more.  Yet, an LCD around 42″ is like almost $3,000.  Yeah, I know, plasma has the potential for burn-in problems.  But, there are all kinds of anti-burn-in protections built into the TVs now.

Plasmas have better contrast between colors and have faster refreshes.  But, they aren’t as good for being computer monitors, which I’m not too worried about anyway.  I’m not hooking up my computer to it.  Though, I will be hooking up all of my video game systems, probably.  And I plan on buying a Wii or an Xbox 360, or both.  So, that’s another thing to consider.  Yet, I know for a fact that a 32″ TV is probably not going to cut.  The new house’s living room is like over 20 feet in length, so I’m going to need a larger screen.  In fact, I might even have to go up to a 42″.  Hence the reason that I’m looking a plasmas right now.

Price is definitely a consideration.  I thought it was hilarious, though, the guy at the store was like, “hey, after you get done with the closing maybe you could swing by here and sign up for a credit card and buy the TV you want”.  LOL  I almost burst out laughing, because it was like, “dude, I know the tactic, I’ve been there before, but I’m not ready yet.”  It kind of reminds of a dude we had working over at CompUSA.  A couple of customers actually told him to f* off, because he was being too pushy.  Well, this guy wasn’t that bad, but I just thought it was funny.

I’ll have more up here on the blog about the new house after the close.  I plan on taking some pictures, of course, and posting them in the gallery.  I suppose people are getting a little tired of looking at my car, the Black Rocket.  LOL  Sorry.  I had to give it a pet name.  If anybody’s shopping for a new car, Chevy Cobalts are very nice, but you’ll have to pay more than I did for my fully loaded one.  Why?  Family discount, baby.  Not that I’m bragging, or anything.  Seriously, though, Cobalts are fun to drive.  However, the Mazda 3 is also just as nice.  If I wouldn’t have gotten a Cobalt with the deal I got, I’d probably have gone with the Mazda 3.

My dad had me stop at the Mazda dealership on the way home.  That’s why I mentioned about the 3.  I tell you, Mazda has some nice cars out there.  I got a good look at the new MX5, which is really just a redesigned Miata.  Man that car is sweet!  It looks like something that James Bond would drive.  The car now has paddle shifters, too :)  $38,000.  Yeup.  If only I could have one of those, a Corvette, and a Porsche, I’d be all set.  Oh, and babe to go along with each.