Hookers Getting Busted, Davenport Chamber of Commerce Thinks To Its Self, 'O What A Wonderful Life!'

Posted Online: Posted online: March 14, 2007 8:49 PM
Print publication date: 03/15/2007

Six arrested on prostitution charges

By Brian Krans,

Davenport Police officers arrested six people in a sweep of alleged prostitutes and their clients Wednesday.

The Tactical Operations Bureau hit areas they say are known for drug and prostitution activity in the downtown area, in the 300 block of Brown Street, according to court records.

Undercover officers were allegedly propositioned by women while surveillance units allegedly observed "Johns" picking up and propositioning women.

According to court records, Christine G. Grafton-Lindell, 28, of 528 W. 6th St., Davenport, was arrested with John M. Schultz, 28, of 4654 Madison Ct., Davenport. Police allege they observed him pick her up in the 300 block of Brown Street around 2 p.m. The two then went to a semi-trailer parking area -- "a popular place for Johns and prostitutes to go" -- and had sex, according to the affidavit.

Both Ms. Grafton-Lindell and Mr. Schultz were charged with loitering for prostitution.

According to court records, also arrested and charged in the bust were:

- Dale Pataska, 59, of Mile, Iowa. An affidavit states he agreed to pay Amber L. Bishop, 25, of 530 N. Ripley St., Davenport, $30 for sex in the 500 block of W. 9th Street. Both were charged with prostitution.

- Ms. Bishop also was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police allege she had a crack pipe and a generic form of Xanax on her without a prescription.

- Kimberly Lynch, 21, of 510 Liberty St., Muscatine, was charged with prostitution after offering to perform a sex act for $20 in the 1600 block of W. Third Street. She also was charged with harassment for allegedly giving police a false name to hide a warrant from Muscatine County.

- Angel M. Brown, 25, of 1526 Kirkwood Blvd., Davenport, was arrested on outstanding warrants for several counts of prostitution and operating while intoxicated.

All those arrested made first court appearances in Scott County District Court Wednesday morning. Further court dates were unavailable.

Photo: Submitted Christine G. Grafton-Lindell, prostitution charges

Photo: Submitted Angel Brown, prostitition charges

Photo: Submitted Kimiberly Lynch, prostitution charges

Photo: Submitted Amber Bishop, prostitution charges

Photo: Submitted John Schultz, prostitution charges

Photo: submitted Dale Pataska, prostitution charge

.... Of course, there are other rediculous things out there I could talk about.

I suppose something that makes me just shudder in the thought of how stupid its become: Reunion Tours. Yes. I'm talking about the tendency of all things musical to turnaround 9 years after they break up and do a money grubbing reunion tour. Or, tours. See. Kiss thought they were doing something original when they did it... by it, I mean the endless parade of reunion, last of, no more coming back, cash grab tours. But now its not only popular, but its probably expected. I mean, on the one hand, I am stoked about possibly going to see Ronnie James Dio with Black Sabbath errrrrrr Heaven and Hell; something smells a tad bit funky about it all... since they did this once before you know. Then there is Immortal. A horridly humorous black metal band that decided to come back and tour... some more. Which Immortal is only of note because of THIS, the single greatest music video evvvvvver! [or this version, set to the Benny Hill theme song!] Or a how about Audioslave splitting up, so that Rage Against The Machine can have their reunion tour, and the rumored Soundgarden reunion can happen. sigh. Its all becoming so tired. Even the "Alice In Chains" reunion, which ofcourse is missing one important person... seems rediculous... almost to the point of Iowa State Fair Grand Stand Show embarrassament... soon there will be a tour of the Jackson 5, with Tito and a few puppets... and maybe some boy Jacko molested, will wear the Captain Crunch jacket. its just bad... rediculously bad..

So in the news.... [trying to avoid the point that shit like this does seem to happen outside of Florida],I ran across this gem. And really how could I avoid it? It involves the elderly, improvised weapons, and a new Thunderdome attitude thats been lacking among the Social Security Sect of late....

Linked from QCONLINE.com.

Police: 76-year-old beat 81-year-old with hammer

Comment on this story

Photo: Submitted Richard E. Johnson

Davenport police arrested a 76-year-old man today, alleging he hit an 81-year-old woman in the head with a hammer.

Richard Edison Johnson, 76, a resident of the Davenport Lend-a-Hand complex at 401 w. 3rd St., is charged with attempted murder. Police say he hit Elizabeth A. Alwine, 81, several times in the head with a hammer after an argument in the building's smoking area. She also is a resident of the complex.

The incident occurred about 11:30 a.m.

Ms. Alwine was taken to Genesis East Medical Center, where she was treated and released. .

Mr. Johnson is being held at the Scott County Jail on $32,500 bond.

[end]


and in a breath.... FUCK YES. Old people knocking the crap out of each other at the 'home! YESSS this really is my dream come true. And only one thing could possibly make it better; the MUGSHOT GOODNESS! Complete with the shit eating grin that just smears... "I Really Have No Idea Where I Parked" God dammit! All I have to do is let people be people, and they will relieve the tension in my life for me. Old people, cursing, bag of hammers.... instant Thunderdome! Golden.

Oh. I learned a new word the other day. Errrrr noun, I should say. "Turd Spoon" Figure it out? See, I'd have made the assumption it was some sort of sexual slang; its not. Aunt Jemima showed up at the store the other day; looking for a new toilet. She plugged hers up. Now, I dont know about you, but I've had some nasty poops, but never have they been candidates for Disposeable Toilet status.... back to Turd Spoons. So she was asking me about the old one; naturally, since its plugged [and not with paper!], how does she do removal and installation. I scratched my beard, and looked away. She let the awkward silence sit for a second, then started mumbling about needing a pump or something to transfer it to the new one [and my goodness, why wouldnt you do such a thing?!?!?]; and looked me dead in the eye, and ask if I sold "Turd Spoons." I got that grin that I can get. That one thats half Grinch, half mother-fucker, and topped off in Raisinettes.... "I'm not sure I've heard of that, is that a brand name product?" I let fly... Well no, it wasn't. She didnt think. But something, I guess, exists in her mind, somewhat akin to a soup ladel, specially designed for turd transfers. She calls it a Turd Spoon. I call it, another freaking rediculous thing from menards.

I mean really... there could be a long list. But lets start with the Japaneese, shall we?

From This Article [copied below]

Slow Life, Slow Sex: Twelve steps to stopping sexlessness

[Using the masturbation technique, coupled with the Eye To Eye Step 3]

Dr. Kunio Kitamura was born in 1951. He graduated from Jichi Medical School and through his 30 years of research, is now the "voice of Japanese sexuality." Among his many books are "Shiawase no Sex (Happy Sex)," "Piru (The Pill)" and "Karada no Hon (The Body Book)."

Ending the undignified state of sexlessness isn't simply a matter of saying, "Right, let's go at it then," and racing off to the nearest bed. And even if you complain that masturbation is pretty ridiculous as it fails to give you somebody else's warm touch, it will never bring your spouse to your bed. It's pretty easy to see what lies behind the problem of middle-aged sexlessness -- communication. But communication problems are easy to talk about and difficult to solve. So that's where British zoologist Desmond Morris's 12 steps to ending sexlessness. There's no need to hurry. All you need to do is follow the 12 simple steps that lead to a final goal of having sex.

The first step is From the Eyes to the Body. Gaze at your partner until you start thinking, "Gee, that's a bit of all right." The second step is From the Eyes to the Eyes. Wait until your eyes meet, then stare at each other. If you feel uncomfortable, avert your eyes. Stage three is From Voice to Voice. Tell your partner about a great new restaurant and invite them to dine with you there. If they agree, you move on to stage four and touching. The next stages are From Hands to Hands, From Arms to Shoulders and From Shoulders to Waists. As the touching becomes more intimate, the amount of skin contact being made broadens. By stage seven -- From Mouth to Mouth -- you've moved on to kissing. Then, there's From Hand to Head, From Hand to Body, From Mouth to Breasts and From Hands to Genitals. Needless to say, the 12thand final stage is From Genitals to Genitals.

Some readers may see this process and think, "I don't have to go through all that rigmarole, do I?" or "Do I really need to be so touchy?" You shouldn't mention these things. Instead, why not take the opportunity to remember how you met your partner.

Shame, surprise, awakening, laughing and cry -- you once went through a whole lot of different emotions with nobody but your partner. The partner may not be somebody like (South Korean heartthrob actor) Bae Young-joon, but they are your partner, so why not go back to the beginning and try over again? I'm sure you'll find that if you do, you'll be in for a wonderful 2007. (By Dr. Kunio Kitamura, special to the Mainichi).

[end]

And if that doesn't scream to you, then you're dead inside. Scratch that... "obviously" is your genitals that are dead inside. Shame on you Dr. Nameless Japaneese Guy; you spent a career stratifying and mapping out what I called; HIGH SCHOOL. Eessh. Even the smack he lays out against masturbation... in typcial subtle Japanese explantion style.. "if you complain that masturbation is pretty ridiculous as it fails to give you somebody else's warm touch, it will never bring your spouse to your bed" Really? REALLY? Oh yeah. You're right. Thats probably why I'm stuck masturbating in bed by myself anyhow, because that wife of mine got mixed signals. I always figured, laying in bed, masturbating away, would do nothing but yield favorable increases of sexual encounters? What, thats creepy? Oh. Wait. Even Japan calls this absurd, Japan, home of 1039 men ejaculating on womens faces, Japan, home of the second most shit-porn consuming nation [second to Germany], even Japan, who finds old men bedding 9 year olds low brow, but legal, happens to find the practice of lying around expressing your masturbatory prowess; a poor attempt at a mating... I'm not sure where I drawn the line... at the Japanese social scientist researching this, or the mental image of a man laying in bed furiously masturbating away in hopes of attracting a mate--- errrrr a state of atleast mild un-sexlessness.... I'm not sure which is more absurd. Probably the masturbation thing. Probably.

Also, in my course of study.... err attempts at getting laid; Step 3 and Step 4, as identified, have always seemed a logical jump... Not so? Remember this is the Voice to Voice step, followed by the Touching Step. Got it. As he suggests, I should ask about a new restaurant, let them agree, then starting copping a feel. Got it. I honestly thing the masturbation thing might have more success. Really. I think I'll have better luck walking around masturbating, rather than waiting for this situation to work with someone, asking "Hey, have you eaten at Mongolian Grill?" ... "You HAVE?" ...[gropes].... [gets punched in the face]. See why this made the Things That Are Absurd post?

Keep in mind, somehow, that this is a 12 Step Program to remove Sexlessness.... 12 Steps also, oddly enough, rids alcoholism... I digress...

Oh... but there are more golden nuggets from the good doctor... "Shame, surprise, awakening, laughing and cry -- you once went through a whole lot of different emotions with nobody but your partner." Huh? I would say that honestly, if I found out the mating ritual involved masturbating on the bed, I think Shame, Surprsie, Awakening, and Laughing would all be emotions I'd feel. Its too good to pass up on this. Really it is... Anyhow... I'm going to ride out my luck with this masturbating thing.....

OUT

so when i step up to the microphone... it comes out a little something like this...


popin with the smack, readying to back track... here i am, and where have you been? seems like the only way people seem to notice im not around, is when there just is gigantic lulls in my bloglike activity. whatever. im here. the world is queer. what else do i need to say.

ive discovered something that all men who read this should go to and check out...


EXECSHIRTS.COM


absolutely the best way to donate 50 bucks to some money grubbing company. it does 3 things that i like, all rather well at the same time... first it gets me something nice... namely a custom sized dress shirt... seriously... if i go to the high and wide store, its difficult to buy that much cloth to roll my fat ass in... to get it into a shirt, then made to fit, then in styles id like... fucking gold. second... it exploits people in other countries. seriously, what is not to like about that? some thai whore-wash-out is making me a shirt! solid gold. third, its all over the internet. even better. net-commerce is a great thing. especially for something like this. i dont mind shopping... i dont.. its my most metrosexual fault that im aware of, but i dont like shopping at the mall stores where things never fit, where i deal with annoying people, and who knows how many people had sex in the pair of pants im trying on, before i did? see. that and the horrid music piped in these places... if its not some gay mix... errrrrrrrrrrrrr modern emotionally charged guitar inspired songs, its some whiny pop bitch, or some niggah thug rap music. none of which i enjoy. and i enjoy them all signifficantly less, when im doing things i dont like anyhow... so. internet commerce. a glorious thing. but the shirt fits well... took about a week to get [i paid the 10 bucks for expediated shipping], and it looks like it cost alot more than it did. seriously. all men, over 21 should own a nice, well fitting shirt, preferably with french cuffs. this is a great way to do it.

onto other things.... things that fucking twerk my gerk. or whatever the hell a gerk is. forget i said that. shit that puts me in a fit..

buying fucking games on cd... where the cd does nothing. case in point... .Red Orchestra. a fucking fantastic game, based on the soviet front of the second world war. thats good. based on the steam protocol for EVERYTHING. thats bad. contains two cds for installation, cd labeled DISC 2 is actually disc 1, cd labeled DISC 1 is actually disc 2. thats worse. still sitting here, 8 hours later, waiting on god damn Steam to let me down load a game, i just purchased, contained on two cds, but wont let me play. THE FUCKING WORST. seriously get a clue people. bounce me to the online service to validate my game... but dont sell me cds with installs, but force me to download it... i bought it so i wouldnt HAVE to wait on steam to download it. see my ire? but here i sit, pulling 68 k/sec for hours to get this game i thought i purchased.

fucking asshat [thats for you Ed] municipal snow plow operators. why? because i spent 2 hours shoveling this afternoon, and you all fucked it up in 3 minutes. weve got about 4 inches of snow, which is melting, and each shovel full weighs about 60 pounds right now.... so heres to another hour of breaking my back, to fix what you do. that and try to find a curb buddie. i dare you! while you do the best work of your shift plowing in people, you never seem to find 5 feet and closer to a curb when you should. god fucking dammit. i just dont believe it. that and youre getting 5.7 mega overtime pay per hour too Snowplow Driver Guy. besides which... you are in league with...

mr. god damn immigrant concrete laborer. why do you make the list, its february? because. fuck you. remember about 8 months ago, when you all decided to rip out my street on a whim? not even telling the city of Davenport when and why? yeah. when you replaced it, your hired help, which probably cant speak english, nor read municipal building code, decided to finish the concrete to grade.... in reverse. yes. water now is pooling in the street... in places its about 6 inches deep. and the storm water grate is about 8 feet away, sitting roughly 4 inches HIGHER than the plane of the street. see any problems Juan, Jorge, Miguel, or Manny? nope me neither.

hell, Daimler-Chrysler 5 Star Service Shops, get on the fucking list too. in the last two months, ive taken Big Red to you, and youve found a magnificent way to rip me for 280 bucks, and 210 bucks, for a repair that took you about an hour each time, with a part, you allegdge to be the cluprit, that costs less than 30 dollars. mega fucking shame on you ... you got on the list. yes.... it runs fine now. but does it really need to go down like that? every time? if at first you succeed, dont fuck them over the next time, they could notice it... thats my motto... you on the other hand.... or should i say, the other hand up your ass errrrrrrrr the Daimler Benz group has decided to put you all on the block, and sell you to... waaahahahahaha GM? good call. its like using a torpedo on a rubberduck.

to things that dont piss me off....

how about the idea of reliving the cd's you already own, but forgot about.. man.. i spent most of my time stuck indoors this weekend [hence the anger of the snowplows, and videogames] and spent some time combing through my stackds of cds... found some stuff i didnt know i had anymore... some other gems. but what a trip. in some respects its humbling. not the cds. but the emotions you attribute with certain cds. for whatever reason i found a cd yesterday morning that reminded me of getting dumped. it was one that i had in the car at the time, when she did it, id get real angry, drive around alot, then go home. all back when i was about 18. thats along time ago. and really, thats two big things ive really never thought about since then. that girl, and that cd. but by chance i ran across it. and its like everything was happening for the first time again. just weird how well we relate memories and events to innocuous things like songs that played in the background.

Red Orchestra finally fired up... im somewhat impressed. after a million hours to download what i purchased, i can finally play it. its a cross between DoD and Battlefield... the vehicles dont impress me really... the paitience it takes to fire them does! the in-game physics actually do account from some bullet drop and movement... its a challenge... like the iron sights on weapons... nothing goes where you shoot it; and for a game with this long of a draw distance [litterally twice what DoD is...] its nearly impossible to hit things more than 20 feet out. so far atleast.

should i talk about the Hole? maybe. lots of fun things are floating around at work. since jared left its been in somewhat of a dissarray... then they promoted me up.... now, if what i hear is correct, were going to have more personnel changes... great. im not sad to see soem people leave... errrrrrrrrrrrrrr get relocated because they cant do the job errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr i mean step down. its just that its such a pain in the ass to do it all at once... you know? wait 9 weeks or so to get everything else aclimated first... but no... anyhow, for me not much changed. i really do exactly what i had been doing for the past 5 months or so... i just get the mammoth 50 cents / hour raise, and a store login to change inventory and such. ho hum at best. no really movement or responsibility yet. generally though, im unofficially required to do 45 hour weeks.... well see how that works out too in the long run.

thats about it... i want to get back to RO for the time being... as Rome says...


GOOD NIGHT NOW!

Becoming A Crack-Stitute! Learn my system to create your keys to financial success! Or, study at home to receive your certificate in: Office Transcription, PC Repair, Radiator Technician, Paint Salesmanship, Restaurant Management, or Parking Lot Attendant!



just a little something i wrote up... kind of along the lines of those infomercials about how to make great money in real estate... BUY MY BOOK, LEARN THE SECRETS IN 3 EASY STEPS TO YOUR FINANCIAL FREEDOM! that kind of stuff. anyhow...



Becoming a crack-stitute, in three easy steps! By the Scott R. Alvarado, School of Business and Management!


STEP 1: Move into the most notorious subsidized housing area in town, or find the most seedy industrial area of town or run down trailer court available; this will serve as your office space! Its also a great place to beging networking for additional clients once you are prepared!

STEP 2: Create a substance abuse issue! Feel free to choose a group to specialize in: Heroin, Crack, Cocaine, Meth, Collegiate Drugs [weed, alcohol abuse, cough syrup], Prescription Dugs [methadone, vicodin, ketamine, pyscho stimulants, tranquilizers, anti depressants], and Make-shift Drugs [solvents, gasoline, model glue, amonia, paint thinner, burnt wire coatings, markers]. Remember to specialize in one group, but feel free to experiment to find which group is for you! Two things to remember, once youre addiction becomes crippling and complete, youve found your match! Secondly, choose your addiction based on select factors; including race, age, and especially locality... Keep in mind that abusing exotic drugs for your locality brings up your status, we want to bring it down to the level of your potential customers satisfaction!

STEP 3: Create damaging relationships and prospects that will forever alter your life, and discourage any sense of self worth or skillset you may have had! While the drug abuse helps find friends, your locality should severly limit your choices for income once drug abuse has set in fully. Understand that the key to suck-cess, in this business requires that your last course of action really be your best course of action.... so sell yourself! Once battered and beaten with great levels of devaluation, with no income, in a terrible environment, with a keen addiction to illicit substances, youll find out how special your talents really are. Youll also help uphold the system in place around you, often finding others just like yourself to aid in your transition!

Enjoy!

well peeps... im here. ive been getting a lot of run lately about how i havent been posting anything. so... its time for me to bring the ruckus once some more. yeah. in no particular order...

memo to "Dee" dear dee, loved the interview on channel 8 news tonight [www.wqad.com] , your thoughts about the recently discovered remains of a dead friend really rang true to me... youre right, its terrible... she probably was in car, with a strange man, "turning a trick", to support her crack cocaine habbit just like you said... and her boyfriend and family will miss her. got it.! " .. signed Me.

for everyone else. a burned corpse was found in a desolate area of town this week. the humorous part of it all, if death can be funny, was this person named "Dee" which the local newsboobs interviewed. appearantly, "Dee", or whatever the hell your name actually is, told us the woman was a friend of hers, and had [assumedly] like herself, given into crack cocaine. she told us about how they went to rehab together. she told us how she was out prostituting for crack. then "Dee" drop the jaw breaker... even she was scared to go out turning tricks now. something along the lines of... i shit you not... "its so hard now and so scary to go out in these strange cars, and know you might never come home to see your boyfriend or your children... but the drugs just make you do it, and you find yourself turning tricks because of the drugs" yeah. about 37 things wrong with that logic. first off. just quit taking drugs. second. stay in rehab. third. why not get a job, it pays you money and it doesnt leave you much time to do crack. fourth. if you didnt live in the project downtown, your crack dollars would probably be at work paying rent in a real place, again, leaving you no money for crack. fifth. prostitution isnt a job. sixth. if you are friends going into rehab, being in rehab, and coming out of rehab, odds are they smoked crack too. seven! keeping friends that smoke crack, probably wont keep you from smoking crack... something you dont have time for [see the third thing]. eight. even if you werent a crack-stitute, getting in cars with strange people probably isnt a great idea anyhow. nine. the type of people that would pick up a crack-stitute geeeeeeenerally arent nice people themselves. ten. successful prostitutes cant afford to get pregnant. multiple times. its considered a career ending injury... or career begining.... hmm... eleven. did your mom pop coke? then why should your kids have a mom that does that? twelve. why would a boyfriend approve of you being a crack-stitute again? maybe its because of... thirteen. your boyfriend seems to be ok with whoring for crack part, but isnt there something wrong with that sentence? fourteen. if your only worried about the prostitution side of this lifestyle, maybe you should re-examine the crack smoking portion of this mess... fifteen. at what point was it ever safe to smoke crack, whore yourself, and go around with strange people, if its suddenly dangerous to do it now? sixteen. you lived in project housing... but with kids, crack addiction, whoring and a boyfriend, shouldnt that bump your tax bracket up to "low-scale trailer park?" seventeen. if you cite prostitution as your taxable income, do you figure crack addiction to be a business write-off? ... all right... so there we go... i could keep on this... but the point is.... smoking crack. with kids. screwing random dirty men, to buy more crack, while your boyfriend knows this sitting around at home, seems to be an all round bad situtaion. but its just rediculous. much like the Shricker Apartments.... this is the place that receives approximately 300 police calls per year... is nestled on the one block stretch between the davenport police department, and the scott county sherriffs office/jail and courthouse. sadly enough, there is a fire department stationed on an adjoining property. for those of you that cant fathom this... its just kind of how it is here.

id also like to run a shout out to my man... Radon Guy. Radon is poisoness, radioactive gas, released by decaying soil contaminants. radon has no odor, no color, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. you, Mr. Radon Guy, take all shapes, colors and genders, but remain stupid. you run out to the store, buy the kit... sometimes calling it a radar kit. and then seem to think its too expensive to buy the kit to test if you have it, then seeing how the kit is 10 dollars plus lab fees, wont buy it. well, Radon Guy, today you surprised me. you showed up for this memorable scene at work...

Radon Guy - "hey buddy"
Me- is there something i can do for you
RG- yeah i got this radar tester, and it says i got radar in my basement
Me- huh.
RG - i need one of those fans.
Me- excuse me?
RG - yeah, i need that fan you put in to blow it out
Me- anti aircraft guns?
RG- no its a fan, and i have to get it
Me- radon gas... its not radar..
RG- you dont know what your talking about buddy, just listen to me, i need this fan right now, where the hell do you keep them
Me- .... we dont stock fans for that
RG- well why the hell not, i need one [starts pulling at his hair]
Me- well, venting out radon involves more than a fan... generally, licenesed professionals have to bore holes into the footings below the house, and run vent work, coupled with a fan... in addition to sealing crack and the cold joint the house rests on-
RG- so you mean to tell me you dont even have what i need
Me- putting a fan in the basement isnt going to do anything
RG- god dammit, why cant you just keep the stuff people need [starts getting very agitated, now yells] fuck it. im going to lowes.
Me- they wont have it either. the fan would just blow it around some i suppose. maybe agitate it.
RG- it WILL TOO! [Radon Guy stomps out]
My Boss- god what a moron
Me- yeah, well i suppose ill fill out the I MISSED A SALE form for that, since we dont stock radon fans... "Dear Corporate, I missed a sale on radon fans[?] because the we did not stock such items, for an immediate guest purchase"
My Boss- now why the hell would do a thing like that
Me- i dunno, radon guy is right, we dont have them do we


Dear Radon Guy. thanks for the memories. i hope you die in your sleep. lung cancer is a bitch. signed [me]

so we've killed saddam hussein.

on one hand, im suprised it took this long; yet on the other hand, im shocked as to just how quickly it was implemented after his conviction was upheld. all in all, its another bastard, mass murdering, despot off the books. im not so sure the world is really saddened by his passing. just as much as im not so sure the world was blessed by his presence either. at any level, and at any point in time; a m man is only so evil as the acts we view later. by all accounts, he did some very terrible things. he, as much as anyone like him, deserved to die. men like slobodan milosevic, augusto pinochet, who also died this year. the problem is, the "democratic" process of modern criminal trial were under way for some time with both of those men, but ultimately, was never finished. saddam was thrown around, convicted and killed in a nice neat manner. what bugs me about it, according to the video you can find on the internet [no, i wont link this one], [and yes, while it was staged, i believe it to be legitimately saddam hussein being hung], is the thuggish presence, and the child like glee involved in hanging a man. hanging a president [displaced], hanging the symbol of hates and fears of a nation we twice went to war with. the death does not bother me. but the scene feels like something out of 1922 southern alabama; not letter of the law, with prescribed measure, to condemn a man who brought murder to his own people. i can only imagine what a circus it really was like there. they used some complex which saddam had built to execute people in, for him. with seemingly 20 people in the gallows, multiple camera flashes going off, and people jumping up and down dancing and yelling. it looked like a mob lynching. just without the burning crosses. this is what bugs me. at the haugue we gassed and hung the nazis. in the cold war, we shot them or had them killed before they could be tried. in iraq, we deliver them means, but they choose the end. i cant say this is going to have a positive effect on anything over there. but he is dead. and i cant say the world will miss him.

George Clooney is out in the public eye again. Doing what? Looking sexy... dashing.... handsome... raveshing... doing some new pyscho-babble-under tone, under the surface film against the Bush administration? Growing out some more of his ever present cheese-grater stubble? No. He's out running his mouth off about Darfur. A shit hole, among shit holes, thats engulfed in a power struggle in eastern Africa. He went on to one of the morning shows [which I hate watching, but mom had it on as I was leaving], going on about how "hes been there... hes seen it... he knows we should do something about it." I laughed out loud. He walked around with a camera, the only white man in miles, and saw a refugee camp. Hes outraged. But he wouldn't go see any of the camps in and around Palestine, or Israel. No, just some shit hole in Africa. Hes running around, talking to anyone that might listen, who has either purse strings or political power, pleading how necessary it is for military action to take place to stop the suffering. I laughed again. Suddenly, a liberal is calling for military force. Suddenly, a liberal is calling for deployment into the middle of a huge shitstorm into a Muslim nation. Suddenly, a liberal wants us to return to Somalia. Because there is suffering. Maybe, and just maybe.... if he'd skip the Porsche some morning, and walk from his home high atop Mt. Olymp.... err the Hollywood Hills, and walk the streets of down town Los Angeles, hed find some suffering. He'd find a nice territorial border war going on in the streets... he'd find people living in the middle of it... and he might find a Muslim or two. But no, Africa is where we should go. Africa, dear Dr. Ross, is not where we should go. Africa, is and will be, the battleground for the third world. The same battleground that burns us for our exploitation of resources from the continent... the same grounds that harbour terrorists and extremists of genocide that put little Adolf off as amateur. The battleground, that was terrible of us to exploit for slaves. Its a place filled with people who have nothing, who fight for nothing, and a terrible desire to kill people for nothing. Africa, my dear man, is the last place we need to go. In my ideal concept, keep the wars for the petty on the largest island of poverty on the far side of the world. Yes, Africa is the mother country... mother to pain, civil unrest, and bloodshed. She will continue to be the battle ground of the third world, until there is no one left to kill. That, Mr. Clooney, is the reason why countries refuse to get involved in Darfur. This is a conflict with no end. Its a conflict that will draw out to be more unstable than Israel/Palestine, that will be fought bloodier than Iraq, and will consume more resources to sustain than the separated German states did. And for what? To challenge ourselves to the principles of democracy? To show ourselves, that we are true and steadfast to the cause of the free world? To help the less fortunate? To dispell the evil that exists in the world? What makes Darfur more attractive than any other struggle? Because they are black faces? Because they starve? Because they have never had democracy, and never shown that they wanted it? Because they have always existed in a border and culture war which outside nations have never understood. Pick your reason. As you and your liberal friends remind us so very often, this Administration fights wars for oil... show me some oil. Show me some money. Show me something, that you alledge, draws my interest and my convictions. Prove me wrong... Prove yourself right. If you can. Oh. Argue that we engaged in wars then, for our right reasons... of defending liberty and people who can not defend their own liberty with their own hands.... that argument. I ask you, what liberty ever existed in this region? Who asks us to intervene? No nation involved, wants the United States of America. They want her money. They want her guns for hire. But show me who is most deserving of "liberation" in this war you propose. I see a shit hole among shit holes. This war is the most recent war. Its unfortunate. Its terrible. Its hard on the people that live among it. But the best intervention at this point is non-intervention. Because it was the capitalist intervention and excursion into the Dark Continent, that brought about this war. They blame, like all problems in Africa, the Western powers and capitalist ventures of 400 years ago, as a key determinate of the problem. We heard this in Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Congo, Burundi before them. All of them blamed White Western nations for differing degrees of fault. If we haven't learned anything from Africa wars yet, then we should atleast realize this... stay out. In 40 years, a different dictator will come along, put the sword to some, unknown to us, ethnic group or clan... or maybe lay claim to territory neighboring his, and begin another war. Dawn a new day. But light it with the rays of yesterday. And still we don't see what it illuminated before.

-

WTF.






This is what I got for Christmas... jealous... Didn't think so.



























Who the hell thinks this is a present anyone would want to receive? Oh wait. Maybe the guy that owns the company.... Thats named after him.... Only he would decided to send you a clay Christmas village lightup model of the place you have to go to everyday to hear banjo music. Thankfully, the clay version of my store doesn't play the banjo music.... but with a file, and a trip to Radio Shack, I'm sure I could make it happen.

You know what... I really wish I'd keep up my penmanship. Really. The only time I really force myself to use good, legible longhand, is the Christmas Card season, and I hate that. Writting, by hand, really has no point anymore. And even if you come up with an occasion to do so, so many people of my age group can't write in cursive correctly, and most definitely can't read it. It's pathetic. Much like watches, we use only digital displays now. Appearantly the world moves so fast, all we can do is glance at a digital display, to spare us the precious miliseconds that we'd waste on a dial and recognition of its placement to interpret time. Sigh. Anyhow. Now that I'm done with Christmas Card season, I don't have much of an excuse to write anything. As usual, I go out, and buy a new set of pens, [God bless the Pilot pen company!], these are what I prefer , and I start out writting. Problem is, the first 4 to 5 letters look awful. To everyone that opens up their letters this year, to find something that a brain dead kitten wrote, I appologize. But it bugs me that I get that far out of practice. I remember the first year I did this, I had to look up how to write down certain letters in the alphabet. Seriously. The only time I ever use longhand anymore is to sign my name to something. I hate it. So now is the time of year, when I've gotten back into practice, but have no use. Eventually, I'll subside my rants... my cursive portion of the brain will atrophy, and I'll return to printing if I can't type something. Sigh. Eventually I'll be ok with it. I have to be. Just think, how many people actually carry a pen with them? A pen they use purely because it writes well... come on, stop lying. No one. You all carry pens, because they are cheap, free, or funny colored ink. And if you didn't have to sign a check, or a credit card slip, you probably wouldn't have them. Me? I carry a pen with me because it writes very well. Here again. I'm an idiot. I also carry a pocket watch. Sans digital output. In fact, that fucker is entirely mechanical in operation--- no batteries! How many people are like that, that you know? None. Here again, this is why I'm lonely and have no one to write to... Because there just aren't enough idiots out there like me any more. No one carries a nice watch, and no one has a freaking pen. And if they did, they dont have time to look at it, nor do they know how to write with it. Am I being too hard on people? No. Look at pants-holder-uppers. Two kinds; belts and suspenders [or braces as grandpa would call them], are really youre only choices. People use the belt. Why? Because they can't figure out how to adjust suspenders! Masterminding the process of assembling then self-attiring in suspender's exacberates the mind of modern Americans. So. We end up with the belt. A rope with holes in it. Really. Its a strip of dead animal with holes in it. Knots look tacky, so we find a way to fasten it to itself using holes. We got a rope, we got holes, we got ourselves a belt. Ta da. Thats a belt. Thats it. It doesn't require time, effort, or intellegence to operate a rope. Suspenders? Fuck!?! These have to button in first, then adjust... sometimes in 4 places, then you have to slide into them, putting them over your shoulders, and re-adjusting as needed. Too much. Give me the rope! Sigh. I also like suspenders. So the list grows. Suspenders. Pocket watch. Fountain pen. But I draw the line at the bowtie. I can't get behind that one. Only a group of men, with more seclusion than I can attain, can and do espouse the bowtie. Alas, its not for me. But I do have; suspenders, pocket watches, and fountain pens.

Posted Online: Posted online: December 15, 2006 10:27 PM
Print publication date: 12/16/2006

Teens accused of killing deer with snowmobile

Comment on this story

By Ben Botkin, bbotkin@qconline.com

ALEDO -- Three Mercer County teenagers allegedly used snowmobiles to pursue and kill a deer on Dec. 2, according to court records and an Illinois Department of Natural Resources officer.

The three boys were accused of unlawfully killing a deer with a snowmobile at 4:19 p.m. Dec. 2, according to the citations. The alleged incident took place southeast of 115th Avenue and 267th Street, an area outside Viola, court records said.

Cited were Travis D. Devriendt, 17, 1720 Knoxville Road, Sherrard, and two 16-year-olds, one from Viola and one from Sherrard, according to the citations. Two names were not being reported because the charge is a misdemeanor offense involving juveniles below the age of 17.

"Basically, these three subjects chased down a deer and killed the deer allegedly with a snowmobile," said Capt. Greg Hunter, a conservation officer.

Three snowmobiles were used during the incident, Capt. Hunter said.

The Class A misdemeanor charges are poaching offenses that carry fines of at least $500 each, Capt. Hunter said. The snowmobiles were impounded and are subject to forfeiture under the law.

Capt. Hunter said it's rare to see someone kill a deer with a snowmobile.

"It would not be a common event, thankfully," he said.

A court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 10.

----------------------

Seriously people, somehow this is news. This gripping headline was taken from the Rock Island Argus/ Moline Dispatch [its the same news paper, re-arranged with different titles] and its accompanying website: QCONLINE.COM Sons of bitches even got a link out of it. Anyhow. Kids, screwing around in snowmobiles [now that its been 50 degrees for a few days and the snow is gone] are chasing down and running over deer. That, my friends, is news. It doesn't mention it, although it should, but the steaming dungheap, that is the metropolis of Viola, are just shaking with fear. Kids! Snowmobiles! DEER!!! Obviously Hicktown, USA is going to hell in a handbasket... maybe some of the old people will lock their doors at night because of this. Maybe they will think twice about venturing out into the town late at night, knowing these hoodlums are racing about with a bloodlust for deer. Anyhow. Im in shock. Not about the deer thing. But how, ALLEGEDLY, this is what happened. Allegedly. Three kids, three snowmobiles, the middle of nowhere, a dead deer stain smeared over three snowmobiles; yet, ALLEGEDLY, this is what happened. I get it. The deer was dead. Possibly. It sprang to life, from its prexisting condition of being, allegedly, dead; where it suddenly jumped under the snowmobiles, one at a time, of three good natured kids, on their way home one night. Probably, they just found a dead deer in a snow bank, which, maybe, thawed instantly, so that when each, obviously, in turn, ran over the carcass, it decided to smear all over the place. Allegedly. Let me know how that works again. Deer stain smeared all over hell. Its warm. Maybe still moving. Three snowmobiles covered in deer fur and blood. Three kids whooping and screaming like they had the time of their life. Allegedly, they ran it over. Allegedly. Im in shock. First, that you can even come up with a plausible excused to require the use of ALLEGEDLY in this article, and second; that Viola has 267 named streets! pfft. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the real news story.

Espn.com has a [right this instant, atleast] front page article on Chad Greenway. After reading it I felt worse for him than I did when I saw the highlight on Sports Center several months ago. Just like when I saw Gallery had hurt himself pretty badly prior to training camp with the Raiders before his first year out. Regardless, its worth a read. It could have been a bit more in depth. But thats ESPN for you. Anyways Chad, eventhough its Minnesota, alot of us Hawkeye fans will still watch whenever you get in the game.

So while standing around at work today, it came out that I should talk about what bothers me. Sigh. I thought thats what I did here. Constantly. But maybe not in the way I should have. It came about while standing around, watching the idiots at work try to pick up one forklift with another that they had tipped and wedged inside the back of a semi trailer. As hilarious as that sounds, I'm sure it was somewhat dangerous. Probably because they have idiots involved, with heavy, diesel powered equipment, inside of a wooden trailer. But I digress. The point of the story is, that the girl in receiving had ample time on her hands to talk, as did I, watching a spectacle like that. We were going back and forth about alot of observations, and the lasting ones kind of ended up on my part. Summise to say, that she suggested that it was something I talk about.

I really don't see why. I think I have. I mean on here, I've given more than my share than what should be known. But I hesitate, not because I've said it before; but who am I saying it to, this time? Does it matter to anyone that reads this? Will it matter to me years in the future when I re-read this? Or is it just going to be some other phase I'm in... some funk... some perpetual thought process... me complaining... something like that. Is that how it will be understood? Perhaps, it is the point of being understood. But, returning to the point, I didn't really have a good answer for her today when she asked me why I didn't talk about it. I think, which is what I said, that it offended me deeply. It does. And naturally, I don't really like talking about that, when its out into open air. If someone offends me, I want to get to the point of that. The problem is, I never got that chance. When someone treats you like utter shit, you can NOT be anything but offended... or slighted... or used. Its that kind of feeling that I wan't to get out. I'm angry about it. But at the same time, its not that. Its about never getting a chance. For spite, being treated like shit, comes to mind... treating someone like shit that you knew to have feelings for you. I'm talking about ignoring that entire idea. Pretending that didn't happen. Arguing with them whenever they do anything. Always looking for a motivation to reject any overature for anything I might do. When, in simplest terms; I just really liked her. I thought I got along well with her. She made me smile. Yeah. Thats why. Or whatever. Being seen for face value, and openly rejecting that. Without a chance. In favor of... The choice that was made. Again, thats my personal opinion, that really doesn't belong out of my head. But ofcourse, I wan't my way. I want to argue my case. I think I was entitled to a shot, as much as anyone else was, and maybe more so. And it burns me up at times. Still. Months later. Thats kind of what we talked about today.

Its been in the back of my mind anyhow. Ever since I started listening to the lyrics of a song... called the Byronic Man. After doing some fact finding, I found that its a typeology of a character associated in classical brittish lit; especially that from the Romantic period; given by the name sake, Lord Byron. The Byronic Hero, as its conecptualized; includes elements of : [according to Wikipedia]

* having great talent
* exhibiting great passion
* having a distaste for society and social institutions
* expressing a lack of respect for rank and privilege
* thwarted in love by social constraint or death
* rebelling
* suffering exile
* hiding an unsavoury past
* ultimately, acting in a self-destructive manner

The concept was, at first, nothing of note. The only thing of particular interest, was why did they even bother to name such a character? But the more I read into it... The more I started thinking about how well I apply to it. No wonder I embrace certain iconic characters more closely than others; several of them show to greater extent, these types of qualities. Certain ones, maybe some more than other, I struggle with. And if any of the previous paragraph rant, about love and scorn should register, it would ring with the premise of becoming "thwarted in love." Its nothing. Or its something more base about myself, than I previously put much thought into before now.

It still leaves me with the conversation we had. More importantly, the answer to the unasked question, why does it bother me/ why do I still harbor resentment about it? The point was made today that, all people get burnt, all people have a hard time, all people have self doubt; yet all people move on. Which means nothing. Its not that Im not getting on, its not that I live curled up in self doubt, or that every day I turn this into a Scott's-life-is-too-hard game. In fact, my retort had something to do with; at those instances, where people are challeged with the fact of hard times, or challed at the point of self doubt, or are challenged to oblige misery; don't those times become pivitol in the formation of the REST of their life? Aren't those the defining moments that provide the point of change? She didn't seem to follow me. Maybe I reflect on S. and this entire fucking mess as being the point at which there has to be some turn. Maybe, after years of getting treated like trash, and never finding anything that has ever worked out in this sense, maybe thats why I focus on it. Because to me, I wanted it to happen. I wanted very badly for that to be come a positive point of turn; and instead it was a very negative one. She grasped the idea of it today, but asked me if that meant I was going to give up and go gay. I laughed. But with a straight face, I think about the giving up portion of it.

So here I am talking about it. Allegedly, this is the problem I have. I don't talk about it. Yet, what was there, in what I just said that was really worth mentioning? Anybody that reads this has little to no less respect, no more contempt, and no more control over the situation. The one that should read it, won't. And who the hell is that? Honestly, I don't know anymore. I could argue the object of my illrepute... I could argue that. But she doesn't care. I could argue that my friends should read it to understand me. But thats beyond understanding; it enganges in empathising if anything. I should say, the girl of my dreams should read this; but that probably isn't even logical. If its anyone, who should read this, its probably just me. Maybe thats what Jana meant when I'm supposed to talk more about it. It would be too easy to be angry to the girl I tried for... Just too easy to be angry, to be hurt, to ask why I'm no good, or why I never deserved a chance. It would be pointless to tell people that have no interest in me what so ever. Its laughable to think that my best friends could do any more for me than to listen to it, like raindrops on the rooftop. Its probably best that I act it out in my head. Its better that I keep it to myself some times. Its safer when I don't talk to anyone about it. Because, I guess, I'm a better salesman when I keep my mouth shut sometimes.

Its appearant, that I am quite passionate about a few things. Even if they are personal. Thats why I choose not to talk about everything. Because talking doesn't do anything, and a lot of times, it doesn't even make you feel better about it. I got burnt. I got jerked around, taken for my time, my effort, and my character. In return I gave back faith, understanding, loyalty, and genuine friendship. All I really lost was some money and some productivity at work. But figuritively, I suppose I damaged something else I'm not especially sure I wish to repair. I'm not sure I care enough to try to fix anything about it. On her side of the fence or my own, I mean. I'm not rushing to make with the good guy, uber winner, come off approach to her. I'm not going to get any lip service about how good of a person I really am, or how wrong people can be to people like me. I won't even get an appology for my feelings. But I'm not rushing out to change my feelings either. Its altogether wrapped and tied in the same package to me. I really do think, that I'm not interested in fixing any of it anymore. For her, or for me. Or anyone else for that matter. But I talked about it.

So I was watching ESPN today, and they showed this greatly, glorified, interview with Sammy Sosa. Sammy, having decided to return to the J-curl hair-do, started blowing off about how he has value, how teams will shop him this off season, and how he wants to get back into playing professional baseball. Ha. What a joke. Its funny isnt it? Remember when Jose Canseco did that thing this year too, trying to pitch for some minor league team, because "he really missed the spirit of competition" or something... More like; gee I'm off the 'roids now, I wonder if I can play like I did when I was 18 before I started them. Not so much. I think every Jose Canseco comeback has been a disaster. Sammy? pfffff. please. Give him a solid year to get off 'roids and 'roid like substances, and now he wants back in? Remember, Sosa opted out of the World Baseball Classic... and gee, that wouldn't have had anything to do with the higher levels of drug testing used, would it? Probably not. He just didn't see the point in doing something COMPETETIVE, for the name of the game. It didn't include enough dollar $igns for $ammy $o$a to come out and play, with the probability of a steroid witch hunt going on. But now, oh how those 9 months have changed everything... as seen by his horrid hair cut... so that competition is what he misses... not money. In fact, the reporter even put it to him "If you were offered a million dollars to play for Team A, or 500GR to play for the Cubs, where would you play?" He wouldn't answer. He just popped that 'roid stretched $hit eating grin. You stay classy Sammy. And you'll stay out of The Hall of Fame too.

Which begs my thoughts on the upcoming class...

• Harold Baines NO
• Albert Belle DOUBTFULL, MEDIOCRE NUMBERS, ASSHOLE OFF THE FIELD
• Dante Bichette WHATEVER, WITHOUT COLORADO HES NOTHING
• Bert Blyleven VERY POSSIBLE
• Bobby Bonilla NO
• Scott Brosius HA HA, NO
• Jay Buhner NO... AND HALF HIS RBI'S WERE GRIFFEY JR!
• Ken Caminiti USED ROIDS, DIED OF DRUG O/D, NOT HALL MATERIAL HOW HE WON THAT MVP IS BESIDES ME
• Jose Canseco WROTE A BOOK ON HOW HE USED ROIDS! BUT WAS FIRST 40/40
• Dave Concepcion WHO? NO!
• Eric Davis NO... HE WAS A HOT SHOT THAT WAS STUCK PLAYING IN THE "NATTI
• Andre Dawson DESERVES CONSIDERATION, MVP, SOLID NUMBERS
• Tony Fernandez NO
• Steve Garvey I'D THINK IT OVER, BUT NOT GREAT ODDS
• Rich Gossage I'D CONSIDER THE GOOSE
• Tony Gwynn ABSOLUTELY, 15x's ALL STAR, MILLIONx's BATTING CHAMP, 3K HITS< GREAT GUY
• Orel Hershiser CHECK, HE'S IN, SCORELESS INNINGS STREAK IS GODLIKE, GREAT ROLE MODEL
• Tommy John HE DESERVES IT, 26 YEARS AS A STARTER, GIVES UP ONLY 300 HR's, AND HAS THE SURGERY NAMED AFTER HIM
• Wally Joyner BITCH PEASE!
• Don Mattingly A YANKEE I RESPECT, BUT NO
• Mark McGwire ANDRO, NOT A ROID, BUT ALSO NOT IN THE HALL
• Jack Morris WON ME ALOT OF GAMES ON NINTENDO, MAYBE ID CONSIDER IT
• Dale Murphy HE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED, BUT WON'T BE, BACK TO BACK MVP
• Paul O'Neill LOVED HIM, BUT NOTHING HALL WORTHY OTHER THAN WORK ETHIC
• Dave Parker FALSE
• Jim Rice EH, NO.. HE was BOSTON'S OFFENSE AFTER YAZ... BUT EHH
• Cal Ripken Jr. VERY POSSIBLE UNANIMOUS FIRST BALLOT-ER
• Bret Saberhagen YOU MEAN HE PLAYED FOR TEAMS AFTER KANSAS CITY?
• Lee Smith YES, HE DESERVES A SHOT, RETIRED AS ALL TIME SAVES LEADER 470 SOME SAVES, SAVED 40+ GAMES FOR FOUR YEARS CONSECUTIVELY
• Alan Trammell NO
• Devon White HAHAHA NO
• Bobby Witt NO, SUB .500 WINS, GAVE UP A HIT PER INNING, AND A RUN EVERY OTHER

Aside from what the media is saying, this doesn't look like that solid of a class to me. Problem is, this is one of the first few classes where EVERYONE played in my recollection. See, that right there says something. For years, I've had to sit and watch players my dad watched, get Hall consideration, now, we're on to the players of my generation... Which is the problem. I'm biased because I grew up watching these guys play. I have their baseball cards, their Starting Line Up action figures, I modeled batting stances after them in backyard wiffleball games, and I talked them up in arguments with friends. Some of these guys have alot more give, when it comes to me, than I know the Baseball Writers Association has for them. For alot of these players, I had no clue they were such dirt bags, or such great off-field persons until way later in my years; for me, growing up, it was about the numbers and who I saw on TV or in the box scores. Paul O'Neil. I loved the guy. All round, he was a great player. He's a great person to have on a team. Hard work ethic, and he valued his time playing the game while he was there. But that alone can't make him Hall worthy. Jack Morris. He brought back the splitter and cutter for guys like Curt Schilling, Mariano Rivera, and Randy Johnson... Sure, he helped get the Twins to the Series, and later with Toronto he was quite valuable... But the most success he ever had was on my Nintendo. I can't make a case for him, outside of the Nintendo Hall Of Fame. Guys like Jim Rice, I can't connect with... but everyday days like Joyner, Bonilla, Baines, Caminitti, Davis, were all descent players... with respect. But I can't see them making the cut. Were left with a set of guys that deserve consideration, and those that will get consideration. Not the same thing. Garvey, Dawson, Murphy and Smith deserve consideration. They wont get it. Not enough to matter atleast. But what the media wants to focus on, are guys that don't deserve consideration, but will get it... McGwire, Belle to some extent, Canseco, Caminiti. The Roid era. Three of the guys admit to Roid use [even by their stoic ill-refute to do so, they do admit it], and Albert Belle really wouldn't surprise me to have used something, watching him play. The media wants this to become some showdown against baseball fans, and baseball as a respectable sport. And while, these guys may have 480 home runs, 40/40 years, MVP's and the like attached to their names... I cant vote any of them in on clear thoughts. Is it the roids per se... Maybe. Is it knowing that they robbed my sense of youth from me.... Maybe. Because I, like most every other fan, didn't find out about steroid useage until these guys were done. We didn't find out, until we enjoyed them at what they did, to find out they cheated to get ahead. But, even so, none of them has automatic Hall numbers. Sure, McGwire comes the closest to that, but we all know why. Thats what makes me want to see guys like Dale Murphy make it. Lee Smith. Goose. Burt. Gwynn. Ripken. Guys that could still be my childhood heroes, even as I'm an adult.

some interesting stuffs...

Casino Royale. gold. pure gold. i loved this movie, and reccomend any Bond fan [except fans of the shitty, money grabbing James Bond Jr. cartoon series] to see it, and keep an open mind for 30 minutes. it took me about that long to be sold on Daniel Craig. sure. blonde Bond. that made me skeptical. hes a bit more muscular than other Bonds. he seems to have that scruff/edge/bite to the character that wasnt there before. but after 30 minutes, i was sold. what really impressed me about this particular film were the level of realism to the stunt work this time.... this is something, that to me, has been lacking since really the Dalton era films... aside from the way the bomb-making guy in the opening chase sequence seems to bounce around all the time, everything else seems very, very plausible, if not how youd expect something to play out... by this i mean, no motorcycles jumping between helicopter blades... no bond, floating around the space station shooting up gold toothed morons... no flying around on metal zeppelins... no flying over japan in a suitcase helicopter... no Tatto or the dude from Fantasy Island trying to be the bad guy... none of that. to me, the story in this film has as much to do with why i like it, as the new actor as Bond. The story is succinct and makes it relevant. Sure, Bond is out roguing around and stumbles into this one; but whats more relevant than the financing of terror? it keeps the scope of the movie quite in line, and quite relevant-- something Moonraker obviously cant figure out-- but it stays logical in progression... something lately that was lost on the movies... while abandoned nuclear arsenals MIGHT pose a problem, the former Bond ally, we never really knew or cared about, faking his own death to ally with some other guy who is billed as a "man who can push himself harder than any other normal man" somehow ended up with these nuclear weapons, just gets lost on me. but for this movie, when its predecessor was "The World Is Not Enough" where do you go, in scope, with that next movie? how many times can we, believeably, watch Bond destroy a nuclear weapon, or fight a guy with a shark tank, or kick the hell out of ninjas, or beat up random voo-doo zombie lords, or screw some ho' named Octopussy, and come away with anything but the campy sense of it all. this movie shattered that for me. why? because they did it once before. yes, Dalton. for all the haters out there; Timothy Dalton's Bond was a stark change from Roger Moore and Connery's Bond. Dalton intrduced vengence, needing luck in fighting the enemy, and more of a sense of plausible nature. Everyone canned Dalton, the actor, but no one says much about the films and story lines of his two films. If anything, they shy away from the dark nature of License To Kill... its laced with profanity, violence, and down right nasty themes of revenge and sadistic nature of people. but Bond needed that, to break away from the campy shit that became the Roger Moore era. Who cares? Well, that formula worked well... that particular Bond actor did not. [by the way The Living Daylights is one of my top favorites!, aka... the Other Dalton movie] , this incarnation gives us a return to a real story line, like what we got out of the Dalton films, but with a Bond that makes it work. Besides, we come to expect a different hero now a-days. Face it. We expect to see a conflicted hero in the post-modern age of cinema. Think Die Hard, think Pulp Fiction, think Gladiator, think Sin City. Huge movies; but all of them twist the classic conception of "ideal good guy" and "ideal villan." We dont want that simplicity anymore. Think Superman Returns. We now question if Superman is gay; because nothing is appealing about plain old PB and J sandwhiches, just like nothing is appealing about the superhero our grandparents adored. We o want: grit, gore and gusto. We get all three from Craig. and it works. Really, fucking well, I might add. I mean it. I really like this movie. About the only spots I grumbled about had to do with the poisoning sequence [somewhat of a spoiler, but not really], and the whole eloping with this chick sequence... only because I felt both of these parts felt unnecessary to force the story. who cares? well, I felt like getting up and leaving when the whole eloping scene started up... I really felt, that if this was the Brosnan, or Moore Bond; thats where the movie would have ended. thankfully, on both accounts, it pushes us back to something thats a bit more interesting. bottom line. go see this thing. its the re-education of James Bond... you'll spend more time, like I am now, trying to figure out how to rank this Bond into the story line of the back catalog, than you will about anything else, if thats the only objection you will come up with.


Work. Some of you might know how I've been getting sick of getting slammed with freight, and getting fucked into doing all the work and watching the managers stand around and do nothing all day. Worse than that, I hate getting smacked by them for things that I do to make sense, because they don't like it... or how thats not how they've done it for 15 years... Well, today made up for that. With a slight smile to my face, someone from general office showed up. Just so happened, I know him. heh. See where this is going? They happened to stumble upon alot of fucked up things in that department... purely on their own... but I fleshed out the back story for everything I was asked about. Well. Little Ms. and Mr. Perfects got their asses hauled in back and thoroughly reamed out today for well over an hour. Appearantly, this was the worst visit score our department has received in recent memory. And, I can't say we didn't earn it. And I can't say, I'm not glad we got hammered for it. They needed that to happen. They needed someone to drop the axe and make them realize things need to change. People went scurrying about to fix things, and supposedly started getting defensive and argumentative with general office about it all. I laughed. Its pathetic. Own up to it. If they say, "Scott, your department looks like dog shit." I've got to own that. I own that statement, just as much as I would own, "Scott your department is the best looking in the district." Because thats what I was told at Staples. But appearantly, I know nothing of the "Menards way", or of running a department. I never once argued with Staples corporate office visits. I, instead, would ask to clarify, or have them walk it with me to see WHY they are saying what they say... I would even, on perfect scores, have them come up with criticisms to put on the reports... Why? Because I need something to work on and improve on... nothing is that good. The Menards way? Be difficult with them, argue, refuse to do things, and let the place look like dogshit. Thats great management appearantly. In fact, people were complaining that the visitor went out of his way to go through and detail all the problems he found.... my comment; "Why wouldn't he?" For God's sake, if it looks that bad, they have no choice. Kind of reckon it to an off-duty cop... if hes sitting eating dinner, and watches someone get shot, hes got to do something. Off duty or not. This store visit wasn't meant to be a house cleaning action, I think it was just a normal drop in, for this guy to check out how his projects are working out in our store... But he walked into a place that looked that bad, he had to do something. Like I said, I can't say we didn't deserve it. And I own up to it. Hopefully some other people around here will as well.

It was more than a week ago when I said, "I'd follow this up with something more." Yeah, that didnt happen so much I guess. Just been caught up working. Ofcourse, once its my weekend, its slammed busy. Plus we had Thanksgiving holiday, and Black Friday in there as well, and those pretty much stripped me of any days off last week... leading me back to the current point in time. So.



Wisconsin.

What can I say really? It was exactly as people told me it would be... yet altogether lacking. To give a generic overview; its about 20 hours worth of company training [the vast, vast majority of it spent in direct vendor/product training workshops], crammed into two days... and... when I say two days, I really mean... We are flown in at noon, stay till midnight, start at 6am then are flown out home by 2pm. Its a whirlwind to say the least. Anyways. Doing my best not to compromise anything here...

We catch a flight from the local /international/ [read: non-international] airport commercial wing, which, cool enough to say, they land the fucking plane about 10 feet from the doors, and you walk right on board.... no tickets, no luggage checks, no security. Private industry is great like this! Anyways, the company plane already has other people on it, we get crammed in the back and we're off! Which, to me, was the best part. I'd never been on an airplane. So everything was new. Well, the sudden urge to vomit when you take off wasnt new... but newly induced. Its a short approach, and since im sitting on the tail, I get the bumpiest ride of anyone... I wasn't expecting it. But nothing happened. But once airborne, I'm somewhat taken back by just how magnificent flight is. I can't find any other words really... majestic maybe. But it was just so surreal coming up above the clouds watching the cars and people shrink to nothingness. Then the idea of just cruzing up above the high clouds just gave that idea of something angelic. I dunno. I was actually fine with just flying around. But eventually it ends... We land at the whopping metropolis that is Chippewa Valley Regional. Wheeee. Its a happening place. Obviously, the only time this place sees this many planes is when Menards flys everyone in. We are taken on buses directly to the "complex" as I heard it referred to.

Menards general offices are much larger than I thought. The reason why, I presume, is that it also houses the main distribution site for product to the retail stores... Which, honestly, is massive. They also have some odd things on the "complex" grounds... a nail stylist, a barber shop, gift shop, restaraunt, and race track. Besides the general office areas. None of this was accessable for me. We were herded directly inside to a convention center wing of the "complex" instructed to dump luggage and take seats in a large lecture hall. From there I met Larry Menard. Then a whole bunch of other people, then some opening comments and pretty much dismissed to start the vendor fair. That involved a large number of the product vendor's from my department, all providing about 40 minutes on topics as they saw fit. It took until 11 something at night to finish up, which we were herded back onto the bus and taken to the hotel... which was miles away from anything... until we were picked back up before 6am to start again doing more of the same, plus with more time from different Menard's people on company related policies and information. Before we knew it, we were herded on a bus again, and shipped to the airport to depart. Seriously, it went very fast.

We had a tremendous amount of information thrown at us in a very short time frame, and I got the impression most people couldn't handle it. Well that, and I walked away with the sense of how incompetent my peers are that work in other stores... people in my groups had very little understanding in products, sales techniques, company policies and none of them seemed to put forth any effort or attention. While I have to admit, most of the information was rudimentary, and not designed to be the be-all-end-all source of knowledge for any thing; I doubt very much that alot of usefull information gets retained in such a short time frame. Well that, and they send the same people to it every year... so many of the department lifer's have done this 10 to 15 times already.

Anyways, that was it. I was back on the ground the next day. Back in Illinois. Somewhat void of the drama or excitement that I was looking forward to finding. The only thing of real excitement was meeting my possible boss and coworkers. The more they talked to me, the more they seemed interested in bringing me up for an opening to interview. Probably as a merchandiser, but maybe as an analyst. It also gave me a brief look at Eau Claire. To a lesser extent, I knew about as much going in as I did coming out, and with out any good looks at the town, I dont have any real impressions about it. It looks to be similar to Iowa City in size, slightly lacking in accomodations thoguh. From the conversations I had, most people spend their free time out on the lakes around the area. Housing looked like a big mix... older houses, with new rentals mixed in hap-hazardly. Supposedly it has a college in the town somewhere. But it doesn't offer any masters programs that interest me; so scratch that possibility. I dunno. I guess Ill find out more about that stuff later on. But that was the trip in a quick burst of sentences.



Things of Other Variety.



I picked up a copy of Cradle of Filth's new cd before I left town. Im trying desparately to like it. Much like Ive been struggling with the new Black Label cd. Its not that either of them are bad. I think its just that I like the preceeding catalog so much, that these dont seem to do much. Thornography is very mellow, compared to some of the old work; like Damnation... or Dusk and Her Embrace... While its an extension from Nymphetamine [their last cd], its not taking it as far as that cd did. Sure, the elements are there. Yeah, the same themes are there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when do I get hooked on this one, like I did with Nymphetamine? Answer is I havent. Im trying. I think this one just goes into the pile. Its been produced to be a logical successor by doing what Nymphetamine did, but it seems repetitive here. Not forced. But not unique either. Its something I'd say is now more gothic metal... not at all the black metal they were at one point in time. Haters say they sold that out for mainstream recognition and popularity [hence people know this band for 2 reasons... the t-shirt with "Jesus Is A Cunt" written on it, or for their appearnce on Viva La Bam on MTV]. I dunno. Same thing with Black Label's Shot To Hell. While Mafia wasnt great, it has alot of stuff I really dig. STH seems to be pushing the ballads more than I wanted... which, dont get me wrong, I love Hangover Music V. 4; but these are a different kind of animal. I was hoping this would turn out more like e. 1919 or the self titled. Not so. So lately I've been playing alot of older stuff from all over.

Anyways... Ive eaten up a bunch of time tonight writting about nothing new. Something interesting... uhm. I had to take in Big Red for the first time. I had an oil pressure sensor go out... she'd run fine, just I had [according to the panel] zero line pressure; however it was running at a nominal temperature! Funny. Since it reads the oil temperature as it passes through the block, it would have to be getting pressure in the line to pump it up to that point. I hoped it wasnt an oil pump going out, which gladly it was not. So that was a first.

Hmm. I bought a new mp3 player. Mainly for the trip to Eau Claire. Partly because I wanted one. I had a cd based one most of the way through college, which was crapping out, so I thought Id splurge a bit to upgrade. No ipod. Those are "teh gax0r" indeed. Instead I have a Zen Touch 40 gig. Works well. All hard drive based, so its heavier and can skip some, but the battery life is fantastic. Something like 20 hours per full charge! Thats what impressed me the most.

I also bought a new coat. It was something I'd wanted for a long time too. So I thought I'd buy one. Its a dress coat, so I really don't many opportunites to wear it now, but it looks good. Classy. Definitely a Scott kind of buy. I've heard that from about 4 people now.

I suppose everyone else here will laugh at me... but I have now officially been on a plane. Yes, how 1938 of me to say that. But its true. Ive never been on an airplane when its been in the air. Menards, I have you to thank for that. That and the headache I got from the 192 decibles of cabin noise from the outdated turbo props you flew me in... but thats really all water under the bridge now. Besides, it gave me a view, of what could very well turn out to be my home in the next few months... greater Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Or, lesser Eau Claire, as I found it to be. Anyways, I put something up later about the actual reason why I was there, but for now, I thought I'd pull some pictures off my phone to share.

well, with the elections past us now its time to think. while i could sit and bemoan the outcome; id rather fill the space with something else. im not really sad that republicans lost control of congress. im frustrated about it. im disgusted that they will probably elect nancy pelosi as speaker of the house. but im not sad. it was coming. but its never a joyous thing to see. much like winston churchill and party before them, republicans had to know that the key to a job well done is a swift boot out of office once the need seemingly wears off. and see, thats why im not sad. no, its not that i feel republicans have done everything perfectly, when it comes to the defense of america, but i know deep down, democrats could never have fullfilled was was completed by this party. that and the slight that is being trounced in election has the sharp sting of "we'll be back", especially knowing this world. a party with strong convictions, and with the desire to do right and defend american principles, knowing they will be spit upon by the media in the few short years to come, is a job that is unenviable, but undeniable. but i cant say i care that much for what the administration has continued to be. Rush Limbaugh says he feels 'liberated' now that its come and gone [the elections]. Sean Hannity tells 'that let our hearts not despair', during these days. Pat Buchanan sees the change as necessary. And Newt, himself, calls this a time for great opportunity. While the popular commentators might spread the news about how this could be a positive; notice... I really only ally with my true idol. Pat has always struck a chord with me. This is, indeed, a necessary change. Its part of the system. So I'm not sad. But I'm not excited either.

What was more troubling than that, was the amount of people NOT voting. Informally, it was about 2 / 10 that I talked with at work, who WERE voting. That is counting myself, of course. Several expressed interest in not even caring about elections. Two protested about not even having registered to vote. One thought it was some sort of misguided political statement, that he'd never once voted in his life. I was mortified. But then again, thats the type of distinction that is drawn between me, and all of you. Clearly, I'm not inteded to live in this generation. I dont act like my peers. I share no resemblance to their desires in my own life. I cant fathom the idiocy that is their "politcal" nature. It runs deeper than just skin deep. Even my own brother, wont register to vote. I reminded him, that even though you dont have to serve in war, you submitted Selective Service paperwork; so even if you dont vote, at least register. Nope. And, thats something I presume thats common now. That was something that made this election sad, in a way, to me. The sheer number of people in my age group, that just wont vote, and refuse to register, or in any way, familiarize themselves with the methods of the country they live in.

I wish I really had more to say about it. But its over. The elections are past us now. Let America bloat herself on socialist reforms, political favors, and expansive government agendas that she voted for. But just dont swear at me... "Speaker Pelosi" should be stripped of the lexicon.


Other than all that. Not alot else going on. Thursday and Friday I fly up to the M's home office in Eau Claire. Aside from what everyone else tells me, I'm looking forward to it. I'd like to see the 'compound' that this company owns. I'm looking forward to seeing how they view this whole arm of yearly training, compared to everyone on the ground that I work with. That, and I get to fly on a company jet. I've never flown before. Even though we are only airborne for about 40 minutes, I'm still excited about the ride in the first place. While the 19 hours of hell training, locked into the compound, doesn't excite me; I'm still looking forward to it. Maybe after this, I'll have a better idea if I'm going to stick around or not. But so far, its treating me better than copier sales. I have more money. No more wet and frozen toes. No worn out shoes. No bitching boss. Just banjo music, nascar, and a lack of teeth to deal with.

so the tidal wave is coming... i just hope i can manage to stay above water when it rises... its the old people, the elderly, they revolt! just another day at the M; and why would i say such a thing? the normal amounts of toothless nascar "contractor" crews came in.... just the normal flow of mexicans with 5 year olds translating for them showed up... but it was the old people. the people over 68 years old, were starting the riots today. one litterally pushed and shoved, twice, someone in my department over a 2 dollar filter. another threw a fit because the store would only give her in-store-credit for a check she wrote the day before... all of them were stomping around getting pissed off about god knows what... and what surprised me was the nature of the violence... actually physically shoving someone... it was bad enough we had him walked out. then the old bat i had to deal with wasnt much better... just another typical day i suppose. somehow, this clientel we amass, just seems to find new ways to penetrate all the pores on my skin each day, making me question the true nature of people. but i have to remind myself, that when the buisness model is to deal with the bottom end, with the lowest prices, with the people that have no business buying and doing things; if that is your business... then youre bound and determined to end up with people like this in your stores. and i think, i traded in my jacket and tie for this.

exactly one year ago, i walked into RK Dixon, wide eyed, and hopeful. officially a copier rep. unofficially, i should have begun counting my days at that moment. i remember being led around, meeting nearly a hundred people in an hour, that even months later could never remember who they were; thinking, "could this be a good thing?" i remember having my hair slicked up, wearing my new suit; which was my college graduation present from my parents, sitting in my 2 week old car; with my hand on the door handle, being nervous about what i say and do. being nervous about who i was inside that car, and who was going to get out of it. that sound so sad. but at the time, i was nervous about becoming an adult. wearing adult clothes, with and adult car, and the adult job. i was nervous about having a place there in that adult kind of world. and in the end, they didnt have a place for me. and i think. i guess i still think about how it would have been if id stayed... or if i could have made it work longer... i think about how much of an adult, like them... like they wanted me to be, that i would have become by now. but in reality; i was nervous about being me. not about becoming an adult, but nervous about being me, scott; in a room full of professional adults. because, thats really what it was. the slicked up hair, the fancy suit, the shinned up shoes, the slick job... how much of that was me. how much of that was me underneath it, working for someone else, being told to not to be me, but to be a slick copier salesman, pushing boxes into offices. to be able to force the glib joke, to make 30 appointments per week, to land a million dollar sales line... i was was nervous about becoming that... when i should have been nervous about why they wanted that. looking back now, i miss wearing the jacket... the tie.... the shoes.... i miss having a reason to look nice. i miss having a job with some sort of presteige and opportunity. but. i missed being me. to do that, meant i had to be them... be like them, be with them, do for them, do as them... to be them. and i wasnt. dont get me wrong. i sold copiers in my time with them. but i wasnt one of them. and i was nervous about how i could be. but i traded it in for this... idiocy looms dark in the clouds, i should say... and the light of retrospect is bright; but a pinhole in the sky. a year ago i started my day, with my coffee in hand. on my first day as a real sales rep. as a real adult. a year later, i remember the day for what it was. i remember that i was last year, and this is now, this year. this year, i sell toilet seats. last year i sold 50,000 dollar copiers. last year, i was just begining where i thought my life was going. this year, i sit near the dead end of the life i hoped to abandon. today, but last year, i sat with a picture of a very special person on my empty desk. i had my note pad, my new company lap top, the telephone that didnt work, and my picture of her in my hand, sitting at my cube. she made me smile. it was a funny picture i took with me. almost like i knew, i was moving into a place where id need the humor in her eyes most days to make it through. this year, i look at it as a picture. i hold the same picture, thats now face down in my desk drawer. shes the same person. in the picture atleast. i want to think shes the same person a year later. but this year... i dont live with pictures. this year, shes pretty much let me know what the score is, and id rather not talk about it... just to say, this year, i look at that picture and remember what i wanted; and try to forget what i wont get. this year, isnt much like last year. last year was a picture in my hand. this year, i put it back in the drawer, facedown. this year is just another year. this year, i sit in my car, with my hair all loose and mangled... i wear rumpled jeans and tore up boots... i eat a cold lunch in a box... and somehow, with that picture in my mind, i have to realize what last year was worth before i get to next year.

again, this is why wikipedia is so damned cool.

.99999999999999999 = 1. The Article.

While they go on on ad nauseum about this, the basis of the argument is, as you guessed it, .99999999999999 really is 1. Don't bother to come up with an objection; the folks masterminding this article with brow beat you with an incredible 999999999 proofs as to why you are an idiot. Seriously, some of the deliciousness that is the article:

One reason that infinite decimals are a necessary extension of finite decimals is to represent fractions. Using long division, a simple division of integers like ¹?₃ becomes a recurring decimal, 0.3333…, in which the digits repeat without end. This decimal yields a quick proof for 0.999… = 1. Multiplication of 3 times 3 produces 9 in each digit, so 3 × 0.3333… equals 0.9999…. But 3 × ¹?₃ equals 1, so 0.9999… = 1.<sup>[1]

...</sup>

Another kind of proof more easily adapts to other repeating decimals. When a number in decimal notation is multiplied by 10, the digits do not change but the decimal separator moves one place to the right. Thus 10 × 0.9999… equals 9.9999…, which is 9 more than the original number. To see this, consider that subtracting 0.9999… from 9.9999… can proceed digit by digit; the result is 9 ? 9, which is 0, in each of the digits after the decimal separator. But trailing zeros do not change a number, so the difference is exactly 9. The final step uses algebra. Let the decimal number in question, 0.9999…, be called c. Then 10c ? c = 9. This is the same as 9c = 9. Dividing both sides by 9 completes the proof: c = 1.^[1]

...

As part of Ed Dubinsky's "APOS theory" of mathematical learning, Dubinsky and his collaborators (2005) propose that students who conceive of 0.999… as a finite, indeterminate string with an infinitely small distance from 1 have "not yet constructed a complete process conception of the infinite decimal". Other students who have a complete process conception of 0.999… may not yet be able to "encapsulate" that process into an "object conception", like the object conception they have of 1, and so they view the process 0.999… and the object 1 as incompatible. Dubinsky et al. also link this mental ability of encapsulation to viewing 1/3 as a number in its own right and to dealing with the set of natural numbers as a whole.^[19]


I suppose if there is any doubt to the argument, Who Da Fuck Cares?; the answer would be... appearantly nerds on the internet. Yes, they prove that as well....

With the rise of the internet, debates about 0.999… have escaped the classroom and are commonplace on newsgroups and message boards including many that nominally have little to do with mathematics. In the newsgroup sci.math, arguing over 0.999… is a "popular sport", and it is one of the questions answered in its FAQ^[55] The FAQ briefly covers 1/3, multiplication by 10, and limits, and it alludes to Cauchy sequences as well.

...

In the same vein, the question of 0.999… proved such a popular topic in the first seven years of Blizzard Entertainment''s Battle.net forums that the company's president, Mike Morhaime, announced at an April 1, 2004 press conference that it is 1:

"We are very excited to close the book on this subject once and for all. We've witnessed the heartache and concern over whether .999~ does or does not equal 1, and we're proud that the following proof finally and conclusively addresses the issue for our customers."^[57]

Blizzard's subsequent press release offers two proofs, based on limits and multiplication by 10.

Obviously we can state to a fact; that only on an the internet message board of mathnerds, does arguing over numbers equate a "sport." Yes I said it,

Infinite arguments over numbers = 1 sport.

go Wikipedia!