lots of information

well there's certainly been a lot of things going on. First and foremost is that I updated good ole HAL. He's now the proud recipient of a video card transplant. He also got a new sound card and a dvd rom. also i picked up one of those spiffy Saitek PC gaming keyboard...now I am uber :) There's a lot of things I need to say and clear up.

Let's start with the fact that I have received no email with the exception of an email from Leslie in about 2 weeks. While It doesn't bother me too much, it just lets me know how things are. Next I need to clarify something. The common question seems to be "You couldn't wait 10 minutes?" No, no I couldn't wait 10 minutes and here's why. For the last 3 months I've had MSN messenger up almost non-stop. And on the rare occasion that anyone is actually on they're either set to busy or away. no problem. everybody has to leave the keyboard from time to time. But hey, I leave a message saying hi. I figure that in the event that someone returns they'll see the message, since it has to pop up on the desktop, and possibly shoot one back. Even if it's to say "hey, i've gotta go to work. talk to you later", that would be better than what I get. What I invariably get is about 3 hours of silence followed by the person signing off. So after 3 months of this if i send a message to an away person and they don't respond within 5 minutes i'm gone to move on with my life. It's not just one person responsible for this, but just about everybody from down south. Like i said even if you're busy shoot a hi gotta go message back...or don't get snippy because I'm not waiting for you to respond when you come back 5 days later.

Thirdly there's been a situation in Pensacola involving some good friends that i've stayed out of. And I'm going to continue to stay out of it. No one wants to know what I've got to say and no one would listen even if I told them. I personally haven't been aprised of any changes in the situation and don't personally care anymore. Time to grow up all around. Don't send me mail or comment here asking what the fuck I mean, because I'm not going to address them.

So I've been playing the hell out of some half-life 2 and HL2 Deathmatch. It's just too much fun and now must find new maps for Deathmatch.

That is all.

I have Plumbed and I have been Plumbed...

Those who don't know what the hell i'm talking about haven't played Half-Life 2 Deathmatch. I downloaded it yesterday morning, but never got around to play it until a little bit ago. While repeatedly getting hit from behid with a toilet may be irritating, there's just something about hurling one at someone else with the gravity gun that's just so sweet. The only problem that I find with it is that I do not believe that it should be a one hit kill. I mean yeah, if I get beaned in the skull with a 70 pound piece of porcelain it's gonna hurt...no doubt about it, but what I've witnessed is the decline of civilisation as we know it. They spawn camp, hell they camp period, all with toilets and whatever foreign matter they care to find in anticipation of me joining the land of the fragging. All in all it's far too much fun to pass up...speaking of which..when's anybody from P'cola gonna get on this shit?

Resistance is Futile...Give me your Cheese Fries 

Just a quick question...

Why is my bag of disposable razors resealable? I didn't know that freshness was an attribute they graded razors on now.

Anyway back to the weekly drudgery

that is all

Half-Life 2 Pwnz my S0uL

I picked up Half-Life 2 SIlver from Steam friday. I did this mainly for a few reasons. 1) i couldn't play HL online because it was always bitching about how it wasn't up to date and teh HL2 Silver came with HL: Source and Counterstrike:Source. so I'm up to dat eon my half life goodness. Now back to the title of this little entry. The game is friggin incredible. I knew it was gonna be something special to look at, but i had no idea it was gonna be this detailed with a fairly deep story for a FPS. That and I've kinda loved Gordon Freeman since the original. He seems like such the unlikely hero. and it was kinda nice to see my HEV after so many years. and damn did it look smooth :) For you FPS lovers out there I highly recommend it. and now if i can just get a hold of clayson...

Well that was anti-climactic...

I'm sure you guys have noticed that I haven't posted anything on my non-smoking diaries...but you know what...it's not s interesting as I thought it would be. Yeah the first 3 or so days were a little rough, but after that it's been a non-issue. No critical craving, no homicidal mood swings, no nothing. It wasn't the Descent Into Madness(TM) that I thought/heard it was going to be. Oh well here's the short form anyway. I've not been smoking for the last 8 days, nor do I feel the inclination to have a cigarette. almost a bummer...

On an interesting sidenote I have seen horrors that no human mind should ever bear witness to. I think I am officially sterile and lo be thankful that you are only getting the words and not the live-action picture that I got. I got the meet "Kelly" today. As many of you don't know, i've been doing the maintenance on the Catholic Charities Maine building which essentially translates to an out-patient mental ward. It was here that I got to meet "Kelly" and boy was that a shock to the system at 8am/7am Central. Check Local Listings. "Kelly" was of the "Weirdo Transvestite" category. Not really what I would call "Executive Transvestite" by any stretch of the imagination. There was no doubting "Kelly" was a man. In fact I think "Kelly" really needed a girls night out to help with the makeup and the fugliness, erm I mean manishness, erm I'll just shut up now.

Now I have no problems with Tranvestites, Gay people any of those groups. But I was not prepared for "Kelly" I mean we've maintained this building before. "Kelly" isn't new...someone could have given me a heads up. I mean When you hear a guy ask if you want some coffee while you're waiting for Teresa and you look up and there's a 6 foot 3 inch man in heels, a nice blouse, socks or something oddly lumpy stuck in a bra, a pretty slapdash job with some makeup and a wig on it kinda makes you shiver for a second...and not in a good way. Anywho I'm off to bed. more updates as they become interesting...

Nic-Free Diaries Day 3 & 4 Morning...

"And Someone was giving boose to these god damn reptiles"

Yesterday was the stress test. Had a virtual nobody in management decide to give me shit for his mistake...He almost died. and I don't mean metaphorically. I was ready to reach my hands around his throat and choke him until he expired. My body realised we were running on empty yesterday. body no likee. Kinda had a medecine body feeling. Dunno if that was connected to the lack of nicotine or not, but you know that feeling when you take a few actifed and you feel kinda detached...yeah that feeling. This morning hasn't been bad, but I felt like i needed to report for yesterday and might as well throw this morning in as well. We got SNOW bitches... :) just a dusting but a little :)

The Nic-Free Diaries - Day Two

"The vibes had turned ugly. But Why? Was there no communication in this car?"

Today wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. I craved a cigarette far less than I would have expected...though communication was not my strong point today. I probably said less than four or five words in a row to a person at any one time. Even when I did speak I couldn't vocalise thoughts and ideas as normal so it was kind of embarassing. I think the most aggravating part of today is that all the smokers and reformed smokers alike have some sort of war story to tell you from when they tred to quit. I've come to the realisation that the only thing more self-righteous than a born again christian is a born again non-smoker.

Fear and Loathing in Southern Maine...

Statement: I have decided to quit smoking. And for the next 2 weeks at the least, everybody will know about it. For I am using this blog, amongst other things, to chronicle the decent into insanity that I'm sure will ensue. Why do I do this? Do I do this because hate you? NO...well at least 49% of you I don't. I do this maybe to keep me honest. Since I know that most of the people around that read that will and can call bullshit to the stuff I'm typing. And I'll title the progression in the only way that would fit this most "Gonzo" of stories...In Hunter S. Thompson quotes. SO without further ado:

The Nic-Free Diaries - Day One: "So oppressive; This feeling of Fear and Loathing"

I almost strangled someone today. The first day has to be the worst. None of those junkie signs like the shakes or dry mouth or anything...just an insufferable need to smoke a cigarette. The body hasn't yet figured out that it's not getting anymore. No doubt the revolt is sure to come. To be honest it's almost a mental breakdown and rebuild. Nerves and reflexes that are normally sharp seem shakey ad a bit slow. I slammed my hands in so many doors and other objects today it just made me even angrier. Though note for anybody else who feels the need to quit smoking...never use Peppermint Altoids as a substitute on your first day. I went through a tin of them while fighting the urge to pull over at the store and buy a pack of cigarettes. If you eat that many altoids you will get acid reflux, the likes of which you have never seen nor could possibly imagine. I have downed 4 Tums E-X and I can still feel it rumbling around down there. Hopefully day two and beyond will prove a little easier...

I Pwn...

Which OS are You?


But on a more serious note I think I'm done mourning the lost election. I mean there's only so long I can bitch...wait...no there isn't. I've got more in me i'm sure. But I've decided to do a little blame shifting. I can't necessarily blame bush, or the republicans, or the conservative democrats. I'm full out blaming the american people...or at least 51% of them. Yes Bush pulls some of the most screwball antics the world has ever seen for is and his cohorts personal gain. But how did he get there? What act of god put him in power? Wasn't himself...it was the american people. So when things go helter skelter I'm not writing my congressman...I'm writing you...those who voted for the man-chimp...and I can be very angry...

You all may fear me now...

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What kind of blogger are you?

You Know You're From Portland, ME When...

You're at Dunkin Donuts, drunk, at midnight on friday and saturday nights You attend EVERY porltand-deering sporting event...regardless of what it is. You know that there is a football game on Thanksgiving morning between the two rival schools. It takes at least 12 inches of snow for school to be cancelled. You drink in parking lots all winter long You know what Bill's Pizza is You think that Univ. of Maine - Orono is another 4 years of high school. You know what the Old Port is You understand the theory behind Dimillo's floating restaurant. You've skipped school or work to start drinking early Vacation means a trip to Montreal You know what an Italian Sandwich is You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Portland, ME.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here



More cool things for your blog at
Blogthings

I Wish 51% of you would move somewhere else...

I hear France s nice this time of year...

Did You? 

I'll see your Kerry Clayson and raise you a...

Which Presidential Candidate Are You?
Rung from Rum and Monkey's very own liberty bell.

El Presidente '04 I don't need a fucking running mate...i'm that good...

Top that one...

My Pimp Name is Master Brotherman.
Take Pimp Generator today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Where were you when...

What were you doing last week about midnight? What were you doing when the unthinkabnle happened and the Red Sox won the world series? The Sox are finally world champs and the curse is no more. IF nothing else happens this year you can say that you were here for a truly historic event. Red Sox fans, collectively known as the Red Sox Nation, for their lifelong devotion to seeing them finally win it, everywhere rejoiced, broke stuff, and generall y had a good time of it. How many people watched teh last out of the last inning and the little toss to first base and had flashbacks to '86 with Bill Buckner letting the ball dribble between his legs to lose it for them? I know I did. I've always loved the sox, and the other new england underdog teams that everybody seems to write off each year, yet for some reason have started to dominate in teh last few seasons. I would have to say that it's good to be back in new england. nowhere else in this country will you find such a large, and rabidly devoted group of sports fans. We love our teams and hope they do well each season. Congrats guys on finally breaking the curse....now I can die in peace...

Why the hell not...everybody else is...

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Michael Ellison Vance

2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? khaki shorts

3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Audioslave "show me how to live"
4. WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Turkey Sandwich...mmm, turkey

5. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? not in years

6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Brown

7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? Overcast and about 45

8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My dad

9. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? Clayson...yeah i guess he's aight ;)

10. HOW OLD ARE YOU TODAY? 27

11. FAVORITE DRINK? normal: Vanilla Coke. Alcoholic: Four Horsemen
12. FAVORITE SPORT? Hockey

13. HAIR COLOR? Strawberry Blonde...or blonde depending on how much I've been out in the sun.

14. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope

15. SIBLINGS? 1 brother

16. FAVORITE MONTH? March, my birthday. yay presents.

17. FAVORITE FOOD? Buffalo Wings

18. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Farenheight 9/11

19. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? XMAS@ Any day of the week starting with "S"

20. WHAT DO YOU DO TO VENT ANGER? I don't, I internalise everything so I'm a ball of boundless rage.

21. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? my nintendo

22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky Charms.

23. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses...final answer

24. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate

25. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE/ I-MAIL BACK? considering I'm probably the last one to respond...i think i'll let em slide on this one ;)

26. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? no one...they'll all already done it

27. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? see above

28. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? baby x1, grandmother x1, wife x1, house x1
29. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? can't remember

30. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? puzzles...lots of em

31. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Have to be Chad

32. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Played Diablo 2
33. FAVORITE SMELL? Village Candle's Summer Slices

34. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Pressure....i'm a "Combat Medic" type personality

35. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? not being funny.

36. PLAIN, BUTTERED OR SALTED POPCORN? butter. enough so that my arteries harden while i'm still watching the movie

37. FAVORITE CAR? I dig the hell out of the Tiburons.

38. FAVORITE FLOWER? day lilly

39. NUMBER OF KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? 5...and only 1 of them goes to my house
40. CAN YOU JUGGLE? my bills? certainly

41. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? any day beginning with "S"

42. WHAT DID YOU DO ON YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? I don't remember
43. HOW MANY STATES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 2

44. HOW MANY CITIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 2

45. HOW MANY COUNTRIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 1

46. HOW MANY CARS HAVE YOU HAD & WHAT WAS THE FIRST? 6, the first was an 85 chevy citation
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Portland, ME

48. HOW MANY TIMES WERE YOU MARRIED? 1

49. HOW MANY OFFSPRING? One

50. HOW MANY DIVORCES? 0

51. WHAT IS YOUR 1ST CHOICE...MONEY, HEALTH, POWER? Power most assuredly. and then, THE WORLD WILL BE MINE!!!

His first cake :) 

I Think You get the Idea...

This is just a quick and simple graphic I did for Yvonne's aptly named "Vote or Die" campaign she seems to be advertising in Clayson's LJ...btw feel free to link to the URL i uploaded this to if you want to add this to your site. it's not my bandwidth :)

I Fucking Knew It...

:: how jedi are you? ::

Goodbye to the Man of Steel

Goodbye to the Man of Steel 

I've been waiting to see the general consensus on this tragedy and it seems to be an overwhelming ratio. Everyone will miss Christopher Reeve. He did not want to be known as Superman but that was the role that inspired thousands of people, even gnereations later he still makes people believe that a man can fly. What it was that brought Superman to our lives was his personability and charity. He may be known as the Man of Steel but it was his support of the arts and later medical research for victims of paralysis that truly made him a hero.

How many people out there wrapped a blanket around your neck and pretended you could fly after seeing Superman? For how many of you after seeing him as Superman believe that there might actually be superheroes in the world? I know I did. He did so much with what he was given that it's truly astounding. DO the research and get back to me, you'll find there were causes for which weren't listed by the media short of the stem cell research that could have helped him so much. It truly is a tragedy and I hope everybody realises that we have just lost an actual superhero in this world. Godspeed Superman.

Interesting...

Well I got paid yesterday and bought a copy of Fahrenheit 9/11. I must say that it had effects similar to those sited from viewers of The Passion. I have to say that it kinda renewed my hatred of Dubya for me in a new way. Through the entirety of the fil you saw footage and connections that have been edited out by the "So Called Liberal Media". for any budding poltical, I'd highly recommend this movie. It's a good view certainly.

On another note I stuck it to the man again yesterday in what came to be my closest coming to vandalism in my efforts. While I was walking home I "liberated" a Bush/Cheney sign from someone's yard. I then wrote "I stuck it to the Man" on it in blue permanent marker and promptly headed to a close store. Once there (after cashing my check of course) I headed to the restroom, dropped the offending sign into the toilet and pissed on it.

In a related note I flipped off a guy walking down the street with a Bush/Cheney sign. I'm all about sticking it to the man this week...so where's your stories?

I've got mine...

I Stuck it to the Man Graphic 

I'll bet he gets respect now...

There's a lot to catch everybody up on, but as I'm sure you can tell from the title I'm going to start with something a little depressing. Rodney Dangerfield died yesterday afternoon. He was a great comedian and I enjoyed his routines and his movies immensely. I'm sure that I'm not the only ne that will sorely miss him.

On a lighter note however this week is shaping up nicely. I'm sure some of you (hopefully) will have the honored October 1st holiday. While not as well known as what will be abbreviated as S & BJ day in March, equally important to a well balanced year is National "Stick it to the Man" Day. I decided several years ago that October First would be a great day for it since my Octobers always seem to suck for some reason...why not just throw it back in teh face of "The Man". SO for the last several years I've been engaging in small acts of civil disobedience on October 1st. Last year I told the chick at McDonalds that I would in fact not be having an apple pie with my burger because I was "sticking it to the man". This year I didn't wear a uniform shirt to work, and when asked why I didn't wear the shirt, I promptly, and proudly, told my service manager that I was "sticking it to the man". So, since I'm sure the vast majority of you have forgotten about this holiday I'm gonna go one further in my quest to "Stick it to the Man". FOr this year, I'm gonna claim this whole week as "Stick it to the Man" week. So until Sunday night, I urge you all to stick it to the man in any way that you can find and please PLEASE leave me comments on here for how you've "Stuck it to the Man"

Here's the thing though...don't get arrested, and don't do anything stupid like skipping school or quitting your job to become a non-productive consumer in order to "Stick it to the Man." Those of you who leave me stories of your exploits, I will send you a graphic in honor of your perseverence in the face of "The Man"

In light of these last few paragraphs, work is going well, though there's a load of bullshit involving me not having a van and being expected to use my personal vehicle to get to jobs...I'm not too pleased about that one, and I did indeed "Stick it to the Man" on that one and let them know pretty outright that I would not in fact begoing mre than 3 miles in my vehicle to get to jobs as it was the end of my obligation to get to the shop.

You Learn Something New Everyday...

Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||||||||||| 75% Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||||||||| 80% Type 3 Image Focus |||||||||||||| 60% Type 4 Hypersensitivity |||||||||||| 41% Type 5 Detachment |||||||||||||||| 67% Type 6 Anxiety |||||||||||||||||| 74% Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||||||||||| 74% Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||| 47% Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||||||||| 72% Your Conscious-Surface type is 2w1 Your Unconscious-Overall type is 9w1

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Conscious self	Overall self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Again with the didn't see it coming...

Congratulations, you make it until the end! You
are the strong, modestly good looking man or
woman who doesn't take it from anybody.

How fast would you die in a cheesy zombie flick?
brought to you by

Just because I have to now...

If any of you read Yvonne's LiveJournal you'll see that I indeed did get a new job, am making more money than at that "other" place and indeed sent a letter to the owner upon seeing a rather interesting Want Ad in the Press Herald. Anyway, for everybody's enjoyment, i'm going to post the letter that I sent to them.


Hello My name is Michael Vance.
Undoubtedly whoever reads this e-mail knows that I was a service tech up until about month ago. I was Laid off for lack of business and the fact that I had not gotten my licenses yet. However I had just moved back to Maine from Florida only 3 months before so had no way of having them. Time Simpson knew this when I was hired and said that I could do "refigeration while I learned boilers" direct quote. However I as laid off for not having them.
Another point is that I was paid less than the helpers were and when I was to get a little more it was decided that I shoud be laid off. So let me tell you what a surprise it was when I read in teh employment section that Pine State Sudden Service needed a new Service tech. And not just a service tech, but one who possesses all the requirements that seem to be taken directly off of my resume. If I was simply "laid off", why was I not contacted. Also if business is so slow why are you looking for someone who has all the qualifications of someone you had just laid off. I was the lowest paid employee in the HVAC or plumbing department and those who I was told were to be fired when I was hired are still there. To my knowledge I had never had a call back and in fact had saved quite a few of your service contracts including, but not limited to, Yale Cordage & Rosewood at Rye. I had also brought business such as TGI Fridays. I'm skilled at HVAC installation as well, but no one offered to move me to another department. I posess more Air Conditioning knowledge than a good deal of your techs there and yet I was the one to feel the axe.

In conlusion I feel I was taken advantage of with the promise of helping someone who had just moved to the state, and was obviously qualified enough to work for a pittance with promise of "substantial wages". I hope that someone actually reads this instead of just deleting it since this is a direct reflection upon the quality of work there.

Sincerely,
Michael Vance.

Now I received a response to this letter, rather surprisingly, from one of the office girls, who then handed it to the owner. There's a moral to this story, and those of you in this position will respect this, those who aren't...well you better heed my advise....Be NICE to the office girls. Even after you're gone they'll do nice things for you if you need them to. Thanks Ann for taking one for the team :)

I never saw this one coming...

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Third Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Very High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Moderate
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's" Inferno Test

Though I'd like to give a shout out...

To Robo-killer, like always ditching me in the middle of MY FUCKING CAPE MISSION, then coming back later and asking if i can help with his. Also for leaving in the middle of the invasion, WHEN WE WERE FUCKING SURROUNDED BY LVL 28 FUCKING RULARUU. thanks for the assist there big guy....Fuck you and fuck your cape. I'll wipe my ass with it if you ever get one...

The Rularuu Attack...

The Rularuu Invasion

For those of you who were unfortunately at work, or worse...play that other game, you missed out on an awesome event in Paragon City. The Rularuu invaded paragon at about noon yesterday and I am proud to say that E-Branch was there to help the embattled heroes defend their metropolis. With the aid of several other members of E-Branch including Talchazzar and Maxxis we helped keep paragon city safe from the enormous tide of alien invaders. It truly was a great battle and I think it would suffice to say that In-Between paid the ultimate price to the tune of about 14K in debt. And through his long hours of sacrifice and battle he earned his cape somewhere in the process. It truly was a good day to die...

It works with everything...

Dick Cheney insists on link between Al Qaeda and Kevin Bacon. Al Qaeda was trained by the CIA which was created by Harry Truman who dropped the bomb which was conceived by the Manhattan Project which was a movie starring John Lithgow who was in Footloose with Kevin Bacon.

The Hunter Speaketh...

Deep into the election year and there has been no word from my favorite journalist, Hunter S. Thompson. Surely I'd have thought he'd have something to say on this election. Well, after a little searching I found something, on the ESPN page 2 site of all places. here's the article that i have found. BEHOLD for the doctor speaketh:

Sean Penn called me last night and said he was quitting the movie business until after the football season.
"I am going on the road with Brett Favre and the boys," he said. "The Packers will kick ass this year, and I want to be part of it. I love Brett Favre."
His voice sounded strange, so I goaded him.
"The football season has been cancelled this year. The White House just announced it."
"No!" he shouted. "That's impossible! Football season will never be canceled in America -- not in an election year. There would be riots."
"Exactly," I replied. "Horrible riots every Sunday afternoon, in cities all over the country. Football fans will go crazy. I already feel the Fear."
It's true, but not because of our football season being canceled. No. We must have football. What would this country be without football in October?
That is a dangerous question, so I try not to worry. Only an imbecile would alienate every football freak in the country at a time like this.
It would be political suicide.
Would the President do a thing like that?
Who knows for sure? He is already muttering about "postponing" the whole election, and that is almost as ugly as canceling a football season.
These rumors are dark and disturbing, especially for a football addict in July. Take my word for it, because I am a certified addict. It makes me feel crazy on some days, and this is one of them.
I am a football addict, and I am not alone in this country. We are legion, and we must have football ... Yes. It is righteous, and only a jackass would cancel it.
Election years are always weird in America, and they always happen in football season. That is a fact of life. The President will always be elected on the first Tuesday in November, for good or ill, and not even Richard Nixon could change it. He hated anything that stood between him and a Green Bay Packers game, especially on Monday nights.
Nixon was a bad loser. He hated losing worse than death, and that is why I enjoyed him. We were both football fans, both addicts; and on some days, nothing else mattered.
But that was yesterday, and George Bush is now.
Where is Richard Nixon, now that we need him? He was crooked in every way and his hands were covered with blood -- but he was a rabid, high-rolling football fan with a sly taste for gin; and on some nights, he could be good company.
Ah, but we live in a new century now, and the president is not a football fan. The first real game of the season will be a huge event for most of us; but for young George Bush, it will mean nothing. He will feel no relief, no escape from the same sense of doom that fell on his father, only 12 years ago. The old man failed when he tried to get re-elected, and so will his son. They both peaked too soon, about six months before football season; and after that, they sank like punctured fish.
So the time has come to get busy on what we call "the summer book" in the business of gambling on presidential elections. And right now the London/Vegas numbers are about 51-49 percent for Bush, if only because he is the filthy-rich incumbent and the son of a global oil-industry magnate.
That is big in the politics business; but this year, it will not be enough to make up for all the wretched, disastrous failures of the Bush administration. Betting on George Bush to win this coming election would be like betting the Denver Broncos to win the Super Bowl.
My own whim at the moment says that John Kerry will win big in November, and that the Colts will finally win the Super Bowl. Why not? This is the year of the monkey, and George Bush will be lucky to get out of Washington without being put on trial for treason.
Yes sir, we are coming around to some bold visions now, but my time is running out. Next week, I will tell you what happens in America if Kerry loses this election, along with the current odds on whether there will be an election this year. Okay. Mahalo.

New IB...Now with Cape Action... 

More Breaking News: From the Maw of Hell...

I'm just not blending...am I?

We returned later to the scene of the protest where apparently they still hadn't received their coveted "issue 2". But this begs the question does Issue 2 really exist? Aside from hints and allegations amongst the liberal media about the existance of this critical issue there has been no real evidence to sggest that there is even an issue 2 out there.

I reurned to the scene to attempt to blend in and gain the trust of the protestors in an attempt to gain more insight into their beliefs and causes. We brought a cameraman in with us this time to capture the chilling event in all of its gritty reality. Footage will become available as soon as a souce is found to broadcast it (ie i need somewhere to put it)

But possibly the greatest shock of these events was the political debate that raged between george W. Bush and John Kerry. Possibly the only debate of this election, it was also captured on tape. In a surprising turn of events the WMD's that Bush had searched for for so long, turned up at the events. When asked about their sudden appearance all they had to say was "Here I am. You still can't find me...bitch." Gripping.

I joined the protest but was soon spotted as the above picture displays. But what was I doing wrong? I was dressed "street" like the heroes assembled. I held a sign bearing a number much like th others. What set me apart? Did they instinctively know that I was not like them. The truth may never be told. But the riveting video footage will be made available shortly I assure you. Reporting for BNN this is Mikey V...I'm out...yo

Breaking News. This Just In...

The lamest protest ever

Paragon City Hall was the scene of what would have to be the lamest, and worst organised protest in history. Tens of "superheroes" gathered around the city representative in a horrible attempt to get the devs to upload the test version of the Issue 2 update for City of Heroes. When asked about the disturbance City Representative Norman Kozlowski said "I don't fucking know...something stupid like "give us our fucking capes" or something." Chilling.

As the photo depicts these heroes attempted to bog down the server so badly that, well, I don't frigging know what they were hoping for. In a strange bit of irony, these same protestors that wanted the issue update so badly, failed to realise that it would only download as they were closing out their session thereby rendering their protest an even bigger waste of time than it initially would have been.

We questioned of of the heroes who had only this to say, "I just want my eyes sparkly...is that so much to ask?" As the masses, if you can call 30 heroes in a room that, started to thin the protestors broke down into an argument over what could be considered "early in the week." One group said that today was the last day that could be considered early, since wednesday was halfway through the week. Others said that thursday would be. Heroes at each others throats like rabid fanboys. Disturbing.

Also amongst the discussion was the threat of the protestors being "banned". At the merest mention of the highest curse they could conceive of the group started to disperse quickly and all powers were shut off for several minutes. Even a random Gravity Singularity was quoted as saying "fuck that...i'm not getting banned for this." and quickly left this plane of existence. Sheer mayhem. This reporter was lucky to get out of this protest alive. For the Bullshit News Network, this is Mikey V returning to my quiet home away from these fucktards.

Oh, and for the record...the lunchbox in the front of the shot is my wife's character...

I have been many places and seen many things...

But never in my life have i seen something so assanine as last wednesday. For starters I got laid off, which in my humble opinion is a total screwball antic to begin with. Being laid off is when you're fired but they have no reason to fire you except for the fact that either a) you make too much money, or b) there's no work. Well I certainly didn't make too much money, as I'm the lowest paid employee there. Apparently there wasn't enough work and I was the only one without the licenses to they said adios.

Now my problem with this scenario is that I was hired at a pittance under the stipulation that after 3 months we'd sit down and make sure I was worth what thye were gonna pay me. Well instead of getting a raise they just up and let me go....damn the man and his whitey oppressing ways. There's more I have to speak on but I've gotta go for now...post more later...

An Another Thing...

Just thought I'd add. I know everybody's heard this before, but I'm gonna start playtesting my RPG within the next few weeks. You know, the one I wrote. The one I started back LAST august. Well, I guess in celebration of the anniversary I might as well playtest the thing. If you're interested in doing a little group-based rpg, leave a comment in here and I'll get you the info if you don't have it. It promises to be fun.

The Last 2 Weeks...an Introspective...

Sorry yet again it's been so long, but you know how my fixations go. There's been so much going on in my life at the moment it's been hard to form the thoughts, let alone the words, to actually rant about them here. But here it goes anyway.

My Friday the 13th was an utter disaster. I have no other way to describe it. I can't even go into details about it without getting pissed off. So here's the short short politically correct version of that day. Got suckered into installing a hot Water Heater for the plumbing guy at work. Dunno how he thought I was gonna do this, but he had it in his head that I was a plumber. trust me, he found out for the rest of the day that I wasn't. Job went horribly horribly wrong. got zero support except for short, sarcastic, comment from the plumbers when I asked for help. The customer was a total wacko and the plumbing guy was screaming for my job after everything was said and done. Now those of you who have heard the sordid tale know more of this and why the guy almost got his head thrust into the back of my truck, but the whole situation still just pisses me off. But still I persevere.

Saturday however rocked hard. yvonne and I went to a local concert on the back patio of a local radio station. There will be pictures of said event posted later once I pull them off of the camera, along with a picture of the worlds largest afro. Anywho the concert kicked obscene amounts of ass. It was all local bands...once which if you can order them...do it. Vacationland was the first band. They put on a pretty decent show. They play to the crowd well and they music rocks. The second band was called As Fast As, and they as well kicked ass, though they put on a much better show and I am heavily inclined to pick up their new CD. Those who know me know how frequently I buy CD's. They're just that good. The third band however was the band we went to see and have become my favorite band of late. They're called Paranoid Social Club. For those of you who might have the memory span of more than a few years might remember them as Rustic Overtones. They opened for David friggin Bowie for a while. But they rock hard. The music kicked ass, and I already have all of their cd's. you can't beat it either. Their new albums "Axis 1 & 3" was 11.49. a double album for under 12 bucks...you can't beat that anywhere. And they're full cd's which you will listen to all of....trust me you'll listen to all of them. get the albums...you won't be disappointed. And Chad....order them from Elvis over at the East Hill Music Exchange...i know he can get them.

This week at work was more of the usual actually. I spent the week making the company look good. Apparently after the friday the thirteenth incident, i've still managed to come out smelling like a rose. I may suck at plumbing, but I rock at AC...which if I'm not mistaken was WHAT I WAS HIRED TO DO. I've been visiting customers doing a good job to get them to renew their service contracts, because the guy before me was such a mouthpiece that he just screwed off and didn't do anything. So I've sent the last week chasing his mistakes...which always pisses me off...especially when I know I'm making less than anybody there and having to do twice the work. My review is supposed to be coming up at the end of august, and I have a feeling if they don't give me what I want I'm gonna be leaving and finding new gainful employment. I don't think I've talked about this issue here, but lemme sum it up. I'm being paid less than the helper. take a moment, breathe, focus your chi, and think about that last statement. got it? good. now you see how insulted I was when I found out that bit of information. So if they don't pay me at least what everybody else is making I'm out of there. I'm doing three times the work they are. i'm not getting any call backs on my work, and I'm handing the salesmen good solid leads...why shouldn't I?

Chad....brace yourself. i'm thinking of picking up Counter-strike. I dunno, something about it has been calling me lately. Though I hadn't played it beyond those games down at the cafe it kinda got into my blood. It's been a yearning I've been putting off for a long time now, but I think it's time.

I'm on call this weekend as well. I'm helping one of the guys out who's building a house. he's got the plumbers and a bunch of other guys coming over there this weekend to help put in the boiler system and such and couldn't really keep leaving so he asked if I would help. And since I just can't say no to work I thought why the hell not. Well about 630 tonight...just as I'd gotten comfy I get a phone call that there's a cooler down at a Mobil station. So of course it couldn't be anything simple like a thermostat...had to be the damn compressor. And of course supply houses are closed, and I have a cook-out to go to sunday, so this could potentially kill my whole weekend. But hey...it could be worse.

Brian Lumley has my SOUL....

I picked up the Necroscope series of books again. I don't know what it is about Brian Lumley's writing, but I just can't put them down. The way he writes is just phenomenal. He has you so engrossed in the characters and the locations that it's just so hard not to love the characters, so that when one dies you almost want to cry because it's like you lost someone you know. The books are phenomenal and I highly recommend them. It's not just the Necroscope series either, but pretty much all of his books. The useless bit of info on the back of the book says he lives in England, but a good deal of the setting (that occurs in this world at least) takes place in eastern europe around the romania area, and is incredibly detailed and almost alive, so that it would seem that he either spent a lot of time there or was born somewhere around there. Anyway...just read the damn books :)

Jesus is Fucking Metal...

Just because it's frigging funny...

Penny arcade is copyright Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik....but I had to post it because it's just too damn funny...perhaps I can bring a little culture to some ininitiated people's lives :)

Back by Popular Demand...

Well it seems as if I've been slacking on my blog. Well, to be honest I've either been in City of Heroes, or working, or sleeping. I was On-Call last week, which essencially is the same as being work's bitch. If someone calls after hours or on the weekend, I'm the one that got to respond. So that ate away at a deal of my time. I've also been spending more time with Patrick and less time with my MSN open...mainly because everytime I sign on, people are always set to away and never end up messaging or e-mailing back, so I don't even bother anymore.

I suppose a CoH update should be in order. My character, In-Betweener is now level 18 and my main character, for any of you reading who play the game. He's turned into a los bad ass controller. I've also got an upstart little scrapper that's coming along...but didn't i say this about IB a few posts ago? scary isn't it.

It's all Biblical and shit...

I'm in Moses' Address Book. 

You really have to enlarge the picture to fully understand the humour here. I was innocently going through my junk mail in my hotmail account, mainly because if you're not in my address book that's where it goes, and found this e-mail sitting there. I found it far too good to pass up so I had to put it up here for everybody to see.

My main hero: The In-Betweener 

This is my new main hero. Isn't he awesome?

Patrick in his native enviornment...messy 

Gotta keep these things current as they happen. And why not post the embarassing baby pics for the world to see so future girlfriends can see them and laugh as, if he's anything like his father as a child, he's gonna hate to clean up anywho.

Told ya I was awesome.

This just cinches it. Chad, you oughta get a kick out of this.



just a little postscript to this little exercise in fun. the above picture, i had to close the tag on the font face. even webpublishers aren't perfect :)

He emerges...

hey everybody. Lord Legion is officially a thing of the past. My main character has become the In-Betweener. I just got him up to level 14 and he's got his killer teleport ability that makes things so much easier...except when you miss the teleport to the top of a building...then it sucks. I've been running with this incredibly cool supergroup in CoH called The Round Table. Killer group of Heroes. We work incredibly well together, and running with them has taken up a lot of my time. I'm sure I'll put up a nifty screenshot or two from the top of the tallest building I can find shortly. But for now I must take my cape off and rejoin the real world. TO THE JUSTICE VAN, erm I mean my service truck.

The Apocalypso is upon us...

It must be, for a strange turn of events has occured. Somehow I talked Chad into playing a MMOG instead of the other way around. Normally he's trying to talk me into playing one, which up until Star Wars: Galaxies I had no real desire to be a part of. I thought my logic was sound...Why should I pay every month for a game that I've already paid for? Well, City of Heroes had me sucked in a full year before it even hit the shelves. And when I got my cable modem turned on up here in sunny Maine, I had to have it. And as you can tell, I've been playing it pretty non-stop ever since. Chad called me the other night to ask what server I play on and I was kinda shocked...though not really...i knew someone would cave. We met up online and played for a little bit. But it kinda dawned on me yesterday that the roles had switched...so yes I believe the Apocalypso is upon us. And yes I do keep ending Apocalypse with an "o", but ya know, if it's the end anyway, why not have some fun in the process and Apocalypso just sounds so much more, festive.

Lord Legion 

Meet Lord Legion. He's my main character in City of Heroes. Spiffy, aint he. Right now he's level 11 and leader of the infamous Legion Inc. There's another character that I'm playing around with but right now he's only level 3. He's turning into a real bad ass too though. gained all three of those levels this morning. Just thought I'd give you a brief look into my hero.

On another note, my first day was yesterday at my new job and to be honest, I don't think i should be getting paid to do this. It went so well I don't know what to do with myself.

Eerie...isn't it.

Whats does your personality rate from 1-10? by morning_prayer
Your first full name
Your personality rates a	ten!
your best quality is	youre hilarious
your worst quality is	you have a huge.....ego
this is because	its genetic
Created with the ORIGINAL MemeGen!

For them I will be...A HERO!!

as you can tell, like just about everyone else on the planet, I've been addicted to City of Heroes. There's a couple of characters I'm playing with, but primary among them is my alter ego, Lord Legion. Right now he's just a budding little level 7 Tanker, but he'll be big and strong someday, cuz he's drinking plutonium :) anywho, just wanted to explain my absence and let everyone know that I am still alive.

Better?

Well I had my interview this morning. It went incredibly well actually. I've discovered that most of what this company believes in is the same as it was with Stacy, which is a good thing. I think I was rather spoiled with Stacy's work ethic and the way he did things. The company is very "family oriented" and offers a great incentive package...20 plus dollars an hour doesn't hurt either ;) Just wanted to keep everybody updated.

It Begins...

Tomorrow morning is the big interview. For those of you not entirely keeping up with my life here's what it's all about. I have an interview at 10am tomorrow morning with a local HVAC company. This is a HUGE, did I stress the word HUGE, opportunity for me. The pay is around 25 bucks an hour and training in boilers and such, so i'm hoping that it works out like I hope it will. Either way I look at it, it's better than lugging bricks and asphalt all day like I'm currently doing working for the city of Portland. After that I get to cash my paycheck, the first full one that I've gotten since I started working up here. For one reason or another I've missed days or hours and haven't amassed over 35 hours up until this last week, so a full paycheck will be nice.

On lighter news, yvonne and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie at the 2240 showing, so you can imagine how late we were there. (for those of you not familiar with military time, I'm sure there's a book out there to help you) It was pretty good I thought though I'm not a big harry potter fan like yvonne. I'm sure I'll talk to anybody actually reading this thing afterwards to let you know how it goes.

An interesting day...

The more I work at my present job, the more I realise how much things are done in half-measures. We laid some asphalt down today and just seemed that everytime we got halfway through something, we were being moved onto some other project. On an upnote, I found my old poetry corner. while it doesn't have all of the updated stuff, at least it has the vast majority of it. for anyone who's interested here's the LINK. That's about all that's going on at the moment. I have an interview with an air conditioning company friday so here's hoping that goes well.

I surrender...

I tried to go to sleep earlier tonight but everytime i lay down I start hacking up a lung so I think I'll just stay up for a while. I think it's in everybody's better interests if I do. There's been a whole lot going on this weekend, but most of it not in my life surprisingly. On a sad note some one in the web comic community committed suicide friday. Mike Buonauro from Wrench Farm killed himself. Which brings up some thoughts in my mind as I read through his LiveJournal. Reading through the last week of entries it was glaringly obvious that he was in some sort of downward spiral. His posts got darker and darker beginning with his girlfriend breaking up. But that's not the thing that made me think. What made me think were the comments in his entries after the fact. Everyone that claimed to be his friend came out of the woodwork and said almost the exact same thing. "I was Michaels best friend back in . though we lost contact over the years and we haven't really talked to each other in he was one of my best friends." Most of them went on and on about how much they looked up to him and how much of a great person he was and so on and so forth. but here's the thing...why could they not have said all of this stuff beforehand? Why now, after he felt like he had nothing left in the world, do you praise this man? He needed this praise last week and sooner than that most likely. Now I'm gonna say my peace on the subject and be done with it. He was in fact a talented writer and probably a great guy, and I feel that the web comic community, and the world at large is going to miss him. He had a lot to offer the world in his writing and from what I've read of his LiveJournal, in his thoughts as well. I'm sure everybody that counted themselves amongst his friends will wish that they had said the things that they say now, sooner.

That being said, we had a fun night last night. We kinda just stayed home and got quietly drunk off of Allen's Coffee Brandy (shameless plug). It's good stuff and will put you in a world of hurt if you do not respect the bottle. Yvonne found that out this morning as it took her three glasses of water just to get out of bed. Anywho I'm gonna try and lay back down so maybe at least one night in the last week I can get more than a couple of hours sleep in a night.

Our other little girl  She's not ours, but I feel like she might as well be. If nothing else, I miss her as much as anything else from Pensacola.

Denied...Mostly

As I stated a few nights ago, I've been feeling kind of nostalgic lately. So, at about 2 this morning I decided to install Vampire: Redemption again. Just on e of those shits and giggles things. I pop the cd into my cd rom and it loads to the first screen. However past that there wasn't much that it felt like doing. It would just kinda crash after I selected Install. My night of vampire nostalgia wasn't to be. However I did pop in a game that I bought a long time ago and haven't really played in forever. It's this darling little rpg by the name of Septerra Core. Most of you out there probably haven't heard of it, but it's a fun little rpg with a great story.

The world of Septerra consists of seven "shells" that orbit each other all connected by this bio-mechanical "spine". Every hundred years the shells line up just right to allow a ray of light to hit the core, activating it, allowing those who possess the keys to access the power of the creator. Most of you have probably looked over this little title or never heard of it, but if you're looking for something in the lines of a good rpg on the PC, then I suggest you hit the bargain bins at your local software store and check it out.

Well isn't that special...

Florida has managed to do it to me again. Since I know you're all clamoring to know what I'm talking about, here's the kinda longish-short version. Florida cancelled my license. I got as notice from the Florida DMV that if i didn't get insurance in 30 days they were gonna suspend my license. Well, I turned in my tag instead. Before I moved I checked with the DMV to make sure that my license was all right and they said sure. U-Haul checked my license and they said it was good. So I went on with my life and moved.

I got pulled over by Falmouth police last week for speeding. I was kinda driving my grandmother's car and kinda wasn't paying attention to how ffast I was going (53 in a 30 just for reference) So she tells me that my license isn't valid; it's not suspended or revoked, just isn't valid. So thank god that she just lets me go back home with a warning. But it's kind of started a little union war at work. See, my supervisor (that word still leaves a bad taste in my mouth) Gordy said not to come abck to work until my license situation is cleared up. Well, that set off my dad (who is also the president of the union) and he called the higher up supervisor and all i know is that I'm going back to work yesterday. It's odd really. Everytime I'm honest with someone at work they seem to evolve into a minor civil war. You may perhaps remember the little war I mentioned over my paycheck last year. Just being honest and it started all that.

Anywho, I've got to call one guy back today on a job, and I'm waiting to hear from the city for the interview for the job I want down there. Wish me luck...

So, do you come here often?

Patrick  I know it's been a while since I've blogged and even longer still since I've had internet but I'm now back up and running. If you haven't noticed, I've figured out that Blogger now wil let me put up pictures, which makes my day because I don't have to put most of them up in the msn group. But I'll give you a brief rundown of how things went from the time we left up until now.

We left Pensacola on the 26th. I'll run right through the trip because it was incredibly long and about put me down for the count. Anyhow, I'm now forking for the city of Portland as a temp waiting on an interviewq from a great job in Air Conditioning that pays almost 3 times what they pay in Florida. So that's working on for us definitely. Things have been weird though. It's just not the same as it was in Florida, which is the main reason we moved. But to be honest I'm sure that I can speak for both of us in that we miss everybody terribly and pose to you the question "So, when are ya moving up here?"

But leaving Pensacola was sad for me because I thought of it as a day of lasts on several counts. It would probably be the last time I stepped foot in Pensacola (for a while) without needing a funeral or a wedding. It would be the last time I walked out of Hazel's house. And, despite what everybody says and means to do, I knoew it would probably be the last time I would see a lot of my friends down there. I know how these things go. get busy, get out of touch, and soon you don't even really talk anymore. It's sad but I know the people who are truly our "friends" will keep in touch and not be strangers. That would be great. I'm rambling now but I think I needed to Blog for a long time and never got the chance. But those of you who read this, don't be a stranger. Keep in touch even if it is just a short note a week or something. I am interested in all that's going on down in Pensacola.

we're coming up on the zero hour

The day is quickly approaching where it'll be time to leave the state of florida. things are all packed and it's all over but the crying. we leave out of pensacola the 26th and head on up to maine straight from there. not much else to say at the moment cuz i'm kinda rushed for time at the second, but i'll let you all know what else is going on when i get a minute.

damn it's been forever...

Yeah, i guess this could be considered one of those stranger things that happen...I'm actually blogging. I know it's been forever and I'm sure that all six of you have missed it....riiight. anywho, i'm at a friends little internet cafe downtown and enjoying myself. i'm teaching my son to be a computer geek early in life :) just wanted to keep people in the know that, regrettably, i'm still alive lol. i'm about to jump into some jedi academy and whip some little kids ass :)

Well well well...

I know it's been a while since I've even thought of posting in this thing, but hey, I've got the free time and might as well while I have the access. I just got back from my vacation to maine to show off the new baby to the grandparents. Everything went as well as can be expected. I know that didn't come out how it was intended but let me explain...The visit itself was great, and I'm pretty well considering moving back up there when I get the chance. The problem came in the form of Delta losing our luggage. Then, when we got the luggage back we discovered that they had lost our carseat. That was a lot of fun, lemme tell ya. Anywho, just wanted to let everyone who matters know that everything went great.