To begin, the Sunday after my last update, the T1 at my work went out.  Functionally, this meant that my office had no Internet.  Now, this has a LOT of ramifications that are not instantly apparent, but suffice it to say, it caused lots of problems, and AT&T was less-than-speedy in getting the problem resolved.  On Monday, they determined the problem was their router installed in our office, which was not delivered until Tuesday, at which time it was determined that there was more than the initially diagnosed problem present, which AT&T so unhelpfully determined was my internal wiring (read: Not AT&T’s problem, so sorry), and inisisted on testing the circuit continually until finally admitting on Wednesday that there was an outage in the circuit and that they had to rewire it.  Oh, and they called me at 5am on Wednesday to let me know that…….everything was still not working.  THANKS A LOT!!!  Anyway, on Wednesday everything was up and running again.

Many of you know that we were hoping that escrow on our house would close on Friday, the 21st.  It didn’t, of course.  I still don’t know what caused the delay, or why it was insisted upon that we rush to sign the Brazilian Rainforest-sized stack of papers just so we could wait almost a week for things to close, but ultimately, the house closed on Wednesday…just before Thanksgiving.  Happily, Kim decided to buy paint on the off-chance that we would close Wednesday, so we had a lot of paint.  Our door shopping was less-than-fruitful, but we went to Home Depot on Wednesday night and bought a door, which we planned to install on Friday.

Thanksgiving was Thanksgiving.  A little quieter this year, which was nice, since the storm approaches with house-preparing, and little Iain coming.

Friday was a tremendous pain in my sizeable butt.  MANY thanks to the people from church who came to help out.  We can’t thank you enough for all the help painting!!!!  And uber-thanks to Gabe, who fumed with me at the stupid door we finally got up by the end of the stinkin’ day.  Also for helping me figure out how to install the toilet-flushing mechanics in the front bathroom.

Saturday was much the same as Friday, with the painting.  The difference was that instead of farting around with a stupid door, we were attempting to repair what has come to be known as “Satan’s Toilet”. Seriously, I cannot believe how much of a pain this stupid toilet was to repair.  Here is a list of what had to be done, and what went wrong:

1. To begin, we knew we needed to replace the wax ring at the base of the toilet.  “No problem”, we were told. “Just buy a nice wax ring with a cone in it, and everything will be fine.”  So we started to take the stupid toilet apart Friday night.  Right bolt of the tank came off just fine.  Left bolt…….not so much.  It was rusted completely immovable. We were already seeing how this toilet was going to behave, so we got dinner and watched The Illusionist to close out the night on a good note.
2. We ended up trying a bunch of different ways to get the stupid toilet bolt undone, and ended up using a grinding drill attachment that we used to finagle the stupid door the day before to actually grind THROUGH the stupid nut.  Yay.  Tank came off.  Now for the wax ring.
3. The wax ring was completely obliterated, along with the mounting collar thing.  We couldn’t even see how the heck the thing was ever attached.  Finding the right collar was about 5-6 trips to the stupid hardware store, where we were sold a collar that was too small, an insert that was too high to set the toilet down, and told that we needed to drill holes in the concrete floor despite there not being any  from the last time.
4. We finally got a mounting ring that would work, and got the toilet put together.
5. We dubbed the toilet Satan’s Toilet, and it took us nearly all day to get the stupid thing done.

We got most of the painting done, got the door mostly up and functioning, and now have two working toilets.

Black Widow death toll: 3

Swearing in front of a member of our church: 1

Sanity Lost: 2 (Gabe and Me)

Still, we got a lot of work done, and all the fussing and arguing with inanimate objects made Kim very happy with me.  Also, I know how to put up a door now…the next one will be much easier.  And toilets hold no mystery for me any longer.

Ok, it’s not bad enough that when you call a company, they put you on hold as they try and figure out how to get you the information you need.  It’s not bad enough that customer service these days has been relegated to computerized systems.  I was the recipient today of some seriously annoying customer service.

One of my co-workers has been trying like heck to find out some information about our account from AT&T.  Many of you cringed just hearing those three letters, knowing that AT&T’s service is famed for being BAD.  Well, this co-worker has called at least twice and left messages asking to be called back with some information.  Today, they called me back.

…and put me on hold for 15 minutes.

Actually, it’s worse than that.  We were trying to find out how much time was left on our contract for our T1 line.  That’s all.  I’m not saying we’re going to switch to another provider, though I know that’s the immediate reaction.  However, if I’m thinking about switching, PROVIDING ME WITH CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT THE WAY TO KEEP ME AS A CUSTOMER!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first call I got this morning already annoyed me:

AT&T: “Hello sir, I received a message indicating that you were wanting to make some changes to your service?”
Me: “No, I actually just wanted to know how much time we have left on our contract.”
AT&T: “Well, would you like to change your plan, or add some services to your account?”
Me: “No, I actually just wanted to know how much time we have left on our contract.”
AT&T: “Ohhhh.  Well, I will have someone call you back with that information, ok?

So I get the call back about 25 minutes ago.

AT&T: “Hey Chris, how you doin’?” (Cue the annoyance…Pretty sure whoever he is, this guy is not one of my best buds.)
Me: “Hi.”
AT&T: “Hey man, this is <whoever>, and I got a note that you want to renew your contract?”
Me: (More than slightly annoyed, because this is pretty much the opposite of what I want to do.) “No….I want to see how much time we’ve got on our contract.”
AT&T: “OH!  Ok.  Hang on a sec and let me get that information for you….”

And this is where I waited on hold for around 15 minutes.  That’s right…it’s not enough that you call them and wait on hold forever.  Now they might return your call (indicating that they have all their crap together to handle your situation), and make you wait on hold just as if you’d called them!!!

Finally, I get a lady conferenced in to answer my (very simple) question.  But this is how she chooses to answer it:

AT&T chick: “Hello, this is <whoever, female variety>.”
AT&T Best Bud: “Hey, <whoever, female variety>, I got Chris here on the phone.  Chris, this is <whoever, female variety>.”
Me: “Hi.”
AT&T chick: “Hi, Chris.  Is there anything I can do for you?”  (Nope, pretty sure I’m just here for the wonderful on-hold experience.)
Me: “Yeah…I wanted to know how much time we have on our contract.”
AT&T Chick: “Is there anything we can change on your account, or a different service we can add that would make your service fit you better?”  (Now I’m getting really annoyed, because I feel like we have no contract, and they’re trying like heck to not lose us.  I’m not saying they’re going to lose me as a customer, but the likelihood of THAT happening is growing by the SECOND!)
Me: “Nope.  Just want to know how much time we have on our contract.”
AT&T Chick: “You’ve got contract until April of ‘09.”

(And now I’m definitely angry, because there is nothing I can do to leave them without paying a LOT of money, so they have me by the short hairs.  Their dilly-ing and dally-ing has merely wasted my time, and there is nothing I can do until April of 2009.  Way to go, AT&T.  The T’s in AT&T stand for ‘Tard’.)

Apart from the post I just made a couple minutes ago, I’ve been delinquent in updating my blog.  I’ve started about 5 posts in the last week, but just haven’t felt like completing them.  I don’t really know why.

Part of it is that this whole “economy plus Obama” thing has gotten me down.  I hear some encouraging things from his fledgling administration about how we’re no longer going to be torturing detainees, and that he’s wanting to shut down Guantanamo Bay (though I’m not sure entirely how I feel about that.)  I like that his focus is going to be peace through diplomacy, rather than military action against anyone who feels that they want to govern their country without our “guidance”.

Obama, however, wants to raise taxes, and this is not a good thing.  He claims that he doesn’t want to raise taxes for the middle class, but he’s been slowly eating away at his initial “$250,000 a year” figure throughout his campaign.  Last I heard, it was at $150,000/year and dropping.  Ultimately, he doesn’t appear to want anyone to be TOO successful.  Because success is apparently ALWAYS gained by exploitation.  Regardless, when we create a society where we punish success and reward apathy, we create a society where mediocrity is king, and no one will strive for the highest.

That kind of thing worries me.  I know a lot of people think that Obama’s Newer New Deal is just what we need to pull us out of this economy, and I don’t agree.  A lot of people say “Roosevelt got us out of the first Depression, and now Obama will get us out of this one.”  I REALLY don’t agree.  It’s going to be painful, but the free market will swing up again.  It would have swung up again in the 30’s, and it will swing up again now.

Anyway, I originally wanted this to be an apology for not updating, but it’s turned into another rant.  :)  Looks like I had something to say after all.

Many of you know that my wife and I have been in the process of buying a house for the last couple of months.  In the way of a brief update, we’ve found the house we want to buy, and are currently in the last half of the escrow process for the home. Things appear to be going well.

However, in the process, I’ve been informed several times that if I held the title of the home in thus and such certain way, or if I filed this paperwork in this certain way, etc. that it would make things easier in the event that my wife and I divorce. When I inform those advising me, “no thank you.  That won’t happen.”  *I* am greeted with incredulity.  I’ve been told, “well, you never know”, and other such statements.

I’m sure this blog post will annoy some, but I’d like to state that I will not take it down.  If you have a problem, complain somewhere else.

No, people, I *DO* know.  Kim is the only woman for me, and there will be no divorce.  That’s how I’m going to live my life, and that’s how I’m going to plan.

“Yeah, but, what if…”

No, there are no “what if’s” when it comes to your marriage.  If there are what if’s, then you’d be better off not getting married.  If you’re not going to commit your entire being to the marriage, then you shouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t work out!

What’s more, I look around at the world, and I see more and more people who are more and more enamored with…themselves.  They are more interested in gratifying their own lusts than they are in creating a healthy marriage.  That isn’t my point, however.

My point is that creating contingencies assumes that divorce is always an option if things get rough.  In my case, divorce is NOT an option, and I’m not going to create situations that will make a divorce easier on us if we fail.  Divorces ought to be long and messy.  Divorces OUGHT to be painful.  A divorce, though the Lord is sovereign, is always hated by God.  (Read Malachi, if you don’t believe me.) The pain and difficulty of going through a divorce when contingencies are NOT in place act as deterrents to the divorce itself.  (As though the health and well-being of children weren’t enough.)

Now, I’m not talking about a woman staying in an abusive relationship.  I’m not talking about a man having to put up with his wife’s infidelities.  There are allowable instances for divorce, though working things out and returning to building a healthy marriage is always preferable.

In the case of abusive husbands, there is a case for abandonment.  The husband is to love his wife like Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.  That involves protecting her, being tender, etc.  If there is physical or emotional abuse, see the governing board of elders of your church.  They can walk you through the godly course of action in this situation.  They’ll likely recommend many meetings with the two of you, etc, but in no case do you have to stay in a marriage where you’re being abused.  HOWEVER…that doesn’t mean divorce should be painless.

Divorce ought to have the same feel to it as murder, to be honest. When you get married, the two have become one flesh.  It cannot be separated.  If your right half were to be separated from your left half, there would be pain, and there would be death involved.  That is what divorce is, to be honest.

But divorce no longer has that kind of stigma associated with it.  No one seems to care much about their attempts to destroy the God-ordained order of things.  The divorce rate among Christians is at least the same as with non-Christians, and I’ve even heard that it’s higher.  That is (or ought to be) unacceptable to the Church.

I know, I know, I’m not being politically-correct. I just don’t understand your particular situation.  No, I don’t.  But it doesn’t matter.  The Bible allows for 2 situations in which divorce is possible: Adultery, and abandonment.  In both of those cases, it would be better if you could work through it and come out stronger as a couple.  But not everyone can, I know.  However, in both of those cases, divorce ought to be a cause for bitter weeping.

On a personal level, I’m not creating contingencies for Kim and I.  We are not going to live in such a way that will make things easier for us if things “don’t work out”.

I’ve never had much use for those little “Current Mood” indicators, to be honest.  Most of the time, I blog when I’m frustrated about something, which means a large percentage of my posts would read as the title of this post reads. It eventually becomes about as helpful as packing an accordion for an elk hunting trip.  Today, however, I have a directed bit of frustration that I need to take care of.

Many of you know, and some of you don’t, Kim and I are looking for a house. The looking has been a bit frustrating, as I’m sure many of you already know it can be. Finding a house that isn’t too messed up, looks ok from the street, isn’t in a bad area…there’s so much to think about, it’s hard to keep it all in your mind.  We found a house we thought we might be interested in a couple weeks ago.  It was in our price range, and we knew it needed some work.  When my father-in-law looked at it, however, he didn’t like it at all. He didn’t think we would be happy.  We respect his opinion, but it is definitely frustrating walking the line between cost and value.

Yesterday, we found a house.  We were pleased with a lot of it, less pleased with some of it, but overall we think we can do most of the work it needs ourselves.  (This is never certain when dealing with me.  I’ll build a computer from its component parts…troubleshoot what’s wrong with it, etc.  Give me a hammer and ask me to fix something, and I’m much more likely to hit myself or an innocent bystander than I am to actually sort of fix the problem.)  We’re relieved, and we’re ready to make an offer.

WELCOME TO THE FIRST RING OF HELL!!!!!

Seriously, people.  I ask for a good faith estimate from my lender so that I can make the offer with our realtor.  I tell them what we have in terms of cash to work with. The papers I get back look nothing like what i asked for.  My wife, however, doesn’t realize this, so she sends them to our realtor, who sends them to the title company, who gives me back a GIANT LIST OF GOBBLEDEGOOK! Now, I have a giant list of gobbledegook which does not correspond to what we were trying to do in the first place.

We were hoping to have an offer written today, but if my current results are any indication, it looks like we won’t be ready to make an offer for another 30 years or so…

And God bless Kim’s heart.  She says she feels like she’s operating with half a brain, which I’ve heard is typical of many pregnant women.  One of the books Kim’s read calls it Estrogen Poisoning.  However, I can’t deal with any of this while I’m at work, so it falls to her to make sense of these confusing lists of numbers. She’s frustrated and I’m frustrated.  Makes for some exhausting days, I’ll tell you.

In all, I’ve gotten to the point where I would rather do all of this in e-mail than talk to someone.  Perhaps this is my analytical side taking over, but when I talk to someone, I feel ignored.  I try to emphasize what I feel is important to communicate, but it’s up to the listener to HEAR me.  I’m finding that people just don’t listen anymore.  How many of the problems I’m having to deal with right now are as a result of someone ignoring what we’ve told them?  100%.  THAT is the essence of frustration.

I’ve now sent e-mails asking for corrections.  If they care to, they can get everything I need them to know from the e-mails I’ve sent them.  If I have questions, I’ll ask them through e-mail.  I’m sick of feeling like I’m being snowed by someone who doesn’t want me to understand what this is all about.

Ok…I feel a little better after venting.  Current Mood: A Little Less Frustrated

I’m sure some of you have noticed the banners and signs on my blog.  If I had the cash right now, I’d have the same signs in my lawn, though we’re often parked in front of that space.  Since this is my largest forum, I’d like to say here, I am voting for Bob Barr for President in 2008.

I am not voting Barr because my vote is wasted in California anyway.  (Obama will take California’s electoral votes, I have no doubt.)  I am voting for Barr because Barr would make the best President of the United States of America.  I am voting for Barr because of a quote I saw by John Quincy Adams:

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” - John Quincy Adams.

Oh, you’ve never heard of Bob Barr?  It’s not surprising, really.  The Republican and Democrat parties are VERY keen on ensuring that the only candidates you ever hear about are their candidates.  It’s easier for Obama if he only has to campaign against McCain.  It’s much easier for McCain if he only has to pay for political attack ads against Obama.  (Of course, if each of them are campaigning against the other, who is campaigning for them??)  It is easier if the Demicans and Republicrats have to fight a war only on one front.  Thus, regardless of the fact that it is the PEOPLE who decide who becomes the President, the Democrats and Republicans have ensured that you feel you only have 2 “choices”.

Allow me to ask you this: Are you sick of being in Iraq?  Are you sick of beggaring our own people to prosecute a war that was NOT authorized by Congress.  (And I speak the truth…this war was not authorized by Congress.  They may have authorized troop surges, but they did NOT declare war.  And the President cannot declare war, regardless of what the Congress seems like it wants to delegate to him.)  Are you sick of our young men and women dying, while we continue to make enemies of the other countries in the region and around the world?  Are you sick of a “war” that has lasted for 7 years and has no real end in sight?  Oh, I know Bush is now reducing the troop levels.  Why?  What enormous victory have we won?  What has suddenly changed?  Did the “leaders” over there all of a sudden announce that they’re keen on Democracy, and that they now LOVE the US?  Why is he reducing troop movements NOW?  Could he be trying to recover some lost approval ratings?  Could it be that he wants to be remembered not only as the man who started the failed “War on Terror”, but also the man who helped end it?  Do we need these troops back so we can send them immediately to Georgia???  WHY?  Oh, I’m supposed to believe that all of a sudden, things are peachily, rosily, perfect over there now?  That all of a sudden, there’s peace in the Middle East?  With all due respect to my Commander-in-Chief, bullcrap.

Or, could it be that McCain is simply going to re-ramp the troop levels?  Invade Iran?  THAT will make lots of allies over there, sure.  That won’t strengthen their resolve to see us dead or anything, no….  Could it be that Bush knows that ultimately, this pulling of the troops back home is irrelevant, because McCain will just send them right back, or else to South Ossettia?  How about leaving the Middle East to their conflict, and instead, open the channels of true diplomacy?  Not isolationism, but non-interventionism!  Send ambassadors over there.  With peace, not guns. Go ahead….tell me it won’t work.  Tell me that non-interventionism caused the terrorists to attack us.  I’ll remind you that we were meddling in their affairs over there WELL before 9/11/2001!  Why do they want to see us dead?

And why do we have permanent troops with bases in WELL OVER 100 countries????  Why do we still have troops in GERMANY??  Did WWII never end, or am I missing something? Why are we meddling in every other nation’s affairs with our troops?  How is this NOT empire-building, people?  What business do we have telling Israel, Russia, or anyone else how to run their country?

And why the HECK are my taxes so high????  Why the heck do I have taxes, anyway?  To fund more failed social programs that private organizations could do better?  To fund our bases in more than 100 countries?  How many overinflated politicians’ salaries am I paying?  How much more spending do I have to do on the War on Drugs which has not lowered the drug usage in this country one iota???  In these anti-alcohol ads, anti-cigarette ads, which are jokes?  The best anti-smoking ad I’ve ever seen?  It was an ad where they were selling soda that had TONS more carbonation than the competition.  The soda, when opened, actually exploded soda into your face.  HILARIOUS!  Oh, and somewhere in there, they didn’t want you to smoke, either, yeah.  Whatever!  END THIS STUPID WAR ON DRUGS that has only forced drugs into a black market with hyperinflated prices that gain Colombian drug lords more and more money!  Tell a kid not to drink your soda, and what do you think he will do the moment you go out of the room?  Yeah.  I no longer want to pay for this crap!

And what have Republicans or Democrats done about our problems with illegal immigration, American empire building, high taxes, and helping the poor in the last….oh….MANY DECADES they’ve been in office?  Nothing.  Not a thing!

THAT is why I will no longer vote for the “lesser of two evils”.  You still end up being led by evil!  This is why I am doing what I can to let you all know that there are more than two choices.  YOU are not independent of a candidate’s chances.  You CREATE a candidate’s chances!  Sick of the two party system?  Me too.  I have an idea.  Let’s remember that our government derives its power to govern THROUGH US!  Let’s grow a pair and vote for the best candidate.  ALL OF YOU!  If you don’t agree with McCain on some policies, research Barr….Baldwin….SOMEONE ELSE!  If you find that you agree with them, then vote for them!

Let’s MAKE A SPLASH, people!  Let’s DO SOMETHING about our rage!  Republicans want to ignore the enumeration of powers as set forth in the Constitution?  Fine….let’s get them out of office.  Let’s create a world in which no candidate gets anywhere NEAR a simple majority of the votes.  And when we don’t win this year, as we likely won’t, let’s continue to campaign for the next 4 years and show them that we can continue to get the word out.  We can continue to awaken the sleepers who seem content to create a dictatorship using either the Republican party’s philosophy of big government and spending or the Democrat Party’s idea of the SAME THING!

Today, Ron Paul held a press conference where he encouraged the nation to look beyond the false choices of Democrat or Republican.  He stood beside Nader, Baldwin, and McKinney and encouraged all of us to vote for someone who represents our VALUES.  So you’re registered as a Democrat?  Are you fed up with Obama’s position shifting, and ignorance as to the divide he would create when he dissed Hillary Clinton?  Do something about it!  Vote for someone you believe in!  Vote Libertarian!  Let’s get government out of our lives…let’s let them know that we can no longer be forced to live a certain way by more and more laws!!!  Let’s vote for Liberty!!!!!!!

All I ask, people, is that you vote for a candidate with whom you agree!  Don’t make a false choice because you think you have to vote for a candidate who “stands a chance of winning”.  You’re CREATING that candidate’s chances!  You are ENSURING that no 3rd party has a chance of winning.  If you’re going to vote blindly for Obama or McCain simply because he’s better than the other guy, just don’t vote.  Let those of us who WANT a good candidate to win make the decision.

Because your “decision” is closer to apathy than not voting.

I am voting for Bob Barr because of what he stands for.  He is against illegal immigration, and wants to do something about it.  Heck, he can’t do LESS than the Republicans have!  He is against the Federal Reserve, which is creating inflation and these dangerous bubbles we keep hearing about.  The free market is not prone to bubbles or the bursting thereof. He is for privatizing health care.  The insurance situation in this country drives up prices and makes it impossible for someone to go to the doctor without it! Let’s flip the bird to the insurance companies and keep prices regulated by the free market and not ridiculous “cost sharing” plans who balk at paying up when their clients need it.  Barr is AGAINST the government spying on us using the Patriot Act.  Did you know the President has granted amnesty to telecommunications companies who provided YOUR information (their customers’ information) to the government without a warrant???  They denied us our due process, and when the lawsuits started coming, the government pardoned them!  That is unpardonable!!!  I have had my civil liberties violated PLENTY, THANK YOU! (Obama voted FOR the Patriot Act on 3/2/06, people!)

Whether you like Barr or Baldwin, or whomever, please vote your conscience, not because someone tells you that you only have 2 choices.  I am voting for Barr in 2008.

Edit: Yes, I know that Barr snubbed Ron Paul’s press conference today.  I liked Ron Paul, and would have totally voted for him.  However, I think today’s press conference was a waste of time.

At today’s “announcement”, Dr. Paul essentially said “Vote third party! YAY!”  Dr. Paul, I already was voting third party. I ask you, however, why would you “endorse” a couple of socialists who hate the Constitution alongside Barr and Baldwin??  Oh, you weren’t endorsing them?  How can you say that, when the entire point of your press conference today was to say “Vote for one of these 4 people”?? Indeed, you went further than that.  You said “Look at how much we agree!” and released the 4 points of liberty or whatever you call it.

I support Barr’s decision to distance himself from communist-endorsed candidates, and am quite disappointed that you would actually present Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney as a valid option for your freedom-loving supporters! I liked Ron Paul, but never said he could do no wrong.  If he were running for President, I would vote for him in a heartbeat. But he’s not. I don’t need to support Ron Paul, because Ron Paul is not running for any office for which I can vote.

Sadly, there is a HUGE Cult of Personality surrounding Ron Paul about as bad as that surrounding Barack Obama. Whatever Dr. Paul decides to do is ok with them.  I’ve seen them say this plenty of times.  I can’t support that.  Because I can’t guarantee that what Ron Paul chooses to do will always be right.

Regardless, this is a sad, sad day.  Rather than unite, this event has only served to cause people to focus on something they see as fractitious.  I’m proudly voting for Bob Barr because he is an advocate for liberty, and does not intend to create some form of anthropo-centric theocracy.

Sarah Palin aside, I’ve heard people say that they will never vote for Obama, and don’t really like the idea of voting for McCain. I can certainly appreciate this sentiment.  Both Obama and McCain are for larger government and more power for themselves.  One could argue that this describes every politician, but we’d have to agree to disagree on that one, since I don’t think any of us can say that we know every politician, personally.

Ultimately, however, I would like to remind everyone that there are more choices than just the two that the major parties in this country give us.  You’re not really making a choice between the Democrat and Republican offerings.  You are making the choice between several candidates running for President.

Yes…I’ve heard the “arguments” against voting for a 3rd party candidate, and ultimately, they have no merit.  Let’s look at some of them:

1. “We have a 2 party system, whether you like it or not.  End of story.” - Well, my friend, you’ve just stated the obvious.  Congratulations on that…really.  No one can state the obvious as well as you can. Rhetoric aside, have you considered just how asinine that is?  60 years ago, you could have said “negroes just can’t integrate with white society, whether you like it or not. end of story.” 90 years ago, you could have said “women just can’t vote, whether you like it or not, end of story.” And 140 years ago, you could have said “negroes just can’t vote, whether you like it or not. End of story.” Do you get my point?

Yes…right now we have a 2 party system.  But we ought to consider whether the two false choices we’re given every year are the way things SHOULD be.  If not, how can we change it?  That brings me to the next argument.

2. “You have to vote for the lesser of two evils.” - Well, I don’t really have to refute this.  It’s simple.  Since you have more than 2 choices, you DON’T have to vote for the lesser of two evils.  What’s more, in this election, I’m not certain I could peg which would be the lesser of two evils given the choices of the two main parties.  But the answer to this argument is similar to how I answer the next point.

3. “A 3rd Party candidate won’t win, so you’re throwing away your vote if you vote for them.” - This is a self-perpetuating problem, here.  If you always convince yourself that you’re throwing away your vote, how can we ever enact real change?  If you continue to vote for the lesser of two evils, you’re perpetuating the problem, here.  How can we ever have a valid 3rd choice if people are convinced that they can only vote for the candidate who has a chance of winning?  What’s more, how can ANY candidate have a chance of winning if no one is going to vote for him.  CREATE the chances for your candidate of choice, people!!!  The chances of a candidate are not independent of the people voting for him or her!  You are a factor in a given candidate’s chances.

Don’t be a part of the problem.  Not satisfied with the “choices” given us?  Do something about it.  Don’t bend to their will.  They rule by your consent!

I’m voting for Bob Barr.  He was a rank-and-file Republican at one time, and voted for some crap I don’t like.  However, since then, he’s left the Republican party.  Now, because of YOUR weenie voting, that has virtually guaranteed that he’ll never hold office again.  it was not a politically expedient move if his goal were to gain more power for himself.  That’s dedication to liberty.  He has recanted of his former positions, and is willing to stake his entire political career on it.  For those who don’t know, Bob Barr is the Libertarian candidate, and he stands for freedom….real freedom.  Research his positions. Figure out your own mind, people.  Don’t let the Democrats and Republicans tell you for whom you’re going to vote!

You have more than 2 choices.  Exercise your power.  Vote for liberty, and for a return to governance by the Consitution. Vote against abuse of power by the government.  Vote for the Constitution’s limiting powers on said government.  Let’s return to the intent of the Founders, as evidenced by our governing document, the Constitution of the United States of America.

Don’t be a part of the problem…be a part of the solution.  Vote for the candidate that you feel would be the best candidate, and sleep at night knowing that you did your civic duty for your country.

Basically, we had a tie.  In all truthfulness, Russian Imperial Stout won, if I just look at the votes without an eye to a certain jackass who voted at least twice.  However, this moron’s tampering with the votes invalidates the entire thing, though.  So it looks like it’s up to me as to what we will be brewing.  And it won’t be a Russian Imperial Stout.  Sorry to whoever voted for that.  Gabe messed it up for you all, as usual.

Keep your eyes peeled if you’re interested in what we end up brewing.  I’ll probably end up brewing what *I* voted for, but I’ve not decided yet.

This rant is NOT anti-military.  This rant is about the absurdity of assuming that an 18 year old is not mature enough to drink, but he’s mature enough to be given a machine gun and asked to die for his country, or even that he’s mature enough to decide who ought to run this country.

Keep this in mind.  I am not saying that 18 year olds are not mature enough to handle machine guns.  I’m asking for consistency in arguments by the anti-drinking Nazi’s.  Either raise the age for all other “adult” things to 21, or else lower the drinking age to 18.  Keeping the drinking age at 21 is getting more and more ridiculous as time goes on.

Kudos to the presidents of these colleges for asking that the debate be reopened; for bucking the tide of popular, theocracy-desiring opinion and asking that we discuss whether the 21 drinking age has had the effect that was intended.  If only they’d do the same for the “War on Drugs”.

Oh, and these anti-alcohol groups like MADD, SADD, BADD, and other *ADD groups, quit being ridiculous and calling for a “boycott” of those schools where the presidents have asked to reopen the discussion.  Assuming that these presidents are personally walking to dorms and handing out liquor is a little…retarded, don’t you think?  They’re going to uphold the law, if for no other reason than they could lose their position and considerable salary by not upholding the law.

They’re just asking that we discuss this, not stating their intention to abandon the law.

Let me ask you this: Has the “war on drugs” lessened the drug abuse in this country? Do speeding laws keep you from speeding when no one’s around? Does telling your child “no” mean that they’re never going to do it?

Making something illegal doesn’t lessen its occurrence.  It merely makes it more likely to happen behind closed doors. It makes the activity more enticing. It gives these young people the chance to “stick it to the man” in one more way.  If you had your way, I know, you’d create another Prohibition Era.  Well, do the research before you conclude that the Prohibition Era was the Golden Era of Morality. It accomplished the opposite of its intent.

Oh, and for those of you Christians who oppose drinking on religious grounds: Jesus drank. If Christ drank wine, and drinking wine is a sin, then you have removed His ability to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  If drinking is wrong, then Christ is a sinner, and His sacrifice on the Cross and subsequent resurrection was a LIE.  And if you start spouting off about Jesus’ non-alcoholic wine, I’m merely going to point you back to the Bible and ask for a shred of proof.  You won’t find it.  You’ll merely reason in a circular fashion and return.  Jesus drank.  The apostles drank. Paul encouraged Timothy to drink. The early church drank.  Calvin drank.  Martin Luther drank.  You’re holier with your lack of Biblical understanding than these men?  Get over yourselves.

We found out on Tuesday of this week that we’re going to be having a little boy in mid-December.  I’m excited and apprehensive.

I could go into all kinds of emotional detail about whether I feel I’m ready to or possess the capability to be a good father, etc.  I’ve gone through it all, and all it does is bewilder Kim.  lol

I just don’t see me as a dad, to be honest. It’s weird to think I’ll be holding a baby.  I don’t know if Kim knows this, but I don’t remember if I’ve ever held a baby.  It helps that I scare most children I’m near…they don’t much want to be around *me*, so I usually get out of being forced to hold them.  In hindsight, this was perhaps not such a good thing.  lol.

We’re playing some Hackmaster tonight, which should be some fun.

I can’t think of anything going on this weekend, so I guess it’s going to be nice and calm.

I don’t know if I’ve blogged about this, but my XBOX 360 has been giving me some problems.  When I consider my problems against the vast majority of 360 problems, I suppose it’s not too bad, but it’s still annoying.

I got the 360, Rock Band, and GTA IV a couple months ago, and within a month or so, the 360’s video and audio was blanking out sporadically when I played GTA IV.  GTA is a MUCH more graphically intense game than Rock Band, so I figure it’s overloading some bad circuitry in my XBOX.  I set up a repair online and sent my XBOX in to have it repaired.  Well, they didn’t repaired it…they replaced the whole darn thing. I thought my problems were gone.

They were not.

After a couple hours of playing, the same thing happened, and it actually seemed to be worse!  So now I was faced with a problem possessing a couple different variables.

1. It could be the 360 Console, itself. - I didn’t think this was very likely, since no one else was reporting the same issue as I was, and I’d been doing a lot of searches online for people reporting the same issue.  It seemed very unlikely that I would get a new console with the same problem.
2. It could be the GTA IV Game Disc. - I didn’t think this was very likely, either, since when dsics fail, they usually can’t be read, or they freeze up, etc.  This seemed more like a hardware error.  Something was causing the output of the XBox to fail, and I didn’t think it was software.
3. It could be my TV - I don’t THINK this is likely, since my TV doesn’t really do any processing of the video signal.  In terms of the TV’s perspective, it’s all the same, whether it’s a graphically intensive game being displayed at 720p, or a pretty graphically simple game being displayed at 720p.
4. It could be the Component Cable that came with my original 360.  I didn’t like this option, since it’s rare for cables to fail.  The more I thought about it, though, the more likely it seemed for the following reasons:

• Aside from the disc, it’s the only part of my 360 that is left from the original setup.
• It gets quite warm by virtue of it being plugged into the rear of the 360.
• It’s got a switch on it to switch between Standard TV and HDTV, as well as a digital audio output.  i.e. it’s more than just a cable.  There’s some circuitry and logic built into this cable, and more complexity generally means that it’s more likely to fail.

So, given that I now believe the cable to be the most likely culprit, I’ve borrowed a cable from a friend.  The bummer thing is that this is a different type of cable.  It’s a VGA cable, which means it hooks up to a different input on the TV.  So this doesn’t eliminate my TV as the suspect entirely, even though I didn’t think it was very likely that it was my TV in the first place. The VGA cable seems to work with no problems, however, so I’m thinking I’m going to try and get a new cable from MS.  If that takes care of it, I’ll be happy, as this problem is rather maddening.