Where did those 19 years go?

The above picture was taken at a campground near the shores of Lake George, NY in July of 1990...shortly before I entered the US Navy. To preempt the inevitable:

1. That's an AC/DC t-shirt I'm wearing
2. That's a mullet AND a headband.
3. That's one of the last times I was completely without facial hair.
4. I was about 170 pounds.
5. I was 19.
6. The two girls in the pic are from Jersey, so yes...that hair is huge.

Any other questions?

Reaching out for some information

Does anyone know a good source of info on grants and loans for opening a small business? Specifically tailored towards minorities (women) or veterans (diasbled or not)? I've got what I believe to be a huge potential money maker of an idea for a small business and am looking for sources of potential funding.

While I'm at it, anybody know a good place to go to develop and flesh out a business plan?

I'm on Facebook...

If anyone is interested: http://www.facebook.com/ryan.david.adams

See ya there!

A bleg for a very good cause...

My wife and my best friends attend a church in Virginia Beach (Spring Branch) that is sponsoring the Casa Bernabe Orphanage in Nicaragua and several members of the congregation will be flying down in June to visit and help out with whatever they can. The catch here is that in order to go, parishioners must pay for their own tickets.

Why an orphanage in Nicaragua? Nicaragua is the poorest Spanish-speaking country in the world with 2 million people living in poverty and a third of the children have some degree of malnutrition.

Spring Branch Church has partnered with Casa Bernabe in Nicaragua to support the staff in the mission of providing a home for orphaned children.

Each trip provides different opportunities to support the mission of strengthening the orphanage. This trip they will be serving the staff and children by being present and available, as well as spending quality time with the children. The mission is not only for the children, but for those who travel as well. Matthew 9:13 tells us to go and learn what it means to desire mercy. Our mission is to demonstrate and experience God's love and mercy!

My friend Lindsey will be making the trip for us as her husband, my wife and I cannot. As our 'representative', Lori and I chipped in towards her plane ticket but we are still short of the total. This link will take you to a website that will allow you to donate whatever you can towards helping us meet the goal. We would appreciate any amount you can spare and I would also ask that you pass this post on to anyone you can and link to it on your own websites, as God know everyone reading this gets more hits that I do.

If (when) we hit our goal and Lindsey takes the trip, I will be posting all of the pictures, videos and stories she comes home with here and on the Facebook Cause page she has set up for the mision.

As you will see from the donation page, our goal is $1300 by the end of June. Please help us reach that finish line.

Thanks and here's that link again: http://lindseywillis.chipin.com/nicaragua-orphanage-mission

.

Truer words not spoken...

"From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death," David "Fairway" Feherty wrote in an a D Magazine piece welcoming former President George W. Bush back to Dallas.

Coming up for air...

What with everything going on in the world lately, I thought I'd call attention to one of those "dangerous right wing extremist' kinda things and send y'all over to Facebook and a cause a friend of mine started on their site.

The only hitch may be that if you don't have a Facebook account, you'd have to create one. They're free and I'm actually becoming rather enamoured of some of the aspects, like it helping me reconnect with people I haven't spoken to in 20 years. Hell, my high school reunion is being organized thru it.

Anyway, the cause my friend started is called the UAR, the Union of American Republics and this is the premise:

So how many of you have been paying attention to domestic news lately?

For the past year, over half the states in the Union have begun working on bills in their State Legislatures which order the Federal Government to return to its role under the Constitution, and many of those bills specifically state that if the Federal Government continues its expansion and usurpation of States Rights, the ratification of the Constitution and Union with the United States will be annulled.

Pretty strong words.

This means secession in many cases. New Hampshire, Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, even California are all pondering a dissolution of the Union. Not all of them agree why the Union should be annulled, but they agree it probably should. And for those of you who question, it has nothing to do with the color of Barack Hussein Obama's skin. It has to do with his fascist socialist agenda. Besides, he's not even the main cause, he's just a catalyst..

I for one support these movements.

Considering I believe the First American Republic died with the election of our first dictator, Abraham Lincoln, and we've been living in the Second American Republic ever since, it may well be time for this Republic to be broken up.

I support the creation of a new federation of states in America, the Union of American Republics, or the UAR. A constitutional convention is a necessity, to establish the ground rules on governance, and the essential rules on how the new nation would operate, but we can rest assured that it will likely resemble our original constitution and makeup closely. First, a few key parts of the UAR charter, we'll examine the Bill of Rights:

1. All legal residents and citizens of the UAR are sovereign. The federal government of the UAR has nor authority over the individual citizens or legal residents of the Republics, with the sole exceptions being those who commit crimes which cover multiple Republics.

2. All legal residents and citizens of the UAR have an absolute right to assembly for protest. There is no legal necessity or justification for requiring people to obtain permits to protest the actions of their government. If an individual resident or citizen needs a permit to protest, that means the permit can be denied, and thus their right to protest can be denied. This is absolutely unacceptable.

3. All legal residents and citizens of the UAR have an absolute freedom of speech, regardless of the medium used. This means that no hate speech, no politically motivated speech, no opinion, no perspective can be denied at any time, in any location.

There will be absolutely no "fairness doctrine" in the UAR. If people do not want to read, hear, or give credence to a particular opinion they have the option of not listening.

4. All legal residents and citizens of the UAR have an absolute freedom of religion. This means that any and all religions can be practiced at any place, at any time. There is absolutely no religious discrimination in the UAR. The only exception to this rule is private organizations or schools.

If a religious charter school or church so chooses, they may exclude persons based upon religious beliefs. But under no circumstances is the UAR or any of the Republics therein, nor any municipality under the UAR or its constituent Republics to limit, curtail, regulate or harass any religion or religious practice or study.

5. All legal residents and citizens of the UAR have an absolute right to challenge the government of the UAR or any of the constituent Republics in court for redress of grievance or perceived grievance in court.

6. Only Citizens of the UAR or the constituent Republics may vote. Only Citizens of their respective Republics may vote in elections in those Republics. Any individual may be a Citizen of a constituent Republic, but not a Citizen of the UAR.

For example, one may be a Citizen of the Californian Republic, but not a Citizen of the UAR.

Citizenship for the UAR is not hereditary, but is obtained through national service, such as military service to the UAR armed forces. Individual Republics may establish their own Citizenship requirements and eligibility.

7. All legal residents and Citizens of the UAR and the constituent Republics have an absolute right to self-defense and self-preservation.

Any legal resident and citizen of the UAR has an absolute right to purchase, own, and carry a firearm or other tool of self-defense at any time, in any location. Private ownership of military grade firearms is to be encouraged. Citizens of the UAR must be armed at all times. Citizens of the constituent Republics may elect to enlist in their Republic Militia, wherein all training and weapons will be provided for them.

This right cannot be altered, changed, or eliminated for any reason, at any time, by any level of government, whether local, State, Republic, or UAR.

8. No legal resident or Citizen may be arrested or detained for any reason by UAR or constituent Republic law enforcement agencies without just cause or a warrant issued by a judge in good standing with the people and the specific Republic in which the crime occurred. The Right of Habeus Corpus, the protection against self-incrimination, and the right to a speedy trail shall never be infringed.

9. Illegal residents of the UAR have no legal standing or protection under the Constitution of the UAR. They do not have the right to vote in any UAR matter, cannot enlist in the UAR armed forces, cannot be represented in court regarding UAR cases, cannot receive any benefit given to UAR citizens, or provided through the constituent Republics of the UAR if paid for by the UAR.

This includes but is not limited to UAR federally provided housing, health care, welfare programs, employment, education and social services. The punishment for any illegal resident who is found to be using UAR resources is immediate expulsion and permanent exile from the UAR or any constituent Republic territory, violation of which carries the sentence of immediate execution.

10. Any and all civil rights, legal responsibilities or powers not expressly given in detail to the UAR federal government in the Charter Constitution of the UAR are entirely prohibited from the federal government of the UAR, with no exception.

Any amendment to the UAR Charter Constitution requires a super-majority vote of all UAR Citizens, minimum of two-thirds voting in approval, a super-majority vote in the UAR House of Representatives, minimum of two-thirds voting in approval, a super-majority of constituent Republics voting in the affirmative, minimum of two-thirds voting in approval, and finally a super-majority of the UAR Senate, minimum of two-thirds voting in approval, for any amendment or change to the UAR Charter Constitution to be passed.

Any part of the Charter Constitution which specifically states it cannot be altered or changed or amended is excluded from the amendment process, requiring a Constitutional Convention process to be changed.

Comments and suggestions and various opinions are welcome. If you don't have a Facebook account and don't want one, feel free to leave them here and I'll pass them along. If you do, join the cause and welcome.

.

Taking a blogging sabbatical...

I know what most of you are thinking, "What? Like we'd notice? You haven't posted in 3 weeks...sheesh."

I wish I had a good reason for hitting the 'pause' button for a while, but all I can offer is the lame ass excuse that I've lost the blogging bug and I need to give it a chance to strike again.

All of you are doing great jobs and commenting on and covering all the really serious crap that's going on in the world right now, better than I and there's nothing really going on in my personal life even remotely interesting enough to blog about. I'm stuck in Tacoma until roughly June working and it's drudge work.

I may drop a note from time to time if anything interesting happens (my wife flying out to spend time or my daughters prom or if something relevant happens in my neck of the woods and I care to comment on it) and I will definitely be reading all the blogs on my sidebar every day.

Thanks to everyone who has commented, linked and even visited. You've been great. Take care y'all and I promise I will be back later.

This explains a LOT...

If you're talking about how liberals come up with some of the crap they espouse... Global warming, the economy, gun control, etc.

My God, it's full of...phlegm...

With apologies to one of my childhood heroes, Arthur C. Clarke for the destruction of one of the great book and movie lines in literary history.

The human body should not be able to produce this much in the way of unwanted substances. My sinus cavity and lungs are filled with stuff that I desperately need to get OUT and leave me the hell alone. And for the love of God, make up your mind about which nostril you plan on clogging and quit playing peek-a-boo.

I rarely get sick, but when I do, it tends to be a doozy. I'm blaming it on a combination of a cold my daughter had before I left town and the change of venue. I'm currently camped in a corporate rental apartment in Tacoma, Washington. Lovely Washington state in the middle of winter. Green, wet, cold and cloudy.

Did I mention that it was 75 degrees and sunny the day I left Virginia Beach?

Oh, and let me rant about the trip out here while I'm at it. The original flight was supposed to be thru Cincinnati and on to Seattle on Delta. Well, they say no plan survives the first touch of battle and neither did our flight.

Our first flight was delayed long enough on the tarmac due to mechanical issues that those of us going to Washington were deboarded and rerouted through Atlanta. Weather issues delayed our arrival there and got compounded by an excessively long taxi to the terminal. We hit the jetway with ten minutes to get from Terminal B, Gate 9 to Terminal A, Gate 27.

As luck would have it, our next plane also got held up by the weather, and we were able to make it aboard. Lucky me, I was in a middle seat for 5 hours. Yeah, I'm whining. My blog. Deal... One very nice extra was the seat back touchscreen TV that played regular TV, had pay per view movies and HBO and was running a very nice selection of all genre music. The credit card slot so you could pay for the content was a nice touch.

As it turned out, despite all the shuffling around, most of our bags made it on the same flight we did. My tools were on the next plane in, but at least all my clothes showed up. As we were staying in a hotel, airline policy states that missing baggage gets delivered 24 hours a day. I picked up my bag at the front desk the next morning.

I'm expecting to be here in the Pacific Northwest until roughly mid-May, barring any unforeseen extensions or reductions. It's a long time to be away from home, but I'm looking at it from a certain perspective: I was home for over a month, I make more money on the road, I still have a job and should be thankful.

I picked up a few 'thing to do' fliers while I was out yesterday after work, hopefully I'll have time to do a couple of them this trip.

That's all for now, but updates will be coming. You'll note I avoided anything political this post. I'm just too damn depressed to talk about much of it lately. I do have recurring dreams where I'm in a very large hand basket with 300 million other people and for some reason it keeps getting warmer...

Shhh....

Still alive, just getting settled at the new job site and adjusting to the time zone. Posting should pick up soon.

Remember, just because I'm not posting, doesn't mean I'm not reading yours...

Whatever I want Friday...

It's been an odd week, and what with everything going on in our wonderful world, I just felt the need for silliness and occasional venting. This post is my attempt at a bit of catharsis (look it up...).

For as long as I can remember, I've loved reading comics. The kind that come as strips in the paper, as well as the ones put out by Marvel and DC. Right now I'm talking about the newspaper kind. I've had my favorites over the years, and they've changed as I've grown but the memories stick with you.

'Peanuts', 'Blondie', 'Foxtrot', 'For better or worse', 'Luann', Calvin and Hobbes', 'The Far Side', 'Dilbert', 'Bloom County', 'Non-sequitur', 'Sherman's Lagoon', 'Mallard Fillmore'. Some of these I still read, though I now do it online. In fact, some of the comics I read are available ONLY online. I discovered 'Day by Day' because it appears on several blogs I read; 'Sluggy Freelance' because one of my favorite authors, John Ringo, has a strange obsession with it (I do too now, thanks lots John...) and 'Schlock Mercenary' because of a blurb on yet another website I frequent that publishes sample chapters of upcoming science fiction novels. Day by Day is political, Schlock is science fiction and Sluggy is, quite frankly, indescribable. I only recently started reading Schlock and as it's been in publication since 1998 and I hate walking into something in the middle...I've caught up to April of 2005 so far. Sluggy has also been running for more than a decade at this point, so if you choose to click the link, be prepared to lose a LOT of productivity. They WILL suck you in.

In my internet wanderings, I found what is described as 'the greatest Craigslist ad ever'. Here's a taste and a link:

NINJA HAULER: 2005 Nissan Xterra - $12900 (Ronan / Lake County )
________________________________________
Reply to: sale-926508578@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-11-19, 10:04PM MST
OK, let me start off by saying this Xterra is only available for purchase by the manliest of men (or women) . My friend, if it was possible for a vehicle to sprout chest hair and a five o'clock shadow, this Nissan would look like Tom Selleck . It is just that manly .

The state of New Hampshire, despite being dangerously close to the People's Republic of Taxachussetts and deep in the heart of liberal New England, has apparently decided to remember its motto: 'Live free or Die' and grown a rather large pair of brass ones. This bill has been proposed in the state legislature:

That any Act by the Congress of the United States, Executive Order of the President of the United States of America or Judicial Order by the Judicatories of the United States of America which assumes a power not delegated to the government of United States of America by the Constitution for the United States of America and which serves to diminish the liberty of the any of the several States or their citizens shall constitute a nullification of the Constitution for the United States of America by the government of the United States of America.

I bought a Snuggie for my wife this Christmas, so seeing this video made me laugh my butt off.

I'm leaving town next week for an extended trip, possibly 3 months or so. Depends on several things really. I'm honestly looking forward to it, mainly because the drivers have to be better somewhere else than they have been here lately. I was on my way to pick up the wife from work when the minivan in front of me put on their left turn signal and then proceeded to merge to the right. She also decided to make a right turn at the upcoming intersection. As I passed, staring at her openmouthed, I noticed she was on her cell phone, merrily chatting away.

I've been seeing a lot of Obama stickers on large, Japanese import, non-hybrid pickups lately. Don't they realize that a) they're supposed to 'Buy American' and b) are destroying the environment with their choice of motor? Hypocrites! I bet they aren't even members of a Union!

If, five years ago, you'd told me I'd be buying a dress for my daughter to wear to the prom, I'd have had you committed to a mental health facility. Well, I did (buy a dress) and she looks so beautiful in it I could cry. Prom is in May. I'll post pictures.

Went shooting last weekend with my neighbor, a friend and my daughters boyfriend. We brought a 9mm Sig, a 1911 .45, a .45 revolver (cowboy pistol) and a .38 revolver. It's been more than a couple of years since I've killed paper targets and apparently I'm still good. Took some familiarization, especially with the revolvers as I've never shot one, but I'm proud of my results.

I'm especially proud of Mitch, the daughters boyfriend. He'd never shot anything before and, after some instruction and coaching, proved himself a natural with a gun. He seems to prefer the 9mm Sig overall and is quite talented for a firsttimer. He's very anxious to go to the range again and wants to make it a regular thing. I'm thinking about pricing a membership. Cheaper that way.

Well, that's all I've got for now...but there's always tomorrow.

.

Hypocrisy....it's killing me! Hypocrisy!..

Most expensive inauguration in history - $150 million
Pork laden 'stimulus' bill - $900 billion
Oval Office hot enough to "grow orchids" - $???
Wagyu steaks - $100 each

Obama lecturing Wall Street executive on bonus' during an economic crisis - Priceless

.

I pledge Allegiance...to Obama...

As I read the article that prompted this post, I'm reminded very strongly of the novel '1984' by George Orwell. The huge, omnipresent images of 'Big Brother' and the '2 minutes of hate' that were required of every citizen every day where all their frustrations and terror and anger over their pathetic and miserable existence got taken out on an image of the 'enemy' Goldstein.

We see our government moving to 'equalize' things for everyone, to legislate 'fairness' in order to shut down dissenting opinion and the means to disseminate it, pay lip service to revoking of powers seized by the previous adminstration while leaving loopholes large enough to drive a semi truck thru, introduce measures revoking the term limit Amendment to allow the current office holder to stay indefinitely, reinstate the draft, create civilian 'security' organizations, repeal our right to defend ourselves, empower tort lawyers, nationalize businesses and banks, erode property rights, curttail Christian religious activities and organizations, normalize anti-social and immoral behaviour.

Is it time yet?

.

Clever? Witty? Snarky? Yep...

I'm talking about the labels on my bottles of Vitamin Water, a product I've taken a liking to and plan on drinking quite a bit more of in the future.

The creepy 'Obama' symbol on my usual Diet Pepsi is starting to get a bit grating...as is the virus of Obama-kitsch that is seemingly spreading everywhere. Shame really, this was such a nice country.

Anyway, I'd like to transcribe the product description from the side of my most recent purchase...a flavor called "Revive":

Fruit Punch (b+potassium)

If you woke up tired, you probably need more sleep. If you woke up drooling at your desk, you probably need a new job. If you woke up with a headache, on a ferris wheel, at the Idaho state fair, wearing a toga...you probably need answers, not to mention this product.

It's got potassium plus B vitamins to help you recover and feel refreshed - kinda like in those old Irish Spring soap commercials.

And if you're like our boss, Mike, and you woke up married to an Elvis impersonator, you probably need a lawyer.

Vitamins + water = all you need

Clever commentary and on the product advertising. It tastes really good too.

.

Sarah's gettin' ready for the BIG time...

Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and former VP candidate, has launched a political action committee to help support candidates for federal and state office. The committee, SarahPac, is dedicated to supporting "fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation," according to its web site.

Here's hoping that one of the candidates it hopes to support for Federal office is the woman herself and my 'campaign' button on the sidebar becomes reality and not just Photoshop.

.

Gov. Blagojevich named in stimulus bill...

I was watching Glenn Beck last night (5pm EST on Fox News...watch it, you'll love it) and he aired a clip of his interview with the impeached and disgraced governor of Illinois that showcased Blago's reaction to the news that he is mentioned by name in the stimulus package about to be voted on and shoved down our throats.

In a bit of legalese and as part of another precondition to the distribution of stimulus funds to the state, no money appropriated for the state of Illinois use will be made available as long as Governor Rod Blagojevich is still holding his current office.

As this is seemingly easy to prove false, I cannot think of any possible reason for Glenn to be making this up. Rod had to ask him to repeat the clause several times as he appeared almost unable to understand what he was hearing and in the end basically accused Glenn of bullshitting him.

The second half of the interview will air tonight, with the aforementioned segment, hopefully, included. The first half was a lot of fun to watch, as Beck told Rod in no uncertain terms that he was not a fan of the governor, believed that all politicians, Blago included, were crooks and liars and that Rod needed to prove himself to Glenn and plead his case right there well enough to convince Beck that he was in any way, shape or form innocent of the charges being brought against him.

Not a friendly sit down, as you might imagine and it doesn't seem to be going well for the man from Illinois, as Glenn kept expressing disbelief and throwing the 'bullshit' flag. He (Beck) also later spoke with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and said that based on the interview, Blagojevich was either innocent or a sociopath.

The former AG offered no opinion either way.

*Update* Found the video of the first half of the interview on Beck's website. Enjoy!

.