Date:	2002-08-17 20:09
Subject:	Alan's wedding
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy

Wow.

That's pretty much all I can say after everything that happened today. Everything is still a blur. From breakfast to seeing the newlyweds off on their honeymoon, the entire affair was quite a blur of nonstop action. Everything went very well, and you could just feel the happiness from Alan and Melanie.

My Best Man toast went well, even if I didn't reveal embarrasing information about Alan. I pretty much stuck to conveying to the reception attendees that type of person that Alan is, and what could be expected of him in the years to come.

Now I am completely drained, and I have to get ready for work. McLean and I were talking about how we have to go back to the real world tomorrow, and how the past 24-36 hours have seemed like some sort of fantasy world. If simply being in the wedding party is this amazing, I can only imagine what it is like to be in the shoes of the wedding couple.

Date:	2002-08-14 23:41
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	okay

One of the posters on the objectivists community really beats me down. He claims to make all of his arguments from reason, but immediately turns and hides behind Piekoff's and Rand's writings. He can't accept that Objectivism as a philosophy was created and just might possibly be wrong. Just because the philosophy says that rights and knowledge and values are objectively discoverable, doesn't mean that the philosophy itself is too. To me that sounds like a tautology designed to defend itself. Don't get me wrong, A=A, but labeling something as A does not necessarily, and objectively make it A.

Now I am not saying that I disagree with Objectivism in general. Rather, I disagree with authoritarian applications of the philosophy, and with the idea that the philosophy is so iron clad and infallible that it could never possibly be incorrect. I feel very strongly that morality and knowledge are objectively knowable and verifiable, however, if other objectively verifiable contradictory evidence presents itself, I will not deny its validity, as some of the more authoritarian Objectivists are apt to do.

Date:	2002-08-14 11:48
Subject:	Busy week ahead
Security:	Public
Mood:	okay

I can't believe that it is already Wednesday. Tomorrow I have to got to work, get a (badly needed) haircut, get my car washed and vacuumed, pick up my tuxedo (for Alan's wedding), and possibly drop by the company party. Friday sees another very early morning at work, and then I have to attend the wedding rehersal and rehersal dinner. However, I have the evening free, so I may try to make something out of it. The wedding is Saturday, and I'll probably be busy from 7 AM to around 3 or 4 PM with all the festivities and whatnot.

After all those events Sunday through Tuesday shouldn't be too bad. I have tickets to see Rush on Monday, and I'm going with chabela to tour one of the medical schools that shs would like to attend. I have Tuesday off, and I will be a major slacker, if I don't get swamped in other stuff. The best part is that I get to see chabela for the first time in over a month!

Date:	2002-08-12 21:31
Subject:	Some people...
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Just for the record, and let's not split hairs because our very lives depend on the truth, evengelical people of any faith annoy the ever living shit out of me. Let me enumerate a few things that will clear the air regarding the way the world works for me.

First, Satan, or the existence of Satan, is not a plausible explanation for anything, at any time.

Second, there are people in this world who do not want to hear about, "the healing power of Jesus", or the "Good News". So, don't voulnteer to tell me about it. If I want to know, I'll ask. Until then, don't waste my time or my air.

Date:	2002-08-12 10:11
Subject:	Blah blah blah
Security:	Public
Mood:	blah

You are 30% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator. Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend. You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines! Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals! You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

When you think of pinche, think of me.

According to the SelectSmart.com Belief System Selector, my #1 belief match is Nontheist. What do you believe? Visit SelectSmart.com/RELIGION

It's official; I can't sleep past 9:00 AM anymore. This is both good and bad. It's mostly good, since I want to avoid sleeping my days away as I was apt to do in my past. On the other hand, if I ever need to "load up" on sleep for some reason, it will be difficult to accomplish that task.

I went to Outdoor World today. They're having a hunting sale over the next week, so I figured I would see if I could find any deals. I ended up getting some official NRA small bore rifle targets (50 and 100 yard), 4 boxes of 9mm Luger, and a pair of Bushnell 16x50 binoculars.

The rest of the day was spent wasting time. I just puttered around the house with no real tasks in mind. About an hour ago I took a short 5 mile bike ride. Tomorow is going to come quickly. I have an early morning ahead of me, but a free evening. Hopefully all will go well at work, making for a reasonably low impact day. I also intend to go for a 10 mile spin tomorrow evening. I seem to do better on the bike than jogging, so I'll push myself a little harder.

Date:	2002-08-04 23:17
Subject:	If I could, I would
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

I just finished watching the CNN special on the Uprising at Mazar-e Sharif, and I am left with a few thoughts in mind.

The first is that nothing in the story shocked me the least bit. Members of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda want to kill Americans; that is obvious. Members of those organizations are willing to die to achieve that end. This is also obvious. But what really got me were the journalists involved. Their reactions were as if they hadn't expected warfare to be so brutal, that the scene of a three day long battle should be so grim, and that U.S. Special Forces wouldn't be inclined to want their faces filmed and shown to the world.

I have no personal experience to judge from, but I think I can safely say that if I were involved in warfare, I wouldn't be shocked by anything. War is brutal, unforgiving, and doesn't play favorites. One of the journalists was shocked to see a Northern Alliance fighter using the body of a Taliban soldier as a protective shield, much like a sandbag bunker. This is not shocking to me. If it was a matter of life and death, and putting an already dead body between myself and the enemy might improve my chances of survival, I would build an entire fortress of bodies if possible.

Second, I am once again faced with what I would like to be doing, and what I can do. I would like to serve in some capacity, and I think that I could do the things necessary to be a Ranger or Army Special Forces. I believe strongly that I am mentally, emotionally, and psychologically capable of handling that task. Physically, I am limited, and prevented from serving in a military capacity. So, once again, I feel some amount of anguish that I cannot do what I both want to do, and know I could do, if the opportunity was available to me.

Wow. 7 years, and yet not much has changed. I met about 12 other members of the 1995 Berkner Orchestra at the Fox and Hound in Richardson. We sat around and had drinks, talked about our current lives, talked about the crazy things that we did in high school, and had a great time. I played darts for a while, and ended up winning, even though I haven't played darts in at least 5 or 6 years. I had a couple of beers. The Killian's was ice cold; it was very nice.

All in all, not much has really changed. Everyone is still as I remember them, even though we've all moved on to different things in our lives. It was a great night, and I hope we can possibly string together a regular monthly or semi-monthly get-together.

Date:	2002-08-03 19:31
Subject:	7 years and counting
Security:	Public
Mood:	curious
Music:	Pigface - Asphole

I am planning on meeting a few people from my high school orchestra in about 30 minutes at a local bar. Needless to say, I don't really know what to expect. I haven't seen some of these people since I graduated. I've bumped into a few in passing now and then, but I haven't seen the bulk of the orchestra members in what seems like ages. Some of the people who may be in attendance parted ways with me in less than friendly or complete circumstances, so it will be interesting to see how that goes. My view is that those events happened when we were a bunch of 18 and 19 year old kids who probably didn't think beyond the moment. Looking back, we we're all stupid in one way or another, but that was then.

It's funny how I can look back at all the fun and yuks from so long ago, and yet, they seem as if they happened just yesterday.

Date:	2002-08-03 06:37
Subject:	Disease?
Security:	Public
Mood:	annoyed

Drug addiction is not a disease.

I have heard a wide array of people say that, "drug addiction is a disease that needs to be treated," and, "addicts are sick people who need help."

Wrong. People with cancer are sick and need help. People with organ failure are sick and need help. People who voluntarily choose to take drugs illegally deserve whatever they get, including death.

No one says to themself, "Hell, I think I'll let a mosquito bite me so I can get West Nile virus, that would be far out man," or, "I think it would be a great and enlightening experience to eat some radioactive pellets and develop cancer. That would so open my third eye!"

Taking drugs is a conscious choice that has negative consequences. People do not simply wake up and realize out of the blue that they're addicted to crack. They fisrt smoke the crack and then get addicted. Seems pretty simple to me.

Date:	2002-08-01 20:54
Subject:	Joy.
Security:	Public
Mood:	cynical
Music:	The Hot Spot, KTCK 1310 AM

I went on a small bike journey this evening. I only went 5 miles total, but that was enough to make for an interesting 30 minutes. At one point along the ride a car on the wrong side of the road, being driven erratically by two high school girls, and with the obvious smell of pot wafting from the open windows nearly hit me. As they drove past me, one of the girls yelled from inside the car, "Don't crash asshole!".

These events led me to two thoughts:

1. I kind of wish that I had been hit by them so I could sue their asses straight to hell.

2. I wish that it was possible for catastrophic and fatal overdoses to occur from the use of marajuana. Heck, it's possible with all the other illegal drugs, so why do I get ripped off when it comes to pot? Fuckers.

Both would make my world a much happier place.

Date:	2002-08-01 11:50
Subject:	Greatest saint EVER.
Security:	Public
Mood:	okay
Music:	Norm Hitzgis, KTCK 1310 AM

Thanks to plinko for exposing me to the ULTIMATE MOST COMPREHENSIVE PLUS CATHOLIC SAINT LIST.

This saint is pretty damn cool.

Date:	2002-07-30 14:41
Subject:	Fun fun fun
Security:	Public
Mood:	good
Music:	Prodigy -- This Baby's Got a Temper

Even though the market is a bit mixed today, the majority of my stocks and funds are up. So far, I have "made" $10.16 since my initial investment. That's an increase of 6.96%.

I have two days off, and I don't have to be at work until 2:30 PM, so I essentially get 3 days off.

I am drinking a Super Quencher Dr. Pepper.

Things are good.

Date:	2002-07-27 10:13
Subject:	Major haul
Security:	Public
Mood:	pleased
Music:	The Bohemian Rant, KTCK 1310 AM

Barnes & Noble is having a summer clearance sale, and being a book fiend I had to see what they were offering. Well, I managed to hit three stores in an hour and a half. I ended up with four bags of books, but I don't think I went overboard. Here are my acquisitions:

The Ardennes: The Battle of the Bulge by High Cole, regularly $19.98.
Pole to Pole with Michael Palin by Michael Palin, regularly $18.95.
From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, CSA, regularly $12.98.
Rendezvous with Destiny: History of the 101st Airborne Division by Leonard Rapport and Arthur Norwood Jr., regularly $14.98.
High Fidelity (audiobook) by Nick Hornby, regularly $17.95.
The Illustrated History of the SAS by Ken Connor, regularly $14.98.
War of the Bruces by Colm McNamee, regularly $17.95.
The Regan Administration and Human Rights edited by Tinsley E. Yarbrough, regularly $3.98.
Hemmingway's Chair by Michael Palin, regularly $23.95.
Twentieth Century Artillery by Ian Hogg, regularly $12.95.
Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boat Codes 1939-1943 by David Kahn, regularly $9.95.
Dare Call It Treason: The True Story of the French Army Mutinies of 1917 by Richard M. Watt, regularly $12.95.
Senseless Secrets: The Failures of U.S. Military Intelligence by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Michael Lanning, regularly $24.95.
The Race for the Rhine Bridges by Alexander McKee, regularly $14.95.
Osiris & the Egyptian Ressurection by E.A. Wallis Budge, regularly $12.95.
Reaping the Whirlwind: The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan by Michael Griffin, regularly $27.50.
Nordic Gods and Heroes by Padraic Colum, regularly $9.95.
History of the English-Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill, regularly $9.95.
Compendium Maleficarum by Fancesco Maria Guazzo, regularly $8.95.
Into the Storm: A Study In Command by Tom Clancy & Gen. Fred Franks Jr. (Ret.), regularly $27.50.
Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America, and International Terrorism by John K. Cooley, regularly $9.99.
The Calm Technique: Meditation Without Magic or Mysticism by Paul Wilson, regularly $5.95.
The Undiscovered Self by C.G. Jung, regularly $13.00.
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, regularly $5.98.
Life In Ancient Egypt by Adolf Erman, regularly $12.95.
The Danzig Trilogy by Guenter Grass, regularly $16.98.

So, that's 26 books, at a regular purchase price of $382.80. I got them for $29.28.

I think that is a pretty good deal. You should go to Barnes & Noble today.

Date:	2002-07-26 04:21
Subject:	By the by
Security:	Public
Mood:	okay
Music:	BBC World Service

Yes, I am awake. I've been awake since 1:00 AM. After getting home from the range at 5:00 PM on Thursday, I decided to take a 2 hour nap. Well, 8 hours later I was all rested up. At least I can go to work awake and ready to go rather than half asleep.

At the range yesterday I tried some Black Hills 55 grain soft point .223. While it was good ammo (90% of the hits were inside the inner ring), the results were no where near as nice as the nosler rounds I used last week (100% were inside the nine ring). So, I think I have found the proper diet for my M4.

I may work on my FAL trigger group later today. The trigger return spring and pin have been sticking, and that annoys me greatly.

Crap, almost time to go to work.

Date:	2002-07-26 04:16
Subject:	Palestinian rant
Security:	Public
Mood:	annoyed
Music:	BBC World Service

Do the Palestinians really have the credibility necessary to accuse the Israelis of war-crimes or crimes against humanity? Sure, the Israelis put a missile into an apartment building and killed 15 people, 14 of which were not official targets. However, they managed to kill a major architect of Palestinian terrorism and have thereby saved the lives of an untold number of Israelis who would have been targets of that Hamas leader.

But let me get back to the credibility issue for a moment. Palestinian groups, like Hamas, regularly lace their explosive belts with rat poison, pesticides, chemicals, and anti-coagulants. Unless I am mistaken, such behavior is a much greater violation of conventions on warfare than using precision guided munitions. As long as Palestinian groups continue to deliberately target civilians on a regular basis, and resort to the use of munitions designed to promote direct suffering in wounded victims and bystanders, they will have no credibility.

Unfortunately, I doubt that most of the morons in the EU and UN will bother to consider this.

Also, just in case you weren't aware of this fact: civilians die in warfare. Is it a good thing? Heck no. Does it happen? Yes. Can it be totally avoided? I very seriously doubt it. Remember that in World War Two, Allied forces firebombed the entire city of Dresden, killing civilians and combatants alike, in addition to the untold number of other civilians who died as a result of Axis and Allied bombing campaigns. Death is a consequce of war, and it does not discriminate. So, the next time you hear people screaming about how one US warplane killed 40 people with a guided munition, remember that we could be dropping unguided iron bombs from flights of over 100 bombers instead.

Date:	2002-07-25 05:05
Subject:	Crazy day ahead
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake
Music:	NPR News

I went to bed around midnight and woke up at 3:00 AM. I was going to sleep until 5:45, but I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Since I have to be at a meeting at 6:30 anyway I wasn't bothered too much. I had a chance to eat a decent breakfast for once, instead of just grabbing something on the way out the door.

Today is my day off, but I have to spend about 3 hours at work. I have my meeting, and then I have a class in the afternoon. I figure that I will run some errands after the meeting, take a nap, then go to my class. Afterward I'll meet up with Brent and we'll go to the range for about an hour. I have to work early tomorrow, so I'll be able to crash early if I am tired from waking up so early.

I decided to dabble a bit in the stock market since it is bargain time. I've invested a very small amount in a couple of index funds, a couple of bond funds, and a few stocks of companies that make products that I use on a regular basis. So far I am up by $3.39, even after last week's market performance.

Date:	2002-07-21 16:08
Subject:	Curiosity
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

Sometimes I wonder what the criteria are for others when they select people for their friend list. But that question is far too encompassing to truly provide any solid answers. So, instead, what were your criteria for selecting me for your friend list? I am intrigued by what you might have to say, and I won't take offense to whatever you provide as an answer. Try to be more in depth than simply saying, "I know you from before and you are cool." What are the things that lead you to select me to have access to the ideas, opinions, and experiences that you choose to share?

Be critical; be flattering. I don't see this as an ego exercise on my part, so don't pull punches. If you want to respond privately, email me instead of replying.