Saturday, April 30, 2005

So, she got cold feet!

How nice. Jennifer Wilbanks got cold feet and hopped on a bus to cross the country to think about her pending marriage. Meanwhile, her fiance and family worried. Clearly, you should not get married unless you are really sure that is what you want to do. But this woman knew she was being looked for, and still kept quiet until she got to the western states. Hello!!! Jennifer!?! Do you know how much tax money you pissed away because of your little problem? Look at the worrying the families suffered. Look at the hundreds of man-hours wasted by all of the officers and other search-and-rescue people. You concocted a story and lied to police. And now I hear that Georgia authorities aren't going to press any charges against you (like filing a freakin' false police report). I hear that 600 people had come to Atlanta to see your wedding. You should be made to apologize to each and every one. And you should be sued to foot the bill for all of the overtime and resources spent on your whiny ass. You got your 15 minutes of fame. Now, it's time for you to pay for it.

Friday, April 29, 2005

Yes, I am slack

It's been a while since I posted. Another post will be coming, soon.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

I pay your salary!

One of the lamest arguments that people bring up when arguing with a police officer is when they come out with the "I pay your salary." Please! Is that statement supposed to make me want to kiss your ass? Am I supposed to suddenly not write you a ticket for speeding and running through a red light? Does the fact that you "pay my salary" put you above the law, or make you any more special that any other citizen in the community? The police are not Burger King, and you do not get your way all of the time. In my profession, the customer isn't always right. You pay my salary? Then how about giving me a raise, you cheap bastard! The community and the legislatures/councilmen/commissioners want better educated, better trained police officers. Police agencies themselves want to raise the stakes and want to only hire officers who are educated. Well, if you want better trained, better educated officers, then you should pay for that education and training. My agency pays me a base salary of about $37,000. In any other business with 130 employees, what do you expect a middle-management person of 12 years seniority with a college degree should earn?

You pay my salary? That doesn't give you the right to act like a complete ass. If we want to play around with wording, then how about the fact that I, too, pay taxes. Taxes pay my salary. Therefore, I pay my salary. And, since I am self-employed, then I can do whatever I wish, you snivelling, malcontented bastard.

Let's clear the air. 99% of all officers work hard as officers, not for the money, but because they feel that they can make a difference and want to help people. I feel that way. I'm not in it for the money. In that same vein, these same officers believe in treating everybody the same, regardless of race, sex, or social standing. I hate social functions, because inevitably someone comes up with some story about how they were wronged by some officer who wrote them a ticket for something they didn't do once they find out what my job is. Quit whining. 99.9% of people who are issued tickets deserved them. Don't tell me you pay my salary. Pay attention to the speed limit signs along the roadway. After all, you paid for them, too.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Will he know...?

I got up early this morning with my son and we went shopping at the local supercenter. It was cool and sunny, traffic was light, and the store wasn't very crowded. We walked up and down the aisles, picking and perusing, buying stuff we needed and stuff that we merely wanted. It was when we were walking from the deli/bakery area through the produce section that I was suddenly filled with a need to explain to my son that he should appreciate what we have. All around us were fresh, green vegetables, shiny fruit, tubers, etc. The produce section was a veritable rainbow of edible colors. We had just left the deli/bakery after selecting a pound of thin-sliced hard salami and several fresh-baked items. How great life is, that I can look around and purchase all of the foods that I desire. I told my son to look around, and when he grows up that he needs to appreciate the life he has, a life that allows him to walk into a supercenter and purchase any food item he wants. There are 6 billion people on the planet, but how many of those 6,000,000,000 people can walk into a store and purchase some fresh bell peppers, boxed YooHoo drinks, and croissants? We see starving people on television every day. I go to eat at the local feeding trough and see how much food gets wasted. For me, there is no greater feeling than knowing that I am in America, and as long as I put in an honest day of work that I can provide such things for me and my family. I appreciate what I have, but I don't take it for granted. I have never been hungry, but I know that my wife has. She grew up abused, neglected and extremely poor. She knows what it is like to steal just to eat. Even now, she riles at wasting food. She appreciates what she has in life, and knows that she has it because she worked for it, and that such a nice life can easily be taken away by the most cruel of fickle fates. I want my son to understand all of this, and I hope he does. He's only 4 right now, but I will never stop trying to teach him appreciation and humility.

Saturday, April 16, 2005

A lazy Saturday. I attended my bi-weekly model club meeting. I noticed an interesting personality quirk that pretty much everybody in the group has. We are all type B personalities, and it would seem that we are not real social butterflies. Model building is, for the most part, a solitary endeavor, and it is rare that you will sit down with somebody else to build. Even when you do (we try to do some group building when we meet) there are many times where the level of concentration needed results in nobody talking. We are a diverse group. We have some military and former military people, a truck driver, a troubled teen, and a physical therapist. Most of the guys like to build armor, which leads to some gentle ribbing from the two of us who almost always build aircraft. Remember: There are airplanes, and there are targets!
I am currently working on a Japanese Ki-44 Shoki. I'm trying to finish it in it's natural metal finish, which is most difficult (I am trying to make plastic look like metal). I don't plan on posting pictures on this blog, but that might change in the future, if I get enough feedback from readers who want to see my work or any other thing that I might be talking about.

Friday, April 15, 2005

This is new

I have seen many blogs on the 'net, and I have been hesitant about doing what is essentially an on-line diary. People will blog about anything, so I finally figured that there are people out there who are like me, who think like me, and want to know what somebody like me really thinks.

I am in my 30's, married, with a 4-yr-old boy. I work as a supervisor with a medium-sized police department. My hobbies are building models and reading. I am a registered Republican, I have conservative views, and think that Ted Kennedy and Michael Moore are asshats.

I hope to keep those interested updated on my life and my perspective on things. Some of my views may anger you; such is our society that we are allowed to have and voice such views. I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend your right to say it.

Interesting note for today: Three days ago I had my A/C on to keep cool. Tonight it is getting into the high 30's. My pollen allergies are raging! The recent cool weather trend is playing hell on my tomato plants.

Making sure it works

Well, I'm still working out the kinks. I am just now learning how to do html, so it's a trial and error sort of thing.

Has anybody seen the new Battlestar Galactica series? What do you think? I really enjoy the new series. It has that gritty, "man isn't the best" sort of feeling. I makes me miss another show, "Above and Beyond," which was only out for one season.

I'm waiting with anticipation for the new Star Wars movie. I'm working an inside track to get in to see it on opening day (May 19).

My world

My world
An average man who enjoys life