Redkain864's Domain

Haven't Written in a While

2008-03-29T18:01:00.005-04:00

I doubt that anyone reads this anymore because I haven't written in a while. If there is anyone reading this, I guess you are thinking, "I bet he'll write about how he has been and what he has been doing since he last wrote". I guess you are also thinking, "wow that sucks, I don't want to read about that". Well if that is what you were thinking then you are in luck because I am not going to write about myself.

So, what will I write about?

The truth is, I don't even know. What hasn't already been previously written? What novelty will my words add onto a subject or an idea at this moment. There presently is no inspiration for novelty. Instead there is a profound silence that really is not silent. It whispers to us, giving us knowledge, giving us thoughts, and giving us ideas. It is fashioned from within ourselves, the world around us, and from the previous knowledge we have divulged from it. We can only hear it when we are quiet and listening. That is what I have been doing and for the moment, that is what I will continue to do. There presently is no inspiration for novelty but surly, if I listen long enough it will come.

My Job

2007-05-29T20:42:00.000-04:00

Summer has already arrived here in South Carolina with nice weather, long days, short evenings, and an almost never ending commotion of people that have been fully liberated from the lethargic effects of the more colder seasons. I start my new job on Friday. What might it be, you ask? Well I'm working at a small Boy Scout camp in mountains of South Carolina known as camp Old Indian. I'll be there from June to August teaching merit badges, befriending campers, and enjoying the cooler climate that is customary in the mountains. I'll will, however, be teaching some rather uncamplike (boring) merit badges like, Cit in the Nation, Cit in the World, Communications, and Public Speaking. But it will be fun and it will be a good learning experience.

Oh, and another bonus of this job is I get to see my girlfriend every week as opposed to once every three to four weeks and that makes me happy :)

The Phelps Family

2007-04-21T01:48:00.000-04:00

This is my retort to the Phelps family and their anti-homosexual ideology:

Check these guys out and you'll understand the frustrastion
http://www.godhatesfags.com

A few things.......

First, a random musing: It seems clear to me that a group of people such as yourselves, with the seemingly low IQ's and backward thoughts could only be a result of generation after generation of inbreeding.

Second, a perplexing thought: Could it be that the reason why your leader, Fred Phelps preaches against homosexuality so much is because he (because of his religious convictions) is ashamed of his own homosexuality. I mean what is a better way to hide something that you are truely ashamed of then to completely deny it and damn it.

Third, a hopefull contemplation: I saw on the news that your younger members don't date. You have no idea how happy that makes me. It makes my heart swell with joy to know that your younger members won't be passing their genes onto the next generation of human beings. It's natural selection at its finest. The strong surpassing the week and the intelligent allowing the ignorant to die out on their own.

Do you really want to know what is destroying America? It is division. It is the segregation of ethnicities, religions, cultures, lifestyles, thoughts, and ideals. What is the driving force that places the wedge between the various groups, cultures, and sub-cultures of the US and pushes them further apart? It is hate. A hatred that is so infectious that it has spread from coast to coast. Does not the bible say "love thy neighbor" and does not Jesus say "let ye who is without sin cast the first stone"? You propagate hatred in the name of your religion but it is that same religion that denounces hate and commands its followers to abstain from hatred and committing acts of hatred. However, I suppose like many poeple you guys only consider the teachings out of the Bible that you really want to hear but I digress.... So it is a lack of unity that is destroying America, a lack of unity that is caused by hate, and hate is preached and propagated by people like yourselves. So in reality the destruction of the US is being caused by.... you.
At what point did you people lose your sanity?

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T13:51:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T11:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween! It is that magical time of year again where candy is plentiful and the outside of people's houses get redecorated with a variety of perishable and non-perishable items alike. I have always enjoyed this holiday for many reasons but I would have to say what I like most about Halloween is the movies. I enjoy horror films but I very rarely find myself in the position to sit down and watch them. Halloween gives me an excuse to. Here is a list of movies that are my favorites and that I recommend for your viewing pleasure: (please feel free to add your favorites as well)

The Shining (the original)
Psycho
The Birds
The Exorcist
Omen
Frankenstein (the old Boris Karlof original)
Frankenstein (the most recent movie made)
Young Frankenstein
The Children of the Corn
The Children of the Corn II
The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead II
Army of Darkness
The Poltergeist
All of the Halloween movies
Friday the Thirteenth: part 1
They Nest
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Pet Cemetery ..........

This Is All I Have To Say

2006-10-28T19:46:00.000-04:00

"building life lessons for your friends into your d&d games based on knowledge aquired as a sophmore psych student will only cost you friends - d&d should be fun and should not be a platform for you to psychoanalize and counsel from. being the dungeonmaster makes you the god of that world but imparts no godly knowledge or attributes in this one. i only hope that some years from now when you may be a competant phychologist thinking back on the foolish mistakes that you made while still in training that you have not driven away the people that accept you as you are and without judgement"

You are absolutely right. What a horrible mistake I have made by trying to teach someone a "life lesson" through a D&D game and as a result loosing such a rewarding friendship........... Bull Shit.

As far as the D&D game went, I was trying to make an adventure that would be fun for everybody and I did. Now let me be very candid for a moment: the game and the results of the game had nothing to with my decision to no longer sustain my friendship with Eric.

In the grand scheme of things I look back upon the six years that we were friends and determined it was not much of a friendship. The constant head games, the manipulation of facts and events, and the lies were enough for me to make my decision. With me (as well as with the rest of the people whom he has relationships with) Eric places himself and his needs above that of the other person's, constantly maintaining the mantra of "to hell with the consequences". Moreover, if someone happens to be in the way of what he wants he tries to destroy them by any means necessary so that he may achieve his goal. If the goal is unobtainable or if someone else beats him to it he broods in jealousy, continuously trying to discredit those factors that stopped him from getting what he wants. And ultimately when faced with a hard task he runs away so that he won't have to deal with it and then later attempts to go around the problem rather than fix it.

After six years of noticing these patterns it doesn't take a psychology class to tell me (or anybody else for that matter) that he acts just like a child. But not just any age of child, he acts just like a toddler. A toddler who is not mine nor is not my responsibility to teach and care for. Thus, I won't. I am happy with my decision to end my "friendship" with Eric and the only regret I have is I wish I had done it sooner.

By the way whoever wrote the comment that I quoted at the top of the post, you are a horrible speller.

The D&D Game this Past Weekend: An Alternate Ending

2006-10-25T20:31:00.000-04:00

"Suddenly, McClarin's eyes grow wide with fear as if he comes to the realization that something is horribly wrong. As he begins to turn around, there is enough to see that just as McClarin turns, a large red skinned creature with enormous white feathered wings is seemingly birthed from the shadows behind McClarin and attacks"

The creature's sword jams through McClarin's back making him fall to his knees and then to the floor. He lies there gasping for breath as the creature levitates over him with its angelic white wings outstretched. The creature stares at party and then flies forward initiating a charge........ Battle Time...........

(the creature is defeated)

"As the last of the haunting light from the creature's eyes burns out, your sighs of relief are cut short, as you see that McClarin in his glinting robe of red is sprawled face down on the floor, glasses askew, with a large pool of blood trailing across the floor"

Try as they might the party attempts every avenue of revival they can think of to save McClarin's life but to no avail. McClarin breathes his last breath, and as he does his keep which was held together by his magic begins to crumble. Malsvir and Vorador teleport the party just outside the collapsing citadel just in time to see the last section fall. The party stares in disbelief at the seemingly endless pile of rubble. Malsvir and Vorador however look at each other with cheerful eyes and then teleport away leaving everyone else to their own devices.

Computer Building

2006-10-10T11:28:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't know I started to build a computer over the summer but because of a lack of funds I put the project aside. Now it is nearing my birthday and of coarse a good birthday would not be complete without birthday presents, in this case birthday money. Now with my currency problem solved I can resume construction on my computer. I currently have an ok case, an ASUS A8N-SLI motherboard, and a 550Watt power supply. I have the processor picked out however I would like some feedback on what to get for Ram and Video cards (I want to run dual cards).

The Next Movie Thriller

2006-09-19T21:33:00.000-04:00

If The Terminator and its sequels made you sweat.....

If The Matrix and its sequels made you piss your pants.....

If the movie Zoolander made your eyes bleed.....

If The Incredible Hulk made you cry with disappointment.....

And if the movie Flyboys makes you saliavate with anticipation.....

Prepare to be drained of all fluids for....

Hello Kitty 4000

Back to School

2006-08-22T12:14:00.000-04:00

Well folks its that time again, back to school time for all of us college students. I hope all of you had a good summer. My summer was fine. I got to spend time with my wonderful, beautiful, sweet, loving, and awesome girlfriend Lisa, I got to work with the best mechanic who has ever lived, I got to hang out with friends, and I got to spend some quality time with the parental. A very good summer I'd say, but it has ended and the new school year has begun. I wish you all luck with your endeavors and I hope your year is good.

Google

2006-04-19T18:35:00.000-04:00

Lisa brought something to my attention today that uplifted my spirits greatly: Go to google.com and type in miserable failure and you'll get the biography of George W. Bush.

try it: http://www.google.com

I think its funny and for those of you who don't I'm sorry but...... too bad so sad, you'll get over it.

In the Next Room

2006-04-09T18:50:00.000-04:00

In the Next Room

Scene one
*the scene opens in a college dorm room where a girl and her boyfriend, having just finished watching a movie prepare for bed

(clock-12:30am)
James: That was a good movie honey.
Lisa: I know! It's my favorite.
James: I liked the first ending better
Lisa: Yeah, I.....
(Lisa is interrupted by the sound of a faint creaking noise coming from stage left)

creak-creak-creak-creak-creak.....

Lisa: God! That girl has a boy over every night.

(James walks to the point at the wall where the sound is emanating from and raises his fist in the air as if he was going to hit the wall)

Lisa: (laughing) no baby!
James: (grinning and laughing) But think of how funny it would be to scare them while they are...

(both laugh hysterically)

(James goes over to the wall where he was before and hits it with all of his might)

the creaking stops for a moment and then........ creak.........creak......creak...creak-creak-creak-creak

(Lisa and James are laughing hysterically)

Scene two
*the scene opens with Lisa and James fast asleep in bed

(clock- 3:00am)

creak-creak-creak-creak-creak....

(Lisa wakes up)

Lisa: Baby wake up. (she nudges James to wake him)

(James wakes up)

Lisa: They are at it again.
James: Damn don't they ever sleep! (James says in a disgruntled voice)

(James rolls over and goes back to sleep and Lisa eventually does the same)

Scene three
* the scene opens in the dorm room with the light of a new day cascading through the window

(clock- 9:30am)

creak-creak-creak-creak-creak-creak....

(Lisa wakes up)

Lisa: James!

(James wakes up)

Lisa: Listen!
James: Wow! They don't quit

(both laugh when they remember James beating on the wall the first time they had heard the noise)

(some time passes and the creaking continues)

Lisa: (annoyed) See what I have to put up with!
James: Yeah, at least the people next to me get the drift when I hit the wall in my room.
Lisa: If this goes on during exam week, I'll get my RA.

the creaking stops

fin.

Pigeon Hunting

2006-04-09T18:02:00.000-04:00

Ask any college student the question, "what do you enjoy doing in college" and the answer will be pigeon hunting. Now before I continue some of you may say, "awe poor pigeons" and "don't hurt the pigeons, they didn't do anything to you" that's not true. ItÂs a common misconception that pigeons are tame, docile, and peace-loving creature. They actually are evil, spawned from the bowels of hell it self. Their number one goal is to live off the wastes of humans and shit on everything. In that respect they have much in common with the sea gull, but unfortunately we cannot contain the pigeon threat within mall parking lots and beaches like we can with their squawking cousins. Moreover it is this overall lack of control that we don't have over the pigeon populace is why they need to be hunted. Now there are many ways to hunt a pigeon. Anthony Lambruschi, master pigeon hunter extrordinair's method of hunting pigeons with a slingshot and Hershey's Kisses is favorable among most pigeon hunters but what if you come upon a pigeon and you don't have your slingshot or your kisses? You can't just leave it alone, so you have to exterminate it by any means necessary. For instance, my girlfriend and I were going up to her room on the fifth floor of her building and as we were walking I noticed the window at the end of the hall was open. Sure enough I looked down and there was two, not one but two pigeons starring me down ready to strike. I had to think fast so I pulled out my car keys and very cautiously moved toward my prey. When I was within range I let the keys loose with a speedy throw. They barely missed their target and hit the window behind my enemies. One pigeon was able to make it to the window seal and flew away. The other tried to follow the first but flew up and hit the bottom of the open window, fell and hit the window seal, got up, and finally flew away. I know that I didn't get both of them but I'm positive that the one is now mentally retarded and can no longer make babies. My last words of advice to all of you pigeon hunters is be ever vigilant, sleep with one eye open, and strike before the pigeon can strike back. These birds are a menace to society and need to be stopped. Do your part! Help us control the pigeon populace! Help us break down the pigeon status quo! And may we forever be the dominant species!

Five Months

2006-04-06T23:16:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to announce to everyone that yesterday, Wensday April 5, 2006 was my girlfriend, Lisa's and mine fifth month month-averstery. I love her very much and I hope all of you who read this post may be as lucky as I am to one day find love as special as the love I have found.

The Monthly Useful Facts

2006-04-02T13:08:00.000-04:00

1. Dust found in the average household is mostly made up of dead skin
2. The average iceberg weighs 20,000,000 tons.
3. Slugs have four noses
4. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was relieved of his command in the US Navy after shelling a Mexican island off of Baja California
5. The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows
6. Giraffes have just seven vertebrae
7. "Godfather of Soul" James Brown was raised in a brothel and served three years hard labor for breaking into a car
8. Since 1976 there have been 916 people executed in the US
9. The National Enquirer was originally a horse-racing tip sheet
10. During WWII, citzens in Norway were arrested for wearing paper clips on their lapels

(dramatic music)...... The monthly fact to end all facts is....
11. Medical costs for chainsaw injuries in the US average $350 million per year

Back to the Old Grind

2006-03-23T21:46:00.000-05:00

Spring Break..... Spring Break came slowly and went quickly. My Spring Break was last week and I went to California to visit my friend Eric. The flight over was long (about 7-8 hours) but it was worth it. I landed in Sacratmento and was picked up by Eric's grandmother. We then traveled a scenic 2 hour journey to Cottonwood. From there I joined Eric and the week of fun began. All in all the trip was ok. Mainly all we did was work on his uncle's house and play videogames. Eric's uncle Mark is cool as hell. He's just a big kid and it was fun cutting up with him. The only three problems I had during my trip was a) I got sick in the middle of it, b) it was very cold and very rainy during my stay, and c) the airlines are confusing (I almost missed my flight home because of the 1000 different lines you have to wait in, in Sacramento's airport as well as the fact that I was in the right terminal for the airline I bought the ticket with but was in the wrong terminal for where I was supposed to depart from). Anyway Cali is beautiful so if you get the chance, go! I had fun and I hope to go back this Summer and visit again. I'd like to type more about Cali but I have some work to do. Later ya'll.

Oh, I think there is a lesson one takes away from every trip they go on. With that said the lesson I learned while in Cali is: A v-groove butt joint gets a v-groove butt weld.

Command & Conquer: Generals

2006-03-17T20:36:00.000-05:00

Hi all. I know it's been a while since my last post but that's because it's Spring Break and I'm out in California visiting one of my best friends (Eric). I'll write about the trip later but now I want to tell you about the latest Command and Conquer game. It is Command and Conquer: Generals and it is sweet. Eric's uncle Mark (who is extremely good at RTS games and has probaly played every one made), Eric, and my self have had one successful game and two unsuccessful games. The two unsuccessful games were a result of overloading the network because it was Eric and I versus Mark with a two hour build off period. In short, there was just too much information for the wireless router to process therefore the network crashed. We limited the one successful game to a thirty minute build off period and it was as Eric would say, "most excellent". Eric (as he does in most every RTS game) built a large arrsenal of nuclear missels whereas I built a large, 400 strong army of mini-gunners (machine gunners) and rocketeers. Eric crippled Mark's super weapons with his nukes and I blitzed with my army. We (I mostly though) distroyed all. It was fun and we're going to have another game tonight sometime but with no super weapons. Anyway I'll write later about Cali but if anyone is interested in a very good RTS this is it. I give it two thumbs up.

1976 Ford Torino

2006-03-07T16:07:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I get a call at my house around 11:00. It was my dad's best friend Harry and he wanted my dad to go with him to see this car he was being given. Apparently his father's girl friend had a '76 Torino that had been under a tarp, under a car port for 10 years and she wanted to give it to Harry. Well I told Harry that I'd know more about the condition of the car than my dad would so I asked if I could go. He said sure and we met in Newbury to go to his Father's house. We got there, said our hellos, and went to check out the car. The car itself seemed to be in ok shape. There was no real rust damage, the interior was musty smelling with a little dry rot on the dash, and of course all the rubber in the engine needs to be replaced. It also needs new tires, probably new rims, and the engine could use a nice rebuilding. The engine is a 357 small block V-8 with a two barrel carburetor (I think, I didn't get a good look at the carburetor). The car just needs a good workover from front to back. We didn't try to crank it because a) we knew it wouldn't crank and b) with all the warn out rubber seals and hoses we could have done some serious damage to the block if it were to crank. After we checked it out we went back inside and socialized with Harry's father, Harry's father's girlfriend, and her son. When it came time to leave Harry thanked me for coming and we went our separate ways. The next day Harry called me and asked me to help him work on it and that maybe once we are done he'll give it to me. This made me very happy! For the past 3-4 years the only things I've been able to work on are trucks at work, small equipment at work, and Eric's 69' Bronco. All have been good fun (because I enjoy working on vehicles) but none of these things I've worked on have been my own or partially my own projects. I'm excited!

[here is a picture of an earlier model Torino but the one I will be working on and this one look a lot alike]

The Monthly Useful Facts

2006-03-01T16:23:00.000-05:00

1. Civil rights activist Sojourner Truth's real name was Isabella Baumfree
2. Irving Berlin, the man who composed "God Bless America" was born in Russia
3. Lightning bolts are estimated to strike the Earth about 100 times per second
4. Keith Moon, the drummer of The Who, named Jimmy Page's band, Led Zeppelin
5. On most clocks using Roman numerals, the number 4 is incorrectly represented
6. The gaint squid has the largest eye of any creature in the anomal kingdom
7. A man named Charles Osborne came down with a case of the hiccups that lasted 68 years
8. There are 400 times more germs on an office telephone than on a toilet seat
9. Venice, Italy was founded as a refugee camp.
10. McDonald's retaurants in India do not serve beef

And here's the one you've all been waiting for, the special fact for my loyal audience is......
11. Bubble Wrap was the result of a failed attempt at making plastic wallpaper

Federation Vs. Empire: The Breakdown

2006-02-24T15:35:00.000-05:00

Although both sides have advantages over the other I'm going to have to say that in a fleet battle the Federation would defeat the Empire. The Empire's ships are big, slow, and are not designed for ship to ship interstellar combat. Their main purposes are to carry troops across the galaxy as well as to carry fighter squadrons to various rebel hotspots. They are out matched in fire power as well as in range. Their shielding generated from vulnerable exterior shield domes that can be destroyed easily. Also once an Imperial ship's bridge is destroyed it is a sitting duck. As far as the fighter squadrons are concerned they would have very little affect on the shields of the Federation ships due to their very limited power. They would end up being target practice for the Federation's advanced targeting computers. Also another fact that cannot be ignored is the fact that the largest fleet the Empire has ever been known to assemble was 27 ships, this is small compared to the number of ships the Federation has been known to mass for their armadas.

However, in a direct war between the Galactic Empire and the United Federation of Planets I believe the empire would win hands down. The reason is in the logistics. The area controlled by the Empire is proportionately a lot larger than that controlled by the Federation so therefore the Empire has lot more resources available to it. If there was a war the Empire (if they were smart enough to) could simply massively outproduce the Federation and defeat them by shear numbers alone.

I have researched this extensively and this is what I think would happen. If anyone has any other theories or thoughts please leave them. Isn't crossing science fiction universes fun!

Cool fleet battles from the new game "Empire at War"

2006-02-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

An eighty-two year old teenager

2006-02-22T13:27:00.000-05:00

Lisa and I went to visit my grandmother and my great aunt (they live together) this past weekend. There I noticed something very interesting. It seems that in their old age (80-85) they have reverted back to their teenage years. Both my grandmother and my great aunt entertained Lisa and I with stories of the double dates they have been going on, as well the competition with each other over the little old men they flirt with. One guy, as my grandmother said is a "sly fox" and said that "[she] doesn't want to be left alone with him". This made me chuckle a little and I responded, "Sweetie (my grandmother) I don't think you'll have to worry about that old man trying to seduce you". She said, "well I still don't want to be left alone with him". They also told us about the trips they have been on and the trips they plan to go on. They told us about the friends they have been going to see and my grandmother mentioned going to one of her friend's house to sleep over. After they had recanted their tales my grandmother said, "see what you have to look forward to" and to me it sounds fun. I guess the age old saying is true "you are as young as you feel."

Bush does it again

2006-02-21T12:54:00.000-05:00

Our great and glorious president wants to hand over control of six major US ports to an Arab company. Let's analyze what has transpired for the last several months........ The Bush administration has been caught reading US citizen's mail with out a court issued warrant as well as tapping phone lines of US citizens, also without a court issued warrant. (For those of you who see nothing wrong with this, WAKE UP! It is a huge ILLEGAL invasion of privacy) When questioned about his actions the president responded, "My actions are in the interest of national security". Hmmm..... So spying on your own citizens protects the country and giving complete control of six major US ports to an Arab company is not dangerous in the context of national security? (Again, for those of you who don't know, most Arab/Muslim groups and nations are extremely bitter towards the US because of our support of the Israeli government, hence why 911 occurred) Could have fooled me. The Bush administration claims that they have thoroughly investigated the company and have ruled them to be no threat. Thoroughly investigated? Kind of like how the administration thoroughly investigated the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq..... We need a new president.

Math

2006-02-20T23:58:00.000-05:00

Well you won't hear me say this often but I'm starting to really enjoy my math class. I have been reading so much lately about World Civ, Psychology, and all of the crap for my GNED 102 class I'm just sick of reading. Math, (because I understand it and can do it) is a welcome relief. There is a certain structure and method to the mathematics I'm doing, nothing abstract to understand like there is in my readings. But alas it is all necessary so I must continue reading as well as computing my math problems. School is fun, isn't it?

The Facebook-off is now over

2006-02-20T23:44:00.000-05:00

Well due to the fact that it was occurring on my facebook page and nothing has been posted in forever I declare the Facebook-off over. I also decree that the winner is Anthony. Congrats!

(I will leave the link so the phat rhymes can still be viewed)

Ah, Parents

2006-02-16T19:59:00.000-05:00

I went home this past weekend to see my parents and to partake in (one of) my best friend's Eagle Scout Ceremony. At any rate I got home late Saturday evening just in time for dinner. Immediately we started talking about Clemson (for those of you who don't know, I just recently applied to transfer there next semester. Also my father is a big Clemson alumni and was very upset when I wasn't accepted the very first time I applied.).... Long story short, the very first time I applied and was denied Clemson told me in the denial letter that they would take me for sure in 2006 if I had 30 semester hours and at least a 2.5 GPA. They also asked me to mail in a postcard (that came with the letter) if I was interested in their proposal to transfer in the Fall of 2006. I never did the post card. So, roughly a year later I'm in my family's kitchen getting chewed out for not sending the post card as well as being bombarded with instructions on how to correct my "mistake". I told them not to worry because I meet the majority Clemson's transfer requirements (whereas, when I first applied I didn't meet very many of their entrance requirements). I was told that I was being "pig headed" and that I wouldn't be accepted if I didn't do what my parents told me to do. So for the sake of having a civil dinner and not a civil war, I agreed. Then we ate.... It is rather interesting though how fate works because the next morning I was awoken by the dreadful sound of my parents barging into my room singing an off key version to the Tiger Rag. Before I was even coherent to what was going on I was being hugged by my step-mother and being told congratulations from both of my parental units. I then reached for my glasses and took the letter from my father's hands to read it. Turns out that it was a letter from the housing department at Clemson congratulating me on my acceptance (the acceptance letter was waiting for me here at Winthrop) as well as to get me to register for housing. Well there was only one thing I could say to them at that moment....... "I TOLD YOU SO!"

Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

This is a poem I wrote for those people who do not have a special some one to spend Valentine's Day with:

Absence and Fulfillment

What makes people separate or part?
What notion surfaces that changes one's heart?
There are people who preach on finding happiness in their rhyme,
And there are those who pray for serenity from the divine.
Is someone somewhere actually hearing them?
Through a small slight voice do they give us clear answers that seem (at the moment) dim?
What is it that makes us long for another?
Why do we always seem lost unable to find the ground we need to cover?
These answers cannot be found with ease.
They don't lie in the forest amongst the trees,
Nor in the ocean with its waters so deep,
Nor in the moore where the grasses like to creep,
Nor in the sky,
Where the stars twinkle and the clouds just roll on by.
The answers to these questions must be real.
Why else would we make such a colossal deal,
On trying to find that, that seems to escape us?
Honestly though, I see no real reason to fuss.
Take life as it comes,
Continually picking up little scraps and crumbs,
And eventually your day will be here,
Where you will be safe, loved, and happy,
With absolutely nothing to fear.

Useful Facts

2006-02-10T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some useful facts for you to indulge in....

1. A cat's urine glows under a black light.
2. Russians are the least happiest nationality when it comes to their sex lives.
3. New York City was once the capital of the United States.
4. Leave it to Beaver was the first program to mention a toilet.
5. A male voodoo priest is called a "hougan" and a female priestess is a "mambo".
6. Reindeer eat moss to keep warm.
7. A cockroach can withstand over 80 times more radiation than a human being.
8. William Lear, the founder of LearJet, invented the car radio and the 8-track tape player.
9. Johnny Knoxville's real name is Phillip J. Clapp.
10. The actor who portrayed the "Marlboro Man" for the world's best-selling cigarette died of lung cancer.

This is a special fact...... (a bonus for you, my readers)

11. Reggae star Bob Marley's father was white.

The US Postal Service

2006-02-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

The US Postal Service has managed to make my day more difficult than usual. Usually the post office either losses the mail I send or virtually destroys it (for once it reaches the person I intended it to do, it is so deformed it barely resembles a letter). Today however, was different. I have a letter of recommendation that I wanted to drop off tonight and be sent out in the morning. So I put a 37-cent stamp on it and walked to the campus post office after dinner to drop it off. As I came towards the drop box for outgoing mail my attention was drawn to a sign that declared that stamps had increased in cost and were now 39 cents. This left my letter, with the 37-cent stamp unable to be sent. The post office at this point had long been closed for the day leaving me no way that this letter could be sent by tomorrow morning (and to those of you who would put two 37 cent stamps on the letter and mail it, I'd do it if I had another stamp to do it with). Damn stamp price gouging! There is no wonder why their employees go crazy and shoot up post offices. The whole thing is just so aggravating.

The Opera

2006-02-08T14:29:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday I went to see Henry Purcell's opera Dido & Aeneas presented by Winthrop University's very own Department of Music. The story is very interesting but before I explain the story I have some historical myth to infer. No one knows weather or not the Trojan War (described in Homer's Iliad) actually took place but the rumor is that as Troy was falling to the Greeks the prince of Troy (Aeneas) escaped into the Mediterranean Sea. He then (supposedly) sailed to Italy and founded the city-state of Rome. In this opera Aeneas' ship was caught in a storm and is forced to dock at the city-state of Carthage (in North Africa). There he meets the queen of Carthage, Dido. They fall in love and start enjoying much time together. Meanwhile, there are these evil witches that hate Dido and want to see Carthage burn. They disguise a servant (through magic) to look like the God Hermes and give him instructions to tell Aeneas that he must leave Carthage and Dido (by the order of Zeus) so that glorious Troy can be restored. Aeneas tells Dido he must leave and then goes to make preparations for his departure. Stricken with grief Dido kills herself with a dagger. Aeneas comes back to say goodbye and finds her dead. There then is a funeral for her and then Aeneas departs (presumably for Italy).
Now, there is something very EXTREMELY ironic about this story (given that the historical myths about Troy and the founding of Rome are true). Much later in history during the Punic wars Rome and Carthage fought for supremacy of the Mediterranean. Three long bloody wars were fought and the conflict was ended by the Roman Legions destroying Carthage completely as well as enslaving the entire population. It is ironic that in this opera the future founder of Rome and the ruler of Carthage are lovers. It reminds me of the saying, "love and hate are two sides of the same coin". Very curious.

The Facebook-off continues

2006-02-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone there is a facebook-off (freestyle contest) between my friend Stefan and my friend Anthony on my facebook wall. Go to my link and check it out! LMFAO

Questions to Ponder

2006-02-07T23:38:00.000-05:00

Here are some interesting inqueries:

1. If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?
2. Whose cruel idea was it to put an "s" in the word "lisp"?
3. Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
4. What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?
5. Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?
6. Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?
7. Is a vegetarian permitted to eat animal crackers?
8. If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?
9. When cheese gets it's picture taken, what does it say?
10. Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Hitler sightings

2006-02-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

This happened to me about a year ago at Jones Gap State Park in the mountains of up state South Carolina:
There has been rumors since the fall of Nazi Germany that Hitler escaped with some other high ranking Nazi officials to Venezuela to escape capture by the Allies (especially the Soviet Union). Now these rumors are highly unlikely but it is true that many high ranking Nazi's made it to Venezuela and it is true that the Russians (who claim to have found Hitler's body and keep it in a military archive in St. Petersburg) have never shown his body to anyone. With that said I believe I saw Hitler on a Boy Scout back packing trip. We were loading up to go home after a good 20 mile backpacking trip and I went to use the rest room. After I had relieved myself I washed my hands and was walking out the door when I saw him. It was the Fuhrer himself, in a green state park jump suit with a mop and a mopping bucket rolling close behind as he walked to (presumably) clean the bath room. This janitor seemed a perfect match to all the photos I've studied and seen through history class and my own historical research. He even had the mustache! Do I really think this is Hitler? No way! There wasn't a snow balls chance in hell for him to have gotten out of Berlin. I did, however (and still do) find it amusing to think that the man who once wrote and preached of world domination as well as controlled the largest most powerful land based army ever created could be reduced to a lowly piss-mopper. Does anyone have any other Hitler sightings?

Star Trek Vs. Star Wars

2006-02-07T18:15:00.000-05:00

Ok my friend Stefan and I were debating with another friend about what Fleet would will in a battle of an Imperial Fleet (minus the Death Star) versus a Federation Fleet. Stefan and I say the Federation would win but our stubborn friend thinks otherwise. What do you think?

Redkain864's Domain

Haven't Written in a While

My Job

The Phelps Family

Merry Christmas

Happy Halloween

This Is All I Have To Say

The D&D Game this Past Weekend: An Alternate Ending

Computer Building

The Next Movie Thriller

Back to School

Google

More Questions to Ponder

In the Next Room

Pigeon Hunting

Five Months

The Monthly Useful Facts

Back to the Old Grind

Command & Conquer: Generals

1976 Ford Torino

The Monthly Useful Facts

Federation Vs. Empire: The Breakdown

Cool fleet battles from the new game "Empire at War"

An eighty-two year old teenager

Bush does it again

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The Facebook-off is now over

Ah, Parents

Valentine's Day

Useful Facts

The US Postal Service

The Opera

The Facebook-off continues

Questions to Ponder

Hitler sightings

Star Trek Vs. Star Wars