A Momentary Descent into Politics

One of my online friends who happens to live in Washington DC posted a blog about her exciting day protesting a laundry list of things, but primarily the Iraq war. She said the speakers would stir the crowd by getting them to chant mantras such as "violence and occupation do not lead to liberation that's bullshit! get off it! this war is for profit!" To those who are of the liberal way of thinking I have to ask you... you don't really believe that shit, do ya? Maybe you ought ask the average Iraqi what they think, before you blindly follow these liberal noise makers... I'll admit that I'm not thrilled with our leadership, but I know that nothing worth doing in the history of the world came without bloodshed and strife before it was over. War sucks, but until we humans all change our nature it will be the primary catalyst for change. Especially in a country that was held by a tyrant who thought nothing of sacrificing his own people for his own gains and who raised his sons to rape and murder them for sport. Change had to come there. Disagree if you like, as it is your right as an American. There were plenty of people who disagreed with our own fight for freedom over 230 years ago. Ironically, they didn't have the right to protest their government until the long bloody revolution we undertook was successful. For all we know, the Civil Rights movement would never have happened if not for a war that had families killing each other over, among other things, the practice of slavery. President Lincoln could have said "Let the riff-raff go, they aren't worth dying for." Of course he didn't. Should he have, for the sake of saving lives, not gone to war with his own people to preserve the Union and the liberty of all of it's citizens? I seriously doubt that anyone, besides some of the more crimson of necks, would say we'd be better off as two nations without equality for all of our fellow man. What? You say that's different? Because it was on our soil? Ok then, how about another war, in the Mediterranean. One that I can say without hesitation, was for our profit. At least in part it was. It was immortalized in song. It was even recently in the news, thought you might not have realized it. What conflict is this? It's the first war on terror. The campaign against the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean Sea off of Libya... you know, the "Shores of Tripoli." Most politicians of the day wanted to appease the Muslim pirates with cash, but Thomas Jefferson, who had read the Quran and had some knowledge of the Islamic mind, knew that if he didn't deal with them forcefully and resolutely they would always be a thorn in our side, if not a dagger. So he sent warships to the region to preserve, not only the safety of our people, but our commerce. You can guess the rest... I'll leave you with this from George Santayana (December 1863 – September 1952): "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes."

Just something to think about.

Crystalline Precipitation in Tidewater!

So I'm sitting at work, minding my own business when I look up and what should I see? Freakin' SNOW! This was disturbing to me, but not why you probably think. I personally know I can drive in snow. I have limited experience with it, but I have done it before, in a 280zx of all cars. No, I'm confident in most weather... it's the Damned Virginians I worry about. Between them, and the sadists who designed the roads and traffic patterns, I fear for my life on nearly a daily basis on my commute.

For those who don't know, I drive from Elizabeth City, NC, forty-three miles to Chesapeake, VA four days a week. About half of this is in Virginia and half of that on roads with traffic. Part of those ten miles is on I-64 and it's there that my sphincter clenches the tightest. There are lane shifts, uneven lanes, closed exits, slow moving construction vehicles and, of course, Damned Virginians in their death machines.

Now I'm not sure who the evil genius was who designed the exit/entrance pattern for the interstate here in Virginia, but I'll bet they don't drive on it. In most places I've driven, the exit for Road A precedes it and ends at Road A with a traffic light or stop sign and you can turn left or right, or continue straight if you've taken the wrong exit. In Virginia, the exit splits and one goes to the right before Road A and one loops around after road A, which in theory is not a bad idea, since there would likely be less chance of a back up at the traffic signal at Road A. Unfortunately, the entrance to the interstate is directly after the exit onto Road A, meaning as you're trying to exit the off ramp, Jethro and Paw are trying to merge into you to get on the interstate going opposit the way you came. If this all sounds confusing, try driving it. My brain pulled a quad just trying to explain that.

Now add to all that, snow. Now maybe you can understand why I reacted to the snow with horror and foreboding, instead of mild amusement. Fortunately, as heavy as it seemed to be coming down, there was no accumulation. By the time ten o'clock finally rolled around there was little evidence in the parking lot that it had snowed at all. It was just cold, with a wind that ripped straight through my business casual khakis and chilled me to the core before I could walk the fifteen yards to my Malibu.

The drive home, however, was almost too quick. I'm listening to an audio book to make the commute more bearable. It's called "Dark Harbor" by Stuart Woods, and it's getting to the good part! I sat in the car for twenty minutes after I pulled up to the house, continuing to listen. I think I have just over one disc left and that should get me to work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some plans to look forward to tomorrow night to get me home.

Alright, I reckon I've bored you enough for today. Maybe something more exciting will happen tomorrow...

The Way It Ought To Be

Evening y'all.

Today was one of those days off that make you look forward to the next one. It started off at 9:30 when I got up. Why 9:30? Cause that's when I damn well felt like gettin' up, that's why. I putzed around online a bit and watched Beerfest again. This time I watched the special features and deleted scenes, too. I won't say it's the funniest movie I've seen, but it gives Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle a run. It can't touch Office Space or Half Baked, though... but I digress. After that I did some stupid MySpace stuff and left about 1:00 to go check out the new Wal*Mart and the accompanying plaza.

The new Wally World reminds me of the one in Ocala on 200, near Oak Run. It's very nice, by Wal*Mart standards. I filled the fuel tank of the Malibu at the Murphy USA out front and then decided to go take some photos around town, in the daylight for a change. Seems I usually get the itch to take pics at night, so this was unique.

I started at the so-called Harbor of Hospitality on the downtown riverfront. The seagulls were somewhat cooperative and I got a few good shots of them and the river. Unfortunately there wasn't any boat traffic on the Pasquotank today.

After that I went back to the abandoned store on Halstead Boulevard that I had already photographed to get another shot of it with a sepia filter. I don't know what it is about that store, but I love to photograph it.

From there I moved on to some riverside neighborhoods past the Coast Guard station, to maybe get a few decent shots on the river, which I did. I posted a few of today's shots in the Interests section on my MySpace page.

Now if all of this seems incredibly boring and mundane to you, then good. That was the idea. It seems like all of my days anymore have me running late, or dealing with stress from one source or another. Today, however, was wonderful. I'm hoping tonight will be nice, too. I still haven't determined what I'm gonna do after I post this, but I'm sure I'll bore you with the details in a post to come later.

Until then...

All Great Things Must Begin Somewhere... Why Not Here?

Welcome to the much anticipated "Inaugural Post" to the hottest new blog on teh intarwebs... "Kenny Was Born A Gator..."

I'm sure you're all over(under)whelmed by the (in)significance, so I'll keep it short to allow for ample time to reflect on how this will affect you and the world you live in. Disappointing my public... all three of you... is not an option. I'm all too keenly aware of how much my personal thoughts mean to you, constant readers and/or internet stalkers, so I will do my level best to keep you entertained and possibly educated, but hopefully never lulled to sleep at your desk. I welcome your comments, but I reserve the right not to give a damn about your opinion.

Ok, I have some stuff I want to post, but the History Channel has a show about Alexander the Great on, so the post will have to wait...