Babblings

Stick a fork in me...

2005-09-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

Name Game

2005-09-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

After a few days of too much work, and some time out of town for a wedding of some friends, I've been mulling over some new posts. I've got one in the hopper, but I can't think of what to name it. Here's where you, the readers, come in:

I've got an idea for a series of posts, sort of a "column", which I'd like to produce once or twice a month, but I need a catchy name for it. I would like to get some suggestions from everyone out there.

The posts in the series will be very simple. I will present a short video clip, maybe an audio clip, maybe a picture, or, on a rare occasion, a referenced quote. Afterwards, I will ask a multiple choice question about what has just been presented. It's kind of like a reading comprehension test. Readers of this blog can then give their short answer in the comments. I'm interested in the range of answers I get.

As I said before, I'm looking for title suggestions, for this on-going series, from the people out there. But wait!

I am offering a prize for the suggestion I use!

Here's what you will win:

Zombie Pumpkin T-shirt
My buddy, Goat Boy has been running a ghoulish website by the name of Zombie Pumpkins for the last few years. He has a great collection of stencils to assist you with creating fantastic Halloween Jack O' Lanterns, and at the end of the season he has creepy contests for all the Zombie Pumkins he has helped create. Just today, he started shipping out this year's T-shirt, and I have decided to help him out a bit. Actually, pimp him out....

LOL

Take a stab at naming the new series I will be putting out, and go check out the Zombie Pumpkins website. Download some patterns and have a Horrifying Halloween!

Wait, I've added an additional, last-minute contest:

First person to comment with a serious suggestion will win a subscription to this year's Zombie Pumpkin stencil collection!

PS: After the winners are announced, we can discuss arrangements for prize delivery.

2005-09-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Video courtesy of MSNBC

Question:

These New Orleans Police Department officers are:

A: Working hard?

B: Hardly working?

News Flash

2005-09-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

©2005 Bill Raggio and Marvin Hutchens

This Flash presentation was sent to me by a friend earlier this summer, but was recently updated to include the London and Egypt attacks by al-Qaeda. I want to thank Bill Roggio and Marvin Hutchens for taking the time, effort, and criticism to produce this.

I guess they will have to update it soon to include yesterday's murders of 160 people, and this morning's attacks. Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the 9/14/2005 bombings in Baghdad, but there's still time to claim credit for today's attacks. I'm wondering who it will be....

=;-)

Add this all up with last week's Hurricane Katrina fiasco, Monday's activities in Gaza, and the world is having one hell of a week. I'm particularly distrubed by the report of intentionally targeting innocent people looking for work.

When is the whole world going to wake up and realize that the perpetrators of these terrorist acts are violent, hate filled, murdering scum, and they need to be eradicated from the planet, wherever they are?

If we all don't wake up soon, we'll all be taking a big dirt nap.

TGI almost F!!

PS: Any one care to take a guess at who claims the 9/15/05 bombings in Baghdad?

©2005 hpb©reations, Bill Raggio and Marvin Hutchens

Take a Break Here

2005-09-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

Everywhere is abuzz with news on Hurricane Katrina and the tragedy of those in New Orleans and all of the affected areas of the Gulf Coast. The whole mess weighs heavy on me. I wanted to post here about the issue, but no matter how I think about it, nothing seems right.

I finally realized I needed some respite from all of it, so I shut down the computers and mostly turned off the TV for the past few days. After a few days in semi-hibernation, I've come to think that many of us need to take a short break from some of the stress that the magnitude of this disaster is causing. All of the images, the information, the talk, the accusations, etc., etc. It's overwhelming and over-stimulating at times.

Here's a chance to take a 5 or 10 minute mental break from the chaos; you can return to the news and world events immediately afterwards. I offer some pictures of various flowers from around my yard as a simple way to just unwind and let your mind focus on something pleasant for just a few moments:

Rosa spp. cv. 'Peace'
Peace Rose

Gladiolus spp.
Prosperity Gladiolus

Phalaenopsis spp.
Uknown Orchid variety

Abutilon hybridum
Chinese Lantern Maple

Gladiolus spp.
Orange Sherbert Gladiolus

Passiflora edulis
Passion Flower

Well, I hope you have enjoyed taking a little break from the hectic events of the past week.

As promised, you can return to the current events by following any of the links below:

Skin Illustrations

2005-08-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

There's been a bunch of recent talk about body art (aka tattooing); people are talking about who has them and why they have them. Why people choose this form of expression is difficult to fathom, as this form of self-adornment means many things to many people.

Tattooing has a long history going back over 5000 years. Cultures around the world practice the art. However, since it was forbidden in The Old Testament and by the Torah, Europeans were without this custom for the majority of the last two millennia.

Because of this religious intolerance, and the social stratification which existed in the monarchies of European societies during the 18th century, the sailors who returned with "souveniers" from their voyages to Aisa and the South Pacific were often looked down upon. They were seen as marks of paganism. Hence, Western cultures have regarded tattoos, and tattooed people, with a mixture of xenophobia, classism, and anti-apostasism.

Discussion of this topic would be incomplete without reference to a seminal book published in the early 90's: Modern Primitives. The editors have compiled a collection of essays and interviews. The entries actually range through the entire spectrum of Modern Primitivism (aka Modprim), including piercing, branding, scarification, and whole host of other delights. You will find an interview with Fakir, regarded to be the father of the Modprim movement. But, the one that fascinates me the most is the story of ManWoman. After reading about him, you will never look at tattoos or swastikas the same.

Around the time this book was published, there was an incredible growth in the acceptance and availability of tattoos. Tattoo shops were springing up everywhere; I remember Santa Barbara going from one shop to eight in a 3 year period while I was in college there. This is when I began my affair with skin art. For me, skin illustrations have always been an iconic form of transmitting information. Take a look at my first piece, done by Jeff Rassier:

The character up front is The Lorax of Dr. Suess fame. He's standing in the classic "orator's pose". Behind him is a hemp leaf (aka Cannabis sativa); he's speaking out and telling everyone, "I speak for the trees. Grow hemp if you please."

Many people say that tattoos are addicting; I think they may be right. I've got ideas for all kinds of tattoos, but they are usually squelched by the cost of a tattoo fix. For my next illustration, I decided on getting some work done in New York:

This is actually a two-part tattoo. The colored center, symbolically representing the universal energy (Qi) was the first part, done by some nutty woman on the Lower East Side. She did a very poor job, but when I went to have it fixed up by adding the tribal portions on the outside, the second artist was surprised and stated that the woman in question usually did very good work. Well, Craig Cooley from Abstract Tribal fixed it up nice.

Next, while I was in the Marine Diving Technologies program, I got a little memento:

This reproduction of the MDT program's logo was done by Sebastian Orth in the late 90's. The coincidence is that this past spring my buddy Emmet benefited from Sebastian's fine work as well.

Well, all this talk about tattoos kinda got me hankering for some fresh ink. Even my wife suddenly became interested and started thinking about it. She's a tattoo virgin and her birthday was coming up, so I recently treated her and myself to another little visit to Sebastian, since Emmet had reminded me of his talents:

And here's the finshed product:

Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my little show and tell; let me know what you think.

©2005 hpb©reations

#241

2005-08-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

Chant one million times for world peace, they told me.
Pray three times a day to end all wars.
Practice austerities to liberate all living beings.
But the world's miseries have never diminished

Deng Ming-Dao

Fire on the Mountain

2005-08-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

For those unable to hear the background sound, please use the button:

This past Friday night, around 8:30 in the evening the dog started barking; she was running back and forth between the front door and the back door getting really worked up. Finally, the wife opened the front door to see what she was barking at. Well, it didn't take long to figure it out:

FIRE!
The hillside at the end of our street was on fire! It was crackling away; sounded like lots of little fireworks. I grabbed the video cam and headed out for a closer look.

Before I get too far along, I should show you a map:

Our house is right in the middle of the map. The street to the north of us is where the fire fighters had set up their command post. We had a few fire engines on our block as well. The blue area is where the fire burned the hillside; it's about 200 yards away from our house.

Take a look at some of the video I shot:

Those firefighters worked long and hard to keep that blaze under control. We went to sleep after 1 AM, and you could hear the chain saws buzzing as they cleared a fire break.

There was a small article about the fire in Saturday's paper, but it did not mention the cause of the fire. I went out and shot some more video in the daytime on Saturday morning. There was also a little piece in Sunday's paper as well, but again, there was no mention of the cause of the fire.

I find it odd that there was no cause mentioned in Sunday's paper; when I was out on Saturday morning, the Batallion Chief was at the end of my street making up his report. I asked him if they knew what caused the fire. He answered that it was almost certainly a bottle rocket:

This really kind of gets me because, as some of you may recall, I expressed my concern over the use of illegal fireworks in my Letter to the City Manager post. He seems to feel that breaking the law and shooting off some fireworks is just some harmless fun; take a look at his commentary for yourself. Now, watch that video again, and you let me know if you think shooting off fireworks is just some harmless fun. As I have repeatedly said, Rick Cole is an idiot!

One thing that was mentioned in Sunday's paper is the new need for monitoring the hillside. Due to the lack of vegetation, it is now a distinct possibility that we could have La Conchita style mudslides this coming rainy season.

Ah, well, such is life in Paradise: Earthquakes, Wild Fires, and Mudslides.

©2005 hpb©reations

Looks Like Rain

2005-08-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

For those unable to hear the background sound, please use the button:

Well, the wife left for 2 weeks this morning. She was supposed to wake me up before she left, but I guess with my sleep pattern improving recently, it was not an easy task to roust me at 3:30 AM. It kind of freaked me out at 6:30 AM to wake up with her gone.

I had to miss this trip: It's a ladies' outing. She went with her mother, and they are meeting up with my mother in the City of Sewage Canals, Venice. They will be staying there for a week. Afterwards, they will be heading south for a visit to the Papal HQ, Rome. They will return after a second week.

What does this all mean for me?

Well, some things will be easier: I can eat when I want , sleep when I want, and I can even bathe when I want. On the other hand, some things will be harder: I won't be leaving the house as much, I'll be checking the door locks much more frequently, and I'll probably screen more calls.

I guess I'm just marvelling at the knowledge that my life is so entwined with another's.

Fretta domestica. Ti amo, bella!

©2005 hpb©reations

The Dark Side...?

2005-08-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Many of you have heard me speak of the Evil entrenched in City Hall; statements such as these tend to be of a more humorous aspect, than based in reality. Although, there are times when I really do wonder about what's going on in our fair City.

Every once in a while, it's possible to catch a glimpse of the dark under-belly of the beast. It really reminds me of the quintessential pomo film extraordinaire, Blue Velvet.

I haven't seen Mayor Brennan running around whiffing Nitrous, or Mr. Cole getting jiggy with any fabric samples, but I did notice something recently. A subtle change that has gone somewhat unnoticed.

Take a look at the two photos shown below. The first one was taken a few years ago, before all the nefarious activities started happening in our town. The second one was taken last week....

City Hall Awash in Light

City Hall Cloaked in Darkness
Well, what do you think...?

©2005 hpb©reations

# 78

2005-08-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

Nothing in the world
is as soft and yeilding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard;
the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true,
but few can put it into practice.

Therefore the Master remains
serene in the midst of sorrow.
Evil cannot enter his heart.
Because he has given up helping,
he is the people's greatest help.

True words seem paradoxical.

Lao Tzu

Man vs. Machine...?

2005-08-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

The wife sometimes tells me that I should have an ethernet cable plugged directly into my head!

For my work, I spend a considerable amount of time in front of several computers; I also use the computers for just about everything else in my life. In fact, if I could take a hyper-dump, I would!

Well, we just got one step closer to that reality. I saw a short little piece in Popular Science that is closely related to this very subject. The article basically told of a new microchip implant that can record nerve impulses in the motor cortex. The impulses are transmitted to a computer that controls a robotic arm. Here’s a diagram:

I can see many pros and cons to advancement of these ideas. Should we be integrating with machines and computers in this way? How does this advancement in technology make everyone feel?

A Peaceful Place

2005-08-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in life, we all need to get away for some rest and respite.

Stay here and meditate for a while....

# 9

2005-08-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about other people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

Lao Tzu

Test #2

2005-07-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

Due to extremely poor data returns, I have put Test #1 on hold indefinately; if I am able to get a significant data pool for that experiment, I will revisit with a complete Lab Report. We are now moving on to Test #2:

In 50 words or less, please intimate the ultra-pomo, cyber-signifigant, graphic art connection between the two images shown above...

Please send an email with your answer to:

mysterytests2001@yahoo.com

Please be sure to put Test #2 in the SUBJECT line.

Results will be posted at approximately 30, 60, and 90 day intervals.

If you would like to be notified of result postings, please visit my "Netiquette" post and sign up for Blog Alerts.

Thank you for your participation; oh yeah, tell your friends to come on by and take a guess.

©2005 hpb©reations

My Ass is on Fire!

2005-07-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

On my favorite blog, Shithouse Rat, Elvira recently ranted about some serious ass burning issues. Among other things, Elvira is pissed about the treatment and portrayal of people with mental illness in our society. Shortly thereafter, I followed up with my own brand of rant about the disparagement of the mentally ill, even by the "scientific" community.

The source for my addition to the Binder of Bizarre has done it again! Is every other week at Parade Magazine bash the loonies week?

Read this:

Here's an email I sent to Walter Scott, the columnist responsible for that week's CRAP:

From: Henry
Subject: Images of Einstein and son(?s)
Date: July 16, 2005 2:20:33 PM PDT
To: personality@parade.com

Dear Mr. Scott,

I read the Personality Parade column almost every week. I have a question about an item that appeared in the July 10, 2005 column.

In the piece on Albert Einstein's children:

http://archive.parade.com/2005/0710/0710_personality.html

you explained that Hans, the older son, did have a successful career as an engineer and professor at Berkeley. This was accompanied by nice pictures of Hans and his pops, Albert. You also covered the story of Eduard, the younger son.

I was quite dismayed at the implication that Eduard was a failure in life due to his mental illness. You did not even have the decency to indicate whether he was still alive or not. The really insulting part was that there was no picture of Eduard included in the short piece.

Here's my question:

Was the exclusion of a picture of Eduard due to lack of there being any, or because you don't want to put a picture of a "psycho" in your column?

Henry Babcock

I am still waiting for a response.

Hey, did anybody just see that flying pig?

Maybe everyone should write Walter Scott an email and let him know how you feel.

Allow me to close with some facts:

There are more than 2 million people over the age of 18 in the U.S. who suffer from BP.

There are less than 1.2 million people of all ages living with HIV/AIDS.

Where's our quilt?

PS: My advisors have recommended a softening of the blog; one said something about the pendulum swinging the other way.... I tend to agree. In the near future, I will be balancing out some of the yang of late with a little bit of yin. Stay tuned...

UPDATED INFORMATION:

Hail fellow cybernauts!

I definitely got a nice helping of aloe vera to soothe my blistering butt burns. This came to me in the form of the BEST radio station I have ever listened to. Allow me to present a responsible media agency that is the bipolar opposite of the above mentioned wretched trash rag:

I was turned on to the JACK by a good friend, Mama Mia. I had 93.1 FM preset on my car for the occasional trip to Hell-A, but that was back in the days of The Arrow. It’s been a while since I drove down that way, so I was unaware of the phenomenal music I was missing until Mama Mia saved me.

Anyway, I was heading for a visit with Dr. Bill, L.Ac. (it’s his last name) for some of his artistic needle wizardry. On my way, I’m relaxing with a little JACK in the car. While listening, I hear one of those goofy Station ID blurbs they have, except this one was not so funny:

You don’t have to be schizo to like JACK FM, but it helps.
I thought I was going to crash the car! I recovered and made it to Dr. Bill’s office safely. I had a nice trip to the place with no name, so I was able to get home and give a little call down to JACK HQ. I spoke with Carlos in the Promotions Department; he listened patiently to my concerns and directed me to email the wise and wonderful Mr. Ebbot. Here is what I wrote:

From: Henry
Subject: One of Your Station ID Blubs
Date: July 26, 2005 3:09:40 PM PDT
To: Chris Ebbot

Dear Mr. Ebbot,

Your email address was given to me by Carlos in the Promotions department. I just got off the phone with him, and I am hoping he talks to you about the phone call we had and the subject of this email.

I want to start by saying that I love Jack FM. I used to listen to Arrow once in a while, but mainly I listened to the Octopus 95.9 FM out of Ventura for the classic rock format. A friend told me a few months ago about Jack. It's what I listen to now almost all the time. I love the new format!

I was driving around earlier today (11:25 AM to be precise) listening to Jack. A station ID blurb was broadcast right around then. It said:

"You don't have to be schizo to like Jack FM, but it helps."

Are you familiar with this station ID blurb?

I want you, and the Station Manager, Mr. Federman, to know that I am mentally ill. I have been diagnosed with Bipolar 2 Disorder (BP2).

Here are some more facts:

There are over 2 million people in the US over the age of 18 who have the same condition I have:

NIMH Stats

In ALL age groups, there are 1.2 million people who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS:

CDC Stats

Since BP is a genetic life long illness, I can safely say that there are more than twice as many people who have BP than have HIV/AIDS.

When we start adding in people with Depression and Schizophrenics, the numbers sky rocket.

The mentally ill in this country, and the whole world, do not have parades in our honor; we do not have a quilt that travels the country in our honor; we do not have movies stars speaking out in support of our illnesses. In fact, we have movie stars like Tom Cruise bashing mentally ill people like Brooke Shields, the doctors which help us, and the medications which sometimes help us. He gets boat loads of media attention, and no one will dare stand up to him and tell him he is wrong, and he needs to SHUT THE HELL UP!!!

We do not need to have your radio station contributing to the misinformation about us, or the attitude that we are a joke to be laughed at.

I am asking you to never play that station ID blurb ever again.

Sincerely,

Henry Babcock
(Address Deleted)
Ventura, CA
805-80X-XXX7

PS: Do I sound mentally ill to you?

I thought, "Yeah, like they’re really gonna care what I have to say… bunch of insensitive louts!"

OK, here’s the good part:

I swear, in less than 20 minutes my phone rang, and Mr. Ebbot was on the line. He was very apologetic; they pulled the blurb immediately. Whoa!

I try to be as quick to praise, as I am to punish. Here is the email that followed our phone conversation (please note the time on both emails):

From: Henry
Subject: Thank you
Date: 4:01:54 PM PDT
To: Chris Ebbot

Dear Mr. Ebbott,

I want to thank you very, very much for your immediate response to my concerns.

I am actually still in shock a bit from the speed with which you responded.

I LOVE JACK FM!!

I will be singing your praises all about town.

You know who to contact if this is an issue your station might like to take a lead on.

Here is my blog address:

www.henrypbabcock.com

If you like, or don't like, what you see, I invite you to comment. Anonymous, pseudonym, or real name, it does not matter. I am just interested in the community dialog. If you want, take a look at the "Netiquette" post and sign up for Blog Alerts:

Netiquette

Please be aware that the pendulum is swinging the other way, and I will be softening up the blog; I will be balancing out some of the yang with a little yin soon. Look for posts on music, movies, art, gardening, pets, and even a few crazy science "experiments". Most of this will have a community service flair, so I think people will enjoy it. Also, I would like to point you to some of the links to other blogs I enjoy. Shithouse Rat is my particular favorite.

Thank you again, and I'll keep listening!

Sincerely,

Henry Babcock

PS: Did you see my letter in the paper last week:

Letter to Editor

There's a whole lot more, if you are interested.

There you have it folks! In less than 1 hour, these guys had realized their mistake, admitted it, and took action to correct it. Simply awesome!

I feel kind of bad that I made them pull one of their Station ID blurbs, so I am offering a solution to help fill that deep, empty void they must all be feeling down there at JACK HQ. How about using the following blurb:

You don’t have to be a chameleon to like JACK FM, but it helps.
(I know it’s kind of lame, but ID blurbs are really not my forté.)

I’d also be willing to do a PSA for the station concerning BP and/or MI in general; this could even include an on air endorsement from me, and I could tell the story of how JACK FM is sensitive to their listeners needs and concerns (even though they don’t take requests... LOL).

If you live in the psychedelic zone shown above, set your #1 preset to 93.1 FM, and break all the others. You won’t need to listen to anything else!

Thanks to all the crew at JACK HQ.

©2005 hpb©reations, except the 93.1 JACK FM crap!

Run Hillary, Run

2005-07-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

A while back, I was sent the text to a speech given by John Gaddis, a Professor at Yale University. The speech was delivered at Middlebury College, and it's sort of long, but absolutely worth the read. I did not want to clog the blog with the full text, so I have made it available by clicking here.

I have included a few excerpts below, but I really feel it is important to read the entire speech to get the full impact of what is to follow. Trust me; it's worth it.

"It is a matter of public record that I did, on January 10th, attend a meeting at the White House at which several journalists and academics were invited to discuss the course of our Middle Eastern policies over the next four years - together with what the President should say in his upcoming inaugural address."

"In the interests of full disclosure, I can confirm that I paid my own way down and back, plus taxi and hotel accommodations. I did not attend under an alias. I did, however, accept lunch with the group in the White House mess. And, at the suggestion of Mr. Rove, I consumed a dessert listed on the menu as a "chocolate freedom tart." Prior to the United Nations debate over the invasion of Iraq, I understand, this dessert had a French name."

"I did indeed meet with Condi and the NSC staff in mid-July for a lively discussion of points made in the book and possible future directions for the administration's grand strategy."

"There followed a twenty minute conversation with Bush asking all the questions. After which we found, cooling their heels outside, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Under-Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Myers. 'This is Professor Gaddis,' the President said, waving the book at them. 'I want you all to read his book.'"

Here's your last chance to read the full speech: CLICK HERE

This speech spawned an email exchange between a good friend, and mentor, known to us as RHR (aka Run Hillary, Run). This is his chosen pseudonym, as he fears retaliation from flaming Liberals.

He really does not desire to read about himself in the NRA’s America’s First Freedom magazine column, The Armed Citizen:

"Armed Citizen shoots Liberal whiner trying to peel GWB sticker off the back of his gas guzzling, American made, environment destroying, SUV while parked on his own property"

BTW, this column has been turned into a TV show called Crime Strike. Call your local bube tube provision company and demand that they air this show.

Anyway, here’s what we had to say about Professor Gaddis’ speech:

From: RHR
Subject: Re: The Past and Future of American Grand Strategy
Date: June 13, 2005 06:15:12 AM PDT
To: Henry

Got it Henry. I read it last night. It is a good and accurate perception of Bush's leadership and foreign policy.

I really do think that history will remember him as the man who stood up for freedom when no one else would.

People hate him because he does what he says, does not waver and does not govern by polls.

I am just wondering who the rising star in the Republican party is that will clean Hillary's clock.

McCain (although not the man Bush is) and Condi ticket would be the one I think.

-RHR

From: Henry
Subject: Re: The Past and Future of American Grand Strategy
Date: June 13, 2005 07:50:24 AM PDT
To: RHR

RHR,

Glad you enjoyed it.

I wouldn't mind seeing Colin Powell take the helm for a while. However, I just don't think the American public is ready for a black, er, I mean African-American, president. (Can someone tell me when Colin Powell lived in Africa?) The Republicans should run Colin and Condi for the one-two punch. We might even be able to soak up the idiot vote from the Libs and Dems; in their rush to vote PC, they might forget that a black man and black woman could be conservative Republicans. LOL

Have you seen the Jib Jab cartoons? Check this old one out:

Godzillary

You can also surf around and find some other good ones. Look for one called "The Founding Fathers". Be sure to click all the levers and "scratch" the turntables on the sound board....

Enjoy,

Henry

From: RHR
Subject: Re: The Past and Future of American Grand Strategy
Date: June 13, 2005 08:21:33 AM PDT
To: Henry

I agree. But it sounds like CP is done with Politics but who knows.. Imagine: "Colin and Condi 2008"!!

I do think that middle America could carry the race and the majority are ready for a bit of a shift back toward the center. Colin is more of a centrist, while Condi still holds a solid conservative base. We could carry the black vote and rub the faces of the Dems right in their own shit. Imagine us being able to cry racism every time the Dems and media attacked them! Barbara Boxer would not know how to act...

The election would truly be an issue oriented one.

Either way, I think one of the two, if not both would make a strong ticket.

-RHR

ROFL This stuff is hilarious!

What do you all think?

The comment lines are now open!

Letter to the City Manager

2005-07-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a letter I wrote to the Ventura City Manager, Rick Cole:

July 10, 2005

Rick Cole, City Manager
City of San Buenaventura
501 Poli Street, Room 205
Ventura, CA 93002

Dear Mr. Cole,

I am writing to you today in reference to your Commentary piece in the Ventura County Star on Sunday, July 3, 2005, page B13.

As I read the piece, I began to have an unsettled feeling. The more I read, the queasier I became, and the less easy it became for me to swallow your hypocritical rhetoric.

I agree that a vibrant democracy requires getting involved. That is why I am very involved in watching you and select members of the City Council. While I am not able to attend every City Council meeting (I don’t get paid $74.52 per hour to attend them like you do, yet you still can’t seem to make it to all of them), I do faithfully watch the video recording of each week’s City Council meeting.

You find the language of our Constitution quaint? Perhaps you think you can update the Bill of Rights with your brand of modern thinking. I guess you would know what’s better for the citizens of America than the creators of the longest standing democratic system of government the world has ever known. By the way, I really like your ultra, post-modern, twice-ripped quote about “government of the people, by the people and for the people”; you truly are pomo!

Your feel good, new-age-speak about moving our city into the 21st Century and being the model of urban growth for a new era may inveigle the ill-informed masses you disdainfully refer to in your Commentary, but I’m not one of them. I’m not swayed by your hypno-talk of unpolished gems hidden within the city. Where? Your (I should say our) new home, that you happen to live in, must be on top of a diamond mine.

It must be nice having your select friends on the City Council authorize the purchase of half your home at $36,000 above the listed price of $639,000, since you can’t afford it on a salary of $155,000 a year (4.2 times the national average; 3.7 times the state average), plus benefits and perks. Mr. Cole, 15 months ago you could have bought a 4-bedroom, 2-bath home in my neighborhood for under $500,000; then, you could have used the $75,000 for a down payment and paid your own mortgage, like the rest of us working stiffs, instead of over-building on your current lot. Or, is it that the “executive housing” that you discourage because it won’t really bring any business to our model city of the 21st Century, should be reserved for only the highest level city bureaucrats, like yourself? By the way, the $325,000+ given to you for your home, could put a 3% ding in the annual $9,000,000 Municipal Budget shortfall you mention so often. Care to help the rest of us out of a tight situation?

While I won’t be trying for City Council this fall, I will be running a campaign this fall: A campaign to inform all the citizens of Ventura about the lack of transparency, the disparaging remarks made by you and certain members of the Council after citizens from the public avail themselves of the time allotted for public comments at the Council meetings, and the blatant violations of state and local laws.

Even though The Ralph M. Brown Act (California Government Code §§ 54950-54962), which the City of Ventura’s own Council Protocols claim to follow, indicates that the proceedings of public meetings be fair, I have witnessed many actions by certain city staff members and particular Council members that are in direct violation of this state mandated law. You can be sure that I will be requesting remedies to these violations, and when those remedies are not enacted, I will be informing State Attorney General Bill Lockyer of the violations here in Ventura. I have also witnessed many violations of the Council Protocol by select members of the Council, which are disrespectful to the proceedings and the members of the public whom are addressing the Council. These will be included in my video-graphic evidence presented during the campaign to clean out City Hall this fall.

I try hard to take an active role in local government. I just find it difficult when no one in City Hall will give me a straight answer to simple questions; it’s really difficult when most of the City Council will not give me an answer at all. Like one of the stated goals in The Basics for a Good Life in Ventura (the “ABC’s” brochure), I aim to increase voter turnout this fall as well, except I intend for the citizens to be informed about the odious activities of select incumbents and why they should be voted out of office. Hopefully, your new bosses will do us all a favor and relieve you of your duties.

I find it repugnant that you even mention the Global War on Terrorism, and the efforts that are underway to instill self-governance and democratic elections world wide, which are currently focused in Iraq. I have a friend serving in the Army; he is stationed in Mosul, Iraq, risking his life, so that you can live here in quiet Ventura and criticize the people (your employers) for not knowing, what you get paid $2980 a week to know, about city governance. My friend is on the other side of the world, fighting Islamic extremists, making sure that we continue to have something to celebrate on the 4th of July.

I’m wishing that you and your family had a restful 4th of July celebration; the nearly constant two-week barrage of all-day explosions and all-night colorful sky displays that upset the dog and frightened the cat disrupted ours. Maybe you could direct the police to respond to calls about a dangerous nuisance, and fire hazard, like illegal fireworks purchased in the City of Fillmore, and then used by residents in a neighboring city where Class C fireworks are illegal. I hope your reference to “lighting fireworks” was not an advocacy of such illegal activities.

What do you think, Mr. Cole? Am I just another ill-informed, self-serving citizen filled with anger, impatience and venom?

Sincerely,

Henry P. Babcock

PS: I’m still waiting for a reply, from anyone at City Hall, regarding the progress of the development of the policy regarding Citizen Generated Content on, what Mayor Brennan called, “the people’s website”. Many of the citizens of Ventura would like to utilize a valuable resource that our tax dollars pay for. It’s been over three months, and no one has answered a single email I have sent requesting information on the formation of this policy, which Mayor Brennan stated was being developed. Even you have not responded to my email, which you said you would reply to during the Westside Community Council Meeting on July 7, 2005. I’m trying not to be angry or impatient, but three months with no response is a long time to wait.

Cc: Mayor Brian Brennan, Deputy Mayor Carl Morehouse, Councilmember Christy Weir, Councilmember Neal Andrews, Councilmember Bill Fulton, Councilmember James Monahan, Councilmember Sandy Smith, Congressman Elton Gallegly, Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Diane Feinstein, President George W. Bush, Joe Howry, Stephanie Kinnear

Click to see scan of actual letter

Click to see scan of original clipping

Newest Addition to the Binder of Bizarre

2005-07-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ahh, another delightful tid-bit for the Binder of Bizarre.

In the June 26, 2005 issue of Parade, I came across a tiny article on page 21 with the curious title "Crazy Cabbies". Go check it out.

I want to know who comes up with the ideas for stories like this; even more so, I want to know which editors allow this poorly researched nonsense to be published. Crap like this really burns my ass!

Yes, while it is true that Robert De Niro's role as Travis Bickle portrayed a psychopathic taxi driver turned hero in the dregs of NYC's worst era, the study referred to in the Parade clip is inaccurate.

It mentions that 40% of the bus and cab drivers demonstrated "psycopathic tendencies, including antisocial behavior." The drivers studied stated that they would not feel guilty about injuring or running over a pedestrian. The drivers they are referring to are, by definition, sociopaths.

I invite you to take a look at the definitions of psychopaths and sociopaths. Once you've done your homework, you will know that sociopathology is a sub-catagory of the mental illness milieu covered under psychopathology.

I'm getting sick and tired of the media portraying mental illness erroneously. Statistics show that the vast majority of people suffering from mental illness are much more likely to harm themselves than others. It is only the sub-species of sociopaths that are excessively prone to hurting others.

Let's all start letting the media know that their disgustingly skewed portrayals of mentally ill members of our society offends decent, intelligent people.

Click to see scan of original clipping

©2005 hpb©reations

Death to Lowe's

2005-07-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Boycott Lowe's Immediately

Ice, I feel your Primal Pain, man!

I have just returned from that most loathesome of mega-sized shopping places, Lowe's. That place is a total fucking NIGHTMARE!!

OK, let's get the vitals out of the way; here are the details on the particular Lowe's store in question:

Lowe's of C. Ventura, CA #1734
500 South Mills Road
Ventura, CA 93003
805-675-8800 (phone)
805-675-8803 (fax)

Here's a map:

Now you know where to send your letters, phone calls, and firebombs of complaint.

OK, here's what happened:

I've been to the Lowe's in my town 3 times since it opened. I thought the last time was the last time. My wife and I got some Lowe's gift cards as wedding gifts from some of our friends. Now, usually free money is great, but when it comes with a headache, that kind of kills the joy. I finally was able to spend the remaining balance on, what I thought was, the last card.

But, nooooo! Recently, I discovered one last card with some money on it. I needed some plywood to build shelves out in the laboratory, so I figured that couldn't be too hard to accomplish at Lowe's. Famous last words.

I head to Lowe's, gift card in hand. I know exactly what I want, and the nice person on the phone said they cut the plywood for free. So far, so good. I get to the store and the first person I see is Pimples (the summer-employed high school kid who physically pushed me away from the cable cutting machine on my last visit there); I avoid him and head straight to the lumber section. I find the size and style (not to mention unwarped) plywood I want, but there's no one around to help me move it. An 8-foot by 4-foot sheet of 5/8 inch plywood is kinda heavy and very unwieldy for a single person to manipulate; nevertheless, I manage to get the wood all the way from the front of the store to the rear, where the plywood saw is located. I push the button for assistance (yeah, like that's going to work), check my watch and wait 12 minutes. While waiting, I read the signs on the machine, and I am confused as to whether this is self-serve or not. I walk all the way back to the front of the store, ask a lady at the Contractor's Service Desk if the machine is self-serve. She says no, and gives me the stink-eye. I get about half way back to the machine, and some employee runs up and says he's gonna cut the wood for me. Wow, I didn't even have to ask. Hmmm, maybe it'll be a good day after all.

Uh oh, I wished too soon. The guy is futzing with the saw, getting it ready for the cuts; he pushes the start buttton and, POP! He blew the circuit breaker on it. I'm thinking, "All right, just a few minutes, and we'll be back on track.

Uh oh, I wished too soon. The guy starts explaining to me about how the circuit breaker is really far away, and he doesn't want to deal with it right now, so he won't be able to cut my plywood....

WHAT THE F*%$ ?!? I just wasted an hour because some asshole is too lazy to go flip a switch to make the machine work? UNACCEPTABLE!!

I leave that moron in mid-sentence (he can put those two sheets of plywood away) and immediately head to the Customer Service Desk. I wait another 11 minutes in line to ask for the money off the card. A cute, summer-employed high school girl is the unfortunate soul who has to deal with raging, hypomanic Henry as he begins to explain how he wants the money off the card because he refuses to shop at Lowe's ever again.

Uh oh, I wished too soon. She calls over a mananger; he must be the twin brother of the guy from the late night smoke shop of The Cost of Living Keeps Going Up fame. He has the same dull look in his eye, just like Blaster:

He starts telling me that he can't give me the cash for the card. I let him know that I would not be shopping at Lowe's anymore and that I will be taking my money elsewhere. He says that it's company policy, and that's there's nothing he can do. I explain to him, and several people within a 30 foot radius, that the customer service on every ocassion I have been in the store is deplorable. He offers a very weak, insincere apology, but never asks what today's problem is. I explain that the idiot in the back is too lazy to flip the circuit breaker on the wood cutting saw, so I have wasted 45 minutes of my time (an hour after driving back home empty-handed), and that's wholly unacceptable! The bozo still couldn't catch a clue; he starts in with some kind of aggressive attitude, so I look at his name badge and say, "Listen, Sean, Zone Manager, I will be sure to let Lowe's Corporate know that you were unwilling to assist me with my customer service complaints today." To that he replied all huffy that he didn't care and that I would just have to take it up with corporate. I snatched my gift card away from his fat little webbed fingers, and proceeded to the nearest exit.

To add insult to injury, Sean followed me out of the store all posturing like he was going to kick my ass if I tried to vandalize anything on the way out of the store. Don't worry Sean, I won't be trashing the store on my way out; I'll just find out where you live and make sure the cops know that it is a secret meth lab.

So, I'll be writing a little letter to Lowe's corporate and demanding my money off that gift card. I will never shop at that Hell hole ever again!

I'll come back and post the letter for the whole cyberverse to see after I am done composing it.

BTW, I'm not the only one complaining about the nastiness that is Lowe's: check out the Consumer Affairs website about Lowe's.

©2005 hpb©reations

Independence Day

2005-07-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a little lesson in American history for y'all to contemplate while you are swilling down some brews and inhaling hotdogs today:

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

5 signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

12 had their homes ransacked and burned.

2 lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

9 of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?

24 were lawyers and jurists. 11 were merchants, 9 were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or British soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

George Wythe was murdered by a younger member of his family in a plot to prevent him from working as an abolitionist and freeing slaves.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

On the lighterside, I wanted to share with you an old Jib Jab cartoon about the Founding Fathers. However, Slogger will not allow me to integrate video into my blog. (Damn you, Blogwhore!) So, I can only ask you to click here to watch, and play with, this oldie but a goodie.

Remember: Freedom is not free!

Have a safe and, somewhat, sober 4th of July Celebration.

Now, I'm off for some red meat and beer myself, and then I will be enjoying some fireworks down at the beach!

©2005 hpb©creations

Technical Difficulties

2005-07-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Due to circumstances beyond my control, the lastest post I have been working on will not be available for a little while.

It seems the folks at Blogger HQ don't appreciate my cleverness in coding. I was all ready to launch a whole slew of the latest and greatest in multimedia with that post. However, I have discovered a nefarious plot by those in control.

I will continue to place pieces, of a technologically inferior nature, here for your entertainment, but I will be seeking new digs for my blog's brain.

I simply cannot allow your experience with my blog to be muted any longer.

Damn you Blogger, damn you to Hell!

©2005 hpb©reations

Muslim Marriage Counseling

2005-06-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

This will be the first in a probably short series of posts on the Islamic "faith", culminating in a post honoring my buddy Emmet.

Growing up in NYC, I was exposed to a whole range of different experiences. You get to see all kinds of clothes, hair, and make-up; hear different languages while you are walking down the streets; witness deviant lifestyles of the Wealthy and Demented and oddities never before imagined; hearken to rants derived from The Twilight Zone and religious fanaticism. You also get to pick up a myriad of literature and information. Over the years, I have collected these "treasures" in a black three-ring binder, both before and after moving to California.

Riding the subway daily for school, and general transportation around the city, subjected me to a whole nether world of aberrant freakishness. Oh the stories I can tell, and will tell.... Suffice it to say that I never ran into any CHUD, but there are many exploits and tales of underground madness in the Big Apple.

While there will undoubtedly be future posts with more about Subterranean Strangeness and further revelations from the Binder of Bizarre, this one just happens to be a collision of the two.

In order to get a real feel for this one, imagine the following:

You're riding the IRT (the green line) between lunch-time and the evening rush hour. The train cars are fairly empty and along comes a guy wearing his Nation of Islam uniform
complete with kufi. He's passing out flyers and asking all to praise Allah. Draped over him is one of those old-timey sandwich boards with the wording of the flyer he's handing out printed in huge type on it, front and back.

This is copied verbatim from the original.

I absolve myself of all credit for this one.

ISLAMIC CULTURAL PROGRAM
FREE MARRIAGE COUNSELING

UNDERSTANDING YOUR WOMAN

Brothers don't ever put your penis, in your woman's mouth because this spoils your woman. When you put your penis, in your woman's mouth or in her rectum, you are misusing your woman, And what you are doing to her is: you are starting your woman out on A Sexual Habit. And you are not conscious of what you are doing to her.

This is what causes all of our young people's marriages to go sour. This is the reason that all of our young people start fussing and fighting like cats and dogs six months to A year after their mirriage.

Now, the reason that all of our people's marriage start messing up in about 3 to 6 months is because, It takes about 3 to 6 months before that mess, that you shoots in her mouth, begins to take affect on her brain.

Now, it mess you up to, but, it messes your woman up Quicker then it mess you up, because she's got the thing in her mouth, and she gets the full load every time, and you are licking A hole, so you are missing most of yours so that's why it messes her up Quicker then it mess you up.

And the affects that this mess have on your woman is: it clogs up the love current in her brain, and she don't have any feelings for you any more. And the more of this mess she eats the less feelings she have for you.

And it works the same way on you, as it works on her. You see, when you eat this mess, It makes you hard headed, and rebellius, and cold blooded, It kills the love in you, It makes you selfish, and small minded, and you can't reason with your woman any more, because all she can think of is, sex sex sex, just like A sissy. And, that's why all the arguements start.

If that young man knew, that when he starts putting his penis, in his woman's mouth that, that was the beginning of the end, of his love affair, he would cut off his right arm, before he would ask her to do that to him. but he is not conscious of what he is doing to her, if he loves her.

So then after he messes her up, they finally come to the conclusion, that Love, don't last. But, that's A LIE. LOVE DO LAST. Love will last you A LIFETIME, IF you don't misuse it. And when you put your penis, in your woman's mouth, or in her rectum. you are mis-use-ing your Love. And that's Why it turns sour on you. So don't mis-use your woman, And she will Love you the rest of your Life.

And if you and your woman have this problem. NOW. What you have to do is This: You and your woman will have to get your heads together, and KICK, THAT SEXUAL HABIT. And once you have Kicked, Your Sexual Habit, You can get your Love Life back together again.

Courtesy Of AL ISLAM

Thanks, Al.

Click to see scan of original handout

©2005 hpb©creations (except for Al Islam's rant)

The Art Snob

2005-06-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, my wife, her brother, Jim, and I went to Ojai for a neat little art show.

Their dad, James Wilson, was showing a bunch of his new Pastels and some of his Plein Aire pieces. We went to show him some support.

Jim and I were wandering around checking out all the cool work from various local artists. We came across this one exhibit by Kirk Lowry (see the "Gallery" link at the top of the page). He had all kinds of swirly, trippy paintings:

Jim and I especially liked these long boards that had been covered with different colored paints twirled together and then covered with some kind of resin or epoxy to give them a shiny finish. They were awesome! (Kirk, you've got to get some of those pieces on your website)

Jim started saying how they looked like an effect done by one of the tools in Photoshop. I recognized what he was talking about, but could not remember the name of the specific tool in Photoshop at the time (often a temporary problem of the BP).

About 2 minutes later, I came across another booth with photos by Daniela Raiti:

She had some really cool little cards and prints of her photography. I immediately noticed that some of her work used the feature in Photoshop Jim and I had just been talking about.

I asked her if she "Photoshoped" her pictures. She took on this defensive tone, and she informed me that she only used a single image but manipulated it with effects in Photoshop. (She was very difficult to understand - partly because she had a strong foreign accent, partly because of my hypomanic hearing, but mostly because she really had no idea what she was talking about.)

I explained that I had just been discussing the effect she was using in her photos, but I couldn't recall the name. She condescendingly said to me, "I don't use any tools or effects; I use special filters." I replied, "Oh, you use third party software to produce these...?" She told me, "No, it's a feature included with Photoshop." Ahh, OK. I asked her, "What's the name of the filter?"

She kinda whispered to me, "That's my special secret."

What a snotty bitch!

Fine, Daniela, be that way.

Hey Everybody!

The name of the filter she is using to produce the effect is called "Twirl".

You can look it up in the Photoshop help, but I'll make it even easier for you.

There are two ways you can make Twirl happen in your pics:

1. Open a pic you want to Twirl; Go to the menu and click on "Filter"; scroll down and click on "Liquify"; in the window that pops up, choose the "Twirl Clockwise Tool" button or the "Twirl Counter Clockwise Tool" button on the far left. Play around with it - have fun with it!

2. Open a pic you want to Twirl; Go to the menu and click on "Filter"; scroll down and hover over "Distort"; on the sub-menu, scroll down and click on "Twirl"; this one allows you to Twirl the whole pic or a selection made with the "Marquee" tool.

Here's a sample I made from the first pic at the top of this post:

Play around with these tools. Now that you all know the "secret", I expect demand for Daniela's photos to plummet. After a few hours of messing around, most of you will probably be as good as, if not better than, Daniela.

The funny part is, I really liked some of her work and was considering buying a piece; she just killed the sale with such a snobby attitude.

BTW, her website design sucks.

First off, she uses Microsoft FrontPage 2000 (version 4.0). (Come on Daniela, they're up to FrontPage 2003 (version 6.0) now; it's time to move into the 21st Century) This is a tool of the Devil.

I won't even go into how wrong it is to use Flash on your Splashpage if you're trying to beef up your hit count; her website is difficult to navigate; the end user can only look at one pic at a time; the pics are not compressed for more effecient use of Bandwidth on the Internet, thus they take a longer time to download; the pics aren't adjusted properly for use on the web - I had to adjust the one shown above to bring out the rich colors; everytime the end user clicks to go to the next pic (should have used thumbnails, Daniela), the whole page reloads - next time, try using CSS or ASP; the backend code is way too complex for the simple website that it really is; remember the web programmer's mantra: KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). All around, a pretty crappy website, especially for someone touting herself as a "Web Designer".

Daniela, for the Information Architecture services, I'll only charge you half price; you can PayPal me the $250.

©2005 hpb©reations

Test #1

2005-06-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Test #1

Who is this?

Where is this picture from?

Please email your responses to:

mysterytests2001@yahoo.com

Please be sure to put Test #1 in the Subject.

Results will be posted at approximately 30, 60, and 90 day intervals.

If you would like to be notified of result postings, please visit my "Netiquette" post and sign up for Blog Alerts.

Thank you for your participation; oh yeah, tell your friends to come on by and take a guess.

©2005 hpb©reations

Smoker's Rights

2005-05-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

OK

This morning, I'm chillin' at the off-leash area in one of my city's beautiful parks (as I have done for almost every morning for the last 3+ years) trying to relax into my day.

I'm running around with the dog, minding my own hypomanic business. Sometimes it's kinda hard to do when you're holding a smoke in one hand, a cup of joe in the other, while trying to throw a ball for the dog with the third hand you don't have.

This woman I have seen at the park a few times recently starts heading over to me from a ways off.

I'm thinking, "Uh oh."

She starts mumbling something to me; I'm thinking, "Oh man, this is gonna be a tough one. She's not even speaking clearly."

Suddenly, I realize that she is telling me that my smoke is bothering her from all the way over there.

Wait a second. I'm outside at a park. So, I tell her in my quickest, yet painfully nice way, "You know what? If my smoke is bothering you at an outdoor park, you need to just move away."

She looks shocked. She's thinking, "How dare you, you insolent devient smoker!"

I immediately call my dog over to me and begin moving away from this obvious, anti-smoking fascist.

She starts waving her arm at me, like she's shooing me away, and giving me her best Stink Eye.

Screw her. I'm off to the doggie water fountain way down at the other end of the park. I'm moving away from her, so she should be happy and leave me alone.

The doggie fountain is right near (like 3 feet away from) the road inside the park. There are speed bumps all along the road and signs indicating the speed limit is 5 MPH. This is for the safety of the kiddies playing soccer and vollyball on the weekends at the park.

Not less than 10 minutes after the incident with the local Smoking Police Enforcement Agent, she comes barreling down the road in her big-ass, gas-guzzling, soccer-mom mini-van.

If my dog had seen a squirrel across the road and decided to chase it right then, this lady would have killed my baby!

I immediately started moving my arm in a "pushing-down" motion. (It's how you stop a bus on the road in Tonga)

And, you know what? The idiot is smiling and waving back at me like, "Bye. Have a nice day. Nice chatting with you. See you tomorrow." She just keeps speeding by.

I wish she had stopped and rolled down the window to say something nasty to me. I would have told her this:

Listen lady, I learned to smoke in New York City. There is a very different attitude about smoking and smokers in New York. When I moved out to California 17 yrs ago, I quickly learned that, as an outsider, I needed to adapt to the new customs and attitudes about smoking out here.

I’ve been coming to this dog park 6 days a week, for over 3 years. I am always very conscious of my smoking around the other users of the park. There are several other smokers out here as well, who are conscious of their habit also. In all this time, you are the first person who has ever said that my smoking bothers them.

If you were a regular and frequent visitor to the off-leash area, you would probably know that there is a brochure available with pre-established guidelines for safe and respectful use of the area and the other users. The only mention of smoking in the brochure is to remind smokers to throw their butts in the garbage cans because they may be harmful to the dogs. I welcome all people to come and use the off-leash area, and encourage them to come often.

The park is an open-air area and I suggest that if you do not like cigarette smoke you keep a distance from those who are smoking. If some one approaches you with cigarette in hand, kindly ask them to move away. But if you walk up to someone and they are smoking, then you need to move away if it bothers you. If that is not acceptable, then you probably shouldn’t come to an open-air area where smokers may be, or are present.

I would also like to note that you need to slow down when you are driving on the road inside the park. This will give you the time to stop in case an off-leash dog does happen to run out across the road. I don’t think anyone would like to see a tragedy like a dog getting hit by a car first thing in the morning at Arroyo Verde Park.

How about that?

©2005 hpb©reations

A Novel Idea

2005-05-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

Republicans should back off and let men marry men, women marry women, and totally legalize abortion.

In three generations there will be no Democrats!

Sounds good to me!

Thanks, Glen.

Comments On, Frustration Off

2005-05-22T16:19:00.001-07:00

I tried three times to post this as a comment on a post from Ice. I finally found the glitch. I guess it's kinda long, so maybe it's better I moved it over here anyway.

Let's get it on:

Hello Ice,

Don't get me wrong; I am not one of your school teachers, but I would like to offer a little constructive criticism up front (going against the better principles of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends & Influence People.

Part of what I do for a living is work with people and companies to help them improve their flow of information (quit thinking about menstruation). The Internet is a fantastic tool for this. The visual medium, for one, kicks ass. After all, seeing is believing.

I believe, and have seen, that movies and television have dominated our culture, and more recently the world, for decades. The Internet, now in it's infancy, is the mutant offspring of a cyber mánage a trios between movies, television, and computers. Wait until it reaches puberty....

There is a reason for this incredible, and rapid, take over and dominance by these forms of media:

Moving pictures, flashing lights, and buzzing sounds.

There is strong scientific evidence (I'm too lazy to go find a hyperlink, but if you ask me, I will get you one) that light and sound affect the development of the brain. Just ask the anti-sex-and-violence-on-TV people. (Heh-Heh, I just thought of Kyle's mom in South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut; Oh crap, that reminds me that Team America: World Police is out in stores and I was not first in line to buy it. Damn blogs, sucking away my whole life...)

Secondly, the use of hyperlinks brings instantaneous access to the references you mention in a post. Since the Internet inherently has the aforementioned incredible influence over our brains, why not use it to its full extent. I can't wait until that bitch reaches her Sweet 16; she's going to be a man-eater...

If this were my blog (and I had had those experiences), here are some of the things I would have done:

1. Used more hyperlinks: GNC, Gold's Gym, Jefferson Security Bank

2. Given a hyperlink and/or address for contacting the corporate offices of the Jefferson Security Bank:

Jefferson Security Bank
PO Box 35
Shepherdstown, WV 25443

Maybe even throw in a few phone numbers for good measure. (You never know what Internet psycho might want to give them a call...)

Ditto for Gold's Gym:

Gold's Gym International, Inc.
358 Hampton Drive
Venice, CA 90291

Ditto for GNC:

GNC Corporation
300 6th Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

3. Dispatched letters and/or email to all the corporate offices, and, maybe, posted them here for others to see and cut-and-paste for themselves to use on their blogs, email, letters, faxes, etc.

Check out PlanetFeedback, it's one of my faves.

BTW, do you mind if I post a hyperlink to your blog on mine?

As for the content: Awesome! I Laughed My Ass Off! (LMAO) Oh yeah, the thing about the "packages" of personal trainer time at Gold's: This is a classic bait-and-switch; it's illegal in most states. Contact your state's Attorney General and report them. Also, I don't know what state you live in (well, actually I do), but minimum wage here in (doing my best Arnie imitation) California is $6.75 per hour (and that's still just above the national poverty level).

Overall, good job. I give it a B+ and a 1 for effort. (Better feedback than from most of the asshole teachers I've had in life; you'll probably read about that in a later post on my blog.

For the professional advice: That'll be $650. You can PayPal it to me.... LOL

©2005 hpb©reations

I'm sorry, it's company policy.

2005-05-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

This was sent to me by my friend David. I think this is based on a real scientific experiment. I'll look around and see if I can find a hyperlink to it:

How Company Policy Begins

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it.

Before long, one of the monkeys will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, all of the monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

Pretty soon, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairs.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.

After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm!

Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth.

Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana.

Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

And that, my friends, is how company policy begins.

Thank you, David.

Reminds me of Seligman's theory of learned helplessness.

Next time someone says to you, "That's the way it's always been done...", remember what you have read here.

For further expansion of this concept please see the movie Office Space

The Cost of Living Keeps Going Up

2005-05-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

So, I run down to the store for a pack of smokes.

The psychomotor agitation is not too bad today, but I'm still a little twitchy.

This big lug is behind the counter (he's a new employee: this is only the second time I've seen him working there) and he's trying to put some money into the safe...

I'm standing there with a $5.00 bill in my hand (man, cigs have gotten expensive: they were only $1.25 a pack when I got hooked back in 1984 in NYC; now they're $4.00 out here and a whopping $8.00 in NYC), I'm feeling kinda jumpy; lots of bloggin' thoughts swirling around in my head. I want to hurry up and get back home...

The only thing is, they got this fancy safe that has those dollar bill slots on the front, like the newer soda vending machines. This is because the owner probably can't trust any of the employees with the safe combo. This guy's got these crumply $100 bills in his big, sausage fingers, trying to shove them into the finicky bill slots. The safe keeps spitting them back out at the guy. It's as if the safe is saying, "Blech, I don't want your wrinkly money; I demand crisp new bills."

So, I'm waiting there 2-3 minutes (which can seem like forever, for a myriad of hypomanic reasons), I'm getting kind of annoyed, "Why doesn't this guy just take the 30 seconds to sell me the butts so I can split," I think to myself. Finally, I rest my hands on the counter, and my wedding ring makes a very light tap on the counter...

He looks up at me with these kinda dull eyes, yet that kinda drooling idiot grin; looks a lot like Blaster

from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. So, I kinda start to say something about just selling me a pack of smokes real quick...

He starts talking, right in the middle of me talking to him. He's blathering to me about how the bills won't go into the safe, how they're wrinkled, blah blah blah. He's not even hearing me speak. I stop talking, and I'm thinking to myself, "What the fuck is wrong with this guy?!? Doesn't he know anything about customer service?!? No shit, Sherlock; I noticed the bills weren't going in the safe myself!"

Finally, he gets up, giving up on the safe with with a puzzled look. He sells me my 'rettes, and I'm outta there!

This post was written in my head during the 2 minute drive home.

I just had to get it out of my head.

©2005 hpb©reations

The Rapist

2005-05-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a funny little story about the first time I went to see Dr. Clayson (PhD) during my junior year in high school:

My mother and I were standing around in his waiting room for my first appointment. This was a 3-hour psychological exam (I got a 132 on the IQ Test). My mom's a nervous wreck because the evil Dr. Downs (that's a whole 'nother post...) told her I was a deviant who had smoked marijuana and tried LSD; in fact, I might even have organic brain damage! (I think he wanted to sign me up for some ECT). Hence, the psychological testing.

So, we're standing around looking at this bulliten board with these little, hand-drawn faces, but only the eyes are filled in. (I wish I had a hyperlink or picture for you) All the little faces have labels underneath, like "Schizophrenic", "Paranoid", "Alcoholic", "Manic", "Depressed", etc. The eyes were supposed to represent the different psychological maladies (I hope you get the idea). There's one little face all by itself at the bottom of the thing we're looking at, but this one has no eyes, just ears. My mom looks at that one and says, "Oh, look at 'The Rapist'."

Dr. Peter Whybrow, M.D. mentions, in his book A Mood Apart, that the average BP spends 10 years in "therapy" and goes through 3 "therapists" before being finally diagnosed (Third time's the charm?).

Considering how many people needlessly suffer while most of these "therapists" have no clue, what my mother said makes sense.

©2005 hpb©creations

Evolution of the Tribes

2005-05-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on my music post (and many others), but in the meantime....

I take absolutely no credit for this one.

WORLD HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

Division of the human family into two distinct political groups began some 12,000 years ago. Humans existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunter-gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains in the summer and would go to the beach to live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization, and together they were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

Liberals & Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain, and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the “Conservative Movement". Other men, who were weaker and less skilled at hunting, learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, hair styling, etc. This was the beginning of the “Liberal Movement”. Some of these Liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as “Girleymen”. Some noteworthy Liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the trade union, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that Conservatives provided. Over the years, Conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. The jackass symbolizes Liberals.

Modern Liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard Liberal fare.

Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of the Liberal women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood, and group therapists are Liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer and eat red meat & potatoes. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, police officers, corporate executives, soldiers, athletes & generally anyone who works productively outside the government. Conservatives who own companies hire other Conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the Liberals remained in Europe when Conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tame and created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history.

Thanks, Glen.

No comments are needed

Testing, test, test, test. This is blog number one, this is blog number one, isn't this a lot of fun.

2005-05-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to jump right in.

Here is a copy of a recent email I sent out:

From: Henry
Date: Sun May 15, 2005 7:32:29 AM US/Pacific
To: Family and Friends
Subject: ORDER IN THE COURT??

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: What is the date of your birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.

*************

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

*************

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

*************

ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.

*************

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.

*************

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo

*************

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

*************

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one.

*************

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?

*************

ATTORNEY: So, the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh...

*************

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?

*************

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?

*************

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?

*************

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here today pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

*************

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

*************

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.

*************

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!

*************

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?

*************

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law!

Hello-

While the quotes shown above are hilarious, I would like to present to all of you something of a more somber nature that was also said in court. However, this statement has not been published in a book, nor received much media attention at all.

In December of 2003, Richard Reid, the man who admitted to trying to blow up a U.S. jetliner with explosives in his shoes, better known as "The Shoe Bomber", was sentenced to life in prison by Judge William Young. As he was dragged out of the courtroom, Richard Reid began yelling at Judge Young, repeating his allegiance to Osama bin Laden saying, "I'm at war with your country not for personal reasons but because you have killed so many innocents, so many children. ... My fate is in Allah's hands. ... I leave you to judge."

Here is the actual transcript of the exchange between Judge Young and Mr. Reid:

RICHARD REID: I start by praising Allah because life today is no good. I bear witness to this and he alone is right to be worshiped. And I bear witness that Muhammad Sa'laat Alayhi as-Salaam is his last prophet and messenger who is sent to all of mankind for guidance, with the sound guidance for everyone.

Concerning what the Court said? I admit, I admit my actions and I further, I further state that I done them.

JUDGE WILLIAM YOUNG: I didn't hear the last. I admit my actions and then what did you say?

REID: I further admit my allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah. With regards to what you said about killing innocent people, I will say one thing. Your government has killed 2 million children in Iraq. If you want to think about something, against 2 million, I don't see no comparison.

Your government has sponsored the rape and torture of Muslims in the prisons of Egypt and Turkey and Syria and Jordan with their money and with their weapons. I don't know, see what I done as being equal to rape and to torture, or to the deaths of the two million children in Iraq.

So, for this reason, I think I ought not apologize for my actions. I am at war with your country. I'm at war with them not for personal reasons but because they have murdered more than, so many children and they have oppressed my religion and they have oppressed people for no reason except that they say we believe in Allah.

This is the only reason that America sponsors Egypt. It's the only reason they sponsor Turkey. It's the only reason they back Israel.

As far as the sentence is concerned, it's in your hand. Only really it is not even in your hand. It's in Allah's hand. I put my trust in Allah totally and I know that he will give victory to his religion. And he will give victory to those who believe and he will destroy those who wish to oppress the people because they believe in Allah.

So you can judge and I leave you to judge. And I don't mind. This is all I have to say. And I bear witness to Muhammad this is Allah's message.

YOUNG: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you. On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive one with the other. That's 80 years.

On Count 8 the court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you on each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million.

The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need not go any further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and a just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Let me explain this to you.

We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.

Here in this court where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists.

We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You're a big fellow. But you're not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense Trooper Santiago had it right when first you were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and he said you're no big deal. You're no big deal.

What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing.

And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this entire record it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely.

It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their, their representation of you before other judges. We care about it. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties.

Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here, in this courtroom, and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag still stands for freedom. You know it always will. Custody, Mr. Officer. Stand him down.

REID: That flag will be brought down on the Day of Judgment and you will see in front of your Lord and my Lord and then we will know. (Whereupon the defendant was removed from the courtroom.)

YOUNG: We'll recess. All rise.

We need more judges like this in America. Judges who aren't afraid to enforce the laws, yet won't be attempting legislation from the bench. If you agree, start by writing a letter to Judge Young and thank him for his wisdom and encourage him to continue with the excellent work he is doing. Then, pick up the phone and call one, or all, of these 9 senators and tell them to cease their unconstitutional filibuster of President Bush's judicial nominees, uphold their sworn constitutional duties, and vote, yea or nay:

Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid (NV) 202-224-3524

Jeff Bingaman (NM) 202-224-5521
Barbara Boxer (CA) 202-224-3553
Russ Feingold (WI) 202-224-5323
Tom Harkin (IA) 202-224-3254
Ted Kennedy (MA) 202-224-4543
John Kerry (MA) 202-224-2742
Frank Lautenberg (NJ) 202-224-3224
Paul Sarbanes (MD) 202-224-4524

Sincerely,

Henry

PS: Rot in Hell, Mr. Reid.

©2005 hpb©reations

Netiquette

2005-05-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog.

This is MY blog; there are many like it, but this one is mine.

I say this in the sense that I control (I think) what goes on here. I welcome your comments, when I want them, and you will know because I sometimes might turn off the comment feature. Those who know me have my email address and can comment privately. Sometimes, I just don’t want to hear what other people have to say.

When the comments are on, I kinda have some semi-rigid “guidelines” about what you say here. Obviously, crap like spam, porno, totally irrelevant obscene ranting, etc., etc. will be deleted immediately. I am the judge here, and what I say goes.

Comment away, folks. If you don’t like what you see here, I point out the two buttons in the upper left corner of your web browser: Back and Close. Please use either one of them. I welcome constructive criticism. However, be sure you back up what you have to say in an intelligent, cohesive manner; be sure to provide references and/or hyperlinks to what you are saying for further strengthening of your contentions. Don’t just shout at me, “TAKE YOUR MEDS, PSYCHO!” (see the guidelines above)

Like most of us, I like to get compliments. Please be sure to post them immediately.

As you get to know me, you will understand more of what I am talking about.

Be sure to come back once in a while to check out, and add to, the comments, as I hope they’ll become an integral part of why this blog is here: It’s cyber, Baby!

If you wish to be put on my email list for Blog Alerts and Comment Upgrades, send an email to sbdivemaster1@yahoo.com with “Your blog is cool! Sign me up.” in the Subject. THIS EMAIL IS NOT FOR COMMENTS.

Now, on to the show….

Henry P. Babcock

©2005 hpb©reations