For a second year in a row, I have the ultimate power over what you are going to hear on the radio!  There is nothing you puny mortals can do, as I wield all the power!  Mwuhahahahaha (Hack-coff-hack). Sorry, the power got to me for a second. But yes, for the second year in a row, I am an Arbitron kid!  I get to fill out the survey for a week, and for keeping track of all I listen to I get a whopping $3!!!!! I guess I will do it just so I can plug my favorite shows. ...

With Kudos to Adventure Dude who is going through a sort of crises because he is wanted, I bring you my Phobia blog! AD has more hangups than I about giving, but I hope he does decide to.  For while I don't see blood as the Generational marker he does, I share his phobia to needles. Not fear.  Not aversion. Not disdain. Not dislike. Phobia.  Phobias are irrational fears that are not supported by rational thought.  Indeed, that is exactly what they are.  I ha...

My Wife and I have cats.  Several Cats.  And as cats are wont to do (those of the inside out nature), they wander around the neighborhood.  But most of them are so skittish of strangers (they still think my son is a stranger - and it has been what?  3 years now?), that we dont worry about them.  They never wander far, and they have collars in case they do. The oldest cat is my Wife's favorite.  He likes to wander for days, only stopping by for meals.  She wo...

OK, for some of us we have been "riding the rails" around the eastern part of this nation.  How?  By Following Waldo Mason's blog!  He now has a laptop, and it seems the truck stops have gone 21st century! So he is able to post reports all up and down the eastern part of the US.  From Texas to Wisconsin, South Carolina to Florida.  And it has been fun as he winds his way across these states to read of the faces and places he has seen. So now we get to play Where is Wa...

It seems that the FEC has stepped up to the plate and done the right thing. As much as it could that is. The ruling has long been anticipated, and in some corners dreaded, on how McCain-Feingold would impact bloggers during election periods. The FEC's final Internet regulations adopted on Monday are less onerous than an earlier version. Here's what they say: • Paid political advertising appearing on someone else's Web site would have to be reported, regardless of how little or how m...

I have had the enjoyable task of listening to a couple of our Joe Users and their music output.  Let me preface this with the statement that I love music (Wagner best, but R&R as well), but cant play a note!  But I know what I like when I hear it (as Charles Emerson Winchester said - "I can play the notes, but you make the music!"). And now I know why the current American Pop scene disappoints me so much!  It is garbage!  Barely intelligible screeching by a bunch of ov...

Ok, during GalIICiv, I posted to the forums and now it appears twice in the forum list.  With the same AID. But yesterday, I posted regular, and now it is showing double, with the same AID! 108830. I only got Lasik 18 months ago!  Dont tell me I am seeing double!  please! Just an FYI for the less hysterical among us.

The summer. Yea, I remember it. I guess it was about 84. No 83. I remember now for another reason. My ex and I had bought a time share at a camping resort. I never liked it, but she insisted (she got it too). This year, we were new parents (so how I remember the summer). And my mother and my youngest 3 siblings came with us. Youngest! Tova and others are talking about the sexuality of their children, but my sister was 15 and I don’t know if sexually active (I have never asked and am not goin...

Ok, if the title got you, I appologize! But Trudy made me do it, But! LOL No seriously, she wanted to know how I went to 4 proms without going to one before I was a Junior in High School. So I will tell you. Growing up, I was the pimply faced nothing! I never had a real girl friend until my Junior year. I was that pathetic! But in order to hide my embarrasment and shortcomings, I was very involved with extracurricular activities. But in my Junior year, I had a girl friend! Her name was...

I remember when politics did not define your friends.  It was not that long ago.  I was dating a very sexy and wonderful dyed in the wool liberal!  She was fun! But that seems to have changed with the polarization that has been forced upon us by those who refuse to acknowledge the constitution of the United States, and its election laws defined therein. Now, we must cling to our political leaning buddies like the Ants in Ice-9 (and that is distasteful to write if you have re...

Growing up, I always knew about Psycho. My mother was so traumatized by it.  I did not see it unti llater in life, but one thing I did know=.  Dont come into the bathroom when my mother was taking a shower! I eventually did see it and it was a great movie!  More so that it was in black and white and there has been nothing close since then, nor given the reliance on special effects, I suspect there will be any like it in the future.  It is a classic. I married a woman wh...

Yes, enough is enough. We had another walk out. I learned of it belately as I was gone for a dozen days. And this one was by a major one in terms of posts and presense. Ok, it happens. She did it before. But I think those that are trying to turn every statement, every response into a "us vs them" thing are way out of line. It has already spawned other flame wars, that are just plain stupid due to not understanding. And it has spawned other blogs for the same reason. Ok, I have written one of...

Deference got Moderateman to thinking of what friendship is, so MM wrote a blog on it.  And the answers so far are very insightful.  But thinking further on it, I wanted to add to my response to MM. Friendship is the ability to tell your friend they are wrong when they are wrong.  While they may think what they are doing is right, a true friend will get in your face and tell you why they think it is wrong to do something.  If that destroys the friendship, then it was never...

The 12th Annual Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser for my Wife's Nephew is now history and it was another grand success.  But it entails traveling across country, so I left my JoeUser behind.  Which upon my return I find that so did everyone else for most of while I was gone as Stardock just had a smash hit on its hands with its latest game!  (Congratulations Stardock!).  So I guess I did not miss much goings on.  In years past, there was always the inevitable "I am leaving...