Posted by Haltse on October 13, 2007 – 11:11 pm
We’ve talked about it, threatened it and I’ve been living with the peer embarrassment of assisting many people get their podcasts up and running yet not having a regular outlet of my own.
The good news is Creddy is now interested in following through with a 2-3 times a week < 20 min show “Reivers of reality” which is not a misspelling and a deliberately arcane choice. Reivers are from the area of the Scottish borders from which I originate and are raiders, pirates, rustlers and a few other less savory behaviors which I assure you we don’t partake in. Why now? Basically there’s not enough exposure for our world view. Even in groups that are meant to have a reality based outlook the ability to go of gods in the form of the State and the man upstairs seems to be sorely lacking. Oh and we need friends too as well as stocking up on the enemies list. 
So expect a few shaky weeks until we get used to this …
Posted by Haltse on September 12, 2007 – 8:03 pm
One of the amusing things about Americans
is their belief that geography is a strong point of theirs as long as you’re restricted to world superpowers of which they consider the number to be one. And guess who is considered to be a superpower? Last week Erin, myself and a group of motorcyclists took a drive up to Baghdad , the one in Arizona, in a bid to better understand how our motorcycles perform while obeying all posted speed limits.
This being my first time out on the cruiser outside of the city or the freeway system and it was quite interesting to have more than one corner going in one direction slowly. It is also interesting to see how much one forgets over a decade and what used to be a no brainer, e.g act don’t think is now sadly being retarded by ego trying to keep itself in one collected place… Oddly that the nearer death we are the more we think there’s to lose and thus try to avoid it further.. Ok the fat ass, I mean Meanstreak really does brake , steer and pull out of hilly twisty corners way better than something that size should be able to, it’s not the most comfy thing to date but we did about 300 miles that day and woke up without new aches the day after but I am getting ahead of ourselves here.
There really is a café in Baghdad.
Talk about your captive audiences. One of the things that Erin and myself have often talked about is running a small café e.g a breakfast and lunch establishment in a small remote town and then coming up with a rather interesting menu that would not be expected in such a location. The miners café in Baghdad does not require much through a review other than to say that the food did not make us sick. And it’s amazing what you can buy at Sam’s Club when you have a catering business. In other words, this was the kind of meal being phoned in by people who would probably rather be doing things other than serving meals. Yet, looking around the town I was puzzled by what that could possibly be. Seriously, and proving that many true word is spoken in jest. The best part about Baghdad is the road in which by happy coincidence is also the road out.
All in all it was fun riding with the group for the first time and we will do it again if we can trick someone into looking after our wonderful child
Posted by Haltse on August 25, 2007 – 11:23 pm
Today the meanie, myself and Erin ( you didn’t think I called her the former did you?) took the bike’s out for bagels and brooming down to South Mountain to navigate some single lane roads with delightful drop offs. The fat ass ( the bike, not me ) acquitted itself well and the speedo seems to be stuck at 80 for some reason. I still am not sure if this is the bike for me. I have this love hate relationship with it that’s partly based on how happy the bike’s appearance makes others feel. Seriously there’s something weird about the image that the Meanie projects versus it’s capabilities of my other bike,an SV65O which can rape it’s ass in everything apart from shit eating grin factor, that non riders get.
Dobhie is so cute that he’s bordering on illegal.
It’s my birthday, no don’t worry few others cared either, and we had a nice lunch thanks to Erin’s parents at Pappadeaux’s where I can get my boudin on , a rare event in Cajun eateries in Phoenix which are rare in themselves , and to be fair most are crap. Food and service was as usual slower than advertised but generally excellent. And then settle down to have a nice game of C and C 3. Kane better win this time:)
Posted by Haltse on August 11, 2007 – 9:57 pm
Filed under Erin, General
Good evening
Several years ago I tried a program called Dragon naturally speaking it frustrated the hell out of me. That was back in version 4 now we are off to 9.5 and so far I can see major improvement has been noticed even when using a cheap microphone that came free with a package. So I will know launch boldly into our Saturday’s tasks.
Morning was breakfast breakfast was good. Started off the day with the car not starting. The battery was flatter than an uncorrected teenage pop singer. At least I got a jump this morning.[ We headed out for the mountain town of Prescott where the temperatures are rumored in fact, and indeed were to be found at are at least 10 deg cooler than a furnace we left called Phoenix. Prescott was running a crafts fair essentially turning over the center of their town in an attempt become Sedona light. Naturally no trip to Prescott would be complete without a visit to JG guns, sadly all of the other people in attendance had the same idea and trying to even get a look at the cases was rather difficult, frustrating and not helped by the presence of our child who is yet to appreciate the joy of firearms.
While wandering around the streets of this fair we were assailed accosted even, by people with free pizza samples. Good samples we found ourselves 10 minutes later at the restaurant giving away those free samples and apart from myself trying to decorate the place with my soda was a really good meal.
The whole purpose of this enterprise originally it was to take Dobhran somewhere cooler so that he could play outside, maybe even see a lake or at the very least give the cats a break in their very exciting life of dodging his projectiles, ministrations and general feline unfriendly behavior. He slept. Yep 80 plus miles out of the way and he slept. The rest of the day was spent going to a dealer for products ( Buell) that they didn’t actually stock yet had considerable amount of signage and advertising to the contrary. Apparently they don’t sell much of these items which may possibly have something to do with the fact that they couldn’t even pull one out off their asses should somebody turn up with the appropriate funding to do so.
On the whole I didn’t need to correct many of the general words when writing this post by the salad is yet and still fairly on trying;)
Posted by Haltse on July 22, 2007 – 11:16 pm
We’ve gone bi. Now this will require some new gear, leather,straps and things affixed to our heads that make it hard to swallow, least that’s Erin’s excuse.My modular retractable helmet ( told you it’s better not to be circumcised ) doesn’t have that limitation.
I mean bi wheeled.
Why the confusion? Well if you pay to wear protective gear and submit yourself to the AZ sun two days in a row you’re pretty much heading towards masochism but at least happy news . Erin and myself both passed our motorcycle license and can wander off to our DOT and get a little M added to the ticket which says we can have fun while leaning at odd angles..
Posted by haltse on June 16, 2007 – 10:14 pm
This isn’t car purchase theater but it involves wheels and salespeople so it’s about the same thing. Erin’s convinced that the way to save money on her commute is to acquire a motorcycle and reap the lovely lovely rewards of 50mpg returns for the gas dollar. It’s also massively hot outside and for some reason she wants to be a speedy baked potato. So that being said let’s look at the bikes that fit her and he short inside seam.
Suzuki Sv650, Katana, GS500 and Kawasaki’s 650 ninja ( just ask it) and everything else would need a drop kit or surgery for her to work. So we kinda have a limited range of choice and these are mostly good sensible choices. The Gs500 is a little too sedate and it’s the kind of woman you’d sleep with if none of your friends found out. In the end the SV has the best features/ price mix and we found one at Town & Country Motorsports on Arizona Ave in Chandler. Last years model discounted $1700 and all in all it was worth having a discussion on whether we buy it or not. ( I want to ride it too and my last bike was in the same class and a boat load of fun) We went to lunch, called the dealer and this is where it started to go downhill. Wouldn’t give a price over the phone which to me is just odd. “Hey I want to bring a cashiers check / cash to buy a bike how much?” Sorry can’t tell us.. unless we go back..
We went back. The out the door price on the bike priced at $4499 on the floor was $6150 which included the usual doc fee poop delivery and then setup fee. Too high, so buying theater starts. They want to see that I have a credit card so they can show it to their boss to show we’re into buying the bike.. HA fucking HA Sorry I called them on mind games, referenced a book on the subject and suggested that we forgo the bullshit and give an answer to our offer. Well the offer we made was +$100 for home delivery ( we’re both sitting our licenses in July , in the heat because you can add Scots and wherever the fuck Erin’s from to the list of things out in the midday sun.) Offer came back as accepted as the price that had delivery included to one, that didn’t and I think we had to clarify that that point with them. At this time the game was over, and the salesguy told that for the sake of $100 they’d lost the sale and that we’re leaving. Erin rather enjoyed the look on his face because I’ve just fucking had it with people that can’t deal honestly with me. By all means tell us that it’s not reasonable offer and either sell us something else or part on good terms , we may be back to buy something larger, faster more expensive:D Idiots.
But no , somehow the idea that I can’t find out what the price is , nor the finance options or sample figures for payments/time of loan is piss poor customer service and I can only surmise that bike shops are not hurting for sales.
Posted by haltse on May 13, 2007 – 2:31 pm
It’s a tough time presently there’s so many things half baked that being baked alongside the process ( by the temperature raise) doesn’t lead to an abundance of happiness. On the nice news Erin made it to thirty without too much wailing an gnashing though we did a little of the latter at “The Melting Pot” which is a fondue restaurant or as I have termed it “nachos on a stick for the monied class” It’s pretty nice and while we didn’t dress excessively nice we at least made an effort which the people to the side managed to through in sharp relief by not even making business casual ( unless drug dealing is a business) All in all I enjoyed it and it was certainly a different I’m glad that we waited ( ok I waited) to go there since as a normal meal it would be annoying as an event it’s far better and pretty much once, maybe twice , a year is the max attendance.
The house is wearing us down, job schedules are wearing us down and now according to the fucking morons in Pennsylvania have a guide to terrorist spotting which suggests that a belief in the original idea of America is tantamount to terrorist activity I wonder what’s next? They are at pains to point out that you’re only a terrorist if you have committed a crime yet being allied to the groups they later mention is er a , go on guess , well anyone that’s played the roleplaying game Paranoia knows that feeling..
In many cases, terrorists have tried to address
their issues legally. But they become frustrated over the slowness of
the legal
system
and
the lack of change. They often feel their cause has been ignored or treated
unjustly.
Er , sure, yeah legal system I can just see Osama filing to have the US remove its forces from Saudi Arabia having any success. This is such simplistic and insulting propaganda that sets up so many areas of life that “the terrorists” have started using I mean gosh we found out they are using email, and websites and telephones why , we’d have to regulate all those and get permission.. of fuck the last part we’re doing it already. Lists of crimes from graffiti upwards ( I kid you not it’s in there) have been compiled in a manner that makes it look like a shopping list for future state goons to claim “terrorism” thus evading the already thin protections that were in the 4th, 5th and 1st amendments.
So where do we look for terrorists they seem to be everywhere why .. they could even be in your local police department. News that the Durham Police department have received a shiny new white coat of paint regarding their handling of the Duke lacrosse, non rape, non kidnapping non event and also here did not come as a great surprise but seemingly they are willing to state that pursuing the incarceration of people whose innocence they have evidence of is part of normal police work. Want to argue that it’s just a few bad apples or maybe we should start looking into a few bad orchards?
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Posted by haltse on May 2, 2007 – 1:18 pm
Someday’s this blog becomes as mundane as a medical talk show. Knowing that I will still soldier on and relate my current state of health so that the kid can look back and say, “so that’s why daddy was such a grumpy bastard”
Starters I use a CPAP machine to treat my sleep apnea which , for the uninitiated, is a device that blows air , at pressure, up my nose so that my airways are held open at night . Not doing so makes me feel like I have a hangover, can’t think properly and am prone to intense bouts of tiredness ( yes including driving) it’s dangerous when untreated and shortens your life. SO
I have a sinus infection that wont go away and is blocking my nose.. It’s hell squared. So on more pills, then a shot, then a look into my head to see if there’s something odd about it’s construction.
Anyway the fun part. I had to take the kid to the Dr with me ,since day care is on the other side of town, I presented him at the desk with a ” I hear that it’s customary in your country for medical services to require your first born.. I took the precaution of bringing my son” The kid is too cute for anyone to object to such “abuse”
So what do you call nasal sex?
Fuck nose.. </sting>
Posted by haltse on April 2, 2007 – 8:08 pm
BBC NEWS | Health | Medical notes | T-Z | Winter vomiting virus
“I am told that people can vomit straight out for about a yard.”
There is no recognised treatment for the illness – patients should be given fluids to keep them hydrated and wait for it to pass.
It normally does so in 24-60 hours in the vast majority of patients, although there may be some after-effects such as fatigue.
I hadn’t fully gotten over the last bought, then one all night ER, major change in Erin’s schedule and 4 days of no sleep I end up here, truly this sucketh the big one.
Posted by haltse on March 18, 2007 – 7:53 pm
Filed under Erin, reviews
R.T. O’Sullivan’s
Chicken Wings Plain, BBQ, Teriyaki, Mild, Medium, Hot, Death or HELL !(no returns on HELL) Served with celery and ranch dressing.
I think I get it, they are being ironic… Because if you get what you want it’s not hell!. Today we stopped in at , like most Irish theme bars in the USA, R.T. O’Sullivans in Glendale. The thought of an Irish bar without cider is as laughable as a French bar sans wine or a burger joint that doesn’t have a coke but would you like a nice green tea? No apple cider in stock , please perry, aka pear cider is fine but it’s not frickin’ cider and there seems to be some reality problems with bars here. NM , ok I do mind but I will let that lie for a future podcast. The wings, HELL , HELL-o I thought I was meant to be in mortal danger here. Seemingly a sauce mild enough to douche with is their idea of hell.. mine is paying $8 to be sorely disappointed, again. Gets better they totally forgot to bring out Erin’s main course .. she’s not happy since the Friday night another restaurant ,A bbq one in Scottsdale forgot her sandwich with her order of …a sandwich.. Today was ok I had enough cider to cushion the effects of a pissed Erin;)
Podcast related to the above
Posted by haltse on March 18, 2007 – 2:24 pm
Filed under Erin, F100, Family
Ford F-Series – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Recently we acquired a ford f100 , 1974 vintage, that has a lot of original parts on it. It’s now has several less;) Today’s joy, before the AZ sun came and declared a no fun zone for shade tree mechanics , was a new master brake cylinder and brake booster. All in in relatively painless , only two trips to the local napa, one for a cotter pin and one prior for the needle nose pliers which led us to the discovery we need another pin. It’s all back and does it work? No idea, it’s too hot to care and the system still needs bled.
I’m po.
In other news. Pool is up and running…
Posted by haltse on March 4, 2007 – 11:48 pm
Holy shit, has hell frozen over? Er no it doesn’t exist and besides it would need to exist first. Anyway it was the inaugaral meeting of the first non theist “church” , there’s still debate over using that part as a word, I mean from the Greek,”house of the lord” it seems to have an insurmountable issues. That being said I totally arsed up the recording due to unfamiliarity with the recorder (which I own so I am in the dumbass club tonight) It’s very early days yet I probably am going to assist with the web community and recording / podcasting the sermons and trying to get more people involved that way.
Come on in , we have no sin:) More on this soon but I don’t have the time tonight.
Posted by haltse on February 14, 2007 – 8:46 pm
Why the bitterness? Seemingly I can’t cancel my phone of near 4 years with them since , shock horror, the plan changed in 2005 and they added 2years onto it. Seemingly the person in the Nextel shop answered the question about adding a secondary number to the line requiring the old contract. Well he lied both phones have to go till nov 2007 or I have to pay a $400 “early” termination fee. Shame that the network is becoming increasingly unreliable.
They don’t have the old contract available , nor have I signed an update, so I would like them to provide the document to which they have said is impossible. Nextel’s service in the Phoenix region has deteriorated over the last few months , they have acknowledged this problem with their “hybrid” phones that run calls over spring and keep the walkie talkie on nextel but here’s the problem .
Been offered 2 free phones/ transfer etc that works on this system on an Annual contract ie 3 months longer than they have “got” me for. Doesn’t that admit that the service level has been broken ? Or should I be the “good little consumer” and just take a “generous” offer.
Sadly I am at a loss as to how I can argue against a contract I don’t physically possess or show that their conditions have materially changed since signing?
Posted by haltse on January 28, 2007 – 1:00 am
Filed under Erin, General
Testing weekend, no literally. It seems that the old saying about if you want to get things done… Stayed in the house, Sam’s club, dinner, did our taxes and am now setting up the free Quicken I got with the software. I’m a little pissed at Intuit re their early offers, as a “valuable customer” to give me the best possible deal.. er no, sorry but buying early from them would have not included Quicken. For this year and convenience I’m using Turbo Tax but not from loyalty rather than convenience.
Erin’s been busy on Cad for the car, the site for the car and soon I’ll link to the site when all the domain nicities have been completed.
Ok I found out from Quicken that Dobhie is a fucking bargain but he’s useless for shelter ( hold him above you and see how dry -you- remain. For transport, he’s crap when it’s my turn at horsey and if only we ould harness his movement he’d be quite the utility. I overpaid the Feds to the point where I’m now having to spend it all in my head though it’s probably going to be boring loan reduction, home improvements and maybe adding some more parts to the Aerio.
Posted by haltse on January 22, 2007 – 11:19 pm
Today worked in mysterious ways. An almost natural double act that despite the lack of collusion came out with the result that made sense , I probably could be good at politics if I put my mind to it.. oh wait then I’d have to have Erin kick me..
So what else. We saw Pan’s Labyrinth which I am about 1/2 way through a “review” on but the upshot is that it’s very good and worth viewing. It’s not a date movie unless your both goths ( shocking generalisation #45)
Ah ha! A new Indian restaurant, Tandoori village, finally opened on 43rd and Bell road and woo hoo it’s good. Note I didn’t say excellent since I am biased to the UK bastardized curries of my youth but these guys are reasonably priced, don’t have the stand offish nature of many Indian eateries in the US where it’s almost like eating in a red wall papered funeral home In common with all new restaurants the menu had more typos than was necessary and I’m not sure that literacy is even require in print shops these days. The Vindaloo was pretty close to how I make it traditionally, the Tikka Masala Erin had was way way nicer than I make it. Pakora nicely spiced but of the loose type ah well I can’t have everything. No liquor licence either making it a carry out that I can carry in
And the anti windmill? More of an anti climax seemingly the bumper on the pinball table of life hit the tilt a few times and rescued the ball before it was irretrievably lost. ( If even I know to what I am referring to in 2 years from now I’ll be surprised:)
