Back when we got internet from our provider, their big sales point was UNLIMITED INTERNET. We even upgraded our package to include a faster (10MB) connection. We still just get normal basic analog cable with no box required for each TV. As of March 10th, they are forcing everyone to go to digital. We only have one television that is digital ready.
Yesterday, I also got a note from them to check my "internet usage" on their website. It seems that an average 10MB customer uses only 43 gigabytes per month. Anyone going over that amount of usage is now labeled an "excessive user." After I reach that point each month, they will begin throttling my connection speeds. So I register for their stupid email account (fuckyou@suddenlink.com) sign in and discover that I'm more than double their estimated average. By the way, that truly IS my email account with them.
Oh but guess what? I'm not as stupid as most of their customers because I have a linux router/firewall that logs my internet usage too! I've used less than half of what they claim. I can prove that they are full of shit! Suddenlink also blocks ports that can be routed to you so you cannot run a webserver from home. Fortunately they can't block every port so I can just go around them on that one.
The point of this rant is that we as consumers are already starting to get the shaft. The internet is going to be tiered just like satellite television with providers slowing down the sites that they don't want you to go, effectively forcing you to use their "preferred" content providers. Everybody should raise hell about it because the internet as we know it, is going away! Write your congressmen, the FCC and anyone else who will listen! Get informed and learn what is going on right under your nose!
3/31/11
3/29/11
Chuck Norris is a push-over!
Chuck has a ranch near Navasota Texas, The Lone Wolf Ranch. He has a big automated gate with an intercom and a white wooden fence around his property. Back in 1996, his fence was looking awful and badly needed a coat of paint and was falling into disrepair. I just lived a few miles away and passed his house daily. Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts lived just a mile or two from Chuck's place.
Anyway, I got tanked at a little bar between their houses one night and decided I needed to alarm Chuck that his fence was looking like crap! I drove down and pulled up to his gate and hit the button. I sat there for a minute waiting and nobody answered. I rang the buzzer again and realized it was nearly midnight. Suddenly I heard "Hello, what do you want?" (In the familiar voice of Walker, Texas Ranger!) I yelled into the box, "Chuck your fence looks like shit and I would appreciate it if you didn't run down the neighborhood! Paint the damn thing..it looks awful!" I never heard an answer so I left.
Two days later the fence was fixed and getting a new coat of paint! Yeah, I told Chuck to paint his damn fence..and he obliged! Turns out he's actually a pretty good neighbor!
Anyway, I got tanked at a little bar between their houses one night and decided I needed to alarm Chuck that his fence was looking like crap! I drove down and pulled up to his gate and hit the button. I sat there for a minute waiting and nobody answered. I rang the buzzer again and realized it was nearly midnight. Suddenly I heard "Hello, what do you want?" (In the familiar voice of Walker, Texas Ranger!) I yelled into the box, "Chuck your fence looks like shit and I would appreciate it if you didn't run down the neighborhood! Paint the damn thing..it looks awful!" I never heard an answer so I left.
Two days later the fence was fixed and getting a new coat of paint! Yeah, I told Chuck to paint his damn fence..and he obliged! Turns out he's actually a pretty good neighbor!
3/26/11
UFC Fight Night 24 3/26/11
I don't know all of the fighters tonight so it's tough to pick them. I'll stick to fights where I know at least one of the fighters.
Aaron Simpson over Mario Miranda
√ WINNER Simpson kept dragging him down. Tons of takedowns. Unanimous decision.
Hendricks over Waldburger
√ WINNER Hendricks knocked him out at 1:35 mark.
McCorkle over Morecraft
X LOSS Morecraft brutalized McCorkle, then choked him unconscious via standing guillotine!
McDonald over Figueroa
√ WINNER McDonald takes a hard fought victory..damn good fight! Figueroa hung in after a bunch of submission attempts and came on strong late.
Hathaway over McCray
√ WINNER Hathaway ground out a squeaker. McCray gets better every time I see him. Good fight again.
"Bruce Leroy" Caseres may submit Sermezier
X LOSER Bruce Leroy gets choked out easily.
Leonard Garcia should beat Chan Sung Jung
X LOSER Chan Sung Jung wraps up a "twister" lock on Garcia and Leonard taps with 1 second left in Round 2.
Sadollah over Johnson
√ WINNER Very close first round but all Sadollah from there!
Anthony Johnson will hand Dan Hardy a beatdown!
√ WINNER Anthony Johnson just kept dragging him down and kicking on his ass!
Nogueira wins over Davis
X LOSER I've gotta quit picking the Nog brothers..they are getting their asses whipped too much now. 3 rounds for Davis basically with just takedowns..no real offense to speak of at all!
Aaron Simpson over Mario Miranda
√ WINNER Simpson kept dragging him down. Tons of takedowns. Unanimous decision.
Hendricks over Waldburger
√ WINNER Hendricks knocked him out at 1:35 mark.
McCorkle over Morecraft
X LOSS Morecraft brutalized McCorkle, then choked him unconscious via standing guillotine!
McDonald over Figueroa
√ WINNER McDonald takes a hard fought victory..damn good fight! Figueroa hung in after a bunch of submission attempts and came on strong late.
Hathaway over McCray
√ WINNER Hathaway ground out a squeaker. McCray gets better every time I see him. Good fight again.
"Bruce Leroy" Caseres may submit Sermezier
X LOSER Bruce Leroy gets choked out easily.
Leonard Garcia should beat Chan Sung Jung
X LOSER Chan Sung Jung wraps up a "twister" lock on Garcia and Leonard taps with 1 second left in Round 2.
Sadollah over Johnson
√ WINNER Very close first round but all Sadollah from there!
Anthony Johnson will hand Dan Hardy a beatdown!
√ WINNER Anthony Johnson just kept dragging him down and kicking on his ass!
Nogueira wins over Davis
X LOSER I've gotta quit picking the Nog brothers..they are getting their asses whipped too much now. 3 rounds for Davis basically with just takedowns..no real offense to speak of at all!
3/21/11
Who is this guy?
Recent attention brought to the Libyan ruler has stirred up the debate again on a spelling for his name.
For the record, here's the official Library of Congress rundown on how to spell ol' whatsisname: (1) Muammar Qaddafi, (2) Mo'ammar Gadhafi, (3) Muammar Kaddafi, (4) Muammar Qadhafi, (5) Moammar El Kadhafi, (6) Muammar Gadafi, (7) Mu'ammar al-Qadafi, (8) Moamer El Kazzafi, (9) Moamar al-Gaddafi, (10) Mu'ammar Al Qathafi, (11) Muammar Al Qathafi, (12) Mo'ammar el-Gadhafi, (13) Moamar El Kadhafi, (14) Muammar al-Qadhafi, (15) Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi, (16) Mu'ammar Qadafi, (17) Moamar Gaddafi, (18) Mu'ammar Qadhdhafi, (19) Muammar Khaddafi, (20) Muammar al-Khaddafi, (21) Mu'amar al-Kadafi, (22) Muammar Ghaddafy, (23) Muammar Ghadafi, (24) Muammar Ghaddafi, (25) Muamar Kaddafi, (26) Muammar Quathafi, (27) Muammar Gheddafi, (28) Muamar Al-Kaddafi, (29) Moammar Khadafy, (30) Moammar Qudhafi, (31) Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi, (32) Mulazim Awwal Mu'ammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi.
OMG I think spell check just crashed! Anyway, my vote is we just refer to him as Saddam-my. (pronounced like sodomy)
For the record, here's the official Library of Congress rundown on how to spell ol' whatsisname: (1) Muammar Qaddafi, (2) Mo'ammar Gadhafi, (3) Muammar Kaddafi, (4) Muammar Qadhafi, (5) Moammar El Kadhafi, (6) Muammar Gadafi, (7) Mu'ammar al-Qadafi, (8) Moamer El Kazzafi, (9) Moamar al-Gaddafi, (10) Mu'ammar Al Qathafi, (11) Muammar Al Qathafi, (12) Mo'ammar el-Gadhafi, (13) Moamar El Kadhafi, (14) Muammar al-Qadhafi, (15) Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi, (16) Mu'ammar Qadafi, (17) Moamar Gaddafi, (18) Mu'ammar Qadhdhafi, (19) Muammar Khaddafi, (20) Muammar al-Khaddafi, (21) Mu'amar al-Kadafi, (22) Muammar Ghaddafy, (23) Muammar Ghadafi, (24) Muammar Ghaddafi, (25) Muamar Kaddafi, (26) Muammar Quathafi, (27) Muammar Gheddafi, (28) Muamar Al-Kaddafi, (29) Moammar Khadafy, (30) Moammar Qudhafi, (31) Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi, (32) Mulazim Awwal Mu'ammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi.
OMG I think spell check just crashed! Anyway, my vote is we just refer to him as Saddam-my. (pronounced like sodomy)
3/20/11
To "any sailor"
When I was in the US Navy, Montel Williams had a show that was popular. He asked people to write letters addressed "to any sailor" onboard the USS Independence. We got tons of letters from good people who were interested and concerned for us. Some of the sailors were pretty disappointing and never responded to the letters they got. If I saw someone throwing away any of the letters, I would retrieve them and respond. I stayed up late trying to answer everyone who took time to write to us.
One letter was from a 5th grade girl who had limited mental capacity. Her name was Kaneisha. Her letters never included her last name and the return address was to a school. She wrote me 15 letters in all and each time they included a note from her teacher explaining that every letter returned to her was read in front of her classmates. Sometimes they weren't easy to decipher but I did manage with help from my shipmates. Every time I answered all of her questions. Her last letter included a photo of her and her classmates.
I also became friends with Dave and Patti Hammett from Portland Oregon. They sent me T-shirts and even came to see me while I was checking out of the Navy in Bangor Washington. They sent cookies which I shared with the guys from my squadron too. Patti was a huge Nascar fan...#3 Dale Earnhardt at the time. Damn fine people.
A kid that I worked with wasn't very bright...and he was getting letters from a woman in Connecticut. I helped him write letters to her and included one from me, I explained that he was just a young guy and he needed a little help. Samantha started writing to me as well. She sent a few pictures as well and damn if she wasn't a knockout! Samantha was well above my social class but we did have a lot in common. We exchanged letters for 3 years.
I corresponded with about 40 different people as a result of Montel's show. I got more mail from those people than I did from my own family. When you are out at sea and you don't have much to look forward to, other than more work...it's great to get mail! That's what "supporting the troops" is all about! It was an experience that will forever be close to my heart. Not everyone that received those letters responded, but if you did...you got to know some very good people!
One letter was from a 5th grade girl who had limited mental capacity. Her name was Kaneisha. Her letters never included her last name and the return address was to a school. She wrote me 15 letters in all and each time they included a note from her teacher explaining that every letter returned to her was read in front of her classmates. Sometimes they weren't easy to decipher but I did manage with help from my shipmates. Every time I answered all of her questions. Her last letter included a photo of her and her classmates.
I also became friends with Dave and Patti Hammett from Portland Oregon. They sent me T-shirts and even came to see me while I was checking out of the Navy in Bangor Washington. They sent cookies which I shared with the guys from my squadron too. Patti was a huge Nascar fan...#3 Dale Earnhardt at the time. Damn fine people.
A kid that I worked with wasn't very bright...and he was getting letters from a woman in Connecticut. I helped him write letters to her and included one from me, I explained that he was just a young guy and he needed a little help. Samantha started writing to me as well. She sent a few pictures as well and damn if she wasn't a knockout! Samantha was well above my social class but we did have a lot in common. We exchanged letters for 3 years.
I corresponded with about 40 different people as a result of Montel's show. I got more mail from those people than I did from my own family. When you are out at sea and you don't have much to look forward to, other than more work...it's great to get mail! That's what "supporting the troops" is all about! It was an experience that will forever be close to my heart. Not everyone that received those letters responded, but if you did...you got to know some very good people!
3/19/11
UFC 128 Picks
Benevidez over Loveland
√ WINNER unanimous decision 30-27 all three judges
Tibau over Pellegrino
√ WINNER split decision for Tibau
Pyle over Almeida
√ WINNER unanimous decision
Barboza to DESTROY Njokuani
√ WINNER Barboza eeked out a victory, Njokuani was way better than I gave him credit. The spinning back kick with seconds in the fight was the clincher!
Marshall over Cane *UPDATE*..I'll take Cane instead, I thought it was Doug, "the Rhino" Marshall!
√ WINNER Changed the pick when I saw the fighters...and realized it wasn't Doug Marshall. It was a TKO in about 2 minutes.
No more changes...if you didn't see the update before the fight, I know it looks cheesy, but it was up before they started the fight.
Schaub handing Cro cop another defeat
√ WINNER Mirko suffers another brutal knockout! He looked pretty decent this time around until Schaub caught him mid-kick with a punch that dropped him like the Gonzaga knockout. Good fight!
Miller to squeak one out over Marquardt
X LOSER Marquardt looked great, you never know which Nate is going to show up..Miller threatened a few times via guillotine, but couldn't handle Nate. Good win against a very game opponent!
Shalorus may surprise and beat Miller
Damn, I got the two Miller brothers mixed up too.. I like Jim Miller but I'll stick to my pick.
X LOSER Yep, I had the two Miller brothers mixed up but Jim just knocked his ass out!
Faber over Wineland
√ WINNER Urijah took control from the 2nd round and had the speed to get takedowns and land good solid strikes. He wasn't even out of breath during the interview.
Jon Jones to brutalize Shogun Rua
√ WINNER Total destruction by Jones! Three rounds of just absolute beatdown...I don't think anybody is going to beat Jones for a long time. Only weakness I see is he might get submitted by a good jiu jitsu guy...not likely with his reach and unusual strikes. Let's see Anderson Silva move up to 205 against this kid...would get his ass stomped!
Good fights tonight! I loved it.
√ WINNER unanimous decision 30-27 all three judges
Tibau over Pellegrino
√ WINNER split decision for Tibau
Pyle over Almeida
√ WINNER unanimous decision
Barboza to DESTROY Njokuani
√ WINNER Barboza eeked out a victory, Njokuani was way better than I gave him credit. The spinning back kick with seconds in the fight was the clincher!
Marshall over Cane *UPDATE*..I'll take Cane instead, I thought it was Doug, "the Rhino" Marshall!
√ WINNER Changed the pick when I saw the fighters...and realized it wasn't Doug Marshall. It was a TKO in about 2 minutes.
No more changes...if you didn't see the update before the fight, I know it looks cheesy, but it was up before they started the fight.
Schaub handing Cro cop another defeat
√ WINNER Mirko suffers another brutal knockout! He looked pretty decent this time around until Schaub caught him mid-kick with a punch that dropped him like the Gonzaga knockout. Good fight!
Miller to squeak one out over Marquardt
X LOSER Marquardt looked great, you never know which Nate is going to show up..Miller threatened a few times via guillotine, but couldn't handle Nate. Good win against a very game opponent!
Shalorus may surprise and beat Miller
Damn, I got the two Miller brothers mixed up too.. I like Jim Miller but I'll stick to my pick.
X LOSER Yep, I had the two Miller brothers mixed up but Jim just knocked his ass out!
Faber over Wineland
√ WINNER Urijah took control from the 2nd round and had the speed to get takedowns and land good solid strikes. He wasn't even out of breath during the interview.
Jon Jones to brutalize Shogun Rua
√ WINNER Total destruction by Jones! Three rounds of just absolute beatdown...I don't think anybody is going to beat Jones for a long time. Only weakness I see is he might get submitted by a good jiu jitsu guy...not likely with his reach and unusual strikes. Let's see Anderson Silva move up to 205 against this kid...would get his ass stomped!
Good fights tonight! I loved it.
3/16/11
Sonny Good
My Uncle Sonny passed away this morning. He fought the good fight against cancer. I cannot express how deeply sorrowful I am for Aunt Barbara and their kids.
Sonny was one of the hardest working men I ever knew. He earned my respect and many others. He basically wore his body down laying tile for most of his life. On the jobsite, as well as his personal life, he could be fierce if the occasion arrived. Mostly he was a calm and caring gent that always tried to do the right thing.
He was a fun guy to be around too. I remember him playing guitar and singing old cowboy songs for us when we were kids at Christmas time. In his later years, he couldn't play guitar anymore from pain in his hands. I truly miss the funny songs that he could belt out. He had a love for country music and I'm not sure if everyone knew that about him.
His favorite thing to do was to read the newspaper daily while sipping coffee. Every day he read the paper cover to cover, it was like a ritual. The last time I stayed at their house, his hearing was getting bad. He left the television on all night with the volume at high levels. How he fell asleep like that simply amazed me. Reflecting back, I wouldn't trade that night for anything!
I loved you Uncle Sonny and I miss your smile! You were a shining example of how to be a man. I hope to one day be as good as you were!
Funeral service will be next Thursday March 24th @ 2:30pm. 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive Houston,TX 77038
3/11/11
Earthquake/Tsunami 2011
CNN's coverage is ridiculous. They have great footage but their anchor Suzanne is an idiot. They keep mentioning no American lives lost..I'm glad to hear that but deeply saddened to see the loss of lives from any country. The images initially had me very worried for my friends still stationed over there. Thankfully I haven't heard that any of my friends even sustained injuries.
I was mortified by some of the video of people still inside cars that were floating away. Seeing the water engulf and overtake house after house was devastating. Those are good, hard working people who just lost everything in a few moments. Mother Nature can be quite a beast and there is NO taming her!
There will be crazies who blame this on the moon being so close, God having his revenge and I'm sure some will blame Obama. We live on a violent planet and sometimes people live very close to events that occur in nature. Earth has a way of telling us not to build too close to the water, or near volcanoes or polar caps.
Today was a terrible tragedy. Try to remember that disaster can strike anyone at any time. I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone, including enemies.
I was mortified by some of the video of people still inside cars that were floating away. Seeing the water engulf and overtake house after house was devastating. Those are good, hard working people who just lost everything in a few moments. Mother Nature can be quite a beast and there is NO taming her!
There will be crazies who blame this on the moon being so close, God having his revenge and I'm sure some will blame Obama. We live on a violent planet and sometimes people live very close to events that occur in nature. Earth has a way of telling us not to build too close to the water, or near volcanoes or polar caps.
Today was a terrible tragedy. Try to remember that disaster can strike anyone at any time. I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone, including enemies.
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