November 2007

Attack of the Hallucinogenic Toad Licker…

Back in the day my nickname was ‘the drug’. I’m not necessarily proud of it, but things are what they are. I got the nickname because I was the guinea pig. The dude that would try everything and anything to see if you could get wasted. Many brain cells were wasted, that’s for darn sure. One thing I never tried was Toad-Licking but I have heard of it. Apparently a Kansas City dude has as well because he caught one and started licking it. And got high. And got busted. hehe.

It’s illegal to lick toads? What’s up with that?

Here’s the news report from Newscom…

 

So did I ever tell you that my penis was hallucinogenic? No? Come on over and give it a lick…

Alabama Teen Died From Gunshot Wound

For the last week or so we’ve had flyers up in my restaurant for missing Alabama teen Benjamin Stanford, who was last seen in Anniston, Alabama on the 5th. His Jeep Cherokee turned up in the town where my three stores are located, just about seven miles from my house and they have been searching the area ever since.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday there have been choppers flying all over the area as well as a pretty hefty police presence. As a matter of fact, although it’s completely unrelated, when I arrived at my meeting Monday afternoon at one of my restaurants, there were about eight officers with weapons drawn in the parking lot of the motel that sits behind it. I went inside pretty quickly although I was torn between staying outside and shooting some photos and actually going in to the meeting. Apparently it was a drug bust in one of the rooms but with all of the cops I saw yesterday it made me think about it.

I had to go to the Home Depot yesterday shortly before lunch to get some paint (which I have spent the last two days using in my stores) and as I was leaving I went out the back way up a road alongside a car dealership. There must have been 20 or 30 police cars from several different jurisdictions as well as news crews all hanging around. I kind of figured that they must have found the boy and sure enough they did.

According to the Carroll County Coroner, Sammy Eady, he had a gunshot wound consistent with suicide, but the Sheriff’s department is investigating anyway. His body was found about a 1000 feet from where his jeep turned up a few days ago.

Lot’s of excitement for my small but growing area and certainly not the kind of excitement anybody particularly wants. I feel bad for his family, regardless of whether Stanford killed himself or if there was foul play involved. Losing a child has got to be one of the most awful things that a parent can go through.

 

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One Way To Get Rid of Cell Phones

Although I have several (quite a few actually) old cell phones stashed in my desk drawer, some of them broken, I can’t seem to bring myself to throw them out (how’s THAT for a run on sentence by golly?!). My local Verizon dealer has a bin where I can take them and dump them but that’s 20 miles away and I just never seem to find the free time to just go get rid of them. Apparently I’m not the only one because something like 100 million cell phones are retired each year according to CellForCash, who offers us a way to recycle cell phones and actually pays cash for them. Very sweet. There is quite a bit of useful information over at their site. Here is the latest press release from CellForCash.

This America Recycles Day CellForCash.com Wants to Pay You to Recycle Your Old Cell Phones More than 100 million cell phones are retired each year in the United States, and most are just stashed away adding to an already hazardous stockpile. CellForCash.com lets you upgrade without the guilt when you sell your old cell phone online. OCALA, FL, November 14, 2007 –- Has the latest cell phone in the TV commercials got your number? Do you want to upgrade your feature-challenged cell phone for the feature-rich model and do the right thing for the environment? CellForCash.com enables you to upgrade without the guilt by recycling your old cell phone for cash. Over the last few years the environmental hazard discarded cell phones can cause has become a growing concern. Research has found cell phones to leach hazardous levels of lead when disposed of in landfill conditions. As a result, programs banning electronic devices from regular trash pickups are becoming more common throughout the country. Some research suggests that less than 10% of cell phones are recycled. Others say only about 5% of people will recycle their old cell phones, and a few actually do throw them in the garbage. In any event, every month more and more cell phones are added to the stockpile. “America Recycles Day is a great time to remind people that the old cell phone they have stashed away shouldn’t be trashed,” said James Mosieur, CEO of RMS Communications, the company that operates CellForCash.com. “Responsibly recycling an old cell phone is free, easy, and it may even come with a payoff.” Mosieur encourages people to visit CellForCash.com before buying a new cell phone. “Consumers should be determined to recycle even before they choose a new phone,” he says. “Besides, getting $20 for your old phone could make the difference between getting the model you want and just settling for the one you can afford”. CellForCash.com pays for over 600 different models of used cell phones and then re-markets them around the world. Payouts range from just a few dollars to well over $200 for each qualifying cell phone. If your phone does not qualify for payment, CellForCash.com will recycle it for free. Printing a pre-paid mailing label from the website and handing the package to your postman is a lot more convenient than going to the local landfill. Some recycled cell phones are used in the company sponsored 911 Cell Phone Bank program, which provides no-cost emergency cell phones to the elderly and victims of abuse throughout the country. Over 1,500 cell phones are donated to law enforcement and other agencies every month. “Phone upgrades do create a dilemma for the environmentally responsible, especially since most people already have a few stockpiled,” Mosieur said. “But as more consumers learn about recycling solutions like CellForCash.com, they’ll realize there is an immediate payoff for recycling; cash today and a healthy environment in the future.” About CellForCash.com CellForCash.com pays cash for used cell phones, and makes the process simple by displaying the phones it will buy and the prices it will pay for them right on the web site. It also provides sellers with already-addressed, postage-paid mailing boxes. The site lists over 600 models from 21 manufacturers including Motorola, Nokia, LG, and Samsung. For more information visit the web site at www.CellForCash.com. ####

This Post was Sponsored by CellForCash.com

Put That Sucker UNDER the Jail…

Just received a tweet on my phone whilst taking a lovely dump and what fitting news to get while on the crapper. O.J. is going to have to stand trial for Conspiracy, Kidnapping, Robbery, Burglary, Coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.

Bwahaha. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy.

I can remember back when he was arrested for murder back in the ’90s. I was still BBSing at that point online, and doing the same thing at work as I am doing now. I used to chat with my buddy Nightfalcon, who I think is in Tallahassee or some place right now. Anyway, we would talk about OJ and I was sure that bastard was going to be convicted.

Things are a bit different in Vegas than they are in Los Angeles though, particularly in the demographics of the area. He has pled not guilty to 12 criminal counts, which if convicted could get him sent to prison for life. One can only hope…

Wednesday Hero

Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle
 
 
Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle 21 years old from Los Angeles, California Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6 (“Darkhorse” Battalion)

 

Cpl. Jordan M. Moehnle takes time out of leading his squad in a patrol through Fallujah’s Nazaal district to spend some time interacting with local children. Moehnle, who is on his second tour in Iraq, said the changes he has witnessed since he was last here in 2006 have been dramatic. “The city was like the Wild West, we’d put our heads and and drive down (the middle of Fallujah) and hope not to get shot,” he said. “Since we’ve been here (this year), we can stop and shoot the breeze.”
 
You can read more here.
 
 

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero. We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

 

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

 

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Wordless Wednesday

Took this while the youngest was still singing last night prior to recording both of them.

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Teasing Mr Alligator

RePete does this much better by herself but Pete (the eldest) wanted to be part of. This was the third time she had sung it and some of the enthusiasm had died by the time I actually recorded it. They had a good time though, obviously.

Queensryche: Take Cover

Queensryche has long been one of my Favorite bands. With exception to some of the stuff on DVD I have most of the stuff that they have released since the band was formed in the early eighties including some of the LPs still sealed.

Their newest endeavor is a covers album entitled accordingly ‘Take Cover’. It is currently available online through their web site at Queensryche.com as well as on iTunes and most likely Amazon.

Queensryche is not known for being a cover band. They don’t normally play many live so this was definitely something new for them.

I am about halfway through listening to the album right now and I like it, but this is NOT an album for the casual heavy metal or rock listener. If you are not a ‘ryche fan then this album may or may not be to your taste.

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The track list is pretty eclectic. Below is the list of tracks, original artist, as well as why they chose to include each song.

‘Welcome To The Machine’ – PINK FLOYD
“Pink Floyd is one of the biggest influences on us as a band, and we all wanted to play one of their songs. This track meant a lot to all of us growing up. It really captures that feeling of shock at lost innocence when the curtain is pulled back and you realize what the world is really like. We didn’t want to mess with the original, so we gave the song a totally different arrangement.”

‘Heaven On Their Minds’ – Jesus Christ Superstar
“Stone had been playing this to me since he joined the band and, coincidently and so had his predecessor Kelly Gray. I liked the song, but this was one of the rare cases where I thought we could improve on the original recording. Stone put together a really cool arrangement. I think people will be surprised by this song.”

‘Almost Cut My Hair’ – CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG
“I thought this would be a great song for us to do. Musically, the guitar and vocal harmonies are amazing, and lyrically, it’s right on the money. It was a lot of fun arranging this song.”

‘For What It’s Worth’ – BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD
“When we’re touring, a lot of radio morning shows invite us to the studio to talk about the tour and have us play a couple of songs on acoustic guitars. This is one of the songs we like to throw in every once in a while.”

‘For The Love Of Money’ – THE O’JAYS
“This was one of the most challenging and enjoyable songs to record and another track that will probably catch people off guard. The vocal phrasing is impeccable and the whole song has such an irresistible groove.”

‘Innuendo’ – QUEEN
“Michael brought this song in and the idea about how we should approach it. I love Queen, but I didn’t know much about this song. I found out later that this was one of the last songs Freddie Mercury recorded before he died. He sang it from a wheelchair like his life depended on it. It’s such an impassioned performance. When I was in the studio recording, I pictured Freddie and tried to imagine what it must have been like for him to sing this song facing his own mortality. I could never hope to top it; I just wanted to pay tribute to his performance.”

‘Neon Knights’ – BLACK SABBATH
“Ronnie [James Dio] took us out on our first European tour and he’s always been good to us. He’s singing with Black Sabbath right now and we’re going out on the road together again. With the tour coming up, this seemed like a nice way to pay tribute to him. I hope he likes it, or I’m sure I’ll hear about it every night of the tour.”

‘Synchronicity II’ – THE POLICE
“This is another song I didn’t know much about. Not sure how I missed it, because that album was everywhere. Our version has a great dark vibe that I really like.”

‘Red Rain’ – PETER GABRIEL
“This is another song I overlooked when it came out. One of the guys played it, and I knew immediately that we had to do it. The melody of this song is flawless. It could go on and on and never get old.”

‘Odissea’ – CARLO MARRALE & CHEOPE
“I really like this song because there is a lot for a singer to sink their teeth into, plus I got a chance to sing in Italian, which was interesting considering I don’t speak a word of it.

‘Bullet The Blue Sky’ – U2 (Live)
“This is one of the rare times that we played a cover live. I don’t remember exactly when or where we played this, but I do remember that we were locked in. Everything came together just right musically, and I evidently had a lot on my mind that night because I wasn’t shy with my social commentary.”

I still haven’t completely finished listening to the album in it’s entirety but once I get home from work I will get it finished. Unfortunately the songs are not among those on iTunes that are ‘iTunes plus’ or unprotected mp3 format, so I cannot listen to them on my PDA while I am in the car. Knowing how much Queensryche have embraced technology and the Internet during their career I must say that I am surprised at this.

Thus far, having listened to about half of the stuff, I must say that Neon Knights, the Black Sabbath/Dio cover is my favorite, as well as Bullet the Blue Sky. U2 is OK and while not one of my favorites I enjoyed this cover as well.

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Tuesday Open Track-Backs

Just a quick early week open track-back post. If you have something interesting that you want others to see, please feel free to send me a ping on this entry and your link will show up here. Please be aware that quite often Movabletype catches trackbacks as spam and it can sometimes sit in my spam folder up to 24 hours. Normally I will check them when I wake up and before I go to bed and I will get them published as soon as possible. For more information on Open Track-backs, please visit Linkfest Haven Deluxe at the link below.

Linkfest Haven, the Blogger's Oasis

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Right Truth, The Populist, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Adeline and Hazel, Pet’s Garden Blog, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, third world county, DragonLady’s World, Pirate’s Cove, Wake Up America, Dumb Ox Daily News, High Desert Wanderer, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Booger Eatin’ Morons…

What Is It About People…

That makes them gluttons for the punishment that I am gleefully going to distribute to the assholes tomorrow?

I should be abed currently. In bed. Whatever. Fucking asleep.

I asked one of my managers to get my sales and staffing this evening and to call them in to my boss at shift change tonight, about twenty minutes ago. When I stopped at the store I am running this evening after my Monday meeting I explained this to the employees there and told them I was going to attempt to get something called sleep. You know, the cheap caffeine substitute. I think I am coming down with something and either because of that or maybe because I’ve had about nine hours of sleep since Saturday evening I feel pretty damn wasted. Not good wasted either. Shitty wasted like I want to bite the heads off of small furry animals and spit them on people kind of wasted. That’s bad.

I told them the place had better be burning down for them to call me.

 

An aside before I go on…Since we started taking credit cards about a year and a half ago it has been a nice change. My bank deposits are smaller, which makes security issues easier, the people who pay via credit card normally tip higher averages than those who don’t, and everyone is happy. The waitresses get their tips at the end of the shift from the manager on duty unless they are just counting down the till with the next shift (about three or four nights a week) and then they have to leave them. I or one of my managers count up the credit card tips and stick them in envelopes the next day when we come in, for the waitresses to pick up at their convenience.

Convenience is a funny fucking word in this context.

 

So why is it that I am still awake sitting here eating chocolate bars and thinking about ripping Shrek’s guts out?

Because she fucking called me. Five minutes ago.

Was one of my restaurants burning to the ground?

Nope.

Perhaps I had been robbed?

Not this fine evening.

Had my manager not called and gotten sales?

No, he called, everyone is at work.

Perhaps the police came in and arrested one of my crack-whores?

Nope, all of the third shift is at work.

Shrek wanted her money.

Her credit card tips to be exact. She asked the guy playing my part if she could have them so he lied and told her he would call me and then call her back in five minutes. Twenty minutes later she called me to ask if she could get her five dollars before she left.

Five. Fucking. Dollars.

I get up at 4:30 every morning. I wonder what it would be like for the people on the other end if I just up and decided to call at 4:30 in the morning each and every one of the stupid fuckers that has ever decided that it was OK to call me and wake me up to ask some stupid fucking question that could have waited another eight hours for me to actually arrive at work…

Hasta mañana bitches.