ahhhh Mexico. Got back home late Monday night. Finally feel rested and recovered. Had a hell of a lot of fun. Drinking, dancing, walking around, getting some sun and well having fun ;) I really needed to relax and enjoy a few days of fun and distraction.

Oh, in case you thought I forgot about the War, I didnt. Reading through the latest issue of TIME, I see a picture that symbolizes exactly what (most) protestors were taking to the streets for...a picture of a 12 year-old Iraqi boy with no arms, and severe burns on his body. Its right there in TIME and no matter how "evil" Saddam was or how many thousands of innocent Iraqis he may have tortured or killed if we didnt stop him...It doesnt matter, because my taxes paid for the bomb that maimed this boy and killed his entire family. And looking online for a link to this picture, I see a picture of a coffin with an American flag on it, the first one I have seen yet, my taxes paid to put that young Marine in that coffin also. So for all the celebrating being done today, I think of the price of it all, and what we still have to accomplish to ensure it was worth it.

What a nice day. One of our vendors same by today with sandwhiches for the office, and on his way out, gave me some gift certificates to California Pizza Kitchen...mmmmm pizza. Nothing makes me happier than free stuff from vendors. It really makes it all worthwhile. Ok not everything, but it sure makes the day more tolerable and me less likely to leave work early. Although, I do plan on skipping work Monday for the Mexico trip this weekend. I am watching the Simpsons right now, its the one where Lisa ruins Homer's BBQ...well she sends the roast pig flying and I just realized the episode where Lisa decides to live in a tree to keep it from being cut down, at the end of that one the tree/log goes into the sea and just keeps going much like the pig does at the end of this episode. I dunno, I just find that interesting, and now I want to find out if there are other episodes where objects just keep going at the end...Ok so I have too much time on my hands. Excise me if my brain just works that way.

Oh happy news....ok well Im a jerk for being happy about it, but Jennifer Garner is breaking up with her husband. Ah how sad, yah. But it's really for the best. After all....blah blah. Ok, so I still have no chance with her, and I probably wouldnt like her personally anyway, but its just nice to know the option is there...Listen I can choose to believe its an option if I want to. So lets not rain on my parade just now, and I wont burst whatever bubbles keep you waking up each morning. Deal?

Who the hell are these journalists who are complaining and acting indignant about journalists dying in this War? Thousands of Iraqi soldiers dead, thousands of Iraqi civilians wounded, over a hundred US/UK troops killed....and a handful of journalists killed creates this massive outcry of criticism...Is this still Earth? Like the US military is going to take deliberate aim at journalists with the inent to kill them? At least the Iraqi civilians live there, the soldiers on both sides are following orders...these damn journalists CHOOSE to be in the middle of a war zone. An Australian journalist is killed in a suicide bombing and you dont hear any huge outcry by Al-Jezeera about it...nooo. Not til one of their journalists are dead, then they cry foul. I wish I could just go live in a bunker somewhere and never come out to hear about this crazy place and screwed up priorities.

Went to Office Depot today, and got a good deal on blank CD's, Buy 100pk get 100pk free plus 2 25pk of slim jewel cases free. So I really have to burn more music. Not that I would ever violate a copyright.... uhm, anyhoo...So the War is progressing rather well. Looks like the major fighting should be over in the next week or so. I am glad that I have been hearing from the polls that most Americans think the real tough part is ahead. Just sucks that the Bush Admin, doesnt want to play nice with the UN. Whatever conservatives may think about the UN, I hope they have brains enough to realize we need the UN's involvement to help legitimize what we do there. ..And who decided to make a series of Tremors? I really need to get into the entertainment bizniz.

Whheeeeee well I just made reservations for a weekend in Mexico, Rosorito Beach to be exact...going with a couple friends from work. Should be a lot of fun. I am going as the voice of wisdom and reason...basically to keep them out of a Mexican jail. Course with my luck they will just goad me into acting more like they do, and then the trouble will really begin. Really looking forward to it though, havent had a nice getaway since New York last June. All part of my new way of living. Enjoy life.

Ah Sunday night, new episodes of some of my favorite shows. Its a great way to end a nice day. Did my usual laundry and lunch, plus banking and a few other errands. I probably should have gotten my hair cut. After really thinking about it, I dont want to grow it out. But I will keep it longish. It's supposed to get cooler this week, which will be welcome after this warm weekend. It was nice, but it made me wish I had summers off again so I could just sit at the beach all day. Oh well, maybe next year if all goes well. So as much as I love Alias, its starting to get old with the disobeying orders and going on unauthorized missions sorta thing. Which really surprises me because the writing is usually pretty good. But now I think they are usuing tried and true formulas which change from tried to tired. But the suspense and action do compensate. Oh and of course Jennifer Garner.

It was a very hot day today. In the high 80's. It wasnt too bad at home, nice ocean breeze to cool things down, but I went inland a bit to go to the movies, and I swear it felt like the middle of summer more than the beginning of spring. I wasnt much surprised by the suicide bombing in Iraq today at a checkpoint. Its the occupation that will be tough. When people talk of a "new Marshall Plan" or compare rebuilding Iraq to Japan and Germany after WWII....they tend to forget that the people of Japan and Germany had been at war for over 5 years, and by the time the Allies/US occupied them, they had enough. As I said before, we can look forward to the kind of problems the Israelis face. The whole idea that just because the people hate Saddam means they will embrace us is insane. Its funny because for so many years the Republicans have screamed against 'nation building' and 'policing the world'. And yet here we are......Ah well, I will watch South Park and feel much better. Jimmy and Timmy join the Crips, thinking its for handicap people....funny stuff. Was thinking the other how much fun it would be to give Crank Yankers our corporate presidents phone number. The other day he had a sandwich and left it out, it stayed out in the kitchen for two days, so I put it on his desk. It felt so good. I heard from someone that he wasnt happy about it when he actually had to throw it away himself. The lazy bastard. I have seen him do this before. It gets old. And its worse when he makes coffee, god what a mess he makes. Then always leaves his dirty dishes around. I have already thought about what to do on Tuesday...April 1st. Ah how I love a good April Fools Day joke......

I am voting for General Wesley Clark if he runs...I wish he would anchor the latenight CNN news and not Aaron Brown...I feel so bad for these people who lose family in the War and have some dip-shit anchor asking them lame questions. Obviously the family agrees to an interview to honor the memory of the ones lost and to keep that memory alive and to share it with others. But why the hell cant the anchors stop being so damned stupid?....Ok enough of that.....Feel tired today, weather is getting warmer, we are supposed to have Santa Ana winds tomorrow and Saturday....ugh. Always dry and hot, and makes me sneeze, not a lot of fun. Normally we get ocean breezes from west to east, but the Santa Ana winds blow from the south up against the Santa Ana mountains and then blows east to west....I am looking forward to this weekend, its been one of those weeks.

It's not that I only get my news from Comedy Central's Daily Show with John Stewart...it's just that I like the spin they put on it. And their coverage of the War in Iraq has been great. Its a less paranoid version of some of what Michael Moore would think. I certainly dont think this is some great conspiracy, but c'mon Haliburton, just got a contract to rebuild oil pipelines in Iraq. And while it doesnt have to result in some federal investigation, it is nice to see that some people at least raise a few eyebrows about it. Any....listen to the news and every attack by Iraqi's is not an attack its an "ambush". Like somehow they arent supposed to do that. Although the other dirty tricks they use, will only result in US forces showing less mercy and kindness. ....It still amazes me how the Media keeps saying that there are 'setbacks' and tougher resistance than expected. I cant imagine that the Pentagon didnt expect even more resistance. Invading and securing a country of 24 million people can't be easy and accomplished in a week or two. The fact that we, and yes I think of it as we.., the fact that we are so damn close to Baghdad is a testament to our well trained and well equipped armed forces. Before this started, it was my opinion that going to war and potentially sacrificing American lives to get Saddam was not worth it. It wouldnt have been my decision if I was the president....yet it's been decided by the president..fundamentalist-narrow-minded-cowboy that he is.....And now that we are there it would be nice if protestors would write themselves a reminder to VOTE during elections in the first place. And I know most of them didnt vote in 2000. How stupid can they be? Yah, I was against GOING to war...but once we have committed forces, and worse, lost American lives over it, Damn if we are going to sign a truce, and come back home for nothing. And cant't the media just shut up and stop reporting long enough to think. I HATE Aaron Brown on CNN. That schmuck is so freekin stupid. I cant stand him. Only thing worse on CNN is Larry King. That cadaver is even more annoying......
....Oh and as much as Bush#2 is anti-UN I hope he has the sense to allow the UN more of a role in rebuilding Iraq. That is the only way we can gain some credibility and more important....UN peacekeepers. Hopefully from Pakistan....Why? You ask....Because take a look at Palestine or worse, Lebanon in the 80's. The last thing we need is US soldiers occupying Iraq. We will have more suicide bombers trying to take out US positions and personnel. Pakistan is well known for its peacekeeping forces...and they are Muslim...albeit not Arabs...but they would not face the kind of violent opposition that US men and women would.That is where the real risks lie....Just think about it...it makes sense. More sense than HUGE tax cuts and increased spending while the government runs in the red.....damn cowboy.

Well I wish I didnt have to mention the War in Iraq, but its difficult to avoid thinking of it for more than a few hours. Although watching The Princess Bride on cable was quite a nice break from hearing about the war. That is one of my all-time favorite movies. Excellent book too. Though you get more of the emotional impact from the movie and the theme of true love...as mythical as that is. But I was able to not think about the war for a bit. Looks like there are protests in every country now. Its really sad, how Bush#2 has no concept of P.R., Sprite is full of shit, because Image does count. And right now we have a bad image to the eyes of the world. And blah blah all you want about Terror or Saddam, or protecting America...we have gone about it the wrong way. Sure sometimes you have to do the right thing no matter what others think...but we dont live in a vacuum. We live in a world where we have to deal with other nations and their people. And pissing them off to such an extent is just bad for our national interests. Oh and can they stop calling it a Coalition? The USA and the UK...DO NOT qualify as a coalition anymore than Ringo and Paul are the Beatles. With the coalition and Axis, I think that Bush#2 didnt do so well in school. He's always grabbing these terms to create some link to the past. What Bush#2 really needs is to get drunk, do a few lines and lighten up like he used to.

Ok, so we have begun the conquest of Iraq.....Now sure I think our motives....well not "ours" as in mine or maybe yours, but rather Bush #2's motives.....I think the motives really are based on revenge and hatred agasint Saddam, as well as making Daddy Bush #1 proud. I mean I know that a lot of my life has been guided by making my parents proud and to gain and keep their acceptance..as well as the inheritance...anyway.....So Bush#2's motives are also, a true desire to keep America safe...yah I dont like him, but I think he believes he is doing what is best for America, I dont doubt that, but we also have Oil. The fact that rebuilding Iraq contracts are going to be given to his contributors is obviously a factor......But my main point here is whatever I think about his motives, and the fact that I think we shouldnt be starting a war......I think that since the decision was made to take over Iraq last summer, and make no mistake, it was well decided and written in stone this would happen during the summer. Everything else has just been leading to this.......Anyway, its been decided, lets do it, do it right, and prevail. Im not so against it that I will march, and once the fighting starts I'll be damned if I want to see anything other than total victory with minimum loss of life...on both sides.
The rebuilding process will be long and tough. Especially when a year from now people grow weary and we dont completely instil in the Iraqi people the ideals of democracy. Afghanistan is a prime example...after the Soviets left the US should have done more to help them rebuild, instead we left the door open for the Taliban. I just dont want to see the same shit again, with the US putting in an unstable puppet, then walking away as reactionary and fundamentalists revolt and we end up with a regime worse than Saddam.
Well, I hope all goes well.

So I am thinking that its time we just get on with this war, take over Iraq, give out those fat contracts to Bush's Buddies to rebuild the very same things we will bomb, and get gas prices back down to the low prices we demand. All this waiting and back and forth crap is silly. The decision was made in the summer, the rest is just a pretense so we dont look like war mongers. Bush #1 got away with it in Panama, so its only likely that Bush #2 thinks it will be a cakewalk....

Watching 'Entropy'...best part of the movie is just the idea of marrying a complete stranger. Not like Married by America...Its sad how they call it reality TV when there is nothing real about ANY of those shows, with the exception of COPS, hell most times I doubt the News is real. Anyhoo, so the guy in the movie meets this chick at a party, and decides they should just get married and see how it works from there. I think its a brilliant idea. Completely nutty but brilliant at the same time. By the way, its not the main story line it the movie, just something I have always liked about it. Although he married a chick who sucks her thumb and holds her 'raggie' LOL. My ex used to have her childhood blanket, god it was awful, that was a raggie. This movie also employs the use of a talking cat who smokes. Which brings to mind 'Ruben & Ed' with Cripsin Glover.Oh yah cant wait to see Willard. That is one freeeeky dude. The movie involves his quest to bury his dead cat, who used to water ski and as he likes to brag, could eat a whole watermelon. If you can ever find it, rent it. You'll be sorry and glad u did at the same time.

Ok, so the new pc is running smoothly now. Just need to add a case fan because the video card is heating things up. I am so freekin sick of hearing about Michael Jackson. I dont give a damn if he throws his kid from a balcony or takes a bath in Clorox. Lets just try and concentrate on the real important issues today, The O.J. errr I mean Robert Blake trial. Few weeks ago I ranted about how people cling to their lies, well this man has wrapped himself so tightly with his, you'd think Martha Stewart gift wrapped the poor slob.

Well, my new computer arrived. My roommate was cool enough to lend me his XP disc, and today I took it for a test drive. Looks and runs great, especially for the deal I got. More than likely I will upgrade the sound and video card within the next 6months. But I am in no hurry. I have to figure out what to do about having two computers. I dont have enough room to run them side by side like my roommate does, and if I just move my spare hard drive from the old one to the new one, then I can get rid of the old Emachine. Its still a great pc, it just doesnt have the speed and capacity for the fun stuff.....
......Nice early day for me. Dropped the boss off at the airport, and just went home from there. Which gives me time to do some cleaning before my father comes to visit. I havent seen him since Christmas, which I kinda feel bad about not visiting the folks more often. When I was teaching I used to have much more time to take mini-vacations. Of course now I have more money to take bigger vacations. Should be able to take a trip to New York by May and might still be able to head over to Spain by September. I just need to manage my time better and I could even get to travel to some of our other offices around the country. Then I can be like one of those Lifetime movie guys who has a families in like 6 different cities.

It strikes me as funny sometimes just how stupid people can be. It almost seems like they put a lot of effort into it. As though stupidity was a badge and they wear it proudly. I prefer honesty stupidity over dishonest stupidity though. Like when people lie to you and yet you know for certain what the truth is, and yet they still cling to their lies like a warm blanket. And there is no shortage of these people. Not that intelligent people are any better, just as many of them are ruled by greed, selfishness, immaturity and other such flaws....Yah I'm in one of those moods. At times I feel surrounded by these people.....as well South Park will make it seem better.

Went to the movies and saw Daredevil. Was suprisingly better than I thought it would be. And of course Jennifer Garner was superhot in it. Finalized my purchase of a new computer on ebay. Was a pretty good deal, consulted a couple friends of mine who have put systems together and they both agreed it was a great buy. Now I can hardly wait to get it and try it out. Will prolly have to put in a different sound card though. That is really the only thing against it. But at that price, paying for a sound card is no big deal. Can probably find the one I want on ebay. I am also in a great mood today, not like a happy mood, but a great mood in that I am motivated and getting some things done at work and at home. No one will ever take care of you except yourself.

Beautiful rainy day today. Nothing makes me quite as happy as rain. Days like this I miss being a kid and going to Disneyland on a day like this. No lines, just run through the rides over and over. Work is going well, accomplished so much last week, had about 3 hours to kill doing nothing today. Course, I would have actually liked to get more work done. Mostly so I can do nothing on Friday. Yanno spend a romantic Valentines day alone with myself. Course Daredevil comes out Friday. So I may have to go see that. Jennifer Garner as Elektra...mmmmm. Movie will prolly be lame though. Ah well at least there will be some cool trailers to see.