'NUFF SAID

Nailed The Sneaky Little Snake!

Last week US Special Forces crossed from Iraq into Syria to take out al-Qaeda weapons smuggler Abu Ghadiya. This is the guy who has been sending in suicide bombers and weapons from just inside the border line: Nyaa, Nyaa, can't get me! Wanna bet?

We had been asking Syria to deal with this guy to no avail. For those of you crying about the evil United States blatently invading a soverign nation, let me ask you; How may of YOUR children are you willing to sacrifice to protect Syria's nasty little gamesmanship?

As the SEALs say, "you can run, but you'll only die tired."

HOT OFF THE PRESSES

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

This election cycle I'm hearing a lot of nonsense about the government stepping in and DOING something to fix the private sector. The suggestions mainly concern the economy, health care and energy. For those of you who went to school in the past thirty years or so here's a bit of wisdom: GOVERNMENTS DON'T PRODUCE ANYTHING WELL.

It is not the business of the government to get involved in business; it stinks at it. When businesses have a money problem they re-budget and find a way within their means to fix the problem. When government bureaucrats have a money problem their inevitable response is to demand more tax dollars. For instance, the city of LA fervently believes that the best way to get more people to use public transportation is to continually raise fares.

Government run economy? health care? energy? God help us. Have you tried to access ANY government program lately? How much fun did you have? Does the DMV (Department of Maniacal Vampires) ring any bells?

This morning, there was a letter to the editor in our local paper that said it well. I'll reproduce it for your enlightenment:

"Back in 1990 the government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting the economy of the world to a pack of nitwits who couldn't make money running a whorehouse and selling booze in Nevada."

That sums it up for me.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE BRIMSTONE

FOR MY UCLA BUDDIES

Revenge of the Nerds 2Squared

SISSY CHRISTIANS IN AN AGE OF TURMOIL

Author Doug Giles takes Christian Media to task for publishing spiritual candy instead of speaking to the issues of our times. In an article titled, Lame Christian Media is Culpable for our Cultural Corruption, Giles holds nothing back. Speaking like a latter-day Ezekiel, Giles excoriates Christian publishers and pastors--especially mega-church pastors--for timidity. Check out the article. It made me squirm.

MAJORING ON MINORS

THEY CAN DISH IT OUT...

THE BIGGER THEY ARE THE HARDER THEY ARE TO CLIMB

Finally, after three tries, I climbed Half Dome. It was the hardest physical labor I've ever done in my life. To put it in perspective, last week I hiked ten miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. The altitude varied from around 2500 feet to about 4500 feet. That hike took me five hours. Half Dome, from Little Yosemite Valley and back is approximately eight miles, ranging from @ 6,000 feet to 8,400 feet. THAT trip took me over nine hours to do round trip. It is brutal. And all the helpful SKINNY people along the trail, concerned I was going to have a myocardial infarction, were a real encouragement.

But I did it anyway. One woman, about 100 feet up the cables, asked me if Half Dome was my demon. I had to say yes, but now its exorcised. It was fantastic, majestic, downright awe-inspiring, but barring a radical change in health I'll never do it again.

BECAUSE ITS THERE AND I'M STUBBORN

Heading off to Yosemite tomorrow. This will be my third attempt at Half Dome in 15 months. The first two times I tried doing the 18 miles in one day. No go. This time my friend Rex and I will make it a three-day backpack trip. We'll drive to Sequoia Park on Sunday for a short, preliminary, MonsterQuest hike. On Monday we'll pick up our wilderness permit at Wawonna, 8:30 am and drive to Glacier point. Monday's goal is to hike the six miles to Little Yosemite Valley and set up camp. On Tuesday we'll climb the three+ miles up to Half Dome and back down to camp. On Wednesday we'll hike back out to Glacier point. For me the hardest part will be the 1.5 miles from the Illouite river back up to Glacier point at the end of the hike. However, there are switchbacks for the first 1/2 mile then a long gradual slope for the last mile.

Gonna do it this time, weather permitting.

MORE HIKING AND STUFF

I've been doing some hiking, swimming and biking. It's not making much difference weight-wise but I'm doing it. I did ten miles on the Pacific Crest Trail today. My feet hurt. Yesterday I rode ten miles. Last week I rode 39 miles, swam 44 Olympic laps and walked 3 miles.

I'm still FAT.

I talked with a guy I grew up with who's a doctor. He told me that the combination of diabetic meds I'm on guarantees that I'll put on weight no matter what I eat. It must be the stuff my old hog company used to give to the pigs to fatten them up. I'm truly frustrated. It's hard to stay motivated to work out when the best I can hope for is to get fatter SLOWER. In fact, it sucks.

When we hear about how somebody has a bad disease but is a FIGHTER, I guess that means they stay at it even when it makes little difference.

Please don't tell me that muscle weighs more than fat; at some point there should be LESS fat.

Don't bother pointing out the long term health benefits of exercise; What? I'm supposed to live LONGER as a grotesquely fat person?

As for getting stronger, I just get sore and tired. There's nothing you can say that makes it any better. It just is.

Today I went to buy a pair of pants; see I've ballooned up from a size 42 to a 46-48 this summer. That's WITH exercise, mind you. Wanna hear a funny story. I couldn't find any size 46 cargo pants. Ha, Ha. I went to JC Penney's Big And Fat section. If I wanted jeans or dockers they got me covered; No cargo pants though. I went to Wal Mart; no go. The largest cargo pants I found were size 42, my FORMER size. The sign said extended sizes are two dollars more. But since they didn't HAVE any extended sizes, go ahead, laugh, it's funny; Ha, Ha.

Nothing makes you feel like an unwanted member of society like being irrelevant when it comes to clothing sizes.

SPORTS SNOBS

People who get involved in a particular sport are picky about terminology and the tools of the trade. Don't mistake a revolver for an automatic with gun people. Don't call a sheet a line with boat people; and God help you if you call either a rope. But in my experience, bicycle people are the worst.

See, with bikes if you aren't training for the Tour de France, forget it; you're nothing. If I go walking, dressed any way I like, I wave to other walkers and they wave back. If I go shooting I talk with the other shooters about their equipment and it doesn't matter to them if I'm dressed properly or have the "right" gun. But with bikers, sheesh! If you don't have the right kind of bike and wear the de rigeur rainbow, spandex clothing, many of them will not give you the time of day when you pass.

Good thing I like guns.

THE POWER OF NEGITIVE THINKING

I haven't posted much recently; haven't much felt like writing anything. I realized today that I sent off a book proposal to an agent early in September. I'm eagerly awaiting my latest rejection. I figure THAT is why I don't feel like writing.