Brick Wall; Apply directly to the forehead!

Why do I feel like this is my best option, when it comes to the November election? I don't like any of the candidates, but at least I'll be able to hold my nose and vote for the lesser of the evils. I still ain't gonna like it, because none of them represent MY interests, as a leave-me-the-hell-alone-ist! McCain has his name on about half the meddlesome bills coming out of the Senate, Clinton wants to claim credit for her husband's time in office, and Obama has way too many socialist skeletons in his closet, and neither of the latter can tell the simple truth to save their miserable lives. I don't think there's enough soap in SE Texas to wash away the ickiness I'll feel after Election Tuesday.

Bye Bye to Jericho again

The TV show Jericho had it's second season finale this past Tuesday. I've since found out that CBS intended it to also be the series finale. While it saddens me a little, I'm still not sending the CBS offices any nuts to protest, like some fans did after the first season's premature death. I liked how this season ended, with some closure and no real loose ends, and it was left open enough to continue with a movie or novels or mini-series.

WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

SAVE YOURSELF!! RUN, RUN FAST!!!

LAST CHANCE! I WARNED YOU!!!

I loved that Jake and Hawkins were saved twice by the Republic of Texas: first by crashing an ambulance thru the gates of their (our?) embassy in Cheyenne, the Allied States' new capital; second by the Texas Air National Guard shooting down two Allied State's fighter jets ready to shoot down Jake and Hawkins while they flew to Texas in a Texas' diplomatic jet.

To nitpick a little:

• I wonder why the show's writers put the Texas Guardsmen in the old woodland camo BDUs, when they've finished transitioning to the Army's digital camo ACUs. Do they think the NG has some sooper-seekrit orders to keep one set of BDUs, because I know transitioning back would be a jigantinormous pain-in-the-ass, especially during a crisis, oh, say, like after a nuclear attack. I mean, even the army surplus stores are selling their used stocks of BDUs for really cheap. (And those are used, not new, crisp, and dark, like those on the show.)
  
• I'm surprised the Texans managed to build/convert a new embassy in Cheyenne already, so soon after a nuclear attack. I'm more surprised Cheyenne allowed it, since that would be tantamount to admitting that Texas has the right to succeed, during a national emergency even.
• I wonder how long it will be before the writers, producers, and CBS get a letter from the Texas Attorney General demanding that they cease-and-desist using the name "Republic of Texas" in conjunction with using the image of the Lone Star Flag. Why? Because that's what the AG did to the Republic of Texas Provisional Govt. several years back, and that's why the groups use the Burnett flag as their national banner. Now that I think about that some, I realize the RTPG implicitly acknowledging the AG's power, even tho they claimed the State Govt. had no legitimacy and no authority over them. I guess it was a matter of, you can't change the govt. if you're sitting in a jail cell.
  
• I liked seeing the Texas Guardsmen in the BDUs. I guess I'm a little sentimental about those uniforms since that was the outfit I saw our soldiers in while I was growing up. (I admit the new ACUs are a lot cooler in the summer, they're not a heat magnet like the woodland BDUs.) It also made me proud to see the Texas flag on those trooper's shoulders. I jokingly pointed out, "Look! I've got job security!" Altho I almost immediately recognized the TANG HG insignia on the other shoulder. Which leads into...
• Why does every soldier in this show have full-color unit insignia instead of subdued? Ok, so the Army soldiers had subdued flag and unit patches when they were going into combat, but the rest of the time, "bumming around town" and in the office, they wore full color patches on their shoulders.

These were just some of the little things that popped up while watching and ruminating afterwards. I've read some comments about the show, in this blog or that forum, but they're scattered. There doesn't seem to be a decent discussion group for this show, that isn't full of spammers. Back when I watch Babylon 5, there was a pretty good group on Usenet for fans. Now I think the Internet has made any fans too scattered across the ether, each one with their own small group or fan page, instead of a main area to gather.

I do hope the producers find a way to continue this show. If nothing else, it gave folks (specifically ME!) something to watch that wasn't a quasi-reality show.

PS Thinking about the Texas flag a bit more, I recalled the time I had to give Phoenyx directions to my new home. The simple part was saying "go this way, turn here, go past that store, turn at the stop sign," then I got stuck, because she needed landmarks, and on my own street I blanked out. I stumbled onto the front porch, looking around, well, there's the car parked in the yard... no, the house number... is kinda small... Oh! "Mine's the only one on the whole damned block with a Texas flag out front!" which also meant there aren't any other flags on my street. Showing off your patriotism seems in short supply around here. Thankfully there's a couple of businesses with giant Texas flags flying along the highway as I come and go to work. And several US flags, too.

PPS Holy F*&%ing Dog$#!+!!! THREE posts in one day!?! I can't bother to post three times in the same month! What's wrong with me?!?

Keeping valuables in the vault

I just filled up my truck's gas tank, and I haven't had to spend that much since Hurricane Rita. One fillup for my truck, to top off the tank with 18.777 more gallons, was $58! Now I'm really glad I've got a locking gas cap, altho I'm surprised I haven't heard of cases of siphoning thieves yet. Instead all the gas thefts in the news are drive-offs from the stations.

More Soda Please!

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

This was kinda funny to do, there's a countdown clock and a space to click repeatedly to see how much caffeine you've had lately, measured on a bar graph with labels like "Slight Buzz," "Jittery," "Paranoid," "Near Death." I got up to "Spastic," a little past halfway, before running out of time. I guess since my day starts at 3 AM, being on my fourth cola today isn't that bad, considering.

H/T to Tam for the quick laugh.

This Patriotic Duty stuff is wearing me out!

I've had a fairly busy week, going here and there, doing stuff that most folks would consider patriotic, for a Texan anyways.

1. The GF and I went to Washington-on-the-Brazos for Texas Independence Days on Sunday. We saw some reenactors in the Texas Army, listened to old folk musicians, looked at the displays in the museum and on the grounds, ate some Texas-sized birthday cake.
2. I had jury duty starting on Monday, and finishing on Wednesday. It was only on the last day that I got picked for a jury pool, then after waiting a while, we found out the judge didn't need us after all. He thanked us for our time and sense of civic duty, and was glad we were willing to participate in our jury system.
3. I voted in our Texas Primary on Tuesday, but I ain't telling you for who! I find it curious, no, bizarre that the Republican Primary had the Referendums listed, while the Democrat Primary did not. (I would link to the appropriate .pdfs, but the county has already taken them down. However, there's this article in the Dallas Morning Snews.) The referendums were to A)authorize a check of photo IDs when voting; B)require state and county governments to limit their budgets to only increasing with inflation and local growth, except for emergencies; C)require local, state, and federal officials to enforce our immigration laws.
4. I've got another drill weekend with the State Guard starting tonight.

I've remarked to friends that Thursday was the only day this week that I didn't have some direct .gov involvement.

Happy Birthday Sam Houston and Texas!!!

I just wanted to post that before I retire for the day. Tommie and I got in a little bit ago from a daytrip to Washington-on-the-Brazos, where they were holding the annual Texas Independence Day celebrations. Fun had by all, stuff bought, pictures taken. Will post more later, after I've slept for a good while. G'night!