There. I Said It.

OK, so you know exactly where the exhaust port is and you've penetrated the outer defenses. Instead of landing a commandos on the surface, who could just drop a thermite grenade or two down the target shaft, you happily sacrifice five squadrons of frontline fighters flown by hick barnstormers to the pride of the Imperial Navy by having them take the long way around and fly in a straight line like ducks in a barrel.

An oldie but a good'n....

   So I'm sitting in the back of the memorial service for the woman that was very nearly my mother-in-law. I will not impose my presence, as this is a family matter and I'm not blood. A woman who is blood, a daughter of the departed, comes over and sits beside me in the back.
    This is also the same woman who was very nearly my wife. Our personal history isn't important, especially today. She is the child paying her last respects to her mother. I am here to support her. Because she's a person in pain. A person who happens to be a friend.
    When sentiments are solicited, there is a reluctance on the part of some to speak. It is not that they have nothing to say. It is not that some are not comfortable speaking in public. It's because the reality is weighing heavily, and overcoming their composure.
    I get up and walk to the podium. The woman who was very nearly my wife looks surprised.
    I thank everyone for coming, and identify myself as the one here who knew the departed the least. So far as details and facts, anyway. I relate to them a story of how the departed and I did not initially get along, but it got better with time and exposure. I recalled how she talked to me, encouraged me and fed me. How through the time we spent together, I learned something more real about her than details or facts.
    I learned of her humanity.
    I did not labor the subject, and sat down quickly.
    The woman who was very nearly my wife held my hand.
    Some appreciated my rememberances of the departed and thanked me for sharing repeatedly. I'm thinking - in some way, on some level - maybe I spoke for them.
    Maybe.

   As the service ended, I went to the device that contained the earthly remains of the departed and touched it. I realized that though I'm not blood, I may just be family.


   There. I said it.

Oh my.

I'm such a sucker for these commercials...

As the progeny of a postal employee, this is especially ticklish...

For Nate :)

Ghostbusters is 25...



Dammit.

I love these guys...

Find more videos like this on The Fight Yard

   In a previous post, I half-jokingly confessed that I spend wayyyyy too much time on Facebook.  However, in the final analysis, it's not so much FB but just doing anything online.  During any given session, no less than 15 tabs will be open in three browsers (Hey, Google Chrome ain't half bad) and several chat or IM sessions will be simultaneously in play.  What could be hogging my mental bandwidth, you might ask?  Well, my valiant RAZR phone and Nissan Maxima have both served with distinction but the time to retire them both with honors is closing fast.  So for the RAZR, I find myself comparing specs of different phones and in some cases plans with other providers.  For the Maxima, massive amounts of data, number and dealer crunching.  There's research for the short story I'm working on, which has fast become a full-blown novel.  Sigh.  I may also have lectures and/or podcasts running in the background for audio, and then there's always my Youtube subscriptions.  I still keep in contact with a fair many folk on the West Coast, so email can take quite a chunk of my attention.  Tech journals, real-world aviation and flight sim forums, political and media outlets also take a bite (I'm a slow reader, I guess).  And then comes Facebook, LJ and Y! and their various, nefarious distractions....
   Special Forces...droool....
   So, again, when I looked at all of this, I realized that I had more time to burn than was reasonable.  But since I don't trust myself to manage unfettered network access, I thought of an effective solution:  I took another job  :)
   Joe's place of employ, which is on my corporate campus, took on a massive account and found themselves in need of proofreaders with an eye for detail.  Joe put it out there, I applied and hired immediate-like.
   So while my free-time has now been slashed to ZERO during the workweek, I'm using my weekend time better AND cleaning-up my finances earlier than projected.  And I'm on a network detox, of sorts.
   Checkmate, Facebook  :)
   It's only been a few weeks, but so far, so good.

   There.  I said it.
  

   Facebook...sucking...time and...energy....Must...fight....back....arrrghhh.....

   Ok, so there's a world of mischief trying to get the legality of my driving Pennsylvania straight, but I'll save that for another post.
   The good news is that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm close to getting PA registration for the Maxima and I'm tempted to do a vanity plate.  But what would I get?  What will effectively distinguish 'me' from every other knucklehead with $20 disposable cash?  Some of the items I'm considering....
   DURAN 2X - I'm sure this probably has already been done, but maybe not in PA.  Of course, Jennifer Walker and I can never park next to each other....
   FLANKER - Kinda obsolete, as I can't really call myself a Flanker pilot any more, but how bitchin' would it be to hang out with my old virtual squadmates and pull up sportin' dem plates?  Niiiicee......
   SUP COMM - Another game reference, and decidedly more current.  For those of you with lives, it's short for Supreme Commander.
   Q WING - I'd like to think that this was the next super starfighter in the Rebel Fleet, however, they went and won the war against the Empire so there was no need to put it into production.  Still, I'd also like to think it would whip the pants off those punk-ass X- and Y-Wings.
   GUY NOIR - Oooo!  Oooo!!  Not only do I love the radio character, but it's another way of saying 'black dude', which I'm sure the DMV would frown on my requesting....
   ACE RMMR - Arnold Rimmer's alternate universe self.  I want people to see those plates and think 'Wotta guy'  :).
   MIL FALC - Millenium Falcon, abbreviated.  Hey...It's almost the same color and breaks down just as much.
   FLYBOY Q - I'm positive I can do this but it's kinda expected of me, isn't it?
   HAN SOLO - I do not have a man-crush.
   TAURION - This is actually my very first choice but I don't want it for the Maxima, which wasn't my first choice.  Now, if you see me in a Toyota Supra or Dodge Intrepid, then you automatically know what the plate will say.
   QUENTIN - I could just make it easy for myself, but again, not for the Maxima.

   Comments?  Thoughts?  Suggestions?

   Oh, one more thing.  There were some items that were rejected outright...

   NCC 1701 - Bastards'll see that and think I'm being trendy.  Besides, I hate the redesign.  NCC-1701-A all the way, baby....
   THX 1138 - When George Lucas came looking for me, I'd be waiting for his ass with a lead pipe.  "Midichlorian this, mutha fucka!!!"

   There.  I said it.

   So, I'm dorkin' around with a star mapping application and realize that it's a relatively clear night.  With the Moon roughly 27 degrees above the western horizon, I should be able to see Capella to the high right, Betelgeuse to the left with Orion's Belt under it, Mercury to the low right and Aldebaran almost under the Moon.
   Well, the sky wasn't nearly as clear as I'd hoped, and Mercury was obscured by the treeline.  The pollution of light pretty much hid the less bright stars but Capella, Aldebaran and Betelgeuse I could easily make out.
   So I stood out there, wondering what it would be like to be right up close to them...feel their heat and gravitational pull...no stupid telescopes or binoculars...
   That would be the coolest 'being there', that the stuff Carl Sagan was trying to impart wasn't wasted.
   Aldebaran is the brightestr star in the Tauri star cluster (the constellation Taurus to y'all) and I'd like to think of it as my spiritual birthplace.
   I'm thinking this as I'm standing outside, watching the sky and feeling a groovy kinda peace about the cosmos, even though it's anything but.  But for now, right this hot second, the stars are the coolest thing around.