Childhood

So I just went to the trouble to type this out elsewhere, and I thought I would share it here as well. If you are a serious animal lover you may not want to read it. Just remember, this was almost 20 years ago...

When I was 14, my friends mom had this cross eyed Siamese cat, named Sassy. We hated the cat. The cat hated us.
One cold, dry winter day(In Godforsaken Nebraska) we were hanging out at his house, unsupervised, bored, and with only basic cable to amuse us.
I started shuffling my feet and shocking him with the static charge. This quickly became a game with the two of us scooting around in circles on the living room rug, trying to electrocute each other.
The cat was disinterestedly watching us from the bottom of the stairs where she had been napping...so we decided to electrocute the cat.
Being the science geeks we were, we thought out a plan to get the best jolt possible, after all we only had one shot at this. Metal is an excellent conductor, so I grabbed the cast iron frying pan from the kitchen to deliver the jolt. We also took off our shoes and put on extra socks to increase our power. Then we decided that if we were to hold hands and work together, we could DOUBLE the amount of charge.

So here I am at 14, holding hands with my best friend,(Homophobia was supressed in the interest of science) both in stocking feet, shuffling around the living room in circles like a choo choo train while holding a frying pan for 20 minutes. The cat continued to watch us, with that smug look on her face, ignorant of our intent.

The moment of truth came.

Still holding hands, I slowly lowered the pan to Sassys head. It reminded me of when they electrocute a convict in the movies and they put the metal thing onto their head. The cat is looking up at me, stupid, smug and cross eyed....until the pan got within about half an inch of her ear....then Hell broke loose.

A lot of things happened simultaneously. A bright blue arc with an audible crack shot from the pan and into the tip of the cats ear. I could feel the electricity through both of my hands as it left me and went into the cat in concentrated form. The doorbell went off for no reason. The cat made an un-catlike sound as it flew up the flight of stairs without touching them.

We didn't see the cat for the rest of the day, When Mitches mom came home, she couldn't find Sassy (She hid under the bed for a good 12 hours) After that, the cat would leave the room when we walked in. We never told her what we did to her cat.

Wouldn't you know it that damn cat lived to be 19 years old. Reminds me of The Green Mile. I think the shock recharged her batteries, and she got all nine lives back.

I'm a giver, it's what I do.....I give.

Conquering our Inner Timmy

For those who don't know, this is the thread I'm referring to.

http://www.2old2play.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=60396

The subject of cheating can be emotional. Being cheated by countless semi anonymous people online and seeing no apparent consequences can leave people looking for an outlet for a lot of misplaced anger. When they finally see their "enemy" in our forums, the temptation to go all ape shit savage on that person can be huge. That persons face becomes the face of every cheater, hacker and glitcher to ever do us wrong. It's unfair, but that's how we are.

No one in the conversation takes the opportunity to be the level headed one, things escelate. Everyone comes to the defense of someone else. The monkeyshit starts flying and everyone looks bad. I've been in those shoes. I didn't handle it well, but I'd like to think I'm less likely to get into the thick of this stuff again.

For me the mark of maturity isn't in not making mistakes like this, but in both parties being able to back off, take a deep breath and resolve things, even if you agree to disagree you can do it with respect.

See you all online.

raw milk underground and the government

I must be turning into a hippie or something, because this really got my attention. The article is about... well, a lot of things. A Government beauracracy deisgned to protect a few people that ends up hurting all of us. Agents arresting people in church parking lots and siezing goods in stings. Corporations that manipulate nature and make money at the expense of others. Evolution, and coevolution of our bodies, our food and certain microbes. Theories about the huge spike in auto immune diseases in modern people.

If this article had violence and some tits, it would be perfect. Come to think about it...it has both of those already.

harpers.org/archive/2008/04/0081992

Some free time coming my way

Work has finaly slowed down, and wouldn't you know it...the wife goes on a trip to Australia and New Zealand for 17 days. Although I love her dearly and miss her already, this means several things.

1.I will be eating all the stinky foods she hates

2. I will be taking my pants off when I hit the front door (going in, not going out)

3. I will be on a first name basis with the owner of  the liquor store down the street.

4. I will be spending quality time with the 360 mistress again... lots.

If you see me online, send me an invite.

Time to play in the dirt.

Spring is finaly upon us, and that means I will be dropping off the face of the earth for a while. Hopefully, the garden center I work for will be very busy this year. With the economy down, some believe that vegetable gardens will be in vogue. People having "staycations" may decide to redo their yards and increase their property values by planting a few more flowers around the deck. In troubled times we tend to make our homes more comfy. I hope thats how this all works out.

I may be on from time to time, but not much untill mid to late June.

As always, it has been a real pleasure to play with you all.