I started a new Blog-Ring this morning. It's called "Nudism & Naturism."

To my more conservative friends: If that offends you, I apologize. Please don't read those parts. BUT, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep an open mind. If you are not personally familliar with this lifestyle choice, I guarantee you're under many misconceptions about it.

The truths about social nudity:

• It is not about sex. In fact, with the exception of some typically low-brow fringe-types, it is completely non-sexual.
  
• It can be somewhat utopian. Without clothing the Fortune-500 CEO and the unemployed septic-tank scrubber are completely identical from a see-them-on-the-street type of look. Of course differences in grooming and educatonal levels may be obvious .
  
• Guys: with rare exceptions there is really no risk of embarrasing physical reactions because of the nature of the social environment.
  
• Girls: guys will look, but no one will accost you. With no exception that I've ever known, other nudists would be far more apt to defend you than to accost you (much like legit gun owners).
  
• Nudism is about body acceptance, not judgement or derision.
  
• If you like the feeling of the sun on your face, you will fall in love with being a nudist the first time you get that feeling all over your body!

... more to come ...

Spent the day having a "Upper GI with Follow-through."

If you ever see that "with follow-through" phrase from your doctor, expect that the 15-minute test (the other part) will last 3-4 hours, and by the time you're done you surely won't want to go back to work! Details are too disgusting than even I'd write about.

Next week I have a Colonoscopy. Oh joy . I hope I get a real diagnosis out of this ... I don't think the doctor will bring me flowers or take me out to dinner .

On the bright side, the GI doctor doesn't think it's Crohn's ... of course, he didn't have all the facts, but at least that's encouraging news.

Oh! And I have an XBox out being modified with a "mod-chip!" That's going to save me a ton of money over time.  More on that soon!

And to think I started out not knowing if I had anything I wanted to type about ... Xanga rocks!

I am a man, but I am not a football fan.

I applaud Pat Tillman, however.

I am fanatically pro-US and a conservative. I would do ANYTHING to protect this country from the likes of OBL.

Despite that, I wonder if I could have made Pat's decision, choosing to go to Afghanistan over a potential for a $10m pro football contract. I want to think I would have ... would ... were I not too old to serve.

I applaud Pat Tillman.

An employer was required to lay off one of his employees. It was a terrble thing to have to do. All of his employees were hard working nice people. He had it narrowed down between two employees named Jack and Jill. They were both equally good employees so to be unbiased he decided he would make the decision based on whichever one of them uses the drinking fountain first, he would lay them off. He waited patiently by the fountain for quite some time and finally late in the day Jill comes walking over to the fountain with a couple of aspirin in her hand. The employer says to Jill, I have a problem Jill. I am going to have to lay you or Jack off. Jill quickly says, You're going to have to "Jack off" because I have a headache.

Monday ... back to work. This place is torture. I need to change my life again. Do I have the energy?

Been a crappy day.

Had one of my dogs neutered and got assorted other bad news.

This is Coco, a Chocolate Labrador Retriever.

I surfed a lot tonight. Mostly because I'm bored and depressed.

I noticed something.

The vast majority of the teenage-type websites (on Xanga and other places) depict depressed, angry, dark teens with a clearly self-destructive outlook on life. Is this reflective of society at large, or did I just happen on them? There are too many to be mere coincidence. Black make-up, excessive piercing, idolization of large numbers of tattoos, all truly disgusting, degrading things, all considered cool? What is in these kids future? What type of parents permit this sort of thing in their children?

In all probability my life is more than half over (I can't imagine living to be 88), and when I see these things, I'm actually happy about that. I can't even conceive of a world led by these ... persons.

Kids: Life is short. You only get 1 play for your quarter. There is a huge world out there full of both good and bad things. If you spend your life, at your ages, focusing on "the dark side" of life, I can guarantee you a couple things:

• When you're adults, and you look back, you WILL realize you have wasted these years (if you live that long), and you will NOT have a "do-over" to count on.
  
• People (normal ones) will look at you with pity and revulsion.

You're not shocking "the man" with your outrageous looks, you are being looked at as stupid. Plain and simple. Every time I see something like a kid with a long green mohawk I think things like: "There's a clear example of a fool," "Another example of failed parenting," "jerk," etc. You don't scare people, you disgust them. Either grow up or enjoy being a real kid. Don't point your life towards the state mental hospital.

What ever happened to sports stars worthy of admiration?

Did I mention I like to shoot?

I hope this guy's right ...

Government. Of, by and for the people.

Except ...

It seems the 9/11 commission thinks we should mind our own business because we shouldn't care that one of the panel is the individual primarily responsible for the legal wall between the FBI & CIA.

Gee.

I guess this panel has forgotten who employs them.

What was is it we're paying these liberals for again?

I find it sad that the question that is being asked is: What could we have done to prevent 9/11 (with an assumption that terrorism is what was exhibited by 9/11) ?

And when the answer is provided, those same people say that the war on terrorism, as waged (in other words, this is what it takes), the ANSWER, they want to stop the war on terrorism.

Should we have stopped when Japan's advance in WW2 was reversed? Should Nazi Germany have been allowed to continue? Should we have allowed the British crown to keep their early American colonies? (I'm not interested in responses from people who would have answered yes to any of those 3 questions!)

Neither should terrorism by this group of political wanna-be dictators who engage in terrorism. While OBL and his ilk may want to use a major religion (with generally peaceful people) as an mechanism to enslave populations, make no mistake that their true goals aren't really spiritual enlightenment.

I guess the "type of enemy" changing away from a game of Risk confuses people?

Life is hard. Sometimes flowers in rifle barrels isn't an appropriate, rational answer.

Thank God for George W. Bush
(the god of your choice, or consider it just a figure of speech if you are non-religious) <- don't get used to PC comments from me.

Our president just finished speaking on nationwide TV. I disagree with the president on most of his domestic policy (although I believe the doom-and-gloom economic detractors are blind), but on this war I 100% agree. I have never been more proud to be an American, and I sure as hell have never been as proud of a president as I am today!