My heart-felt thanks to all who have served and who are serving this country, in times of peace and war. THANK YOU!

I am about to go visit my dad's grave. He survived serving in the Pacific theater during WWII, and died of complications of renal failure (and assorted other problems) in 1996. I wish he had told me his war stories, but he just couldn't, I'd guess. Perhaps when I reach the other side, we will talk. I think sometime I'll write about him, but for now I'll just go honor him.

Happy Memorial Day!!!!!  Never in the history of minkind, have some many owed so much to so few.

I don't normally share feedback I get, but this is one I 100% agree with, and I don't think she'll mind my sharing it anonymously:

"If I here one more whine about how American soldiers are treating Iraqi prisoners I am going to puke...gosh since they were SO nice to Nick Berg and all - I cant imagine why there would be any animosity there"

I just wish morons like Al Gore were as smart as this ordinary American.

I saw some of the video clips of Gore's so-called speech (earlier I'd only heard audio). The man is insane. No other conclusion is reasonable. I wish I could say no other conclusion was possible, but Gore-type liberals, this country's true biggest enemy, continue to become more and more shrill, stupidly putting the insane on an ever higher pedestal.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY? This is no longer the America I grew up in and love.

Al Gore is a disgrace to this country. How could anyone argue that terrorists should have civil rights? The Geneva Convention was written to (and specifically states) that its rules apply to uniformed combatants fielded by antagonist countries. Terrorists are neither in a uniformed service, nor do they represent any particular (actual) country. They are vermin that must be killed before they kill more of us. What an idiot. I thank god everyday that Gore never became president!  I just can't figure out how stupid liberals must have been to allow him to even become a VP.

A comparison occurred to me while watching the Return of the King on DVD yesterday. Terrorists are orcs. They have no interest in "making nice" to us, they only want to kill us and feast on our bones. They are incapable of gentile reason, and have no interest in it anyway. They must be stopped before anything resembling Sauron or Ringwaiths grow out of the mire (figuratively speaking, although OBL and the associated names that make the news could be considered Nazgul ... there is no Sauron because they're not that smart or powerful).

Shangri-La was wonderful last week, and we may go again this weekend (those who know me are welcome to ask to come as my guests). Little relaxes me more than a relaxing day by the pool among so many birthday suits! Still no additions to my ring though

I'm working on some self-improvement stuff. I was feeling my age, really strongly, for the first time ever last Friday, and I REALLY didn't like it.

I've been a 2 to 3-pack-a-day smoker for 32 years, and this week I haven't smoked more than a single pack all day (actually up to 24, but close enough!).

I'm a desk jockey for a living, so I've started a 2-walk-a-day program, totaling almost 2 miles a day to start. I'm hoping I get to be in much better shape by the time the next hunting seasons roll around.

I'm also trying to loose more weight. I came down from ~260 to around 225 and held there for a year or two, but now I am starting to drink water again and have started taking Cortislim ... jury is still out on that one.

Belly pain has settled down some, but maintenance meds should help improve that too.

>More Later<

PS: Welcome to my old friends that found me here !

Ahhh ... another shitty day in paradise.

Gastro stuff has been dismissed as diverticilous (sp?) ... relatively benign, although it doesn't feel that way.

Work still sucks.

Shangra-La is just 2.5 days away! Can't wait!

I'm not much moved to write these days, as the political scene is just too depressing, so I'll go for now.

see ya ...

Lost about $114 last night, but it was fun! Got in about 3am

I've been very remiss. Sorry about that.

>Sigh<

Well, my GI & Colonoscopy went well ... no Crohn's or IBD ... but no real diagnosis yet either. I should find out at the follow-up next week. This is a real relief!

I've been a bit disappointed with my BLog ring too ... no one has added their site . I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I forget the exact number, but the estimated nudist population in the US is some fraction of 1% (I seem to recall that anyway).

Work sucks.

Finally going to start having some work done on my teeth. Can't wait to find out how much that will cost. Why is it that general health insurance can be so good, yet there is no such thing as good dental insurance? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Oh well.

Going to an Indian casino tonight. What will I do without craps????? I suppose I'll find out.

Oh! Going back to Shangri-La II, our local world-class nudie resort in two weeks! I really have missed the place. Just couldn't swing the membership renewal this past cycle. I'm not sure if I'll join at an associate level instead, but at least it should be a fun day.

I got my modded XBox up and running (Thanks CC!!!!!). WAY COOL! Online play isn't an option with it turned on (can be disabled), but local play is a whole new universe! Modded XBoxes ROCK!

More later ...