Having five females in the house (one wife, four daughters), has led me to the conclusion that there are some food differences that us males with the "Y" chromosome just don't have. Of particular instance to me is my two year old, who, I have recently discpvered, can actually hear a slice of cheese being unwrapped from two rooms away (I'm actually not kidding here!). The thing that really stands out about the five females in my house is: the whole stereotype about women and chocolate...is ...

I am a road trip afficianado. Even having children hasn't decreased my yen to hit the road, if anything it has INCREASED, because now I have a whole carful of little acolytes to proselytize to the joy that is the open road. I would have to say, however, that the coolest road trip I ever took was in June, 2001, to a bluegrass festival known as Smilefest in western North Carolina. We loaded up our kids, hitched up the popup camper, and hit the open road. About halfway through Indiana, we ...

I have been meaning to write a blog on penal reform for a long time. This article will only touch on some of my feelings, and I will write more in depth later. One of the key problems with our penal system in America is that it is largely revenge based, rather than rehabilitation based. We think that, by removing the criminal from society, by executing them or demeaning them, we are somehow "dealing with" the crime problem in this country. The fact is, that is just not the case. We are "de...

Well, sorry for another blog complaining about the heat, but it darn near kicked my rear end today. And the heat advisory now has been continued through tomorrow, which means AT LEAST another day in this miserable, wretched (but at least it's a DRY HEAT!) climate. I went through my 3.25 gallons of water by 1:00 (I work until two), and had to make a run for an emergency powerade supply. Before I hit the sack, I will drink another 3-4 gallons of water; it seems impossible to drink enough. ...

I have always appreciated intellectual discussion. It is truly enjoyable to see what our minds can conceive when we bounce ideas, suggestions, and questions off of one another. The great minds throughout history always had contemporaries who helped formulate and create their ideas; they didn't exist in a vaccuum. But intelligence can, in the wrong context, be a liability. It's not just the age old argument about the fine line between genius and insanity at play here; intelligence can be...

Well, despite my egress from the mine almost two months ago, I received the Teamsters Union newsletter today (I think they consider me valuable enough to hang on until after the election). Frankly, anything from the union is a slap in the face considering the working conditions we underwent there, despite being union, on paper at least. Here's the scoop: --$9 an hour for all positions, with no raises...at least not for anyone within their first two years of employment (remember, this wa...

For those of you who didn't read my earlier post, we finally got a Sonic drive in in town. Having lived in the upper midwest for 10 years prior to last December, I have not eaten at a Sonic drive in in nearly twelve years. Also as stated before, there are only two places where I will willingly down a hot dog (the other being at a ballpark). Something about knowing exactly what hot dogs ARE kinda ruins the magic. But I love Sonic's footlong chili cheese coneys, and that is exactly what I or...

Here's yet another in my blogs about "brushes with greatness". I have always loved to play the "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" game. My personal favorite moment was when I realized I'm THREE degrees from Kevin Bacon. The connection is as follows: I screen tested for a movie called "Come See the Paradise" (for those who haven't seen it, I highly recommend it) starring Dennis Quaid (I actually got a callback but the message wasn't relayed in time, throw that in the "what might have been" ...

Today, I am pleased to report that a brand spanking new Sonic drive in opened in our community. For the uninitiated, Sonic's food is the best of the worst; it's coney cheese dogs are to die for, and probably the only way that I will eat the compilation of pig lips and bovine rectums willingly outside of a major league ballpark or an appearance on "Fear Factor". I have many fond memories from high school of Sonic, as there was one three blocks from school. That being said, i have not liv...

Mano mentioned McCarthyism in one of his posts (not related to this one), and I thought it would be interesting to share the direct connection I have to this dark chapter of American history (on both sides of the coin). To begin with, my son is named after a friend of mine, J. Quinn Brisben, one time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party USA. While I have long renounced my socialist leanings, Quinn and his family remain people that I admire, chiefly because Quinn was an excellent ...

A certain joeuser with a separate website has waged a very thinly veiled war against joeuser. He has, admirably, been very careful not to mention the name of this site and only certain select users, but the verbal barrage is unmistakeable. I must admit, frankly, I am very mixed towards this person's blogs. He angers me and cracks me up at the same time. I understand his approach better than some, but frankly, think he is a bit over the top at times. He has been described by a fellow blogge...

I know many on joeuser think I'm a walking enigma. And I don't blame them. Many of my thoughts and ideals are seemingly contradictory until you understand how I would go about them. And knowing how I would go about them comes about only as you begin to know me as a person. So let me tell you about my five months as miner #43. I moved to this area, and work was incredibly hard to find. The exception is in Vegas, where it's just that many of the jobs are low paying. I received a job offer...

In my current bout of unemployment, I was seriously considering returning to the mine to work in a few weeks. No more. The mine has been shut down for three weeks, first because of an MSHA (mine safety & health admin) violation, now because of flooding in Death Valley, where the mine is located. The MSHA citation came because they continued to produce ore after the fans broke, meaning the only ventilation going into the mine was that which was drifting down naturally, and there was very...

OK, folks. This time, I am going to post the entire article, from yahoo! news on this one. This is upsetting that such a mistake was made: Co. Pulls Toys Depicting 9-11 Attack Fri Aug 27, 2:40 PM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo! MIAMI - Small toys showing an airplane flying into the World Trade Center were packed inside more than 14,000 bags of candy and sent to small groceries around the country before being recalled. AP Photo Toys With Twin Towers and Plan...

For this blog to make sense, I am going to have to go back a bit to a time I don't like to revisit. One of my past stepfathers (a man we'll call John Doe) was a man my mother met in a casino in Wendover, Nevada, and married in jail when he was in on a burglary charge. He was also the most sadistic man I ever met. One example of his twisted ways of doing things was when he beat me severely for leaving a coat at school (until I was bleeding rather steadily), then took us to the Great Salt La...