Moral dilemma of a civilized society

Where is the moral dilemma of a civilized society when dealing with uncivilized people? I was reading about this story of a human monster that tricked a 10 year old girl into his apartment. He then smacked her on the head and smothered her [to death]. He almost cut her head off in some cannibalistic fantasy.

So how do we handle something like this. My first reaction......I would have blown the motherfvcker away with the shotgun. But that got me thinking, is that civilized. Oh I know that people will say what this guy did was monstrous and uncivilized so he should get what he deserved. But then THAT go me thinking. Is acting like a monster and killing him for killing someone else the right thing to do.

Oh don't get me wrong! Emotionally I would feel muuuuuuuuuch better! Fo Sho! But in the terms of actually not lowering ourselves to the standard of those that we stand before a trail of the tribe...what do we do? We have the right to life, its right there in our founding documents but do we need to stuff this guy into a cell where he has cable TV, a library, a job punching license plates, and lovin' from his cell buddy? Do we torture him? Lobotomize him? Or my favorite, stick him in a tub of piranhas?

How do you handle the scourge? Thoughts people, lets here what you have to say.

The HCB City

Well we broke a new record yesterday! I think like ten people moved into HCB city! That is an all time record! We have FOUR paved streets, an apartment building thing, and now two nice houses [double wides?]!

Happenings around El Rancho de Braco

Well winter has a real way of turning a buzzing neighborhood into a barren landscape. See we Texans, or Texians depending how old school you want to get, are warm blooded critters. We are accustom to temperatures of 85f to 112f. To have it be 38f outside is a guarantee that the streets will be barren of children playing and the lawn mowers locked in the sheds.

This winder season we have been kind of lucky. We did get breaks of warm weather which was a sure bet that the riding lawn mower would again be a street obstacle again. The only exciting thing was our new trespasser who also doubles as my neighbor. He managed to get the bejesus scared out of him when he was aimlessly (and should I add carelessly) walking around. He apparently forgot where he was and I was very happy to remind him whose property he currently occupied with his physical mass.... with the Browning firmly in my paw. He of course wants to talk about where his property ends and where my begins....survey flags didn't explain it enough to his liking.

So with the cold weather and crotchety old men wandering about I think I have taken a shining to the idea of building a fence. I would first like to build a stone fence in the front of the property. It connects to the street and the local youngster enjoy a good drag racing. I am not a huge fan of it and I would like the noise to stop. Hence building a stone wall in the front of the property. On the side I am planning a wood fence, mainly due to the easement with the public utility district. Oh I am not worried that they are going to be putting in any new power lines in solid lime stone anytime soon but why risk it. On the back of the property I am going to make a cedar fence. The back part of the property over looks the cliff and the rest of the hill country (remember I live on top of a hill). I have been saving all the straight trunks and thick branches in preparation of building a cedar fence. So all that goes on the back of the property.

So that is the planning part. As of late I have been clearing the property lines of shrubs, trees, large rocks, small children and the sort. I have mason line running down the property lines and now I am getting to the point where I need to start digging post holes. So goes being a property owner.....

My MiniCity

Thank you to everyone that has been clicking on the link (to the top left) for my minicity. It's a cute little game that basically is another ego meter. Per one click per day that you get, it adds a citizen to your city. The Hill Country Blogger City is up to 24 peeps! We even had a paved road now and some sort of apt. building thingy.

So again, thank you for clicking and I hope to get many more clicks from you in the future. Together we can change the future....change we can believe in.....for the children.

Drinking buddies

As of late I don’t seem to be getting many visitors out to El Rancho De Braco. Moni is always traveling, Toby is always waiting on Elvin, Elvin is waiting to slash the mother dragon with his +4 dragon slayer sword of dragon death, Steve is doing whatever Steve does, Celeste is waiting on Steve, etc. You get the idea!

Well I got a new friend! In fact my new friend is so cool that we instantly became drinking buddies!

Found this little bastard when I almost drank him

Baby showers! catch'em before they hit the ground!

We packed up the family on Saturday and headed out to the baby shower of my friend Mikela and Brandon. They are having their first child together (Brandon has one from a previous marriage)! So that is going to be fun to wat......I mean good for them.

The baby shower was the house of a friends of Mikela's. It was off by Slaughter lane I think. For your out of towners like myself, that is in south south Austin.

Wow, I can see that the city is going some tax dollars to that area. Talk about a total refacing of south side! High end strip malls, High end shopping centers, High end office buildings, and High end standard of living. Wonder how that sits with the poor folk that gave tax dollars to only have that turned around to develop their area? Wonder if they think about all that when they pay their property taxes.

Anywho, it was a nice shower and our host was very gracious. She also was very enthusiastic with showing her cleavage. Also which her 18+ old daughter was most happy to keep the tradition alive. Not that I mind... :)

M & B got the average baby swag! Baby bath, poo hankies, poo wipes, diaper back, etc etc. You know, from experience I can say that a big baby shower is such a big help. I think in both cases with my children, it was the baby shower that gave us our first six months worth of supplies that was just a huge help. Maybe when you go to your next baby shower you might want to keep that in mind.

Really, how often to you think about your gift at a baby shower? You get something, most likely, not thinking to hard about. Yeah, some pacifiers or whatnot......but coming from a daddy....when you are standing at the crib at 3:36 am and are frantically looking for one it helps to have all those extra ones.

So here is some closing advice for a baby shower gift for those that want to up show everyone else. Get Two infant BOXES of diapers from Sams. Three BOXES of unscented baby wipes. Three packages of pacifiers. And a round trip airfare for the grandparents to come and baby sit so the parents can rent a hotel for a night to catch up on sleep.

Wordpress

hey folks, as I mentioned in some post that I .....well...post before today, I mention that I was going to move to word press. Then everyone banded together and vowed to roast my twig and berries. Another group of you were happy that I was going to move. So I said I would be on both Blog Spot and Wordpress.

Just a little update that on that. First, I hate both of you. Its cutting into my Ma-Jong time at work. Second) I added a link at the top right for some of you (MOTHER!) that cannot seem to type in a web address.

That will be all

The Krav kick my maga

Woooooo....so I have been holed up at El Rancho De Braco for the last day. I have been exusted, sore all over, and severally dehydrated. No, I don't have the Flu. I had my first Krav Maga class on Monday and it kick my arse. I want to apologize to all the other practishioners of martial arts....no warm up I have done in martial arts comes close to what I did on Monday.

In the first five minutes of class I was worn out and I had the rest of the hour to go. Running, punching, side glides, punching and running, running and punching, running and kicking, sit ups, push ups, fighting, levitating.... I mean this was non-stop high effort for an entire hour. I think I fought just as hard to keep my eye from rolling back into my head than I did to punch that g-d d-mn bag.

But now that it is over.....I LOVE IT. The first day of class I learned some really great fighting techniques. The stuff makes sense, is easy to pull off, and is very effective. No stupid high flying kicks, no horse stance double arm blocks to the side, no telegraphing your moves!

I also like the training in terms that you wear street clothes. The thought is you are more likely to fight in blue jeans and a t-shirt. Odds are you are not going to get attacked wearing your karate gi. On top of that we are not only training in the gym but also in the fields at day and at night. In the parking lot at day and night. In a ditch at day and night. Between cars in a parking lot at day and night. And just to pass the first skill level its like a two our three out exam.

So if you read about me passing the first skill level then it means I can fight in a lot of urban environments for about two or three hours straight while being simultaneously being attack from several people with weapons - OR - if I stop blogging all together it means I am dead at the hands of my body giving out.

Figures

So there I am cleaning the bar from all the junk and clutter that gathers there. Its unsightly and hard to find stuff in the house when things are a mess. I dread looking for a piece of mail or something, knowing its in that pile on the bar. I am sure to spend ten minutes trying to keep the shifting mountain from falling all over the floor.

SO.....in a rare display of fairness I decided to clean......the bar. It was actually kind of easy and in the end I just managed to shift the mess to the dining room table. It had become my "staging area" to short out where all the junk was going to go to.

So there I am, like Sir Edmond Hillary, knocking this mountain down when I see an envelope addressed to me. "Great! Another lost bill" I say and I start to open it. Its right about then that my wife, who is making dinner, yelps and comes at me with knife in hand. My reaction..... I scream like a little girl and throw my hands in the air as the card goes flying into the ceiling. Shes looking at me, the kids are looking at me, little ceiling popcorn come floating down and a soft slap of the envelope hitting the kitchen floor.

Apparently it was my Valentines card and my wife learned that I am absolutely no help in a crisis situation.

The Hill Country Ninja

My son has recently started to take Karate classes. Its probably one of the few things my ex-wife has done that I actually agree with. In all fairness though it was her mothers idea so its really hard to praise my ex when it was her mommy that suggested it and pays for it. But in the end, my son is a white belt in Karate.

I am also personally excited about this since I am a former Kung-Fu student. I know they are technically different and anyone would be hard pressed to get me to admit that Kung-Fu is better than X. Or that Y is better than Z and such. When it comes down to it, all martial arts are well suited for different types of combat. I reserve Krav maga for the truly relevant combat martial arts.

Well my son is starting to get to the point that all youngsters get to. He wants to stop doing martial arts because "it's to hard". Unfortunately most of his frustration comes from his last session where his mother left the class half way through so she could go home with her boyfriend. His was almost at tears and just wanted to give up.

So I am going to try to add some incentive to his Karate efforts. I am going to try and join a martial arts gym so that he can see me doing it also. I hope that this provides some sort of example and feeling that he is not going it alone.

So far I have it narrowed down to Krav Maga and Tae Kwon Do..........OK OK! I'll admit Karate is a bit lame! I pretty much crossed Karate off my list from the get go. I see that it is chalked full of wasted moves and pointless defenses that often leave you in a worse position....unless you are doing it for sport. When I take a class, I take it to learn how to fight better not to be a better "sportsman". So I lied, not all martial arts are equal.

Tae Kwon Do is lethal and unforgiving. If you choose to incapacitate someone then its a sure bet that its going to leave a lasting impression on your attacker on his or her folly in choosing you as a target. On the plus side its effective and efficient, on the negative its based on ancient philosophy that your attacker is a sword wielding, armor clad boogie man attacking you from the front. Some moves are based on "sense" that you are about to be attacked from the back but even those have moves that involve you wearing a sword. It does translate to empty hand but.....still.

Krav Maga is a constantly evolving martial arts that assumes your attacker is 1) wearing clothes 2) attacking you from the front, side, or back 3) is using a short range weapon or firearm. It is pretty much combat fighting that is constantly tested in modern combat. Its negative side is that it is still fairly rare to find a Krav Maga gym and if you do find one it is usually g-dly expensive to join.

So in the end I am looking for a Krav Maga gym. The ones I found refused to tell me the price until I try their free classes. Undoubtedly to get me hooked and then tell me the monster price. As a word around I put two leading books on Krav Maga on my Amazon wish list. One of the nice things about Krav Maga is that all the moves are based on natural movement and reactions, that none of the moves are thought to you ONLY at segmented ranks, and that your advancement in Krav Maga is based on your physical ability to execute moves quickly and powerfully. Basically all the moves you learn, you learn at the beginning [more or less] and that you advance by practice, practice, practice!

Four Worms and a lesson

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a container of coffee.
The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.
The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.
The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.


At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:

The first worm in coffee - Dead.
The second worm in cigarette smoke - Dead
Third worm in chocolate syrup - Dead
Fourth worm in good clean soil - Alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation -

What can you learn from this demonstration?

Maxine was setting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said "As long as you drink coffee, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"

That pretty much ended the service

This mornings news - Racism and good manners

It should be no secret that I detest real racism. From so called "black leaders" propagating Americans suppression into a destructive mind set to politicians evading responsibility of creating a black market environment. How ever this form of racism just makes my blood boil

The link

A 20 year old young woman was kidnapped, held hostage, raped, forced to eat animal poo, was beaten, and stabbed, and probably other horrible things that hasn't made the news......why? Because her skin colors is not white. Oh this is so infuriatin! How could anyone do this to another human being? This white supremacist crap is just a club for scared stupid people.

In other news

Jacksonville, Flor-uh-duh

A mother makes her son hold up a sign in front of their house that reads"

"I was rude to my teacher

I can't come to school

I am sorry"

The news and I guess folks around the country are asking if this is to much or if this is wrong. My answer..... No freaking way is this wrong. This generation of parents and their children are growing up with any respect for other or self dignity in public. People constantly go out into public wear nasty clothes and showing off their butt cracks. They talk loudly on the cell phone, smack fries while they pick their nose, and cut others off in traffic. People are rude to each other, refuse to say "please" and "you are welcome". People take pills to make themselves feel better while ignoring their health, expect others to take care of them, get married for the wrong reason, and refuse to act like parents and act responsible when they get each other pregnant.

So when I see a parent taking action like this and setting some sort of standard long forgotten in the annuals of American history that will certainly go unread I say "good for you madam, good for you".

*Cheers*

Romney dropped!!

WOW! I thought for sure we was going to stay in. Oh he is not out-out like throwing in the towel. He is doing what Edwards did and "suspended' his campaign. It basically allows you to keep drawing federal funds but you stop campaigning. So now it is McCain *spits on ground*, Huck-N-ator, and Dr. Paul

I am still blown away that Romney tapped out

Dude! Big Brother is watching!

k folks. I kind of loosely listened to people that talked about chem trails and crazy stuff like that but this is out in your face government domestic spying. Time to get out the tin foil....remember shiny side out.

The FBI is gearing up to award a 1 billion dollar contract to beef up their biometric domestic surveillance. 1) ok so they admit they are spying domestically 2) They measure my bio-metric-icty-ism? 3) Why are they spying on me?

According to the article ""It's the beginning of the surveillance society where you can be tracked anywhere, any time and all your movements, and eventually all your activities will be tracked and noted and correlated" (From Kelli Arena and Carol Cratty -CNN, feb 4th 2008).

and further "Kimberly Del Greco, the FBI's Biometric Services section chief, said adding to the database is "important to protect the borders to keep the terrorists out, protect our citizens, our neighbors, our children so they can have good jobs, and have a safe country to live in." (From Kelli Arena and Carol Cratty -CNN, feb 4th 2008).

Oh......well....if handing all my privacy rights over to the government guarantees that I have a good job and that I will always be safe then go ahead. How the F is this going to keep terrorist out? If we are the ones getting our turd cutter probed and the terrorist....arn't then is it a matter of dudction? "Well Frank that fella coming in on that flight doesn't show up in our records so he most be a terrorist". Oh yes this is going to be great! I can hear the debate now..."Wull if yous ain't doin nuttin wrooang then yous got nuttin to wurey about" SUBMIT TO GOVERNMENT ANAL PROBING OR YOUR A TERRORIST!

And a special dedication to Raul for asking my to blog about this

Heere yuo geo wRual! Whejn yuo lern to sthop barragggg1ng mew wiyh chatz that ar grosdly misspehhed wods thn 'll stotp pickg one yuo

Sthuper Tuuthesday

E-Yaaaay everyone one! Its Sthuuuper Tuuuthuesday! How Sthuuuuper!

My predictions for day:

The Democratic party will crush any dreams of restoring the honor in their institution and continue to whore themselves out.

The Republican party will crush any dreams of restoring the honor in their institution and continue to whore themselves out.

Both parties will choose some one that is for big government, big budgets, will not end the middle east aggression, and continue to erode the civil liberties of Americans.

Sthuper!

Getting in touch with my inner luberjack

One of the few things that relax me is work on the property. Serious! I've come to realize that playing video games on the computer keeps things unchanged in terms of stress and only working outside really drains my stress. Its something to due with using my muscles and the challenge of getting this or that done. Not to mention the instant gratification of having work done in front of my eyes. It really gives you a sense of accomplishment and boosts your self worth.

This weekend I was preparing the back portion of the property that abuts the cliff. I am getting ready to build my house and I am in the processes of clearing that portion of the property. My arsenal is a bow saw, a machete, and some limb clippers. I was cutting up a fallen cedar (Hoo-rah!) while the wifey was out walking with the CLG. I guess she noticed how freaking hard it is right now with my limited arrangement of cedar killing weapons.

My wife said the coolest thing, "You need a chainsaw". Wow, instant ...well... you know. A freaking chain saw! I've been thinking about a chainsaw for a bit now. I always talked myself out of it but when I am working I come back to wanting one.

So we did a little research and set a budge of $80 for one. Nothing fancy, I just need something that will get the job done. So after deciding to get one at H-E-B, since we need groceries anyways, we headed off!

Of course when we get there I zip off like a fat kid in a candy store, complete with arms out like a pretend airplane a giggling like a school girl, I find myself looking at the chain saws. One is a gas powered 14" and the other is an electric 16". Gas powered it $108 and the Electric is $69. Looks like I am going electric! Mind you its my only electric yard toy so keep your comments to yourself.

Fast forward to the next day and I have felled four tress, cut them up, cut up one I felled from yesterday, and trim several trunks that I couldn't cut right from before using the bow saw.

My end objective is to get all the felled trees cut to fire wood size and store them in the open door shed. Then go after the remaining Cedars and do the same. Then I have several oak saplings that need a transplant to other parts of the property. Then its on to stump removal and finally the transplant of my big oak that is right smack in the middle of my future house.

Superbowl for teh win!!!11

Me? I was going for the team that beat the Cowboys. Who was that...they had the white uniforms. White socks? Bah, doesn't matter. The Dallas Cowboy beaters won and that is what matters to me.

Wife, the CLG, and myself migrated our selfs to my old friend Mikela's house. I normally love going to her house. It was only recently that she moved into a much smaller house. Which I wouldn't say is a problem but she has cats and I don't do well with cats. So smaller space and cats....by the 3rd quarter my face was swollen and we decided to pack it up and go home. My head is still pounding from the swelling. Cats are worthless.....

On par

With Americans getting the shaft on the presidential picks, lay offs in a economic down turn, Writers strike during the worst programming in history, and my g-d damn excel keeps crashing when I am on a tight dead line....this seemed about par with events.