Well my little tri-top just told me a bit ago it was raining outside. Like any sane person here since I was awake I grabbed a scotch and a cigar and went out back to enjoy it for a while. Life is getting better as time goes on. Slowly but it is getting better.

Politics

So my liberal McCain has chosen a woman for his vice. Makes for a very interesting election this time around. No matter who wins it will be an historical event.

I don't know where the idea of Palin came from. McCain gave away his big "no experience" club by doing this. She is however quite the babe for her 44 years.

I hate this choice but mostly because I'm lazy. Why couldn't he pick someone I already know? Now I have to research and study more just to figure out who she is and what she stands for.

I love this choice because compared to the ultra liberal McCain she just has to be conservative. You would logically think the NOW gang would be confused here. http://www.now.org/ The front page of their website today says "vote for Biden" because he's a friend to women. It also says to "elect more women". Well now they have a chance to actually elect one to the second highest office but they won't because she's an evil conservative.

BTW although I will normally vote for the republican candidate I don't always do so. I'm kind of a "tweener". I can't be a liberal because I think "I'm" better at spending my money than the government is. I can't be a true conservative because the money I do have I like to spend on things that are fun.

Not very sharp.

Someone must run around and tell everyone you are dead. All of my wife's debit and credit cards no longer work and this is a pretty good thing.

However, all of the bills that used to be taken care of automatically by using that debit card are now coming back saying the card was rejected. Why is my credit union smart enough to figure out Alison is no longer with me but not smart enough to just pay the damned bill out of the account and use my debit card.

The same problem happened with my satellite TV today. It took me a half hour to get it straight on the phone with some lady who sounded like she was from L.A. (lower Alabama). When we finally got done and got the bill paid and set up for auto pay it wasn't ten minutes before the little message popped up on the screen and told me to pay my bill.

I don't think you can hire good help any more. I guess I'll have to waste my time and gas to show up personally at all these places so I can do their job for them. The one place I did show up suddenly had no problems fixing everything while I was standing there but couldn't do the same over the phone.

Rant over.

Insecure and just a bit of "power".

Why am I not surprised at all to find my photosig account now totally deleted. On that site you cannot even simply agree with "some" of the words written on SheenaSig. They didn't even have enough common courtesy to say they were going to delete the account.

If this tiny bit of power has them acting this way I would really hate to run into the person with absolute power. It really reminds me of the punks of my youth. They would mess up your car or damage your motorcycle all while you weren't looking because they didn't have the balls to face you. Same as the guy who once sent five guys to jump me as I came out of a building downtown because he thought I had danced with his girlfriend. What a bunch of jerks. I'm glad to be done with them.

Anyone thinking of joining that site with the idea of learning something had better think twice about it. It's a forced critique site and all you gain is carpal tunnel syndrome from mindlessly typing away. Tell someone their attempts at a photo are really poor and they need some real help and all they'll do is delete their photo and re-post it later and hope to get some pretty green thumbs.

Simply telling someone their photo sucks and then telling them how to go about doing better next time will earn a quick suspension. Don't ever stir the pot. Just be a good little sheep. Just follow all their advice and you'll be a mindless zombie of a person and on the low side of mediocre as a photographer.

Rose

Even though she's a distant relative I did not solicit her comment here but it really kind of deserves its own posting. She puts words to paper (or LCD) much better than I.

"Blogs, websites, etc are only as important as the people using them like to pretend them to be. It's like creating an invisible friend and an invisible kingdom if you were a small child. It's really only relevant to those who wish to keep pretending it matters. Once someone grows up enough to say it's not really a castle but a bush with a hole in the middle... well, then the pretending isn't so great anymore and cracks start to appear and people move on. Most things on the internet operate on the same principle. Even though the people are real who are posting etc.... everything else is really a make believe world. Would people behave in public with their children, partners, bosses the way they like to behave anonymously on line? Probably not, or the jails would end up being quite full. And the ones who do behave the same in public and online... well those people have a little substance and end up posting blogs on their own, without permission from people who have created a make believe world."

Being now kicked off Sig I posted this on the slime blog someone started here. Obviously they are all Sheena sniffers and have yet to grow a set big enough to break away from her. They do however require the blog owner to "approve" the comment so I don't think they will. They may surprise me just to slap me around a bit but I've been slapped before and they just don't get it.

Photosig is a good site to be gone from. At least those of us who are gone are honest and not so afraid that we hide behind silly names, blank profiles and anonymous.

Look at my blog here and I don't hide. I also don't need to approve comments as I'm adult enough to accept all of them.

What you folks haven't figured out yet is that PhotoSig is a web site. It is a diversion. It is not unique, does not change the world nor does it mean anything important at all.

Since you need to approve this comment let's see if you can handle it. The three I posted to Sig were immediately deleted because someone there can't handle criticism or the truth.

I posted this on another blog but since they are the rabid hate filled don't have a life types and like you require "permission" to post it let's see if it get there.

Took a trip to the local cigar store yesterday. It was hot dog day too. On Wednesdays they have a guy come in that does dogs and brats and stuff like that. Nice lunch and a good smoke all in air conditioned comfort. I got myself a new portable humidor that holds thirty sticks. Added to my 18 capacity one and I'll do well on the road.

The Siggers are having a good time yet. It drives them nuts that their comments don't get us all mad and crazy. Those of us on the sane side of stuff like this actually enjoy the life we have outside of the information highway. Funny though how many anonymous and blank profile responses are attracted to this little out of the way blog.

Sixty more cigars showed up in the brown truck today too. It's about 1830 here so it just may be time to pour a scotch and light one up. I'm in no danger of running out of either so I may as well get back to enjoying life.

Is it the anonymity afforded by the internet that causes this type of behavior or were people always this way and frustrated because they had no outlet?

The girls had a good time today. I think I'll enjoy them being here. You get all the benefits of that energy and excitement of youth without all the pain the next day.

Well I'm surviving the young chix here just fine. They're actually very good company. Need to unass the house tomorrow and actually do something. Seems a trip down to the cigar store in Phoenix is in order as well as a stop by the post office. I'll need to stop by the grocery place as I like to eat and am also out of beer and scotch. I guess I can call on the Wild Turkey for tonight but it gets to wild more than one night in a row.

Looks like I'm getting closer to re-joining the working class. I now have two 30yr old types here along with a couple of dogs, some meat eating fish of some type and a turtle. Maybe they'll send me to some more interesting places for photo ops but normally just run my ass ragged out east until I scream uncle.

A form of communication most people can understand.

Small people who have never had a position of authority in their lives. I've been tossed off this web site indefinitely for stating honest opinions. Never rude or offending to any rational being. I discovered long ago that informed and to the point speech threatens many people because they are insecure. Brought to its highest level you have Hitler. Unfortunately we have many many of the variety I'm speaking of here. Note the last two paragraphs and then tell me if "goose stepping" comes to mind.

On Sat, Aug 16, 2008 at 9:29 AM, Del <delphotosig@earthlink.net> wrote:
Gary,

I am responding to your inquiry regarding when your suspension will end.
The suspension will end when we determine that you will participate in
constructive ways, or at least will not participate in destructive ways, and
according to the Terms of Service.

I note that in your request you claim not to have done anything wrong. I
counted almost thirty warnings recorded with your account. These were
variously for injecting politics into discussion; disrespectful, demeaning,
and rude behavior to other users in critiques and forums; disrespectful,
demeaning and rude comments to admins and about admins; posts calculated to
attract attention and admin actions. Any of these, over time, accumulate
enough attention to warrant removal from the site.

Here is how your suspension can end. You will agree to two things. First,
you will acknowledge your agreement with and acceptance of the photoSIG
Terms of Service. Second, you will agree that the site owner and
administrators are the sole authorities on interpretation of the Terms of
Service and you accept their decisions. To be specific, that means you
agree not to make rude, disrespectful, or demeaning remarks to or about
other users or administrators, and you further agree to accept directions
from administrators regarding your use of the site.

If you agree to these terms, by email to me and photosig@photosig.com, your
suspension will be lifted. Should you return to the site under these
conditions and repeat the kinds of violations we have noted in the past, or
commit new violations of the Terms of Service, you will be subject to
decisions and discipline from administrators, including permanent exclusion
from photoSIG.

Del

It ought to be fun living with a couple of 30 year old women. They should be here within an hour or so. They both quit their jobs to move in with me. Not a bad thing at all if I can handle it.

Insecure people. Small minds. Past time to move on.

My cousins are sure having one hell of a time getting here. After being towed back to Reno for repairs they get stuck not half way to Las Vegas because of a hazmat spill closing the highway. They won't have the road open for another 3 hours or so. They should be well worn out by the time they get here.

I'm no stranger to tow trucks. When you drive for a living you see more of them than anyone needs to. My cousin started out on her move from Reno to here this morning and didn't make it a hundred miles before her U-Haul truck broke down and is now being towed back to Reno.

Nothing lasts like it used to. Maybe I just don't remember stuff breaking like it does all the time now. Back in the '60's you could buy a '47 Ford pickup truck for a hundred bucks, drive it for a year or two and sell it for the same amount. Now you can't even get a new truck to make a hundred miles.

My sister and her husband just did a similar thing with their truck. Dead on the side of the highway in Oregon. A relatively new Chevy truck with the big diesel engine pulling a little 31' fifth wheel RV. They ended up on the tow truck down to the nearest RV campground then off went the truck to the shop. Stuff just doesn't last like it used to.

This is what I do for a living.

I think of it as a corner office with a view. My wife died at the end of June this year and I'll be going back to work in the next 2-3 weeks or so. It will be tough going back but I still have bills to pay. It does serve up a good landscape shot once in a while though so that makes it worthwhile.

Since David said I might post a photo of the southwest I may as well do so. This is almost in my backyard.

It rained here a couple of days ago. In the desert that's a big deal. It brings out all the people to watch it come down. We get maybe 8 inches a year and got one of them in an hour during this storm.

I stayed away from all the people and just made a photo or four.