Fly Like a ......... pt.2

While you are airborne, your little bubble of air seems to be expanded to the sky around you, almost as if you are godlike, soaring over your domain.  Things on the ground look so peaceful, removed from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  It is then that you sigh a breath of relief knowing for that moment, even if just ever so briefly, you are not burdened by the things that seem to mount upon your shoulders, giving you a sense of freedom.  It's as if, for that moment, nothing really matters.  Of course that all ends when an upset child begins to wail their unhappy song bringing you back from your peaceful daydream and back to the realities of humanity and all of it's flaws.  As your flight progresses, you know the time is rapidly approaching that this little getaway from reality will be ending.  The pilot states over the intercom that you are on final approach and you will be landing shortly to return to the land of shoving and pushing.  During your decent, you notice out your window that things on the ground are getting larger ever so slightly but fast enough that if you look away for a brief moment those objects are much larger and can now be distinguished as cars and houses.  It is then that you being to long for that sliver of time that is forever lost when you were staring down at the beauty of the world around from your throne high in the sky.  As your plane prepares to land, you now must harness yourself in and make all the necessary safety preparations to keep you warm and snug in your seat.  At the moment before touchdown, you can see the runway appear below you and rush past just before the plane touches down giving you a jolt as if it were letting you know that life must go on as usual and it is now time to wake from your daytime slumber.  When finally on the ground, the roar of the reverse thrusters pushes you forward as the pilot tries to get the reluctant plane, that also seems to not want to return to what may be considered normalcy, to slow down and stop, bringing you to the gate to which you must depart, ending a journey of escape and tranquility.

Fly Like a ........ pt.1

OK, so how many of you like to fly?  Or just have to and thus are destined to be in a plane more often than they might desire?  Personally, I love to fly.  I don't know what it is, but I will try to break it down and maybe gain some insight.  I think, first of all, once you get past all the hustle and bustle of just getting on the plane, some of the built up anxiety wears off and you are left waiting like a little kid on Christmas Eve, staring out the window or looking down the aisle to see when the last passenger has finally boarded and the Flight Attendant has closed the door, things become a bit serene.  Then there is the adrenaline build up of the take off, the anticipation of taxiing down the runway and you know it is about to happen when the plan turns sharply and comes to a stop.  You can see out the window the large runway you are on and then BAM!  The engines roar to life and you are pressed into your seat as the plane accelerates down the runway.  The tarmac seams bump under you at an ever increasing rate as you are hurled toward takeoff.  Then the front of the plane noticeably rises up leaving you down still on the ground  wondering when it is your chance to get airborne, the rumbling of the wheels disappears as you are finally lifted into the air, the roaring of the engines is equally matched by the roaring of the wind whipping past the plane.  It is then that you being to relax knowing that you are now in flight, watching intently as things on the ground that are so familiar become smaller and smaller, resembling toys or a model railroad display that someone has painstakingly spent hours upon hours detailing to the most minute blade of grass.  As you continue to climb, the clouds that normally appear so far away and incomprehensible become your passing friends, sharing with you that one fleeting moment that they are next to you, embracing the plane in their mysterious shroud.  As the plan finally reaches it's cruising altitude, you realize that time has been fleeting, what has seemed like mere seconds has been several minutes and you are now well on your way to your destination, miles away from where you began your journey.

Out of Commission for a Bit

Sorry folks for not posting much lately.  I haven't been feeling the best and work has been a beast.  I promise I will have more things next week.

-Chaot1k

Latest Time Burner

So for all you game junkies, such as myself, I have been burning my time on a new game for the XBox 360.  The game is Singularity.  I haven't finished the game yet but from what I have played has so far kept me interested.  The story of the game revolves around a fictitious Russian island called Katorga-12.  It is on this island that Russian scientists find a new element called E-99 which is supposed to be vastly more powerful than any other element used for atomic purposes.  Inevitably, as in most stories such as this, something goes horribly wrong and the massive reactor they built explodes creating random EMP waves and time rifts.  It is one of these rifts that our protagonist gets caught in transporting him back to the mid 1950's.  It is when he returns to the present that he finds out that he has changed history and tries to repair what he has changed. 

The gameplay for this is much like another great game, Bioshock 2.  It is a first person shooter and the environment is dark and creepy.  I have caught myself jumping in my seat during some of the events that I encountered.  The weapons are nicely done and are upgradable throughout the game.  The only drawback I have found is that you can only carry two weapons at a time, but I suppose that is much like any other first person shooter.  So far I haven't run into any glitches or issues with the actual game itself.  I recommend giving it a try if you are into games and being a bit creeped out.

Quote of the Day: 8/25

Why is there so much month left at the end of the money?

- Anonymous

My No-Legged Babies!

So here we go folks.  As promised I am posting the pictures of my four snakes.

This is my big baby.  She is about 2 years old and a little over 3 feet long (I know I chopper her head off in this pic).  We call her Emma (we think she is female).  She is the most even tempered snake I have met.  I am comfortable letting small kids handle her as long as I am there to supervise.  I even use her as a Halloween prop, letting her coil around my hand and arm as I hand out candy.  She is my second snake and has been wonderful to work with.

 

This bright little fella is one of my newest editions.  He is definitely male and is a lemon pastel genetic morph.  Jazz as we call him, is shy and quite snappy, but it is all a show.  He is a healthy eater and is only about 8 months old.

This tiny guy (who we think is a girl now) is my  first snake.  His name is Bo and he is a Kenyan Sand Boa.  His colors and markings drew me to him immediately.  He is about 18 inches long and loves to be held.

Here you can see my young Kenyan Sand Boa, called Al.  He is a genetic morph called anerythiristic which gives him that beautiful purple-grey and black colors.  He is very snappy and doesn't like to be bothered much, but I love him just the same.  You can see him next to Bo in the picture below.

I keep my pythons in Zilla Critter Cages, found here on Amazon.com RZIL CRITTER CAGE 10GAL BLACK.   I use the 10 gallon for my smaller Ball Python and a 40 gallon one for my large Ball Python.  These cages are great to display your reptile.  The top is a heavy duty screen for plenty of ventilation and you can use any type of heating for your snakes.  I use a small hood with dual lamps, one for daytime light the other for infrared night-time lighting/heat.  I also use shredded coconut for a substrate.  I have had no issue with this setup so far and I highly recommend it for those of you who might want to get into reptiles as a casual hobby or pets.  Obviously because of the size of the cages, they are not the best for breeders or folks who have large collections of reptiles, but for me it works.  Below you can see my 40 gallon setup for Emma, the larger Ball Python.

Here are is a couple more pictures of my babies!!  Enjoy!

Photo Test

I just wanted to throw a post on here to test the photo uploading.  So I uploaded a picture of my puppy.  She is a pug and is about a year old now.  She is a little bigger now than the picture shows, but she is still runt sized....tiny and petite.  So enjoy!

Blog Disclaimer

I think there might be some confusion as to what my blog is about so I thought I would clarify some things.  First of all I want to make it clear that I am not, nor do I claim to be an expert at, well, just about anything.  As mentioned in the header, this blog is merely a look into my mind and thoughts.  Everything on here unless otherwise stated is just an opinion or something that has been on my mind.  It is not intended to be factual in most cases.  Yes my opinions may be uninformed or may seem foolish, but that is the beauty of opinions and thoughts, there are no right or wrong answers.  My purpose here is not to offend anyone, so please do not take anything to heart.  The sole purpose for me starting this blog was to have a place for me to vent, to possibly have others discuss what I am thinking about, and to maybe bring up points of interest.  If you wish to disagree with me or to fill in the gaps where I might be misled, then please do so, just do it so that we all can learn from what is being debated.  As a side note, if you enjoy seeing me make a fool of myself or find my posts interesting, feel free to spread me around like a $5 whore....I like being cheap.  You can also help my endeavors by clicking on the adds here.  They should all be safe since they are from Google.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates.

-Chaot1k

Quote of the Day: 8/23

Minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled, ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort.

- Charles Dickens

Danger on the Roads

Do you drive a distance to get to work?  Do you consider yourself a "road warrior"?  If so then you probably have seen some of the worst drivers imaginable.  Some of these folks probably make you say "wtf".  Even if you aren't a long distance driver you have probably run into (not literally...or maybe you have) those drivers who just seem to be anywhere but in the driver's seat.  It never fails, everyday on my drive to work I always seem to find at least one driver who has their head up their butt.  I wonder what is going on inside their minds at that exact moment.  It definitely doesn't appear to be driving.  Have we as a society become some consumed with ourselves and our daily activities that a task such as driving now takes backseat to everything else?  It scares me that there are so many people wielding a weapon so large with what seems to be no regard for the safety of themselves let alone the safety of the other folks on the road with them.  It is not uncommon for me to get behind someone doing ten mph less than the speed limit on an interstate highway.  What makes that situation even worse is that typically they are pacing someone else driving close to the same speed.  The end result is that traffic backs up and no one can go anywhere.  Then there are the people that are too busy doing whatever besides driving that decide that their exit is getting ready to pass.  Instead of them doing the right thing and going to the next exit and turning around, they come to an almost complete stop in the far left lane and then cut across 3 lanes of traffic just to cut off everyone that was already in the exit lane.  OH and let's not forget the drivers who appear to have no concept of an acceleration lane.  It is called an acceleration lane for a reason; to accelerate up to the speed limit or the speed of traffic so that you can merge without causing a disruption of the flow of traffic.  Many times these folks will maintain 35 or 45 mph until they are already on the interstate before accelerating to the acceptable speed.  And lastly, I saw a bumper sticker that sums this up perfectly:  "Shut up, Hang up, and drive".  Seriously, we should all practice that.  If your conversation is so intensive and important that it is worth endangering your life as well as the others around you, then pull over to talk, otherwise get off the dang phone.  Now I'm not an angel behind the wheel.  I will be the first to admit that I can have nasty bouts of road rage, but I at least realize this and try to calm myself down and think about what I am doing.  And by no means am I perfect on the roads.  This is just some of my observations and can probably be applied to all of us.....maybe we should all be more aware of what is going on around us especially if we are the ones behind the wheel.

So How 'bout them fins?

It's almost here!!  Football season is right around the corner and I am ready for it to get going.  I spent my 3 hours the other night drafting my players for fantasy football and I have already been tracking my favorite team, the Miami Dolphins during their preseason play.  I have been a 'fins fan for as long as I can remember and I am very excited about this years team.  Our quarterback, Chad Henne, is looking really solid and made some fantastic throws in Saturday nights game.  My biggest disappointment right now is the secondary.  They are getting chewed up every week by the opposing quarterbacks.  In any event, I am hopeful for a good year....maybe playoffs are in the future.....who knows.  So tell me about your favorite team and what you are looking forward to regarding this football season.

Quote of the Day: 8/21

Wishes:

When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor.

- Demotivators Calendar, www.despair.com

My Heart for Herps

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "Herps", it is derived from the word herpetology which is a branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians.  So yes, from the title above, I love reptiles.  So much so that I now have four beautiful snakes.  I am still a novice as I have been taking care of snakes for just over a year, but just like anything, I am learning something new everyday.  So far my collection consists of two ball pythons and 2 sand boas.  I will try to post pictures of them here so you guys can admire them.  One of my ball pythons is a genetic morph called a lemon pastel.  It is a gorgeous bright yellow and black.  He is an amazing snake.  Hopefully I will be able to breed my sand boas and make smaller ones LOL!  Tell me about your snakes or snake stories.....

Quote of the Day: 8/20

In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous.

- Robert G. Ingersoll

What's in a Name?

Here we go again.  Someone went and degraded millions of people by using a taboo name.  I was reading today that Jennifer Aniston is catching all kinds of hell for using the R-word (retard) while self-deprecating during an interview.  Seriously?  I mean really?  Using a term that, yes, can be degrading toward those that are mentally challenged when directed toward those persons, but to demean yourself is now off limits?  Come on people!  Are we so concerned with everyone else and what they say that we hang on every last word that comes out of their mouths and then analyze every minute detail of it to the point that we can now demonize someone who was essentially making fun of themselves?  Give me a break, people need to quit being so sensitive about everything.  I personally don't condone using stereotypes or derogatory words towards an individual or group of individuals, but this, I feel, has been blow WAY out of proportion.....just goes to show you that there are people out there that have nothing better to do with their time than to make a fuss when someone says anything that they feel is inappropriate. 

Unsung Heroes

I want to take some time today to thank the unsung heroes of our country, the men and women of the United States Armed forces.  I know from personal experience, being a former Marine myself, of the sacrifices, blood, sweat, and tears that theses brave young men and women go through.  They by far have the most dangerous job one could have and yet they do so without question, without complaint, and without regard for themselves.  Why would they do this one might ask.  It isn't for the meager pay they receive.  It's not for the glory of the moment.  It isn't even for the bragging rights.  It's simple, they really don't know.  If you ask me why I was willing to give my life for our country, I wouldn't have an answer....only that it was my job.  A job.  From the outside what these men and women do hardly seems like a job many of us would want to do, working 7 days a week in the worst conditions, dodging bullets daily, and wondering when the last time they would speak to the ones they love would be.  We could say they do it for a word that we hold dearly in this country, freedom.  But freedom is more than a mere word that can be found in the dictionary, it is an ideal, a set of basic values.  It is the whole purpose that we have what could be called the greatest country in the world.  Our forefathers came to this great land solely for the purpose of pursuing freedom.  Freedom from oppression, freedom from the moral police.  Freedom to choose how you want to live your life.  For that one small chance that they might be able to create from nothing the seeds of an extraordinary life not just for them but for their children and their children's children, for all ages to come.  It is these ideals that spur our service members to fight, fight for what they believe, to ensure that we continue to be able to have the opportunity to strive for a better tomorrow.  These young men and women don't think that what they are doing at this very moment will become some great moment in history, they only do it because they want to.  It all boils down to another word:  Hope.  The hope that what they are doing will someday better our world, will give them and their heirs a chance to continue the legacy of our forefathers.  We should be in awe of our service members that in their naivety they are giving their lives for a cause, for hope.  It is for this reason that they are heroes, sacrificing themselves for something that they really can't perceive, nor will they, in most cases, ever see the end result.  We should all find the closest service member and shake their hand, give them a hug, and thank them will all of our hearts for what they have done.  Give them the respect they have earned with blood.  I just thank God everyday we have these heroes among us.

Quote of the Day: 8/19

The world is a dangerous place to live - not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

- Albert Einstein

Blog Info

Hi folks.  I thought I would just post a little info about my blog.  Everyone feel free to comment as much as you want.  The comments are open to everyone so you don't need to have an account with blogspot to leave a comment.  Rules for comments:

1) I will review all comments before posting them, so if you don't see your comment right away, be patient, I will get to it.

2) It is ok to disagree with me, I actually encourage debate.  However, if your comment is rude and has no context to the blog post, then I will not post it.

3)  Please keep the foul language to a minimum.  Although I clearly am not offended by it, others might be, so please be considerate of them.

Also, you may have noticed some adds on the lower right-hand side of the page and at the bottom.  Please click away as I need to try and pay some bills with this.  No obligation to do so but every click helps.  And as always thanks for visiting, without followers, this is kind of pointless.  Feel free to pass my blog around to your friends if you find it interesting.

-Chaot1k

Stand Up From the Middle

I don't know about everyone one else, but I am sick to death with all the finger pointing when it comes to the current recession we are in and the government policies that have been enacted or proposed.  Get over it folks, seriously.  Let's face it, government is corrupt.  Big business runs the show.  I just read a report on CNN today stating that jobless claims are at a 9 month high.  This report goes on to say that it isn't because companies can't hire do to lack of revenue or profit because many companies are making money hand over fist and are just sitting on it.  Corporate greed has spiraled out of control and we, the middle class, are paying dearly for it.  Look, I am not a bleeding heart liberal, nor am I an extremist right winger.  I consider myself a classic republican, more leaning toward libertarian if I had to choose a party.  I used to consider myself a republican and voted as such, now I vote for the guy who makes more sense and doesn't want to limit my freedoms.  The republican party has turned me off with all of the religious nuts and their extremist banterings about how we must police the immoral, and limit the freedoms of the people because we are too sick and Godless to do it ourselves......eff off dudes.....My beliefs have nothing to do with Joe Blow next door and what he does with his time.  If he has an alternate lifestyle and has a partner he loves and wants to marry that person, then send me an invitation!  I wish them all the luck in the world!  Closed minded people suck!  Does that mean I agree with everything our current government is doing? NO.  Absolutely not....  I am pissed that we are giving billions of our money to the same idiots that irresponsibly drove our economy into the crapper.  I realize that something had to be done and it had to be done quickly, but I don't like it.  Also, is it fair that the top 1% of earners in this country make 99% of the money......WTF?  Some executives feel that they should be overly compensated for the "risk" they must be responsible for, but if they truely were being held responsible then why are the executives on Wall Street still employed and making more money in a year than I will probably see in a lifetime.  That is ludicrous.  If I did anything remotely that effed up I would be out on the streets with a cloud over my head and I am responsible for the internal infrastructure of a company with 1600 employees....where is my "risk" compensation?   My thoughts are this;  regardless of religious beliefs and values, those things have NO PLACE in government.  The purpose for government is to govern it's people by providing the basics for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Government is not intended to be the moral police of it's people.  If we are to hold true to our core values that everyone has the RIGHT to believe in whatever they wish, then we as a country cannot tell people that abortion is wrong, that marriage is only for a man and a woman, and so on.  We should live and let live.  As long as one person's actions do not hurt another person, then so be it.  Why do we have to be concerned with it?

Anyway, enough with my rantings.  As I said in my first post, these are things on my mind, they don't necessarily make sense......so don't go all psycho crazy on me.....remember one thing, opinions are like a-holes, everyone has one and sometimes they can be smelly, LOL!  The point I want to make is this;  If the middle class stood up and took charge of this country, there is nothing anyone could do to stop us.  So hear my plea middle class.  STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Morning Hell

I am not a morning person.....period.  There is nothing like getting up and trying to overcome the nights sleepy daze and hearing your overly hyper-active child talking at a speed that is almost incomprehensible.  Not to mention that he is running around like a mad man, or even as if he were a chicken with it's head cut off.  I suppose that is just part of being a kid and I do love the little rascal more than words can express.....but no one said I had to LIKE the morning or any part of what happens during it.

Quote of the Day: 8/18

Everybody should believe in something; I believe I'll have another drink.

- Anonymous

What is a word?

Here is something that has been rattling inside my head for some time.  Curse words.  We all know them and some of us love to use them, but really, what makes a curse word?  Is it the meaning or is it the perceived offense of using such a word.  I hear people using "sugar" in place of the other "s" word that commonly has a meaning of feces.  But in the context of how the word is used, does the meaning still apply?  I think it does not.  For instance, if one were to stub their toe, the common phrase that might be heard other than "ow" or "ouch" would be "sh!t!" or even more taboo, the "f-bomb".  Now in that context does that person intend to say feces or even the act of copulation?  I highly doubt it.  These words are merely examples of sentence modifiers that add emphasis to the statement or situation.  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the term "expletive" is defined as such:   

1 a : a syllable, word, or phrase inserted to fill a vacancy (as in a sentence or a metrical line) without adding to the sense; especially : a word (as it in “make it clear which you prefer”) that occupies the position of the subject or object of a verb in normal English word order and anticipates a subsequent word or phrase that supplies the needed meaningful content b : an exclamatory word or phrase

 I highlighted the second definition because this is typically where these words fall.  So then substituting "sugar" for "sh!t" has the same meaning according to the context of the above scenario.  So then if that is the case then shouldn't "sugar" or any other substitute be just as offensive?  In today's society, no.  So I surmise this; the offensiveness of the expletives is simply determined by the person who hears these words and the societal taboo that we have put on them.  So if one is not offended by those words then it should be acceptable to use them freely, it does not make the user less educated or "low-brow".  So curse until your tongue dries up!

Space: My Final Frontier?

Since I was a small boy growing up in southern Florida I have always been interested in space and what mysteries it holds.  I used to watch the space shuttle launch every chance I could and even had my own small telescope to gaze at the moon and stars.  My interest even went so far as me majoring in Astrophysics in college; although my desire to party won the battle thus making my tenure in college very short.  So now I find myself with many questions of which I either do not have the answer to or that I have not found (probably due to not thoroughly looking) remain unanswered.

     Case in point, just the other night I began to contemplate the complexities of gravity.  What is it?  How does it affect the movement of celestial bodies?  so on and so forth.  So I surmised in my little word of reality that if gravity is constant and is one of the fundamental forces, then gravity should be infinite insomuch that every object affects every other object in the universe.  Now that is not to say that I think that the Earth's gravitational influence on say the galaxy Andromeda is the same as me being held down to the ground, but that the Earth still has a gravitational influence on everything.  Likewise everything else has a gravitational influence on us.  I envisioned it as a string attached to an object.  The further away the object from another objects center of mass, the longer the string.  If you take a string and attach one end to a stationary point and attach the other end to a ball and then roll the ball until you have a 20 degree angle from it's starting point, the distance traveled would be less for a shorter string that one that is longer.  If that is the case then the amount of energy required for the ball to move through the angle would increase as the distance from the center point increases.  So if you continue to lengthen that string to billions of miles, the amount of energy that is required to move the ball would so much that any other object that also has greater mass that is closer to the ball would have a greater effect on it.  This however does not negate the string from the original center point, it just makes the string irrelevant. 

    What do you guys think?  Am I nuts, or just under informed?  LOL!!!!

Hello World!

So here I am.  It is 3 AM and I am blogging.  This is my first go at this so please be easy on me.  I plan on writing the things that I think of that keep me up at night or that I ponder and don't exactly have the answers to.  I may even post things that would normally be in a diary.......So keep coming back, you never know what you might find.