The Dax Files

Anyone remember this movie from elementary school?

I just downloaded and played the entire 30 minute movie for my kids. Now we are ready to carve our own “Paddle.”

Just Damn!

I have an exam tomorrow with the Urban Outdoors Professor tomorrow. I’m not predicting any problems; however I am a little distracted today. The plant has been shut down this week so I am effectively out of work. While on this “vacation,” I have planned a trip to Virginia. The family and I are off to see the paternal parental unit and his new wife. I’ll tell you the wedding story later.

Besides the studying followed by packing for the trip, I have committed to preparing my worldfamily famous pizza. So today, I have to make the home made sauce followed by the dough and to top it all off…cook the toppings. All I have to do when the pizza time arrives is let the dough rise, and assemble the pies. The kids love the assembly part. It’s like family time…help with dinner…family activity…fight and argue kind of thing.

Dad has called several times over the last few days to check the menu. He understands that some of his grandkids like apple jelly where as others prefer grape. Some of his grand kids won’t eat mayonnaise while others have to have ketchup with everything. Of course, he wanted to double check my preference…bourbon or bourbon. However, I suspect we will have a Margarita night.

Anyway, we are scheduled to leave immediately upon my return from school. So I have instituted a 12:00 start time, which means we will leave about 2:30.

Just Damn!

Anyone remember the Urban Outdoors woman? A couple of years ago I had an employee that preferred to live in a tent as opposed to a nice warn hearth and home. Well, this shortened summer semester, I have a professor that subscribes to the same sort of lifestyle.

My International Business professor keeps a home and family somewhere in South Carolina. He comes to campus on Monday and then Thursday dives home. In the mean time he lives in a tent at one of the many camp grounds in the North Georgia Mountains. I can’t say where or even if he showers. However, I do know he does not smell like a campfire like the Urban Outdoors Woman did. Back in my homeless days, I showered at the field house (Butts-Mehre building) or at a friend’s house.

He seems like the type to live a hippie lifestyle too. He claims to have been at Woodstock. Hell, everyone that age claims to have been there. However I think he’s on the level because in his office hangs an old faded Woodstock poster and a couple of torn ticket stubs. I meant to ask him about that fabled weekend, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.

Anyway, he mentioned that he had to get a new tarp for his tent today in class. I just don’t see the old guy sleeping on the ground in a tent and then not being all stiff the next morning. When I camp with my kids, I’m all stiff, sore, and in a generally pissed off mood, and I’m twenty years younger.

On the other hand, it would be awesome to wake up early in the morning, trot over to the trout stream, and catch breakfast. Sometimes the simple, plain life has its own rewards.

Just Damn!

I only started re-Blogging just the other day. I guess I have a message that can’t be restrained.

See you at the polls!

Just Damn!

It was hard, but I watched this video to the end. I’m not sure why I decided to pass it on to you.

Just Damn!

Sadness graces this Blog yet again. This is possibly the worst news of the week.

Uga VI, the well-known University of Georgia mascot, suffered a heart attack and died Friday night in Savannah.

His owners, Cecelia and Frank “Sonny” Seiler and their children, were at his side.

Uga VI comes from a long-line of English Bulldogs who have served as the mascots for UGA. Uga VI had been mascot since 1999.

Uga VI is the son of Uga V, who was the only college mascot ever to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. Uga V also appeared in the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” where he stared as his father, Uga IV.

Burial for Uga VI is planned for Monday in Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia.

Rest in Peace!

Just Damn!

When I was a kid, we would sit around the television and watch Georgia Championship Wrestling with Gordon Sole. Back in those days, (Pre-WWE or whatever the fuck they call themselves) the masked “Mr. Wrestling I & II” were crowd pleasers. A few years ago, Mr. Wrestling I (unmasked) would frequent my bar. Anyway, as a kid we wanted to see the specialty acts, masked men, tag teams, Texas bull rope and cage matches, and midgets.

Midget wrestlers had to be the rarest wrestling act. However they were awesome, especially up against an Andre the Giant. So is it really any wonder that Verne Troyer is trying to profit from a sex tape? I say let the little man strut his stuff. Just pay him for it. TMZ is a scummy paparazzi organization.

Hell midget pron has to be as rare as midget wrestling. “Hey baby…Meet Mini Me!”

Just Damn!

I’m a guy, and guys love tools. My stepfather is a gear head. He has tools…lots of tools…and then even more tools. However, his tools are of the automotive persuasion with a little metal working thrown in for good measure. He has built cars and race cars and engines his whole life. He’s damn near eighty.

Mechanic’s tools don’t really help me, at least not at the moment. I need carpenter’s tools. As a recently new homeowner, I need tools to do various projects. Maybe a saw, perhaps a hammer, definitely a screwdriver, I’m just not sure what to buy/acquire.

Several years ago, before we moved to Augusta, most of my tools were stolen from my garage while I was traveling between Sugar Hill and Augusta. Not that I have money or anything, but I am interested in rebuilding the ol’ tool chest. The only problem with that is that I don’t know which tools I should try to get. Circular saws, jig saws, chop saws…hell I don’t know. If you could only have one saw, which one is the most versatile? Then there are sanders and drills and whatever else is in the Home Depot aisle.

My father-in-law is a home builder. For the past year, he has bailed me out of a couple of projects. However, he has compressors and nail guns and saws and all those things. I guess what I’m really asking is this…What are the most essential tools to have in a home owner’s tool chest? What are the most cost efficient brands…Black & Decker…Makita…DeWalt? Maybe a few of these guys will have a clue or two.

Just Damn!

A lot of things have changed over the years, especially in Blog habits. Back in the day, I used to link to people all the time. I don’t do that anymore. There’s no excuse other than just being lazy. It took a great conversation with this guy yesterday to point that out.

So besides trying to post more on this Blog, I’m actually going to try to give credit where credit is due. If I read something that is particularly good or particularly bad, I’m going to call them out on it…It’s the Blog thing to do.

I’d like to get back to all those good Blog habits that have fallen away. Oh! I found this North Georgia Blogger this morning because of this guy. Great find indeed.

Just Damn!

I’m trying real hard to get back into the Blogging habit. It was so easy to let it slip away. Remembering Rob kind of inspired me. I was thinking about all the good things blogging had given me over the past six years, friends, though provoking ideas, and it really helped me hone my writing skillz. Anyway, it is like working out. In the beginning, you just have to keep plugging away.

I just spent the last two plus hours combing through my Blogroll. I clicked every link by God. I deleted so many damn Blogs. I saw a lot of old friends go. A few links were from day one. It was sad really. A few folks I really would have liked to keep in touch with. C’est la vie!

I really appreciate the few of you that have hung with me over the past year. If I deleted you or if you changed URLs then shoot me…a comment of email and I will rectify the situation.

Just Damn!

It’s Friday, but it feels like Saturday. I just had a fine breakfast of eggs, biscuits and link sausage. Damn it was good. The lovely and talented Priscilla did a real fine job too. I came home from work and just climbed into bed this morning. I didn’t sleep well yesterday. Sometimes the mind just keeps on running.

Anyway, I guess I slept about three hours. It was just enough to get me kinda sorta back on a normal schedule. The job is closed until after Independence Day. If it wasn’t for school it would be a real vacation. Although, we are heading up to Virginia to visit my father later in the week.

Other than a couple hundred pages of reading for class, I do have a few other projects to attend to this week. I’d write them out for you, but then it would seem like a list, and a list of projects is a bad list to have on a vacation. Plus if I fade out a few items, it would seem like I got slack on my list.

No, I think I’m just gonna hangout for a while. It’s been a long time since I had a Friday feel like Saturday, which means I get two Saturdays in one weekend!

Just Damn!

I can’t believe it’s been two years since the death of Rob “Acidman” Smith. His Blog still gets more hits than mine does and the old bastard has been dead for two years. Just Damn doesn’t even come close to the mark. I guess that just shows the power he held in the Blogosphere.

His passing was also a benchmark event for many of his Blog friends. I, for one, just don’t attack the Blog world with much vigor as I once did. Many of the Georgia Bloggers, like me, have just let their Blogs sit idle. That’s not true of everyone, but I think for many of us we wrote many of our posts “for” Rob. We wanted him the read our stuff, comment, and link to it. We wanted and needed his “approval.”

He was a patriarch for so many in the Blogosphere. And like what happens when a “real” world patriarch dies, the rest of the family drifts apart. Some of that has also happened to his crew. But that’s ok too. Time marches on and with it new people and things fill the void.

I often times think back on those early Blog days. I think back on Rob Smith and how I peered in on his life through his Blog window. He inspired me to let you view in through mine, only not so much anymore. I am a far wealthier man for having known him, if only for a brief period of time, and only through his Blog.

Years ago, Rob stirred my adventurous nature. I was compelled to journey into the Mountains of North Georgia to meet this guy from the internet. Looking back, it was a damned fool thing to do. “Honey, I’m going to the mountains to meet this weird guy I read on the web…No…he doesn’t know I’m coming…” Crazy indeed. That meeting turned into the Georgia Blog meets.
We sat around and drank and told wild tales and had a grand old time. In the morning, Rob did in fact cook a fine breakfast. I met Recondo32 and Georgia too. Well the other day I stumbled across one of only two pictures from that meeting. You have seen the one picture…

However, I have never posted this picture. Until now.

Rob “Acidman” Smith

He was my friend and he is missed.

Just Damn!

Wake up George…Wake up! George Carlin is Dead at 71 years old. Maybe now all those loser email people won’t send me spam telling me some bullshit and attributing it to Carlin. In the last several years, Carlin was more and more unfunny. Really just a bitter old man, than a comedian.

However, George Carlin did shape my opinion on many ideas especially on religion and language. I always thought he was rather clever with his many plays on words…Quite the wordsmith. I guess I’ll whip out some of his early stuff, fire up a fat joint, and laugh my ass off.

Oh yea, the words are…Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits.

Just Damn!

Perhaps the coolest news story ever!

An uncontacted Indian tribe has been discovered in Brazil!

“One of South America’s few remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes has been spotted and photographed on the border between Brazil and Peru.”

Hell! I didn’t know that there were any uncontacted peoples left. It’s the damned 21st century for Christ’s sake! Now that I do know, it is possibly the coolest thing I’ve heard!

Just Damn!

Over the years, I’ve mentioned my brief career in radio broadcasting. I had a fun time being on air. However, radio has changed over the years, metamorphosed into some consultant driven mainstream media monster. It no longer remains fun for me.
With all that being said, it is also no secret that I still have a fondness for radio. I enjoy listening to music radio breaks. Sure the music is just background noise most of the time, but during the breaks I listen to the voice talent work his craft. I mostly remain unimpressed. However, talk radio techniques are a bit different. I’m not talking about the shows, Limbaugh, Hanity, and others. No, I like the morning news and talk shows with the local talent. I like to listen to the announcers weave in and out of segments and commercials. It’s quite extraordinary to listen to these AM guys hit their marks at the same time every day.
Now to the point, there are two radio broadcasters that I can’t ever remember not being on the air. The legendary Larry Munson, the voice of my beloved Bulldogs, and Paul Harvey. Sadly, I think Munson’s career is over. The Bulldog’s game will never sound the same. However, I really want to discuss Paul Harvey’s news and comment.
I realize that the man has been on the air for more than fifty years. Of course, I want to know “the rest of the story.” When I hear that famous voice, an air of calm passes over me, a sense of familiarity like the voice of a close family member is speaking to me. That’s why he is so successful.
So where the hell is he? I realize the man is almost ninety years old. I know his wife has died, and he has suffered from pneumonia this year. So why do I feel cheated when I hear his voice and the famous, “Stand by for News,” but then I get a replacement broadcaster? How can it be Paul Harvey’s news and comment without Paul Harvey? Of course the radio weasels still keep his voice on the intros and outros along with the commercials. It gives a false air of credibility. Don’t get me wrong. I love Paul Harvey. I wish me even longer life and good health. However, I think the radio media monsters are tainting his golden image in the name of profits. His voice is being used to sell commercials.
Just Damn!