Cigar Review (Dirt Torpedo by Drew Estate)

The Captain smokes one or two cigars a month and, because of my travels, I get to sample several different types. My current favorite in a flavored cigar is the Acid Kuba Kuba. This is a medium-bodied wonderful smelling and tasting smoke. It has a very sweet flavor and a great aroma. Recently jumping to a close second is the Natural Dirt also by Drew Estate. This cigar has a sweeter wrapper and I chose the torpedo for a good 30 minute burn. The aroma is not quite as good, to me, as the Kuba. This is a good occasional cigar as I believe the sweetness would become overwhelming if smoked regularly. It is also just a touch more full-bodied than the Kuba once you get 1/4 into the burn indicating a stronger leaf in the middle. My next flavored review will be of the Drew Estate Java, these smell like heaven and I can't wait to try one.

Movie Review (Evan Almighty)

I went and saw Evan Almighty since I was wondering if Hollywood could make a decent re-telling of a story even non-believers know. Let me say this, if you are going for sound theology and a "bible tale" this is not it. It really isn't a secret that Hollywood has no clue about biblical theology so give that a rest.

That said, this movie is AWESOME! Steve Carell really knocked it out of the part making the movie both clean and funny. I would like to extend that as a challenge to Hollywood and comics in general; learn to be really funny, don't go for the cheap cussing or politic jokes. Interspersed with the light-hearted humor, and sometimes side-splitting laughter, are a couple of really touching moments. Morgan Freeman plays a wonderful God who does whatever it takes to convince the New York Noah to do as he has been commanded. The story is typical with no surprises or plot twists, just great humor and a good story.

Go See This Film!

Another Airline Story (United Airlines)

On 06/15/07 I had to book a ticket for one of the many trips I take. On 06/22/07 I noticed that my return flight was leaving to early and I needed to take a flight later that same day, or the next day. I called to make the change for a flight on 06/28/07 and was charged $130 ($100 by the airline and $30 by the booking agency) to change it. I think a $100 fee could be reasonable if there were less than 24 hours before the flight was scheduled, but is unreasonable with a week to re-sell the seat. Every time I am flying there are a million people on "standby" and all the flights are totally packed.

I know they think they have a lot of overhead, but so much of this is electronic that the fee just seems bogus. Last time I flew one of the flight attendants actually asked me if I wanted to buy a $3 bag of M&M's. Who pays that? I mean really, if the food isn't free can't we just videotape how to wear a seatbelt and replace these people with a good vending machine? (<--- made myself laugh with that one)

Anyway, the guy said the ONLY REASON he couldn't refund it was that the transaction was over 24 hours old, They were really sorry about that. So I said gee Punjab (he barely spoke English) I actually see that you just charged my credit card about ten minutes ago so that should not be the reason. This, quite obviously, stumped him but he was polite so we hung up and I wrote to their customer service. Stay tuned for the outcome.

More Crazy Headlines

Man Survives Bobcat Attack by Choking Animal to Death

S.C. Cops: Naked Couple Falls 50 Feet From Rooftop to Their Deaths

Game of the Week

The controls are a bit sluggish, but this is cool.

Tennis Grand Slam Win all the major tournaments and become the grand slam champion!

Play this free game now!!

Happy Father's Day

I got two perfect gifts for Father's Day this year. First, my babies gave me a CD that I had stolen several years ago and I missed a lot. Bryan Adams takes nice simple guitar progressions and combines them with his powerful voice to churn out some of the most recognized music in the world. Secondly I got a Sony Cyber-Shot Dsc-w55. I will start taking some new photos with it soon; the instruction manual is quite thick so bear with me.

Catch Captain Dude on his nationwide tour

The Captain is just back from Arizona and headed to New York in a week. The picture above is where I stayed while in Scottsdale Arizona. The resort is called The Phoenician and it was fantastic. It was definitely not where I belong as a cup of coffee was $9 but the conference I was attending helped subsidize a lot of the costs. I also had the opportunity to catch up with my english teacher from high school, my best friend form that time period, and a teammate from my wrestling team way back when. These people all moved form Oregon to Arizona so I was pretty busy catching up with all of them.

The first night I was there I hiked about six or seven miles, not on trails and at night, into the Sonoran Desert. This was the most unforgiving, harsh terrain I have ever seen. My buddy Jeff has a permit from ASU to collect Gila monsters so that they can be tagged with a geo-locator device and their movements tracked. He had found a total of three in nine previous trips so I didn't have my hopes up. He also said they ALWAYS see rattlesnakes and I greatly fear all snakes so you can understand my trepidation once that beautiful sun started sinking. To sum up yes I was scared the whole time but it was great. We saw one Crotalus Atrox rattlesnake, two scorpions (one real poisonous, one not so much), one owl, and two fighting Gilas. Here is a link to the animals and some shots of the resort where I stayed.

The "N" Word

I love enlightened people.

Can "The View"

I have been behind the times and just watched the segment on "The View" where essentially three people gang up on Elizabeth Hasselbeck and she holds her own just fine. After watching this it amazes me how narrow minded some people who call them selves liberals really are. I watched the segment on YouTube, and have to say that Joy Behar and Rosie O'Donnell are ridiculously narrow minded and gullible. Please understand I am NOT defending the President here, just blown away by how stupid those two women are.

I picked the picture above because I think everything out of Rosie's mouth has some underlying ghey ulterior motive. I believe everything she does is to somehow increase her popularity and help out her cause.

Funny E-mail

I got this in an e-mail from a friend, I assume this is all true as that is his dog:

Have you ever heard that a dog "knows" when an earthquake is about to hit?

Have you ever heard that a dog can "sense" when a tornado is stirring up, even twenty miles away?

Do you remember hearing that, before the December tsunami struck Southeast Asia , dogs started running frantically away from the seashore, at breakneck speed?

I'm a firm believer that animals - and especially dogs - have keen insights into the Truth.

And you can't tell me that dogs can't sense a potentially terrible disaster well in advance.

Simply said, a good ol' hound dog just KNOWS when something isn't right . . when impending doom is upon us . . The other day while I was walking through my neighborhood with my dog, Fritz, he suddenly became agitated and pulled his head right out of his collar. I thought it was a cat. Lucky I had my cell phone camera with me....

How to open a pool

Opening a pool is quite simple yet some places charge up to $400 to do it. Once temperatures reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and stay there, you can open your pool.


First, remove your cover. I have a "safety cover" which allows water to pass through the mesh during the closed season. This results in very terrible looking, and smelling, water in the spring/summer. Removal of this 16' x 32' cover takes 20 minutes and requires the assistance of my 8 yr old.


That looks good right? You can see the cover at the top of the photo, it is upside down and I hose it off and let it sit in the sun to dry before rolling it up and storing it. Hosing takes 10 minutes, drying takes one day, and the folding/storing process takes five minutes. I have also put the ladder back in even though the pool is unusable. This is a safety precaution in case someone were to fall in.


Next, I remove all plugs from the returns, vacuum outlet, and skimmer. I REPLACE the plugs in the pump and filter and fill those two devices with water. Yes, you have to stick your hand in the nasty water. Worse than that the skimmer basket had 10 or 12 giant hairy spiders in it.


Fill the pool to the appropriate level. Notice the dark stuff on the bottom of the pool. These items are the occasional leaf I missed during the last vacuuming, and this year tons of worms.


After the water level is up, and the pump and filter are running I add six pounds of shock and six 3-inch chlorine tablets. You can add more shock if you want to speed up the process but my yard gets direct sun all day so any more than this would burn off before the benefit was realized.

48 - 96 hours later vacuum up the crud and check your chemical levels. Mine needed one pound of pH+ and the six chlorine tabs were gone. I added three chlorine tabs, replaced my cartridge filter and the pool is 76 degrees Fahrenheit and ready for our first pool party Friday. FYI when a pool party involves more than five children I always increase the chlorine level quite a bit. Yes, that ruins their swimsuits faster but it's worth the "accident" payoff.

Movie Review (Breach)

Last night I headed over to the dollar movie to see Breach. I was familiar with the story and wanted to see how Hollywood adapted something that was in the press only a few years ago.

Overall, the movie was good, yet slow paced. A young FBI intern trying to become an agent is assigned as a clerk to Agent Robert Hanssen. Agent Hanssen was, by then, well know for his reputation as a patriot and fantastic agent. When Hollywood tried to show how brilliant Agent Hanssen was I believe they fell a little flat in the scenes that should have impressed you with agent Hanssen's ability to read people and the like. It was definitely the screenplay or the direction that caused this to fall flat as the actors certainly delivered in their respective roles. I also didn't feel the tension building appropriately as the scenes progressed, but this is perhaps because I knew how the story ended. The only other irritating thing was a scene with Eric O'Neil (Ryan Phillippe) and his wife Julianna (Caroline Dhavernas) where she asks him to betray his mission because she wants to know why he is gone all the time. Having spent a bit of time working in environments which require discretion I can say that when your wife says "Don't you trust me enough to tell me?" The answer is "No." Even better she followed that sentence with "Do you think you would be betraying your country by telling me?" The answer is "Yes." This is simple and should not be taken as a matter of trust or personal preference, you simply don't share these types of things with people who don't need to know regardless of their trustworthiness or good intentions.
This movie is decent but should only be seen at the dollar flick, or a rental. I would say the main detractor from making this true story absolutely fantastic would be the pace of the film.
Let me throw a quick shout out to one of my favorite guys Gary Cole who was in the movie but will always be Bill Lumbergh from Office Space to me.

Reverend Jerry Falwell

Reposted from Mike's soapbox.

I know this is about a week late, but I just read the Ann Coulter column that followed Jerry Falwell’s death and thought it was worth reprinting. It’s somewhat lengthy but well worth the read. It’s entitled: “Jerry Falwell -- Say Hello to Ronald Reagan!”

No man in the last century better illustrated Jesus' warning that "All men will hate you because of me" than the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who left this world on Tuesday. Separately, no man better illustrates my warning that it doesn't pay to be nice to liberals.

Falwell was a perfected Christian. He exuded Christian love for all men, hating sin while loving sinners. This is as opposed to liberals, who just love sinners. Like Christ ministering to prostitutes, Falwell regularly left the safe confines of his church to show up in such benighted venues as CNN.

He was such a good Christian that back when we used to be on TV together during Clinton's impeachment, I sometimes wanted to say to him, "Step aside, reverend -- let the mean girl handle this one." (Why, that guy probably prayed for Clinton!)

For putting Christ above everything -- even the opportunity to make a humiliating joke about Clinton -- Falwell is known as "controversial." Nothing is ever as "controversial" as yammering about Scripture as if, you know, it's the word of God or something.

From the news coverage of Falwell's death, I began to suspect his first name was "Whether You Agree With Him or Not."

Even Falwell's fans, such as evangelist Billy Graham and former President Bush, kept throwing in the "We didn't always agree" disclaimer. Did Betty Friedan or Molly Ivins get this many "I didn't always agree with" qualifiers on their deaths? And when I die, if you didn't always agree with me, would you mind keeping it to yourself?

Let me be the first to say: I ALWAYS agreed with the Rev. Falwell.

Actually, there was one small item I think Falwell got wrong regarding his statement after 9/11 that "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians -- who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle -- the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'"

First of all, I disagreed with that statement because Falwell neglected to specifically include Teddy Kennedy and "the Reverend" Barry Lynn.

Second, Falwell later stressed that he blamed the terrorists most of all, but I think that clarification was unnecessary. The necessary clarification was to note that God was at least protecting America enough not to allow the terrorists to strike when a Democrat was in the White House.

(If you still think it isn't Christ whom liberals hate, remember: They hate Falwell even more than they hate me.)

I note that in Falwell's list of Americans he blamed for ejecting God from public life, only the gays got a qualifier. Falwell referred to gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle.

No Christian minister is going to preach that homosexuality is godly behavior, but Falwell didn't add any limiting qualifications to his condemnation of feminists, the ACLU or People for the American Way.

There have always been gay people -- even in the prelapsarian '50s that Jerry Falwell and I would like to return to, when God protected America from everything but ourselves.

What Falwell was referring to are the gay activists -- the ones who spit the Eucharist on the floor at St. Patrick's Cathedral, blamed Reagan for AIDS, and keep trying to teach small schoolchildren about "fisting."

Also the ones who promote the gay lifestyle in a children's cartoon.

Beginning in early 1998, the news was bristling with stories about a children's cartoon PBS was importing from Britain that featured a gay cartoon character, Tinky Winky, the purple Teletubbie with a male voice and a red handbag.

People magazine gleefully reported that Teletubbies was "aimed at Telebabies as young as one year. But teenage club kids love the products' kitsch value, and gay men have made the purse-toting Tinky Winky a camp icon."

In the Nexis archives for 1998 alone, there are dozens and dozens of mentions of Tinky Winky being gay -- in periodicals such as Newsweek, The Toronto Star, The Washington Post (twice!), The New York Times and Time magazine (also twice).

In its Jan. 8, 1999, issue, USA Today accused The Washington Post of "outing" Tinky Winky, with a "recent Washington Post In/Out list putting T.W. opposite Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche, essentially 'outing' the kids' show character."

Michael Musto of The Village Voice boasted that Tinky Winky was "out and proud," noting that it was "a great message to kids -- not only that it's OK to be gay, but the importance of being well accessorized."

All this appeared before Falwell made his first mention of Tinky Winky.

After one year of the mainstream media laughing at having put one over on stupid bourgeois Americans by promoting a gay cartoon character in a TV show for children, when Falwell criticized the cartoon in February 1999, that same mainstream media howled with derision that Falwell thought a cartoon character could be gay.

Teletubbies producers immediately denounced the suggestion that Tinky Winky was gay -- though they admitted that he was once briefly engaged to Liza Minnelli. That's what you get, reverend, for believing what you read in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time magazine and Newsweek. Of course, Falwell also thought the show "Queer as Folk" was gay, so obviously the man had no credibility.

Despite venomous attacks and overwhelming pressure to adopt the fashionable beliefs of cafe society, Falwell never wavered an inch in acknowledging Jesus before men. Luckily, Jesus' full sentence, quoted at the beginning of this column is: "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

Game of the Week

Age Of Speed Master the race tracks of the future as you tackle huge jumps.

Play this free game now!!

Get a platform please

I caught Mrs. Clinton on Good Morning America today where she continues her Anti-Bush platform. I guess I should be happy that this is where she stands and is choosing to focus her efforts on someone who will not be running, but it gets so irritating. Today she was calling for a DEBATE WITH GWB. Honey, debate your opposition; that being the people who will oppose you for the office of President of the United States. I am glad she continues to prove that her only qualification for the job is that she lived in the White house for 8 years and already knows how she will re-decorate.

Read my Reviews on Epinions

Stop by and read the Captain's reviews on Epinions! Every click gets me some pennies.

I would be happy to review products by request, no requests from the VelvetMantis or Teddy Bare please.

Fandango is prejudiced?!?!?!

From a buddy's blog, spread the word:

http://jubalingen.blogspot.com/2007/05/not-fandango.html

Why I dislike Oprah Winfrey

I have several reasons. For all the good she does, she is wishy washy on so many issues. She claims to be Christian, yet thinks marriage is an unnecessary institution, when she is fat she talks about how it's ok to be fat, when she is skinny she talks about how to get skinny etc.. This past week really took the cake. I figured I would call it out since so many people are getting canned just for talking these days.

Speaking about her Grandmother:
"She used to say, 'I hope you get some good white folks that are kind to you.' And I regret that she didn't live past 1963 to see that I did grow up and get some really good white folks working for me," Winfrey said, to laughter and a loud applause.

Double standard in action.

Great Headline

Nudists Seek to Attract Younger Members, Finding it a Tough Sell

I wonder why all the fat, wrinkly naked people can't make friends. I also wonder why they refer to anyone willing to run around nude as "enlightened."

How to be a complete loser

Vegan Couple Gets Life in Prison After Baby Dies of Starvation

If you choose to not eat meat or animal products someday, more power to you. Your body needs what animals provide when you are developing. Don't push your crap on the innocent.

Cant we all just get along?

Not even the animals can get along. What is the world coming to? The sad thing is, none of those people even tried to stop this violence. I am sure it's the President's fault.

Bear Kills Moose in Alaska Driveway as Residents Watch

More Gun Control in the news

The shirt above says it all. It was this article that got me on the subject again. Washington DC does not currently allow guns for it's residents. Washington DC has a ton of crime and murders every year, all the time. What a shining example of what gun control would be like. The left is slowly getting rid of free speech and now guns too.

Global Warming (Real or Al Gore)

It seems to me a lot of really fantastic claims are made by some scientists with relatively little data or with little to no solid proof of their theories. While this stuff is actually pretty common in science it has begun to irritate me with respect to Global Warming. I decided to pole around and see what both sides of the story were. I will link you to several different articles, make your own informed decision:

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1281

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/6/212631.shtml

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0605/S00001.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

http://www.globalwarming.org/

http://www.climatecrisis.net/

After some reading I found just as many or more sites that refute the current alarmist trend and seem to use better science than what I see from Mr. Gore. Additionally, the whole aim of the current scare does not actually seem to be to help the planet, but to vilify the United States and in particular Automakers and people who drive trucks/SUVs. How is it helpful to do that? So much of the hype centers on anthropogenic (man-made)global warming. If you do a little digging you can learn that humans don't produce near as much CO2 as nature does all by itself. The scales and units of measure used in the hype are also incredibly tiny. These tiny units of measure are overlayed with dramatic music and horrific images lending more impact.

Enjoy the reading, get a hybrid if you want to. Stop telling people there should be no ice cubes, or that they have to use a certain light bulb. Certainly don't go torching cars you don't like.

Knoxtronics.com

Yesterday as I was driving to work I stopped at the intersection of Dutchtown Road and Mabry Hood Road. To my left 40 yards away was a car approaching at 40+ mph, speed limit is 30 right there, so I decided to let him pass before making a right turn onto Dutchtown. The jackass behind me decides he is in a terrible hurry and shoots off through the small construction zone and onto Dutchtown right in front of that oncoming vehicle. I turned onto the road and went 32 MPH and met him at the stoplight about half a mile away. It was then I noticed he had a huge sticker on the back windshield of his Maroon Ford Expedition. It said:

WWW.KNOXTRONICS.COM

I find it interesting that people drive like this tool anyway, let alone when they advertise who they are when they do it. What a moron! I encourage everyone to give him a call.

Sky Golf Flash Game

I will start posting some nice flash games for when you need a "break" at work. This one is pretty nice, I would like to see the ability to replay the previous hole instead of just a full restart.

Sky Golf Play this futuristic golf game on floating holes in the sky!

Play this free game now!!

I Have Been There

I have been a huge fan of Mark Schultz for years, this is my favorite cd/dvd combintation here:

Mark Schultz Live CD/DVD

Movie Review (Dukes of Hazzard)

I didn't catch this when it came out two years ago, but HBO in hotels is always a good way to catch up on what I missed. Everyone know Bo, Luke, Daisy, Uncle Jesse and Cooter. Not to mention Boss Hogg, Roscoe, Enos and Cletus.

Throughout this movie I was continually stunned at the lack of character displayed by all the players. The original actors are definitely what made the show great. For example Jessica Simpson is a cute kid but her southern accent was the worst thing I ever heard and her scenes were completely gratuitous crap. She also isn't near as hot as Catherine Back was back then. Sean William Scott (Bo) and Johnny Knoxville (Luke) just didn't cut it. I like these guys in some of their other roles but they just aren't right for these parts. Perhaps the worst selection was Willie Nelson (Liberal Lunatic) playing Uncle Jesse. No one who rights the song Cowboys Are Secretly, Frequently (Fond Of Each Other) should play Uncle Jesse. Additionally the goofy Roscoe was replaced with a more menacing character. I did think Burt Reynolds almost fit as JD Hogg which was surprising considering the lack of an physical similarities with the original actor. Overall the movie is horribly done with very odd "cut-outs" in a lot of the scenes. There are several scenes where some background character is suddenly thrust to the front of the scene and it does not make sense, to me anyway. The worst part was the revealing of the General Lee, very anti-climatic and you don't get a good look at the car, you get great close-ups of three main actors instead.

As I told the VelvetMantis; If someone asks you to watch this movie, shoot them and if you walk into a room where it is playing shoot yourself to avoid the pain. This is the dumbest movie ever and someone needs to do a re-make that actually honors the show.

Captain Dude's Travels

Video Game Violence (Cho Seung-Hui)

On Hardball yesterday I saw some moron saying that Virginia Tech jackass Cho Seung-Hui was "trained" from watching and playing violent video games. Let's clear this up, being able to push your up arrow and hit "r" on your keyboard is not remotely similar to actually running and ejecting a magazine with an elevated heart rate. Neither is clicking your right mouse button and hearing a bang in your headphones at all like actually pulling the trigger, smelling the powder and adjusting to the recoil for your next shot. The same muscles aren't even involved.

Fortunately for me he called out the game Counter-Strike. I used to play, sometimes still do, this very game. I have yet to want to actually kill someone and I don't really believe the game promotes this. Pictured above is about as bloody as it gets. That "terrorist", in the foreground, is in the middle of wiping out the "counter-terrorist" in the background. Is it a wholesome game, no. Does it breed killers, also no. I have run across, from time to time, very very young people playing these games and they seem unsuited for interaction with the older players. This is mainly when you hear voice communications, or are typing to each other in the game. This is mainly out of maturity and not the ability to accept some very mild looking violence that restarts every five minutes at the end of a round.

The bottom line is to know what your kids are doing and how it affects that individual. Cho Seung-Hui had several issues which not enough people knew about because of some ridiculous "rights to privacy" and political correctness that run rampant in our country. Also, if someone ever stalks you PRESS CHARGES so that there is a police record.

Good News

After spending countless hours over the past week or two trying to find a person to repair my guitar someone has accepted the challenge. I got estimates up to $1400 and 6 mos to a year of repair time. The worst thing was that most of the people I asked would not listen to my requests to leave the guitar "ugly" and just fix the structural problems. All I kept hearing from these guys was "total restoration", and "complete project" etc.. I finally took her to Broadway sound where Clayton said he would fix her up in 2-3 months for $500. I can't wait to see how she turns out. He is fixing a loose bracing, the lower bout side split, the top cracks, replacing the bridge, the hole drilled in the upper bout, installing six tuners, and putting a lacquer coat on the back , sides and headstock.

The Worst Broadcast Journalist (currently)

Pictured above, mouth always open, is Keith Olbermann. Mr. Olbermann used to be one of the wittiest and funniest men in sportscasting when he used to host "The Big Show" with Dan Patrick. After he flipped out and left ESPN he became a regular newscaster and, up until last night, I have been able to tolerate his wildly leftist rants since I believe in free speech and equal opportunity. I don't mind that he is harshly negative about all things conservative even though he rarely backs his opinion with facts. His show is pure opinion and, I assume, gets good enough ratings to keep him on the air.

Last night he made comments about the Virginia Tech shootings that were just ridiculous. He called out the University President and Police Force as if they weren't doing their very best to understand the terrible tragedy that happened yesterday. I will not say they handled the situation perfectly, but who could. If they had "closed" the campus the shooter would, most likely, have found victims at a different location. There was no way to prevent what happened yesterday, this is a time to grieve and reflect. This is not a time to be a total jerk and point your finger at someone while acting as if you could have done it better. I especially hate that when you don't offer any constructive ideas with your criticism.

Mr. Olbermann is "The worst person in the world" to use one of his catchphrases.

Gun Control Debate

I think the argument for more or less gun control that is popping up as a result of the Virginia Tech shootings can be answered pretty simply.

If the gun was purchased legally, then more laws might help.

If the gun was not purchased illegally, then more laws probably won't help.

Which was it?

Ridiculous

The Knoxville News-Sentinal published their annual summer camps insert this past Sunday. Reading through it I dealt the sad realization of where our society is headed. In addition to most of the "camps" being day care so that parents don't have to raise their own kids, I saw Wizard Camp. At Wizard camp you will learn levitation among other things. Yes, Harry Potter stuff is real don't ya know!

P.S. I do realize that in some families both parents absolutely have to work. A lot of times it reminds of people who get a dog to leave it in the yard all the time though.

Movie Review (Shooter)

Shooter is the oh-so-typical ex-military expert recall/conspiracy theory story with some new faces thrown in the mix. I expected this to suck mightily and only went because it was the matinée in West Virginia last week. The story is actually pretty decent and I never actually wanted to leave. The kid who plays F.B.I. agent Nick Memphis was great and had some pretty decent zingers which he delivers in a fantastic deadpan. Marky Mark is still just pretty, cannot act, and belongs in underwear ads. He did pull the role off ok except for the fact that he has not one ounce of Marine in him and is not at all believable as a Gunny. It's easy to look past that and just watch the action though, which is decent. There are a few little details bloopers that I will allow to be overlooked since their military adviser obviously sucked. I did want to point out one issue that cracked me up. In the pictured scene there is a great shootout on a farm in Chantilly Virginia. They cut from that scene to the next and it says they are Bozeman Montana. During the phone conversation you learn that only one day has passed.

These two locations are 2,117 miles apart.

If you like military crap, and action go see it. If you are a Marky Mark fan, that's too bad.

The Don Imus coup

I feel the need to weigh in on the recent events surrounding Don Imus. Before I start, let me say that I am not a fan of his nor have I ever been. I do feel the need to defend the guy a little though.

What he said was, at worst, just a little rude. He has been far more offensive in the past and to be fired for something that is barely even insensitive seems crazy. I realize that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are leading the lynch mob; this should automatically red flag the whole thing as ridiculous. To put this in perspective and try to achieve true equality in our society let's ask the questions that need to be asked.

Would the punishment be the same for a black man/woman?

Have those very words been uttered by those women in their locker room?

Why is there a double standard for people based on skin color?

Why do we not fire every black or Hispanic man for using racially charged speech?

Nicely stated

I got this in a forward, and it was attributed to Jay Leno. Jay Leno quoted the last paragraph only, the rest was written by someone else.

Reference: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/jayleno.asp

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data
I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the
direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy
with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry
just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so
unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the
summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these
unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery
store at any time and see more food in moments than

Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic
Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through
each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would
find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having
thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just
not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency
workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter
to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may
be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of
trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to
extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or
if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or
prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest
will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in
the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and
pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own
cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy
that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67
percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world
has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great
disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed
people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have ,
and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live
here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no
plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval
rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days
after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of
recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the
book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from
terrorist attacks?

The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending
you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show?
Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a
look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually
caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was
failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.


Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom.
There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They
are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an
''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a
''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.


So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of
Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it
leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash
with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the
corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations.
They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by
"justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a
murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his
wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the
TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird
cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is
exponentially more good than bad.


We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several
times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.


"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and
with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a
good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Rowdy Weather

Last night after an episode of House, the weather came on. Matt Hinkin said there was some nasty weather headed our way and it was moving at almost 40 miles per hour. People to the North of us were reporting 3-inch hail and 70 MPH winds. I thought about this for a moment and realized my new truck was outside, alone, in the path of the bitter weather. I ran to the garage where I came across the actual problem.

Think back to the Home Improvement Nightmare series from the Captain. You will recall that one of the things offered by the store was to keep the leftover material from the job. Part of that material was 48 boxes of beautiful ceramic tile. That tile was sitting where I needed to park my truck. Each box of that tile weighs 38.1 pounds. I'll give you a second for that.....

1828.8 lbs.

I moved it in fifteen minutes from one corner to the other. The worst part about moving it is you have to remove it from the pallet, move the pallet, and re-stack on the pallet. I moved every box 2 times....

3657.6 lbs

I believe, I will skip my workout on the Bowflex tonight.

On a side note, as soon as I closed the garage door after snuggling my truck up against the Pilot, the storm hit our area.

Good car dealers in Knoxville

As Many of you know, my car buying research has been both extensive and quite frustrating. Trying to be an informed consumer is sometimes more trouble than it's worth I think. With all that said let me recommend two places to complete a transaction.

First, I bought the 2003 Honda Pilot w 44k on it at Duncan Automotive and would definitely recommend stopping by to see Jason Taylor next time you are shopping. This place is zero pressure and very up front with everything. Once Jason has helped you find the right vehicle, Tony will take over and help get you out the door as painlessly as possible.

Duncan Automotive - more info »

10631 Parkside Dr, Knoxville, TN

(865) 693-2401 - close call

Second, I bought the 2002 Tundra w 65k on it from ETN pre-owned which I had previously avoided since I thought it was a "Clinton Highway" (buy here pay here) lot. They are a subsidiary of East Tennessee Nissan of Knoxville which is part of the Victory Automotive group. Dave Early can help you find what you need, and then Travis will help with the financing. Best of all if you tell them Captain Dude (use my real name please) sent you, I get $100 for every referral.

For the social experiment previously I was dealing with the Ted Russell dealerships around town. They did cal, and were very apologetic saying they would do anything at all to help me. When I gave them detailed information about what I was looking for they couldn't come up with a single vehicle. If you are a Ted Russell customer, I hope your experience was better. I promise you could have done better elsewhere.

The "other" ride

Since I was bragging about my new wheels I thought I would put the other one up. Yeah that's the new hood, great job by the folks at CARS Inc..

The Captain's New Ride

Yes boys and girls, that is a 2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 TRD. I have no idea what anything after Tundra means. yesterday was the last day of the month, I got a deal.

If anyone wants to buy a set of Mickey Thompson Tires and Rims hit me up, I am not into that and would rather have some Michelins.