Deja Doo-Doo (Haven't I Seen This Crap Before)?

Wow...Just...WOW! The accuser (notice how she is never called a victim or even alleged victim?) in the Duke lacrosse rape case has made a very similar allegation TEN YEARS AGO. It has surfaced that the accuser in the Duke rape case made an accusation against three Creedmoor, NC men 10 years ago. Details are still a little sketchy, but I am sure they will flesh out. Lessee now...

* History of mental illness and drug abuse
* Similar allegations 10 years ago of rape by three men
* Seeking financial compensation (calls to a PR firm on how to "spin this in her favor")
* Identified the 2 defendants in a lineup of 40 other lacrosse players by scratches on their torsos with 100% certainty and 1 other with 90%)
* Claims sodomy with a foreign object but no physical evidence has been released to back that up.

Credible? I do not see how. Every day I am seeing more reasons to believe the guys. Remember, she has to prove they did it. They do not have to prove their innocence.

Bits and Pieces

I rather liked my "Tidbits" post yesterday, so I am going to do it again. Comments are welcome.
Teddy Kennedy Says No To Cape Cod Wind Power - Sounds like a case of NiMBY (Not in My Back Yard) to me. What is more important new sources of clean power, or your ocean view? Sometimes I really want to scream!

Exxon Quarterly Profit 5th Highest Ever - Gee, I wonder why? Can you say $3.00 a gallon for gas?

Snoop Dogg Arrested in Heathrow - He has no respect for rules or authority. I hope he has to serves time.

Auto Leaders to meet wiht Bush - What took so long? Come on, guys. We need alternative fuels...NOW!

As a side note, the whole Iran thing is gonna get ugly. Great timing since my son is at AIT right now training to be a 88M, or a heavy vehicle driver. He is slated to go to the Middle East in Spetmeber or October.

I Guess This is Going to be a Very Interesting Trial

The Duke lacrosse rape case has another added item...the accusers father claims his daughter was sodomized with a broomstick. If this is true, then my sympathies go out to her. That is a very disgusting and degrading thing to have happen to her.

I am a bit skeptical at this point. If she had gone to the hospital after the attack and they ran a standard rape kit, some evidence of sodomy with a foreign object would have to be present. If it were a broom stick it would appear to me, due to the violence of the act of sodomy, that some splinters, paint, or varnish residue would be found. Now it is possible that no evidence outside of the trauma existed, but that just seems unlikely.

It has also been said that she is considering dropping the case. Before we jump on the "See! I knew she was lying!" bandwagon, this is very common for all rape victims to want to drop the case due to public or emotional pressure. If she and the prosecution team have hard evidence that the males who were accused violated her, then it needs to go to court so justice can be served. However, if she is inventing this story to cover for something else, then she needs to PUBLICLY apologize to the Duke lacrosse team and to the general public who have rallied around her.

Tidbits

Collection of tidbits...some commentary... I have been swamped with work and am just now taking a break. Enjoy them.

* Tony Snow is the new White House Press Secretary. Great choice! he has been critical of the President (Bush) but not unfair. Right wing conservative with a good logical mind. Listen to the Tony Snow Show on local talk radio sometime.

* Gasoline output (production) is increasing and the use of Ethanol blends in increasing. While it does not offer the mileage that gasoline does, it is much cheaper. With the cost of gas in the $3.00 a gallon range (some places are higher), this is a welcome change. Now what we need to is get real high-qualtiy hybrid vehicles that will get us in the 100 mpg range. We can with recharging, ethanol, and bio diesel. I KNOW it. Oh, throw variable rate transmissions in there as well to help.

* Wanna bet this will not be good news or Congresswoman McKinney? I think she is going to be slapped (figuratively) around for her actions. I hate it when a simple issue has to be blown way out of proportion with racial tinges.

* Michelle Malkin has launched Hot Air, a conservative web video outlet for news and commentary. If you do not read Michelle's blog, then you are missing something great!

* Jihadis Use Media as a Weapon ... why not? Everyone else does.

Discord among The Masses

I have been reading Jihad Watch lately. It is a very informative site with a lot of good commentary. It has really opened my eyes on the radical side of the Islamic faith. I used to think that all religions promoted peace, but any religion has the ability to become tainted when elements of the fringe begin to take center stage in the media. As a Christian, I was taught that God loves us all. The saying I was taught was, "Love the sinner, hate the sin". Since we are all sinners, this makes sense. If we hated the sinners, we would hate everyone and that would not be very bright.

I know lots of people who are not Christians: Drug addicts, alcoholics, homosexuals, atheists, etc. And while we are not overly close, I do not hate them. I only hate what they are doing to themselves.

It would appear to me that Islam and Christianity looks at converting people completely different. The GOAL of Christians is to win people over with love. Show them Christ by being different: Live a Christ centered life, be a friend to someone in need, share of your abundance. There are many things we can do, but they are all based on love.

The Muslim faith is very different. First, most do not want you to convert to Islam and if they did, the conversion would be under duress. Convert or die.

I would like to add more but I am having trouble thinking...I forgot my pain meds and I am achy all over. I would like to go home and rest, but I am not sure that is going to be possible.

Maybe I will post more later...if I feel better.

Eeny Meeny Miney Mo...

A line up without any wrong choices? That is what the defense is alleging in the Duke lacrosse rape case. ABC News has gotten information that the alleged victim was shown 46 pictures to identify her attackers...the pictures only included the lacrosse team...no fillers. Since the defense is obviously going to challenge this there is a very good chance this may not go to trial, unless the prosecution has some evidence that has not been released. Right now the defense has a lot of good evidence of innocence, which should not be needed, since we are all innocent until proven guilty...

Now we know that in a rape case it is not exactly that way. First, the accused is always named publicly and the victim's ID is rarely revealed. With that, the accused has to prove he DID NOT do the crime, instead of the prosecution proving that he did. Justice...not really.

I know, I am a male and I am a little biased. But I have the right to be. Once upon a time, back when I was married to my son's Bio-mom, she pulled a knife on me while I was in bed. I saw her and defended myself. Guess who got arrested? I will give you a hint, it was not her. I had no proof she pulled the knife on me but she had proof I hit her (a handprint...an open hand mind you...on her person). She got a warrant for my arrest and I spent a few hours in jail. Eventually the charges were dropped (I threatened to file my own complaint...I had witnesses and a bit of photographic evidence of her being a bad girl) and we both went our separate ways.

Why this bit of TMI? Well, I give this to you to prove that GENERALLY, women have little problems getting men in trouble, but men have to prove in a big way that the woman was in the wrong. Women just have to accuse and let the public judge the guy as a dirtbag.

I used to be bitter, but I got over it. I have even forgiven my ex for all the crap she put me through. It was not easy, but I prayed and prayed until I was ok with it. Justice was ultimately served. She was deemed unfit by the state of NC and I eventually got custody of our son. He is now 18 and an adult and he can do as he sees fit, even if that means visiting the woman who hurt him. His choice. But I digress.

Dookies, if you are guilty, I think they are going to have a hard time proving it, using the evidence that has been leaked. If you are innocent, I feel bad for you all. You were in a good run during the season and that has been cancelled. Your coach resigned and your names (while calling them good is questionable :-) ) have been tarnished. Justice needs to be served one way or the other.

Stretching Things a Bit...

Literally! I had my second visit with the Physical Therapist today. It was not as long nor was it as strenuous as the first visit, but I can tell it is helping some. He gave me some homework to do (stretches twice a day) and I have been doing them, although some of them hurt my left lower back (The one-legged bridges come to mind). I was able to touch my toes last night for the first time in years, but this morning I was not. I tend to stiffen up overnight. I stretched this morning and can ALMOST touch them, but I am sure by the end of the day and after my second set of stretches, I will make it. Sucks being middle age and out of shape.

The PT is a great guy. He is a Christian and has a great demeanor. He had back surgery 1-2 years ago and just finished an Ironman Triatholon. Needless to say, I was impressed. He thinks a big part of my pain is from swell of my sacrum area, so he has asked me to stay on anti-flammitory meds until they are gone, then start on the Aleve.

He gave me some advice on the martial arts. He told me to hold off on the kicking for several weeks. He wants to give the area time to heal properly, then I can get into the kicks. The punches and the horse stance is fine, but no leg work. OK, I will follow his instructions.

It has been raining the past few days and cooler than it was the previous week. We really needed the rain...the ground was beginning to crack in places. I had turned on the sprinkler system the week before, but now it will not be needed until next week. We have a rain sensor on ours, so that helps. My neighbor, the one that I mow grass for, does not have a sensor, so it could be pouring down the rain and her sprinklers would still be running. Shame.

My mango plant is still doing well, but it has not grown much. It has grown about 1/4 of an inch and has 3 new leaves forming. I made the mistake of leaving it outside when the heavy rain came yesterday, but I think the plant enjoyed it. I brought it in for today, but I will take it out tomorrow. It is supposed to be nice the next few days.

The Water Gets Muddier...

Every day, more and more info is made public about the alleged rape of an NCSU stripper by 3 Duke lacrosse players. Kim Roberts (AKA the second stripper) has spoken with the Associated Press in Raleigh, telling her side of the story. Some of the more memorable quotes:

"I was not in the bathroom when it happened, so I can't say a rape occurred and I never will."

"In all honesty, I think they're guilty. And I can't say which ones are guilty Â… but somebody did something besides underage drinking. That's my honest-to-God impression." Her impression, but not a fact that has been proven. My "impression" is that both these women are making this up, but that is not a proven fact, either.

"If the boys are innocent, sorry fellas," she said. "Sorry you had to go through this."

And from a letter to a public relations company -- "I've (Roberts) found myself in the center of one of the biggest stories in the country. I'm worried about letting this opportunity pass me by without making the best of it and was wondering if you had any advice as to how to spin this to my advantage."

"Why shouldn't I profit from it?" (This comment is in response to her past being made public. I hate to burst your bubble, but this was public knowledge in 2001, when you were convicted)

Something interesting. Eight days after the party, Roberts was arrested for a probation violation stemming from a 2001 conviction for embezzling $25,000 from a photofinishing company. Odd she she should wish to come out now...can we say "plea bargain"?

These are not all the comments, but they really do not put her in a good light and she is the one who put herself there. If there is any backlash towards her, she brought it on herself. The same is true if the males who were arrested for this are guilty. If they did the crime, then they should do the time. If the females are guilty, then I suspect that we have a lawsuit on our hands.


Comments are from the AP interview and published by ABC News.

Just the Facts

In one blog (and I do not know which one), the blogger stated that Durham, NC was not predominantly black in population. I guess that depends on the definition.

Racial diversity is good and I think I have seen more bigotry here in TX than I did in NC (I lived in Durham for 12 years).

White persons, percent, (200 census) 45.5%
Black or African American persons, (2000 census) 43.8%

Looks about the same to me.

Other Durham facts:

Homeownership rate -- 48.9%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units -- $126,100

Median household income, 1999 -- $41,160
Per capita money income, 1999 -- $22,526
Persons below poverty, percent, 1999 -- 15.0%

Minority-owned firms, percent of total, 1997 -- 24.7%
Women-owned firms, percent of total, 1997 -- 30.8%

Taken from here.

Huh??

I am not a lawyer, nor do I claim to have any legal knowledge, but I thought that ID's had to be based on the face of the accused. wral.com is reporting that the 2 Duke lacrosse players who have been arrested on charges of rape and kidnapping were ID'ed by SCRATCHES on their bodies as seen in photographs that were shown to the alleged victim. Let me get this straight. I woman is gang raped, sodomized and beaten for 30+ minutes and she cannot identify her attackers face when shown a photo, but can identify scratches on their torsos? Hmmm.

I also understand that the DNA samples did not offer any proof of the crime, so more samples are being taken. If at first you do not succeed, try, try again. I am willing to bet this case has more twists than a belly dancer in a windstorm. This is not going away any time soon.

It would appear that the alibi's for the two players are able to hold at least some water. There are cell phone records, ATM records, and photos that would seem to indicate that the young men were not at the crime scene when the rape occurred. As a matter of fact, some (but by no means all) of the evidence the prosecution provided can be refuted by the digital photos taken at the party, providing they have not been altered.

Attorney Bill Cotter also stated that to his knowledge, both of the accused males have been suspended from Duke, although officials at Duke will not confirm or deny that statement. If Duke cannot confirm it, then why does Mr Cotter? Is this to work the sympathy angle?


David Crabtree has a good piece on the whole story.

It Does Not Seem Fair

Maybe it is just because I am a male, but I do not understand why an ACCUSED person has his face splashed all over the news web sites, along with their names and the victim is always hidden. Why can't BOTH be hidden until the trial is over with?

I just hit www.drudgereport.com and saw pics of the two Duke lacrosse players who are accused of raping a 27 year old stripper. The only info we have on her is that she is a NCSU student with 2 children, is 27 years old, and she is black. Thanks to the media, we now have the names, ages, and PICTURES of the men accused of raping her. We even know that one of the males has been in trouble in the past for assault. If we are going to slinging mud, then this could get ugly on both parts.

Sad. Guilty or innocent, these males will be tarnished the rest of their lives. If they are guilty, then the shame is warranted. But what if they are innocent? What if the woman is making this up? Would you want to try to live with the stigma of being arrested for RAPE? I have spoken to a few men who have be accused of rape (it never went to trial) and they are very bitter people.

It Is Only April...and Two Are Charged

The Associated Press is reporting that the Durham County DA has formally brought charges of rape against 2 Duke lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. This surprises me, considering that there appears to be a lack of solid evidence. I hope this is not just a witch hunt against rich white boys. While I am no Duke fan, am I also not defending them because of race or gender. The amount of info that has been released would lead me to believe that the "victim" is lying (about WHO attacked her) but I am not passing judgment. I like to know all the facts, or as many of them as we can know. I read yesterday (and I cannot find the link now) that the "victim" identified these two men with 100% accuracy and a third (who has not been charged) with 90%. Now what really is interesting is that like in almost all rape cases, the accused are named but the victim is not. They have to fight their way out of a hole...working uphill so to speak. The public has already convicted them. She has ID'ed her attackers but the only evidence we have is the bruising that is consistent with rough/violent sexual intercourse. No DNA evidence has been announced and the evidence from the crime scene seems to indicate that she was not assaulted while she was at the party. However, we do not know all the facts. There will be more that comes out when this goes to trial. I want this to be FAIR.

Yesterday it hit 100 degrees in my town and it is only April. Today it is supposed to be 96 degrees and cooling off to the mid 80's by end of week with the possibility of showers. I wonder what August will be like...

I was stressed out yesterday, but a large chunk of that has subsided. I was able to get a gift for my wife and get both yards mowed. I still have some research to do on "faith" (Doubting Thomas has come as a possibility) and we still have painting to do, put up some solar film on the patio doors, and the list from yesterday. I know it may seem like only a little bit, but we are so swamped at times. My wife (who has been a trooper) has been able to make about $100 or so doing paper /office work for some people at church. This will come in handy. She was asked by the preschool to do the books each week. It does not pay much, but it is a little extra. As soon as the grass grows faster, I will be bringing in about $100 extra a month from that, but all this will just bring us up to par...the cost of living only goes up. Thank goodness for the blessings of extra pay here and there!

Watch What You Sign

A few days ago I heard a knock at our front door. I looked out the window and saw a woman with a clipboard and a button on her jacket indicating she was doing some election work. I opened the door and she told me that an election was held a last year on allowing the town I live in to begin selling alcohol. I am not a big drinker and I had some concerns about underage drinking and the type of people who might come into our town just to buy alcohol, so I voted against it. The resolution passed and we were no longer a "dry" town. Well, not what I wanted, but at least I voted on the issue. It seems that our town had annexed a parcel of land and before they could sell alcohol legally on that parcel of land, an the issue had to be voted on. Well, to get it on the ballot to be voted on, it needed a specific number of signatures. This woman was collecting those signatures. The woman asked me to sign it and I told her I always read what I sign, so I asked her if I could look at it. She said that it would not be necessary... it was just a request to get the issue on the ballot. When she handed it to me to sign, I did a quarter turn away from her and began reading it. It clearly stated that by signing the petition, you were acknowledging that alcohol should be sold on that parcel of land. When I told her I was not going to sign, she asked me why. I told her and even pointed out what the form said and she looked a bit sheepish at me and left.

Now, do not get me wrong. I was not being hard nosed. I voted against it once, I would vote against it again. HOWEVER, by signing that, I am saying it is ok to vote on the issue and since it lost the last time, it would most likely lose again.

Please do not sign just any petition you see. If it means enough to you, sign it. If the petition was to keep the parcel of land from selling alcohol (or porn or whatever), I would have signed it. I guess you tend to think of these things when you become a responsible parent.

By the way, the parcel of land was not very far from the local high school. Perfect, eh?

Of Anger and Pride

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Things tend to stack up (some on short notice) and I just feel like control is slipping away.

1 - Today is our 12th wedding anniversary. I have not gotten so much as a card, let alone a gift.
2 - I need to come up with part of a lesson for Wednesday night's care group. I am tag-teaming with another guy and my part is faith. I have no idea what I want to cover.
3 - I have two yards that need to me mowed. I can do 1 per night, so 2 nights are spoken for (most likely Tuesday and Thursday).
4 - Vacation is coming up in a couple of weeks.
5 - The men's retreat is coming up the week after vacation.
6 - I start teaching Sunday school in a couple of weeks.
7 - A wedding and a housewarming to attend in the next 2 weeks.
8 - Mother's Day is less than 1 month away.
9 - Our boy ships off to AIT Friday, then when he returns he is scheduled to go to Iraq.

There are other things, but those are a few of the ones that are stressing me. Money is tight and of course gasoline keeps going up. The weather has finally broken and we are now in the 80-90 degree range every day (today is supposed to get near 100), so our electric bill will soon skyrocket. We have paid for our vacation (sans gas and food) in cash but we have nothing in reserve. We are trying to pay off our only debt (a van payment and some CC debt), but to do so means sending large chunks of cash to a couple of separate banks.

I do not like to worry. I know that as a praying man, my family will be provided for. I need to pray and I need to have faith that God will provide. He is not going to let us suffer needlessly nor will he put something in our path that we cannot overcome with his help.

Wait a minute...I may have just found my faith lesson for Wednesday night.

Not Much Better, Celebration Saturday, News From Our Son.

I have been taking Naproxen for about 2 weeks or so under the advice of my family doctor. It had reduced the inflammation and pain immensely. I was to take this the entire I time I was going to physical therapy, but I have had trouble finding one that would take my insurance. One PT has been found and I am going to make an appointment Monday (providing my doc faxed the script over to him...). Since I was feeling well, I decided to try going without the meds and see how I felt. Three days later, I felt like crap again, waking up stiff and sore and unable to move well at all, even with the TENS device. Needless to say, I am back on the meds. I need to call my family doc back and get him to renew my scripts for a couple of months. Better living through chemistry? I wish it was not so. Anyone who really knows me I avoid meds until the pain is extreme. Male machismo, I guess. The TENS device works pretty well, but it is very inconvenient. I guess the electrodes are getting beyond using since they "travel" up my back when in use. They are reusable (10-15 times) but after 7 times they do not appear to stick well.

The TENS unit is expensive. The monthly cost is $100 and the monthly supplies (batteries and electrodes) is over $200. Yesshh! I am hoping the insurance covers a big part of it. If not then I may be in trouble. I know I need to call the company that provides the unit and tell them not to send some of the supplies. They are not needed. They are also charging way to much for batteries ($2 per battery).

Saturday was our annual "Celebration Saturday" at church. It is a big party held for the community on our humble church grounds. Last year it had to be held inside since the weather was cold and rainy. This year it was HOT and windy. I got burned a little (I was in the sun running the horse show pit for 6 hours) but I had a good time. I say a few faces I had not seen before, but mostly it was church family.

Food was provided by Chick-Fil-A and there was home made ice cream provided by various families. There was a DJ and a large assortment of things to do for the kids. It appeared that everyone had a great time, despite the 20-40 mph winds (which caused a few tents to be blown over and really wrecked havoc on the horse shoe pitching. I still managed to be on all the winning teams (4 games with no losses for my team), even though I was pitching against the wind half the time.

We finally received word from our son as I mentioned in an earlier entry. He celebrated his first messianic Jewish "Easter" yesterday. While he was raised Christian, he has been exploring the MJ faith. I applaud his open mind. He has been keeping busy and will continue to do so until he ships out for AIT on Thursday night. He is going to try to come over today if he has time. I hope he does ... I miss my boy.

I have been contemplating on what to do with my web site (mistergeek.com) since I am not the same person I was a couple of years ago. I have been trying to give myself as much Christian covering as possible, but I do not want to turn away those I keep in touch with who may not share my beliefs but still check out the site. I am still a geek, but not as much stereotypical as I once was. I think I need to honor my Lord a bit more than I am doing. It will require a lot of time and energy on my part and I will still link some of stuff I link today, but it will be with a disclaimer. I do not want my BiC's and SiC's (Brothers and Sisters in Christ) to get the wrong impression. I am a new creation as of 3 years ago and I want it to show.

Well, time to clean up and get to church.

Wow .. Almost speechless

I will start this off by saying this is a very personal entry. While no personal data will be given, the nature is personal (family).

My wife and I received an e-mail from our son yesterday. That is not unusual. He is living on his own (no phone and address is unknown) so e-mails every now and then are expected. Normally he will give us an update of what he will be doing, if he can come over, lunch invitations, etc. Yesterday's e-mail was quite different.

Over the past eh...year or so, our son has been living the life he wanted to live. When he turned 18 last October, he decided to move out. While we did not try to stop him, we did offer him the chance to stay. We were unsuccessful and he moved in with some friends. Once he moved out, we began to see a very different Pat*, even though we saw less of him. We were getting all kinds of weird reports and it would appear that his life was spiraling down, gaining momentum each day. This continued until a month or so ago when the man he was living with came to our house and spoke with my wife. He stated that he was kicking "Pat" out. He asked us if we would take him back. Now if this guy would have shown up when I was home, he would have gotten a similar but different answer than what my wife gave him. In my opinion, it was not up to "Pat's" roommate to ask, it was up to "Pat" to ask. I felt funny about this, but shut my mouth. We ran into "Pat's" roommate again a few days later and he looked like he just got back from a rock concert. His hair was spiked, he had earrings in, and his young girlfriend (he is old enough to have a few teenage sons and his girlfriend looked all of 18) was wearing a t-shirt rolled up showing her midriff. My wife then said that he DID NOT show up to our house dressed like this, but I digress.

Now it would appear that "Pat" was out on the streets, with no job and a car that was always needing repair. "Ok", I thought to myself, "when will come to us and ask us for something?" We got a call or an e-mail from him a day or two later saying he had a place and was working until his ship out date for AIT. Well that day came and went and he did not go to AIT due to a paperwork mix up (gotta love the military). "Pat" called and told us he did not know when he was going and did not know what to do. Again I waited for him to ask us for something and he did not. He sounded depressed and we became concerned.

We did not hear from him for a week or two (although we had sent him a couple of e-mails) and yesterday we heard from him. He had told us that he was shipping out to AIT next week and would be back in June. He also stated that he had been less than the Christian man he was supposed to be and despite our teachings, he was being overly influenced by his peers. Needless to say we were rather stunned. Since he did not offer a phone number, we e-mailed him back and told him we would like to see him again before he left.

A little further into the e-mail he stated that he felt that he needed to give back to his community and had decided that he was going to volunteer to go to Iraq. I am not overly thrilled about his decision, but I will not try to influence him either way. All I wish is that he makes this decision with a clear conscience.

His e-mail, while not long, was very emotion filled. My wife's initially e-mail back was equally touching. Mine was more manly, but I sent another to him that was a bit more mushy.

I hope we see him before he goes off to AIT. I care for him, like any father would care for his son. To see him realize what he has wasted so far and admit to his parents is very moving (or is that the burritos I had for supper last night?) :) .



*Not his real name.

Hot Topic, Dentists, and Sinus Headache #12,735

Well it appears that the Duke lacrosse rape allegations are a hot topic. I am glad to see comments as well as a large number of hits to the site. The subject is an interesting one and there is a lot that can be gleaned from what we are finding out.

Race, as I had stated before, plays a big part in this. We have a black stripper who attends a largely black university who accuses 3 white lacrosse players from a largely white (and affluent) university. I do not think that there is much doubt she was assaulted that night, most have doubts that the dookies lacrosse team did it, unless of course, it was the sole black member of the lacrosse team...the only one who DID NOT give a DNA sample (I just made a Freudian slip and typed "DNS" instead of DNA...that is what I get for posting at work).

I came in about 1.5 hours later today due to a dentist appointment at 8 AM. I like my dentist and her staff. They are friendly and do a good job. The billing has been accurate and probably one of the best reasons is that she is smart enough to the difference between dry mouth and gum disease. Why are you screwing your face up like that? I am serious! The last 2 dentists I went to told me I had gum disease. The last dentist I had before I left NC said my mouth was in great shape. I moved to TX and found a dentist, but I did not like her. She was the first to tell me I had gum disease (early stages). I changed dentists and the next hygentist told me the same thing. We stayed with them because my wife liked her hygentist and the dentist but I was not happy. After a couple of years of the hygentist shoving the dental probes below my gum line and making gums bleed, I asked her to take it easy. She told me that my gums would not bleed if my mouth was healthy. Then she made some comment about me breathing out of my mouth. I told her I had sinus issues and breathing through my nose was difficult at times. Then she asked me if I breathed out of my mouth while I slept. I guess I do, but since I am asleep, how will I know? She then asked me if my mouth was really dry when I woke up. I told her yes and she said, "Oh, you do not have gum disease, you have dry mouth" and she continued to dig under my gum line making my mouth hurt for several days.

I finally had enough of the poor care and the lousy billing and we found Dr. Weyandt. She is a Christian and has very good chair side manners. Her staff is top notch as well.

My back doctor is a good guy and so is his nurse, but his office staff needs to go. We had an eye doctor when we first moved here 5 years ago whom we loved, but he had the most arrogant staff I had ever seen. I could not make that trade off, good doc and bad staff. It was just not worth it.

As the afternoon got started, I noticed I was getting a sinus headache. I have had so many of those in the past 2 years that I am getting rather tired of them. I guess I could get meds for my sinuses but I hate taking more meds than I need. I do not want to end up like Dad. He was taking 17 different pills a day. I wonder if that actually hurt him more than it helped him...

A Pack of Lies?

It would appear that the Duke lacrosse team could very well be innocent of accusation of rape by the stripper who is a student at NCCU. LaShawn Barber has a great piece on it.

There were only 2 options in this case. Either the lacrosse team gang raped a stripper or she was lying about it. We were asked not to take her prior bad acts (stealing a car and leading police on a chase 2 years ago) into account. I know I didn't, but the case did not rely on that. They simply have no proof she was raped by any of the white players (the only black player did not have his DNA tested). She appeared to be under the influence when she arrived and spent 20 minutes in the bathroom before the "attack" took place. The real kicker was the photos that were taken with a digital camera. The pictures are time stamped and show the "victim" smiling after the "attack" took place. Also the pictures taken before she claimed she was attacked show bruising as if she had been roughed up or taken a hard tumble.

With all this in mind, it makes me wonder. A big part of the black community wanted to string up the players before any facts were uncovered. Very few (mostly conservatives) waited until they knew more info before they commented.

We do not need crap like this muddying up the waters of our society. What was her motivation? There has been speculation that a BLACK boyfriend or client raped her before hand and was afraid to speak up and figured the white boys at Duke would be easier targets. Now that is just speculation..we have no proof of that, but WHY would she accuse the lacrosse team?

My Muscles Hurt, Busy Bee, And "I Hate that &%# Computer"

Saturday started out well enough but after about 40 minutes of non-stop exercise, my stomach was doing backflips (I think it was the Naproxen I am taking for aches and pains), so I had to sit out a big part of my martial arts workout. Even after doing only about half of what the others did, I am still hurting. Our instructor really gave us a work out. It showed me how out of shape I really am.

Jimmy* showed us several good moves and some of the MMA stuff we watch on UFC. The kicker is seeing how the guys in the UFC tend to use poor skills and still win. Jimmy said he could take almost any of his students (sans me) and train them for 2 months and beat MOST of the competitors except the champs. After he showed me errors in their styles and how to correctly execute counters to these attacks, I watched a couple of matches and saw exactly what our instructor was talking about. I think the biggest weakness we would have would be conditioning. Most of us would not be able to go 5, 5-minute rounds.

Life is getting busy for us it seems. We have something planned every weekend for the next 5+ weeks, we have vacation coming up, I am going to start teaching (!) a Sunday school class, I am doing 1 to 1 Discipling with my wife's boss, we have a be weekend celebration coming up that I am helping with, we have painting to do, maintenance on a PC for a SiC (Sister in Christ) (more on that later), and all the normal day to day stuff we do. Oh, I almost forgot there is a wedding we are attending in two weeks and I still have to mow 2 yards each week. I hope I have the time to do it all.

Saturday night we had dinner with our friends in Anna, TX. Mickey* grilled chicken legs and breasts and they came out fantastic! A little pasta salad, spinach salad, and some "Razzleberry" pie with ice cream for desert and I was set. Mickey and Mary* are sweet people. Too bad they had to move all the way to Anna. It is a bit of an out of the way trip for most of us, but it is always worth the drive. I really enjoy their company!

We picked up some totes and cardboard boxes from them before we left. They said they would not need them anymore so we are donating the totes and recycling the cardboard. Everyone wins.

My wife asked me to help Darlene*, a friend of hers and a SiC, with her PC. I had looked at it once and got it working, but it was acting very odd. Now when I went to look at it, none of the MS Office apps were working (they were asking for the install CD). When I went to check it out, the modem stopped working (she only has dial-up ... Netzero freebie) and she did not have the Office CD. I asked her where the software was and she said there wasn't any. She said her son had a friend who got the PC for her. Well the PC is a Dell Optiplex which is a business PC, designed to be used on a LAN. We had (and still have some) at our old shop and while they were fine for the LAN, we always had issues with them when using dial-up. Well, I played with it for a couple of hours but had no luck, so I took it home and played for a while. I even switched out modems but that did not help. I think that the removable chassis that holds the PCI and ISA cards is a not making good contact and that is causing the problem. If that is the case, then I need to let her know. I wish she would get a better PC and broadband, but she is on a very tight budget and cannot afford it. I have tried everything I can think of to make it work but no luck.

I have an idea, but I am not sure it is going to fly very well. I could offer her the old laptop I have for her desktop, if she would consider that. It is a little rough, but it works. I could then upgrade my server by using her old machine (since I do not need any of the cards on the removable chassis) and we both win. Of course I lose my "toy" but I will live. It would not be the first time I have been without a laptop, nor will it be the last.

You should have seen me trying to get the PC running. I was so angry and looking so silly. I am sure that my wife had a good laugh at it. I get so emotional when dealing with PCs for those I can about. I guess that can be a good thing. I want to take care of the people I care about.

I never could get the MS Office stuff to work and since she did not have the CD's I just installed Open Office. It should be ok for what she needs it for. If my wife can get used to it, then I am sure Darlene can.

George Orwell was only off 25 years

Mr. Paranoid (me) sincerely believes that when George Orwell wrote "1984", he only missed the date by about 25-30 years and "Big Brother" is actually Google. Think I am crazy? Read this. It may look like and be sold as targeted advertising, but it is all about control. Google wants to control all the info they can and in turn, control you.

I have blogged in the past about how a large group of people hate Microsoft and think that Bill gates is Satan. While he may be greedy, he is not evil. While I have no love for Billy boy and the MS empire, I think that Google is a bigger threat.

* They great a search engine so powerful that the name becomes synonymous with searching the web ("Just Google for it").
* The offer a wide variety of desktop tools to make your everyday computing more enjoyable and your data easier to find (Picasa, Toolbar, Desktop, Maps).
* They offer free e-mail with a huge amount of storage.
* They offer free chat with logging.
* They offer a VERY popular blogging service.
* They are planning on offering free online storage.
* They are planning on offering free Wi-Fi internet access that will be able to pinpoint you within 200 feet of your actual location.

Wow. If I used Google for all that, they would know more about me than my mother.

This post is not to scare you, only to make you think about what you are willing to give up to get something FREE.

Of Duke University, Strippers, lacrosse, and Racism

Being a UNC Tarheel fan, I could have a lot of fun with this, or at least thumb my nose at all the Dookies and ABC (Anybody But Carolina) fans, but this is a serious issue. We are looking at a national scandal of a very prestigious school.

If you have not heard, a stripper, who attends a nearby predominantly black university, was hired by the Duke men's lacrosse team to perform at a party. She alleges that she was gang raped, sodomized, and forced to perform oral sex for over 30 minutes. Her alleged attackers were white. Every member of the team was requested to give a DNA sample except for one. The only black athlete on the Duke lacrosse team.

You could look at this from a few different angles, but the one PoV (point of view) that sticks out is the fact that race is a major factor here. The lacrosse team is predominantly white, the stripper is black. The stripper goes to a predominantly black university (North Carolina Central University) while her alleged attackers attend a predominantly white school.

We know that rape is a crime of violence that is meant to humiliate the victim. Forced sexual activity, especially anal and oral is humiliating and since race has always been an issue (especially in Durham, NC), it doubles the emotional pain.

Now with that in mind, we have a couple of conclusions. Either the young woman was raped or she is inventing the story. If she was raped, then the men should be punished severely. If she is inventing this, using race as a motivator, then she should be charged with a hate crime.

I am not going to say any woman deserves rape, however females should not put themselves in a situation where they are teasing or tempting men (dancing naked in front of strangers in their apartments/dorms/homes). I will be the first to admit the female body is very pleasing to the eye, but we have to exercise control and as Christian men, we have to turn our eyes away from things that will instill lust and desire in our hearts. Hanging around strippers will not help!

Many More Will Be Sold

So. Apple has released a patch to allow Mac users who own a valid license for Windows to install Windows on the Intel version of the Macintosh computer. This does not surprise me much. Think of how many more Macs they can sell to geeks who want to play with a Mac, but are on a budget and would prefer Windows. I know plenty of geeks who would love to get their hands on a Mac but refuse to pay for the expensive hardware. Some went out and bought a Mac Mini, because it is a pretty good deal and they can KVM into it and really have a lot of fun. Also, there are a lot of Mac users who need PC, but do not want to have to buy a new one. They can now dual-boot into MacOS or Windows from the same machine.

This MAY be the start of something. If we could get Linux and the hardware vendors to do this...

While it has its appeal, I really do not like dual booting. Yes, I can have the best of both worlds, but since my wife and I share a PC, I have to reboot (instead of log off) whenever one of us wants to use the PC. I refuse to use Windows at home and she refuses to use Linux (although she said if she could learn it easily enough, she would try). I did create her an account on the Linux box just in case...

No, I would prefer to use two machines with one KVM switch. That way I could just key back and fourth to the machine I need at the moment. I have a low-end server I do this with, but it is too under powered to be my primary machine.

Now getting back to Apple, I am wondering if this will keep them from releasing MacOS that will run on regular x86 hardware. I have been told the big stumbling block right now has to do with the BIOS. Macs do not have a BIOS from what I have heard, but I am not 100% sure. I guess it does not matter. They now have a way to run Windows and MacOS on the same piece of hardware without virtual machines, so that most likely be good enough. I may just have to get me a Mac now ;)

Values, Morals, and Such and a Health Update

Over 70% of the US identifies themselves as "Christian" On the surface, this is very positive news. Christian values, if wholly enforced, would lead to a more stabilized society. The problem is that while over 70% IDENTIFY themselves as Christians, many are not really practicianers of the faith. They may go to church on Sunday and maybe Wednesday evening and even may be part of the teaching staff at the church, but once they go home or to work, they look and act like everyone else.

I used to be that way until about 2-3 years ago. I professed to be a Christian, but when I went to work, I took off my Christian coat and put on the secular one. I cut up with my uncouth co-workers, swore, told sexual and off color jokes, and skimmed through the small but growing stack of Maxim magazines. For those of you who may not be familiar with Maxim, it has no nudity, but plenty of skin. All the models are in very little (mostly underwear) clothing and the articles are a bit frank on sexuality.

I am ashamed that I acted that way. While I try not to feel guilty (guilt is a tool that Satan uses to those who repent), I cannot help but feel I was very dishonest to my church family.

When Americans act this way, it sends mixed signals that will eventually be picked up by the youth who happen to be in the vicinity of the deed. It amazes me to no end when parents who live like this (or worse) cry out about their teen be sexually active, smoking, drinking, experimenting with drugs, or showing signs of other problems. What kind of example are you setting for them?

Another thing that amazes me is when the parents are not Christian, but insist that their kids go to church or Sunday school. My ex-wife was like that at one time (I am not sure how she is acting now...that has been many years ago), making her kids go to church to learn morals, but not going herself. Let me make one thing clear, you do not go to church to "get morals". Think about it. You send your kids off to learn Christian values and you do not practice them. Since parents are role models for their kids, then they will pick up on the actions of the parent. If you drill into you kids heads that drinking is a bad, but you get hammered every weekend, should it surprise you that your kid is likely to be a drinker?

Parents who do not go to church but send their children, are not giving the practical application of what the children are taught. You cannot expect the little ones to be upright and moral if you are getting up late on Sunday morning, hungover or if you swear at the dog every time he piddles on the floor.

I did not give my son the best Christian upbringing, although my wife did a great job from her end. I wish I would have done more, but I was not far enough along in my Christian journey to realize what I was doing wrong. The good news is that my son saw what I was supposed to be doing the last 2 years he lived at home. That is some consultation I believe.

Ok, now the health update. My new back problems are caused by a little misalignment and inflammation of the SI joint in the very lower back. The good news is that all I need is some physical therapy, some anti-inflammatory drugs and a little muscle/nerve stimulator to help naturally reduce they pain. I wore it for about 8 hours yesterday and when I took it off to mow the grass and then walk the dog, I was in very little pain, more of a discomfort. It was so minor I almost did not notice it. When my wife and I settled down to watch Law and Order: SVU, I could tell then (only because I tend to watch TV while sitting on the floor), but again, it was minimal.

The bad news is that the Physical Therapist (PT) that my doc recommends does not take my insurance and I cannot afford 8 visits at $80 a visit. I was told the he could recommend someone who was very qualified who does take my plan. My former boss (now my technical lead) gave me a name of someone who takes my HMO and I need to look him up or at least get a referral.

I have an eye doctor appointment today before care groups and a dentist appointment next week. I think that I am all caught up with my doctor visits. I am not really a fan of going to doctors, but I see the value. I guess it is my duty as a Christian man to keep myself healthy so I can provide for my wife.

Jack Bauer One Liner

I am not sure why I did not post this earlier, but Jack says this in almost every episode where a third party can help CTU:

Jack -- "Right now, I am your only hope..."

My wife caught that one last night as we were watching "24".

Speaking of Jack Bauer, Keifer Sutherland is going to be in a movie (and the title escapes me at the moment) where he will play a Jack Bauer type of government agent. The story line has something with the Secret Service and an agent being set up.

And speaking of "24", why does Chloe always look like she found half a worm in her apple?

And DO NOT get me started on the technical inaccuracies of the show. While I do love the story and the action, it is a technical nightmare :) .

Wax On, Wax Off and Other Notables

Saturday I went for my second martial arts lesson from Jimmy* at his dojo near my house. I was a few minutes late, but he is a patient master. This lesson took more thinking than the previous lesson, but that was ok. Some of the moves reminded me of "The Karate Kid", which helped me remember the moves. Some of the moves were a bit complex for a simple man like me but overall it was fun, albeit strenuous. While my back was not giving me too much trouble, I was tired from the previous night (My wife and I got to bed late and up early) and did not have time to properly warm up and stretch. Needless to say by the end of a 2 hour workout I was tired, but I still had a house to vacuum. I was planning on helping another brother work on his carport, but by the time I was done with everything, they were already done. While I was not able to help, I am happy that the work has been completed.

Sunday we went over to another family's home for lunch (actually brunch) and ended up staying there for several hours. There was plenty of good conversation and fellowship and the food (Waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and juice) was awesome. This family hopes to do this once a month at their house. I got so caught up with fellowship, I failed to call my mom like I normally do on Sunday. I know it is ok with her, but I also know she looks forward to our chats.

Yesterday our church handyman came over to start the repairs on the outside of the house. He is going to replace all the rotten wood trim (even though we have a brick home, there is quite a bit of trim) and paint what we cannot reach on a 12 foot ladder. While my wife thought his fee was high, I did not. Needless to say, we have the money thanks to an income tax refund. The remainder we are putting towards our vacation fund. This year we are going to Florida.

I have been on my new pain / anti-inflammatory meds for about a week now. I was feeling pretty good the first 4-5 days, but the last two have not been so pleasant. While the pain has not been as bad as it was before the meds, it is still uncomfortable and it worries me a degree. I realize I should not worry, and maybe the better term is being concerned. I know God will do what is best for the completion of his plan for me, so I will try not to fret.

I finished lesson 4 with my student last night in One to One Discipling. He did great and was very attentive. It makes me feel a bit odd to have a student who has been a Christian much longer than I have, be my student. It does not seem to bother him, so I will not let it bother me.

Our son called Sunday to inform us that he will NOT be able to go to AIT yet. It seems the US Army has lost his paperwork. Believe it or not, this is the second time his paperwork has been misplaced. The first time was when he was at Basic Training and he was told he would have to go back home and not participate. His paperwork was found and he did graduate BT on time.

He is bothered by this loss for several reasons. He plans on attending a school in Houston after he gets out of AIT, but now that the dates have changed (and he does not know when he can go to AIT), he is in limbo with the Houston school. He also does not have a job, phone, or any cash. All three of these decisions (plus his decision to move out) were all his choice. We tried to convince him to stay home, but as most parents will tell you, teens tend to know it all :) . I am glad he moved out while he still knew everything ... hehehe. Seriously, I love my son, but we all have to learn things our own way. I did.

Work was very steady yesterday. I looked up and it was time for lunch and when I looked again, it was time to leave. Today, I have to watch the time closely since I have to drive 20 miles to my doctor appointment at 10:30 and then drive back. I had thought about working from home in the afternoon, but I will drive back and work until 5 PM or so, since I will be gone a couple of hours.

My workload has increased a bit and I am now having to coordinate several ticket queues, do Unix Admin duties, reporting duties, and project work. While it is nice to be busy, it can get a bit hectic. We could use a couple of bodies for the day to day stuff and leave the regulars to do the administrivia.

No geek updates to report. I have spent very little time working on my hobby (Linux) other than the fact that I got NTFS read AND write to work on my main machine. I have added and deleted a few files as a test and everything went well. I understand that their are bugs in mass deletion of files, but that is ok. I did not want to do that anyway.

I was informed of a web forum that a BiC from our church runs. Funny name, www.crapromedia.com , but it has some great discussions. Check it out if you have a few minutes to kill.

*Not his real name.

Friday was ... Cool.

Friday was not a bad day at all. Work was short and not busy, I had minimal pain, and I got to see a very cool rock band. You may have heard of them...Pillar.

I got to see them at Acquire the Fire on Friday night. Way cool! I have been listening to Pillar for a couple of years and have been pretty impressed with them. Growing up on hard rock and then giving my life to Christ was not an easy transition. I thought I would have to give up my love of the crunchy guitars and driving rhythm's. WRONG! There are plenty of great bands to listen to and Pillar is just one of them.

I was able to attend this event free. Normally the ticket price is $25, but my lovely wife is the food coordinator for the Dallas AtF event and was able to get me in close for no cost. She did it last year and she was highly complemented on her accomplishments. She will be the first to tell you that God does it and uses her as the tool.

My wife said it was part of my anniversary present and the other part was coming. I love my wife. She even stayed and watched the band perform, even though she hates hard rock. She used earplugs but she stayed!

If any of the AtF crew, performers, speakers, or fans are reading this...THANK YOU for all you do. So many kids need this. Our society is crumbling and our youth is our future.

God bless you all!