It's been a very, very long time since anything has affected me this much. After reading Patrick's story and seeing the video of him taking his first steps after being found last night, I literally cried like a baby - so much so that our Puggle, "Harley," came in to see what was wrong. I didn't sleep worth a damn last night and I don't think I will tonight, either, and I've been cruising with my old pal Sailor Jerry for the past hour or so. I've just got this heavy place in my heart that I can't get to go away...
On the positive side, the BITCH who did this terrible thing to Patrick, one Miss Kisha Curtis, has had the charges against her increased from inhumane acts to "torture" of an animal. The good news is that now instead of facing six months in jail, the fat bitch is facing EIGHTEEN MONTHS in jail! And I hope the BITCH gets the maximum sentence and serves every single day of it! And if you'd like to drop a note to the fat BITCH and let her know how you feel, just go to Facebook and look her up - she's there, and her page is still up. (Oh, did I mention that she's currently in jail on receiving stolen property charges in addition to the torture charges? Imagine that...)
And also on the positive side, Patrick has gained 2 1/2 pounds which is nothing but good news! This means he's healing, slowly to be sure, but healiing nonetheless. He's got a long, long way to go, but this is a very positive sign.
In the mean time, I'll still be talking to the Big Biker each night and asking him to watch out over this brave little guy and to bless him - and us - with a full recovery.
Patrick surely does deserve it.
Rot in Hell, Kisha Curtis.
IHC
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
I Don't Understand...
I don't understand how people can be so cruel.
I've just finished reading the story of Patrick, the pit bull mix dog who's recovery is being called a miracle, and I'm not ashamed to tell you that the story had me bawling like a baby.
Patrick, in case you didn't hear about it, is a one year old pit bull mix who was starved nearly to death by his owner, then stuffed into a plastic garbage bag - still alive, mind you - and then thrown down a trash chute in a Newark, New Jersey apartment building like just so much garbage. After being down there for the better part of a day, a maintenance worker noticed the bag moving, opened it up, and found the emaciated body of Patrick. He rushed the dog to the Garden State Humane Society emergency clinic, where the poor animal was given emergency care. When he was first brought into the clinic the doctors didn't expect him to survive; 24 hours later, though, on St. Patrick's Day, the dog was still alive, so they named him "Patrick." The doctors have since said that Patrick was literally hours - HOURS - from death when he was found, and it's nothing short of a miracle that he survivied.
But Patrick isn't out of the woods yet. He has an unidentified blockage in his intestines that the docs can't diagnose yet because Patrick is still too weak for exploratory surgery, so everyone is just hoping and praying that he'll get strong enough for the surgery and will survive. And I'm one of them.
In the mean time, the callous, unfeeling, uncaring, heartless, soul-less BITCH who did this to Patrick has been identified and arrested and is now awaiting trial. The really tragic thing is that the worst she'll get, if convicted on the 4 counts of animal abuse against her, is a lousy six months in jail and a thousand dollar fine. And that's IF the judge imposes the maximum sentence on the bitch.
Personally, I think this heartless c*nt needs to be starved within an inch of her life, stuffed in a garbage bag, and thrown down a trash chute just like she did to Patrick.
Out of all of God's creatures that He chose to put on this earth, there is no more loyal and faithful a creature than a dog. Dog is called "Man's Best Friend" for a plethora of reasons, and if you've ever owned one then you know what I'm talking about. A dog brings joy and happiness into your life, will be there when you need him or her, and asks nothing more in return than a bowl of food and water, a warm place to sleep, and the occasional touch of his or her master. That's all, nothing more, yet they give so much in return.
When I think of what this heartless BITCH did to this poor dog, I don't know which it makes me - sad beyond words and easily lapsing into tears, or madder than hellfire and brimstone. That this BITCH could do something like this to Patrick just defies the imagination.
All we can do now is pray that Patrick pulls through and makes a full recovery. The Garden State Humane society has already said that if he pulls through he'll be put up for adoption, and I'm sure that out of the thousands and thousands of people who are aware of Patrick's story, he'll find the loving home that he deserves.
And I hope the BITCH that did this to him rots in Hell.
I'm gonna go hug my dogs now.
IHC
I've just finished reading the story of Patrick, the pit bull mix dog who's recovery is being called a miracle, and I'm not ashamed to tell you that the story had me bawling like a baby.
Patrick, in case you didn't hear about it, is a one year old pit bull mix who was starved nearly to death by his owner, then stuffed into a plastic garbage bag - still alive, mind you - and then thrown down a trash chute in a Newark, New Jersey apartment building like just so much garbage. After being down there for the better part of a day, a maintenance worker noticed the bag moving, opened it up, and found the emaciated body of Patrick. He rushed the dog to the Garden State Humane Society emergency clinic, where the poor animal was given emergency care. When he was first brought into the clinic the doctors didn't expect him to survive; 24 hours later, though, on St. Patrick's Day, the dog was still alive, so they named him "Patrick." The doctors have since said that Patrick was literally hours - HOURS - from death when he was found, and it's nothing short of a miracle that he survivied.
But Patrick isn't out of the woods yet. He has an unidentified blockage in his intestines that the docs can't diagnose yet because Patrick is still too weak for exploratory surgery, so everyone is just hoping and praying that he'll get strong enough for the surgery and will survive. And I'm one of them.
In the mean time, the callous, unfeeling, uncaring, heartless, soul-less BITCH who did this to Patrick has been identified and arrested and is now awaiting trial. The really tragic thing is that the worst she'll get, if convicted on the 4 counts of animal abuse against her, is a lousy six months in jail and a thousand dollar fine. And that's IF the judge imposes the maximum sentence on the bitch.
Personally, I think this heartless c*nt needs to be starved within an inch of her life, stuffed in a garbage bag, and thrown down a trash chute just like she did to Patrick.
Out of all of God's creatures that He chose to put on this earth, there is no more loyal and faithful a creature than a dog. Dog is called "Man's Best Friend" for a plethora of reasons, and if you've ever owned one then you know what I'm talking about. A dog brings joy and happiness into your life, will be there when you need him or her, and asks nothing more in return than a bowl of food and water, a warm place to sleep, and the occasional touch of his or her master. That's all, nothing more, yet they give so much in return.
When I think of what this heartless BITCH did to this poor dog, I don't know which it makes me - sad beyond words and easily lapsing into tears, or madder than hellfire and brimstone. That this BITCH could do something like this to Patrick just defies the imagination.
All we can do now is pray that Patrick pulls through and makes a full recovery. The Garden State Humane society has already said that if he pulls through he'll be put up for adoption, and I'm sure that out of the thousands and thousands of people who are aware of Patrick's story, he'll find the loving home that he deserves.
And I hope the BITCH that did this to him rots in Hell.
I'm gonna go hug my dogs now.
IHC
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Al Sharpton is an Intentionally Ignorant Ass
Most of you may not know this, but 2011 is the second year of the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of the War for Southern Independence, also known as the "civil war." (Those of you who know me know that I abhorr that title and refuse to use it, and you know why.) It was 150 years ago when the bloodiest, most costly war in the history of our nation took place right here on our own soil - mostly Southern soil, by the way. As one could expect, the Sons of Confederate Veterans is spearheading the events commemorating the sacrifices and valor of the Southern men who fought to defend their homeland, starting with a "Sesquicentennial Secession Ball" that was held in Charleston, SC recently. Where better to hold the ball than the place where it all got started, right?
And, as one could expect, this event did have its detractors, the most well known of those being Al Sharpton, the racist black "activist" from up North - New York, specifically. And I absolutely REFUSE to use the term "reverend" when speaking of this bigoted racist, because that would be an insult to the true men of God who claim the term for all the right reasons.
But I digress...
Anyhow, here's what Mr. Sharpton had to say about the Secession Ball:
“First, they’re celebrating treason. These people actually fought, and killed, and died... to try and overthrow the United States Government. And when that didn’t succeed, they seceded and tried to form a separate government on American soil. Secondly, it was based on slavery, and slavery based on race.”
After reading this ludicrous quote, you have to ask yourself one simple question: just what school did this idiot attend, anyway? Even the most radical Yankee teachings in the most radical public schools in the nation don't teach this line of bullshit! I mean, just where is he getting this from?
First and foremost, Mr. Sharpton needs to look up the definition of the term, "treason." If he did, he'd discover that what the Southern states did does not fit the definition. But that's a minor point.
The big one is the second line about "these people" fighting and dying to overthrow the United States government. This is nothing but a lie, because nothing like this ever happened. Period. Maybe in Sharpton's deluded, bigoted, racist mind he THINKS it did so it will give him something to base his racist, bigoted ideals on, but the truth - the HISTORICAL truth - is that it never happened.
And yes, the Southern states did secede, which is what the war was all about, except that they didn't "try" to form a separate government on American soil - they actually did it. Whether Mr. Sharpton and people of his opinion like to admit it or not, the Confederate States of America most certainly did exist. They had a President, a Vice President, a Congress, a Treasury Department, a standing army, a navy, they had everything that the United States had - in fact, with a few minor revisions, the Constitution of the Confederate States was nearly a word-for-word copy of the United States Constitution, the most glaring difference being that the Confederate Constitution both outlawed the importation of new slaves from abroad and protected the ownership of those slaves already in the country. Aside from that, the documents are nearly identical.
And lastly, of course slavery was based on race. But what Mr. Sharpton doesn't want to admit is that it was always based on race, and that the Founding Fathers of our nation ALL were slaveowners, with one of them - Thomas Jefferson - having recently been proven by DNA analysis to have fathered at least one child with a slave.
No, let's not talk about how the Founding Fathers were slaveholders, and about how they had the chance to free all slaves in 1787 but didn't do it - let's just keep placing the blame on the Southern people so we can spread more lies, half-truths, and distortions to further our own bigoted, racist political agenda.
After making this ludicrous statement and showing just how much he doesn't know about the topic of the War for Southern Independence, Mr. Sharpton was contacted by the Commander of the South Carolina Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and was invited to meet with him so they may discuss his remarks and the truth about the War further. As one could expect, Mr. Sharpton has not replied but has chosen to ignore the invitation to be proven that he's a buffoon in a silk suit.
So in addition to being an intentionally ignorant ass, Mr. Sharpton is also a coward.
The really scary thing about this is that there are scores of people out there who will take what this buffoon has to say as the gospel truth, and will base their opinions and feelings on it rather than take a little time, do the research, and know just what the hell they're talking about. No, rather than do that, they'll hitch their wagon to this horse's ass of a racist mouthpiece, sing his praises, and go on blaming the South for the racist attitude in America.
The whole thing disgusts me more than I can convery in words.
IHC
And, as one could expect, this event did have its detractors, the most well known of those being Al Sharpton, the racist black "activist" from up North - New York, specifically. And I absolutely REFUSE to use the term "reverend" when speaking of this bigoted racist, because that would be an insult to the true men of God who claim the term for all the right reasons.
But I digress...
Anyhow, here's what Mr. Sharpton had to say about the Secession Ball:
“First, they’re celebrating treason. These people actually fought, and killed, and died... to try and overthrow the United States Government. And when that didn’t succeed, they seceded and tried to form a separate government on American soil. Secondly, it was based on slavery, and slavery based on race.”
After reading this ludicrous quote, you have to ask yourself one simple question: just what school did this idiot attend, anyway? Even the most radical Yankee teachings in the most radical public schools in the nation don't teach this line of bullshit! I mean, just where is he getting this from?
First and foremost, Mr. Sharpton needs to look up the definition of the term, "treason." If he did, he'd discover that what the Southern states did does not fit the definition. But that's a minor point.
The big one is the second line about "these people" fighting and dying to overthrow the United States government. This is nothing but a lie, because nothing like this ever happened. Period. Maybe in Sharpton's deluded, bigoted, racist mind he THINKS it did so it will give him something to base his racist, bigoted ideals on, but the truth - the HISTORICAL truth - is that it never happened.
And yes, the Southern states did secede, which is what the war was all about, except that they didn't "try" to form a separate government on American soil - they actually did it. Whether Mr. Sharpton and people of his opinion like to admit it or not, the Confederate States of America most certainly did exist. They had a President, a Vice President, a Congress, a Treasury Department, a standing army, a navy, they had everything that the United States had - in fact, with a few minor revisions, the Constitution of the Confederate States was nearly a word-for-word copy of the United States Constitution, the most glaring difference being that the Confederate Constitution both outlawed the importation of new slaves from abroad and protected the ownership of those slaves already in the country. Aside from that, the documents are nearly identical.
And lastly, of course slavery was based on race. But what Mr. Sharpton doesn't want to admit is that it was always based on race, and that the Founding Fathers of our nation ALL were slaveowners, with one of them - Thomas Jefferson - having recently been proven by DNA analysis to have fathered at least one child with a slave.
No, let's not talk about how the Founding Fathers were slaveholders, and about how they had the chance to free all slaves in 1787 but didn't do it - let's just keep placing the blame on the Southern people so we can spread more lies, half-truths, and distortions to further our own bigoted, racist political agenda.
After making this ludicrous statement and showing just how much he doesn't know about the topic of the War for Southern Independence, Mr. Sharpton was contacted by the Commander of the South Carolina Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and was invited to meet with him so they may discuss his remarks and the truth about the War further. As one could expect, Mr. Sharpton has not replied but has chosen to ignore the invitation to be proven that he's a buffoon in a silk suit.
So in addition to being an intentionally ignorant ass, Mr. Sharpton is also a coward.
The really scary thing about this is that there are scores of people out there who will take what this buffoon has to say as the gospel truth, and will base their opinions and feelings on it rather than take a little time, do the research, and know just what the hell they're talking about. No, rather than do that, they'll hitch their wagon to this horse's ass of a racist mouthpiece, sing his praises, and go on blaming the South for the racist attitude in America.
The whole thing disgusts me more than I can convery in words.
IHC
Sunday, March 13, 2011
NObama's Assault on the 2nd Amendment Begins
For those of us who have been paying attention to what's been going on in DC on the issue of gun control, the long-awaited first shot in NObama's anticipated assault on the 2nd Amendment has just been fired.
That shot came today in an op-ed that NObama wrote for The Arizona Daily Star in which he said he was "willing to bet" that responsible gun owners would support laws to "keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few -- dangerous criminals and fugitives, for example -- from getting their hands on" guns.
I'm willing to bet that he's wrong.
The laws that he's referring to are those which require a background check before someone can legally - remember that word - purchase a gun. Here's a direct quote from his op-ed:
"I'm willing to bet they don't think that using a gun and using common sense are incompatible ideas -- that we should check someone's criminal record before he can check out at a gun seller; that an unbalanced man shouldn't be able to buy a gun so easily; that there's room for us to have reasonable laws that uphold liberty, ensure citizen safety and are fully compatible with a robust Second Amendment."
What he makes sound so easy and so simple is actually complicated and difficult, once you get past the bullshit of him playing on everyone's unwillingness to admit that they don't have what he claims is "common sense" and standing up and saying he's wrong. Which he is, by the way - as wrong as you can possibly be. He also plays on everyone's emotions by citing the recent shooting of the senator from Arizona, the Islamic terrorist at Fort Hood, and the student at Virginia Tech. In all of these cases, these people were able to buy their weapons legally because they did not have a criminal record, were not illegal aliens, and had never been adjudicated as being mentally unstable.
And there's the hard part. How can you fashion ANY kind of background check to determine if someone has a lurking mental disorder unless you require them to go get a mental examination prior to purchasing the weapon?
Simple answer: you can't. And NObama knows this.
What he's doing is employing a different kind of strategy to get rid of guns in the hands of private citizens. Years back the Brady Bunch, led by Diane Feinstein of California, led the charge to "tax guns out of existence" by trying to pass taxes on guns and ammunition that started - STARTED - at 100% of the purchase price, and certain kinds of ammo would be taxed at 500% of the purchase price. The line of thought there was if you can't outlaw them, make them too expensive to own. The strategy failed, so they abandoned it. But now it's being resurrected by NObama with a different spin - instead of making the guns and ammo too expensive to buy, let's just make the purchasing process so lengthy, complicated, and expensive that people won't want to go through it. (Who do you think is gonna pay for that mental exam, anyway?)
I'm willing to bet that the gun owners of America are a hell of a lot smarter and more savvy than our President gives them credit for.
But here's my favorite part of the op-ed, the part in which NObama proves that he's not as smart as he thinks he is, and we're not as dumb as he thinks we are. Go back and re-read my second paragraph, specifically the part about him being willing to bet that gun owners would support laws designed to "keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few -- dangerous criminals and fugitives, for example -- from getting their hands on" guns.
With the emphasis on "LAW-BREAKING."
'Scuse me, but what in the hell makes you think that "irresponsible, law-breaking dangerous criminals and fugitives" are going to waltz into a gun shop and fill out the forms to try and purchase a gun? I mean, really, are you kidding me?
Are you that fucking stupid? Here's a hint: that's why they're called "criminals!"
I guess the gentle snow-job (more like blow job, actually) that NObama has been giving us for the past two years has made him think that he's softened us up and we're all fat, dumb, and happy like lambs ready to be led to the slaughter. What snow job is that, you ask? Simple - his administration has "let" us carry weapons concealed in national parks and wildlife refuges, and the Supreme Court has recently ruled that the 2nd Amendment applies to the individual citizen - just like the rest of the Amendments do - and not to the state itself. Of course, anyone with an ounce of common sense realizes that NObama had nothing to do with the Supreme Court's decision, but he's sure willing to use it in his favor, isn't he?
The one thing that NObama and the anti-gun crowd just don't seem to want to understand is simple, and it's this: NO LAW WILL PROTECT YOU WHEN A CRIMINAL BREAKS INTO YOUR HOME OR ROBS YOU ON THE STREET WITH A HANDGUN. The ONLY thing that will protect you is your own handgun, PERIOD.
Well, here's what I'm willing to bet: I'm willing to bet that the people of America, specifically the law-abiding gun owners, are a whole lot smarter than NObama thinks they are and will recognize this for the load of pure, unadulterated bullshit that it is - as I have done. Further, I'm willing to bet that gun owners like myself are not going to just sit around and do nothing while he puts the next phase of his carefully constructed and thought-out plan to abolish the 2nd Amendment into play. Lastly, I'm willing to bet that the NRA is gearing up at this very moment to REALLY rain on his parade.
Anybody wanna give me odds?
Never in my entire life have I had as little professional respect and as much utter contempt and loathing for a sitting President as I have for this man. I despise this man as President, and I'm counting the days until he walks out of the White House for the last time. As a person, I have no beef with the man; as a President, I despise him.
November 2012 can't get here fast enough.
IHC
That shot came today in an op-ed that NObama wrote for The Arizona Daily Star in which he said he was "willing to bet" that responsible gun owners would support laws to "keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few -- dangerous criminals and fugitives, for example -- from getting their hands on" guns.
I'm willing to bet that he's wrong.
The laws that he's referring to are those which require a background check before someone can legally - remember that word - purchase a gun. Here's a direct quote from his op-ed:
"I'm willing to bet they don't think that using a gun and using common sense are incompatible ideas -- that we should check someone's criminal record before he can check out at a gun seller; that an unbalanced man shouldn't be able to buy a gun so easily; that there's room for us to have reasonable laws that uphold liberty, ensure citizen safety and are fully compatible with a robust Second Amendment."
What he makes sound so easy and so simple is actually complicated and difficult, once you get past the bullshit of him playing on everyone's unwillingness to admit that they don't have what he claims is "common sense" and standing up and saying he's wrong. Which he is, by the way - as wrong as you can possibly be. He also plays on everyone's emotions by citing the recent shooting of the senator from Arizona, the Islamic terrorist at Fort Hood, and the student at Virginia Tech. In all of these cases, these people were able to buy their weapons legally because they did not have a criminal record, were not illegal aliens, and had never been adjudicated as being mentally unstable.
And there's the hard part. How can you fashion ANY kind of background check to determine if someone has a lurking mental disorder unless you require them to go get a mental examination prior to purchasing the weapon?
Simple answer: you can't. And NObama knows this.
What he's doing is employing a different kind of strategy to get rid of guns in the hands of private citizens. Years back the Brady Bunch, led by Diane Feinstein of California, led the charge to "tax guns out of existence" by trying to pass taxes on guns and ammunition that started - STARTED - at 100% of the purchase price, and certain kinds of ammo would be taxed at 500% of the purchase price. The line of thought there was if you can't outlaw them, make them too expensive to own. The strategy failed, so they abandoned it. But now it's being resurrected by NObama with a different spin - instead of making the guns and ammo too expensive to buy, let's just make the purchasing process so lengthy, complicated, and expensive that people won't want to go through it. (Who do you think is gonna pay for that mental exam, anyway?)
I'm willing to bet that the gun owners of America are a hell of a lot smarter and more savvy than our President gives them credit for.
But here's my favorite part of the op-ed, the part in which NObama proves that he's not as smart as he thinks he is, and we're not as dumb as he thinks we are. Go back and re-read my second paragraph, specifically the part about him being willing to bet that gun owners would support laws designed to "keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few -- dangerous criminals and fugitives, for example -- from getting their hands on" guns.
With the emphasis on "LAW-BREAKING."
'Scuse me, but what in the hell makes you think that "irresponsible, law-breaking dangerous criminals and fugitives" are going to waltz into a gun shop and fill out the forms to try and purchase a gun? I mean, really, are you kidding me?
Are you that fucking stupid? Here's a hint: that's why they're called "criminals!"
I guess the gentle snow-job (more like blow job, actually) that NObama has been giving us for the past two years has made him think that he's softened us up and we're all fat, dumb, and happy like lambs ready to be led to the slaughter. What snow job is that, you ask? Simple - his administration has "let" us carry weapons concealed in national parks and wildlife refuges, and the Supreme Court has recently ruled that the 2nd Amendment applies to the individual citizen - just like the rest of the Amendments do - and not to the state itself. Of course, anyone with an ounce of common sense realizes that NObama had nothing to do with the Supreme Court's decision, but he's sure willing to use it in his favor, isn't he?
The one thing that NObama and the anti-gun crowd just don't seem to want to understand is simple, and it's this: NO LAW WILL PROTECT YOU WHEN A CRIMINAL BREAKS INTO YOUR HOME OR ROBS YOU ON THE STREET WITH A HANDGUN. The ONLY thing that will protect you is your own handgun, PERIOD.
Well, here's what I'm willing to bet: I'm willing to bet that the people of America, specifically the law-abiding gun owners, are a whole lot smarter than NObama thinks they are and will recognize this for the load of pure, unadulterated bullshit that it is - as I have done. Further, I'm willing to bet that gun owners like myself are not going to just sit around and do nothing while he puts the next phase of his carefully constructed and thought-out plan to abolish the 2nd Amendment into play. Lastly, I'm willing to bet that the NRA is gearing up at this very moment to REALLY rain on his parade.
Anybody wanna give me odds?
Never in my entire life have I had as little professional respect and as much utter contempt and loathing for a sitting President as I have for this man. I despise this man as President, and I'm counting the days until he walks out of the White House for the last time. As a person, I have no beef with the man; as a President, I despise him.
November 2012 can't get here fast enough.
IHC
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Things I've Seen
Sometimes I sit back and think of all of the things I’ve seen and the technological advancements that have taken place in the 54 years I’ve spent on this blue ball we call home, and it never ceases to amaze me.
I remember when the TV in our living room was a big Zenith black and white set, the kind you had to turn on a minute or so before your show came on to give the tubes inside a chance to warm up. I also remember watching the picture fade into that bright little dot in the center of the screen after you turned it off; the dot would glow brightly for a moment or two, and then fade away. And you had your choice of THREE CHANNELS to watch; in my case, those channels were 6, 8 and 12 in Richmond, Virginia, and when you wanted to change the channel you had to get up, walk over to the set, and actually turn the knob yourself.
As with everyone I’ve ever known in my entire life, I used to watch “The Wizard of Oz” on the TV every year. (Everyone except my wife, that is, and I still can’t believe she’s never seen it! But then, she’s never seen “Deliverance,” either…) And up until 1968 or so, we always watched it in black and white. And then, one year, we all climbed into our Ford Falcon station wagon and drove over to a friend of my parent’s house, where we sat in the rec room that once upon a time was his garage and watched the move in color! We saw the fantastic effect of Dorothy opening the door to her house after she’d landed in Oz, with the inside of the house being in black and white and the view outside the house being in color! That was nothing short of amazing, and I think it’s still my favorite movie special effect to this day.
In this day and age, you not only can’t find a black and white TV set anymore, you can watch TV and movies on your computer or your cell phone. And I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t have a remote control for their 56-inch HD TV, do you?
And speaking of that old Falcon station wagon, I remember my father cussing the vacuum-powered windshield wipers that would change speed with the revolutions of the engine – if the engine slowed, the wipers slowed; if the engine revved the wipers would speed up. When you were sitting at a light waiting for it to change the wipers were practically useless, they were moving so slow. And the wipers had two speeds, those being slow and slower. Then Ford pirated the idea of intermittent wipers, and a new age of convenience was born – but only if you had the bucks to afford it, because that was an expensive option at first.
Nowadays intermittent wipers are standard equipment on a $12,000.00 Kia.
In the early 1970’s my family and I got very heavily involved in the citizen’s band radio hobby, and as with anything my father ever did he went at it whole-hog. We had a mobile radio in both cars and a base station set up in the kitchen with a 4-element Moonraker multi-directional antennae a hundred feet or so up off the ground in the top of a pine tree in the back yard. And when my father won an ABC 500 watt tunable linear amplifier from another CB’er in a poker game, we ended up with one of the most powerful – if not THE most powerful – base stations in Raleigh, NC. When we talked, everybody listened! Our signal was so powerful it would bleed over two channels on either side of the one we were on, and when the cloud cover – or “skip” – was just right, we could crank that ABC up to the max and talk to Brazil, no sweat.
Nowadays you can hardly find a CB radio on the market; they’ve been replaced by cell phones.
And speaking of cell phones, remember when the first ones came out in the late 1980’s? Only they were called “mobile phones” or “car phones” back then, because they were so big that you either had to carry them around in a bag like a tool kit or you had it installed in your car. And then, in 1991, they came out with a true cellular phone that was very portable with no bag to lug around. Sure, the phone was the size of a brick and had a 9 inch long antennae, but you could carry it in your hand! Never mind that it weight about three pounds…
Nowadays they manufacture cell phones small enough to fit in a jeans jacket pocket and weigh about six ounces or so, and not only can you make phone calls on them, you can surf the Internet and make video calls – that’s right, video calls – from them just like on your home computer.
Hell, they’re not cell phones – they’re hand-held computers that make phone calls.
Last but not least – I could go on, but I think y’all get the point by now – is the GPS device. When those gadgets first came out right after the Gulf War, they too were the size of a brick but they were just amazing in what they could do! They first appeared in the US military, but the manufacturers saw the potential in the civilian market and it wasn’t long before they were available outside the military. Bad thing was they were tremendously expensive, so they became a toy for the rich. But as with anything electronic – like the hand-held calculator and digital watches, for example – the longer it was around the more it was improved, and the lower the price dropped until now you can pick up a portable GPS for your car with a 9 inch color HD screen for about $150.00 or less. And when the car manufacturers first started putting them in cars, they were just like intermittent wipers – they were expensive options that only the rich folks had.
You know that $12,000.00 Kia with the intermittent wipers standard? Yep, it’s got a GPS in it, too, and that’s also standard. Oh, and that cell phone I was talking about two paragraphs up? It’s also got a GPS program on it, standard. Standard.
Sometimes I look back on all this and it just amazes me at what I’ve seen, and then I think of two things: I think of all the things my 82-year old father has seen – like TV showing up in the first place, replacing radio as the main form of entertainment – all the things I’ve seen seem to pale in comparison. And then I think of all the things I’ve yet to see, and all the things my children and grandchildren will see, and that just amazes me more.
Ferris Bueller summed it all up pretty good: “Life goes by pretty quickly; if you don’t stop and take a look around, you could miss it.”
IHC
I remember when the TV in our living room was a big Zenith black and white set, the kind you had to turn on a minute or so before your show came on to give the tubes inside a chance to warm up. I also remember watching the picture fade into that bright little dot in the center of the screen after you turned it off; the dot would glow brightly for a moment or two, and then fade away. And you had your choice of THREE CHANNELS to watch; in my case, those channels were 6, 8 and 12 in Richmond, Virginia, and when you wanted to change the channel you had to get up, walk over to the set, and actually turn the knob yourself.
As with everyone I’ve ever known in my entire life, I used to watch “The Wizard of Oz” on the TV every year. (Everyone except my wife, that is, and I still can’t believe she’s never seen it! But then, she’s never seen “Deliverance,” either…) And up until 1968 or so, we always watched it in black and white. And then, one year, we all climbed into our Ford Falcon station wagon and drove over to a friend of my parent’s house, where we sat in the rec room that once upon a time was his garage and watched the move in color! We saw the fantastic effect of Dorothy opening the door to her house after she’d landed in Oz, with the inside of the house being in black and white and the view outside the house being in color! That was nothing short of amazing, and I think it’s still my favorite movie special effect to this day.
In this day and age, you not only can’t find a black and white TV set anymore, you can watch TV and movies on your computer or your cell phone. And I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t have a remote control for their 56-inch HD TV, do you?
And speaking of that old Falcon station wagon, I remember my father cussing the vacuum-powered windshield wipers that would change speed with the revolutions of the engine – if the engine slowed, the wipers slowed; if the engine revved the wipers would speed up. When you were sitting at a light waiting for it to change the wipers were practically useless, they were moving so slow. And the wipers had two speeds, those being slow and slower. Then Ford pirated the idea of intermittent wipers, and a new age of convenience was born – but only if you had the bucks to afford it, because that was an expensive option at first.
Nowadays intermittent wipers are standard equipment on a $12,000.00 Kia.
In the early 1970’s my family and I got very heavily involved in the citizen’s band radio hobby, and as with anything my father ever did he went at it whole-hog. We had a mobile radio in both cars and a base station set up in the kitchen with a 4-element Moonraker multi-directional antennae a hundred feet or so up off the ground in the top of a pine tree in the back yard. And when my father won an ABC 500 watt tunable linear amplifier from another CB’er in a poker game, we ended up with one of the most powerful – if not THE most powerful – base stations in Raleigh, NC. When we talked, everybody listened! Our signal was so powerful it would bleed over two channels on either side of the one we were on, and when the cloud cover – or “skip” – was just right, we could crank that ABC up to the max and talk to Brazil, no sweat.
Nowadays you can hardly find a CB radio on the market; they’ve been replaced by cell phones.
And speaking of cell phones, remember when the first ones came out in the late 1980’s? Only they were called “mobile phones” or “car phones” back then, because they were so big that you either had to carry them around in a bag like a tool kit or you had it installed in your car. And then, in 1991, they came out with a true cellular phone that was very portable with no bag to lug around. Sure, the phone was the size of a brick and had a 9 inch long antennae, but you could carry it in your hand! Never mind that it weight about three pounds…
Nowadays they manufacture cell phones small enough to fit in a jeans jacket pocket and weigh about six ounces or so, and not only can you make phone calls on them, you can surf the Internet and make video calls – that’s right, video calls – from them just like on your home computer.
Hell, they’re not cell phones – they’re hand-held computers that make phone calls.
Last but not least – I could go on, but I think y’all get the point by now – is the GPS device. When those gadgets first came out right after the Gulf War, they too were the size of a brick but they were just amazing in what they could do! They first appeared in the US military, but the manufacturers saw the potential in the civilian market and it wasn’t long before they were available outside the military. Bad thing was they were tremendously expensive, so they became a toy for the rich. But as with anything electronic – like the hand-held calculator and digital watches, for example – the longer it was around the more it was improved, and the lower the price dropped until now you can pick up a portable GPS for your car with a 9 inch color HD screen for about $150.00 or less. And when the car manufacturers first started putting them in cars, they were just like intermittent wipers – they were expensive options that only the rich folks had.
You know that $12,000.00 Kia with the intermittent wipers standard? Yep, it’s got a GPS in it, too, and that’s also standard. Oh, and that cell phone I was talking about two paragraphs up? It’s also got a GPS program on it, standard. Standard.
Sometimes I look back on all this and it just amazes me at what I’ve seen, and then I think of two things: I think of all the things my 82-year old father has seen – like TV showing up in the first place, replacing radio as the main form of entertainment – all the things I’ve seen seem to pale in comparison. And then I think of all the things I’ve yet to see, and all the things my children and grandchildren will see, and that just amazes me more.
Ferris Bueller summed it all up pretty good: “Life goes by pretty quickly; if you don’t stop and take a look around, you could miss it.”
IHC
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