Congratulations To Michael Steele

Michael Steele has been named the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. All congratulations are in order. I guess this means we will be seeing less of him on Hannity and O'Reilly in the coming years.

Here's hoping he can get the GOP back on track and help restore it to its roots. What we had in the 2008 Presidential election was a slightly right of center candidate in John McCain. McCain is a genuine war hero and a basically good man but he, in the eyes of many, is a RINO. I took strong exception to his "compassionate immigration policy" and some other issues.

Now - if the GOP wants to get back into the White House in 2012 they're gonna have to get back to what sets the party apart from the Democrats. Maybe Steele can lead the way. Time will tell.

Virus Warning - Be Prepared For This One

A not so new virus is making the rounds. I was infected recently by Anti-virus 2009 (Not to be confused with Norton Antivirus 2009) and my computer took a serious dump yesterday. What happened is my homepage and search page were hijacked and web browsing became almost impossible.

I knew something was up a couple of days ago when I did a reboot and a virus program launched itself on start up. Well, I hadn't installed any new virus programs so I immediately knew it was spyware/virus crap.

The program actually tried to prompt me to remove a virus that had been installed by......the antivirus program itself. Kind of like the protection rackets one sees in movies about the Mafia and organized crime. You know the one where the Mafia Hoods are selling protection against themselves.

The problem was when I went to the web to find information on how to remove the program I was re-directed to an infected page each and every time I tried to do a search. It became impossible to find a way to remove the damn thing.

Luckily, I use Norton Ghost so I had an image file to restore from. Unluckily, the image file was ten days old. So I lost all of the data in between. You have to keep the images updated daily to be effective. I got lazy and I got burned.

Anyway, here are a few links about this scumware/trojan that's currently making the rounds on the net. I don't know where the damn thing came from since my Son and I both use this computer but I have a feeling he's been doing a little searching on Girls Gone Wild or one of his WWE wrestling video sites. But it's also possible that I got the virus from watching YouTube videos as one poster suggested on a virus discussion thread. I really don't know.

As with most of these virus programs, users are usually tricked into installing them so I can't really say who it was that got us infected. I do recommend you download instructions on how to remove this fucker just in case. Once I became infected, downloading anything was impossible. Be proactive when it comes to this. More links are below.

One last helpful hint. Learn how to boot your computer into Windows Safe Mode. Some viruses can not be removed when operating in regular Windows. Safe Mode is the best bet for removing a virus or spyware/scumware.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic154973.html
http://blogs.msdn.com/mcampos/archive/2008/07/05/removing-the-antivirus-2009-infection.aspx
http://community.mcafee.com/showthread.php?t=222067
http://removal-tool.com/antivirus-2009/

WTF Do Women Want?

Rules from men to women courtesy of CraigsList...

Men are NOT mind readers. Learn to work the toilet seat. You’re a big girl. If it’s up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
Sunday sports . It’s like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.
Crying is blackmail.
Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That’s what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
A headache that lasts for 17 months is a Problem. See a doctor.
Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.
If you won’t dress like the Victoria ’s Secret girls, don’t Expect us to act like soap opera guys.
If you think you’re fat, you probably are. Don’t ask us.
If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
All men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve or magenta are.
If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
If we ask what is wrong and you say “nothing,” We will act like nothing’s wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, Expect an answer you don’t want to hear.
When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine… Really.
Don’t ask us what we’re thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or golf.
You have enough clothes.
You have too many shoes.
I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

Great Rant - Is This The New Silent Majority?

I often read the rants and raves on CraigsList and I stumbled upon a link to this great video today. This guy is often crude and profane but he is, at the same time, strangely eloquent. listen carefully to what this man has to say. He is legion and he may very well be in the majority. Time will tell.

Let's see if the gutless assholes in the P.C. world of YouTube will leave this one up or if some nitwit Liberal flags this guy and YouTube claims it was taken down with the phony excuse of "removed by users request". That's how the worms at YouTube are able to effectively censor what they disagree with - the omnipresent "removed at users request".

"Dumb Blond Joke" From L.A. CraigsList

I saw this joke on CL and thought it was pretty good.

A blonde calls her boyfriend and says,
"Please come over here and help Me.
I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get Started."

Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?"

The blonde says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster."

Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She lets him
in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over The table.
He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box,
then turns to Her and says,

"First of all, no matter what we do,
we're not going to be able to Assemble these pieces into anything
resembling a rooster."

He takes her hand and says,
"Second, I want you to relax. Let's have a Nice cup of tea, and then .
" he said with a deep sigh, . .. . .. . ..

"Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box."

Congratulations To The Arizona Cardinals

Final score: 32-25 in favor of Curt Warner and the Cardinals.

Donovan McNabb almost lead the Eagles back in a game that looked like an Arizona blowout in the first half. McNabb came up just short on the last drive and Arizona goes to the Superbowl. I won't call the Eagles chokes because they never would have been in an NFC Championship game if that were the case. They just seemed to run out of gas on their last drive.

Now Curt Warner gets another shot at the big prize and a chance at another Superbowl ring. I'm happy for him and Arizona. The NFL needs some new blood and now the Cards get to go to the big show. Congratulations.

http://sports.excite.com/news/01182009/v2920.html

RIP Kevin

Born November 13, 1959 - Passed away on January 17, 2009

I hope you have finally found the peace you longed for.

I'll miss you Buddy and will never forget you.

Via Con Dios.

Never Underestimate The Power Of An Ass!

In honor of his upcoming inauguration, President-elect Obama and his wife Michelle have decided to enter Washington D.C. in a highly unusual manner. "We are the saviors of the United States so let's really get into the act" said President-Elect Obama.

The couple were dressed in flowing robes and a pair of Birkenstock sandals for the momentous occasion. The Obamas were also accompanied by three wiseguys named Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

In honor of the festivities, Michelle and Barack were seen jumping off the Lincoln train that was originally supposed to be used to enter Washington and instead hailed down a passing Donkey.

"Let's play it to the bone homey" said a beaming Obama. "I want the people of D.C. to know I'm here to get this party started". The First Lady was reportedly in some discomfort because of a mild case of Hemorrhoids. She scowled and allegedly said to reporters the ride was a "pain in the ass".

When asked to confirm or deny rumors she was pregnant with a Man-Child the First Lady coyly smiled and said "I'll never tell". She also said there was no truth to the rumor the child would be named Jesus. Jesus is the official White House gardener and part time handyman". "If and when we have a Son his name will be Dijon" said Mrs Obama. "The President just loves that spicy mustard" she naughtily cackled.

There is no truth to the rumor that the Obamas have checked into a local manger to sleep in a lovely bed of hay before taking over the White House. Instead they are staying at a local hotel named the Watergate. "Nothing is too good for Barry and I" chuckled the First Lady.

Note: I plagiarized the idea for the Photoshopping from Vaultenblogger , who is a regular poster on JammieWearingFool. The image editing is all from the world of Greasywrench.
Teeheeeheee.......

Windows 7 Ultimate Screen Captures

As promised here are a couple of screen captures of Windows 7 Ultimate. It has always been possible to capture screenshots in most of the Windows systems by using the print screen key and an image editing program but many folks don't know that. In Windows 7 the O.S. uses a system tool called snip(er) to do the same thing. Here are three of nine screenshots I did this morning layered into one image using Jasc Paintshop Pro.

They're shots of the desktop, a widget panel, and a program menu. I have just been using the O.S. for a day but it seems pretty stable for a beta. The on-line page scrolling is smooth and there is a compatibility button for older browsers. Maybe the Geeks at Microsoft have gotten this one right after so many complained about the Vista version of Windows.

The system hardware and memory requirements for this new Windows are pretty steep. You'll need at least a one gigahertz CPU, one gigabyte of ram, one-hundred and twenty-eight megs of video memory and of course, a DVD drive. The O.S. requires sixteen gigs to install - not all that much in this day and age of huge hard drives. In other words, you'll need a fairly new machine to run this version of Windows.

I hated all of the prompts in Vista asking for permissions every time I tried to add a program or do something the O.S. didn't like. I haven't seen any of those so far in Win 7 but, I haven't added any new programs yet. That's next. Of course there's a feedback button if you need to make a report to Microsoft. So far it looks pretty good for this new system.

Windows 7 Ultimate Beta Version

I just partitioned my hard drive and installed Windows 7 Beta version that Microsoft released last week. I initially had a problem with DirectX 9 and the screen resolution not allowing the installation to complete itself. That has been resolved and I am using this new O.S.

As of now I am using a dual boot using WinXP pro/Windows 7 Beta. The new O.S. comes with a boot loader so a dual boot was easily configured. All in all it was very painless to set up.

I must say it looks a lot cleaner than Vista (which I hate) but I have only tried it with the apps that came with the beta version. I should have a better evaluation in a few days.

I had no problems once the DirectX 9 problem was resolved and my Gigabite Motherboard drivers and chip set seem to blend right in. I have good sound and video without any issues. I was able to log right on to the web without downloading any other drivers. So far so good. More reports coming soon.

BTW, the Beta version is free although it expires in August 2009. It's an ISO download so you will have to be able to burn to DVD data. Click here to download Windows 7.

Obama - Share THIS Pain

Tonight for the first time in my life I experienced some REAL pain. I've had in the course of my lifespan a broken ankle, broken wrist, broken toes (I used to ride and race an XT500 Enduro) and various burns and infections over my lifetime in Auto Repair and riding motorcycles.

But tonight as I was wrapping up an intake manifold job on a Nissan Quest I found out what hurt really is. I was introduced to the wonderful world of Kidney Stones. Good Lord! I have never felt pain such as this. It was as if someone flipped a switch at just about 5:00 and it was on!

I took a few minutes when the pain began to walk out of the shop and smoke a cigarette and catch my breath. I first thought I had strained my notoriously weak back but after a few minutes I realized this was something totally different. I sat for about half an hour and went back to work. The pain subsided so I figured all was cool.

I headed home at 6:30 and the real fun began. Not being a person who usually surrenders to a few aches and pains I tried for about an hour to tough it out. No way. I had a pretty good idea what was going on by then and headed up to the emergency room (thanks to LAFD Engine Company 48) at Little Company Of Mary hospital here in San Pedro.

After five hours, a CT Scan and other various tests my suspicions were confirmed - I was in the process of passing a stone.

Anyway, here it is now 12:30 A.M. and one Percocet later (plus four shots of Morphine in the E.R. thanks to a great male RN) I feel like I'm stoned (all my puns are always intended). The little pebble hasn't passed yet so I guess I'll just have to wait it out.

Ask anyone Man (or Woman) who has ever passed one of these little fuckers and they will tell you pretty much the same thing - it's as close to childbirth as the male of the species will get. So I anxiously await the birth of my first stone and when it happens I will post a photo of the blessed event. Until then, thank God for Hiram Walker and a Percocet chaser.

Today's Rant: Hey Man, Got An Extra Smoke?

I wish I had a dollar for every time some asshole passed me by and gave me the old "hey man, got an extra smoke". At five dollars a pack I could have a million and I wouldn't give one away.

Alright, when it's an older person who's obviously down on their luck I cough (pun intended) one up. What pisses me off is when a twenty something with a new beach cruiser, two hundred dollar Nikes, and a cell phone that does everything but make soup pulls this shit on me.

I have been in the habit of sitting on my buddy Kevin's front porch on my days off and shooting the shit. Invariably some young fucker will come by and try and bum one. When I refuse (which I usually do) the douchebags usually get offended as if I owe them one. You should hear some of the shit and arguments they give me and what I have to put up with.

This doesn't include the cholo/lowrider types who usually start a street conversation with the expression "I just got out" or try and justify anything and everything with the "ah come on dawg" bullshit.

Fuck you! I work for a living and I'm fifty-five so get a job or quit smoking - I don't really give a shit which option you choose. And if you "just got out" you can just go right back in. Society doesn't need you and neither do I.

Media Double Standard? Naahhh...

Just a quickie rant for today. Why, in the eyes of many including the liberal press, is (Princess) Caroline Kennedy qualified to be a U.S. Senator and yet many of the same media questioned and savaged the credentials of Sarah Palin?

Can anyone give me a straight (like, you know) answer? And why is the selection process so secretive? Jammie Wearing Fool raises some good points about this process on his blog.

Rush - Time Stand Still

In deference to my friend Brett at Burning Toast who is a huge Rush fan, but also because Rush is an awesome band as I have re-discovered their music in the last few years, here is a great video from YouTube. We play KLOS at work all the time and the station is very much into Rush. This song has some special meaning to me as I head into my "elder years". Yeah - old fuckers can still rock too.

Hell Just Froze Over (again)

I never thought I would use the HuffPo as a source but HotAir.com linked to a very interesting article from the above mentioned site and here's the link. If you can read and get through the entire article it is VERY revealing. It pokes another hole in Al Goracle and his Chicken-Little bullshit concerning "climate change".

I also enjoyed reading the comments about the article. They were very revealing when it comes to the mindset of the HuffPo readers. So many just can't seem to admit that the Goracle could be wrong. It seems to rock their world.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harold-ambler/mr-gore-apology-accepted_b_154982.html

More Blue Eyed Soul Part Deux

Here's the other hit from the Flaming Ember from the Summer of 1970. Great song from a time in my life when things were much simpler. I was heading into my Senior year of High School and had the type of Summer I'll always remember. One great song and one great time in my life.

More Blue Eyed Soul From The "Flaming Ember"

Just an old song from the Flaming Ember in 1969. They came and went so fast if you blinked you missed these guys. I guess you could call these guys a two-hit wonder. They had one other hit in the Summer of 1970 that always brings back fond memories.

Happy New Year To All

It's a New Year and things are starting to come around I hope. I'm up for a City job in Long Beach CA. and my interview is on Tuesday the sixth. After three tests and one previous interview this has got to be the magic number.

So.....the few folks who do read this blog will you please say a prayer, slaughter a Lamb, burn some Incense, offer up a sacrifice or what the Hell ever. Just put in some good Karma for me so I can get hired. It's a great job with awesome benefits so let's hope.

Don't get me wrong, I love working on Japanese cars (and the older American iron) but there are very few benefits when you work for independent shop owners. The shop I'm in now has a great crew in Daniel, Gabe, and Martin and a good man and knowledgeable owner with Jim, but the competition between these smaller shops means less in the way of wages and perks. City and Government positions are the way to go in this day and age. Come on Long Beach....hire Greasywrench!