I'm a man from out west
People call me the best
But my friends just call me M34T.
Been a really tough year
But I'm still kickin' here
With the message you just can't beat.

So take a bit of time
While I sit here and rhyme
About this year, and the times that I've had
About a guy in the town
Where the shit's goin' down
How his life seems it's going mad...

A little bathroom mouse
Came and flooded out our house
Momma's mom survived butt cancer
My brother did a dumb
And he hammered his thumb
And my friend thought booze was "the answer"

Uncle pulled a big fool
Divin' in his nice pool
With his shoulder popped out of place
Nana's selling her home
Because she paid like it's Rome
And she's trying to score some space

My dad's lame day-to-day
Cut his hours and pay
And my grandmother's hip done hopped
So in the summer of nine
When everybody was fine
My personal life just stopped!

If you sense a little danger
And you know I'm not a stranger
Then it's obvious how I roll...
Gotta take to the air
As the man who still cares
Get this damage back under control!

Mister O's done some nice
In his presidential vice
But there's something I've gotta relay
This new health care bill
Has me totally ill
It's a crime scene on display

I'm all for stopping smokin'
Since there's tons of people chokin'
But that isn't the law, it's a choice
Tellin' me what I can eat
Soda sugar or meat
It's like robbing us all of our voice!

"Cost-effective" in writin'
Means expenses will tighten
Real effectiveness goes astray
Either buying your dues
Or the fees make you lose
One way or another, you'll pay! (See EXTORTION.)

Then the whole second half
Is a bunch of riff-raff
Written crafty in "Lawyerese"
Shipping all of that cash
For the wealthy to stash
In their companies overseas!

So I get back around
And it seems that I've found
That my feelings are kinda deranged
I still know I got game
And everything is the same
But it feels like it's totally changed!

I'm connecting just fine
With something more than "a line"
But then something just gets in my way
Sweet and sexy gets mixed
Then the effort gets nixed
Or they're married, or taken, or gay

I babble like a babboon
I get quiet too soon
And it feels like I'm losing my cool
Sometimes I crack a good joke
Or a playful rib poke
Then I laugh at myself, like a fool

I know I'm good lookin'
And I still got it cookin'
Little girls and their eyes don't lie
Don't be a fem-bot
Actin' like you're too hot
Stickin' solo, then wondering why

All this time to reflect
Left me plenty erect
With some happy things on my mind
But this new day and age
Where everything is a cage
Happy's getting quite hard to find

Spent the decade of Zero
Being some kinda hero
And I'm tired of savin' the day
I just wanna be glad
To get in my own pad
And to score me a bucket o' play

The Love Boat done sailed
And it totally failed
I been willing to give it a chance
But with a bit of good luck
I'll make a buddy to fuck
And then maybe a partner to dance

My junk is tasty like bacon
And there's nobody fakin'
But you know what sounds real tight?
Skating nookie and dinner
With this fantastic winner
And a blindfold on all night!

But every once in a while
I still dream of the smile
Of a cutie, in love with me
And her smooth, blowing hair
On every ride at the fair
The delight that she is to see

Conversations so flow
It's like we already know
While her giggles invade my head
The girl's spankin' hot hips
And her bubbly lips
Keepin' both of us busy in bed

But I still have my doubt
I know what it's about
And the secret to making it last
Love ain't a mystery
It's sharing history
But there's noone like that in my past

Many moments of flare
That I'd love to have shared
They're all moments... I've already lived
And her moments like that
I'd like to be her man at bat
But they're no longer hers to give

Should I still really try
Settling for a lie
Or just keep going forth, on my own?
Any moment I haste
Another spark goes to waste
But so far, I've done fine all alone (but not totally!)

Or continue to be
Mine and totally free
And so glad I'm not being played?
Noone checking my shoe
Telling me what to do
Noone nagging me night and day

Free to flirt and to flaunt
And to do all I want
Anytime, anywhere, any day
But when push comes to shove
Noone giving their love
Reassurance that it's okay

I could be a real prick
Step on someone else's dick
Take his lady, and make her my own (or "hers"...)
Though I'm sure that I can
I'm not that kind of man
All that does is hurt everyone!

So I'm lookin' for love
And I'm lookin' for fun
Just like every average brother
And the freedom to be
Everything that is me
So one doesn't cost me the other!

Grandma's health is bounding back pretty rapidly, after a recent second surgery to reseat her hip replacement. And not a moment too soon, I'm going out of my mind there! Hopefully I'll be back in full swing before too long, but there's another couple weeks to bear; and clearly, a lot of backdated journal material to look forward to! In light of this, I'd like to ask something:

What is the most bizarre or unique form of affection you enjoy sharing with others?

I mean, really.

What other excuse to people have for chasing and spending so much money, so desperately? And what of all the other borderline psychotic activity that goes along with those feelings - whether the sweeter side of them or the more bitter side?

And what if there's really something better to look for in life than just that?

Full story is available here.

If games weren't region-specific releases, people wouldn't have to mod for that purpose (which is where it begins). Of course, anything made to boot games around the region-checking also does so over the format-checking (this is how that works, btw), which in turn, allows gamers to play pirated/burned games, as well.

So, since they've gone to all that expense and trouble to set it up already, eventually game piracy is *usually* what that kind of thing leads to.

The modding in and of itself DOES have a consequence, both the invalidation for XBL, for instance, and it voids any warranty the console hardware may have. Somebody simply doing the modding shouldn't face time.

HOWEVER, if they were ALSO copying and distributing pirated software as part of their trade, then they SHOULD be penalized for THAT. As a person who enjoys the alternative flavors of imported DDR titles for my PS2, I can see how the issue can get easily misdirected. ~.o

I've never heard of anybody needing to modify a CD player to play foreign music, or a computer to view foreign websites before. But gaming hardware is something usually different in this respect... and why?

What do you think of the concept of modifying gaming consoles for imported titles, or gaming piracy? On a legal level, that is...

...but I trolled a couple of forum topics, and it gave my brains more to chew on. Like they need it. A few intertwined topics tangled together a web of more wonder.

There was this one on age-gap dating... "Why do these creepy young girls hit on people their dad's age?" Not saying it's universally true, mind you... but even ones that don't look for "older guys" still tend to look towards "more established/successful guys," instead. The end result is pretty much the same, because if and when a man becomes successful, it comes from a LONG TIME of hard, dedicated work - something that some girls act like isn't worth their time, anymore. I said SOME.

Another one about "dating American women" focused on this sense of entitlement/instant gratification that lots of girls seem to get "just for looking pretty and existing." That they don't even try to be anything more than that. I know for SURE that isn't a constant. Lots of girls out there are trying to out-man most men out there, in just about every department. Sports, cars, drinking... hell, even scoring other women, sometimes. That's not too hard to notice if you look around for a bit.

There was another one, about young guys being selfish and inconsiderate, very similar in tone to the one I just mentioned. Full of self-entitlement and show-offy, until you're a couple, then you never get any attention after that. And either which way, it's always JUST about the sex. (Of course it's about sex, why else do guys and girls like that tolerate one another?)

But really... I just think most people have totally lost sight of what a relationship is really supposed to be, in favor of "the Disney relationship;" IE: happily ever after; and only considering date-worthiness by them being so well-off, they don't need you for anything to begin with.

The truth is, most young men aren't doing any better or worse off than most young women are. And a lot - dare I say an unfair amount - of this pressure to be "successful/independent first, dating second" comes directly from OUR PARENTS and what THEY expect.

It once was said, that "behind every great man is a great woman," and it will probably become said that behind every great woman is a great man. I just think most of us have our carts in front of our horses, though - that a great and successful life can come as a result of the enrichment and support of an actually solid relationship, instead of believing that a solid relationship can't be made unless it's on top of a successful and independent lifestyle.

Maybe that's WHY divorce is so commonplace these days, and that people have no faith in partnerships - you're usually already in a place where you can "safely bail" before you ever begin one. And maybe that's why so many of us are living with our parents much, much longer these days.

At least, according to a retake of the OKC Death Test. :) Good thing it's only for fun, huh?

...try answering 50 match questions when you're pissed off, sometime. Just to see what happens.

Well, shit. My profile just took an honest blow to the chops. Somebody made me aware recently that the national average male height jumped from 5' 8" to 5'10", in the last couple of years. Well, crap. That makes me officially "short."

9.9 "Not that there's anything wrong with THAT." Riight. Chicks don't notice that kind of shit at ALL.

50s: Get a job, get a place to live.

60s: Get a job, rent a place to live. Get a better job, buy a place to live.

70s: Get a job, get a car. Get another job, rent a place to live. Get another better job, buy a place.

80s: Get a part-time job, and get a car. Use car to get an entry-level full time job, rent a place to live. And a Nintendo. Everybody needs one of those! Get a degree later on, and go professional. Use your profession to buy a place to live, and contribute to your retirement.

90s: Get a part-time job to get a computer or a cell phone, and then a used car. Go to school during that to get yourself a degree. Then get an entry-level job to rent a place. Maybe another car, by the time that's over. Then go professional and buy a place to live, and start saving to retire (what's a pension?).

Now: Do sales/freelance work to get a cell phone. Do an entry-level part-time job to get a computer. Do an established part-time job to get a car, while using your computer to get a degree. Then use your car and degree to get yourself an entry-level full-time job (or worse, an "internship"). Use your car, degree, and work experience to get yourself a full-time job, and rent a place to live in. Finally, go pro, and buy yourself a place to live in, now that you have 5 years left to pay it off and save for retirement during.

I do understand the "changing of the times," but I've also been under the impression that technological advances are supposed to be making life simpler and more managable for people. Whatever authority decided to call this "progress" sure deserves to have their nose stuffed with a telephone pole.

This past weekend, amidst tons of family emergencies, my family lost the most wonderful and unconditionally loving person I've ever seen it have, my "Pa." My Great-Grandpa, Ralph "Gooch" Goodrich died about 2:30 am last Saturday, at 84 years old.

I can't imagine there was anybody in the world who knew this guy, and didn't love him. He dedicated every waking moment of his life to creating warmth and joy, and sharing it with anybody lucky enough to be in his company. And that was a great many thousand people, no doubt.

He taught me just about everything. How to read. Write. Be good at math. Enjoy life. Build and tinker. Fight when I have to, but to avoid hurting others when I can. A terrific gardener, always surrounded by the generous numbers of the biggest, ripest pickings; none of which he ever sold. He was always giving and sharing, in everything that he did.

He quite literally made me the kind of man I am today. And I dread the thought of my kids, my family, and my future without this amazing guy involved in it. If you met the guy, he loved you. He loved me, he loved all of us... and most importantly, he loved... PERIOD.

It wasn't a tremendous shocker. I saw it coming... saw him putting his affairs in order. Last couple of times I visited him, just a couple weeks ago... it looked like what he wanted to do more than anything was just rest. And now, he can.

...

Here's my quickie flowchart link, btw. It's a little broken, but a fun little Plinko Board, I suppose. And it's LEGIBLE. Doing 20 Q's or so tends to make that happen.