Monday, August 30, 2004

Something Creepy

OH MAN(High Speed Internet Only)

These Windows Support John Kerry!

I spent two hours cleaning these HUGE front windows at my building in preperation for putting up 21 Kerry posters. (Three are inside the alcove of the door)



If you are aren't going to vote for Michael Badnarik you should vote for Kerry--at least Kerry won't WORSEN the situation.

I almost got heatstroke doing it though, because it was almost 90 degrees farinheit outside, and the class amplified it to over 105 or something. My head was throbbing, but you could see out the windows again!

Doing that was fun, and it also allowed me to procrastinate the three things that I really needed to do: 1. Read the Illiad, 2. Pack for College, and 3. Schedule to have my Pickup Truck looked at.

But there's always tommorow!

Bush and Kerry both push for further restrictions on First Amendment

Kinda makes you wonder what our government really cares about... Read on:

"The only defender of free speech on the Texas presidential ballot is Michael Badnarik," Libertarian Party of Texas Chair Patrick Dixon announced recently, and what is true in Texas is true of the nation.

Both President George W. Bush and John Kerry have publicly called for an end to some or all political advertising by "527 groups," which are independent groups that participate in political advertising outside of the political party system.

Examples of 527 groups include MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- which are, respectively, anti-Bush and anti-Kerry organizations.

These groups received their name (527) from the section of federal tax law that regulates them.

Currently, 527 groups are not bound under campaign finance restrictions so long as their advertising is not coordinated with any political campaign or party. But both Bush and Kerry support new legislation that would make such groups illegal by closing what they consider to be loopholes in existing campaign finance law.

Dixon and other Libertarians consider 527 groups to be one of the few remaining outlets for independent political speech.

"Silencing 527s runs contrary to the First Amendment," Dixon noted -- pointing out that eliminating such groups would worsen a political system that is already dedicated to silencing dissenting views.

"The Democrats and Republicans already have money and power. They appear to fear the inevitable growth of third parties."

And the two largest political parties want to erect even more obstacles to prevent political dissent.

"They pass onerous ballot access laws to keep Libertarians and independents off the ballot," Dixon said. "They re-draw voting districts to arrange the outcome of the election before any ballot is cast."

Recent campaign finance laws -- namely the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act -- "have made it even more difficult for third parties to compete," he said. "The only recourse third parties have for fund raising is through 527 organizations, and now they want to abolish them."

By supporting further restrictions on political contributions, Bush and Kerry have proven once again that they aren't concerned with First Amendment rights, Libertarian presidential candidate Badnarik said.

"The Texas Democratic Party has already conceded the state and has told its members not to support the Kerry campaign," Dixon said. "Michael Badnarik gladly accepts the challenge to take on George Bush and defend the freedom of speech."

Sunday, August 29, 2004

I'm goin' to Purgatory!

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
LevelScore
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Saturday, August 28, 2004

WHAT THE F*CK???

Okay, I just looked at the google "AdSense" ads at the top of my webpage, and they are ALL PRO-BUSH, conservative websites! HOW THE HECK DID THEY FIGURE THAT ONE OUT??? I'm a Libertarian/Democrat!

ARRRGGHHH!

They are getting a nasty e-mail from me.

DAMN YOU INTERNET!

I am standing at a crappy old computer at the Lewiston Public Library, because Adelphia internet is MEGA SCREWED UP at Tanners house. I hate it so much, because I don't have a library card, I only get 15 minutes.

Oh well, as I always tend to say.

Today Maxx and I are going to go to some swimming hole northwest of here, and swim, jump of cliffs into the water, etc. I'm really excited, because I've only been swimming three times this summer, and that's no way to live.

I'm starting to sleep better again, but Adam woke me up again last night when he and his friend began talking in the middle of the night and making all kinds of noise. I guess I had better get used to it, since I am going off to college.

As for my retarded truck, what is going to happen to it is still up in the air, so stay tuned for more updates, and pray my internet comes back up!

Friday, August 27, 2004

Messed Up Internet

this is an audio post - click to play

Off To Work! (*Whistling that song from Sleeping Beauty)

Good morning friends and unsuspecting strangers! Welcome!

I just wanted to drop you a quick line this morning, letting you know that I am on my way to The North Face Outlet Store in Freeport Maine. There I will be in servitude for 8 hours, which will earn me enough money to buy a used textbook at college! YEAH!

So wish me luck. I have a 1/2hr drive ahead of me, so... I'm bringing music.

I've just heard that the first multi-party debate will be occuring very soon!!! I'll give you more information later, but the candidates with include Bush, Kerry, Nader, Libertarian Michael Badnarik, and the Constitution party's candidate. EXCITING.

For some reason, its possible that it might not be televised. You know, they BETTER TELEVISE IT OR SOME HEADS WILL ROLL!

Okay, I HAVE to go, or I am going to be wicked (very) late.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Sorry Again, Life's Been Weird

I actually should have been in bed an hour ago, since I have to work tommorow, but here I am, fulfilling my duty to you faithful readers, and blogging.

Of course, I will keep it short this time.

On tuesday, Tanner suddenly jumped his move-in day ahead two days, so I dropped everythin and helped him move up to school. I forgot how far Farmington is from Lewiston.

Since then I have gone to work and my boring job, and did a massive cleaning and rearranging of the room. Now that Tanners stuff is gone, I can arrange things better for me.

Well, it was an over all tiring and dissapointing day, excitement wise, and my eyes are starting to close. Goodnight(or morning, I guess)

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Political Spectrum is not a LINE!

Moderate
Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)


The problem with this test is that it only covers the Conservative-Liberal LINEAR political scale. However, political alignment is more of a circle. Me being a Libertarian, I share ideas from both sides of the Liberal-Conservative spectrum. If you want to find out your TRUE political alignment, you need to take the World's Smallest Political Quiz. It is only ten questions, with an answer that you'll like on EVERY question. I am a Libertarian, according to this test.

Have fun!

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Freeport, Maine Totally SUCKS

I went to work today. Yeah, I'm such a money-grubbing slut that I OPTED to work 8 hours on Saturday. So I processed backpacks all day. ALL DAY. In fact, the most exciting thing I did was when I got a change of pace and I got to do one box of COATS! WHOOPEE! So anyway, at lunch time, I decide to do what I usually do and go to Sam's for lunch. THE TRAFFIC WAS HORRENDUS, AND IT WAS DRIZZLING! Having no jacket or umbrella, I get wet, and then when I get to Sam's they don't have the lunch specials because it's the weekend!!! ARRGH!

Well, after I returned to work and processed more *GASP* backpacks, it began to rain--hard, and then the lightning started. And then the roof began to leak in three distinct places. I kept praying that the power would go out so I could have some excitement, but the best In got was at one point the lights started flickering for about 5 seconds. I wish the power had gone out. I hate everything about Freeport, Maine.

So Tanner's girlfriend Nancy is here this weekend, so I'm getting ignored a little--but that doesn't bother me. I understand that he hasn't seen her in a couple of weeks, whereas he sees me everyday. It is just sometimes annoying to be cut out of the loop.

Forgetting all else that has happened to me--oh wait, nothing happens to me because I'm a money-grubbing work-a-slut-ic. Yeah, I did coin that term thank you very much!

Friday, August 20, 2004

Balloon Festival, Truck and Family

Well my day at least started out good. Then it sucked. A LOT.

The great thing that happened to me today was that I got to fly over Lewiston, ME in a hot air balloon! It was so amazing. I would love to do it again, but it costs A LOT! ($175) The reason I got to go for free was that I was "press" with Great Falls Television, and I was shooting footage for the station. We flew for about an hour and ten minutes, and let me tell you, there is no feeling like floating absolutely silently through the air. Its amazing, and if you ever get a chance to go, DO IT. You'll love it.

Then the day became SUCK. TOTAL SUCKAGE THEN CAME.

I went from the balloon festival to VIP to have my truck aligned. Upon dropping it off there, I walked up the street to get a 7 dollar haircut and shampoo from Bernards School of Hair Fashion. When I arrived, they told me that I couldn't be helped because all the students were about to go on lunch, and that I'd have to come back later that afternoon. They also noted that I probably wouldn't get in that afternoon since they were "pretty busy". So I walked out of the salon, and decided that since I was only two blocks away from Jake's house, I would see if he was up and wanted to chill for a while. He wasn't. Soooooooo I go back to VIP and sit in their STUPID waiting room for half an hour, at which time they tell me that they can't do an alignment on my truck for two reasons.

1.) The Idler arm has play in it (meaning it needs to be rebuilt or replaced) Estimated Cost: (USD $203.00)
2.) The right rear shock absorber is blown out. They tell me that they cannot fix this because it will require the use of a body shop, welding, etc.

Also, they noted that my transmission housing or mount (can't remember which) was bad, and needs fixing/replacment.

So my 49.00 alignment now will cost me UNTOLD SUMS of money. Just what I needed. So now I don't have my car aligned, I DON'T have my hair cut, and I don't have any money or time to fix it.

Them I had lunch with my mom and my sister, and I was really sad and will miss them so much. I probably won't see them until christmas, and that totally bums me out. The Quiche that I ordered at the restaurant we went to was excellent though.

So I also found out today that my sister had bought me a T-shirt offline that she accidently sent to the address of a building down the street. So they, upon receiving this package addressed to someone whom they had no idea was, they returned it to the sender. So now I have to work that Bullsh*T out. Great.

So now I am going to try and forget my woes by watching Starsky and Hutch. Please send a bomber to my house and kill me. Thank you.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

THE CANADIANS ARE AFTER ME!


Work Sucks, I Know

Yeah, I think we all agree that being in the rat race is RETARDED. My job now consists of getting boxes full of daypacks (backpacks), pulling the plastic off of them, writing "N/W" (No Warranty) on them, crossing off the warranty on the tag and then RE-BOXING THEM! YEAH!

So I agreed to work for them for another week. Thank goodness I don't have to work with the friggin' lush I worked with today. He came in hungover, but he was really drunk, because he moronically TOLD ME that he has a home breathalizer test, and he blew a .1 this morning. POINT ONE! NOT POINT ZERO ONE! I mean, the legal DUI is what, .06, .08? Who knows! But that was after sleeping for FIVE HOURS! So he was the most unproductive worker ever. Conservativly, I would say that I proccessed at least 12-15 times as many items as he did, and the jerk is going to get paid the same as me.

I guess that's what we get for running our country by the hour instead of by what you actually do.

So anyway, I've still got a couple weeks before I move in to school, but I did a little back to school shopping on Monday with my sister Katie and my Grandmother. And I hate GAP, Abercrombie and Fitch and all those little preppy "status" clothing stores.

Oh well. I need to call my other room mate, Kevin H. and find out what's up with him. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am not dead, and really want to post more often, even if it means they are shorter.

Adios!

Saturday, August 14, 2004

Automotive Stores, Laziness, Orientation and Such

So I was a big lazy jerk today. I got up because ny sister Sarah called me around nine o'clock. I ate some food and went back to sleep-until ONE-THIRTY in the afternoon!!!! OH BOY!

So I still owed Tanner about 15 dollars, so I said "Lets go to Wendy's!" (They are the only fast food restaurant that accepts VISA AND MASTERCARD! WHOOPEE! I don't understand why more businesses don't accept credit cards! I love plastic, its so darn convenient.

FOOD COMSUMPTION INDEX:
Tanner:
Upsized Chicken Finger Meal (No Sauce)
Includes Biggie Size fries and Orange Drink (Hi-C)
5 piece Chicken Nugget (No Sauce)
Large Frostee Dessert

Ezra:
Upsized Double Cheeseburger Meal (No Onions)
Includes Biggie fries and Dr. Pepper
5 piece Chicken Nugget (BBQ Sauce)
Small Frostee Dessert

Anyway, after that, Tanner and I came home and watched two episodes ofAqua Teen Hunger Force, and let me tell you what, that show gets funnier the more you watch it. Oh man, it can be disturbing though.

Upon dropping Tanner at work, I went up to Bernard's School Of Hair Fashion to get my hair cut. However, I forgot that they are closed on Saturdays, so I went to VIP Auto Parts to get a back up light for my truck.

Let's talk about auto parts stores, shall we? (Get in the Zone! AutoZone! --We're not AutoZone!--Guys at Advanced Auto Parts) Sorry, that's an inside joke between me and John N.

Anyway, as I was walking around the auto parts store, I thought about how cool some of the stuff looked, and how awesome it would be to "Pimp Out" my car. Then I SNAPPED OUT OF IT. I realized that all of this was CRAP that Neanderthal men buy to try and prove to other moronic men that they don't have a small penis. I mean, who really, HONESTLY is going to care that you have sweet looking PEDAL COVERS. I mean, OH BOY, you could put all of this money into your car, and it still is a Honda Civic, okay, and no one is going to care.

Needless to say I was very frightened, so I asked for the bulb size I needed, installed it and got out of there. (Oh, I schedualed myself for an Alignment for Monday at 3pm. Don't let me forget!)

I got all of my orientation stuff in the mail the other day. Let me read you a sentence from the cover letter.

"...All the staff at Orientation Headquarters are eagarly anticipating your star-studded arrival and cannot wait to get what will surely be one of the best weeks of your life underway. You can call or e-mail us at anytime! We love hearing from you!"

OF COURSE YOU LOVE HEARING FROM ME! I'M PAYING YOU 16,000 DOLLARS A SEMESTER! I love how friggin' bombastic these people sound. I've never met a person who thought that orientation was fun and exciting, NEVER! Oh well.

Well, my IBC Root Beer is gone, so I better wrap up today's post. Please forgive me once again for my recent lapse in updates.

P.S. Anna, Emma, Natasha, I need your weblog addresses again, I lost them when Tanner reformatted his harddrive. Thanks

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Darkness and Bats

There was a bat in our house last night. It was flapping around all over the place, and Tanner turned on all the lights to scare it away into some dark recesses of the building, and that seemed to be all we could do. I did not witness this, I had gone to bed before this bat was descovered.

So I was asleep, dreaming my little dreamy-dreams. When suddenley I awoke to find my fan shut off, and the glowing light from Tanner's watch floating in the air as he stumbled toward his bed.

"What the heck are you doing?" I asked, knowing full well he can't see a thing in the dark.

"The Power went out, this totally blows." He stated flatly. It was approximatly four in the morning. We started talk about it, and Tanner said that the stupid bat had probably chewed though a wire or something. Convinced that this wasn't true, I told him we were going to go outside and look to see if any of the other buildings on our side of the block were without power.

We went outside, (I was in my boxer-briefs and a shirt) and saw that lights were on across the street, and the street lights were on too. However, we knew from when the
Marco's Fire that the other side of the street and the streetlights were on different circuits. I peeked into Bill Davis Luncheonette next door, and saw a light moving around. It startled me, and I learned the next morning that it was the owner, who had been looking around with a flashlight, and happened to see me peeking in the window, and actually called the cops on me. Too much. Anyway, we went back inside, called CMP (Central Maine Power) and reported the outage.

I had to go to the bathroom pretty wicked.

Those of you who don't know, Tanner's house has a third floor, and the only light on the second floor would be moonlight coming in the living room windows, almost 100 feet away, and then the bathroom itself is pitch black.

As I dug through my boxes in the dark searching for my flashlight, I remembered a sweet, sweet piece of irony. Only two weeks before I casually mentioned to Tanner that he should get a flashlight, but he said "Why? I'd never need it". Ahh, life is so full of wonder, huh?

So by this time it was sweltering in the bedroom, so we decided to walk down to Big Apple Food Stores and buy a cold drink. THEN we went to Wal-Mart, where Tanner, for some reason, impulse bought "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" on DVD. Then we went home and slept. Fortunatly, my cell phone was charged and had an alarm so that I could wake up and get to work, as the power was still out around 7:30 when I left.

So that's todays adventure. Please continue to read, and tell all of your friends who may or may not be my friends too!

Good night!

Monday, August 09, 2004

A Weekend of Service

Well, this weekend sure was interesting. If you haved already listened to the "Rockland Lobster Festival" Post, you know that I just finished a weekend on my feet, sleeping on a shelf in the back of a U-haul style truck. I worked a grand total of twenty-one and a half hours, making 215 dollars in two days, plus about 30 bucks in tips.

All in all, it was a good experience, and I think I might do it again. I am really sore, but my muscles feel bigger, because I did a lot of lifting, and I over all feel a bit stronger for it.

You'd be suprised at how quickly you do not want to eat something when you are working with it. I was not interested in italian sausage one bit after a mere three hours. I only ate one sausage the whole time.

Anyway, on the way home from Rockland, it rained pretty hard for a while, and it was dark and hard to see the lines on the road, so I slowed down a whole lot.

About a mile south of the Augusta Toll Booth, I say a vehicle on the side of the road with hazard lights on. So I pulled over and got out, noticing that it was a mini-van with a trailer carrying two four-wheelers in front of the van. The trailer was just sitting there, with no vehicle attached.

"Are you alright?' I asked, approaching the window. I noticed that a woman was driving, and there were 16-17 year old boys in the back seat. The husband, I presumed, was in the passenger seat, and he said that everything was fine, the truck that was towing the four-wheelers had lost it's transmission. They had called there uncle with a cell phone and he was driving up from Buxton (about 1hr and 40 minutes away) with his truck to get them, and obviously they couldn't abandon the fourwheelers.

"If I had a ball on my truck I'd be happy to tow it for you." I offered. It just so happened that they had taken the ball off of the truck to put on their uncle's truck when he arrived, so they hooked it all up, their dad got in the truck with me, and we headed to the Auburn exit (two miles after my exit, but I didn't care, they needed help).

A lot of you are probably thinking; "he's just an 18 year old boy, all by himself, what the heck was he thinking!"

Here's my answer: The right thing. Over the past decades, we've be so indoctrinated with fear--fear of one another. It makes me sad, and it makes me sick. When ever I hear some one talking about fear, I wonder how they can get up and face the day. Life is about taking risks. When you get in you car in the morning, you are putting your life on the line. We as a nation need to start helping one another again. That's the golden rule, after all.

Well, I've been pretty good other than that, but my sister Katie and my mom will be in Maine on Tuesday, so I'm excited about that.

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Rockland Lobster Festival

this is an audio post - click to play
EDIT: at one time this was an audio blog from my cell phone, now lost to the infinite.

Saturday, August 07, 2004

Quick Notes

I wish that My name was Cliff, so I could say "Cliff Notes" but oh well.

I thought that I'd drop a quick post since I know I haven't done so in a while and that I probably won't be able to for a few more days.

Quick shout-out to Charles, BIB (back in the 'burg), who has always been the voice of conscience in my head saying "BLOG, DANGIT!". Also, holla-back to my new roommate, Kyle Joyce from upstate New York--he said he liked my blog, so that's super cool!

Sorry, just had to get some slang out of my system. Furtharmore, I would like to clarify that complaining about America and claiming to still love it is not hypocracy. People who offer no solutions, but just like to whine are hypocrytical. It's a situation of "love the sinner, hate the sin" I will always love my country and will never cease to try and move her back to a place of national pride by fixing some problems. But I hate the corruption and evil which has entered lady liberty's life. It's like watching a friend slowly die, and it hurts. I wish it hurt more people, so they'd do something. So that's why I will always love America.

Well, wish me luck at the Rockland Lobster Fest. It's going to be a "blast". EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT ALL THE LOBSTER EATERS BURN IN HELL!

Have a great weekend, all!

Monday, August 02, 2004

Anonymous Mondays

I'm sorry I'm so "hard" on anonymous voters, but I just want to know who you are. I don't see why asking people to leave a name (Any name, just so long as you use the same one!) Would be great. Please post all the anonymous posts you want. I was just asking for a favor. I sure wish I knew who was coming to this site, that's all.

Moving right along, here's my gameplan. WORK FOREVER! I'm not getting a day off until August 14th. AKA, 13 days of solid work. This weekend I will be at the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, Maine at a concession stand. But I think it will be worth it, I can earn almost 300 dollars in one weekend, so that's GREAT.

Still haven't bought my lotto ticket. Just haven't gone anywhere recently that sells them.

Another thing that I've been meaning to do is return my bottles. I get 5 cents per bottle or can, so I want to get my freakin' money back. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the bottle deposit system, when you buy a twelve pack of soda, the merchant tacks on 5 cents to each can: AKA 60 cents. If you are buying liquor, the deposit is 15 cents a bottle. So, when you're done with the bottle, you turn it in to a redemption center and get that "deposit" back. It's really annoying, but it does wonders on keeping people from leaving beer cans all over the place. I wonder if you were taking your empty beer cans to the redemption center, and you got pulled over if you would get arrested for having an open beer in the car!

The government currently holds $384.38 of my money! A whole weeks wages has gone to the government! Yeah!

On that note, I say goodnight, blog hard, comment lots.

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Bates Mill Complex, Being Eighteen, and Whatnot

Gee, I feel like a big jerk. I haven't blogged all week, and I'm truly sorry. Not to place blame or anything, but a few comments on the PAGES of posts I made last time would have helped to motivate me. What are you thoughts, darnit!

Moving right along, I would like to give a shoutout to my friend Charles over at 539days. He turned eighteen a few days ago--Happy Birthday!

My birthday was Friday, July 30th. Over all, it was pretty normal, but a very nice birthday indeed. My co-worker Andrea brought in strawberry shortcake for me and my co-workers, and it was wonderful. It's been a long time since I've had Strawberry Shortcake.

Please don't be freaked out by that link--I was.

I haven't done any of the "18 things" yet, but I plan to at LEAST buy a lotto ticket. But honestly, unless I buy cigarettes for a friend who smokes and they reimburse me, I'm not going to waste my money on something I don't want at all. Additionally, there is a sex shop down the street, but I really don't think I could muster up the courage to go in there--it's just too creepy. I guess I'm not that adventurous.

Speaking of adventurous, I was going to go Urban Exploring tonight, and get some exercise in the process. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lewiston, it was once home to the many mills. Up until the 1960's, it was the largest employer in the state of Maine. Now, they have all been emptied out and they were beginning to decay, until the city decided to do something.

The mills are visible in this photograph. ALL the large brick buildings are mills, accounting for millions of square feet. The Bates Mill alone (about on third of those brick buildings) is 1.2 million square feet. They are doing amazing things to these buildings: Look at this Before and after photos:

Before:

AFTER:

For more information, please visit these sites:
Envirmonmental Protection Agency's Involvment,
Lewiston, Degeneration of City
City of Lewiston
Leasing Info

All websites have pictures, but Lewiston, Degeneration of a city is the most interesting by far. Have fun.

Okay, moving to a completely different topic, let's talk about how weird it is to write a check for $2,728.92 and another for $1,600.47 and mail them off. That's FOUR THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED TWENTY NINE DOLLARS AND THIRTY NINE CENTS. (4,329.39) I mean, seriously, I've never seen that much money in one place. EVER. But then, when you consider that first semester costs $18,053.00. Unbe-frickin'-lievable. I can't believe I am going to college that costs $34,615.00 dollars a year for tuition, fees, room and board. Well, I think it's going to be worth it, though.

What else have I done lately. Not much really. Keep spreading this page around! It's interesting, isn't it?