The bored ramblings of a madman
So here I am, bored out of my skull. The weather has turned cold and has been dropping snow periodically. Dishes are done, tackling the giant mess on our computer desk is out of the question. I suppose I could vacuum, but my heart is just not into it. I know I will go deal with the “presents” one of our cats left for us in the bathroom because it won’t use the litterbox when it has the runs. Great visual there I know right? I tried drawing, no inspiration there, so gave up after an hour or so of pencil sitting.
Coffee? Not a bad idea… be right back… Ahhhh. Much better. If only I had some creamer for it to take the edge off the acidity. Ah well, lousy coffee is better than no coffee.
Sick of arguing round and round with closed-minded gits on facebook. If you really want to annoy me fast, be a closed minded, egotistical, psuedo-intellectual, hypocrite. Facebook seems to have no lack of them. I am finding myself rather glad I had lost contact with people I once called friend. While my mind and horizons have broadened, theirs have narrowed. Ah well. Fuck ‘em.
Anyway, I really had nothing in particular to say, I merely realized it had been a few since I had posted anything here, and even though the site is only here so I don’t feel like I am wasting the hosting and domain, I do feel some obligation to do something here now and again.
I wish I were fishing, but the weather has conspired to prevent that. While the fish may be willing to bite, I am not going out into the cold to find out. Ah well, at least I can bask in the knowledge that spring is just around the corner and this cold won’t stay too much longer.
Topics: Rantings, ravings, and other disjointed alliteratives. | 1 Comment »
“That” Fishing Spot
We all know it, it is that little hole in the dirt filled with water way back in the woods that we only share with our best fishing buddy. The “secret” one where the Bass are so thick you can almost impersonate Christ’s “walking on water trick”. Where the fish fight one another for the privilege of taking your bait. They practically beg you to pick them up out of the water, give them a snuggle before tucking them into bed. Sure, there are a ton of dinks, but every now and again “mommy” shows up to see what the kids are up to. It is the place where you can toss out a paper cutout of a cow and land a 5 pound fish. It is the place where you go to gain confidence in a lure/presentation you just haven’t had much luck with. It doesn’t matter if you toss a worm, a jig, spinnerbait, spoon, topwater, or a matchbox car, you know you are gonna catch fish on it.
Well, I have such a hole and spent the final 2 hours of daylight there this evening. It was a rough day filled with job interviews, errands, and alot of reading the OGF forums and itching to be fishing. Two hours spent in paradise landing fish after fish after fish. Even the dinks were hitting like freight trains, popping my much abused Heddon Baby Torpedo a foot out of the water with their shortstrikes, only to find themselves as “yet another customer of my free body piercing services” when I’d deadstick it and twitch an instant later. Three times I landed bucketmouths who could swallow a tennisball with ease and still have room for a golfball or two. I have caught my “Fish Ohio” Largemouth a hundred times over this season, it is a great feeling.
It was all topwater tonight, my favorite presentation for bass. Nothing beats watching that huge wake as a brute turns suddenly to bear on your bait. The anticipation, knowing the fight of your life is just a gulp away. Feeling the fish hammering away trying its best to take you for a swim, hearing your drag scream as she takes a sudden run for deep water. The anxiety as you see her turn heading towards that particularly nasty stand of lillypads, pull, pull, pull. Then it is over and you can finally admire that 6 pound beast in all her glory. A quick tickle on the nose and she is back safely in the water to be “abducted by an alien” once more some other day.
And people actually wonder why we fish? I feel sorry for those who will never have these experiences much less understand them.
Now if only I had a “that fishing spot” down in Texas…
Topics: Fishing | 1 Comment »
Rant: Thoughts on scratchers and self study in tattooing
This is something I have been kicking around in my brain for awhile. The definition of a scratcher, and the line which separates a scratcher from a pro, and the theoretical existence of an amateur tattoist.
In my mind a scratcher is someone who doesn’t take the time to learn to work clean, doesn’t care about working clean, doesn’t have the ethics to stick with doing tattoos he is CONFIDENT he can do well. Scratchers never make it to being pro’s as they are just in it for the fast buck and the cool image of being a tattooist. They rarely if ever have any talent, and are the #1 cause for the spread of HepC in the 15-18 yr. old demographic.
To some simply working outside of a shop and not having done a traditional apprenticeship makes one a scratcher, regardless of cleanliness and quality of work. I feel this is bullshit.
I also am a firm believer in the philosophy of the only way to learn anything is to do it, experience is the great teacher in life. Now I concede the points that:
a. Self-study will not be effective for everyone as some people do not have the discipline for it and really need a “classroom” environment.
b. Self-study is certainly a slower route as you must learn from mistakes, and it may take you some time before you realize where the problem is where, if your mentor were over your shoulder, he could point out the problem.
c. A traditional apprenticeship is almost always preferable over self-study, however not always practical.
To call someone who works as clean, if not cleaner than many of the licensed shops, and does better work than many of those so-called pros a scratcher is just ignorance and egotism.
Many of us are put into this position because there are no shops willing to take on an apprentice, charge a ridiculous fee for apprenticing, already have 3 apprentices, or perhaps there are too many shops in your area, and none of them want even more working tattooists in the area so won’t take anyone on for ANY reason. Others may even have shop experience, but have gotten sick of “shop life” and have set up a home studio, however because of restrictive regulations, cannot legally operate a studio from a residence.
In my case, I spent several years as a professional body piercer, I have worked in 4 different tattoo shops, have done all the “apprentice bullshit work” out of sheer boredom, and observed my co-workers for endless hours. I have absorbed every bit of video or text published on the subject I can lay hands on, and have even done some of my work in shops under the eye of my co-workers. Where I reside there are so many shops it isn’t funny, and NONE of them will take on apprentices for any reason. In fact, they all hire on shop lackies to do the bullshit work because they don’t want anymore artists in the area.
Now, to call someone like myself a scratcher is offensive, I am an amateur tattoist, I work clean, I do the best work I can, and I won’t attempt a piece unless I am confident I can do it with at least fairly well. My end goal is to work professionally in the industry. My home studio is cleaner than at least 7 shops in the area that I have first-hand dealings with. Now, I may not be doing the OMFG amazing work that some people are capable of, but I also don’t do complete shit either. And, most important of all, I AM CLEAN.
MANY so-called “pros” were self-taught… Ed Hardy is one of the most outspoken about it. The true old-timers, didn’t have anyone to teach them the art, they learned by trail and error. I know at least 5 artists working in shops here that were self taught and turning out beautiful work.
And, now I am rambling again, but I hope you all take something away with you having read this. They may call us scratchers, but we know the truth. To hell with their egos. They had it easy having someone show them what to do, we have to beg borrow and steal for every scrap of knowledge we have. And, they say you gotta put in your dues… when do they plan on putting in theirs?
Topics: Tattooing | No Comments »
Universal healthcare: some thoughts on our new “rights”.
So anyway, I was thinking to myself, now that having someone else pay for my healthcare is a right, shouldn’t having someone pay for my house, car, food, utilities, and entertainment be a right also? I mean, it has worked out well for the former Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Cuba, and lots of others, and just look at the awesome quality of life there, they are all equal aren’t they? I don’t want this kind of equality, I am not the same as every other guy. Aren’t I in the position to best assess my needs? Why would I want some bureaucrat assessing my needs?
I just don’t understand the need of liberals to try to fix the inherent and NATURAL inequality in life by regulating it to the point that everyone is equally miserable. When the founding fathers spoke of all men being created equal, they weren’t trying to say that we should regulate everyone’s lives so that nobody has any more than anyone else, they were establishing and that everyone have an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY to succeed or fail.
Life isn’t fair people, no matter how much you would rather it be. No amount of government interference and regulation will ever change that.
Now, I am all for the idea of fixing the problems in our healthcare system by placing sane regulations on the insurance industry, and even more importantly the frivolous lawsuits which are so commonplace these days. Medicine isn’t an exact science, it isn’t 100%. If you happen to be that one in a million person who is allergic to some drug a doctor prescribed you to cure the illness you have and you get a case of diaper rash or the like, why should you be entitled to having the drug manufacturer and the doctor pay you $20 million? But, I digress. Regulations and reforms are certainly needed, however, what isn’t needed is a complete takeover of the healthcare industry by our government disguised as such.
Takeover? What do you mean? Aren’t we just going to have to pay the health insurance industry? Well, lets look at this logically… If you restrict the insurance industry from denying coverage or charging higher premiums for pre-existing conditions, you are essentially telling the insurance companies “you must shell out $50,000 a year for this person who is going to pay you $100 a month.” So basically, the insurance company looses out on $48,800 a year to cover that person. Now I know what you are thinking, “but the law says everyone has to have insurance and most people are healthy.” While this is indeed true, we need to look at another part of this law. The penalty for NOT having insurance is FAR less than the annual premiums for an insurance policy. Why would a healthy person spend more in premiums for insurance when they could just go out and get it when they get sick? It would be far more economical to just pay the fine for not having insurance, and when you need it, the insurance companies MUST insure you by law, so you get insurance when you get sick. Sorry, I don’t believe the argument that most people will abide by the law. If you believe this, you live a truly jaded life… most people are looking for a free ride. So what we are looking at is the insurance companies are going to have all the sick people demanding that $48,800 a year, a handful of honest healthy people, and a cash hemorrhage problem that makes Congress’ out of control spending look like pocket change. All the rest of the shitbags are going to be paying the fed their couple hundred dollar fine. I guarantee the insurance companies will be out of business within 2 years at which point, mark my words here, Congress is going to declare an emergency and implement a single payer healthcare plan managed solely by the US Federal Government.
Someone once asked Glenn Beck “If you could choose, what would be the one thing you most wanted to be remembered for?” to which Glenn replied “I want to be remembered for being dead wrong.” Think about that… people criticize Beck for “riling people up with fear-mongering”, but for him to say he most wants to be remembered as being wrong about his predictions? That isn’t fear-mongering in my book, it is being terrified of what these politicians are planning to do to us, and warning us so that we can prepare and perhaps stop them.
All we can do at this point I guess is pray that what our congress has done to us stops where it has and doesn’t go further or we are all going to end up being equal too. And like Glenn Beck, I hope to hell that I am dead wrong about this.
Topics: Politics | No Comments »
I’m Back!!!
Been a LONG time since I had any content of any sort here, but I am alive and planning on doing something again with the site.
Topics: Administrative | No Comments »
