Teresa's recording
Mood:  lyrical
Teresa and I had her first ever recording session. She worked on two songs. I don't know if we will keep them as the final cuts or not. There are a few things we wanted to improve on, but we did get a few listenable cuts. Her first one for public consumption is on the web. You will need Real Player to hear it, since the Real format takes about one fourth the server space as mp3. Server space is not an issue yet, but a free account is far more limited than a paid service. Real player is free, so if you don't already have this software, I recommend it. The Real Player also plays mpeg video, mp3, and wav files. It also burns CDs. It is handy software to have.

Yesterday was Teresa's birthday. I took her to The Melting Pot, which is a fondue restaurant chain. We went to the Raleigh location. Neither of us had been there before, but we had seen the menu and prices on line. I knew it was an upscale restaurant, which is what I wanted for Teresa.

We started off with a cheddar cheese fondue in which we dipped three different breads, cauliflower, carrots, celery, and apples. The second course was a choice of three different salads. The dressings were unique, one of which was a raspberry or strawberry vinaigrette. For the main course, we chose a broth in which to boil beef, chicken, shrimp, potatoes, and mushrooms on fondue skewers. Dessert was a "flaming turtle" chocolate sause with caramel and pecans. To dip in the chocolate sauce, we got cheesecake, pound cake, Oreo coated marshmallows, peanut coated marshmallows, brownies, strawberries, bananas, and pineapple. It was great.

Friday night, I drove my friend, Dave Tuttle, to WPTF for a a talk show guest spot. April 15th is not only tax day here in the U.S., it is also the anniversary of the sinking of The Titanic. Dave is one of the nation's foremost experts on the Titanic. He was a guest for an hour on Tom Kerney's talk show. They talked for an hour about the Titanic and associated movies.

Dave, Tom, and I all had a good time talking about radio, WPTF, programming and politics on radio. I look forward to the next time we get to do so. Tom really seemed to want to talk, but he was in the position of not being able to say too much, being an employee of Curtis Media. Understandable.

Today is quiet. That is not a bad thing. All of my work systems seem to be doing well. I got to take a nap earlier, which I don't do often. Other than that, a quiet day of rest.

April 15th...tax deadline
Besides being tax day, it is also my neice's birthday. Happy birthday, Brooke!

Anyway, I saw this bit of info on the Neal Boortz web site this morning. I have been saying much of this for years. Enjoy.
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From T. Coleman Andrews, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service for three years, from 1953 until 1955

"Congress went beyond merely enacting an income tax law and repealed Article IV of the Bill of Rights, by empowering the tax collector to do the very things from which that article says we were to be secure. It opened up our homes, our papers and our effects to the prying eyes of government agents and set the stage for searches of our books and vaults and for inquiries into our private affairs whenever the tax men might decide, even though there might not be any justification beyond mere cynical suspicion.

The income tax is bad because it has robbed you and me of the guarantee of privacy and the respect for our property that were given to us in Article IV of the Bill of Rights. This invasion is absolute and complete as far as the amount of tax that can be assessed is concerned. Please remember that under the Sixteenth Amendment, Congress can take 100% of our income anytime it wants to. As a matter of fact, right now it is imposing a tax as high as 91%. This is downright confiscation and cannot be defended on any other grounds.

The income tax is bad because it was conceived in class hatred, is an instrument of vengeance and plays right into the hands of the communists. It employs the vicious communist principle of taking from each according to his accumulation of the fruits of his labor and giving to others according to their needs, regardless of whether those needs are the result of indolence or lack of pride, self-respect, personal dignity or other attributes of men.

The income tax is fulfilling the Marxist prophecy that the surest way to destroy a capitalist society is by steeply graduated taxes on income and heavy levies upon the estates of people when they die.

As matters now stand, if our children make the most of their capabilities and training, they will have to give most of it to the tax collector and so become slaves of the government. People cannot pull themselves up by the bootstraps anymore because the tax collector gets the boots and the straps as well.

The income tax is bad because it is oppressive to all and discriminates particularly against those people who prove themselves most adept at keeping the wheels of business turning and creating maximum employment and a high standard of living for their fellow men.

I believe that a better way to raise revenue not only can be found but must be found because I am convinced that the present system is leading us right back to the very tyranny from which those, who established this land of freedom, risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to forever free themselves..."

Prayers
When I first started in my Christian walk, I spent the first nine months with just God and me. I ended up in fellowship with people who believed in positive confession and "Word of Faith" theology. This cartoon reminds me of the selfish praying I was taught compared to the selfless. I have no problem with asking God for material things. Just the opposite. I ask him to meet needs and bless us with HIS blessings rather than merely my own wants and lusts. This is why I despise many teachings I have read and see on TBN et al.

Attention all wrestling fans!!
Check out this stupidity from The Ultimate Warrior. I don't have a problem with his political opinions, necessarily. I do have a problem with this petty crap.

I think that April is my favorite month of the year. The dogwood blossoms are out. The azaleas are blooming. The daffodills are gone, though. We don't need to use the heat, since it is nice out. The grass is coming back to life. The finches, doves, and cardinals are out in numbers.

Yesterday, I took a friend of mine, Ron Neal, to a small gun show in Goldsboro. Ron picked up a scope and I got a bore snake and sling for my M44. After we left the show, we got lunch and went to the firing range to shoot for a while. We both got some needed "guy time".

It looks like I will be mowing the lawn today. Some areas are real shaggy while others are not quite so fast growing. The areas I put out winterizer are slow in coming back to life while others are quite long and green. I have a lot of limbs and sticks to pick up, as well.

I guess that I should stop typing, put on some socks and shoes, and get started. I already had two cups of coffee, s pastry, and an apple. Time to whack some grass and weeds.

Zombie survival test
Mood:  chillin'

Have you ever seen any of the zombie horror movies? I remember watching "Return of the Living Dead" about three times in the theater while in high school. Did you ever wonder how you would do if you were in a real situation like that? I know there are video games about fighting zombies. I played one a few weeks ago just for fun. Here are the results of an online test I saw on a gun forum. Some of us took it for fun. Here are my results. There is a link at the bottom if you want to take it, too. It was kind of fun.

Official Survivor Congratulations! You scored 74%!

Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere. Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 88% on survivalpoints

Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test written by ci8db4uok on Ok Cupid

My M44
My Mosin Nagant World War 2 Russian M44 Carbine rifle showed up yesterday. It is covered with oil and smells pretty bad, but that is to be expected. I will be cleaning it up and ordering a sling for it.

I have been reading up on the best way to clean packing and storage oils and grease. Hopefully, the suggestions I received will work well.

It seems to function very well. The bolt action is smooth, the sight adjustment works well, the bayonet functions perfectly, and the stock is in good shape.

I snapped a picture of it yesterday. It isn't a great photo, but it works for now.

I often stop for a cup of coffee on my way to work in the mornings. I have a favorite little coffee shop in Clayton that I like called The Coffee Mill. I like the shop and its quaint atmosphere. However, I have been wanting a Dunkin' Donuts shop in our area for years. I grew up near some Dunkin' Donuts stores, since they are a New England company, originally.

Some Dunkin' Donuts franchises have been in Raleigh for a while and I have thought that one would go well in Johnston County for a while. Some time ago, one was built at a convenient location in Clayton. I have been going there a lot more than the Coffee Mill since the coffee is good and they actually have donuts. Not just any donuts...Dunkin' Donuts. Krispy Kreme SUCKS compared to Dunkin' Donuts. I have thought that ever since I moved to North Carolina and heard the boasting about how great Krispy Kreme, the local franchise was. Nope, their coffee sucks and their donuts suck by comparison.

One thing I like to do at the Dunkin' Donuts is to order a SMALL coffee. This annoys the staff there, since I get corrected on my order by the girls at the register. They don't have "small". I can order a medium, large, or extra large. I see it differently. If medium is the smallest they have, then it is by definition, a "small". I get corrected and am told that it is a "medium". If I want a smaller cup, then I continually order the "small".

Yesterday, I wanted some breakfast, and I had gotten a scratch and win trivia game piece on a large coffee (well, actually, a medium). I have gotten three pieces in all and won on all three (thank you, Google). I "won" a free breakfast sandwich. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich. By the time I was on the highway, I noticed it was a bagel with cream cheese. I think that today and every day, I may order a "small" coffee.

For those following the Michael Jackson trial
In case anyone is following the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, here is a link to a flash video explaining the entire defense.