Batman Eat Your Heart Out!!!

HOLY CRAP!!!! Immediately to your left is a photo of THE cop car of the future. It is the prototype cruiser from a new car company call CARBON MOTORS. I can't even do this car justice on this blog so either click on the link below or just click on the photo and you will meet my next new car!!!!!

The thought that went into this car is beyond words! It is safer, more efficient, and BAD-ASS all the way. You see this crawling up your backside you know your in deep hoo-hah and that "Bad Boys, Bad Boys" song will resonate through your head whether you want it to or not.

I'm gushing, I know, but did you see the car!?!?!?!?! DAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!!!

http://www.carbonmotors.com/

I've Contracted "Bookworm" disease!!!!

With all the drama in my life you'd think I wouldn't have time to breathe never mind relax. Well, you're right EXCEPT for one thing, one awesome thing, one incredibly addictive thing - "BOOKWORM".

On the surface this unassuming little game appears HO-HUM at best, but let yourself get two or more levels into it and you, my friend, are hooked!!!!

It is the coolest word-find game out there because the guys and gals at "Popcap Games" let you find the words, let you decide each move, then start lobbing burning red tiles at your letters to trip you up. If you ignore these burners and one of them gets to the bottom of the board - FWOOOOOSH!!!! the whole board burns up and your day is done!

The basic idea is so simple - find as many words as possible in the jumble of letters before the burning tiles fry your game. I have made it as far as level 55 with a score of 1.5million points before I ran out of vowels and couldn't think of enough Welsh or Croatian words to stay alive!

Click on the link and try this game. Yes you have to pay for the full version, but those guy learned a thing or two from the crack-selling bastards I arrest and have put out a "Free Trial" version that gets you hooked like a crack-whore and makes you WANT to pay the $20 bucks for the full version. I have it on my home computer AND my cell phone. Nuff Said!!!

Also, for you over-edu-ca-mated types this awesome little slice of addiction comes in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. So say Adios to your free time and Bonjour to "Bookworm".

Seriously, Give it a try.....

http://www.popcap.com/games/bookworm

Same Crap Different Day

Well, here we are 15 days into the new year and already the geniuses that are our bosses are in full swing of standard ridiculousness. First, an employee with tons of administrative experience both with the agency and in the private sector was dismissed from consideration for a senior administrative assistant position while at least three others with a fraction of her training and experience were granted interviews for the same position. No reason was given, because, in their opinion, they don't have to give one! Hows that for fair and equitable treatment?

Next, another employee had a smart-ass moment with a major and verbalized the old "Major Pain" joke within earshot of said major. The employee knew immediately that was a mistake and gladly accepted the write up and counselling by the shift supervisor. In the employee's own words, "I just let my mouth over ride my brain". Well, a week after the incident and the punitive counselling had been issued the employee returned to work to find that the supervisor's supervisor was in the process of trying to pursue a harsher punishment against the employee for the same event.

The shift supervisor had been "talked to" by the big boss and as a result wouldn't talk to the employee and let the employee hang and worry the entire shift with the threat of double jeopardy punishment hanging over their head. The Supervisor observed an infraction, the employee admitted it and the corrective action had been taken and yet, a week later, this command staff pro wants to stick it to the employee again just because he doesn't think the person he has as his shift supervisor made the right determination. Again, he can do this because....They can! No excuses required. We don't like you so we're gonna screw with you.... 'cause we can!

So just like I predicted these charmers are right back to their same old shit! This Command Staff has no respect for their employees, civilian or sworn. They openly breed contempt for those who are not just like them. This agency is being torn apart from the inside by those who claim to love it the most. They are running a campaign of elitism and exclusion that favors the few at the expense of the many. The real losers here.... the citizens of the county who are oblivious to the cancer growing in their midst.

I love my job and I love what this agency can be. But these days I find it harder and harder to enjoy my work because I have to watch my back not just from the criminals but also from the bosses. Well, I'm done being silent. I will only print the truth and will not subscribe to the rumor mill. I will document each and every ridiculous, distasteful, and mean spirited incident that happens and bring it out into the light of day for you to evaluate and question the sincerity of their claims.

And so it begins....

Ramblings of a Misplaced Scot

I know this has been a black hole for months now but I am back and I will bring this back up to speed in the days and weeks to come.

My life has been complicated, interesting, and certainly never boring these past few months. My personal issues are still not resolved and will probably remain so for a while yet. As part of my re-evaluation of life, the universe, and everything I recently returned home to Scotland for a couple weeks to clear my head. It was an amazing trip! If I could have I would have just set up housekeeping and never returned, but that thought was just not practical. I will upload some photos for you soon.

On the work front the guy I wanted to be my new boss only got 1/3 of the votes cast so I get to keep the Hut-Hut Hierarchy for another four years.....Yeah! Yippee! (read with LOTS of sarcasm). I'd rather get a root canal without Novocaine than work with these scunners, but again, not a practical thought at this point. I will suck it up, do my job the best I can, and pray that we hit a worm hole or other leap in the time continuum and wake up in 2012 ready for a new administration.

Social life - Don't have one.

Education - stalled

Health - Oy! Could I fill a community center with the issues I've been dealing with this year! But this is neither the time nor the place for such kvetching.

I'm not sure what direction this blog is going to take in the days to come, but i will try hard to at least make it interesting.

As for now - I am back and ready to blog.

Wow! This Sucks!

You may have noticed that I have not blogged for over a month. Well, I have been going through some really ugly times that are not fit for Internet distribution. Suffice it to say that I am no longer the same person who started this blog. You will notice that I have changed things up a bit and I am still trying to decide if I will keep this going or let this be part of my former life. However, I like this and it gives me time to think about life, the universe, and everything, which is exactly what I need these days.

I will update you as things progress, but I will not publish anything that could be considered too personal and possibly hurtful to others in my life. I will leave you with this thought - Just like a plant needs strong roots and a healthy stem to let the flower blossom, Love is an endeavour that needs at least two people to make it strong and lasting, without both parts of that pair Love's flower will surely wither and die.

Happy Fathers Day!

Last night I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned all night. I watched a movie, listened to my Ipod, and stared at the wall. It generally was a sucky night all the way round. Yet I finally did sleep for a few hours and awakened to the prospect of a very nice day. Fathers Day!

My first guilty pleasure of the day was to wake up my alarm clock, that is, I woke up The Princess before she could rise and disturb MY slumber - as is the general norm on weekends.

She woke in a surprisingly good mood and when I suggested we go take a walk she was up and dressed before I could say, "let's go". So my second great moment this morning was to take a leisurely walk (well, The Princess scootered while I walked) with my daughter and to talk with her about whatever caught the attention of her five year old interest as we ambled through our neighborhood to the local store.

Once there we bought a Sunday paper, a Sprite, and a bag of salt & vinegar potato crisps and took our place at one of the two little booths in the front window of the store. We talked about her scooter, floods, polar bears, and brushfires. Odd subjects I know, but that was what caught her fancy today. Then I pulled out the Sunday comics and together we read "Rose is Rose", "Peanuts", "Garfield", and "The Amazing Spiderman". She then announced, "We've got to go home, I havta go potty", bringing our paper reading to an abrupt end.

As we set out on the meandering walk home I was reminded of those "Family Circus" one panel comics where the artist showed the twisting, winding, dotted path "Billy" would take through his neighborhood, backyard, or playground. No straight lines, ever! That is a morning walk with a five year old.

We returned home and I got my next Father's Day treat. My long suffering mother is visiting from the great white north and was only too happy to entertain The Princess for a while as I got to read the Sunday paper and drink my coffee, an incredibly rare treat indeed!

There is something awesomely humbling when you see your parent(s) and your child(ren) together. I watched Grandma and Princess play outside and I realized that a hundred years ago, or so it seemed, she did the exact same thing with ME! It made me appreciate that no matter what happens in life, no matter how sucky your night was, come morning, I am here for my child, I am here for my Princess, and always will be. Just like Mom & Dad were there for me, I will always be there for The Princess. That's when I realized that it's not the cards or the gifts that make it Father's Day, it's your children!

They are the sum of the love of a mother and a father. They are the best of our hopes and dreams for the future. They are the reason we get up and smile even after the world has beat us down or, in my case, just given me the worst night's sleep ever. The sweetest sound I heard today was The Princess telling me, "I love you Daddy!" Have a very Happy Father's Day!

I've been having an affair....with FaceBook

What can I say. It started innocently enough. My sis introduced us and told me I'd really enjoy meeting and greeting through Facebook. So I met up with Facebook and exchanged passwords and before you know it I was messaging, and poking, and art walling people I haven't spoken to for years!

Next thing I know its mid-March and my poor blog has been completely neglected and left to fend for it's self on the Information Super Highway. All I can say is...I'm Sorry! I will be better no matter what person from the deepest, darkest part of my younger life pops up and sends me a message. I will do what any good blogger should do, refer my pals to check out my AWESOME Blog!

Please forgive me!

Thur's no muny like us - an they're a' deed!

Yesterday was Thursday. Thursday, February 21st to be exact. It was an uneventful day. Totally normal in every aspect. No major news. No big announcements. Not really worth mentioning. Except... that two years ago, on another February 21st, I kissed my father for the last time, I told him I loved him for the last time, and I watched him as he slipped the bonds of his ragged, battered, beleaguered body and kissed the face of God.

I can't explain how much I miss him. He is the reason I am the man that I am. He may not have had the education, the style, or much else others desire, but he had a heart full of love, a head full of dreams, and a soul full of genuine kindness. He could be incredibly stubborn, opinionated, and even down-right annoying, but everything he did - he did it for or with us. He loved trains, planes and automobiles. He liked to fish, hunt and garden. He loved to swing a hammer, swing dance and swing us in his arms. He could be cute and embarrassing all at the same time. He loved the attention but never sought the credit. He worked hard, played hard, and at times, celebrated hard. He gave soft, warm hugs and was a closet romantic who adored our mother till the day he died. Above all he was my dad. I will always miss him.

"G' oan yer sel' wee man!"

Crap...I'm getting older!

Last night I was driving though one of the more rural communities we serve when I came to a 4-way intersection. As I sat at the stop sign waiting for cross traffic I looked at the house across the street and had one of those "chuckle memories". You know, a memory where you recall an incident or event and you can't help but audibly chuckle at it. The kind of thing that makes anyone nearby look at you kind of sideways and say something like, "You okay?" or "What was that?"

Anyway, I saw this old house with a huge front and side yard surrounded by a four foot high wooden plank fence, kinda like the ones you see at fancy horse ranches, and I remembered answering a call of a fight at that residence and the male half being armed. When I arrived I wanted to approach stealthily so I parked down the road a short ways and walked back to the side yard of this home. The chuckle part came when I tried to jump the fence. I stepped onto the bottom plank and began to swing my other leg over the top of the fence when the plank gave way and popped right off the posts. The top plank hit me hard on the inside of my thigh and I was bruised there for weeks. More immediately, though, my attempt at stealth sucked because when the plank let go it made an awful clatter and then I let loose with some manner of short, loud expletive!

Anyway we handled the call no problems and the guy ended up not having any weapons in the house (they were in his truck). But the sudden flash of that memory made me chuckle and it was then I realized something horrible...

That happened over TEN YEARS AGO!!!!!!! WOW!!

I have become the veteran cop I never thought I would be when I was that fresh, new, 2 year Deputy trying to sneak up on a home and bustin' the guys crappy old fence. You know it's really true though, what they say, time really does fly when you're having fun!

March!...Already?

Holy cow! Where the heck did this month go! I'll tell you where, meetings, more meetings, and typing, typing, typing. This has been the first month since I made Sergeant that I have spent more time in the office than on the road. Don't get me wrong I know that as a supervisor I have administrative responsibilities - but GEEZ!

I'm just lucky I have a decent squad of Deputies under me. I fortunately have a crew that I CAN supervise from my desk if need be. I had my radio on my desk, cranked up so I could at least feel like I was "working" and hammered out the admin pile that never seemed to shrink. It got to the point I didn't want to touch my home computer - I was done with computers! Unfortunately, that meant no blogging. Well, I had to come back to it today because I suddenly realized it had been almost a whole month - NOT COOL! I don't know how both of you, my faithful readers, survived this long!

Anywho, I'm back and ready to blog again. (This is the part where you all cheer and jump out of your chair with excitement) I live to serve!