Thursday Thirteen #39

13 things about Dane Bramage

13 Things About My Current Home Life
Here are 13 things about what's been going on at the Bramage homestead

1. My niece moved out and into her own place. I am happy for her. I just hope she was ready and moved for the right reasons.


2. My three great nephews and great niece are gone. Kids keep you young while aging you rapidly!


3. It is very quiet at my house. Too quiet.


4. My Television which literally ran 24/7 has been off more in the last month than it has in the last 3 years. I am going through Spongebob withdrawal.


5. Crayon is of the devil. And when applied to walls will last longer than Egyptian hieroglyphics


6. I found cereal in my sub woofer And Heroclix in my VCR


7. My Mom refers to my friend and his wife as "The People Under the Stairs". Dave and Bridget are still with me.


8. My new carpet arrives in t-minus 14 days and $500 cheaper than Home Depot.


9. I have to have the living room painted by then. I have chosen a color called Cancun Blue.


10. "The People Under the Stairs" are doing the cleaning and prep work for painting. They are going through a case of "Magic Eraser" and some stuff called "Krud Kutter".


11. It will really be quiet when they leave in October. Dave likes to gloat when he kicks my butt in Civilization IV. He can't handle me in Railroads though.


12. It will smell better too. "The People Under the Stairs" don't stink, their seven cats and one dog stink.


13. Well Dave stinks. At least his feet do as illustrated in this sonnet "Ode to My Best Friends Feet Which Stink"

More on the home improvement front as it develops.

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Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Latin Scholars I Need Help!

Admittedly, it has been a long time since I studied Latin. 29 years to be precise. So to say I am rusty is an understatement. So I had some difficulty coming up with the Latin translation of the phrase "Because everyone is entitled to my opinion". Why woudl I want it in Latin you ask? Well SMD had a link to The Official Seal Generator which he used to produce this:


I of course love such doodads so I played around and came up with this:
My only problem is the Latin. I am not sure (because the one thing I DO remember from Latin class is that context is everything)if the phrase will translate like I want. So if you are knowledgeable in Latin please give me an acceptable translation.

Warm Up the Fatwas!

‘Cuz its prophet bashing time!  My little sidebar doodad says today is the birthday of that murdering pedophile and leader of Islam Muhammad. Strange, there is no overwhelming feeling of peace on Earth or goodwill to men. Nope it is pretty much like any other day. In fact according to my sister who claims to follow the teachings of Islam, Muslims don’t celebrate birthdays. (I say claim because she like many who claim to be Christian follow only a narrow set of rules and doctrines). Maybe they will celebrate by not blowing themselves and some innocent bystanders apart. Or maybe they won’t kill me for saying things like “It is a historically proven fact that Muhammad had sex with twelve year old girls.”  Not quite the gleaming example my Saviour Jesus Christ left to His followers. On one hand you have “Hey I’ll sleep with your little girls and tell you it’s okay to kill infidels! In fact if you’re a martyr then you can have 72 virgins in heaven”.  On the other hand you have, John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. So I don't really care if Islam celebrates the birth of the murderous freak job in whose name they are willing to slaughter innocent school children. I rejoice daily that Jesus died for me out of love. And His example teaches me to love my enemies and to spread the Word of Truth, not with a sword of steel but with the Sword of the Spirit.

Thursday Thirteen #38

13 things about Dane Bramage

13 Bits of Workplace Wisdom
I know this is soooo late. But I got buried at work for a project and we are short handed (looking to hire three new people immediately!) When that happens my home time gets compromised. I am remodeling my living room and I have Spring Program at church and, well you get the idea. I am busy. But I am also blessed! Good 'ole Scott emailed me some list fodder and since this one is work related, I threw it into my handy dandy T13 Template and Voila! So enjoy these 13 pieces of Workplace Wisdom.

1. The first 90% of project takes 90% of the time, the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time.


2. If you can't get your work done in the first 24 hours, work nights.


3. Don't be irreplaceable, if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.


4. After any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before


5. You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.


6. Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.


7. If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a fool about it.


8. Arriving to work early sets an expectation that your less ambitious co-workers will not appreciate.


9. To err is human, to forgive is not a part of company policy.


10. Important letters that contain no errors will develop errors in the mail.


11. If you are good, you will be assigned all the work. If you are really good, you will get out of it.


12. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.


13. The last person that quit or was fired will be blamed for everything that goes wrong.

Thanks again to my buddy Scott for coming through for me at the last minute. Now that you have proven yourself dependable and competent you can never slack off again! (Tidbit #14!)

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Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Please Blog Politely or Else

I don't know if you heard but some woman received some nasty comments and death threats on her website and now the liberal left is calling for a "blogging code of conduct". That is all just moonbatese for "censorship". But they want to make sure you understand that it is not censorship, it is a way to make free speech even freer! Here is the New York Slimes Times article A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs

Or you can go to Radioactive Liberty and read their take on the whole thing.

One of the things that caught my attention in the NYT piece is this section :

A subtext of both sets of rules is that bloggers are responsible for everything that appears on their own pages, including comments left by visitors. They say that bloggers should also have the right to delete such comments if they find them profane or abusive.

That may sound obvious, but many Internet veterans believe that blogs are part of a larger public sphere, and that deleting a visitor's comment amounts to an assault on their right to free speech. It is too early to gauge support for the proposal, but some online commentators are resisting.

So basically some think that if you come to my blog and cut loose with what I feel is unacceptable language in the comments; it is an affront to the First Amendment for me to delete your comment. Well let me say this about that.

First I will not subscribe to any "blogging code of conduct". I have a code of conduct that supersedes any that a bunch of liberal nanny staters could come up with. It is called The Bible. It dictates what I say and what I allow to be said. So if a commenter says something I feel that I would not want anyone to associate with me or my blog, it is history.

Secondly I control everything about my blog. That includes comments. You have free speech but you can't come into my house and just start spouting trash. If I don't like it it goes.

Now you may think that I am crushing freedom of expression or promoting only like minded opinions on my blog. Far from it. I am saying up front that I am the final authority at Dane Bramage and I have a low tolerance for ignorant trolls.

Now that I've said that, let me encourage everyone to leave a comment. So far I've needed a comment policy like a bald guy needs a comb and brush. And so far the only comments I have deleted were spam. So I don't reject opposite opinion out of hand. In fact I encourage it. It's just that if it gets too ugly I have the right to remove it. It is that simple.
FrankJ at IMAO has a more amusing approach to comments.

One Billion in Debt; I Know iPods for Everybody!

Ohio's neighbor to the north, Michigan has had some financial difficulties, stemming mostly from the Democratic leadership. Facing close to a billion dollar deficit, the new budget proposes giving every school kid an iPod. An excerpt from Hey Michigan kids, your state reps. have a present for you:

The state is apparently facing a budget crisis--to the tune of $1 billion. On Thursday, House Democrats delivered a spending bill that includes the idea of putting $38 million worth of public funds toward outfitting every student with a digital music player. The plan also included measures to tax soda and satellite TV services, among other things, to raise funds.

I feel for our taxpaying neighbors. The Democrats have designs on their money and an iPod for everybody just screams "fiscal responsibility". My God do the people of Michigan NOT see this as an attempt to simply buy influence and make the taxpayer fund it?

I mention this because, well I read it at David Drake's blog but more importantly, Ted Strickland, Ohio's new democratic governor less than 90 days into office has already begun singing the "We need to raise taxes" song. So far nothing as bizarre as ipods for every student but with democrats, it is just a matter of time before they reach into my pocket to fund something stupid.

Its Monday, I'm Bored, Here Are Some Quizzes

Well I got bored while working to fulfill a New Years Resolution about new carpet this morning. They came to measure the living room and I decided to take some quizzes to kill time.

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Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

I think there is something wrong with this quiz. I can't seem to score just an "A". Always an "A-"

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You Passed 8th Grade Geography

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Geography?

Geography was always a favorite of mine. This was easy because of the "the longest this, the biggest that" type questions. Those answers rarely change. Now ask me to name all the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union and I'd be in trouble. I'm just glad I'm smarter than an 8th Grader which by default makes me smarter than a 5th grader!

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What Your Dreams Mean...

Your dreams seem to show that you're a very well adjusted and happy person. Overall, you are very content in your life.

What Do Your Dreams Mean?

But what does the recurring dream about milk white feet with cherry red nails wearing black fishnet stockings crammed into black stiletto heels mean?

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You are 100% Libra

How Libra Are You?

I am a Libra and I had fun with this. I don't believe in astrology so I decided to see if I could figure out what the quiz would think is 100% Libra. It was easier than I thought. Just so you know, according to the quiz I am only 53% Libra.

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Hat Tip to chrys at Pettifogs. Go by and visit her visually stunning site. Her quiz results are on the Playground

In Memoriam: Kurt Vonnegut

I am sad to report that one of my all time favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., has died at age 84. Vonnegut's writing influence much of my early thinking and attitude. It was scary how much we thought alike. Kurt Voinnegut Jr is responsible for a lot of what Dane Bramage is.

The AP story mentions his best works with one exception; Breakfast of Champions.

Some of Vonnegut's books were banned and burned for alleged obscenity. He took on censorship as an active member of the PEN writers' aid group and the American Civil Liberties Union.

If you have never read BOC, I fully recommend it. If however you are one of these people who are offended by the N-bomb then stay clear. It is NOT PC at all. Though Kilgore Trout still remains one of my all time favorite characters.

Vonnegut was a staunch supporter of humanism. He felt that organized religion was one of the bad things in our society. That is where he and I split in our opinions. His life was filled with pain and suffering to the point he attempted suicide.

Vonnegut once said that of all the ways to die, he'd prefer to go out in an airplane crash on the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. He often joked about the difficulties of old age.

"When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life; old age is more like a semicolon," Vonnegut told the AP.

"My father, like Hemingway, was a gun nut and was very unhappy late in life. But he was proud of not committing suicide. And I'll do the same, so as not to set a bad example for my children."

Despite his intellect, he had little regard for life and little hope for life after death. I pray he had time and oppurtunity to rethink his position with regards to accepting Jesus as Saviour before his end came.

Thursday Thirteen #37

13 things about Dane Bramage

13 Favorite Posts in Honor of my Two Years of Blogging
The end of last week marked the second anniversary of Dane Bramage as a blog. In honor of my blogoversary I have listed and linked my favorite 13 posts of the last 365 days. I purposely excluded Thursday Thirteen lists. Not because they weren't my favorites but because I may do a list of favorite lists when I reach the 52 week mark in Thursday Thirteen.

1. Booker T. Washington's Birthday Short and to the point this explains some of my philosophy and why I choose to use BTW as a role model and encourage other black people to do so too.


2. Presidents Day Rant Okay I went back a little more than a year but I wanted this to be listed. Even well meaning people can be idiots.


3. Freedom to Petition the Government to Redress…Ummmm Donuts. Most Americans know more about the Simpsons and American Idol than they do about the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. For shame.


4. Little Known Facts About Ohio A wonderful trip to my State Capitol reveals whimsical truths about tiny Amish people


5. Speaking of Epidemics, How About that Made Up One Called AIDS African deaths due to AIDS missed the predicted mark... by millions.


6. Just the Way My Mind Works Proof positive that I am the Angel of Death


7. Movies That You'll Never See and More Movies That You'll Never See Poking fun at Hollyweird with these made up sequels


8. The Characters of Gen Con 2006 Just 17 photos of people who went the extra mile and dressed up for GenCon Indy 2006


9. Don't Marry a Career Woman: The Debate Heats Up Career first women's marriages fail because of the job. They try to kill the messenger.


10. Myth of the Ineligible Black Man or What Am I? Chopped Liver? Some liberal complains that there are no good black men around. Yeah right. Try Church sister!


11. Pennies My Friend Scott's story about pennies. You know Scott was a published columnist too!


12. 12 Angry Men and Two Alternates Part I, Part II, and Part III I chronicled the experience of my first ever Jury Duty!


13. Easter Trouble Remembering my cat and how he tried to kill Easter one year!

Another year of blogging under my belt. This list represents my many sides. I hope you get to read some of these.

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Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Should They Fire Imus

Should Don Imus be fired for his “nappy headed hos” comment directed at the Rutgers woman’s basketball team? Who cares I don’t listen to Imus. I do feel the comment was uncalled for and he should have apologized to the Rugters women and NOT to Al Sharpton. How did Al get involved anyway? Oh yeah, someone said something offensive about black people. And Big Al ever the champion of race baiting and headline grabbing rose to the challenge of speaking on behalf of African Americans everywhere. Who asked him? And who told him to be outraged on my behalf?

Imus is an idiot. He’s a professional idiot and people pay him a lot of money for his oral refuse. He is constantly pushing the envelope because that equates to ratings, and ratings equates to revenue. Occasionally he will cross some line and say something inappropriate. We all have done the same. Am I condoning or excusing his behavior? Not at all. I am merely saying that it is to be expected. So what should we do about it? “Bad Imus! Apologize!” Oh wait he did. So I guess we should move on.

Why? Because “nappy headed hos” is tame compared to the filth that supposedly non-racist blacks call each other on a daily basis in their music, in their videos and films. Where’s the outrage? You will only hear it from the pulpits. And Al is supposed to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the highest form of hypocrisy to hold others to a standard that you do not apply to yourself. Jesus reminds us to regard the beam in our own eye. Al condemns Imus but gives rappers and film makers a free pass. If Sharpton preached the standards of the Bible and the black community had enough self-respect and self esteem to banish the words of self –hatred, Imus would have to resign. But he didn’t say anything about those hard working, college women that you wouldn’t hear in a music video. He merely parroted the attitude that the black community allows its young people to have towards women. And that is what should be addressed and dealt with.