I pedaled and pedaled, yet I didn't go anywhere!

I spent pretty much all of yesterday at school reading the newest issue of Bike Magazine. The pictures and articles have been excellent so far, and they are really making me want to do more mountainbiking this year.

So naturally I came home from school pumped up for some biking. This past fall my mom had purchased this resistance stand she could set her mountain bike on and ride it during the winter. She also got a training DVD with it that she claimed was really intense, so I decided to try it.

It was pretty intense, and towards the end of the last couple of fast sections I was really struggling. I wasn’t quite pedaling at the highest gear, but close. The 50 minute work out session was broken down broken down into sections of slow pedaling and fast pedaling. After the fact, I think I was supposed to pedal faster than I did in the slow sections, but shift down into a lower gear at the same time. In any case, I felt like I got a pretty good work out. The way I felt starting off, I’m rather surprised that I made it through the whole routine. I guess I’m in better physical condition than I thought I was.

So yeah, it was fun. I’m looking forward to stepping it up a notch next time!

Best of the 2007 Big Air: Photograph 3

Snow or Dirt?

It is incredible! The majority of the year I look forward to the ski season with great longing. It is probably over half way over now, but there is still quite a bit of time left. For some reason, I am already yearning for the dirt. My mom received a new issue of Bike magazine... and I promptly took it and started reading it. It conjured images of mountainbiking and mountainboarding, but it is still very much winter. I have been reveling in the snow and the cold temperatures, but for some reason I also can’t wait for the spring mud to be here. I think it has a little bit to do with the fact that Bruce Mound only has so much to offer. I feel like I am even getting bored with it. I have snowboarded one day each of the past 2 weekends or so, just to throw a little variety into the mix.

In two weekends we’ll have a four day weekend. I am hoping to be able to take that time and go ski somewhere other than same-old Bruce Mound. I think I need a little change.

The Best of the 2007 Big Air: Photograph 4

WCCN: yet more information :: Big Sky Bible Institute update

I called them yet again... and yet again I am waiting for a reply. The good news: all we are doing is sorting out times! Randomer may finally get a chance to get on the air!

Also, I officially sent in my Big Sky Bible Institute application. I don't know why I wouldn't get accepted, so yeah. Keeping the fingers crossed!

WCCN: Finally, we are getting somewhere!

I think I am finally getting somewhere with the whole WCCN debacle! There were a couple messages from the lady-in-charge, and she said that it sounds like it will work! I have to get the lady-in-charge at school to get in contact with the lady-in-charge at WCCN so they can talk, and I need to call WCCN lady AGAIN to get dates/times worked out. But we are getting somewhere!

iPod Fund: Update

I got paid, and now it is time to update my iPod fund balance! I deposited my 78 dollar and four cent paycheck in my checking account. $78.04 divided by two = $39.02. I also rounded up all the spare change I had lying around and deposited it in my checking account. That came to $47.56. $47.56 divided by 2 = $23.78.

Previous balance: $100.
Add $39.02
Add $23.78
New Balance: $162.80

WCCN: Yet another update.

Well, I called WCCN yet again today.  Still no change, Peggy has yet to talk it over...
 
So we still aren't anywhere.

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Snowmobiling

Written 1/10/07.

Today marks the first time that I have ever driven a snowmobile. It was quite the experience. I have never driven or ridden anything quite like a snowmobile before. It had an odd feeling about it... especially since I didn’t have to use my feet to accelerate. It seemed to take the seriousness and the complicatedness out of it... it felt more like a video game than actually driving something.

As it wasn’t quite like driving... it was more like riding. Like you’re an active participant. It is basically just you and the engine; you provide all the turning power, you have to lean into the turns to keep it from tipping, you have to absorb every little bump that the old machine doesn’t absorb.

We were riding on a lake, and there wasn’t much snow about. Sure it was still a load of fun, but I think doing something like trail riding, hill climb, or powder would be a lot of fun! The couple hours that we spent cruising the lake have just wet my appetite for more! Hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to go again. Shmeges (the person that I went with) said that the next time we go, he’s going to take us up the river. We went a little ways, and that was a little more interesting as you had to pick your way between the boulders that protruded from the ice. No cruising at 60 miles per hour here!

The 2007 Big Air

Pictures from the 2007 Big Air:











































































I took these, of course.

Puzzled to death

There is this puzzle:

Which my dad has been working on for about three weeks now. He claims it is incredibly difficult because all of the pieces are different shapes, you can never match anything by colors, and some of the pieces are split etc etc etc. Excuses, excuses. But it has taken him a very long time to finish it. It would have taken much longer, but he got sick, so I think he has basically spent the last 2 or 3 days working on it.

It is a rather neat looking puzzle, is it not?

Bears fan to change name to 'Peyton Manning' :: A commentary on life

Bears fan to change name to 'Peyton Manning'

Really, how dumb can you be? To stake one's name on the outcome of a mere football game? Seriously man! Your name should be your legacy! I suppose if you work at an office-supply store, your legacy won't count for as much. But seriously now! Change your name to Peyton Manning indeed!

At least he knows that he is an idiot.

The latest on the WCCN thing.

Last night I got home from school and there was a message on the answering machine from Peggy G., co-owner of WCCN.  All it said was to call her back.  Well today during study hall, I got a hold of her.  Do you know why it has taken them so long to respond?  They think I want a paid position!  She told me to come up to the station and pick up an application, and I was like "What?"  I have no idea how that got miscommunicated!  So now I have to call back on Monday. 

 

Wow.

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School is Tough

Students told to lighten up

Homework free weekends and meditation? I think we should start that here! Admittedly, school in Washington definitely sounds much more intense, but I could definitely go for absolutely no homework. What really gets me about this article is that these kids don’t know how to take it easy. I busted my butt on calculus for about 40 minutes straight, and then I decided it was time to take a little break. After I finish typing this, I will probably hit the books again. Chill out yo.

Brown

Norma Jean: Redeemer

I was just working on some college stuff while listening to Norma Jean’s new album, Redeemer, and the perfection of the sound just hit me over the head! It’s heavy, definetly heavy. But what I really like is that it is heavy and catchy! Maybe it is just me, but it just sounds oh-so-catchy! At spots it is a little poppy compared to their previous work, but not that much at all, and usually it is very tasteful!

This album doesn’t just knock me off my feet with its heaviness. To my ears and my musical tastes at this moment in time, I think it is the perfect hardness/heaviness. Personally speaking here. Not too soft, not too heavy. (Not like there IS a too heavy... it just sounds perfect.)

I would hate to be one of those people who writes album reviews. I am trying to put what exactly makes me love this album into words, and it is really tough.

OK here’s an example of how good it is:
I acquired it shortly after it was released through unscrupulous means, and I liked it so much that I just had to go out and buy it and give my $15 dollars for the beauty-of-sound that it is.

When I said it was poppy before, it really isn’t. It just doesn’t knock you backwards 2 steps like O God, The Aftermath. There are definitely spots that just make you go “phoar,” and plenty of them.

I don’t know how to explain it... I guess you’ll just have to listen to it.

Listen here.


Buy it here.

School really was delayed

Today we actually started school two hours late.  My alarm clock went off, and my sister came into the room and was like "We're starting two hours late today."  So I turned my alarm forward two hours and went to sleep.  I could really get used to this sleeping in stuff.  Hoping for a delay tomorrow would be way too optimistic though.  (Actually, I said the same thing yesterday.)

 

So far today in my study hall time I've been working on my BSBI application.  I am getting so burnt out, racking my brain trying to pound out these essays.  I tried writing an email asking for clarification on a couple of points in the outline, but it keeps turning out crummy.  I think after I finish typing this I will go relax and read a book or something.

 

On a totally unrelated note, my brother got his hands on this Age of Empires II demo.  I hadn't played an RTS in forever, so I tried it out.  I played some this morning, and it was a load of fun!  I guess it is a pretty old version of AOE, but maybe it'll work on my laptop.  I'm hoping to be able to get my hands on a full version, and then if I really can get it on my laptop, yeah it'd be a lot of fun!  MMM, video games.

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Is this what one calls a "cold day?"

Last night during the Superbowl (good job Colts!) there was a scroller on the bottom of the screen listing local school delays, and it included my high school. I thought "Sweet, I get to sleep in, get a little bit of work done, what a great way to start the week!"

So this morning I slept in, went on the computer, took my time in the shower, shaved, ate a salad for breakfast (yummy), and read some of Jeremiah.

We get into my freezing cold car and head for school. As we crest the top of the hill, we're all like "What the Heck? There's no one here!" I drove up to the entrance, jumped out of the car, and stuck my head in the door. Almost all of the lights were shut off, and there was one janitor standing there looking at me funny. I run back to the car, and said "We're leaving."

"What, there's no school today?"

"I dunno," I replied, "We're going home." Once we arrived home, we checked online, and sure enough, no school today! So now I'm backing up music, writing, I'll probably work on my BSBI application (yes, I decided to apply.)

You know what is really interesting? The weather isn't bad at all! It is bright and sunny, but really stinking cold! (Currently -7 F with a windchill of -25 F.) Word on the street is that there was legislation passed within the last year or two forcing schools to close if the windchill is below a certain temperature. Well, we must have hit it. Maybe tomorrow, too! Nah, that's too optimistic.

Huzzah for cold days!

Fuddruckers and Rock

Last night my youth pastor, a whole bunch of my friends, and I went a Disciple show at Club 3 Degrees, and it was a blast!

To start it off, we went to this restaurant named Fuddruckers. It was unlike any restaurant I have ever been to. At this restaurant, you can order a basic burger (1/3 lb., 1/2 lb., or 1 lb.) and pile it high with condiments of your choosing. But the condiment bar wasn’t your usual condiment bar, it looked like the produce department of a grocery store! There were several types of lettuce, several types of onions, tomatoes, pickles, sweet peppers, and others! It was delicious, let me tell ya! I knew that we were going to be jumping around in a concert shortly, and I tried to eat light, but somehow it didn’t work out. The food was just way too good!

The rock was amazing! I hadn’t seen any of the opening bands; now I think I have a couple CDs to buy. Decyfer Down was, in my opinion, mediocre at best. Fireflight was up next, and I thought they played a really great set. It was really rocky, with a chick lead singer. There aren’t many bands like that on tour, and I think I want to pick up their album to add a little more variety to my CD case. The last band before Disciple was Family Force Five, and they really rocked the place. It was a totally different sound than the other 3 bands that played that night, and I think it was excellent! Pretty original, I really really am fo-sure buying that CD. They had an incredible live show! For about half the show, the lead singer was wearing these awesome silver hulk-gloves, one of which had a built in microphone slot. They also had a designated on-stage dancer dude. I’m still not quite sure what to make of him, as he just danced around. It all seemed a little too queer for me, but he did come in handy later in the show. Before the lead singer donned the big gloves, he was playing guitar. But in the middle of one of the songs, he just whipped his guitar off and chucked it at dancer dude. It looked like dancer didn’t really see it coming, and caught it with his face instead of his hands. He was ready for the mike stand when it came at him, though. Dancer dude did get his revenge, as he walked around stage swinging the guitar around his head, just daring someone to come close enough that he could wake them.

I would have had a lot more fun during that set if the big security guard hadn’t been right next to me. I guess he was nice, but he kept telling me to “stand my ground.” It reminded me of the War of Ages song. Anyhow, he was trying to get everyone around him to “stand their ground” and stop the crowd from saying. I tried to tell him that I had several hundred people behind me, but I don’t think he got it. It takes so much more energy fighting the crowd than going with the flow, he should have realized that! He said he was doing it for all the “ladies” in the crowd, but all the ladies looked at him like he was crazy. I really don’t know what he was thinking, you can’t stop the rock’n’roll machine! Not like it was “rock” per-se. I didn’t think the swaying was all that bad to begin with really. I thought he was lucky that he didnt have a fast circle pit on his hands. I wanted to mosh so bad! I did get a decent amount of rocking out headbanging stylie during Disciple’s set, though.

Disciple was amazing! They rocked like crazy, like usual. The lead singer gave a really good gospel presentation, which took a while. that was a good thing, because that burger from Fuddruckers was really not sitting well. For a while I thought I was going to lose it, but the break gave me the perfect amount of time to rest. Right before the slow section half way through their set, I was able to get up to 2nd row: the closest I had been all show. So for the last half of Disciple, I was right up in front with a great view. What really amazed me is that where I was standing it wasn’t tightly packed at all, and I had loads of room to get some good headbanging done.

All in all, a totally amazing evening!

Randall will kill us all :: by shmeges

Shmeges is a friend of mine, and I am trying to convince him to write some stuff for Randomer. I think he's hilarious!

Here's the latest post on his blog:
Randall will kill us all

Think warm thoughts

The wind chill is -27 degrees Fahrenheit... think warm thoughts!

Taken: this past summer at Wildcat Mound.

iPod

I think I'm finally going to cave in. I think I'm going to buy an iPod. I am tired of carrying around a 300 capacity CD case and having my Cd's get cracked, scratched, or develop mysterious holes, and I'm tired of my CD player itself skipping if the road is too rough or anything else. I could carry around all that music and more in something smaller than my CD player itself. However, my checking account has been dwindling lately due to things like car insurance and not working enough. So, I have decided to set up an iPod fund, and I will "save up" for one, instead of taking $400 out of my checking account right now. So to give me an incentive to work more, 50% of my paychecks will go into the iPod fund. To give the fund a little jump start, right now I am committing $100 for it.

The iPod fund now stands at $100.
Goal: $400+.

iPod, here I come!

Photography

One of my new classes this semester is photography. Now, I've pretty much wanted to take photography my whole high school career. I really should have taken it 3 years ago when I was really picture-crazy, because after awhile, it wore off.
Why?
#1 My camera died.
#2 I decided that being the guy always taking pictures really wasn't that great. When you're always the photographer, you yourself never really get to live. Everyone else is living, and you're just taking pictures. It is really hard to do both at the same time. Let me give you a couple of examples:

ex#1: Concerts. It's great fun taking photos at shows, but its really hard to kick around in the mosh pit with a camera in your hand.

ex#2: Skiing. It's hard to focus on skiing and photography at the same time. The camera just gets in the way.

In the end I decided that I'd rather be the one in the picture than the one taking the picture.

For the past several years my little brother has developed into quite the photographer. I didn't really have access to a camera anymore, and he took all the shots. But he's reluctant to let me publish them on Randomer, even though some of them are really really good, as is proven by this picture:



At least, I think it is an awesome picture.

Now that I have access to a camera and am in photography class, Randomer will be flooded with photos. I think it will be a good thing, because I know that when I come across a really long winded blog, I don't always have the patience to read through an enormous post. Pictures on the other hand are an excellent change of pace.

So the long and short is: get ready for a plethora of photographs!

The Best of 2005 and 2006

This is a selection of some of my best mountainboarding video clips from the past 2 years. It was originally entered in the Grounindustries Peepshow Mountainboarding Video Contest, but I got bootstomped by lots of better people with mad skills.

But here it is, for you to enjoy

The World of Yaxlich: Guess Who's Back

The World of Yaxlich: Guess Who's Back

Click on the link to read about "The Gruffler Muffler." I almost cried I was laughing so hard!

January Monthly Update

Randomer has moved... yet again. Hopefully Blogspot will be Randomer's home for a long time to come. But first off, why the move? Well I had to weigh the pros and the cons:

Pros:
1. When I head off to school, I will be able to update it from anywhere. At Randomer's previous home was my home, and while it worked really well with no advertising whatsoever, I could only work on it while at home. So it is now accessible from anywhere.
2. I can email posts. Even if I am behind the school filter, I can still email posts in if I so desire. See: Randomer: They think they can stop me...
3. Very low maintenance - virtually maintenance free! Instead of manually creating the post pages, updating the news page, updating the recent articles page, updating the archive every month, and making individual archive by topic pages -- it does it all for me! Archive is automatic, the news and recent articles pages are basically merged into one, and all I have to do is add labels to my posts. You can see the labels on the top of the right side, and that allows you to browse posts by topic.
4. The possibility of a larger audience. Hopefully because I am now on Blogger, more people will run across my blog. (Wow, it really is a blog now, isn't it?)

Cons:
1. It is no longer my own personalized website, and isn't quite as flexible as the old Randomer.

See? That was a pretty easy decision!

So yes, http://randomer.blogspot.com is Randomer's new home. The old addresses will get you to the new Randomer, but it is http://randomer.blogspot.com now.

So now, for some of the best posts from January:

Mute Grab



Iron Cross Tail Grab


Brace Free
I no longer have braces. I am free!

WCCN
and
WCCN: An Update
My experiences at WCCN, and my ongoing attempt to set up an ed for an employment type thing there.

Let's think about this for a minute.
What may end up being the most controversial article of the year (if people actually take the time to read through the whole thing.) It bassically disects and points out all the flaws in an editorial that graced last week's issue of the Clark County Press.

Goo's Recommended Heavy Christian Bands
Foreword: I was asked to pick a bunch of heavy-ish Christian bands and select my favorite album by them, and possibly compare said band to a secular band. This may be slightly difficult, as my one of the things that makes me select a band to follow/listen to is originality. If a band has an average sound with mediocre lyrics... I'm just like "Eh, no good. Next please!" So most of these have a fairly individual sound. Also, I am including at least one URL so you can go take a listen.

Districts 2007
A video that I edited for church of our youth group's time at Districts.

Thoughts about going to a Bible institute

Written 1/29/07

A thought just occurred to me: I don’t really want to go to college, the whole thing has started to become a real drag. I don’t know what to major in. I don’t know where to go. I don’t feel really in tune with God. What if I took a year off from the real world and went to that Big Sky Bible Institute in Montana? It wouldn’t really count towards a career of any sort, but I would learn butt loads about God stuff. I should seriously give this some thought.

Let's think about this for a minute

This is hopefully the first in a series of writings entitled “A Commentary on Life.”

We’ll start out with a letter to the editor responding to an editorial that Mick K. published in the Clark County Press two weeks ago in which he basically called Bill E. (B.E. or B.S.: see "A Tad Bit Off the Wall") out.

I am typing the whole editorial in its entirety so that you will be able to see the true ridiculousness of it:

County Needs Leaders Like Bill E.

Letter to the editor:
Mick, your editorial “comment” in the Press dated January 10th went way beyond what I would call comment or opinion. It was downright revolting. I would expect more from an “educated man.” When you get to a level where you are bashing someone, as you did Bill E., then you have crossed the line and should seriously consider keeping politics out of your editorials. How about your editorials focus on the good things going on within the county, as you often do. Having an opinion about an issue is one thing, but to personally attack someone is another. Mr. E. may only have a 9th grade education, but he probably learned basic math by the 4th grade. When balancing a budget, it’s addition and subtraction. No need for a college degree there! Sometimes “overeducated” people lack common sense. Perhaps we could use a few more “dummies” in high places. Bill has managed a few businesses successfully and has probably little or no personal debt. If Bill can manage his own finances this well, then I’ll trust him with the county budget regardless of his level of education. Concerning Unsmart Growth, it was a bad idea. Not only because Mr. E. thankfully said so, but because the voters said so. Bill owns very little land, so whose property rights was he defending? Yours! I think Bill will gladly take the verbal abuse and personal attacks for the sake of his constituents and Clark County residents in general. Everyone needs a “big brother” watching and confronting the corruption.

For what we as Clark County citizens pay for in taxes, we are not getting much for our money. Look around. Neillsville is not a thriving community. Clark Count is not a thriving county. No jobs, no change, and no hope. Thank God for some of the “uneducated,” however ambitious, people who start all the small businesses that keep us afloat or people with big ideas who employ grass roots efforts to make them a realty sic. The skate park, new legion hall, and friends sic of Bruce Mound all come to mind. Mr. E. may not be telling people what they want to hear, but reality bites sometimes. Unless we get some larger businesses and people drawn to Neillsville and Clark County to help pay the bills, we’ll have to start making cuts because most of us are all taxed out. It’s unfortunate because we have some great employees at the Courthouse. You’re lucky if somebody even answers the phone at Wood County and they are not as helpful as they could be. It would be nice if Clark County was doing as well, that we could afford to keep everyone employed and then some.

Let’s start working towards growth and prosperity instead of settling for a stagnant county that has to pinch every penny to make ends meet and hurt people in the process. We have to start making the county support us instead of us supporting the county. With Mr. E.’s logging experience, perhaps he could help the county earn some money off all the trees they own. I’ve read letters in the paper from people who come from all over to the Wildcat Mound for some of the best mountain biking trails they’ve ever ridden. Why not organize a race to create some revenue? How about beefing up Heritage Days or bringing in events at the fairgrounds like races and concerts? Obviously, we need more jobs and housing as well. We can’t afford to be a retirement town anymore. We’ve got plenty of villages in the county for that. STOP FIGHTING over the problems that result from a lifeless community and START WORKING towards making this a vibrant and friendly place to live, work, and visit. Think bigger and better! More industry, more jobs, more recreation, more shopping, and less controversy. Clark County could be great if people would work together. I would like to encourage, sic you, Mick, to take the first step by not attacking people on a personal level in the paper. Imagine what visitors must think when they open the first page. Here’s something you learned in kindergarten, not college. If you don’t have anything nice to say.......

Sincerely,
Jennifer E.
Neillsville

Whew, that took a while to type. Now to pick that crap apart, I’ll give a quotation from the editorial, and then I’ll give my opinion or a fact that I have stored in my cranium that makes her look like the idiot she is.

“Sincerely,
Jennifer E.”
The entire article is slanted, as she is B.E.’s sister.

“When you get to a level where you are bashing someone, as you did Bill E., then you have crossed the line and should seriously consider keeping politics out of your editorials.”
The majority of the editorials that Mick K. writes are political, and as he reports on the majority of County Board meetings, he is something of an authority on the topic.

“How about your editorials just focus on the good things going on within the coutny, as you often do.”
First off, that right there is just sucky english, ain’t it? Of course there are many instances of less-than-perfect english usage in this blog, but it is not a letter to the editor, published and distributed to people all over the county. Second, people don’t always want to hear about how well a bake sale did. (Actually, they probably never do.) People need to hear some of the crap that goes on, otherwise they will end up as uninformed as miss J.E. herself.

“Mr. E. may only have a 9th grade education, but he probably learned basic math by the 4th grade. When balancing a budget, it’s addition and subtraction. No need for a college degree there!”
My accounting teacher would be absolutely livid if she heard this! No college degree needed to balance a 58 million dollar budget? A 4th grade education will do, will it? I think tomorrow I’ll go ask Mrs. O.’s (my accounting teacher) opinion on this. I tried to ask her what I would need to take acccounting in high school for if I wasn’t going to be an accounting major in college, and she had a little speech all ready for that. No college degree needed... 4th grade math is sufficient. “It’s addition and subtraction.” Obviously miss J.E. you have absolutely no knowledge of accounting WHATSOEVER!

“Sometimes ‘overeducated’ people lack common sense.”
Overeducated people. Hmm. I wonder what she means by that? People who have the ambition to attend college and make a life for themselves? This editorial that J.E. has written almost makes the inverse seem true: that sometimes “undereducated” people lack common sense.

“Bill has managed a few businesses successfully and has probably little or no personal debt.”
“A few businesses,” as in only a couple of them, and the rest he screwed up? More specifics, please. “Probably little or no personal debt,” as in you don’t know for sure if he does or not. So maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. Hmm, let’s see. I need to fill space and waste time, so I’ll write “maybe my cat coughed up a hair ball in the garage yesterday.”

“Bill owns very little land, so whose property rights was he defending? Yours!”
Hm, that makes a lot of sense. “I don’t own much land, so I will beat the residents of Clark County over the head with editorials stating my opinion on what they should do with their own personal land.” If I correctly understand the jist behind Smart Growth, that's exactly what he was fighting against! And then J.E. thinks that is a reason that B.E. is a good “big brother.” Check the next quotation, I think it is hilarious!

“Everyone needs a ‘big brother’ watching and confronting the corruption.”
Obviously you do not know the connotation of the phrase “big brother” when it refers to the government. This shows the lack of, or a forgetfullness of, your 9th grade education, miss Jenniufer E. A “big brother” is a very bad thing, and a phrase that shouldn’t be used if you are trying to convince people of Billy boy’s good intentions. According to Dictionary.com: “3. the head of a totalitarian regime that keeps its citizens under close surveillance. 4. the aggregate of officials and policy makers of a powerful and pervasive state.” And again from the American Heritage Dictionary: “3a. An omnipresent, seemingly benevolent figure representing the oppressive control over individual lives exerted by an authoritarian government. 3b. A state, organization, or leader regarded in this manner.” So Bill is a “big brother?” Really? Way to argue against yourself. Actually, an “omnipresent, seemingly benevolent figure representing the oppressive control over individual lives” fits Bill E. pretty well

“For what we as Clark County citizens pay for in taxes, we are not getting much for our money.”
What? Really? OK. The abundance of county parks, city parks, the public library, and all the other amenities aren’t enough? Taxes keep getting cut, and you expect there to be more public facilities? 3-1 does not equal 4, it equals 2.

“No jobs, no change, and no hope.”
There will never be change if nobody is willing to change. There will never be hope if nobody is willing to hope. I will implement change by going to college, getting an education, and going into a career field that I enjoy. Jesus Christ gives me hope. If ther are no jobs, no change, and no hope, it is because the individuals of the county make it that way.

“Thank God for some of the ‘uneducated,’ however ambitious, people who start all the small businesses...”
Okay, let’s stop right there. Everyone who starts a small business is uneducated? That is a disgusting untruth. Uneducated? Bah! Who’s undecated here?

“Unless we get some larger businesses and people drawn to Neillsville and Clark County...”
Do you literally mean to say that fat people will make Clark County a better place?

“It’s unfortunate, because we have some great employees at the Courthouse. You’re lucky if somebody even answers the phone at Wood County and they are not as helpful as they could be. It would be nice if Clark County was doing as well, that we could afford to keep everyone employed and then some.”
How does that make sense? “You’re lucky if somebody even answers the phone...it would be nice if Clark County was doing as well.” I do not pretend to posess knowledge on the Wood County budget, but I wonder how good they really are doing if they can’t “answer the phone.” “...that we could afford to keep everyone employed and then some.” Clark County does not employee everyone and then some. Current employees are forced to shoulder more burdens and work longer hours for the same wages (in some cases.) How is this employing “everyone and then some?”

“We have to start making the county support us instead of us supporting the county.”
Why don’t you get off of your lazy bum and support yourself?

“With Mr. E.’s logging experience, perhaps he could help the county earn some money off all the trees they own.”
One of the stupidest sentences in the entire editorial. J.E. makes it sound like the trees are just sitting there, and are in essence wasted potential that someone needs to step in and utilize. That couldn't be further from the truth! Timber sales produce about $1 million annually, and there are trained professionals with college degrees and a great deal of work experience under their belts managing the county forest! “...he could help earn some money off all the trees they own,” whatever lady.

“I’ve read letters in the paper from people who come from all over to the Wildcat Mound for some of the best mountain biking trails they’ve ever ridden.”
Before you publish something in the paper for all to read, at least get your facts straight. There are no mountain biking trails at Wildcat Mound. Levis Mound, on the other hand, has miles and miles of mountainbike singletrack.

“Why not organize a race to create some revenue?”
First, races are held. Second, how much revenue do you anticipate creating? Two dollars? Usually the race organizers are doing well if they break even on an event.

In closing, I would just like to say that this is one of worst editorials I have ever read. The point of view of the author is extremely slanted, the facts are incorrect, and the reasoning is faulty. Lamecore.

Previously posted on Randomer:

A Tad Bit off the Wall

By Goo

Written 9/7/06

There is an upcoming vote on a school referendum soon. The referendum will allow the school to like take off their revenue cap and raise taxes. The whole opinion page this week in the Clark County Press was devoted to that referendum. Now, I don’t have much of an opinion on the whole matter, because I am going to be out of high school by the time it would make any difference. But, on the whole, it sounds good to me.

But the matter of interest which is currently at hand. An editorial was written by a man of initials BE (which should be BS) and it sounded much like all the previous editorials he’s written, which should have initials BS. But this BE stated that everyone should vote no for the referendum due to the fact that teachers are extremely overpaid, stating that teachers salaries range from 42K – 70K, and that the medium household income in the county is like 35K or something like that. He also stated that a couple of teachers had a household income of $133,000. Now ok, let’s just take that at face value... or not.

Now, the odd thing is that all of my teachers continuously complain that they are getting underpaid, even though they have 3 months of vacation per year, and according to BE their income really isn’t that bad. Now how does that work?
Either
a. BE is actually BS
b. Teachers are really whiney
I think that neither of those may be true, all though letter a certainly is the majority of the time. Here’s what I’m thinking:
The reason the median household income is so low is because the majority of the people in the area are sleazy bums that didn’t get a college education or aren’t using it or something, and they’re surviving on well fare and they are too lazy to get off the bums and try to get a better job. No seriously, I work at a grocery store, and I see the type of people who come through there. The majority with small children/infants are on well fare, and lots of the other people are drunks and/or smoke a lot and have low paying jobs. (Or so it appears.) Sure, there are professionals and people with a little bit of dignity, but seriously, all these sleaze balls drag down the median income because they are too lazy to do anything about it. I can tell you that I won’t live that way. Maybe it does have something to do with the economic dead zone that is Clark County, but seriously, I think it is more the citizens fault.

But in the end, those are all opinions and guesses, and where that leaves us in the original “trying to figure out what’s up with the figures” problem, your guess is a good as mine (though mine was a good guess, even if it was a tad bit off the wall.)

Mute Grab

1/13/07


Taken by Bubbs



Me -- mute grab.

Iron Cross Tail Grab

1/13/07

Taken by Bubbs.

This wasn't today, but here you see me, doing an iron cross tail grab.
(Click the thumbnail to see fullsized image)

Yesterday

Yesterday my friends Nathan, Brent, my youth pastor Alan, my Dad, and my little brother AJ and I all went skiing at Whitecap mountain, north of here about 3 hours. About half way through the day we met up with our friend Katie, who lives around there.

The skiing was fantastic! There was powder everywhere, it wasn't windy, the temperature was just about perfect so that you were still rather comfortable, and so the snow didn't get sticky whatsoever. Cliffs were dropped like crazy, and the whole day was just a load of fun!

Today there will be more skiing. And tomorrow, more skiing.

Have a great day!

Hopefully Randomer has found a permanent home

The address is officially http://randomer.blogspot.com

And Randomer has finally found a permanent home. I think this is where it will stay for a long, long time. Now, I'm going to kick it into high gear. Hang on tight, and if you decide you want to contribute, email me at halogods@hotmail.com

Good night everyone!

Testing 2, 1

Testing post by another user.

No more English

Today is my absolute last day of high school english for absolutely ever! In Advanced Composition, I am anticipating next to nothing. In Advanced Communications, we have what is going to be an insanely tough semester test, which I have been studying for all day (the test is 8th hour).

Oh yeah! No more High School English!

I just cannot wait until this semester is officially over!

No more English...
NO MORE ENGLISH!!

What a day this is! This is absolutely phenomenal! I have no idea what a semester of school would be like without an English class, and now I will actually be able to find out!

EDIT:

I'm home, and I'm done! Yes!

WCCN: an update

I just called Paul at WCCN again to see if he had any information on possibly doing an ed for employment type deal.  As of now, he was no more information.  He said that there are several other people interested in doing stuff there, from Granton (I believe), and they all haven't really come to a consensus on direction they want to go with this.  So it is still at about the same spot it was at after our thing on Monday.  I guess he's going to call when he knows something.  When that will be, I have no idea.  Hopefully it is soon!
Here are a couple of journal entries pertaining to this topic between my last blog post and this: 
 
1/24/07
... not to mention the WCCN thing...I'm supposed to hear back from Paul sometime soon, but if I haven't heard by tomorrow, I'm going to call him up during study hall.  I remember my mom saying that even if an employer tells you that they'll call you back, it is still good to call them anyways to show that you're interested. 
Well, I'm definitely interested, so I should definitely call them!
 
1/25/07
And, next hour I'm going to call up Paul Dickenson and see if there is any news on my ed for employment thing.  I've had my mental fingers crossed for the past week!  C'mon ... you know you want to!

---

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Randomer is moving... again

If you are reading this from the old address of randomer.hopto.org, you may think that Randomer is moving again. Well, you're right... it is moving to blogspot. Now, as you would be able to tell if you read all of the older posts, I really want the address randomer.blogspot.com but that is taken. I am hoping that sometime in the next week the person who registered it will unregister it so that I can use it. But for the time being, this will do.

This move is happening for a whole bunch of reasons. I will probably write something explaining all of those sometime soon.

Goo's Recommended Heavy Christian Bands

Foreword: I was asked to pick a bunch of heavy-ish Christian bands and select my favorite album by them, and possibly compare said band to a secular band. This may be slightly difficult, as my one of the things that makes me select a band to follow/listen to is originality. If a band has an average sound with mediocre lyrics... I'm just like "Eh, no good. Next please!" So most of these have a fairly individual sound. Also, I am including at least one URL so you can go take a listen.

Band: Demon Hunter.
Favorite Album: Self Titled
Sounds like: Prong. Metallica. I've heard they sound a bit like Slipknot?
Genre: Metal.
Misc.: Some of their newer stuff is a bit more melodic at times than their Self Titled release, which I listed as my favorite album of theirs. Their second release, Summer of Darkness, was also excellent. Their latest album, The Triptych, is a bit mellower in spots, but an awesome release nevertheless.
Link: http://www.purevolume.com/demonhunter


Band: War of Ages
Favorite Album: Self Titled
Sounds Like: This may be one of the bands that enjoy that is most comparative to Metallica.
Genre: Heavy Metal
Misc.: As I stated, this may be one of the bands that I enjoy that is most comparative to Metallica. War of Ages is a relatively new band, though, and I believe they just recently released their 2nd full length album, which I have not yet listened to. But it is definitely at the top of my to buy list!
Link: click here

Band: The Showdown
Favorite Album: A Chorus of Obliteration
Sounds Like: War of Ages, only faster and heavier.
Genre: Heavy Metal
Misc.: I love this band! Their second full length work will be releasing in early February.
Link: click here

Band: Project 86
Favorite Album: Drawing Black Lines
Sounds like: Project 86. Hardness level comparative to that of AC/DC. Especially Project's newer stuff.
Genre: Metal.
Misc.: A very solid, very Christian band. One of my favorite bands of all time. The album I listed as my favorite is probably their heaviest, their newer releases have been a tad bit mellower. But the word on the street the next album will knock everyone off their feet, old fans and new alike.
Link: click here

Band: Disciple
Favorite Album: Scars Remain
Sounds like: Disciple, at times, exhibits a sound comparative to classic rock. Comparable to AC/DC.
Genre: Metal
Misc.: Disciple is an amazing band! Unlike some of the bands on this list, I have listed their latest release as my favorite. It was much more aggressive than their last album, and I really enjoy it a lot! But almost every album this band has put out has been stellar. Second to Scars Remain, I would have to choose By God. After that, This Might Sting a Little. One more thing about Disciple, their lyrics have always been extremely God/Christ oriented, one of the heaviest bands in my arsenal to be so blatently Christian, which is a good thing!
Link: click here

Band: Maylene & the Sons of Disaster
Favorite Album: Self Titled
Sounds like: Classic rock, only heavier with a southern twist.
Genre: Metal, southern rock.
Misc.: A new band with only one full length CD and a very original sound. They sound very southern, if you can do that. Sounds very classic rockish at parts.
Link: click here

Band: Blindside
Favorite Album: Self Titled
Sounds like: Pretty traditional hard rock sound.
Genre: Hard rock.
Misc.: An excellent band! The album I listed was their first full length release, but four more albums later their sound is quite different; also, said album would probably sit on the top of my top albums of all time list. I highly recommend this one.
Link: click here

Band: Staple (RIP)
Favorite Album: Self Titled
Genre: Hard rock.
Misc.: I love this band, and the album listed as “Favorite Album” is on my top albums of all time list (if I had one.)
Link: click here

Band: POD
Favorite Album: Satellite
Genre: Hard rock, rap heavy, rock ‘n’ roll.
Misc.: Same story as several of the bands on this list: Old material, excellent! New stuff, bleh. I consider Satellite POD at their prime, and all the stuff before such as Brown, and The Fundamental Elements of South Town are killer also. The new albums Self Titled, and Testify went from, in my opinion, bad to worse. But that may not be yours, as they have gotten more and more popular as time has passed.
Link: click here

Band: Skillet
Favorite Album: Collide
Sounds Like: Good 'ole fashioned hard rock.
Genre: Hard rock.
Misc.: This band keeps getting more and more popular, in both the Christian and secular scenes. And their two latest albums make it obvious why!
Link: click here

Band: He is Legend
Favorite Album: I Am Hollywood
Sounds Like: He is Legend
Genre: Hard rock - heavy metal.
Misc.: He is Legend has a very original sound, and I really enjoy it! Like many of the bands on this list, their latest album was kind of poppy, but still very good!
Link: click here

Band: Showbread
Favorite Album: No, Sir, Nibilism is not Practical
Sounds Like: Showbread
Genre: Metal/Hardcore/Hard Rock
Misc.: There is no way to explain how this band sounds other than by listening to them, their sound is just that original! Again, older=better.
Link: click here

Band: Norma Jean
Favorite Album: Redeemer
Sounds like: Underoath, only heavier
Genre: Hardcore
Misc.: Norma Jean is very popular in secular culture as well as Christian, and many people probably do not realize that Norma Jean is in fact a Christian band with excellent lyrics.
Link: click here

Band: Underoath
Favorite Album: The Changing of Times
Sounds like: Norma Jean, only lighter. Almost every other hardcore band.
Genre: Hardcore
Misc.: If you are up on hard music at all, you've heard of Underoath. They are huge now, and they're Christian. I am not really a big fan, because their new material doesn't have a very original sound, a little lame in my opinion. Thousands if not more other people disagree, so check them out.
Link: click here

Band: Zao
Favorite Album: The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here
Sounds Like: Norma Jean, only heavier. Converge, only deeper.
Genre: Hardcore
Misc.: One of the heaviest bands in my musical arsenal... and one of my personal favorites. Unlike many of the bands on this list, they have remained heavier than all get out from the very beginning!
Link: click here

Band: August Burns Red
Favorite Album: Thrill Seeker
Sounds Like: Zao
Genre: Hardcore
Misc.: Great hardcore! Heavy, heavy music!
Link: click here

Band: Becoming the Archetype
Favorite Album: Terminate Damnation
Sounds Like: August Burns Red, The Showdown.
Genre: Heavy metal/hardcore.
Misc.: Great, heavy music!
Link: http://www.purevolume.com/becomingthearchetype

Band: Living Sacrifice (RIP)
Favorite Album: In Memoriam
Sounds Like: Zao.
Genre: Hardcore
Misc.: If you are looking for a very heavy band with extremely Christ oriented lyrics, this is it.
Link: click here

Band: Still Remains
Favorite Album: Of Love and Lunacy
Sounds Like: Trivium.
Genre: Heavy metal
Misc.: Good metal, while not quite hardcore. Of Love and Lunacy has a spot on my top albums of all time list.
Link: click here

Band: The Dizmas
Favorite Album: On a Search in America
Sounds Like: Many popular screamo bands today.
Genre: Hard rock/screamo.
Misc.: A pretty new, relatively unheard of band. They are currently working on their 2nd album. Their sound is something I would classify as screamo in most places, but I really like these guys!
Link: click here

Closing Remarks: This list is by no means a complete list, and just because I did not list a band on here does mean I do not like it, I just probably have not discovered them yet. There are so many great Christian bands out there, it takes a while to find all of them especially since there aren't any as big as bands such as AC/DC or Metallica. For more bands, visit website such as christianhardrock.net
Enjoy!

They think they can stop me...

... but I will still be able to blog from school using the sweet email/post feature.  Yet another reason to move to blogspot!

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The World of Yaxlich: An Open Letter

The World of Yaxlich: An Open Letter

Read this: It is pure genius!

(Not that anyone is reading this blog yet. The move will be soon...)

WCCN

Today I spent 2 hours at WCCN sitting in with Paul Dickenson on the air. He showed me around the station, and explained how equipment worked, among other things. I am contemplating going into broadcasting, and the whole experience was really cool, not to mention extremely fun! For about ten minutes at the end, I got to screw around in their recording studio. Paul Knopf gave me several news stories to read, and I just got to play around for about ten minutes recording my voice. I could have been at that for hours!

I am hoping that I get the OK to do an ed for employment type thing so that I could go up there for like a class period a day or something of that nature. They all sounded pretty positive, so keep your fingers crossed!

Today was in the making for a while, and I still haven't quite gotten to an ed for employment type situation, so the journey isn't quite done (not like it ever really will be.) Here are a couple of journal entries leading up to today:

1/10/07

For the past couple of months I have been pondering what I should do with my life: where I should go [to school], what I should major in.

Well lately, I have been thinking a great deal about the broadcasting field. I would totally love to be a DJ!

Anyhow, my current short term goal has been to set up an interview with one of the guys from WCCn & to find out some stuff. So my dad was like "I've gotta call WCCN tomorrow, and I can set up an appointment for you." Well, I get home from school today and I said something about stopping by Mom's to pick up some stuff. And he was like "well I guess she told you my news, then," and I replied "No she wasn't there. So what's the news?"

So I guess he called up WCCN & was talking to Paul Knopf, and Knopf was like "Well that's funny that you called today!" I guess on Monday they are going to have a meeting to decide if they want to start some type of a work shadow person program... which is exactly waht I wanted!

So yeah, if this all falls into place it will TOTALLY be a God thing!

We'll see how it goes down.

1/11/07

This whole WCCN thing really has me on the edge of my seat! I can't wait to see how the whole thing pans out!

All in God's good timing, I suppose.

1/16/06

So about the WCCN work shadow thing:
They're interested! Now I've got to get in contact with a Paul Dickenson? or something. That's all I know. So really, I'm not too much further along t han I was before! But I'm going to get in contact and see what's up.

1/17/07

So today during study-hall I called and got our first meet set up! Monday, for both of my study halls. 10:40-12:40. Yes! It is on! w00t w00t! Yeah son! dang I'm excited!
Monday monday, so good to me!

this is going to be good!

Like I said, I haven't reached the end of the road yet. I'll keep you posted!

Waiting Game

I am basically waiting around until I hear back from that chick about possibly taking over the randomer.blogspot.com address. Once that happens, things will become more organized. Until then, we (more like I) will languish. To fill space, here's something I wrote for Randomer and was published on the website 1/9/07:

Slacking Time

By Goo

Written: 1/9/07

Here I sit, slacking. Yes, I am slacking! I am not doing school work, or anything else that even resembles work. Although now that I am typing something Randomer related I am working again. Dash it all. (Bet you don't here that very often.)

But really, the past several days I have been just kind of running around like a chicken with a severed cranium. I have sooo much english work along with everything else, my head just spins, and I seem to get nowhere. I cannot wait for 2nd semester! NO MORE ENGLISH! I only have 11 days of highschool english remaining! 10, actually, as I know I will be absent one of those days. Which equals 20 class periods or 15 more hours of in-class time. Which is probably like 25 hours of total english with all the work that I need to do. Bother it all. I need to come up with a way to say what "dash it all" really means in a more socially acceptable way that isn't "dash it all" or "bother it all." Goo: the wordsmith.

And I will leave you with this parting thought:

A torpid electron.

And my number of days of english remaining are dwindling quickly!

Districts, 2007

Many things happened today, and perhaps I will write about them later.

But for now, here is the video from Districts '07 that I edited for church tomorrow:

PS read this interesting article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16608254/site/newsweek/

It is way too late.

It is almost 2:00 am, and I am not used to staying up this late.  I am tired, the skiing was good.  Good night!

---

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A bit about the address randomer.blogspot.com

I ended up getting in contact with the person who registered it, and she said that she cannot unsubscribe anytime in the next couple of days, but that she will soon. Cross your fingers!

Brace Free

As of today, I am 100% brace free! Now, I am not nearly orthodontist-free yet. I never truly will be, either. They expect me to wear my upper retain my whole life, but in 5 years I may not even know where it is anymore. My bottom retainer, however, will be with me forever because it is permanent. I don't really like the idea of having a mini-cable glued to the backs of my bottom teeth until the day I die, but I guess that's the way it is.

So about that retainer:

My first appointment this morning lasted until about 10:40. After that, I had to wait around marshfield for over 4 hours until 3 o'clock when these orthodontical peeps were supposed to fit me with a retainer. I ate, did a quick bit of shopping, and then sat in a Starbucks for 3 hours doing homework and reading a book. I arrive at the orthodontist's, sit around waiting for them some more, and I finally get to get my retainer. The person place3s it in my mouth and tells me to bite down. When I comply, it completely shifts out of alignment. "Oh crap," I think, "I hope she can fix this." Well, she couldn't. It turns out that the reatiner was "distorted."

Right now I am waiting for another one and a half to two hours whilst they make me a brand new retainer to replace my 15-minute-old one.

I'm supposed to be doing important things right now, but instead I just had to try doing more homework. That, and this bit of writing. Well now I have something to post on Randomer! The last half of December and all of January so far has been pretty bleak on the postage front. Well, here's a little bit of something!

Wait, it is finally quarter to five! That's when she said that she would be done making my double new retainer. I am betting 20 more minutes, give or take 5.

Randomer

Randomer is a website that I have been writing for over a year and a half. I am contemplating turning it into a traditional blog. Ideally, I would love for it to be accessible at http://randomer.blogspot.com, but someone already has it... but the kicker is said person really doesn't seem to be using it. AH well, that's life, I suppose.

video games

Video Games

12/25/06

A few days ago I decided to start playing this game by the name of Jade Empire, which I have had on my xbox for quite some time. It was made by the same developer that created KOTOR, (Knights of the Old Republic) so I was pretty sure that it was going to be an enjoyable game. But I was wrong: it is fantastic! After not seriously playing video games for many, many months, gaming like crazy has come like a breath of fresh air! On Saturday I also purchased 2 games that I have been meaning to get for a while, so I think I may be playing video games again! That is what I spent almost all of today doing.

more 360s

More 360s

12/15/06

So tonight was Bruce Mound's opening day! (Even though it was an evening.) It was truly amazing! I loved it! MM, I love skiing!

Among other things I nailed about 15 or so excellent 360s. It was awesome! I seemed to have them almost totally dialed. It was just a blast to be able to step up and spin, even if it was on a little kicker! Ah yeah, the opening day was, I think, a success! I loved it.

But now it is very late and I am very tired. I just felt as if I had to write something about my 360ness. Goodnight.

Mud, Blood, Time :: Old Randomer :: Fiction

Mud, Blood, and Time

By Goo.

A rustling in the underbrush caused Alfred Regani’s hands to freeze in midair. He had been fidgeting in his tree stand more than usual today. Fred had not seen a single deer all season, and it was already Friday. The rustling noise kept coming closer and closer. Fred felt his heart speed up as adrenaline began to course through his veins. “Come on, just a little closer... just don’t be a fawn. Be a big ‘ole buck, c’mon... big rack; or at least big-bodied doe. Heck, I just want something to shoot at!” he muttered under his breath as the noise approached an opening in the forest. The lighting in the forest was very dim due to the sky being crowded with large, gray clouds; but Fred was still able to spot the monstrous buck as it emerged from the undergrowth. “Now that thing has horns!” Fred thought as he quietly shouldered his gun and laid the crosshairs right on the kill zone.

“Baboomm!” The report of the rifle desecrated the silence of the forest. The buck turned and dashed off towards the swamp. Alfred kept his scope trained on the fleeing animal, and noted that its tail was down and that it was not running well. He had definitely hit it. Fred got out of his tree stand and walked over to where the deer had been standing and anxiously began looking for blood. Sure enough, among the crisp, brown leaves carpeting the ground there was a small pool of blood right where it had stood when Fred pulled the trigger. A little further along there was a drop of blood. And then he found another, and another. He set off, following the blood trail that led straight to the gloomy swamp.

After tracking the trophy deer all the way across the swamp, he finally found it. After examining the enormous rack, Fred got down to business and began to gut it out. As he rolled the steaming entrails out of the dead body, he remembered why he never really enjoyed hunting. The rush of adrenaline right before he took the shot was incredible, but after the fact it was not so fun. Fred tied the drag rope around its bloody neck, but before he began his lengthy trek home he stopped and surveyed the terrain he would be traversing. The majority of the bog was covered in a shoulder-high grass which was brittle to the touch and brown in color. A small, scrawny tree clung to every mound of earth large enough to rise above the level of the water. As for the murky water itself, it was not yet cold enough to have frozen over; yet it was cold enough to chill to the bone. Tracking the deer across the swamp had not been much of a problem as Fred had been able to stick to high ground. But on the way back, he knew that the only route wide enough to drag a deer through would be straight through all the water.

His first step landed him in a mud hole that took him three minutes to crawl out of. The next step was hauntingly familiar. Fred agonizingly crawled across the swamp, swatting brush out of his way and trudging through knee deep water. Every several yards, he had to stop to recover from the sheer exhaustion that gripped him before he could even think of moving on.

“Why am I doing this?” he wondered. “How pointless is this? What does a deer really matter in the grand scheme of things, even if it is a twenty point buck? Really, what does it even mean for the here and now for that matter? Not a whole lot! What could I be doing instead of this? I could be at home, clean and warm, reading a book and enjoying the days off of school instead of staggering through a swamp, covered in mud, and freezing my butt off!” Unlike his slow rate of travel induced by the dead weight of the deer, Fred’s mind was racing. “Really, I don’t even enjoy deer hunting. Sure, shooting guns is fun, and killing a deer is even more fun. But everything else, everything else is just horrible. I really just wish I was skiing right now. MM, ah, for the love of snow! What is it that really matters to me? Well let’s see: God is first and foremost, He’s most important. And then comes skiing! Oh yeah, I wisssshhhh I was skiing! Either that or mountainboarding or mountainbiking. Something interesting. Something that isn’t as horrible as dragging a deer through this puke-hole of a swamp!”

He tripped over a small hillock and landed face-first in the trough of water that he was following. The intense physical exertion and the smell of the rotting vegetation in the bog were almost too much for him to handle. He fought to keep his breakfast down while slowly clambering to his feet. After mulling it over, Fred made his decision. “Well, I’ve made up my mind. I’m done hunting. I’m moving to Colorado, and every year when hunting season comes around, I’m just going to go skiing! The payouts from hunting are just not worth the effort. I am finished!” Having resolved his dilemma, Fred turned his mind to his physical battle. On he fought, determined to make it home with his kill, even though it really was not worth it to him. Finally, after an hour of waging war with the watery wasteland, he stumbled onto dry land. He was home free.

Post a comment here.

The Advent of Winter

By Goo

Written 11/27/06

I have a hard time summing up in words what the advent of the ski season really means to me. Right now it feels as if I'm just killing time: everything I do is just a way to distract myself as the days slip away and December swings into view.

So when it finally hit me that this Friday is the 1st of December, my brain just seemed to reel because... I'm not ready! I've got to get something in the way of ski pants lined up, and I need to get my skis tuned.

For a while those things loomed in my subconscious like big nasty monsters which wouldn't let me ski until I had dealt with them, but as I analyzed these problems they no longer seem quite so threatening.

Problem #1:
No ski pants.
Simple solution:
My mom has drawers bursting with wind-pants. All I really need to do is go up to her and say "Hey Mom, do you have something I could use for ski pants?" As long as I'm skiing I don't really give a crap what I look like.

Problem #2:
Skis not tuned.
Simple solution:
Do nothing. In seasons past I have done early-season skiing without getting my skis tuned since the previous season. They'll get attended to in the near future; there's no reason to fret.

Now all we need is some cold weather so they can make some snow! Some snow... my kingdom for some snow!

Post a comment here.

what should i do with my life?

I am so un-creative. Not creative. Not creative at all. See, Randomer just lies there dormant, (mainly because the website is down) and It is just ready and waiting to display something intensely interesting. But since I am so unutterably lame and have spent the last three days hunting, watching Battlestar Galactica, and reading Dragonsblood, I have absolutely nothing to post there (even if I could.) This fantastically un-creative un-intensely un-interesting blog post will most likely get posted once the server gets back online (when my fam. gets home and powercycles the modem.) But on that note I have overcome the obstacle of not being able to post updates from places other than the computer that Randomer is hosted on with a neat little FTP server. So if anyone needs to uplaod something to a random FTP site for some reason, I've got one.

Time to start a new paragraph. Well what do you want me to say? It just needed to be done. I couldn't continue to ramble aimlessly in the same paragraph, I just had to start a new one so that this rediculousness appears more organized.

(SEE! This (see above) is proof I am not and never could be a writer.)

Which brings up the problem of what I should do with my life. So I ask you: what should I do with my life? Yeah, I don't know either. I know I have to figure it out for myself, buy I was just wondering if you had any input.

Thanks much.

brown is down

Brown is Down.

Well I finally got my deer: it was a pretty nice sized doe. The preasure is off for the rest of the week. I bagged my deer, now I can relax a bit more. Of course, my dad and I still have 4 tags to fill so we have plenty of shooting left to do. But now the pressure's off.

What else? There isn't much more.

arrowhead

A lot has happened since I have taken the time to sit down and write anything. I have finally legally become an adult. I spent a weekend at Arrowhead Bible Camp washing dishes. I watched the whole first season of Alias in under a week. It is currently gun deer season. A lot is going down.

I have been feeling entirely way too overwhelmed to do anything much creatively Randomer related. The website has moved (incase you didn't notice), and some other behind-the-scenes stuff has taken place that may help in the long run.

I have been having the inklings of a good many deep thoughts recently, but I have been so busy and worn out and sick that I haven't had much time to pay attention to them. I promise that sometime in the near future some interesting sort of writing will appear on Randomer. But until that time, check out the archives, or read a good book. I actually just started a book (the first one that I've started on my own since the onset of the school year.) It is pretty good thus far.

Cheerio.

Grand Prix GT (Old)

Grand Prix GT

Taken By AJ

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F.A.Q. in Disguise

By Goo

Q: What is Randomer?

A: Randomer is a website where I publish my writings, videos, and photographs as well as those of others who wish to contribute. It is basically an outlet for all of my creative energies.

Q: Why the name "Randomer?"

A: All the websites that I have worked on prior to this one have always had a specific topic, and I always wanted to add other nonrelated stuff. Now this website, this website is so random that it's Randomer. It's perfect!

Q: What is Randomer about?

A: Have you not been paying attention? randomer is about absolutely anything and everything! That's what makes it so great!

Q: Why is it designed with frames?

A: Please see one of my first articles ever: "Why Frames?"

Q: What can I do to get involved with Randomer?

A: There are a whole load of ways that you can get involved:
1. Be sure to get on the monthly email update list by emailing me athalogods@hotmail.com
2. You can post whatever you want on the message board: comments on articles; your own writings; links to your videos, pictures, blog, myspace, or website; or post absolutely anything else you want.
3. You can also email me one of your writings or pictures or videos for publication as an official Randomer article. I haven't turned anyone down yet!
4. Visit the Link to Us page and spread some of the banners around.
5. Just read some articles, and enjoy!

Q: Why is the title of this article: "F.A.Q. in Disguise?"

A: Because these aren't actually frequently asked questions. I don't usually get asked questions, so I'm making up questions that I might possibly get asked, and then answering them. Actually, I'm constantly doing things like this in my head. For instance, I'll imagine a situation that I might find myself in, and I'll work it all out in my head: what I'll say, what I'll do, how the other parties will react, and so on and so forth. In reality, those circumstance don't often end up playing out half as well as I imagined they would. But every now and then, something turns out better than expected. That's always a pleasent surprise.

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Before and After ::Old Randomer::

Before and After

Taken By AJ

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Caution: Hill (Old)

Caution: Hill

Taken by AJ?

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