21.10.05

UBCD

I downloaded a CD image from and am hoping to recover the computer with it. I am really eager to get back to the new computer, as you can imagine. Not making a revocery CD for my box was really dumb, but I've gotten away with it in the past and now I have good judgement from experience which came from bad judgement. Hope I don't screw this up . . .

20.10.05

Main Box Down Hard

My XP box is down hard. The message I read on the BSOD is unmountable_boot_volume. I need to fix my MBR, I think, but I cannot get there with the tools I have. My box doesn't have a recovery disk, and I don't want to format my hard drive to get it up. I do have a xp install CD from another box, but that CD only wants to format and install XP, alas, no recovery screen. What I think I need to look for is to make a bootable CD that has a MBR utility on it, but as I experiment more and more with this I am getting stymied. I'd appreciate anyone's help on this matter, as I have become this desperate.

18.10.05

Demons VS Ion Farmer

It has been a technologically crippling week for me, my friends! There was a brown out Saturday that shut down my hard drive and appearently unmounted it. My tower is in a constant state of re-booting, I can't get a command prompt and the recovery disk wants to format my hard drive. So I hooked up the old computer that now refuses to connect to the internet. Oh yeah, I lost a SD card that contains my contact manager program, (The contacts remain intact, as far as I know). So there you have it. You should never blog about demons, they will attack your electronic informations y'all. It's worse than electronic chain-mail!!

14.10.05

How to Use Demonic Chatter to Improve Your Life

HAVE demons been talking to you lately? Don't panic! You can learn loads of valuable information from the chatty minions of Satan -- including tidbits about future business trends you can use to get rich in this Informative article from the Weekly World News. The article includes this helpful warning:

"About 95 percent of what demons say should be ignored -- for example, if they tell you to drown your children."

Here's the breakdown:

1 STRING THE DEMON ALONG -- If the evil entity asks you to sell your soul to Satan, feign interest to keep it talking as long as possible.

2 FOLLOW UP ON CLUES -- If the demon promises that surrendering to Lucifer will make you the richest person in the world in 10 years, nonchalantly ask who the second richest will be then.

"Later do an Internet search for the name," suggests Wiltex. "If you find it's a young entrepreneur, invest in his fledgling business."

3 PRAISE FOLKS YOU WANT TO SNOOP ON -- If you tell the demon your boss is an "upstanding Christian" who says the Devil is full of lies, the demon might shoot back, "He's boinking Judy in accounting" -- a useful fact to have in your pocket next time you ask for a raise. "If you praise your daughter's morals, the demon may inform you that she smokes pot," says the expert.

4 ALWAYS CORROBORATE -- "If the demon says your wife is cheating on you, don't take it as gospel," says Wiltex. "Before you go for your shotgun, hire a private detective to make sure."

I have do doubt that a self-help audio series on this subject matter would sell better than the idea that America actually is under a constant terrorist threat! I'm not afraid, because I have my Duct Tape and Plastic Sheeting to protect me.

If the Emergency Broadcast System ever alerts anyone to anything, I'll be ready. Neither demons nor terrorism is a match for the 4 B's: Beans, Bibles, Bullets and Bandages. Oh yeah, Plastic Sheeting and Duct Tape, too.

13.10.05

Five Killer Concerts (1985-1987)

1. Dio w/ Rough Cutt - Sacred Heart Tour, October 25, 1985, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio, 11,000 people. Flashing whips, electric swords, animatronic dragons and knights, lasers and fog, and a extended Vivian Campbell solo. This inspires awe on the level of the Holy Grail melded with a nuclear fuel rod to the brain of a 15 year old 80's metal head.





2. VoiVod/Kreator - Tornado '87, May 11, 1987, Peabody's Down Under, Cleveland, Ohio. Voivod Opened with "Killing Technoloy" and went on to perform every song from that LP. A VoiVod concert is how I picture the end of the world will be.



3. Motorhead w/ Slayer & Overkill - September 11, 1987, Agora Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio. Motorhead played so loud in the aging Agora Theatre, that pieces of the ceiling literally began to fall down on to the audience.



4. Rush w/ Tommy Shaw - Hold Your Fire, December 17, 1987, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio.



5. Anthrax w/Metal Church - June 11, 1987, Phantasy Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio. This is the first time Randy and I were ever in the same building. Screw what VH1 tells you about Aerosmith inventing Metal-Rap, Anthrax was there first. And they were there with Flava Flav.


12.10.05

Five dives I should walk home from

1. The Colley Cantina or PJ's 19th Hole - Ghent, VA
2. The Lonesome Dove - Tioga, WV
3. The Euclid Tavern - Cleveland, OH
4. The Irish Pub - Goettingen, Germany
5. Smokes - Warner Robins, GA

11.10.05

Ion Farmer VS Barrister MARK MORRISSON

So, I actually got to chat with a spammer. Apparently I outraged him enough by my complaint letter that he actually tried to confront me with it. Luckily for me I was in a Texas frame of mind.

Session Start (FreedomAlley:r_y016): Thu Sep 29 11:57:03 2005
[11:57] r_y016:i want to chat with you.
[11:57] FreedomAlley: yes?
[11:57] r_y016: how are you today?
[11:57] FreedomAlley: regular
[11:58] r_y016: HOW IS LIFE OVER THERE
[11:58] FreedomAlley: Just chillin', kickin' the fly pill with my homies, you know!
[11:59] r_y016: OK THAT IS FINE
[11:59] r_y016: SO WHER ARE YOU NOW
[11:59] FreedomAlley: Just cruising the information superhighway, collecting my email address on the way!
[12:00] r_y016: I MEAN YOU FROM WHER?
[12:00] FreedomAlley: Aw shit, pardner, lots of places. You ever hear of "Big Texas Monsters of Rodeo?"
[12:02] r_y016: THEN CAN YOU JUST TELL ME YOUR AGE?
[12:02] FreedomAlley: Yeah pardner, we gots a league in Pantalones Del Fuego, Texas, for "Big Texas Monsters of Rodeo" here.
[12:02] r_y016: WHY YOU SEND TO ME THIS MESSAGE?
[12:03] FreedomAlley: We gots a Big Texas league here, we compete!
[12:03] r_y016: have been an Tome, Logo customer since 23th September 2005, when I responded to your e-mail (electronic message) requesting financial mediation. During this five-day period I have encountered inadequacy of service which I had not previously considered possible, as well as ignorance and stupidity of monolithic proportions. Please allow me to provide specific details, so that you can either pursue your professional prerogative, and seek to rectify these difficulties - or more likely (I suspect) so that you can have some entertaining reading material as you while away the working day smoking cheap cigarettes and drinking vendor-coffee on the toilet in your office:
[12:03] r_y016: My initial correspondance was terminated without warning, resulting in placing a call to your personal number, and my spending an entire Saturday sitting on my fat arse waiting for your email (electronic message) to arrive. When it did not arrive, I spent a further 57 minutes listening to your infuriating hold music, and the even more annoying Scottish robot woman telling me to look at your helpful website....HOW? I alleviated the boredom by playing with my testicles for a few minutes - an activity at which you are no-doubt both familiar and highly adept. The another email (electronic message) From Barrister Kafi, from Tome, Logo then came some two days later, although the sender did forget a number of vital details - such as a connection to the original letter, a different place of ori
[12:04] r_y016: have made 9 additional calls on my mobile to your no-help line, to contact you personally. And have been unhelpfully transferred to a variety of disinterested individuals, who are it seems also highly skilled testicle jugglers. I have been informed the Barrister is available (and someone will call me back); that no Barrister is available (and someone will call me back); that I will be transferred to someone who knows whether or not a Barrister is available (and then been cut off); that I will be transferred to someone (and then been redirected to an answer machine informing me that your office is closed); that I will be transferred to someone and then been redirected to the irritating Scottish robot woman...and several other variations on this theme. Doubtless you are no longer read
[12:04] FreedomAlley: Opps, It must be My Computer.
[12:04] r_y016: Credit card scammers - wankers though they are - shine like brilliant beacons of success, in the filthy puss-filled mire of your seemingly limitless inadequacy. Suffice to say that I have now given up on my futile and foolhardy quest to receive any kind of service from you. I suggest that you cease any potential future attempts to contact me for the services which you have so pointedly and catastrophically failed to deliver - any such activity will be greeted initially with hilarity and disbelief quickly be replaced by derision, and even perhaps bemused rage. I have also mailed you copies of this letter to the addreses you have provided. I enclosed two small deposits, selected with great care from my cats litter tray, as an _expression of my utter and complete contempt for both you and
[12:05] r_y016: THANKS FOR THAT OK BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE
[12:06] r_y016: OK
[12:06] r_y016: TILL YOU MEET YOUR FATHER
[12:07] FreedomAlley: Wait a minute? What are you trying to say?
[12:07] FreedomAlley: Do you know BARRISTER KAFI AKUOMA?
[12:08] r_y016: SAYING YOU WILL MEET YOU MROTHER
[12:08] r_y016: YRS
[12:08] r_y016: WHAT HAPPON
[12:08] r_y016: WAITING
[12:08] FreedomAlley: What?
[12:09] r_y016: I SAID YES I KNOW HIM
[12:09] r_y016: BYEEEEE
[12:09] FreedomAlley: I have been getting lots of correspondaence from Tome, Logo. Do you know Barrister Ottis Charles?
[12:10] FreedomAlley: I have been trying to contact him, but his phone line sends me to some crazy Scottish robot woman!!!
[12:11] FreedomAlley: He works on the same street as Barrister KAFI AKUOMA
[12:11] FreedomAlley: And if I can get them together It would make it much easier for me to get account information.
[12:12] FreedomAlley: We gots a Big Texas league here, we compete!
[12:12] FreedomAlley: Yeah pardner! Me and my friend Spermy Joe got first and second place in the "Twist n' Tuck" competition last month! It was on ESPN 3! Did you see it?
[12:14] FreedomAlley: It's a dag-burned blast pardner! We herd a bunch of cattle into a ring, which has broken glass and nails all over it! Then we got to jump on all the cows backs and try to rope them!
[12:14] FreedomAlley: Then people in the audience throw liquor bottles at our heads! Then the lights go out and we gotta rope the cows in the dark!
[12:17] FreedomAlley: Hey! HEY!? WHUZZUP my level headed friend?
[12:27] FreedomAlley: HEY LOOK AT ME!!!!
Session Close (r_y016): Thu Sep 29 12:31:08 2005


Session Start (FreedomAlley:r_y016): Sun Oct 09 12:31:53 2005
[12:32] FreedomAlley: Hey, Why Cant we Be Freinds?
Session Close (r_y016): Sun Oct 09 13:00:07 2005


Session Start (FreedomAlley:r_y016): Tue Oct 11 05:43:14 2005
[05:43] r_y016: yes we can be a friend only if you want ok
[05:43] *** Auto-response sent to r_y016: I am currently away from the computer.
[05:44] r_y016: ok till when you come back ok
[06:37] *** "r_y016" signed off at Tue Oct 11 06:37:54 2005.
Session Close (r_y016): Tue Oct 11 11:06:26 2005

And just like a sign from God that all was right in the world, the next day, an email appeared in my inbox.

Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 12:59:56 +0100 (BST)
From: "mark morrisson"
Subject: YOUR URGENT ATTENTION IS NEEDED/Danito McLachenstein

Attn Danito McLachenstein


LEGAL ATTORNEY & SOLICITOR

I am Barrister MARK MORRISSON, a solicitor at law, personal attorney to Mr.P.B McLachenstein a national of your country, who used to work as a contractor and importer in Lome Togo.[West Africa] here in after shall be referred to as my client. On the 26th December 2003, my client, his wife and their only daugther were involved in a plane crash in a village called Adjarra near Porto Novou after take off from Cotonou in Benin Republic where they went for a Concert .

It was unfortunate that my client and his family all lost their lives in that crash.For more on the plane crash log on to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3348109.stm (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/index.html)

Since then I have made several enquiries here to locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts,I decided to search through with his last name which motivated me to contact you, to locate any member of his family hence I contacted you.

I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind by my late client before they get confiscated, frozen or declared unserviceable by the bank where these huge deposits were lodged. Particularly where the deceased had an account valued at about $12.Million United States Dollars Only (Twelve Million ,United States Dollars Only) . The Management has issued me a notice to provide the next Of kin or have the account frozen within the next twenty Two Official working days.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 2 years now i seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you have the same last name so that the proceeds of this account valued at USD12M can be paid to you and then you and me can share the money. I have all the necessary legal informations / Documents that can be used to back up any claim we may make. And this I must do to make sure that this fund is not Wasted or end up in the wrong hands.

All I require is your honesty , co-operation to enable us see this transaction through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. I am waiting your urgent reply. Please you can reach me through my private email address as indicated. Thanks for understanding , waiting to hear from you urgently for more updates.

Yours Truly
Barrister MARK MORRISSION.(ESQ),

LEGAL ATTORNEY & SOLICITOR
ROYAL CHAMBERS 14,
RUE DE JANVIE BP 10556
LOME TOGO WEST AFRICA



There's a toad squirmin im my brain that says "Let's run on a green light, Daddy-O!"


Barrister MARK MORRISON (ESQ):

I have to be frank with you: MR PB McLachenstein and his family were not only my namesakes, they were also my neighbors. Unfortunately, we were not the best of neighbors. Isn't it funny that with millions of square miles of the earth to roam, that some how, the people I hate always seem to move in next door to me? It's like I'm flypaper for jackasses or something. Anyway to prove that I actually knew PB McLachenstein, let me give you a little break down so you can judge for yourself, Barrister.

My neighbors moved into the house next to ours in October 1997. It’s a brand new neighborhood with new houses. Everyone’s house looks beautiful but that’s about to change. The new neighbors seem like normal people until shortly after they move in (more later).

First, let me say that my redneck neighbor is not destitute or under-privileged. The guy owns a business, drives VERY nice new cars, he just doesn’t care about his house. Since you guys were best friends with benefits, we’ll call him PB for short.

October 1997 - They are here!

Well, it should have been a sign of things to come but my neighbors move into their brand new house. Inventory: 1 Artificial Christmas tree, clothes, stereo system, TV, no furniture). The Christmas tree is nicely decorated (remember, it's October). We can tell what the tree looks like because the windows have no miniblinds so at night, you can see right into the house as you drive up. They have also decided to wrap some strands of Christmas lights around their front porch railing. I guess there's no electric outlet nearby because they never turn these lights on.

October 1997 - 1st Home beautification project

It's dark outside, I'm standing in front of my house and my neighbor does the following: He gets in his car, drives it up to the house on the other side of my house (this house is still being built). He backs his car up to the construction site and opens the trunk. He calmly proceeds to load up the trunk with bricks and 2x4s. Pretty clever, huh?

The following night, at around 9:00pm he decides it's time to build a mailbox post. It's very nice. He used the stolen 2x4s from the previous night. It looks like it's made out of 2x4s except he didn't steal any that were long enough so he nails a couple of them together to get the correct height - I mean, it has to look just right! The mailbox post is not very sturdy so he braces it with an additional 2x4 (at an angle). Click here to see the mailbox (no bracing 2x4 though).

He uses the bricks as edging for his flower beds. They look nice. Especially with the newly planted bamboo trees and the ten gallon fish tank (no fish, just water).

November 1997 - The fence
!
I wake up to my wife telling me, "Hey, it looks like PB is working on a fence". Well I don't think much of it until she tells me that he's trying to build a fence around the entire house (front and back) and that the fence is going to be chain-link. We have some "covenant rules" that prohibit you from putting up a silver chain-link fence. Also, you cannot have any fence go past the back of your house. By now, I am freaking out. I can see the property value falling faster than his mailbox post.

Anyway, I get to work and at 9:01AM I call our builder. I explain the situation to him and he agrees to pay PB a visit before the concrete around the metal posts dries. Sure enough, I get home after work and the posts around the front of the house are laying on the street. Not exactly what I expected but at least they're out of the ground. Tragedy is averted for now.

A few days later I realize he's not putting up chain-link but "chicken wire". Call # 2 to the builder. While talking on the phone, the builder starts referring to the neighbor in a less-than-amicable fashion – someone else on my side!

By that afternoon, the fence is chain-link again. The top of the fence looks like a wave (he didn't want to spend the 6 bucks on a level), and the sides look like an S. Very crafty guy. Total estimated fence cost: $250.00 - but wait! -- He didn't set all the metal posts in concrete! Actual cost: $62.50. You get the idea here.

Sometime after the fence
Well, it's time to give Cujo the Rottweiler a home. The dog's actual name is Lucky. The dog quickly learns how to jump the fence. Once tied to a chain, he also learns that if he barks for a long time, people will come out to see him. Unfortunately, for about the first two weeks, he wants to be "seen" late at night. Apparently, PB doesn't play the "let's-see-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-dog" game. I'm the only game participant. After throwing a few rocks Cujo's way, he decides he'd rather sleep at night.

Something else needs to be mentioned. Since PB’s business is booming, he decides he doesn't have time to feed "Not-so-Lucky". Instead, he breaks open a 50 lb. bag of dog food in the middle of his storage closet and Cujo goes in there whenever he's hungry. Unfortunately for Cujo, the ants like dog food too.

Sometime after the dog
All work and no play is cramping PB’s lifestyle! It's time to get in shape. We wake up early on a Saturday morning to the sounds of a bouncing basketball. He's put a basketball goal about 15 feet from our bedroom window.

Mom moves in!
Nothing wrong here. Mom seems like a very nice lady. Unfortunately, my wife wakes me up to bad news again. "Something weird is happening at PB’s house. His dog is chasing some chickens around the back yard." Unfortunate indeed. Just as I peek out the bathroom window, I see PB’s mom come out and throw some chicken feed in the middle of the yard. About nine chickens gather around, frantically pecking at the food but Cujo crashes in and spoils the moment. My morning is spoiled as well.

Remember the old "covenant rules" of our neighborhood? Well, there's a sentence in there about livestock (fancy word for chickens and goats). We don’t live in the country – we live in the city. After a quick phone call to our city's "Special enforcement" folks, they promise to come out and give PB a warning. The chickens are gone within a couple days. Can you say chicken feast?

Shortly after this, PB decides that maybe the city folks don't like chickens. Marcy thinks she hears Canadian geese behind our house. It's geese alright. PB has enclosed the wooden deck behind his house with some more chain-link fence and is now raising geese right on the deck! The geese disappear weeks after without the intervention of the fine folks at Special Enforcement. Maybe they flew away.

Mom decides she can't be without her feathery friends and moves back home shortly after.

Party number one
It's Tuesday morning, about 2:00am. My wife and I wake up to what feels like a small tremor. It's PB’s stereo, AKA the Bass Machine. All we hear is this bass rumble (it's making our bedroom windows rattle), and what sounds like a very poor male singer. Every song has the same monotone male singer. Well, amusement quickly turns to annoyance and anger. I decide to go ask them to turn it down.

I knock on the door. Get ready for this image. The door opens, PB is holding a beer. There's a working disco ball hanging on their ceiling fan. There's a guy in the background standing in front of a big screen TV (holding a microphone). The words to George Michael's "Careless Whisper" slowly scroll to the music. You guessed it! It's a Karaoke Party!!! It takes all my strength to not laugh and remain "angry". I ask them to turn it down. The music stops for tonight.

2nd home beautification project
PB decides to put up rain gutters in front of his carport. Unfortunately he doesn't buy a piece long enough for the width of the carport. Instead, he buys two pieces. They're about ten feet long. He wedges the two pieces together by hand and proceeds to nail the now larger piece directly onto the carport. Once again, things don't go as planned for PB and he realizes the middle of the rain gutter is sagging -- right where the two pieces join. Having no time to consult his engineer friends, he comes up with the answer -- he ties a piece of a wire coat hanger around the middle of the rain gutter. For the finishing touch, he ties the coat hanger around a nail he's nailed onto the carport roof shingles. The nail is not nailed all the way into the shingles. About an inch of the nail remains above the shingles with the coat hanger wire neatly wrapped around it. Bob Vila would love this guy.

The Rock

This has to do with another home improvement project. There's no way to describe this project. It is quite simple. He wants to put a rock in his flower bed. The weird part is how the rock is placed there. When I describe this to my friends at work, I call it the "one legged table". I know it's hard to picture it. To see it, click here.

Party number two

This party follows the pattern of the first party except I didn't feel the urge to laugh. The scenario is the same. It's a weeknight, it's about 1:00AM and the party is going strong. I decide to again go speak to PB about the problem. I knock on the door and soon realize that the music is so loud that they can't hear the doorbell or my knocking. It's very cold outside and I'm VERY angry by now. The only thing I can do is to wait for the song to end so I can pound on the door hard enough for them to hear me. As predicted, the song ends, I bang on the door and in a few seconds, PB is standing there, holding a beer, smiling at me. I explain my concerns to PB and he apologizes several hundred times. I shake my head and return home.

Same night, but it's now 3:00am. The music is back and with authority. It wakes us up again and this time I'm ready to kill somebody. Instead, I call the police. The funny thing is that when the police officer arrives, PB can't hear the officer knocking on the door. By now, my wife and I are glued to the window hoping to see some police brutality (yeah it's bad). The officer proceeds to walk around the house shining his flashlight into the windows hoping to get a glimpse of what's happening inside.

As the officer is walking back towards the front of the house, PB opens the door and sees the police car. He panics and slams the door shut. The officer sees the light shining on the front lawn and runs to the front door. The officer starts pounding on the door, and shouting. After about thirty seconds, the door opens and the cop goes inside the house. We can hear the officer screaming for them to turn the music off.

Sweet!

I meet the officer by his car and he tells me to call him back if I hear anything so he can take everyone to jail. It was beautiful.

The Structure

In case you have not noticed by now, PB’s favorite hobby is to build things poorly. His next project is yet unnamed. All my friends call it the chicken coop. There are several theories as to what this building really is. The theories include: chicken coop, two-story deck, two-story chicken coop, work shop, shed, etc. It would be easier for you to see it than for me to describe it. Once thing is certain, it is HUGE. Unfortunately for PB, I called the city and he has been asked by the fine folks at "code enforcement" to stop building whatever that is. He needs to get a building permit. Luckily for the neighborhood, that thing will not meet building code regardless of what it is.

The lawn mower

After living here about 8 months, PB decides to buy a lawn mower. Unfortunately for my wife and I, PB is too excited about his new purchase. He's so excited that he decides he needs to cut the lawn. The only problem is that once again, the entire neighborhood is asleep. It's midnight! This is the only time I curse at my neighbor but I do not know what else to do. He explains he is "testing" the lawn mower. I don't think he understands my point. He seems to think I'm upset that he is cutting his lawn. The fact that he is making entirely too much noise never crosses his mind.

Miscellaneous Pictures

This is a picture of part of PB’s back yard. This is the part that connects our property. Check out the workmanship of his chain-link fence!

No words can say enough here. PB also likes to work on his car. Since this picture was taken, he poured the contents of the oil pan into a hole in his yard.

Labor Day Party
Fortunately for us, we were not home on Labor Day weekend. However, two of my other neighbors tell me that PB and friends had a knock-out-drag-out fist fight in the middle of the street. The time, of course, about 2:00AM. I can't tell you much about it except that the police showed up and got things under control. I presume somebody was on the Karaoke machine singing "Everybody was Kung Fu fighting" and things got out of hand after that.

Late night project

Just when you think PB will take a breather, things get going again. This time, it's about 11:00pm and he decides his carport is not complete. It's missing something – something other than a car. PB is putting together a pool table. It's positioned directly in the center of his carport - where else do you put a pool table, right? I have to point out that this happened long before the Drew Carry show so he didn’t get the idea from there. BTW – you can check out the rain gutters on that last picture.

Back to the story. Of course, he is hammering, dropping things, and just making a whole lot of noise. I decide to just open the window and "ask" PB to keep it down. Apparently, "keeping it down" is a relative term. The project continues.

To make a long story short, it's now 1:00am and the banging and hammering is still going on. I decide to call the police. Before the cops get here, one of PB’s friends decides it's not too late in the evening to race his car's engine and burn some rubber all the way up the street. It's just wholesome fun!

The policeman arrives and I explain the situation. I also tell him this time we ARE definitely going to court over this. He goes over to PB’s house and after about 15 minutes, motions me to come over. It becomes evident that the cop has mentioned somebody is going to jail because the entire household is out of the house frantically apologizing, and trying to shake my hand.

The cop explains that it is up to me to decide whether or not they get to spend a night downtown. I'm guessing that the PB crew is picturing some third-world-country type jail because they are quite frantic.

I tell them that "this time" I won't let the police take them to jail. However, the "next time" we have a problem, "some damn body" is going to jail. The police officer agrees and gives me his business card. He asks me to specifically request his presence the next time I need the police out here. He tells them he doesn't want to be back. They are still nodding, waving, and shaking hands.

Back Yard Accident?

Well, after many months of inactivity, PB surpasses his previous antics. I come home from work to the sight of a smoking back yard. It turns out that it was winter time and the grass was dried-up(dormant) – PB threw a lit cigarette out his back door and you can imagine the rest. Here are two pictures of the end-result. Luckily for us, the fire stayed far from our property. Unfortunately, the grass didn’t burn long enough to take the wooden structure down. The privacy fence you see in the pictures separates his yard from the property behind our houses. That fence was about two weeks old. Here are the pictures: (Picture one) (Picture two).

Hibachi Hell
After a long hiatus, PB comes back strong. One early morning (around 5:15am), I wake up to the sound of voices. Marcy is wide awake - peeking out of our bedroom miniblinds. She tells me there are a few fire department trucks outside. Apparently, a neighbor (from the apartment buildings behind our subdivision) was on his way to work (he's a soldier) and noticed a fire behind PB’s house. He jumped over the privacy fence, woke PB up, and called the fire department.

I proceeded to go out there to get the scoop on what had happened. It turns out that PB had left a Hibachi grill on top of his wooden picnic table. Unfortunately, the picnic table was sitting on top of his wooden deck. To make a long story short, the table and a big part of the deck went up in flames.

Of course, you want to see the pictures! Exhibit A Exhibit B Exhibit CCheck out the chain link fence around the deck. That's where the geese used to live.

Neighborhood thugs
In case you don't remember, long ago, PB had placed a basketball goal right outside our bedroom window. Unfortunately for PB, some neighborhood thugs put a couple bricks through the back-board. Unfortunately for me, the same bricks also took a chunk off the side of my house.

PB decides to move the basketball goal to the curb to be picked up by our city's waste disposal specialists (garbage men). Well, from the look of PB’s house, the garbage men aren't sure if it's really garbage so they never pick it up. The broken basketball goal sits by the curb for several months when PB decides to put it back on his driveway. He does not use it again. Here is a picture of the basketball goal. See the Christmas lights in the background? This picture was taken in the summer.

Home-grown fish?

I really don't know what to make of this one. PB has done stuff like this before. Again, like many of PB’s antics, this one has to do with his never-ending love for home-improvement. The premise is simple, the flower bed by the mailbox is missing something.... hmmmmmmmm, a fish tank of course! No fish, just some green water.

Latest Home Improvements

Since there are a few of these, I'll just bunch them together. The first in this array of home beautification efforts has to do with the old mailbox (the one made with 2x4's). PB decides to use the old stolen bricks and build a brick mailbox. It's really nice. However, he uses his old white plastic mailbox and leaves the flag attached to it instead of attaching a flag to the bricks (it makes the mailbox flag inoperable – it stays up). Of course, worried about mail fraud or perhaps the anthrax scare, PB protects his mail with a Jesus Christ statue on top of the mailbox. Check out the handy work.
Mailbox front Mailbox back Mailbox statue
Notice the realty sign by the mailbox. That's right - this beautiful, well-taken-care-of home could be all yours. PLEASE buy it. I beg you. (No the house has not sold).

Apparently the fish tank by the mailbox is not conducive to the preservation of carbon-based life forms. PB decides his next project will be a pond. Luckily for the neighborhood, he places the pond in his back yard. The actual construction of the pond is actually the best-looking project so far (it really is). However, PB had to add his personal touch to it and screwed everything up. PB decides to add a waterfall to the pond. He proceeds to remove a section of rain-gutters from the carport in order to get the waterfall effect. Here are the pictures. Pond 1 Pond 2

The next project is a weird one. PB wanted to plant some spices. Again, he could choose to use normal plant pots to grow these. Instead, he buys several of those blue, child-size swimming pools (you know, the round ones that are about a foot deep) and fills them up with top soil. The look really nice - especially sitting next to the smelly pond. Pools 1 Pools 2

This next project occurred long before the September 11 events. PB decides to put up an American flag in front of his house. I don’t mind that he’s putting up a flag. However, the PB School of Home Improvement (not yet an accredited learning institution) states that the flag pole needs to be taller than your house. Small aircraft, beware! Flag pole

More Flag pole

I have to admit that I'm impressed that PB has taken the time to replace the American flag with a new one since the old one was looking a little dirty. In this unprecedented set of pictures, we get to see PB's handy work as it happens!! I actually took these pictures while he did the work. The quality of the pictures is really bad because I had to take the pictures through the window screen and with the camera flash disabled. Otherwise, my cover would have been blown. Note that he uses his Chevy Suburban to stand on (rather than using a ladder) and that the flag is upside down!! PB is awesome. Of course, he figures out that the flag is upside down and fixes it. The pictures tell the story. Again, sorry about the poor picture quality.
Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4

You can imagine my relief when he decide to follow business pursuits in Lome, Togo!!

Anyway what, specifically do I need to do to claim his fantastic life savings and begin to recoup the equity I've lost due to PB's legacy?

Stunned at the prospect of yet another business contact in Tome, Logo,

Danito McLachenstein
CEO Freedom Alley Studios

P.S.: By The way, did you get the Declaration of Victory over Tome, Logo? Just curious, because it's like a legal document and everything, legitimate, and you being a Barrister and all I would think that it would have rocked the hut of legal ministries over there. Let me know how people are taking their tragic defeat. ;)

-DM

Five requests with regard to my eventual death

1. If it happens that my death occurred in some public place, there is to be no ersatz memorial created on that location comprised of teddy bears, mylar balloons, or terrible poems written on posterboard in pink Magic Marker™. This is very, very important.
2. If you choose to have any kind of service “memorializing” me, there will be no use of the phrase “looking down on us.”
3. At no time is any outraged friend or family member to appear in public looking indignant and holding up a framed photograph of me.
4. If you refer to anything I’ve ever done as “brave,” “courageous,” or “special,” I will personally come back from the grave and shit angry ghost turds in your coffee pot.
5. If the resources exist and the weather is fine, I’d prefer to have my remains torn asunder by vicious dogs while “Tusk” is performed by an enthusiastic high school marching band.

10.10.05

Five Characters I've Brought to Life

1. Panzer Frau: A widowed German WWII female killing machine (1995)
2. Briggy: Buckingham palace guard that lived in my closet (1973)
3. Pepe & Filippe: Twp spanish speaking wrenches that hated submarines (1997)
4. The Thing from the Frong: Undefined entity that has omniscience. (2003)
5. The Birthday People: Unkempt inbreds that came out of the woods and bogs to visit you on your birthday (2002)

9.10.05

Five favorite bands (9th grade)

1. Iron Maiden
2. The Who
3. Black Sabbath
4. Rush
5. Def Leppard

Five places that make me nervous

1. Customs
2. “Just stopping by this one guy’s house for a minute”
3. Bars where women sell shots in test tubes
4. Rooms containing teenagers
5. Anyplace people are praying

5.10.05

Declaration of victory over Tome, Logo & The Ivory Coast

It has been too long since I have heard from my friends in Tome, Logo, West Africa, so I sent Barrister Ottis Charles my Declaration of Victory. Being the legal type that he is, I hope he knows what he can do with it.

CHILDREN of TOME, LOGO!!

As the last surviving Correspondant, I hereby claim victory over this Dynasty, with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities thereto appertaining.

After four days of sorrowful waiting, my soldiers once more tread the soil of your noble country. They are the pioneers in the great work of revenge. For them, what emotions it calls forth, and what pride!

To complete the work they have made the sacrifice of their lives. Danito unanimously urges them on, and in the folds of their flag are inscribed the magic words, "Right and Liberty."

Long live Ion Farmer.

Long live Spermy Joe.

General-in-Chief of the Dispatch Armies,

Danito!