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  • Hi, I'm Rooster. I'm not going to waste space on here telling you about me. If you want to know who I am and what I'm about, check out my profile on MySpace. You can also email me by clicking here.

The Rooster's Thoughts

Sunday, May 20, 2007

The Uber GTI

Alright, I'm a VW fanatic. You know this, I know this. Now I'm a little bit more crazy about 'em after seeing this. I got this article from Coolest Gadgets. While you read this, I'm gonna go change my pants because wow, after reading this myself, I need to. Oh, for you metrically challenged people 100kmh is about the same as 60mph... in 3.7 seconds.

The Golf GTI is the favorite hot-hatch of the world. It’s currently at its fifth generation. Yearly, in Worthersee Austria, there’s a GTI festival, where owners and fans of the GTI pay some hommage to this great car.
This year it’s the GTI’s 3-th anniversary, and Volkswagen have decided to reward their fans with a very, very special edition of the GTI. We’re talking an engine which is situated above the one found in the Phaeton (and Bentley Continental GT by that matter), and not so much below the one found in the Bugatti Veyron. It can do 100 kmh in 3,7 seconds, and exceed 200 mph.

What VW did here was to mid-mount a 6-liter W12 engine to a 3-door Golf and install a rear-wheel drive, making it a thoroughbred racer.


The engine is spectacular. It’s an evolution of the Phaeton’s 450 HP V12. It is made of aluminium in order to reduce the weight, has twin turbos and measures up at only 51×71x71cm, making it very compact. Its cooling systems receive air from the two big vents located just in front of the rear wheels.
The power is transmitted to the rear wheels, after passing trough a 6-gear Tiptronic transmission. I think a CVT transmission would have fared much better, but this type of tranny does not have too many fans among race drivers.
In order to give the new Golf the stability it needed, it has been widened by 16 cm and lowered by seven. Also, lots of aerodynamic aids have been added to the bottom, making wings and spoilers obsolete.
Design-wise, it’s also a notable evolution. The car looks sleek, with sexy wheels, and even discreet. While the huge air intakes and the four exhaust pipes hint towards power, it’s still hard to immagine its tremendous power just by looking at it.

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Thursday, May 17, 2007

Well Said!

Today I got an email from my buddy who is a Marine and serving in Iraq as we speak. He shared the below with me stating he and all his fellow troops will stand by this message. I think, even though it is quite lengthy, needs to be read by everyone. It was written by Jay Leno and not comical at all. This is a side of Leno we don't normally get to see, but I personally would like to see more often. So read this, take it to heart, and quit your bitchin' you nutty leftists.

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?
The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all he spoiled u ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day or at least be thankful and appreciative."

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
Jay Leno

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Joys of Having Cable

I spend a lot of time complaining about service-providing companies. I've complained, from my own experience being a customer service rep to being the customer myself, about how much of a pain in the butt these companies can be. I've dealt with "that guy" and I've been "that guy".

Well, my issue was that my cable was all out of whack. I have Comcast HD and found that any channel above 30 was blacked out. I had to power cycle my cable box just to get the stations back. Then the next issue would occur: I would change to a non-HD channel and then the picture would be all garbled and wouldn't go away. It was really annoying.

Anyway, I call Comcast. I dread hold times. I hate calling customer service, but I had to do this. So I call and the IVR says the hold time will be 5-15 minutes. Crappy, right? No! The IVR then gives me the option to enter my phone number and then they will place me in the queue so that when it comes my turn, they will call me. Very cool. So I did it and got the call back in about 3 minutes.

The coolness didn't stop there. I'm talking to the rep, telling her my issue, and she apologized for the inconvience and then asked how long this was happening. I told her about 3 months. She says OK, $33 a month, 3 months, I'll go ahead and credit $99 for you. WHOA! I didn't even ask for that! Freaking awesome. She then says she's going to need to send a technician out to my house to fix my cable box. Coolest customer service rep ever.

Fast forward to today when the technician shows up. He does a couple things on the box and then has me test it all out. While I'm testing it all out, he told me a little trick with HD TVs and basic cable.

Apparently, if you connect the cable directly to the TV (as long as it has an HD tuner built-in) and change the channel to x.1 (so if you wanted to watch channel 13 in HD, you'd change the channel to 13.1), you'll get the HD version. Even better, you will get all the paid channels that you might not normally have. So, I'll get HBO, Showtime, whatever.

Freakin sweet.

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Monday, May 14, 2007

Mother's Day

Ah, Mother's Day. A day to recognize and show our appreciation to the women who brought us into this world - And deal with our crap, for at least 18 years, and most likely many years beyond that.

I, amongst many other people, went to go visit my Mom yesterday. She is a wonderful lady. Very kind, sweet, and just all around a great person. The best Mom I could ever ask for.

It's funny to note that even though I'm 26 years old, 9 years since I moved out, that my Mom still finds it necessary to "raise me right". My Mom is very old-fashioned. A "Southern Belle" as some might say (yes, she's from the South).

I've done a lot of crazy stuff since I moved out at 17 years old. I've done a lot of stupid stuff. I've almost gotten myself killed a few times. My Mom doesn't know any of this, and I'd much rather not tell her. Ever.

In my last 8-10 years I have done lots and lots of drugs. Basically if I could drop it, drink it, sniff it, eat it, or smoke it, I did it. If I could trespass on private property or break into state fairs after hours, I did it. If I could drive under the influence, I drove it like a bat out of hell (a bat that was really f***ed up!). Long story short, looking back, I'm surprised I'm not dead or in jail for the stupid crap I did when I was younger (note: I quit doing all this about 5 years ago - except for the weed, which I didn't give up until almost a year ago).

The part I have to snicker over every time I leave her house, is the fact that my Mom will still reprimand me for saying things like "butt", "fart", or "sucks". She thinks saying these "curse words" is some of the worst things I've ever done.

Oh if she only knew... The poor thing would probably have a heart attack right there. Let's just keep this little secret between you, me, and the rest of the world that might be reading this blog right now.

God bless my Mom and to all the other Mom's out there that deal with kids like me. I honestly don't know how you do it. Kudos to you.

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Friday, May 11, 2007

That's just NUTS!

Botox. Silicone breasts. Penis pumpers. Toupees. Nose jobs. Liposuction.

Back in the 50's, the United States considered shutting down the patent office because they thought everything had already been invented. Then the computer was invented.

In the new millenium, we thought we had made every possible way to alter our natural appearances. Well, much like the patent office being saved by the computer, alterations of our God-given bodies has been resurrected and taken to the next level.

Many people neuter their dogs. Some people are now implanting fake nuts on their dogs when cuttin' off the old ones. It's called "Neuticles".
"We did it so Truman could still walk proudly down the street."

"We felt it would be good for him psychologically."

"He's a guy and I wanted him to remain looking like one."

"A dog is like a kid- consideration for his feelings."

These are some of the quotes from people that had their dogs get Neuticles implants. What the hell?!

"Dogs do just fine without their testicles."

"It's more about an owner's
ego than the dog's."
These are quotes from a veternarian and a reporter.

I have to say I agree with teh vet and the reporter. Anyone who thinks their dogs need fake nuts, is well, just plain NUTS.

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Thursday, May 10, 2007

The Omnipotent Stick Strikes Again! Vol. 4

You know, living the corporate life, one of the more frustrating things is when people reserve conference rooms and then never actually hold their meetings, so the room was booked for no good reason. The effect of this is that when I want to reserve the conference room, it shows as unavailable. So I move to the next one. Oh that's not available either. This continues until I realize that no conference rooms are available and I'm forced to schedule my "urgent" meeting a week out.

I've learned to live with this. I'm not happy about it, but it's just the nature of the beast. Now I've run into something else.

This morning I come into the office to find a note on my office door that reads "This room is reserved Thurs 5/10 & Fri 5/11 - REYMAN". Um. What?

OK, this isn't officially my office. I am a vendor for Microsoft and as such, I am not provided an actual desk. I am a "squatter". Well, this "squatter" found this office and has been using it for almost three months now. There are open offices all around me, but this one I have pretty much claimed for my own.

Everyone around here knows this is the office I have taken. This is where everyone finds me, this is where I get my phone calls, this is where I hold small meetings. Not today or tomorrow though, because "REYMAN" decided to kick me out for a few days without consulting me first.

Fine, it's not officially my office, so I'll let it slide. Kind of. So I moved over to the next office (you know, the one that should have been reserved by "REYMAN" because this one is never used). I've walked by MY office several times today and NOT ONE PERSON has been occupying it. What the hell?!

I looked up "REYMAN" in the global address book at work and it turns out "REYMAN" already has an office on the second floor.

Why then, would "REYMAN" have reserved my office? Could it be they're expecting a visitor from out of town that would need that office? Maybe. Still doesn't explain why they didn't choose one of the empty offices around me to reserve. Could it be that "REYMAN" was having remodeling done in his own office? Maybe, but not likely.

I know! There is only explanation:

"REYMAN" is sharing the now well-known Microsoft Employee Transmitted Disease (METD), the Omnipotent Stick.

Pure jackassery.

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Thursday, May 03, 2007

Good Boy!

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