The things my dad told me would come in handy.

     I thought about this they other day.  I was leaving the house, and I locked both the dead bolt and the door lock.  As I did so Wendy asked, why do you lock both locks?  You just need to lock one.  I told her it was a habit.  It is an extra 30 seconds of planning you can have when some one is picking the lock to get in.  She gave me an odd look.

     That is what my dad told me when I was younger, he said remember if you lock both locks it takes roughly 30 seconds to pick a lock, and with both locked that is a full minute you have plan what you need to do.  I am pretty sure my dad was fairly paranoid, or highly enlightened as to what kind of evil was out in the world and he wanted us to have preparation.  It is because of him that I don't take the exact same way to and from work all the time.  I have about 5 or so ways to and from work and I randomly take them.  I think it had something to do with what dad did in the military.  Maybe I've been watching to many spy films or something.  He told me never put my back to door when  I am out eating.  He told me too always carry a lighter, even though I don't smoke.  I have kind of fell lacks on that one, I currently don't have a lighter with me.  

     These kind of things make me think that I'd could hope to have a little bit of an extra edge if something should happen, rather than a person who never had the benefit of that added wisdom.  I know I am not going to react like someone who has actually had military training.  It is just a little something extra that might help should something like bad happen.  

    I suppose here I would make a reference to how this relates to Han Solo but right now I am just going to say, I am grateful for everything my dad told me, and he's still with me whenever I remember the things he taught me. A little sappy I know but, hey not everyone can be a emotionless bad ass all the time.  You like me because I'm a scoundrel. 

   Ian

The guy I take my transport to fix will cause me more problems.

  So I had to take my car in to a mechanic today, because I couldn't get the warning break light to switch off.  I tried the few things I knew it could be but without any luck.  I know there are going to come back at me with the whole, Oh this is broken and this is broken and this is broken it will be $2000 to fix it all to get your break light warning light fixed.  I hope they can set me up a payment plan because I can't pay that up front.  I just need the light to be out to pass inspection.  So why can't they just do that.  A few of my friends suggested just pulling the bulb or the fuse for the warning lights.  I'd rather fix the problem then cover it up.  With my luck that little cover up will just cause me a shit ton of problems later down the road I know it.  I will just get the thing fixed and be done with it.
    Han brought his ship in to be fixed by his old friend.  And they fixed it, but his friend also just up and turned him into the authorities as well.  He says it was under duress but I am not sure how hard it was Vader to convince Lando to  turn on the guy that won his ship from him.  The only consolation to that is Lando nearly gets his ass captured because of the sabotage that empire pulled on the Falcon.  Just goes to show tricking your friends always comes back to get you.
    Being a pessimist I will have to say that I expect a horrible diagnosis from the mechanic and that it will cost me an arm and a leg.  Which works out for me, because I am either proven right by the negative out come, or pleasantly suprised that it wasn't as bad as I expected.  That's how I look at life and there is no changing me.  I never expect the best from anything, it helps me not get my hopes up.  Getting excited about something is just going make you feel disappointed when it isn't as much as you had hoped it would be.  Look at Episode I, everyone was hyping the crap out of the film.  And people saw it and were sickened with what had been done with the film. I for one was not super excited for the film, yes I wanted to see it, but unlike all the rest of the over zealous fans out there.  I waited until the weekend to go and see the film.  I didn't care about being the first person in line.  Trying to keep my lows from dipping too low and my highs to stay a little more than pleased is tough, but manageable.  I'm such a cheery person to be around.  You like me because I'm a scoundrel.

Ian

I could save Luke on Hoth

    So last night on my way home I noticed the wind wind was blowing in that all to tell tale sign of cold weather coming.  It makes me smile knowing that I'll be able to feel comfortable driving around the next day.  I've always loved the cold weather over the hot or even warm weather.  I don't know if being born in a cold place has some effect on you at a young age or what.  I've always been a very warm bodied person.  So the cold never really bothers me.  Unless you want to get into factors like heavy wind chill or rain or snow.  Everyone needs some kind of protection from the elements.  I'm no elf.  What I am is great and staying out in the cold weather and enjoying it.   I guess being born in Iceland has some effect on me, who knows.  My girl isn't complaining when I crawl in to bed and heat it up like an electric blanket.
    Which is why I would be awesome at saving Luke on Hoth.  Hell the cool won't bother me.  So what if my Tantan will freeze before I reach the first marker.  When I see you in Hell I'll be all blue and frozen looking like your skinny ass.   They did film most of the Hoth scenes in Norway, which is roughly the same latitude as Iceland.  I doubt the weather is much different.  Aside form the lovely geothermal energy Iceland is packing.  I would just toss Luke in the steaming lake of warm water rather than stuff him in the belly of the stinking Tantan.
   I just like to be the one guy out there still wearing shorts and sandals in December when it is 40 degrees outside and they are all dressed like they are going skiing.  Of course in order to make me look less like a crazy person I often wear long pants or maybe a hoodie or light jacket.  I just laugh at the shivering women and teeth chattering men.  You like be because I'm a scoundrel.

Ian

I'd still be fixing a bucket of bolts.

     I did some corrections to my last repair job on my car.  I replaced the belts a while back but, I didn't make sure they were tight enough so as not to cause them to slip.  So my car would occasionally make loud squealing sounds.  This for some reason, like my old 200SX Datsun burning oil, made me embarrassed to drive around.  Unlike replacing the engine block to fix the Datsun, this problem was much simpler.  Tighten down the fly wheel bolt to the fan belt, and loosen and re-position the alternator on the drive belt.  The only thing that makes this difficult is the Japanese have much smaller hands than I do.  I got it all done though so the car is no longer making that screaming like a small animal being skinned alive.
   Though even Han had to fix his ship constantly.  There is a sense of pride in knowing you can fix your own car for minor repairs.  I think people that have new cars that they trade in before they need to do real up keep on their cars are missing out on the kind of training you'll need for the zombie apocalypse.   Granted I am not saying I am an expert and fixing all things about my car.  Just a few weeks ago I gave up and took my car into a shop to get it fixed because I couldn't take the time to fix it because I was on a time limit and a mechanic can find out what is wrong much faster than I can.  But just knowing that I can fix my car if there are issues with it make me feel pretty freaking cool that I did it myself and it is staying fixed.  I suppose that will translate over to home ownership as well.
    I guess that reason is why I like to have cars that are not brand new.  I mean when I had my brand new car, yeah it was nice to have a car all shiny and new no worries about anything wrong with it.  But it was also boring.  I probably can blame the fact that my father and brother were always fixing cars.  I know how to take apart a  '76 VW Bug, a '81 Doge Ram Van, and an '81 Nissan Datsun 200SX.  Because we kept most of those gars running into the late '90s
    NO NO! THIS ONE GOES THERE, THAT ONE GOES THERE! GOT IT?
You like me because I'm a scoundrel.

I wouldn't show up to work so early.

     I've been developing a routine of showing up to work around 10:30,  when work starts at 11.  The time has stared to fall more and more and more.  I'm now showing up to work at 10.  Why am I doing this?  Is it because there is nothing to keep my interest at home long enough to warrant me staying there longer?   There is the fact that I don't have internet at home at the moment.  Being away from my precious flow of information is something you can feel.   Like the moments where you are wondering, where do I know that actress from... Oh I can just IMDB... no I can fucking no internet.  Han never had the problem of lack of information.  He seemed to know just what to do when something came up that he didn't know about.  Just start fucking shooting.  Blast the crap out of it.  I think that's a novel short term solution,  I would give it a try if I had a blaster.  

      The good news is that The internet is going to be fixed today hopefully.  Then I can go back to staring at really bad student films on Netflix like "Thankskilling" and "Ninjas vs. Vampires"  You have no idea how bad and yet hilarious these films are until you see them for yourself.  The sad part is that at moments the actors in the film seem to take themselves quite seriously.  I just heard about a new film that popped up on Netflix.  Machete Babes or something like that.   Han never really sat thru and bad films.  He was too busy packing up his load of cash after saving that snotty princess to miss that Atari style briefing for the fist Death Star attack.  And he was way to busy trying to put his baby back together before the ATAT stomped the base in on Hoth to listen to that snotty princess talk about how 2 tiny X-wings are suppose to fend of a battle fortress like a Star Destroyer.  Sure he sat thru that briefing for the last Death Star assault but look at that cool 3D hologram technology that popped up, that's no 8 bit graphics that quality shit man.  Not to mention he's acting all snarky that Lando is a general making him think that he's jealous of him.  Then out of the blue he is called out as the general with balls of steel for going for the dangerous mission of shutting down the shield generator.   He knew what he was doing acting all coy.  

     I am still probably going to be coming in just at early, maybe I'll draw a line when I start to show before my bosses.  Or maybe that will be the time I can start sneaking drinks out of the break room and into my car.  Nothing like keeping your smuggling skills up. Which reminds me that I need to work on my transport.  I can't get it to pass inspection because the break light is stuck on.  It is the light that indicates that the parking break is on.  I just stayed on one day, my break system is working perfectly.  But since there is a red light on the dashboard the inspection guy won't past it.  I have to replace the break light switch or something like that.  I will have to look that up or just take it to a mechanic to get it fixed.  I know if I try working on it I'll just realize that I have to replace the negative power cup link.  That is always a tremendous hassle.  I need to get that taken care of to get rid of the ticket I got for expired inspection.  The ticket involved in me having a suspended licence is going to be a drag.  I still don't know exactly what I need to do to clear that up.  Sounds like a hole lot of waiting around at the DMV. 

     I might have gone to jail for that, but lucky for me the cop that pulled me over was a K9 unit.  He couldn't take me in, is what he said.  I've had to ride in the front seat before, so I know he just didn't want to have to deal with me.  He was still an asshole about it.  Calling my car a rolling peace of shit, and when I tired to engage him in some friendly conversation he was still an asshole.  I asked him what his dog's name was.  He said it was "Angry"  when I asked him if he was serious he didn't responded.  What a douche.

     Well now it is nearly 11 so that means it is back to my hard job of testing the quality of this video game.  My life may not be as awesome as Han's but it is still pretty cool.  You like me because I'm a scoundrel.