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Man's best friend 2

Man's best friend

Ya so we got a puppy a few months ago his name is Johnny Cash.
He is an Australian Shepherd known as a Black Tri because he is black with white and copper markings. He's 8 months and still a handful. He will put ANYTHING in his mouth and eat it before you know it. So we are always yelling "Get that out of you mouth!" or "what is in your mouth now!" He still chases our cat all the time... It is amazing he has survived thus far I keep telling him we only put up with him because he is so cute, but the second he gets ugly he is out on the street;)...
I love that I get to take him to work almost every day, it makes for a lot of bonding time. I am amazed how SMART he is and how much he has grown. We were away from him for almost 3 weeks during his little puppy stage so we missed out a little but he is still growing like a weed. He was at last vet visit 40 pounds and is now at least 45 or more, he should get to around 60 to 65 though. He is a lot of fun and has WAY to much energy but we love him lots...

Steyr Austria

My wife and I were blessed to be able to go to Europe this year. We went to Berlin, Prague, Steyr and Vienna.
The highlight of our trip for me was the town of Steyr, Austria. The town is about 2 hours west of Vienna. What is significant about this town is the Steyr Arms company, They started making firearms in the 1860's, ya along time ago... I own an M40-A1 pistol, it is AWESOME and so is the company.
I had been in contact with a representative from the company about other things when I had found out we were going to Austria so I asked if we could see the factory. He said SURE come on buy. So we went. The town of Steyr is SO BEAUTIFUL and VERY ROMANTIC(I was glad I was with my wife). It was also a good thing it was romantic as the day we arrived was our 3rd wedding anniversary(again glad to be with the wife). Steyr is an OLD town I don't mean rundown but historic old. There is a house in town that is first in written record in the year 1450 ya OLD... I am sad we only had one night in the town as we could have spent a whole week and would have still been sad to leave.
I can't say it enough how great full we are to have had the rare privilege of touring this wonderful and modern factory. Our guide for the tour who is a sales manager that deals with 62 countries took the personal time to show us around and answer our questions. I am sure I looked like a kid in a candy store and sure I didn't make much sense as I was in AWE and wasn't sure what my own name was. The factory has a special room called the Steyr Weapons Hall it is a hall that was built in the Nordic style at the old plant and was moved piece by piece and reassembled at the new plant just out side of Steyr. The hall has one of every firearm they have produced(it was COOL)...
The factory tour was wonderful we even meet a very important person in the company and I will say that everyone we met took the time to make us feel welcome. Steyr Arms is TOP NOTCH. I wish I could have taken pictures in the plant but couldn't even bring a camera in so no pictures. I did get the one of my wife and I outside though...
the others are of the town.
Even if we didn't go to the factory I would love to spend a lot more time in Steyr...

This is my Wife's new Birthday present. Yes it is a PINK rifle. It's a Ruger 10/22 a .22Lr. It took a while to find one but it is great. I have had a 10/22 for a long time and so now we are matching...

Survival of the fittest?

Hedgehogs UNITE!
If we could just teach animals to read, then McDonalds wouldn't have to spend so much money to invent lids that are hedgehog proof. They could just put a label on the cups. If you don't know what I am talking about here is the story from FOX News.

"McDonald's Succumbs to Hedgehogs' Needs
Friday, September 01, 2006

LONDON — Fast food just became hedgehog-friendly. McDonald's Corp. said Friday it had redesigned the cups for its McFlurry dessert so that they no longer posed a danger to the spiky woodland creatures.

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has campaigned for years against the containers, saying hedgehogs had died while trying to eat leftover ice cream from discarded cups. Campaigners said the opening in the lid was large enough for hedgehogs to stick their heads in, but not to get them out again, and that animals not rescued by passers-by had died of starvation.

McDonald's U.K. said that after "significant research and testing," it designed a McFlurry cup with a smaller opening. McDonald's began deliveries of the new lids to restaurants in Britain last week.

"The smaller aperture of the lid has been designed to prevent hedgehogs from entering the McFlurry container in the unfortunate incidence that a lid is littered and is then accessible to wildlife," the company said in a statement.

Fay Vass, chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, said the change was "excellent, if long overdue news."

She said the new cups meant "many hedgehog lives will be saved."

So if Fay Vass of the Hedgehog Society would just start a "hooked on phonics" program then it would help these animals to be able to survive better just incase they come accross a different type of evil cup that could kill these cute little creatures. The warrning could say "THIS CUP NOT HEDEGHOG USER FRIENDLY, PLEASE SEE OWNERS MANUEL FOR COMPATIBLE CUPS AND LIDS" and McDonald's and other non animal friendly company's could post signs and send mailers listing what products are user friendly to each specific species.
I think the saying is "give someone a fish and they will eat for a day teach them to fish and they will keep their heads out of cups and not die a stupid death" or something like that. Although I bet that those that did die in those Ice cream cups were at least happy.

Forbes 400

I broke the 400! Ok not the forbes 400, but I did get over 400 visits to my AWESOME blog XJRAT-BlOG. I know its not the greatest milestone in the world, but hey I am excited and you should be to, the more people that visit my site the more I will post, the more I post the better my site will get, the better it gets the more people will visit, the more people that visit (you get the idea)....
I do hope one day though to be in the Forbes 400 richest people(1.Bill Gates 2. Warrn Buffett 3. XJRAT???). So if by bloging I some how can reach that goal I will share my riches with the world and by riches I mean of course wisdom, riches of wisdom.
Any way, THANK YOU to everyone that actually reads this blog. I know most people look at the title and just keep hitting the "next blog" button or the "random blog" button at the top of the page, and to those people I guess I can't blame them, thank you too... I think if I saw this page I to would keep going after all what the heck is an xjrat anyway, thats a stupid name.

A little political rant

I am sorry for those of you that want to read this blog and not have to read more political stuff since every one and their cat seem to have a political view point and want to share it with the whole world. I must however add my own thoughts about the war on terror, and Iran and North Korea. Mothers don't let your kids read this one...
I am sick of everyone saying that Iran shouldn't be able to continue with their nuclear program. Everyone says that there should be sanctions put on them and that they need to STOP all nuclear testing. But I say we should let them continue. If they want nukes so bad why not let them have em. If the leader of Iran thinks nukes would be the answer to all his countries
problems then I agree with him. I think we should even help them along. As a matter of fact I think North Korea should also get some nukes. It my just help Kim to come to his senses.
I propose that even Israel should help as well. Between the U.S. and Israel both Iran and North Korea could get all the nukes they could stand. I think that since Israel and Iran have had relations and are so close to each other Israel is the best candidate to give Iran help. The U.S. has had a history with North Korea, what with the Korean War and all, so the foundation is there for assistance in helping Kim realizing his dream of nukes. It is a nobel goal to want nukes, it is hard to achieve this goal though, and Iran doesn't have a lot of extra money right now because it is expensive to support Hezbollah. North Korea also doesn't have a lot of extra cash since they have to buy all their weapons from China and Russia, since all citizens of North Korea are starving and so malnourished that they can't work 23 hours a day like Kim want's, that can get expensive to buy from other countries.

I am sure that they would even thank us, if we could find all the pieces of the leaders, once we "send" them all the nukes they need. By "send" I mean of corse by ICBM( a big missile) or B2 Bomber or what ever way we needed to do to get them over there. I bet they would jump up and down with "excitement" when they know the nukes are coming. You could ask Kim when they are on the way he would say "We are getting nukes?" and you could say you're welcome. They would finally have their nukes and no one would complain anymore, right? The U.N. wouldn't have to spend its time with sanctions because they have more important things to do, like not give aid where it is needed and not enforce all the other meaningless sanctions and resolutions they have enacted. Plus North Korea and Iran wouldn't exist any more so those problems with our safety and Israel's being wiped of the face of the earth wouldn't happen like Iran wanted. Oh and no more Hezbollah. So lets send them the nukes they want, tell your congressman.
Ok I am done the kids can come back now.

My turn

Dad's gone so I am going to try my paw at this meow blogie thingie. I am only cat meow so I don't speak human much so if you can't understand me thats why meow...
I am at my humans apple but I don't get it I thought apples were like red or something and you could eat them so why do they get mad at me when I chew on this apple.
I found the good stuff ya the nip the caaaaattt niiiiippp it's great great GREAT MEOOOWWW! It is so hard to concentrate this blog is hard I neeeed string string got to have the string. Need to play. OH what's that look there is something on the floor. what is it? A spot, is it moving, no wait yes it is, oh no it's not. Sorry ok where was I. Ya string, no thats it the nip wow I love it.
Ribbon is good to, I had this Ribbon the other day MAN it was the best MEEEOOOWWW! It was attached to these balloons and I chewed that ribbon so much Oh it was so good that I regurgitated some ribbon as a thank you for the humans, a little food came up to, it was an extra special thanks for the balloons and ribbon. I don't know why but they got all mad at me for the thank you gift, go figure!
I set up the tripod and camera so I could show you how good looking I am. I am a cat you know so you must love me...

I think I gotta go now I hear them coming. See ya! LONG LIVE THE CAT NIP!!!

Me!

So many fans of my blog have been wondering what I look like. Well I don't want to disappoint so here I am.
Now I know that the camera adds 10 pounds so don't think I look this fat in real life. My wife took this of me tonight sitting at my computer, I look so good in it that I just couldn't resist sharing it with you.

Time Machine

I am convinced that time travel is a reality. That it is not only possible but that it happens on a daily basis. There is a device that allows people to travel into the future. This device is so revolutionary that 30 years ago people could only dream about it's potential, now this thing is so common that you are hardly aware of it. When this machine is used you can travel into the future with the blink of an eye. I am not sure how it works exactly, either it transports you further in time, or it just speeds up time around you with out you knowing. I have been witness to this marvel of technology many times, and no I don't work for the government black ops programs or anything, and still I am amazed at the efficiency of how this machine hurtles you through time.
I am even sure you own one of these. You yourself have probably been transported far into the future and not even known how it happened. You sit down after work maybe before bed and say to yourself I will just be here for a few minutes and next thing you know it is almost midnight. Wow, you say, I should turn off the computer and go to bed. Then when you reach for the off button a seemingly few seconds later it is now 12:30 am, wow what happened to the time? That was a case of inadvertent time travel. It is not your fault. It is an experiment that is being conducted by the government, they have put a microchip in all computers that make this time travel happen. I think it works with the speed of the hard drive. As the hard drive spins inside your computer it creates an electrical field around the computer and anyone within this field will be transported into the future. This electric field causes a disruption in the molecules that keep the space time continuum intact, this causes you to either lose all sense of time, or the gravitational pull actually acts as two opposite magnets pushing you at incredible speed between dimensions and forward in time. I think the latter is true because I am always tired when I am done traveling through time, and I know it can't be good for the human body, due to the effect of gravity warping around you.
I know that the guys a AREA 51 must have come up with this technology from the alien wreck. They are trying it out on the world while they adapt it for space travel to other Galaxies "far far away" that existed "long ago". They just need to bend the gravity to push BACK in time and they will have it perfected. They are almost there, I saw an interview with a guy who was helping the government in this quest (he was a short guy that must have been sick because he was green) He said " concentrate you will, get through time you must" also something about using some sort of "force" also some guy named Luke was there as well.
I think they check the progress of the experiment through the internet so just be careful when logging on to your computer, make sure you have no where to be for a while or you may miss something. (see just reading this story I bet you went pretty far into the future or at least wasted time that you will never be able to get back!!!)

Our first child

I have been married for over a year now and every one asks me when the little ones will be coming along. They have asked this question since the first week of marriage. Well we got this little bundle of joy in January, we figured that we needed a trainer first. If we can survive him or more important if HE can survive us, then we should be on the right path. NOW I know that this is nothing like a real human child, human kids have less hair, but hey you gotta start somewhere right? Besides there are some things cats and kids do alike. Hairballs and spitting up, they both can be put on a leash, they both eat disgusting food and when that food comes out the other side it's even worse. A cat and a child will both eat anything off the floor. Although you can't just leave a larger bowl of food out and go away for a few days and hope the kid will be ok. Even though that is better then the way some people treat their kids.
I believe that there needs to be a licensing process to become a real parent. A test to see if you know the difference between caging your cat and kid, and knowing that when a diaper box says good up to 20 pounds that means the kids weight not the amount of stuff that comes out of the kid. So until that test comes out we will continue to learn from our cat and other peoples kids that we don't have to take home with us.
Oh ya his name is Samson

What ever happened to...

Dirty Harry? Well he retired, moved to Philly and changed his name.

"Gun-Wielding Senior Citizen Foils Carjacker
A 78-year-old Philadelphia man used a .38 caliber handgun to thwart a carjacker.
Sunday, August 6, 2006
A 78-year-old Philadelphia man used a .38 caliber handgun to thwart a carjacker.
George Newton said that when William Edney approached him, held a pistol to his head and said "Don't do anything funny," he handed him the keys to his sport utility vehicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
But when he saw that Edney was trying to shift gears with his gun hand Newton decided the time had come for action. He pulled out his own weapon and shot Edney in the jaw, and then walked to the other side of the car and shot him in the shoulder.
"Both windows were down so I didn't mess up any of my glass," Newton told the Inquirer.
Edney managed to drive himself to a hospital where he claimed he did not know who had shot him. He faces criminal charges.
Investigators said both guns involved were legally registered.
Newton, a former military police officer and car mechanic, said he knows how to take care of himself. But he said he would much rather be left alone to sit in the park and feed the birds.
United Press"

story here

Good thing for the carjacker that Harry er uh "George" wasn't used to his NEW bifocal glasses or the first shot would have done him in. This is a lesson for criminals out there make sure if you are carjacking a Senior make sure he has had his prune juice for the day otherwise they can be cranky! I am glad that George didn't have to pay for any widows and that no flying glass got into the bad guys eyes, that could have been dangerous, so roll the windows down before any shooting can begin. I hope the blood wasn't hard to get out of the upholstery though...

What?

This isn't me by any stretch of the imagination. I am just posting this to show others what they are like:)... By the way please don't ask my wife about this. It's not that I don't listen to her she just forgets to tell me stuff then blames me. It's like the other day, she was telling me about work and that she did something and something else happend and then this other thing and Uh.... I don't remember but I know she forgot to tell me everything so it's not me...
I also have trouble hearing certin pitches due to working around loud machines and loud music (ya this is good) so if by any chance she does say something and I didn't hear it, like honey can you do the dishes, well I have a medical excuse. She happens to have an angelic voice but unfortunatly it falls into that range that I have trouble with (does this sound convincing?). So if you ever come to my house and see dishes in the sink you will know why they are there, because I LOVE to do the dishes as soon as possible and would never leave them in ther to long. I have to go now I think I hear someone calling me!

C.R.A.D. update

Wow I googled crad to see what would happen. You wouldn't believe it there were a LOT of links to crad. It has many different acronym meanings, it is even peoples last name and a web site. I thought I made something up, but I guess not in case you forgot it stands for Computer Related Alzheimer's Disease. Here are a few acronyms from my google search.
CRAD Chief of Research & Development
CRAD Composite Radar Data Processing
CRAD Contract Research And Development
CRAD Criteria and Review Approach Documents
CRAD Customer Requested Arrival Date
a funny website even
http://www.cradworld.com/CradBlog/
I think mine is better. And I have found that CRAD effects you more the latter you are at the computer. Between 3pm and 9pm crad is only a minor annoyance how ever between 9 and 11 it becomes more acute So that you have a very hard time finding your way around your computer. The 11 to 1am shift is really bad not only can't you find your way around but you forget how to spell and type (I am a horrible speller any way, thank you spell check). Any time after 1am you might as well not even turn on the computer because you will be like Homer Simpson at a MENSA meeting, 4247 * pi= 472874mmm pie is good arhhhggg!!! You get the point!

Bluetooth

It is impossible to keep up with all the new technology that comes out every 10 seconds. I am so far behind that the only bluetooth I have is from not going to the dentist. As for the convenience of all this wonderful electronic wizardry life is good, dare I say to good? Are we getting lazy? does this technology give us the rite to be rude? Was George Jetson truly a happy person? These are all valid questions.
I am not lazy I just like having stuff done for me so I can focus my attention on other things like surfing (not the kind that needs water) Oh wait I thought that having all those conveniences was to give me more time to spend doing things I needed to do. If you look at my last post you will see that I spend the "extra" time just remembering what I needed to do. It seems the easier our lives are made by technology the more we can fill it with stuff. Stuff that can consume more of our life then we ever thought possible.
These Bluetooth phones are both wonderful and a evil. I know we all read about unplugging now and then to relax but how about taking that STUPID ear piece out of your head more. I am SICK of those people who have that wireless earpiece for there cell phone. I can't believe how OBLIVIOUS some people are that they are being rude. If you are with another person please take it out of your ear. They are not meant to be in your ear 24/7. I think some people may even get them stuck in there do to a wax build up virtually cementing it in their ear. I have even seen people with them in during church. I am sorry but God doesn't need Bluetooth to get ahold of me so I am sure that you aren't that much more important then me for him to give you a ring. The only reason to have one in when at church or in a face to face conversation is due to the wax thing I talked about (or surgically implanted and as far as I know that isn't being done in a Verizon store yet).
So if you have any bluetooth that doesn't require any electrical charge then go to the dentist but if you do have an electrical device in your ear please take it out when not talking to it.
Oh and George Jetson I will get to later. Although bring on the flying car now...

Best post ever! or (C.R.A.D.)?

I wanted to tell you about uh, UH, UH, Oh shoot I forgot. This could have been the best post ever but I forgot what I wanted to post. I think there needes to be a new definition added to the dictionary, I don't know maybe even a new medical study done, to explain why people forget what they wanted to do when they sit down in front of the computer.
Please would any one let me know why this happens or if there is a support group out there to help me. Does this ever happen to you? You are at work or in the car and you say to yourself; don't forget to go to www.whatever... that would be a great site. Then you get home and sit down and fire up the ol' computer, click on the browser and think oh let me check my email real quick then I will go to that site. Next you have to delete 20 spam mails about bigger this smaller that medication for things you didn't even know existed and that poor nigerian woman who lost her husband but not his money. Then you read your actual mail, not the seven forwards of stupid jokes, you maybe write a few friends before logging out. Now you wanted to go to that website, what was it again? Oh shoot I forgot.
Well I have that problem all the time and not just websites but now it's blogging as well. I think of all the cool things during the day that I will post when I get home, you know those prize winning, world stopping, heart wrenching stories that will become legend when someone important stumbles across your blog. Instead I sit hear and post this kind of rubbish that no one will read past the first paragraph, and put in a few pictures for good measure.
So please help me define this and put a name to this problem like C.R.A.D.(Computer Related Alzheimer Disease) or something.

more of us

we are ready to go back any time...

These were from the volcano, the first one is at dawn(like way early in the morning). The second is half way down the volcano, we rode bikes down. I would recomend that to anyone who goes, it is a MUST DO!!! Bike it Maui is the way to go.

Bike it Maui

My Wife and I

This was from our honeymoon just over a year ago. We had a blast in Maui.

bumpersticker

according to this test this should be my bumpersticker. How true this is...

Your Bumper Sticker Should Be

Squirrel - it's what's for supper

What Bumper Sticker Should Be On Your Car?

weird test

take the weird test and see for your self. I was 50% weird...

You Are 50% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

My first comment

Wow I just checked my email and it said I had a comment from "anonymous". Thats cool someone actualy looked at my blog site and said something, and not anything mean either. I got a compliment that feels good. I wish they would have left their name and email address because I would have liked to thank them for being the FIRST ever to leave a comment on my blog. I bet it was my wife though. Not that that would be a bad thing but I just hope that more people have seen this then her. Although she is the only one who really counts it would still be nice to know others have ventured here. (See I know she will read this so if I say nice things I can score better points) I think from now on when I see a blog that I like I too will comment because now I know what it is like to see that...
I also hope that anyone that reads this and has any suggestions that they would give me their "two cents" both in coins and comments because I could alway use money and wisdom, in either order...
To any that read this I hope you have a wonderful day!

My XJ Jeep

1988 Cherokee (xj) stock 4.0L inline 6cyl engine, stock tranny and t-case, 6 inches of lift through Rubicon Express parts, Rancho 9000 shocks, Dana 44 rear axle with Detroit locker, Dana 30 front axle open, Kargomaster roof rack, Olympic front bumper, Ramsy 8000' winch, Custom 4x4 fab front shackle kit, home made rock rails (that NEED reworking), 33"x12.50" BFG mud tires.
In the works; t-case short tail shaft kit and custom driveline, bigger front axle shafts and ujoints, some day a roll cage.
Dream up grades; 4.6L supercharged engine, Atlas II 3.8 t-case, ARB front locker, Dana 60's front and rear, 37" tires, Lightforce off road lights, exo-cage, Ford F350 superduty diesel with a camper and car trailer to tow my jeep( you don't get to play as rough when you have to drive your jeep 200mi home)...

I would rather be...

I would rather be back in Hawaii on the Hana coast...

In Memory

Thank you to all who have served.

So this is my first post ever on a blog site. I guess I should try to make it a good one since it will go out into the vast expanse of the WORLD WIDE WEB(echo echo echo). I have thought about starting a blog for a while now but just never got around to it and thought no one would care what I have to say anyway. But what the heck why not take up a little room on this thing they call the WORLD WIDE WEB(echo echo echo). Its not like there is a lack of space on it, and if any one from the granny in Iowa who blogs about corn and knitting to the 8 year old punk that blogs about the latest Barny video then I may as well give my two cents as well.
In this blog I hope to chronicle my life, to be able to give a detailed account of the person that I am. So that when future historians scan google for the famous Steve Bounds they can come across this blog and be amazed at how great He really was. Because any historian looking for THE famous Steve Bounds certainly aren't looking for this Steve Bounds so when they realize that I am not the one they are looking for they will be relieved to find out that their Steve was not as CRAZY as ME...
I guess this is a good time to start a blog. A lot of things have happened this year so it might be a good thing to keep track of them and since I am terrible at keeping a journal I might be good at this or I will post a few times and like a lot of things I do it will just fade away like the 8 track or disco.
So I hope this first post was good enough for a first time, if not I will have to delete this blog and start over just like it never happened. Plus if I did that it's not like any one is reading this so no one will know...