July 28, 2015

Welcome to the second edition of the "Payton Rant" blog. In this edition: * American Radio Relay League raises dues in 2016 * Public Figures and the use of Twitter * Thoughts on "Dexter", through the first six episodes of season three * Exercise American Radio Relay League to raise dues in 2016 The American Radio Relay League, abbreviated ARRL, recently announced they are increasing dues in 2016 by $10 to $49 a year. They gave a bunch of yada yada financial reasons for the increase. My question is what exactly members get from their membership. There is the "QST" monthly magazine. They do serve as an advocate to maintain Amateur Radio airwaves and I am grateful for. Yet, every time I turn around, there is a mailing either for their catalog or a begging mailing for their various funds. I am not in a financial position to pop out a check every time they need money. They have other ways to generate money. They have their various funds. They also have their online store. It is getting to the point that I may not be able to afford a membership. Not only that, sometimes I really wonder what we get out of a membership. Public Figures and the use of Twitter I have been on Twitter for five years with the user name ke4ole1. I used ke4ole for a while and jeffke4ole for a while. I currently use ke4ole1. The one thing I have yet to figure out is why public figures tell the general public to follow them and then have a disclaimer of, "just because you write, it doesn't mean we have to respond." Now, if someone is writing and is badmouthing a public figure, that deserves to be ignored. However, I see in a lot of cases that even questions are ignored. I want to ask public figures a question. If you do not want to interact with us who do not send insulting messages, then why broadcast your handle on Twitter? You can very easily select your account to be private so you can choose who follows you. If you want to ignore us when we send a message, here is an idea: don't give out your user name. I also understand if you answered tweets all day, that is all you would do. I get that, too, but at least answer those who do not insult you, pay you a compliment, or ask a question. That may be the honey you get more bees with. Dexter, season three As I type, I am through six episodes of season three. This season guest stars Jimmy Smits of "L.A. Law" and "NYPD Blue" fame, who plays Miguel Prado, an assistant District Attorney, whose brother is murdered. I am trying to figure out just what Miguel's deal is. Is he one for justice or is he one likes justice in his own hands. He also has another brother, Ramon, who tends to be a hot head with a bit of an alcohol problem. Also, Rita finds out she is pregnant. As you watch season three, it becomes more and more obvious that Dexter has no clue when it comes to being a boyfriend. He says he and Rita should get married because, in his words, "it makes sense". Rita put her foot down and said that it has to be more than sense to get married. Hew also said he wanted to keep his apartment after they got married. I agree with those who looked at him and was like, "why?" I agree that it doesn't make sense to keep the apartment after the wedding. Tonight I begin the seventh episode and relay thoughts on the rest of the season next time Exercising I put this rhetorical question on Facebook last week. What is with everybody's obsession over whether or not I exercise? I see a psychologist every 4-6 weeks who wants me to walk in my neighborhood. I already exercise three days a week as is. The recommended amount of time per week for exercising is 150 minutes a week. I get that much at the facility I go to three a days a week. I put my foot down and said to my psychologist I wasn't walking because they wanted me to. I am not breaking the law or any moral code simply because I choose not to walk. Exercising is something I have to do. It is certainly not something I enjoy doing. I contend that if I could live life without exercise, I would. To me, exercise is like going to college. You could enhance life by doing both but you don't necessarily need to do either to be productive. I just wish I understood everyone else's obsession over whether I do it. Until next time, thank you for reading.

July 23, 2015

Ladies and Gentlemen, "The Payton Rant" blog is back after a six-year hiatus! All of the 2009 material has been deleted for the simple fact that I want this blog to have a fresh look. I think it will look weird with blog posts six years apart so I am starting back from scratch. In this edition, I cover: *Riding the Greyhound bus *The Showtime series, "Dexter", after watching the first two seasons *Last week's military tragedy in Chattanooga. If you're ready, here comes "the rant"! The Greyhound Bus I have been doing some traveling during the hiatus of the blog. I have been going to Johnson City, Tennessee, on personal business. I have been riding Greyhound Bus Lines due to the simple fact I do not drive. When I first started, I thought it would be a good way for me to get up there. Now, I am thinking it is a total headache. Passengers are at their mercy and they use it to their advantage every chance they get. My first example is my trip to Johnson City in June 2014. I was going to Johnson City because it was my girlfriend's birthday. I left June 6 and was coming back June 9. The bus leaves Chattanooga at 4:35 pm and arrives in Knoxville, Tennessee, around 6:20. Knoxville is used as a layover point and I have to change buses to go to Johnson City. There is only one problem. There is no driver for the second bus. Because of that, a bus that typically leaves at 7:15 pm does not leave Knoxville until 9:00 and we do not get to Johnson City until midnight. To make matters worse, on the way home, the Knoxville to Chattanooga bus is late. A scheduled 6:05 pm bus doesn't leave until 8:00 pm and we get to Chattanooga until 10:30 pm. Needless to say, I was not at all thrilled when I got home. Upon arriving home, I contacted Greyhound to vent about my trip and was offered a one-way ticket voucher. I had people tell me it should have been a round-trip ticket. I did accept and use the voucher and made three more trips using Greyhound. However, the trip this last time has made me question whether I will use them in the future. Once again, I go up there last month for my girlfriend's birthday. The bus pulls out at about 4:45 pm and, instead of getting on Interstate 75 right by the bus station, I get this ditsy driver who decides to take Tennessee Highway 153 to US Highway 27 and takes that out to Athens, Tennessee, before we finally get on the interstate. We are an hour late getting to Knoxville and finally get into Johnson City. Never mind the fact that the bus driver had to stop at a gas station because he can't find the bus station on West Market Street. He finally found it and we got there around 10:30 pm. That was a piece of cake compared to the ride home. On the day of the ride home, the bus leaves at 3:10 pm so I am there to check-in an hour ahead of time. Passengers are told that the bus coming from Roanoke, Virginia, is late. That is just lovely. This bus, normally at 3:10, shows up at 5:45. The bus in Knoxville leaving for Chattanooga leaves at 6:05 pm and arrives here at 7:50 pm. Due to the fact the bus to Knoxville is late, the passengers going to Chattanooga are told they are being re-routed to Nashville. For those not familiar with Tennessee, instead of going southwest all the way from Johnson City to Chattanooga, you go southwest to Knoxville, due west to Nashville, and then southeast to Chattanooga. Given the circumstances, I made alternate transportation plans from Knoxville and got a partial refund from Greyhound because of their screw-up. Greyhound had a slogan about 30 years ago that said, "leave the driving to us." I don't think so! Dexter I have been watching the Showtime series, "Dexter", on Hulu and it is a great show. It is a forensics officer in the Miami Metro Police Department who decides to take justice into his own hands by killing criminals and dismembering them to the point of non-recognition. As great of a show as it is, I have some questions as I start watching season three. The first has to do with season one's story of the "Ice Truck Killer." As season one plays out, the killer leaves clues to Dexter as to who they are. They include cut-up body parts and severed parts without blood. The prime suspect is a doctor specializing in amputees. As season one goes along, Dexter's sister develops a romantic relationship with the doctor. The thing I can't understand is the amputee doctor is determined to be Dexter's biological brother. Another storyline that develops is that Dexter is adopted and that his adoptive father had an affair with his biological mother. I just wonder if that means the relationship between his adopted sister, Debra, and his biological brother, Brian, is an incestuous relationship because we never have found out who Debra's mother is and I wonder if Laura Moser is her mother, too. As season two starts, Dexter tells his girlfriend he has an addiction and she thinks it is drugs and wants him to enter a 12-step program. During the process, he meets a fellow addict named Lila. One line that has really stuck with me is when Lila asked Dexter how full of it he is. I really want to know how full of it she is because, as the season goes along, I wondered if she would be considered as a good candidate for Moccasin Bend, the local nut house here in Chattanooga. It is also possible that Lila could play a title role in "Single White Female." One other storyline I feel the writers really dropped the ball on is this dynamic between Dexter and Sergeant James Doakes. In the first two seasons, Doakes made it clear he did not like Dexter. All that was said that Doakes said he felt Dexter "was a little off". Here is an idea to the writers. It would have been nice if you taken time to explain why Doakes hates Dexter so much. They had four episodes when Dexter locks Doakes in a cage and they could used that to get at why Doakes hates Dexter so much. I also am confused as to why the writers teased a prior relationship between Doakes and Maria LaGuerta. All we found out was that they were former partners and best friends but why not delve into the dynamic? That confused me, too. A recap of season three is forthcoming. Chattanooga tragedy It has been a sad seven days here in Chattanooga after last Thursday's shooting at two Navy and Marine recruitment centers here in Chattanooga. People are still going to Lee Highway and leaving flowers at a makeshift memorial at the recruitment center there. I maintain that Mohammed Abdulazeez did not use a lot of sense when he chose these centers because of where they are located. This very easily could have escalated to a point that Abdulazeez could have opened fire at the Bi-Lo grocery store on Lee Highway and/or he could have hidden out at the Tennessee Riverpark or at the campus of Chattanooga State Community College and opened fire on innocent civilians, which would have worsened the tragedy. My deepest condolences go out to the families and the friends of the four Marines killed. My gratitude also goes out to the Chattanooga Police Department and the Hamilton County Sheriff's office for the steps they took to make sure this tragedy was not worse, although the loss of one life is one too many. That's all for this time. Thanks for reading and see you next time!