Education

New Life, New Tattoos

Published Friday, October 19, 2012 | By Denver Fowler

NSFW Warning: If you are not into tattoos, topics about kinky sex or the like. Turn back now, do not read further. If you do read further, please do not simply bash just because you don’t agree. No one is forcing you to read this or view the images.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, on with the show.

Back in either late 1994 or early 1995, I got my first tattoo. I liked the whole mythical vampire thing. This was before the Twilight movies that made vampires go emo and twinkle. Fuck you Stephenie Meyer! It was of a simple drawing of a black rose. It was to symbolize a clan of vampires known as the Toreador, found in a Dungeons and Dragons type game called Vampire: The Masquerade. I customized it by turning it upside down (originally it was lying on its side), and then had blood coming from it. It was unique and it was mine.

Earlier this year, my youngest daughter Bethany honored me by having the exact same tattoo done on her calf. It looks simply remarkable. It flatters me to know that I was such a part of her life that she shows it permanently on herself.

Life has certainly changed for me over the past few years. Some ways good, other ways not good at all. Thankfully I was given another chance to make my life the way I want it to be. I have also started learning a lot about myself and how I’ve been denying myself happiness in order to please others. While I will still do my part for others, I will be focusing much more on what makes me happy. Life is too short to have yourself always in servitude to someone else just because you’ll think it will make them happy. While I had hoped it would make me happy to make them happy (wow head hurts…), it never really works out that way.

I’ve learned it’s harder for me to trust than it used to be. I used to give my heart away freely. You can only have it broken so many times before you realize you need to be more picky in your life mates. Be it woman or man. I swing toward women only, but hey that’s me. This has made me realize that trust should be earned, not just given because you are attracted to someone.

I’ve also learned that life is too short for boring ass sex. Over the past few years, I’ve started letting myself explore the “darker” sides of sex and find it really appeals to me. I like being dominate. I love a submissive lover. I like doing things that you don’t find in day to day textbook romance sex. While that is still good, it’s not what I want all the time. However, being an open person as I am, most everyone who knows me already knows I’m a freak in the bedroom

So I’m a Geek and a Freak. What of it? (yes, shameless plug, but that’s where the t-shirt idea came from)

So the idea had come to me for my second tattoo. Trust is Earned. Yes, I saw it in a porn and it just seemed to fit. So yeah, I am stealing the idea. Just as soon as I told a friend of mine, Gene, she’s getting it done this Wednesday the 24th at 4pm. (she’ll actually have it done before me ) She’s having it done over her heart, I’m going to put it below the rose on my arm. (as seen in the picture above)

Finally, last but not least. I think I’ll get one more tattoo done. It’s one I’ve been chewing on since I got my first one done, but never actually had it put on. In my Navy days, I was referred too as “Bugs”. As in Bugs Bunny. Because at the time I was tall, skinny and a huge smart ass. (the smart ass thing never changed as you can tell) I, like my son, played the drums. So I always envisioned Bugs leaning against my arm, (oddly just like he does in the US Postage stamp of him) holding a pair of drum sticks. I’d really like to kick it up with him wearing my (then) trademark blue jean shorts and white tank top with some logo or other on it. This is my half-assed rendition of my vision of that tattoo.

Since I’ll be getting back into playing drums and I’m getting skinnier again (almost at my goal weight for this year!!), it might fit me again. Sure I won’t have a 29 inch waist or long blond hair like I used to have, but I’ll be in an acceptable range I think.

Not bad if I do say so myself

Posted in News | Tagged Bondage, Dominate, Education, Life, Love, Sex, Submissive

Fine example of Dumasaphobia

Published Wednesday, December 21, 2011 | By Denver Fowler

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t suffer from Dumasaphobia {dŭm’ăs-ə-fō’bē-ə} The Fear of Stupid People. Over the years I have noted this continuing decline in our society that is a mix of lowered educational standards and technology making making the general populous lazy. The craze of texting is also becoming a severe problem in getting people to spell simple words properly. As well as all the near miss accidents I’ve avoided over the past few years. Nothing like looking in the rear-view mirror at a stop light just to see someone eyes get really huge as they look up from their “smartphone” to stomp on the brake pedal prior to colliding with the rear end of my car.

Although, continually I’m told that I’m being overly hateful or cynical of the human population. Yet here is a perfect example. This is a payment stub I received today from a customer. They couldn’t even do simple addition.

Click for Larger Image

If they can’t do this, I can’t possibly expect them to answer very simple questions like:

What version of Windows or Mac are you using?
When you click on the start menu, do you have 1 or 2 columns? (which is frequently met with “What’s a column?”)
What was the error message?

The list goes on. Things that would normally help me, help the customer. Now the best part is yet to come. In 1 month they will get a bill for $5.00. Call me up and complain to me that they made a 2 month payment and that I should check my records (and become angry with me because my records are wrong in their mind). This will lead to my asking them for a copy of the canceled check for proof. Once they have that then I have to show them their mathematical error. Just so they can say “fine” in a huff and make the payment. No thank you for finding the mistake, no I’m sorry for putting you through this trouble…

Posted in News | Tagged Billing, Customers, Dumasaphobia, Education, Payments

Things I just don’t understand about computer owners…

Published Thursday, November 3, 2011 | By Denver Fowler

I wish I knew what it is with these different crowds of computer owners. There are two groups of them in particular that frustrate me to no end. The one group that are petrified of their computers. The other group that refuse to learn anything about their computers but expect help if any tiny thing goes wrong; and then get upset when you ask probing questions so you can better help them.

Of course the first thing I hear is “I’m computer illiterate.” or “I’m not a technical person.”. I know that, or you wouldn’t be calling me. That is a given. However, you aren’t a mechanic either and yet you know to change the oil in your car every 3000 miles right? You aren’t a food and beverage expert, but you know to keep your food cold to keep it from spoiling… You know not to heat your cup of coffee in the microwave for 10 minutes or you’ll give yourself third degree burns drinking it. Am I generally right? So why is it, you’ve owned a computer for several months, or years, but you can’t tell me the simplest things about it? Like what version of Windows or Mac you run? What email program you use? Why don’t you know to defrag your Windows machine every month? Why can’t you keep your antivirus up to date? These things aren’t that hard, you don’t need to be an expert to know any of this. And what makes some people afraid of their computer? It’s not going to jump off the desk and beat them up if they do something wrong. “But I don’t know how!” You didn’t know how to drive a car at one point, and you learned didn’t you? You can kill people or yourself in a car, you generally can’t kill people with a computer. Unless you throw it, or drop it or are an evil genius that uses it to control an army of human killing robots. However, I’m thinking that’s kind of unlikely.

Then the folks who don’t want to learn. They crack me up with their “I don’t know or care how it works, I just want it to do what I want it to do!”. That to me is like owning a T.V. but don’t want to figure out the remote control. Own a refrigerator but don’t want to know what temperatures to set it too. Have a washing machine but don’t want to add soap or carry the clothes too and from it. Own a car but expect it to do all the driving and maintenance. A.K.A. it’s just not going to happen. If you want something to do what you want it do to, you need to learn to use it properly. Otherwise get a butler or maid to do everything for you.

Then of course they call me up, crying about something or other. Can’t tell me a thing when I ask about “what is the error you are getting”, or “what program are you using to do that with” and so on. And call me rude for not being able to provide help. Funny thing, is I only ask three things of any one person when they call me.

It’s the only 3 things I ask of any customer:

Know what you own.
Read to me exactly.
Listen to me.

It’s amazing that I can’t get that out of most folks that call me these days. I mean, what am I supposed to do if you can’t tell me anything, you have no basic knowledge at all and refuse to even try? I realize after nearly 20 years of tech support, I’m very well burnt out, but still, as time goes on, this trend seems to get worse and worse. I remember back in the day walking an elderly woman through replacing a video card in her computer over the phone, and she did wonderfully. Yet the past 5-10 years, I can’t even get someone to tell what version of Windows they spent their hard earned money on.

Posted in News | Tagged Computers, Customers, Education, Phobia

Kids First Drive Safely

Published Tuesday, September 7, 2010 | By Denver Fowler

I understand the need to raise awareness of our children returning to school. As drivers will undoubtedly need to be reminded that when commuting to and from work, there will be children going to and coming from school. I get that.

People get used to driving a certain way. They tend to forget that when school starts, things need to slow down.

But… It seems our Public School System in Hampton Roads has a brilliant campaign to show drivers signs that say “Kids First Drive Safely”.

And as much as I like to remind people that Public Educations are not what they used to be… It seems now our “educators”, are not smart enough to be allowed to teach our children.

As I go through a rather busy intersection on the way to work, I see on 2 different corners of it; mainly teenage girls, in green tee shirts and blue short shorts sporting the sign above. “Kids First Drive Safely” Does anyone else see what’s wrong with this?

Lets dress up teenage girls so Joe Perv can get distracted.
Place them in a busy intersection so we can have “Bowling for Teens”.
Have them jumping and waving trying to get drivers attention, thus distracting them from guess what? DRIVING SAFELY!!!

I honestly don’t get that part at all. Why distract drivers with a message to drive safely? Why put teens in a possible situation of getting hurt as they jump and bounce acting silly as teens tend to do (trust me, I have a teenage daughter who is beginning to drive, and maintaining focus is her biggest downfall).

If I could go back in time and change my life… It would be to live in a small town and be more involved in our school system. Maybe then my children would have a better chance a good education like I had.

Posted in News | Tagged Dumasaphobia, Education, Kids, School, Stupidity

Societal Degradation

Published Thursday, March 4, 2010 | By Denver Fowler

If you didn’t understand the two words in the story title, then you are an example of what I’m talking about. They are not big words, they are not hard to understand. I feel our society is degrading. Yet most kids I know don’t know what those words mean and are not capable of spelling them correctly or even using them in a proper sentence. I play online games and I have no need to hear someone actually pronounce lol {lawl} over ventrilo. It’s bad enough to try to decipher the hieroglyphics of all these acronyms in the chat window. How about actually laughing? It simply frustrates me the shortcuts we make and take to sound cool.

Before I go much further, let me explain the picture. I sincerely love Scott Kurtz, and his work with webcomics. However, his character lolbat emphasizes everything I hate about today’s society. Between text messaging, instant messaging, video games, we’ve created an entire sub language that completely undermines our American Language.

Every day I see new useless words make it into the dictionary. In my youth, we constantly said “Ain’t, ain’t a word”. Simply because the word ain’t was not in the dictionary. It is now. Along with “bling” and “phat” and a thousand useless other words. Granted, I’m not perfect, I’m sure my English teacher is cursing me right now, but at least I make a serious effort to get it right. More than most of our society does now.

It drives me insane to have to talk with my kid’s teacher and hear them speak street language. When they have to “Ax me ’bout my child’s behavior.”. How can I take my child’s education seriously? I actually pay taxes for this? If they complain that they don’t make enough money teaching, perhaps it’s due to the fact they hardly make a serious effort to truly educate our youth. If I could afford private education, I certainly would go that route.

This has led to the work place as well. I can’t enter a store or many fast food restaurants without seeing an employee jabbering away on their cellphone. I remember several handbooks that said “personal phone calls are not permitted”. They will talk street talk on the phone while ringing up my coffee and not say two words to me. Or look at me like I’m wasting their time and say “Dat it?”. The atmosphere certainly isn’t conveying any kind of welcome.

And all of this is worsened by the fact that we now have computers, cellphones and all sorts of easy access to one another that makes it so our society doesn’t have to even bother to get up and go out to be social. We sit at home, or in the car or at work, talking, texting, messaging or {ahem} blogging. We’ve gotten lazy to, dare I say, epic proportions. This laziness carries over into our brains and we don’t even try. We don’t fight our schools for their poor education to our children. We accept the new useless words in our language because “that’s what everyone is using now”. When will the madness stop? Will we in a hundred years have a totally new language? Will American English become an ancient dialect we used to speak?

It constantly amazes me that I say a simple word like “facade” that I think my high school kid should already know and use. Yet she has no idea what I just said. She’s even in journalism. Which leads me to think that someone who writes about things like a person who is hiding their true identity.

Well it may not make a difference to the masses in general, but I certainly try to do my part by helping my kids understand words and their definitions. Help them with grammar and spelling. I refuse to talk with people who won’t speak or write English properly.

However, if all else fails, you can communicate with your children using this handy translation tool. Just don’t use it when writing me.

Posted in News | Tagged Education, Nostalgia, Schools