I’ll be honest- I don’t know why I check Mashable.com every day. I’m clearly not their demographic and half the time their content makes me either cringe or rant.

However, I spotted this during my daily “Why the hell am I here? visit:

Consecutive stories are about the Mecca of Millenials- Starbucks. Personally, I call them “Charbucks” because I hate how over-roasted their “coffee” is. Give me Caribou any day.

The thing that struck me is the top post is all about a caring employee who’s learning ASL for one deaf customer. The very next post is about how they’re a money-grubbing evil corporation of evil evilostity.

I just liked the juxtaposition.

Atlanta + Three Flakes Hitting The Ground =

A Private Showing of “Pride Prejudice and Zombies” !!

I got a major surprise yesterday in the form of a phone call from South Carolina.

I spent 4 years of the late 1980’s in West Germany back when it really was still called West Germany. For a large chunk of that time my best friend was a goofy guy named Dan. If I wasn’t on duty I was out club hopping or eating or just basic chilling out with Dan.

We were inseparable… until I had less than a month left. Rough time. First my now ex-wife betrayed me in the worst imaginable way possible (Free Life Tip- NEVER get married at 19). Then my best bud picked a girl over me when I begged him not to marry her because I knew for certain from knowing her personally for 2+ years that she was crazier than a rat in a tin outhouse.

I ended up getting back on the plane home without speaking to him again.

Until this Sunday. It turns out paying for an “unlisted” number is worth precisely 0. In this case, that’s a good thing as it apparently made me easy to find. My last name is rather distinct, unlike his. So, before when I searched for him I got 100’s of hits. I’m more unique it seems.

We spoke for almost 2 hours. Between the two of us we’ve missed 3 wives, 4 kids, 4 degrees, 3 deployments and a thousand other moments that make up “life” for two guys on the backside of 50.  I’m at that point in my life and my career where an “impromptu trip” has to be scheduled 3 months out, but I’m guessing that me an Danny will be hoisting a pint or two in the very near future.

We’ll talk sports, politics, family life, those people that one of us won’t remember and those times when we both utterly failed to hit it off with every Fraulein in a disco and ended up sitting on the bridge drinking beer and eating grilled chicken wrapped in a newspaper, just enjoying being young and hopelessly stupid about practically everything.

Plus… I’ll finally get to give my old friend an “I TOLD YOU SO” 30+ years in the making. I told him that girl was crazy…

OUT: RedPaintBlog. com

IN: RedPaint.co

New year. New URL. New beginnings.

I was bored and started playing around in PS.

If this was a blog about architecture this may have had possibilities.

I hope your year is starting better than mine. 

On New Years Eve  my daughter flooded our bathroom. As I was cleaning it up I was drying the area between the toilet and wall with a towel and my left foot. My right foot slid on the wet tile and since my left couldn’t move my right knee took all the twist. So I get to start 2015 in a knee brace. Yay.

My goal for 2015 is to update this blog more often. Wish me luck.

Today is Election Day in the US.

During the year I have a simple rule:

Whenever somebody is whinging to me about politics, politicians or anything like that I just stop them cold and ask:

“Did you vote last time?’

If they say “No” I just tell them:

“Then come back to me in a couple of years when you’ve earned the right to bitch.”

Whether your “side” wins or loses, it’s important that you at least stand up and be counted. Otherwise… just shut up until ’16.

-Jay