Who am I kidding? It’s time for a makeover…Before I Cack!!

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Patric

Let’s begin at the beginning.  Waaaaaaaaay back in the early 2000’s (yep, two decades ago), I belonged to an irreverent message board forum that I stumbled upon (isn’t that the way most of this internet stuff happens?).  This was way before Google and FaceBook and Twitter began using algorithms to push content at you that they think is suited toward your interests (please stop sending me ads for penis enhancement…my plumbing works fine!).  So, when I say I stumbled upon the forum, it really was by happenstance.

This forum was mostly a place to vent…in the safety of your own head…with a small audience of fellow attendees, who gave as good as they got back. It was abusive, relentlessly Non-PC, and hilarious.  And, pretty much, off of the public radar. Some of the things I posted there would put me in “cancel culture jail,” by today’s standards.  At that time, I went by the “handle” of CrabbyOldGuy.

It was the first term of George Bush II, and I had a LOT to say. Far more than I could roll out on a Forum Board. As I owned an internet services company (for my real job), it was easy to come to the conclusion that I needed a web site. Something public. Something more permanent. So in May of 2005, I went to get the crabbyoldguy.com domain name.  It was gone. Taken by another old guy (keeping in mind that I was only 51 at this point.  Hardly old. But, pretty plenty crabby).

So, after a search, I found out that crankyoldguy.com was available.  Cranky? Crabby? They both make the point of my general attitude.  I bought it…and CrankyOldGuy was born!

And, then it got complicated.  REALLY Complicated. 
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Posted in Rants | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gender Identification Gets Murky When You Wipe…

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Patric

I’m going to go waaaaaay out on a limb here, knowing that I am going to get into deep trouble with a ton of “woke” folks who have risen up to defend the new labeling of “Mister and Missus Potato Head,” but I’m willing to take the chance.

To start it all off, something happened this week, that made me feel special, and then weirdly out of touch, with one of my most intimate daily actions. I found out that there is a product called, “Dude Wipes.”

So, yeah…maybe the Gen-Xers and Millennials know all about this product. But, I just had my first “Dude Wipe” experience…the very same week that I had my first pedicure, and I have to say, it has done nothing to lessen my anger at the overstepping that has happened with the whole “Mr/Mrs Potato Head” brouhaha…even though I feel slightly enlightened for both experiences.

It is weird being “on the other side,” of an issue from my regular “Lefty Peeps.” While the Fox News and “Old School Gender Warriors” were ignoring the rise in Covid cases and death count, another handful of mass shootings, and virtually anything else that mattered, to be able to spend their time getting upset about Dr. Seuss and The Potato Heads, I found myself doing a, “Yeah, but…” around the same time my butt was having its first “Gender Centric” wipe.

I know. This whole thing is confusing. Let me try and make myself clear.
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Posted in Politics-Religion-Sex and Stuff that Might Offend | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Screaming Into the Echo Chamber

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Patric

As “normal” begins to return to the country (remember normal?), I realize that I am slowing but surely finding a way back from the Trump PTSD way of life that used to start with checking my news/social media/talking heads every morning upon waking.

It is a relief…and weirdly stressful.

We have all been programmed for so long to expect another boot to drop (although Trump likely was barefoot as he did his daily tweet-strafing run from the bathroom), that weeks of nothing is…well…stressful in its own way. 

And the fact is, we have all been screaming into the echo chamber for so long, that we almost feel weird checking in with our fellow “Dump Trumpers” and talking about anything other removing him from office. 

But, weirdly…the echo chamber may have grown louder…and could land you in Twitter Jail!
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Posted in Rants, Trumping Trump | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

When Life Gives You Oranges…It’s Time for a Change of Beverage!

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Patric

Is it safe to read the news again? Is it safe to go out, and find someone to hug? Is it OK to start planning for some “normal summer fun?”

I guess two out of three isn’t bad.

I’ve been MIA lately. I know that. But it has been a pretty rugged year, with loads of friends and family passing away, the fabric of our nation being torn to shreds by nutjobs, and the ever-present danger, that life with masks may be in our future for a few more months.

But, I admit that the past year in particular, has changed me.  And now, it’s time to put away the “Orange tears of rage” (as well as any inclination to drink the orange juice being peddled by DTJ) and try something new and fresh, or at least familiar. It’s also time to realize that being bunkered in the basement (literally on some days/weeks) has brought out some sides of myself, and the world at large, that I am eager to fix.
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Posted in Ramblings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments