Hello, DUers!

[HamstersFromHell]

I've been lurking here for a few months now, and registered not too long ago. After a few posts and a few "howdys" from DUers, I figured I'd introduce myself. (So hopefully no one will think I'm a freeper troll, if nothing else.)

Folks who know me call me "Doc" (in at least partially following the threads of some folks posting using real life names)...been called that for 30 years now, as I tend to be the one folks come to when they need things fixed...TVs, cars, motorcycles, computers, relationships...

I'm 46, divorced and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

I've tended most of my life to be a bit left of center politically, but was never politically active. It seems as I've aged, I've grown a lot more interested in politics in general - or is it just that since Reagan, I've become more and more fed up with the crap we've allowed to become elected to office in this land.

I'm now to the point where with the present mis-administration, I feel I have a responsibility to get involved with "the system" to prevent this kind of mockery of all I was taught was right in this world from being kept in office.

I tend to post in more "lighthearted" threads because if I allow myself to get "cranked up" over some issues, I don't think the mods here would like my abuse of the English language. If nothing else I am firm in my convictions of what's right and wrong. I tend to try to see the lighter side of things, even though my humor tends to run to the extremely sarcastic.

I believe in 100% honesty, even to the point of being brutally blunt at times. If you can't handle it, please don't hit reply.

Hope to see you in the threads...


Hammies!

[Don_G]

1. Welcome To DU!

:hi:

[neuvocat]

2. Nasheville's a great place, IMO.

If I had to live elsewhere in the U.S. that's probably where I'd end up.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

3. Hello HamstersFromHell !

Welcome ! :hi: :toast:

[Maple]

4. Hiya!

Welcome aboard!

[Old and In the Way]

5. Welcome aboard!

You'll fit right in here.

Hope you've been fitted for your Nomex suit.....recommended dress in GD! Look forward to reading your posts.

[JaySherman]

6. Welcome!

Cheers! :hi: :toast: :beer:

[Momof1]

7. Welcome!!!

Nice to see you here. I don't want to sterotype you at all. BUT Do you like CASH? Country music? I'm a big fan.;)

[HamstersFromHell]

14. On Cash and country music...

Well, at the risk of total embarassment, I'll reply.

I tend to like "older" country...Hank Sr., Cash, Patsy Cline. Not really "into" country, I'm more leaning to classic rock and such. My tastes run from classical to Zappa. I'll listen to almost anything as long as it's not (c)rap and opera...and I'd probably like opera if I spoke Italian.

As far as absolute favorites...Willie Nelson and Emmy Lou Harris (love her voice).

It seems as soon as you say "I'm from Nashville" you get the inevitable "Do you know....?" questions, so I'll do what I can here and now to quash those ideas...

My claims to fame:

At age 7, I was part of a tapdancing "trio" wich was comprised of myself, my baby brother, and Roseanne Nix (Cash)...yes, the one who recently died. I guess if I poked around here enough, I might actually find slides my dad took of those recitals. (Tap dancing is *not* one of the parts of my life I remember fondly...but it made my mom happy.)

I went to high school with Patsy Cline's daughter Julie..a very sweet lady.

Used to remember when the Charlie Daniels Band practiced in their bus driver's garage...right around the corner from the Cline's home.

At around age 22 while working for a local motorcycle shop, I got "invited" to Johnny Cash's home on the lake here.....to do maintenance on his Wetbikes (similar to a jet-ski for those who don't remember them).

Best of all, I never went to Opryland, nor have I seen an Opry performance in person....just wasn't my thing. (And that tends to raise some eyebrows in Nashville.)

Hammies!

[Momof1]

19. You might like this article

I found earlier.

http://www.memphisflyer.com/onthefly/onthefly_new.asp?ID=2687

It starts off with CASH...:)

[HamstersFromHell]

23. Thanks for the article, Mom!

I appreciate that.

Johnny was spot on, and it's a shame.

Here, we're only like 45 miles from Ft. Campbell, so any news there is very much "local" news on TV here, and the men and women of the 101st Airborne have taken a lot of losses in Iraq. A lot of folks up that way aren't real happy now...the political winds are shifting, even in "military" towns like Clarksville.

Hammies!

[Momof1]

26. So you don't get

the wrong idea...lol

I don't listen to country radio. All old stuff myself too. And of course the Chicks. They should be strutting around saying..."Hey I was right" But country is soooo republican, I wonder if we will ever get the music back. :(

[OneBlueSky]

8. welcome, Doc . . .

just curious . . . is the Station Bar still in business down there in Nashville? . . . is it still a neat place to hang out? . . . we visited there many years ago for a conference and ended up at the Station . . . I was playing pool in the bar with this tall guy decked out in full cowboy regalia, right down to the pointy-toed boots . . . right in the middle of our game, someone called him to the back room, where he proceeded to grab his fiddle, get up on stage, and play a kick-ass version of "Orange Blossom Special" . . . then he came back and we finished out game . . . great night that I'll never forget . . . :)

[HamstersFromHell]

16. You mean The Station Inn, I presume?

It's still very much in business in the same location...and still *the* place to go in town for live bluegrass.

I do wonder if it'll remain there much longer. I work about 2 blocks from there (I do large format color printing for a local blueprint company...I get paid to play in Photoshop) and the "gulch" area is a target of some major redevelopment plans now....don't know who or what will win out, but it's not like the old building The Station Inn is in is of much real historical value, so I expect it to get razed if some folks get their way.


Hammies!

[Rowdyboy]

9. Welcome my friend...Sounds like you come

with an interesting perspective. I'm 49 and live in central Mississippi. Look forward to reading your ideas...

[Wonk]

10. Another photoshopper. Hi! Any of your doodles that you'd like to share?

(re: photoshopper, from your profile)

Here's my most recent:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=749532&mesg_id=749790&page=

[HamstersFromHell]

17. Re: Photoshopping

LOL....I *love* playing in Photoshop. Right now, most of my "work" is scattered across several MSN groups, so I'm in the process of consolidating them all to my own little spot on the web.

Most of my work tends to be somewhat risque, and not suitable for viewing by younger folk (or those overly sensitive to sexual commentary). I do want to get into political humor...maybe I do have a lot to say. (evil maniacial laughter)

I have done some fantasy works in Poser and Bryce. I'll post up a link as soon as I can get 'em all in one location for viewing.

As an aside...I don't see where DU allows embedding of images, so I'm assuming here I need to link to them offsite, and that I'll have to work on.

Hammies!

[Wonk]

18. Yes, to post images on DU they have to be on an offsite server

and some free servers like geoshities and tripod don't work, fyi.

Once you have it hosted just post the url in your DU post for it to display here. No extra html is required.

[Skittles]

11. HOWDY FROM TEXAS

:hi:

Susan
same age as you

[ronzo]

12. Greetings.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[kayleybeth]

13. Welcome to DU

enjoy your stay :-)

[nyrnyr1994]

15. Wecome aboard Doc!

Wow, we all beat newyawker99 to the welcoming...

I'm fairly new myself (6 months approx.) and like you I've started to reach a point where I want to be more involved. Looking forward to future thread discussions with you :toast:

[JohnKleeb]

20. looks like someone was off duty

nudges newyawker lol. Welcome Doc.

[HamstersFromHell]

21. Re: Welcome aboard

The "getting involved" is a bit of a leap from me...I've always tended to be a sidelines onlooker, but I don't think I can stomach much more of the current powers that be or their rabid followers.

Coming from the land that Gore lost, I also tended to (perhaps not vocally) support him, even though I don't agree with all of his stands on issues. (What can I say? I love motorsports and I'm as adamant about my "performance vehicles" as the NRA folk are about their guns. "You'll take my sports car when you pry my cold dead hands off the steering wheel"?) So, I guess I'm not gonna be the supporter of a 100% "green" presidential nominee.

I'm still somewhat undecided, but what's gotten to me is Clark...and in a good way. I've followed his recent TV appearances and he seems to be very sincere...and as I said in my introduction here, honesty is my criteria for a lot of things in life. I've never been much on military folk...they tended to be too hawkish in all their "solutions", but I think Clark is striking a good balance.

More rambling thoughts...
Why do they call it the "Department of Defense" and tell us we need a "Department of Homeland Security" as well? Perhaps under the current mis-administration we need to rename them to "The Department of Worldwide Repression" and "The Department of Keeping Uppity Peasants Quiet"?

Cheers!

Hammies!

[newyawker99]

27. Hi HamstersFromHell!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[whathappened]

22. got a question for ya

just passed thru your town and the wife and i could hardly breath well getting threw town on 65 , what in the world is burning down there , smeeled like coal to me , was it

[HamstersFromHell]

24. Re: question

Hmmm...no idea.

Now if you stayed on I-65 the whole way through town, there is a gawdawful smell somedays right as you cross the river from a local rendering plant. Somedays it's not even noticable, but others could gag a maggot.

As for I-65 north of town...don't get me startedon the congestion and will-it-ever-end interstate construction. Now if it was up in that area, it my have been a "portable" asphalt plant they've set up at 65 and Briley Pky. I suspect they're "recycling" old paving up there, as they've stripped off 6 lanes of asphalt for about 6 or 7 miles there and replacing it with 10 lanes of concrete.

Hammies!

[HamstersFromHell]

25. Thanks for the warm welcome...

...to all of you who bothered to drop a line that I didn't specifically reply to.

Bows to the ladies, handshakes to the gentlemen, pats on da head to all the animals.

Hammies!

[Aristus]

28. "Your father was a hamster, and your mother smelled of elderberries!"

"Now go away, or I'll shall taunt you a second time!"

That's my way of saying welcome, HamstersfromHell! :toast: :-)

[HamstersFromHell]

31. Re: Hamsters and Elderberries

That's still one of my all-time favorite movies.


Hammies!

[populistmom]

29. Welcome to DU!

I was a lurker for awhile too. I think it took me six months to get up to 100 posts, then another 2 months to get to 200. Since then, I've been babbling like crazy. I tend to stay out of the more "serious" borads too unless I see something that really pisses me off, then I have to chime in, but I usually just end up reading them for information and getting a nice variety of opinions on a subject, but the lounge is a lot more fun.

[myrna minx]

30. Welcome to the Underground.

Welcome. :hi:

[proud patriot]

32. salutations

:hi:

[tom_paine]

33. Welcome to DU, HamsterFromHell!

:toast: :hi: :beer: :toast:

Your experience mirrors my own. Many of us who could have spent our whole lives on the sidelines, poltically-speaking, are stepping up because our country NEEDS us!

You are a center-lefty, like myself, but I never ever wanted the conservative line of thought to die out (as the Busheviks desire for the liberals) because I believe the Founding Fathers meant this to be a moderate country, with the passions of the extremes balancing each other out.

Well, now the checks and balances have been eaten away like the septum in Emperor Cokespoon*s nose, the Bill of Rights rapidly becoming a distant memory and what is to come if the Emperor* is appointed again in 2004 is anyone's guess, but it won't be good and may be more horrible than anyone's wildest dreams.

Though after three years of Imperial Rule, I think everyone's wildest dreams are a good bit more capable of imagining raw evi, which is what the Busheviks are...

Anyway, from one reluctant but VERY PISSED warrior to another, welcome to DU.

You are among friends.

:toast:

[tom_paine]

34. Welcome to DU, HamsterFromHell!

:toast: :hi: :beer: :toast:

Your experience mirrors my own. Many of us who could have spent our whole lives on the sidelines, poltically-speaking, are stepping up because our country NEEDS us!

You are a center-lefty, like myself, but I never ever wanted the conservative line of thought to die out (as the Busheviks desire for the liberals) because I believe the Founding Fathers meant this to be a moderate country, with the passions of the extremes balancing each other out.

Well, now the checks and balances have been eaten away like the septum in Emperor Cokespoon*s nose, the Bill of Rights rapidly becoming a distant memory and what is to come if the Emperor* is appointed again in 2004 is anyone's guess, but it won't be good and may be more horrible than anyone's wildest dreams.

Though after three years of Imperial Rule, I think everyone's wildest dreams are a good bit more capable of imagining raw evil, which is what the Busheviks are...

Anyway, from one reluctant but VERY PISSED warrior to another, welcome to DU.

You are among friends.

:toast:

[tom_paine]

35. Welcome to DU, HamsterFromHell!

:toast: :hi: :beer: :toast:

Your experience mirrors my own. Many of us who could have spent our whole lives on the sidelines, poltically-speaking, are stepping up because our country NEEDS us!

You are a center-lefty, like myself, but I never ever wanted the conservative line of thought to die out (as the Busheviks desire for the liberals) because I believe the Founding Fathers meant this to be a moderate country, with the passions of the extremes balancing each other out.

Well, now the checks and balances have been eaten away like the septum in Emperor Cokespoon*s nose, the Bill of Rights rapidly becoming a distant memory and what is to come if the Emperor* is appointed again in 2004 is anyone's guess, but it won't be good and may be more horrible than anyone's wildest dreams.

Though after three years of Imperial Rule, I think everyone's wildest dreams are a good bit more capable of imagining raw evil, which is what the Busheviks are...

Anyway, from one reluctant but VERY PISSED warrior to another, welcome to DU.

You are among friends.

:toast:

[Rocinante]

36. Welcome!

I live about 70 miles south of Nashville. Always good to see another Tennessean on DU.

[HamstersFromHell]

38. Lawrenceburg? n/t

[Rocinante]

40. Yep

you got it! Have you ever been here?

[HamstersFromHell]

42. Visiting Lawrenceburg

It's been ages since I was last in Lawrenceburg. I suppose it's been 25 years or more...I'd never remember a thing there (that applies to driving to the other side of Nashville nowdays...it's all changing so fast).

Used to date a girl from Lawrenceburg years ago. Now, the closest I get is Lewisburg, and I don't think I'll be going back...the lady I met online from there turned out to be a rabid dittohead, and love (or lust) can't conquer all.

Hammies!

[terrya]

37. A welcome from Chicago, HamstersFromHell!

And maybe I can ask you sometime how you came up with the userid! :-)

[HamstersFromHell]

39. Behind the screen name...

The Hammies name goes back a ways...have been playing with computers for some 24 years now, and somewhere around the mid-80's, I adopted it for a gaming ID on some old BBS' I frequented. I guess in a way it describes me...kinda docile until someone gets me riled.

Hammies!

[VOX]

41. Hey, Doc -- welcome to DU!

Thanks for getting fired up and joining the fray. Looking forward to your posts!

All best to you -- :toast: