Odd - I keep having posts show up on my timeline, I go to comment or like and strangly they have been deleted. Account hacks or relapse in judgement? @CleansedTweets - does this ever happen to you? 😉

Ha! Someone has designed a robotic version of my hand…

To all my fellow @Hot_Pepper76 fans - I noticed her missing from my timeline and thought the algorithm was messing up again. Dropped by her profile and noticed the "feeling under the weather" post from a couple days ago. Pepper - I just wanted to wish you good health and a speedy recovery. Your daily sunshine is greatly missed here on X.

I realize it way past my bedtime when my Japanese cohorts (@mellifera_x3) start their morning posts. Or the Americans are signing off for the day...

Blood not required... In a previous post, I mentioned the early years of my childhood and my biological father passing when I was nine. A few years later my mother was introduced to a man and after a time, he married into the family. Mind you, my newly acquired step-father took on 3 children. Additionally, the knowledge he would have no biological children of his own as my mother had her tubes tied. And it would be an understatement to say that we 3 pre-teen kids were not going to make it easy for him. My stepdad was a good-old-boy from west Texas, his parents were high school sweethearts that were married until they passed. My grandad worked the oil fields all his life for Gulf/Chevron and his own roughneck business until retirement. My grandma was a traditional housewife, raised my stepdad and aunt, took care of the house and grandads books. They didn't have an easy life but managed to put their 2 kids through college and retired modestly with land for cattle and fields for watermelon and peanuts. Grandad one one of nine siblings which made for big family gatherings, the best of which was Father's Day where the extended family all got together for BBQ, homemade ice cream (every flavor imaginable), pies and cobbler. As I eluded, we kids and my stepdad mixed like oil and water. By his standards, we were hellions and he was raised in a household of hard love. Consequently this is how he raised us. Ironically, I noticed when I graduated high school and went off to college, my stepdad's attitude became more accepting, like I'd crossed some right of passage. From that point on, we were on much better ground. Not to make it sound like things were all bad, we knew he was providing for us and we knew he cared. He was simply limited by his ability to express it with a normal amount of affection. Instead, he strived to to show us with his actions: - He taught us how to respect our elders with a simple yes/no sir/ma'am - He taught us how to hunt and fish - Ride horses , rope cattle, play baseball and golf - The responsibility of raising show cattle and the thrill of stock shows and rodeos around the great state of Texas. - He made sure we had a (hand-me-down) car to drive when we got our license - And the opportunity to go to college without debt - How to work hard and be responsible In my adulthood, he was always there for me and we grew closer. And at some point I stopped calling him by his first name and started calling him Dad, which he truly deserved. Something he never asked for or demanded either way. Ironically, I married into a ready-made family myself with 2 children. Somethings I strived to do better, especially when it came to displaying affection. Regardless, it too had its challenges and I found myself apologising to my dad multiple times for the karma I was enduring. But it never stopped me from trying to pass on the lessons my dad taught me. My dad was not without his faults, but he took care of us and the grandkids. And most importantly, he took care of my mother which sadly ended with 3 years of slow degradation and suffering from ALS. And the stubborn old fart that was my Dad, he was the type that didn't take COVID seriously up until the point it put him in the hospital. I'll never forget my last conversation with him admitting "COVID is no joke" and confessing his doubt of ever walking out of the hospital. I tried to reassure him that he had survived a 5-way bypass and was golfing 6 weeks later. I reminded him of his battle with a liver tumor that didn't take him. But ultimately, I think he was just tired, done and lonely without mom. And to his words he never walked out of the hospital. For me, the hardest part of losing those close is the reality I'll never get to talk with them. To hear their voice. To talk about the stupid weather, how the Rangers are doing, or how proud I am of the young adults my kids have become. Something I credit directly to my Mom and Dad for raising me to be the man and father I am. The photo is 3 generations enjoying a weekend of red snapper fishing off the Galveston coast. I'm not 100% sure when it was, but I estimate 2000'ish timetrame. My grandad in his signature attire: bib-overalls, a long sleeve shirt and small-brim hat to shade from the sun (consequently how he was buried when he passed). Then me and my Dad. Fortunately, there's photos and memories...

Came across a scan of a Polaroid which I believe was taken around 1972. My father was a motor and transmission man by trade and owned a shop on East Main in downtown Dallas (ironically became Club Clearview during the Deep Ellum revival). When not working, he was building and driving sprint cars as a hobby. I’m dating this phone based on the fact this was the previous sprinter than the one he was driving when he had a fatal crash at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Aug ’74. It was certainly painful as a young boy, but warms my heart now rummaging through the memories of 50 years ago: – The house I grew up in – Watching my dad build sprint cars in a converted horse barn behind the house – The 68 Eldorado beast – Numerous Corvettes my father owned, but I hated because I couldn’t see over the dash. – My own sprint car bodied gocart I drove through the 2x6 fence in the background – The 5 acres I despised mowing as a kid – A point in my life a with a head full of hair and all my fingers 🤣 As much as I find smartphones a huge distraction to society today, I am happy we have the convenient ability to photo document the events in our lives.

Freedom of Belief: All humans are free to believe what they want. In a perfect world, we all would respect that freedom, regardless of how we feel about the belief. Whether religious, political, or sexuality-related ideologies, it is always the same. The conflict arises when one party cannot be content with mere freedom of belief. They expect adaptation and adoption of said beliefs as true and therefore deserving public validation/endorsement. Genuinely the finest hypocrisy in itself.

Seven days: 100 more blocks for accounts soliciting OF/fanvue and/or accounts from Africa/Nigeria. 600 blocks @support I'm really looking forward to some built-in blocking mechanisms and truly hope you provide this to EVERYONE. Safety and security should be a basic feature available to all users.

I recently posted a tweet response that reflects my opinion on the evasiveness of immigration. There were a few attempts to call me out as I'm an American living in Germany. So, to set the record straight, full disclosure: Key Distinctions: Expat vs. Immigrant - Expat (expatriate) is generally a person (often a citizen of their home country) who lives temporarily outside their native country, usually for work, assignment, or a defined period, without intending permanent settlement. They retain strong ties to their home country (e.g., citizenship, tax obligations, and plans to return). - Immigrant is someone who moves to a foreign country with the intention of establishing permanent residence there, often seeking long-term or indefinite stay, permanent residency, or citizenship. Additionally, there's the subgroup of illegal-immigrants, that can't or won't put forth the effort for proper integration. I came to Germany in support of the US DoD and I'm here under a SOFA VISA (Status Of Forces Agreement). Getting one requires you to fill a position within the DoD org that can not be filled by a LN (local national), generally due to security reasons. Your ability to renew your SOFA status can be denied if you fail a series of questions that would indicate you're trying to "grow roots" in Germany i.e., marrying a LN, buying a house, etc. I'm a classic example of an Expat. I'm paid by a US based company, in US dollars and pay US Taxes. I don't consume Germany's social services. But I do contribute heavily to the local economy in all things required to live: rent, utilities, groceries, gas, recreation, etc. I'm not here to interfere in the daily lives of my German hosts, not here to change anyone's political or religious views and I'm certainly not here to defraud the citizens or country of Germany. Considering the qty of fellow Americans station in Germany, it's estimated that approximately €3-4 billion is injected in the German economy. (That's about half the amount of the projected $9B loss to fraud in Minnesota, but at least it's a positive number. #Satire )

Damn, why are people so uptight?

“Free speech” has some very reasonable limitations that the left is constantly trying to push the envelope on. Don’t be fooled!!

Sigh, surpassed 500 blocked accounts…

I've done some international travel and I've wished for open borders. I say that as I know I'm a good person, I adapt and integrate. In reality, there are many humans that follow different ideologies and simply want to overtake and annihilate. Heavy is the heart of a dreamer...

Hmm - you make a comment regarding a car video, you’ll get 50 likes from fellow car dudes. You post on a female influencer’s thread, you’ll get a bunch of likes w/80% being OF and/or Nigerian scam bots. Ugh…

A quick shoutout to @mellifera_x3 I know it’s been a hard week, I want you to know there are people around the world wishing the best for you. May your heart and health recover quickly.

Here's an idea: For any illegal immigrant detained, instead of sending them to a detention center, they should be handcuffed to a ICE protester. Make it their responsibility to care for the POS as it seems they are so eager to help'em.

A new X discovery today As an American that’s lived/worked all over the country, the last 14 years in Germany and moving to France, along with 2 trips to China Q4/25 for equipment visiting 6 major cities including lovely Shanghai, @Linahuaa looks like an interesting read…