Happy Birthday Thunder Pig!!!

On May 14, 2008, I logged onto a public terminal in the Jackson County library and created this blog on a whim. I had been thinking about doing it for months, as I read other blogs from around the country, and listened to Ken Bagwell on Heads Up America (the 1350 WZNN incarnation). I noticed that there were no blogs covering western North Carolina from a conservative perspective. There was no one that posted on a regular basis, or would last long if they did.

We were, and still are eat up with progressives, and those who are slouching toward it.

Here is my very first post, and I think I have lived up to my original vision, nor have I gotten around to posting that short, horrid bio I had promised.


Then and Now comparisons:

Then...I had a 28.8k dial-up telephone connection that clocked a reliable 19 to 21k, Now....I have Verizon DSL with around 3Mbps download and 768k upload speed. Note to self...update this post with the results of my latest speed test when I get home tonight. (I'm still giddy over that). Here are my stats for my current location:



Then...My computer had a 6GB Hard Drive and 256MB RAM and a 1.44MB Floppy Drive and a CD-ROM drive (no burner).
Now....My desktop has a 80GB Hard Drive and 512MB RAM two combo CD-DVD Burners. I can run multiple monitors when the need arises.

Then...My portable memory needs were met with a stack of 1.44MB floppies that I carried around to use in public terminals to save my work, and to save webpages for later viewing.
Now....I have portable Hard Drives that I use, depending on the purpose. I have an ultra portable 60GB WD Passport, a bulky 80 GB Seagate, and my everyday workhorse 320 GB WD Passport that has my life on it. Sadly, it is not backed up, so I am living on the verge of information disaster.

Then...I had a no-name 2.1MP digital camera with with I took pictures, and silent movies. I once lost it at work while weed-eating, and found it three weeks later (after several rains), dried it off for a week, and it was as good as new. In fact, I still have it as one of my backup cameras.

Now....I have a Kodak EasyShare Z710 that takes excellent 7MP photos and movies with sound. [flickr] [youtube]

Then...I had a dream of uniting conservatives in western North Carolina into a coherent online community with efficient sharing of information, and a pool of writers and citizen journalists armed with audio, video, and photo recording equipment to document the actions of local and state governments...and having that information posted in a timely manner so people could act as appropriate to their conscience.
Now....I still have that dream, although I now fully understand the Rear Admiral Grace Hopper quote:

"The most damaging thing in the language is--'It's always been done this way.'

I have learned that conservatives are like cats...they cannot be herded in a new direction easily.


Then...We had a Republican President and a Republican Congress...I paid $2.25 a gallon for fuel.
Now....We have a Republican President, and a democrat Congress, and I pay $4.49 a gallon for fuel.

Chart courtesy: Gas Buddy
Why Diesel Prices are higher than gasoline.

Where will I be in 3 more years, provided I survive?

I have no clue. I hope that we will be thinking about which conservative will be the best to replace McCain with in 2012.