I’m afraid that I am becoming a “grumpy old man.” Well, maybe not so much “afraid” as “cautiously aware.” Basically, I complain too much. (Jeez, I hope my wife doesn’t read this. Talk about pouring fuel on the fire.)

It’s winter in DFW and, as per usual, the locals moan and grouse whenever the daily high temperature fails to crest 60 degrees. Generally, I tell them to shut their pie-holes, that I like the chill air, and point out the ignorance of saying, “it’s freezing,” when, in fact, it is a good 20 degrees above freezing. 50 is not “freezing.” THIS is “freezing”:

So, if you can’t throw boiling water and make snow, I don’t want to hear any complaining about your flip-flops and cheer shorts not keeping you toasty in January! Now, get off my lawn!

…

That said, I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed the last couple of 70 degree days. And sunset is now late enough I’ve been able to ride Thumper to work. (Insert “glee” sound muffled under my old-grump-ness.)

I’m trying to figure out the best way to showcase my twitter wisdom here on the blog. I’m no fan of redundancy, but sometimes my tweets are so golden they need to be shared as far and wide as possible. (See how humble I am?! Amazing!)

I’ve looked at a few WordPress plugins, but haven’t found what I’m looking for just yet.

In the mean time, here’s some twitter gold from the last few days:

Humor:

@trint99 I almost installed instagram on my phone for the sole purpose of making a snide comment on a friend’s pic. Emphasis on “almost.”

RT: @TheRealSheldonC Back when Batman was a 12 year old girl. pic.twitter.com/YeagZj8V

@trint99 I have a mirror so I can see when someone comes into my cubicle. NOT just so I can make silly faces at myself. Honest!! pic.twitter.com/TOfPRNb

@trint99 Only 342 shopping days until Christmas. http://t.co/bzzK3SY

Politics:

@trint99 In Texas, even angels carry guns. http://goo.gl/vjswV #LegalGunsStopCrime

@trint99 Obama can’t preach protecting children from guns given his views on protecting them from abortion. http://goo.gl/IIQz0 #DeathOfInnocents

Both:

@trint99 Wife: Maybe with the new gun laws, we should start collecting swords! I get Sting! It will light up when the Obama Orcs come! #BestWifeEver

In 2004, when SYNS was a tender young blog, only three months old and still living in the shelter of a hosted blog site, I wrote this post (clicky clicky) about gun control, the whacky Left, and the “Clinton Gun Ban.”

And now, as if going out of their way to prove King Solomon right, they’re back. The Left is chomping at the bit to bring back the Clinton ban and more. Leftist news papers are outing law abiding gun owners. Leftist politicians are pounding podiums and promising to confiscate Americans’ guns.

But, as with every Liberal banner issue, if you scratch the fresh paint off, if you look past the sound bites and head lines, underneath there’s nothing but hot air and the facts contradict the vitriol.

What might surprise most people (but no those of us who… you know… read) is that the very same Liberal fear mongers don’t even believe their own words.

Enter Project Veritas. These guys know, and probably quite enjoy exposing, that Liberal talking heads almost never really believe their own policies. They printed up some yard signs declaring “This house is proudly gun free” and visited the houses of some of the loudest and meanest anti-gun folks. Turns out (*gasp!*) they don’t want the signs because it would invite crime! No!! That CAN’T BE!

Make sure you stay with it to the end to see the most radical anti-gun columnist DEFEND THE 2ND AMENDMENT! No really! You won’t believe it until you see it.

The new year is two weeks old today. Historically speaking, today is the day New Year’s Resolutions die. How are yours?

Now, you know I don’t buy into the whole resolutions thing (mostly because I’ve failed at them so long I don’t even try anymore). But I do take some small measure of pride in the fact that I’m posting to my blog, I’ve put out a YouTube video, and Tammy and I are still going to the new city rec center twice a week to work out.

Come to think of it, I might need to hold off on that last claim until next week, huh?

All that, just to introduce this week’s white board quip (#232):

Hey there, failure puppet!
– Dilbert

Happy New Year! The first WFHF video of 2013 is a look back an our wild whirlwind holiday season of 2012. Be sure to click over to YouTube and leave a comment with your favorite Christmas tradition!

Hello, World! I’m back!! (Surely you’re not serious! I AM serious, and don’t call me Shirley!!)

It’s a new year and I just can’t keep my opinions to myself (or under 140 characters) any more. I can’t begin to express how hard it was to go through an election year, crazy political and social news events, and even a few personal life changes, without sharing my thoughts with my blog buddies.

Speaking of blog buddies, it was really interesting, after I announced I was shutting down SYNS, to see how many people were trolling the site (I seriously thought my readership was down to about 3 people, including me.) and expressed their chagrin when the lights went out. I found it oddly satisfying. Maybe I really am a sociopath!

It’s going to take me a while to be back into the swing of blogging. And my old-time readers know I have a knack for lazy non-posting. Which reminds me, I think there’s no better way to reinvigorate this blog than with a brand new White Board Quip of the Week! (I’m fairly confident that this is WBQotW #231.)

Behold the power of laziness.
-Wally

Well, I think we all know this day has been coming. Sadly, it’s finally arrived. I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.

I started this blog with a joke. Back in 2004, I thought blogs were stupid. Why would anyone want to read someone else’s diary. I don’t care what you had for lunch or what the doctor said about the growth on your butt. But, as it turned out, blogging was a great creative outlet for me. And it helped my family and friends keep up with me since I am notorious for not staying in touch.

But now, with the advent of social media, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, I’ve got more creative outlets than I can keep up with! Surely You’re Not Serious has become the low hanging fruit at a time when I need to trim. I just don’t have time to maintain it. And it’s purpose has been largely replaced.

I’m not going to delete anything. Lordy! There’s way too much comedy gold here to throw anything away. But, I will not be updating for the foreseeable future. Let’s call it an indefinite hiatus. But, if you have a fever and the only cure is more Trint, just follow me on Twitter and YouTube. (I’m pretty stingy with my Facebook friend list. So, let’s just pretend that doesn’t exist and avoid all the tears and feelings of rejection.)

http://Twitter.com/trint99
http://YouTube.com/trint99

It’s been a great run, and I’ve had a blast. And who knows?! Maybe Twitter make me mad enough to quit and come back here! Yeah… I know. You’re right.

So, it’s only fitting to end my run with one final White Board Quip of the Week (#230):

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

That’s all I have to say about that.

Holycowlitosis – n. Breath so foul that bovine methane release seems a comparatively pleasant alternative.

It’s official. I’m famous. I have a video on YouTube* that has, as of this writing, been viewed over 54,000 times. How awesome is that?!

Pretty dang awesome if you ask me.

* Okay, okay. So technically speaking, it’s not exactly, totally my video, per se. But I am a primary member of the cast**. So that should count, right?

** Yes, I know that there are only three people in the whole video, but I’m one of those three, so that makes me a co-star at least***.

*** Well, who cares if I’m only in 4 seconds of a 12 minute video? I’ve still be seen over 54,000 times and you haven’t, so… Nyaa nyaa nyaa!

Seriously, for those who don’t know (which, in my reader base would be “most”), Rhett and Link are pioneers of video blogging who have multiple YouTube channels, some with over a million subscribers. When they started their latest venture, a daily video blog called “Good Mythical Morning,” they asked for subscribers to send in video introductions. I did, and last Friday, my intro made the show. It’s kind of a big deal. But only kind of.

I have no idea where I found this quip about Facebook. But considering the recent and frightening studies about internet and social media addiction, comparing it to jail seems apropos.

Facebook is just like jail. You waste time writing on walls and getting poked by people you don’t know.

Speaking of which… (stands and adjusts name tag) Hello. My name is Trint, and I just spent the last half hour going through over 200 previous blog posts to make sure I had the correct number of White Board Quips. (Group responds, “Hi Trint.”) But I’m totally glad I did because it turns out I was way off! (Group leader makes a note to increase my meds.)