Early morning Cigarette.

It’d be nice to check my mail right now. But the university where I hold my primary address has lost the battle with the internet, again. Today’s downed server follows on the heels of our switch to google mail, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we got hacked within twenty-four hours. I like google, but I also like having a private mail server, with its physical location just across from my dorm.

Yes, we do get a nice storage increase, but come on! I’ve already got SIXTY (that I can remember) gmail accounts. I don’t need a sixty-first. And of course, I am highly wary of the security of all of this. The fact that the entire system is down right now doesn’t help my anxiety.

On a side note, walmart photo printing has some good deals. Nothing beats the Kinkos/fedex $3 for 14x17” prints I’ve gotten in the past, but $15 for a 20x30” isn’t a bad price at all. Still, I have yet to gather enough pin ups to make it worth an investment and I might hold off and buy a carton of cigarettes instead, depending on how quickly the FDA is moving to curtail nicotine content.

On to another side note,

I’m really hoping they hurry up and institute the graphic warning labels. What better way to for the government to turn off young males seeking a way to rebel than to make my drab pack of American Spirits a badass portrait of death? I know I’ll buy one just to put on display. This whole silliness about protecting the children is being done the wrong way.

I’ve had a friend come down with throat cancer, and I have friends with asthma to whom smoke is more than just unpleasant. Don’t tell me Phillip Morris has lied to me about the safety of my cigarettes. Don’t tell me that I smoke American Spirits because I’ve been mislead think they’re healthier* (see bottom of page). Don’t patronize my peers, who smoke to relieve stress or who are addicted, as helpless victims… give them real help, not more government.

This is a shameless tactic to expand government authority, giving it power where it should not. Next we will regulate the saturated fat in our burgers, and the alcohol content of our whiskey and beer.

It is a sad year for America and any libertarian who resides within our borders.

*I find that American Spirits DO NOT leave me with the same negative physical symptoms as my unfiltered camels and pal mals. That said, I prefer their flavor, length and buzz, to other filtered brands, and smoke them for those reasons, not health. (For some odd reason, I’m not a fan of their unfiltered variety.)

… Wait, does that say sample carton? How did I miss this?!