'Cause it is F-ing Awesome

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It is currently snowing giant, ground covering flakes. It is a veritable blizzard  -- the first significant snow of the season.

I can live with that.

So long

Barney. The end cannot come soon enough.  Mr. Frank you are a piece o'crap and your actions and votes are as responsible as any single persons for our current economic trouble.

Too bad you are sticking around even one more fucking day.

H20 No!

This is where we are headed. The bureaucrats know everything. The Nanny State will decide, even if it defies common sense. It is people like this who want to control your healthcare. That idea sure makes me sleep better.

EU says drinking water does not prevent dehydration.

Come Sail Away With Me...

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

This could possibly be the bright spot in a dismal Colts season.

Wadda ya want fer nuthin'?

So sue me, I took a day off. The larger issue is did you even notice? Do you even care?

My first thought when I woke this morning was that it is Sunday.  The long Holiday weekend is drawing to a close. I have lots of stuff to do yet before returning to work on the morrow. "On the morrow", have you ever heard a person outside of a costume drama actually use that phrase? I am not even sure why that particular combination of words sprang forth in my brain and through my fingers to the keyboard right out into the interwebz. But there it is clear in black pixels upon my white background.

Sports ain't life, but I watched a game yesterday where a coach sported a pair of balls the size of King Kong. Even through the fuzzy, jerky video on the website I was amazed.  Little Wabash College in Central Indiana was playing the Cardinals of North Central in round 2 of the Division III football playoffs (imagine that a playoff system in college football). Wabash was down 21-0 at the half. The score was 28-7 midway through the third quarter. The season was on the brink. The school motto is 'Wabash always fights" and the team demonstrated it yesterday.

The little Giants (I know dumb nickname) battled back to score a touchdown with just under a minute to go in the game. the score was 28-27. Instead of playing for the tie and overtime, the Wabash coach went for two! Convert and win, fail and the season is over. Wabash went with a hard snap count, the Cardinals of North Central jumped offside.  The ball moved closer to the end zone.

Even over the internet you could almost feel the tension in tiny Hollett Stadium. The ball was snapped, the pass sent to the far side of the end zone.  The Wabash receiver leaped for the high pass, it tipped from his fingers, over the defender into the waiting arms of another Wabash receiver.  He got two feet down and the men of Wabash had staged an unforgettable comeback.

It may be Division III and few of these young men will ever play football in the NFL, but there is still some fine football being played at small colleges and universities across the nation. Read more about the game here.



See it for yourself!

I am a living breathing Alka Seltzer commercial

I had a great Thanksgiving and I am in a miserable happy place  Yesterday I consumed two Thanksgiving dinners; way too much dessert and excessive carbs. Now the kitchen counter is filled with pie and the 'fridge with leftovers.

Wednesday was a long day. I woke early (5:30). I worked most of the day. I did a load of laundry.  I put up the Christmas lights on the house. This involves several ladders and crawling around on the roof for a spell. The wife and I went out for a quick bite to eat. I came home and made Overnight Salad (some call it seven layer salad). I then made a pumpkin torte. While this is not hard, it requires several steps.  I forgot the ingredients have to cool in between steps, so I did not finish until about 2:30 in the ay em. Part of the delay is my own fault.  I forgot to get milk when I bought all of my ingredients.  Lucky for me I had just enough left in the jug for my recipe. Until a little after midnight when the boy came out to the kitchen for a snack of cookies and milk. He finished what I had reserved for my torte! So off to the store I went to get a gallon of milk.I was not the only shopper grabbing Thanksgiving meal ingredients at 1:00 am.

Thursday morning I finished off the cooking by preparing Oreo Delight.  Then we packed the car and headed off to the north central part of the Hoosier State to spend Thanksgiving with my family and later in the evening the Wife's family. We returned home just before midnight.

Today I have to finish the outside decorating -- put up the wreaths and string some lights in the cherry tree. Then I can begin to put up the trees in the house.  Yes, I said trees.  The wife loves her Christmas decorating.

On the bright side, I won't be anywhere near the shopping malls!

Have a great Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving

One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies.

Here is the scene from the movie. Embedding was disabled.

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.

Here we are

Career politicians from both parties are more interested in winning the next election, or positioning their party to win the next election, than in really trying to solve our Nation's financial issues. The Debt Commission was the joke we all feared it would be.

Fuck the Democrats.  Fuck the Republicans.

The truck is screaming down the mountain, the brakes are out, the tires are smoking.  Our politicians are bitching the cigarette lighter won't work.

Right to Work

Read This.

As Indiana again considers the "right to Work" issue, I think this article says all that is necessary.

Right versus Left

There you have it.  The entire political debate of our nation summed in one clip.

I have avoided politics for the past few weeks, much to either your delight, chagrin or indifference. But this clip demonstrates the divide between the Democrats and Republicans, Liberal and Conservative, whatever label you like, better than any I have seen in a while. Either you hear Newt and say "hell, yeah", or you listen to the blond and applaud. There is no way you can find a middle ground.

Me, there is no doubt where I stand. I am not much of a protester. I have said it before, assembling to complain and bitch without a solution is a waste of time. You can't get a job camping in a park. If you cannot find work, then volunteer. That experience will lead you to work. That one year gap on your resume where you list as experience "Occupying Wall Street" will not enhance your job prospects. Time spent working at the local soup kitchen or Habitat for Humanity will.

Look, the economy and job situation was not a lot better in the early 1980's when I graduated college. I spent a ton of money, had a mountain of student loans and a worthless Liberal Arts degree. Those were choices I made. My job prospects were few.

I took two part time jobs making $12,000 year -- combined.. I put in my time until I found a better job. That job required me to work 70-80 hours a week. I made about $20,000 per year for all of those hours. That was not much money even in 1988. I worked my ass off and learned valuable skills that have served me today. I parlayed that experience into a management position. I learned, adapted and took that experience into a better paying job.

Life is not fair. We all make bad decisions.  I have made more than you cam imagine.  You can whine and complain about the bad cards life has dealt you.  That works for about a month.  Then you suck it up and make the best of it. Camping out and bitching because the producers are not giving you the fruits of their work is not the answer.

Is there corruption in business, in Wall Street, in politics?  Yes. Defecating in the streets, destroying public property, carrying signs, demanding free stuff does not bring about change.

Meditating could not raise the Pentagon during the Vietnam War and chanting won't pay off your student loans. 

Take a walk on the mild side

Monday

I did not get my Christmas decorating done Saturday. All I planned on doing was the lights and when I pulled them out it was the usual tale. I need seven strings of 300 lights to do the house and an additional two strings for the cherry tree. Of the nine strings, only TWO worked. Some had just a few feet unlit, other more. Experience has taught me that even if I can get the shorted-out strings working, they will not last the season. I do not want to find myself on the roof in mid-December replacing a sting of lights here and there. The cheap Chinese electronics have become almost disposable after one season.

Since the Wife only likes the icicle lights from Target -- they are "shorter" than the ones from WalMart, we had to make a trip to the big city to get lights. That meant additional Christmas shopping as well. So Saturday was shot for decorating. It rained all day yesterday. According to the weather guy, Wednesday looks alright and Friday as well to do the decorating.

Since I refuse to go anywhere near the mall on Black Friday, it looks like I will be doing the decorating on Friday.

I find myself remarkably energetic and enthused about work today. Unfortunately the spirit is wasted.  Thanksgiving week is the deadest of dead weeks, except maybe the week after Christmas, for those of us who toil in industrial sales. Customers are either on vacation or coasting through the week. I do have a conference call this afternoon, and I have some filing to do. I could always do my expenses.  I think October is still unfinished...

Sinday

Cool Stuff to peruse on a Sunday morning.

Here is an example:

U.S. General George S. Patton acknowledges the cheers of thousands during a parade through downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 9, 1945. Shortly thereafter, Patton returned to Germany and controversy, as he advocated the employment of ex-Nazis in administrative positions in Bavaria; he was relieved of command of the 3rd Army and died of injuries from a traffic accident in December, after his return home. Joe Rosenthal's famous Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph is visible on the war bonds billboard. (AP Photo)

3341

The coffee is warm, not hot in my Superbowl XLIV mug. Bob Marley is crooning softly in the background as my iPod plays on the portable speakers. I just skimmed the paper this morning, and I have not spent a lot of time perusing your blogs.

It is supposed to be a tad warmer this afternoon, albeit windy.  I think I will try to get the Christmas lights up on the house today.  They will not be turned on until Friday, though. I could wait until next weekend, but who knows what Mother Nature has in store.  It could be freezing cold or raining.  I would rather work in fifty degree temps and a little wind than hope for the best next Friday.

Monte Hall would hate me as a contestant on Let's Make a Deal.

Friday Five

I love movies. New movies, old movies, I don't care. I love to get lost for an hour or two in a fantasy world of celluloid. I love Technicolor or black and white films. I spend most of my TV time watching movies. The wife and I have really one one thing in common -- we both like going to the movies.

As such, I am pretty sure I can identify five elements that make a good and enjoyable movie.  I am not talking about the stuff the critics like, but rather the elements that make you want to watch and enjoy a film. Inclusion of one or more of these elements does not necessarily make the movie good, but the absence of these elements virtually guarantees the movie will suck. In no particular order:

1.  Cars.  A film needs cars -- fast cars or car crashes, or  car chases. The Blues Brothers mall scene is worth the price of admission (or to buy the DVD). Bullitt was a so-so movie except for the car chase. Hell, Rat Patrol is a TV show that was worth viewing just for the Jeeps in the opening credits.

2. Horses Horses make for good movies.  Seabiscuit and Secretariat had horses.  So do most John Wayne and Clint Eastwood westerns.. Red Dawn had horses for a couple of scenes. Just because a horse is present does not mean the movie is good -- see National Velvet (no, don't and take my word for it).

3. Guns Sergent York, Dirty Harry, Outlaw Josey Wales, True Grit, High Noon, Full Metal Jacket, Big Jake, any gangster movie, Bonnie and Clyde, The Godfather, Master and Commander, Zulu Dawn, James Bond...'nuf said.

4. Karate/fights/chicks in swimsuits/sports. Bruce Lee, Esther Williams, Frankie and Annette films, James Bond, Blood Sport, Hoosiers, Rudy, Field of Dreams, Billy Jack are all examples.

5. Starring Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Fred Astaire, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Audry Hepburn, Sean Connery, John Belushi, Paul Newman, Jimmy Stewart,  or Kevin Costner (but only if it is a sports movie).

Your opinion may vary, but is likely wrong if you disagree.

Yes, it is

A little bit of nothing

I went for a walk at lunch time. The north wind was blowing a cold breeze. One could almost feel the temperature drop while treading the sidewalkless streets of my neighborhood. I click my iPhone over to the Pandora app and listened to some Christmas music to get me into the mood.

It looks like we may have an OK weekend, weather-wise. If so, I will endeavor to get the Christmas decorations and lights up.  They will not be turned on until after Thanksgiving. Some rules are inviolate.

I cooked a turkey and dressing TV Dinner in the microwave upon my return.

We are getting to the slow time of the year.  Orders are steady, but the purchasing and engineering contacts I call upon are busy winding down for the holidays.  I have a hard time making appointments between Thanksgiving and the early part of January. That means more office time and less windshield and hotel time.

It is hump day, I hope your day is going well.

Friday Covers -- Wednesday edition

Here is a song you probably do not know:



That cover is by Yes from their Time and a Word LP.

Here is te original penned by Stephen Stills as performed by Buffalo Springfield

The Douchebag in the Dairy Aisle

A few weeks ago I changed the alert sound my phone makes when I receive a text message. The previous tone was the same as my wife and ten million other people, so I was often confused. The wife would get a text and I would get up from my recliner and look at my phone.  I changed the sound to a little whistle. Not a wolf whistle, but a "hey" kind of  whistle.

I don't know why. The "why". is not important to this story.  It just is the tone I am using. Pay attention.

So, I am at my friendly Kroger Sunday afternoon buying groceries (what a concept). I stood behind a woman at the dairy section blocking up the cheese selection. I waited politely and even sighed to let her know she could move her fat ass and cart -- to no avail. It was about then my daughter sent me a text: whooo-weet. That little whistle got me a dirty look. Offended, she made her selection and moved out of my way.

I got her attention, even if it was unintentional.