If you like fast cars and basketball, today is a good day to be in the Indianapolis area. The Indianapolis 500 will go off as scheduled around noon; weather permitting. Professional basketball playoffs continue tonight as the Pacers take on the Miami Heat at 8:00.
It is quite likely I will watch neither. I have never seen the Indy 500 live on TV. It is blacked out in most of Indiana. I have been to the race twice, back in the 1980's. Lots of fun. Lots of people. The un-fun of getting in and getting out of the track far outweighed the fun inside, at least for me. The beginning of the race will make your hair stand on end. The end is a thrill, especially if you are sitting near the start line.
I am not a basketball fan, never have been. I especially hate the NBA brand of hoops. There should not be different rules for special players. A foul is a foul, even if your name is LeBron or Michael. I am pretty sure the rules specify one is to dribble the ball, not run down the lane like the six year-olds in the winter league at the Boys Club.
I did some yard work yesterday and mowed the yard in anticipation of a raining afternoon today and Monday.It needed it in any case.
As I type these words, a cardinal is singing on a branch outside my office window. The coffee is hot and Dire Straits is singing about "Guitar George". In the next room the boy is getting ready for work.
Have a good Sunday.
May 26, 2013
May 25, 2013
Memory Lane
Remember way back in early 2013 when there were some Second Amendment advocates who remarked that one of the reasons the Second Amendment was put into the Constitution was to protect the First Amendment? Remember how the Liberal-types thought that was a ridiculous argument? After all, the Progressive admonished, the Government would never use its power to persecute and harass a citizen based upon his political or religious beliefs.
Ah, the good old days...
Ah, the good old days...
May 24, 2013
My Confusing Thursday
Yesterday evening I found myself muttering words I thought I would never say to my wife of almost 29 years. I had to tell her that I had let a man stick his hand up my ass. I am still not clear how a visit to the medico for lower back/kidney pain turned into a prostate exam.
May 23, 2013
Lighten Up, Francis
The state of politics leaves me sickened and depressed in a way I have not felt since Watergate.
Time for a break.*
Below the fold is a picture from our cruise a couple of months ago. This is one of my favorite "posed" pictures.
May 22, 2013
At least the Administration recognizes the Fifth Amendment...
I want to be very careful how I present the massage I want you to take away from this post. As a student of history, I have often wondered how people can sit back and watch events unfold and turn a blind eye. For instance, there were many who knew the extent of the Final Solution in Hitler's Germany, yet looked the other way. There were people who countenanced Mussolini's abuses. After all, he made the trains run on time.
Progressives in Europe and America overlooked the brutal murders of Lenin's Soviet Russia because they agreed with basic political philosophies. !960's radicals were so against the war in Vietnam they supported the very regime that was torturing American POWs.
A perusal of liberal-leaning blogs shows little outrage over the IRS scandals. Often these are the very same people who were scandalized and outraged -- indignant even -- over provisions of the Patriot Act (and rightly so). Their vocal outrage over the imagined tyranny of the Bush administration held no bounds. But these same supporters of the Democrat Party and President Obama are covering their eyes and ears to outrageous, un-American, activity by partisan hacks in the IRS. Clearly there were members of the White House staff that knew what was going on.
I do not posses the vocabulary or writing ability to express my utter disgust at your propensity to put politics over principle. Some of you routinely get on your soapbox proclaiming your support for Women's Rights or for Gay Rights. But you clearly have no such compulsion to support the First Amendment Rights of every American. Clearly, you are only interested in preserving the interests of those who think like you do. You tell us putting a cross in a jar of piss is OK, because that "artist" has a right to express his beliefs. You support the burning of the American Flag as a symbol of protest.
But when the full might and authority of the United States Government is turned on individuals in an effort to suppress their beliefs and political philosophy, you write about recipes or movies or go silent as a nuclear sub in enemy waters.
The next time you liberals and progressive bloggers get all in a dander and write about the right of this group or that group, I will know the truth. You are just a hypocrite of the worst kind. At least the guy who gets drunk, cheats on his wife and goes to church on Sunday admits he is a sinner. You are worse. You will stab a friend in the back, as long as you gain from the transaction. You have no loyalty. You have no honor. You make me sick.
But hey, we got healthcare passed. But hey, the trains run on time.
Progressives in Europe and America overlooked the brutal murders of Lenin's Soviet Russia because they agreed with basic political philosophies. !960's radicals were so against the war in Vietnam they supported the very regime that was torturing American POWs.
A perusal of liberal-leaning blogs shows little outrage over the IRS scandals. Often these are the very same people who were scandalized and outraged -- indignant even -- over provisions of the Patriot Act (and rightly so). Their vocal outrage over the imagined tyranny of the Bush administration held no bounds. But these same supporters of the Democrat Party and President Obama are covering their eyes and ears to outrageous, un-American, activity by partisan hacks in the IRS. Clearly there were members of the White House staff that knew what was going on.
I do not posses the vocabulary or writing ability to express my utter disgust at your propensity to put politics over principle. Some of you routinely get on your soapbox proclaiming your support for Women's Rights or for Gay Rights. But you clearly have no such compulsion to support the First Amendment Rights of every American. Clearly, you are only interested in preserving the interests of those who think like you do. You tell us putting a cross in a jar of piss is OK, because that "artist" has a right to express his beliefs. You support the burning of the American Flag as a symbol of protest.
But when the full might and authority of the United States Government is turned on individuals in an effort to suppress their beliefs and political philosophy, you write about recipes or movies or go silent as a nuclear sub in enemy waters.
The next time you liberals and progressive bloggers get all in a dander and write about the right of this group or that group, I will know the truth. You are just a hypocrite of the worst kind. At least the guy who gets drunk, cheats on his wife and goes to church on Sunday admits he is a sinner. You are worse. You will stab a friend in the back, as long as you gain from the transaction. You have no loyalty. You have no honor. You make me sick.
But hey, we got healthcare passed. But hey, the trains run on time.
May 21, 2013
Things You Will Never See in the Obama White House
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| Somehow, someway, the IRS, AP and Benghazi messes have to be Bush's fault... |
May 20, 2013
The law is irrelevant.
Let me get this straight. According to one of Obama's Senior Advisers, Dan Pfiffer, it is irrelevant the IRS targeted conservative groups and released confidential donor information to Pro Publica:
As long as you are disgusted by an illegal activity and agree to stop, anything goes? Chester the Molester knows he should not have molested those kids. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
Robbin' Bob has stolen thousand of dollars from area convenience stores. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
Here at Enron, we know we defrauded investors and made millions off of innocent citizens with faked financial reports. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
I know my brother and I dropped a couple of bombs in the middle of the crowd near the finish line at the Boston Marathon. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
When your government becomes tyrannical, when it breaks the law in spirit and in fact, when your Government violates the the First Amendment of the Constitution and passes it off as irrelevant, it is beyond inexcusable. Just hoping it will not happen again is not enough. You Democrats and liberals looking the other way, hoping this will pass like a bad burrito, better wake up. The next time a politician uses the IRS to target groups and citizens based on political philosophy just may be a conservative or Republican administration. Then will you accept the excuse [t]he activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again?
"I can’t speak to the law here. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again." on ABC's This Week
As long as you are disgusted by an illegal activity and agree to stop, anything goes? Chester the Molester knows he should not have molested those kids. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
Robbin' Bob has stolen thousand of dollars from area convenience stores. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
Here at Enron, we know we defrauded investors and made millions off of innocent citizens with faked financial reports. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
I know my brother and I dropped a couple of bombs in the middle of the crowd near the finish line at the Boston Marathon. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again.
When your government becomes tyrannical, when it breaks the law in spirit and in fact, when your Government violates the the First Amendment of the Constitution and passes it off as irrelevant, it is beyond inexcusable. Just hoping it will not happen again is not enough. You Democrats and liberals looking the other way, hoping this will pass like a bad burrito, better wake up. The next time a politician uses the IRS to target groups and citizens based on political philosophy just may be a conservative or Republican administration. Then will you accept the excuse [t]he activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed so we ensure it never happens again?
Quick Hit Monday
The boy is not happy. He came home in the wee hours of the night, long after the wife and I went to bed. This morning, just before eight o'clock, a crew armed with a Bobcat-mounted jackhammer started tearing the concrete in front of the house. It looks like it is our cul-de-sac's time for pavement repair. The boy's bedroom is in the front of the house.he is not happy.
So, I put in a load of laundry very early this morning. I was standing at the washer, waiting on the spin cycle to end when I felt something creeping along my arm. I looked down and the tickle was a trickle of bright red blood. My blood. It was oozing from a long scratch on my arm that had not been there a few moments before. How do you get scratched deep enough to bleed when standing still? How can a person not feel that scratch? Am I turning into one of those paper-thin skinned old men you see tottering through the grocery? Where do I buy one of those fishing hats anyway? I suppose I need me some high-waisted double-knit slacks.
Saturday I helped a friend roof his garage. It has been a long time since I spent a day swinging a hammer. Yesterday and today I am feeling the ache of seldom used muscles. Not so much in the arm, but the back of my thighs, buttocks and lower back. Getting up and down are a chore.
When did I turn into an old man?
So, I put in a load of laundry very early this morning. I was standing at the washer, waiting on the spin cycle to end when I felt something creeping along my arm. I looked down and the tickle was a trickle of bright red blood. My blood. It was oozing from a long scratch on my arm that had not been there a few moments before. How do you get scratched deep enough to bleed when standing still? How can a person not feel that scratch? Am I turning into one of those paper-thin skinned old men you see tottering through the grocery? Where do I buy one of those fishing hats anyway? I suppose I need me some high-waisted double-knit slacks.
Saturday I helped a friend roof his garage. It has been a long time since I spent a day swinging a hammer. Yesterday and today I am feeling the ache of seldom used muscles. Not so much in the arm, but the back of my thighs, buttocks and lower back. Getting up and down are a chore.
When did I turn into an old man?
May 18, 2013
Your freedom is at stake
If the IRS is willing to target groups and individuals based on their their political beliefs, will that same agency target conservatives under the ObamaCare enforcement policies? Will the Government deny health care to individuals who voice disagreement with the political philosophies of the administration?
When the government embarks in tyranny, there is no end.
When the government embarks in tyranny, there is no end.
May 17, 2013
I don't wanna go
We have to go to the funeral home this evening. A friend of ours lost her mother. This same friend's father died just 42 days ago.
What words of comfort can one offer that are not mere shallow platitudes at best? .
What words of comfort can one offer that are not mere shallow platitudes at best? .
Hmmm
Think back on the various bosses you have had over the years. Was there any worse manager than the one who blamed his workers when things went wrong and took all of the credit when things went right?
The current occupier of the White House sure seems to be a lot like that boss, doesn't he?
The current occupier of the White House sure seems to be a lot like that boss, doesn't he?
May 16, 2013
'Xactly
Read this
She is as right as rain.
I especially love this passage:
She is as right as rain.
I especially love this passage:
Mostly, they reject values so that they won’t later have to answer to them. It’s sort of pre-paid hypocrisy credits. If I maintain that everything is normal, nothing is abnormal, everyone is okay and no one is a monster, then I can like myself better and sleep smugly, if not soundly, at night.Does anything better capture the liberal mindset than those 52 words? She is talking about the MSM here, but it captures your average progressive in its essence. If you have a sliding scale of standards, or lack morals, then you can not be held to that standard or that morality. The linked post is nothing short of brilliance.
Living in the Past
I was once told I have an old soul. I do not know what that means. I know I like to listen to my baseball on the radio. The pace and tempo seem best suited for an audio experience. A good radio announcer will tell you if the infield is in or if a shift is on. The TV shows only the pitcher and hitter.
There is something about listening to baseball on the radio that brings a nostalgia for days I never lived. I am not so old-fashioned I try to tune in a static-filled weak signal from far off WGN in Chicago to catch the Cub games. I do have the MLB At Bat app for my iPhone. The crystal clear digital signal is far better for my modern sensibilities.
On the other hand, you can't get the full flavor of this on the radio. You can't get it on TV either, after all, Harry is dead.
There is something about listening to baseball on the radio that brings a nostalgia for days I never lived. I am not so old-fashioned I try to tune in a static-filled weak signal from far off WGN in Chicago to catch the Cub games. I do have the MLB At Bat app for my iPhone. The crystal clear digital signal is far better for my modern sensibilities.
On the other hand, you can't get the full flavor of this on the radio. You can't get it on TV either, after all, Harry is dead.
May 14, 2013
I guess the buck really did stop with Harry Truman
As near as I can tell, this guy
is in charge of things over at the White House. So far, according to Jay Carney, the White House knows nothing about Fast and Furious, who arranged the Benghazi cover-up, who at the IRS is targeting and leaking information about conservative groups, who ran the ad calling Mitt Romney a murderer, who is investigating the AP and anything else that might come up.
Is anyone in charge? Perhaps The Obama should take a break from golf and basketball and vacation and look into actually being President?
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| "I know nothing..." |
is in charge of things over at the White House. So far, according to Jay Carney, the White House knows nothing about Fast and Furious, who arranged the Benghazi cover-up, who at the IRS is targeting and leaking information about conservative groups, who ran the ad calling Mitt Romney a murderer, who is investigating the AP and anything else that might come up.
Is anyone in charge? Perhaps The Obama should take a break from golf and basketball and vacation and look into actually being President?
Lapdogs
No matter how loyal your dog is it will turn on you if you treat it badly. Come home and give it a kick, a random beating or three and that little puppy who wagged its tail with pure joy and love will become a slinking growling beast baring its fangs in your direction.
The media have long been Democrat lapdogs. They have jumped and wagged their tail every time The Obama glanced in their direction. The media has ignored the unemployment and economic issues that plague the nation. They turned a blind eye to Fast and Furious and gleefully attacked the Republicans at every turn.They have ignored gaffs and policy disasters far worse than those committed by George W. Bush.
Now the usual second term scandals have descended on the Administration and the media is growling around the edges. Could it be the media dog pack is starting to turn on the Administration?
The Associated Press has long been one of the Administration's favorite lapdogs. Now we discover Eric Holder and the Obama Justice Department has been grabbing the AP's phone records. Digging into who called whom and such. Will this attack on the press be the final kick? Will the AP puppy try and make nice with the Master or will it turn into a biting Hound of Hell, snarling and growling like Buck from The Call of the Wild? Will the AP and its pack of media dogs finally turn on the Regime, biting and nipping or will it slink off into the corner, tail between the legs like whipped cur?
The media have long been Democrat lapdogs. They have jumped and wagged their tail every time The Obama glanced in their direction. The media has ignored the unemployment and economic issues that plague the nation. They turned a blind eye to Fast and Furious and gleefully attacked the Republicans at every turn.They have ignored gaffs and policy disasters far worse than those committed by George W. Bush.
Now the usual second term scandals have descended on the Administration and the media is growling around the edges. Could it be the media dog pack is starting to turn on the Administration?
The Associated Press has long been one of the Administration's favorite lapdogs. Now we discover Eric Holder and the Obama Justice Department has been grabbing the AP's phone records. Digging into who called whom and such. Will this attack on the press be the final kick? Will the AP puppy try and make nice with the Master or will it turn into a biting Hound of Hell, snarling and growling like Buck from The Call of the Wild? Will the AP and its pack of media dogs finally turn on the Regime, biting and nipping or will it slink off into the corner, tail between the legs like whipped cur?
May 13, 2013
Why hasn't someone been fired?
Someone in the IRS decided to use the taxing agency to focus on President Obama's political adversaries.
I do not care where you lie on the political spectrum, the idea the IRS could use the powers of taxation to target "political enemies" is repugnant. This is the stuff of third world dictators and banana republics. It is thug politics and it makes me sick.
It went on, the IRS admits it went on. Tea Party and conservative groups were singled out by the IRS, perhaps as early as 2010. The head of the IRS claims it was done by low-level employees. Have they been fired? In the end, The head of the agency is responsible for what happens within the IRS. Some people need to be canned.
Now.
Today.
read and be sickened
The concept of "The Buck Stops Here" sure does not permeate this Administration. The finger-pointer-in-chief clearly will take no responsibility.
I am not sure what I expect when a significant number of the Obama regime are admitted tax cheats.
I do not care where you lie on the political spectrum, the idea the IRS could use the powers of taxation to target "political enemies" is repugnant. This is the stuff of third world dictators and banana republics. It is thug politics and it makes me sick.
It went on, the IRS admits it went on. Tea Party and conservative groups were singled out by the IRS, perhaps as early as 2010. The head of the IRS claims it was done by low-level employees. Have they been fired? In the end, The head of the agency is responsible for what happens within the IRS. Some people need to be canned.
Now.
Today.
read and be sickened
The concept of "The Buck Stops Here" sure does not permeate this Administration. The finger-pointer-in-chief clearly will take no responsibility.
I am not sure what I expect when a significant number of the Obama regime are admitted tax cheats.
Does typing "yawn" make you want to?
March12.
That was the last date I turned in expense reports. Today is catch-up day. I have two months of receipts for gas, food, hotel, airlines, office supplies and company car repair to sort by date and enter into the laborious forms required by my company. I traveled extensively in April. May has been equally as busy. For example, I have 29 separate receipts to enter for the period of April 15 through April 30. Every receipt requires a separate line item and explanation on the form. If the receipt is for a business meal, I have to detail who, what, where, and why for the expense.
It is my own fault I have such a pile of receipts. If I would stay on top of the task, it would not be so overwhelming. I promise myself every time I do my expenses to keep up on a bi-weekly basis. I have vowed to do so going forward as well.
I know I will sit here in early July, bitching about how many expenses I have to report. Some of those will be in foreign currency too. That is a real headache. I can't read tic tac toe board, house, swirl worth a damn.
That was the last date I turned in expense reports. Today is catch-up day. I have two months of receipts for gas, food, hotel, airlines, office supplies and company car repair to sort by date and enter into the laborious forms required by my company. I traveled extensively in April. May has been equally as busy. For example, I have 29 separate receipts to enter for the period of April 15 through April 30. Every receipt requires a separate line item and explanation on the form. If the receipt is for a business meal, I have to detail who, what, where, and why for the expense.
It is my own fault I have such a pile of receipts. If I would stay on top of the task, it would not be so overwhelming. I promise myself every time I do my expenses to keep up on a bi-weekly basis. I have vowed to do so going forward as well.
I know I will sit here in early July, bitching about how many expenses I have to report. Some of those will be in foreign currency too. That is a real headache. I can't read tic tac toe board, house, swirl worth a damn.
May 12, 2013
May 11, 2013
And the award goes to
This guy gets credit for writing the most creative spam comment on the interwebz:
Do you have a spam problem on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation; many of us have developed some nice methods and we are looking to swap strategies with others, why not shoot me an e-mail if interested. Also visit my site...Not so many kudos that I will give him his link, but still, one has to love the balls behind that spam.
May 10, 2013
Friday Music
You are welcome. Now that can rattle around in your skull for a while.
Big News -- the ABBA Museum opens this week! The next first time I am in Sweden I am there.
As a 13 year old bag of raging hormones in 1975, that spandex about did me in. And what teenaged boy did not have fantasies about those white mini skirts and knee high boots? I still remember their performance on SNL.
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| www.abbaupdate.com |
May 8, 2013
What difference does it make?
At the height of Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, individuals broke in the Democratic Party headquarters located in the Watergate complex in Washington DC and planted listening devices. They copied documents. The burglars got away with the break-in for weeks. It was only after they made a mistake while retrieving the bugs that they were caught.
Over time, the caper was discovered and the ensuing cover-up resulted in the resignation of the President of the United States. Several of Nixon's top aides, including the Attorney General, head of the Committee to re-elect the President, The President's Chief of Staff, the President's Counsel, and a whole gaggle of assistants, advisers, and aides were convicted of crimes.
Nixon won the 1972 election handily. There is no evidence the information gleaned from the break-in contributed to the election results. By the time the cover-up and scandal hit the press, the event was long past.
Hillary Clinton was an aide in the subsequent Congressional investigation of Richard Nixon and the Watergate affair. Do you think at any time Hillary Clinton or the Democratic Party would have accepted a terse "It is over, what difference does it make?" from Mitchell, Haldeman, Erlichman, Liddy, Hunt, Colson, Dean, or Nixon?
Watergate was a botched, third rate burglary. No one was hurt, no one died. Mrs. Clinton and President Obama can not make the same claim about Benghazi.
Over time, the caper was discovered and the ensuing cover-up resulted in the resignation of the President of the United States. Several of Nixon's top aides, including the Attorney General, head of the Committee to re-elect the President, The President's Chief of Staff, the President's Counsel, and a whole gaggle of assistants, advisers, and aides were convicted of crimes.
Nixon won the 1972 election handily. There is no evidence the information gleaned from the break-in contributed to the election results. By the time the cover-up and scandal hit the press, the event was long past.
Hillary Clinton was an aide in the subsequent Congressional investigation of Richard Nixon and the Watergate affair. Do you think at any time Hillary Clinton or the Democratic Party would have accepted a terse "It is over, what difference does it make?" from Mitchell, Haldeman, Erlichman, Liddy, Hunt, Colson, Dean, or Nixon?
Watergate was a botched, third rate burglary. No one was hurt, no one died. Mrs. Clinton and President Obama can not make the same claim about Benghazi.
May 7, 2013
Twenty Million Dollars and a Free 14 Day Cruise
...will contribute greatly to my pursuit of happiness, and by implication, is a guaranteed Constitutional Right.
I don't think leading Democrats could disagree. A nice new car in my driveway is also my Constitutional prerogative.
Hell, if the rich could just pay their fair share, we would all have a chicken in every pot and a mule in the backyard.
Is there even one Democrat alive who is not economically illiterate, Constitutionally challenged, and historically ignorant?
I don't think leading Democrats could disagree. A nice new car in my driveway is also my Constitutional prerogative.
Hell, if the rich could just pay their fair share, we would all have a chicken in every pot and a mule in the backyard.
Is there even one Democrat alive who is not economically illiterate, Constitutionally challenged, and historically ignorant?
May 6, 2013
I'm Going to be Sick
Read this.
Is there a more despicable human in the US?
I thought I was through with this piece of shit blog, but this kind of stuff makes me so ill, I have to vent.
Want some more?:
h/t Weasel Zipper via Doug Ross
Is there a more despicable human in the US?
...But what did happen is, on that same day John McCain murdered civilians. Do we have any responsibility for that? Should there be any reconciliation for that? Should he tell the truth about it?”John McCain was being tortured in a North Vietnamese prison the day a Weather Undergound bomb destined for a dance at Fort Dix blew up the bomb builders in New York, but why let facts get in the way of a good lie?
I thought I was through with this piece of shit blog, but this kind of stuff makes me so ill, I have to vent.
Want some more?:
“To conflate a group of fundamentalist people [in Boston] who are nihilistic in some way with a group of people who spent their lives trying to oppose the murder of 6,000 people a week … and still the killing went on. And still the killing went on. What would you have done?” Ayers said. “There’s no equivalence [with Boston]. Property damage. That’s what we did.”That, and kill a few cops. This logic makes as much sense as the dumb fucks who bomb abortion clinics to save babies. This is the guy who helped kick off Obama's political career. The good news is the living Boston Bomber can be a "respected" college professor in 30 years. As long as he is a Democrat anyway.
h/t Weasel Zipper via Doug Ross
May 3, 2013
May 2, 2013
Right Wing Terror
Check out reports of the violence in Seatle yesterday. Now explain why our government and the media are so concerned about non-existent "tea party" violence.
April 30, 2013
Death, Destruction, Demons and Wooden Hands
Today is April 30.
Click on this link and then this link for a little historical side trip. Not only will you harken back to the earliest days of this blog, you will get a little "this date in history" .lesson -- all for the steep admission price of "free".
Look, it is flatter than the ice on an NHL playing surface around here. There is no "inspiration point" where I can look out of picaresque vistas and let nature begin the beguine with my imagination. You will get a rerun from years ago and like it. Just wipe away that mold and it will be as good as new...
Click on this link and then this link for a little historical side trip. Not only will you harken back to the earliest days of this blog, you will get a little "this date in history" .lesson -- all for the steep admission price of "free".
Blase
Bored, apathetic, jaded, disenchanted, indifferent, uninterested, weary, glutted, fed-up -- it is the old ennui writ large.
April 29, 2013
Childish
While driving through a subdivision yesterday I flipped a guy the bird. He was working in his yard, rolling a hose. He looked up just as I showed him my opinion. I bet he is still wondering what it was all about. Now that perplexed hombre has a story to tell his mates at work today.
I am giving like that.
OK, it was not a random guy,
I bet he is still wondering why an unsmiling old guy flipped him the middle finger on a cloudy Sunday afternoon.
My wife was appalled at my behavior. It is not the first time.
I am giving like that.
OK, it was not a random guy,
I bet he is still wondering why an unsmiling old guy flipped him the middle finger on a cloudy Sunday afternoon.
My wife was appalled at my behavior. It is not the first time.
April 27, 2013
For my eyes only
My current desktop background is a picture of my wife. I took it on our recent vacation. She is standing on the deck of a sailboat. We had just finished snorkeling. Her hair is wet and slicked back. She is not wearing her glasses. Her makeup has been washed away by the warm salty waters of the Caribbean near Buck Island.
The picture is a close up, I suppose it is not the most flattering picture of her, but it is one of my favorites. It shows her in a moment of pure and complete happiness. Her smile is not for the camera, but a reflection of life in that one instant in time. Her beauty shines through. The impossible blue tropical seas in the background are a sharp contrast to the pink of her barely visible swimsuit top. You can see the faint and tiny wrinkles around her eyes, and the freckles on her cheeks and chest and shoulders.
I love the picture because it is not staged -- it is barely posed -- and it looks just like my wife. If the picture was in a Harry Potter movie, it would laugh at any second.
I smile every time I look at it.
The picture is a close up, I suppose it is not the most flattering picture of her, but it is one of my favorites. It shows her in a moment of pure and complete happiness. Her smile is not for the camera, but a reflection of life in that one instant in time. Her beauty shines through. The impossible blue tropical seas in the background are a sharp contrast to the pink of her barely visible swimsuit top. You can see the faint and tiny wrinkles around her eyes, and the freckles on her cheeks and chest and shoulders.
I love the picture because it is not staged -- it is barely posed -- and it looks just like my wife. If the picture was in a Harry Potter movie, it would laugh at any second.
I smile every time I look at it.
April 26, 2013
Friday Music updated George Jones edition
George is gone now too.
Here is his greatest song -- the quintessential drinking tune.
RIP George.
Hitting Potholes
The title of this post is not a metaphor. It could be, but it is not.
Coming back from a customer visit Thursday I hit a pot hole. A big one. I hit it hard. My wheel cover flew by my driver's side window in a slow-motion scene almost reminiscent of the Wicked Witch flying by Dorothy Gale's bedroom window. I saw it roll across the highway in my mirror as I braked to a stop on the side of the road.
I pulled on my jacket to protect me from the Illinois wind and chill and trudged 50 yards up the highway to find my wheel cover. It was rested broken and cracked in the gravel and mud beside the road. With a sigh I threw it in the trunk.I don't know why, it is unusable. I guess that despite my reputation as an inveterate hater of the environment, I don't like to leave my trash beside the highway,
I bent to examine the wheel. The tire seemed fine; no flat. That is good, the tire is less than a month old. The edge of the rim was bent, but not enough to lose the seal on the tire. I drove slowing down the highway a few miles and stopped to check the air pressure again. It was a steady 30 psi.
I will head out today to see what a new wheel cover and rim are going to cost. I will try find a used rim somewhere, This is not how I planned on spending my Friday.
Coming back from a customer visit Thursday I hit a pot hole. A big one. I hit it hard. My wheel cover flew by my driver's side window in a slow-motion scene almost reminiscent of the Wicked Witch flying by Dorothy Gale's bedroom window. I saw it roll across the highway in my mirror as I braked to a stop on the side of the road.
I pulled on my jacket to protect me from the Illinois wind and chill and trudged 50 yards up the highway to find my wheel cover. It was rested broken and cracked in the gravel and mud beside the road. With a sigh I threw it in the trunk.I don't know why, it is unusable. I guess that despite my reputation as an inveterate hater of the environment, I don't like to leave my trash beside the highway,
I bent to examine the wheel. The tire seemed fine; no flat. That is good, the tire is less than a month old. The edge of the rim was bent, but not enough to lose the seal on the tire. I drove slowing down the highway a few miles and stopped to check the air pressure again. It was a steady 30 psi.
I will head out today to see what a new wheel cover and rim are going to cost. I will try find a used rim somewhere, This is not how I planned on spending my Friday.
Friday Covers
The Police doing a live version of their original
I heard this John Mayer version on the radio the other day. Despite the fact I am not a huge fan of this tune in general, I really like this version. You have to skip the ad.
A Machine Head cover for you Metal fans.
April 24, 2013
Delayed Gratification
A few weeks ago the wife found a house for sale she liked. By coincidence, they were having an open house that weekend. We went. We looked. We loved the place. It was a bit bigger than we need at our stage in life, but it was as close to a dream house as we could get in our price range.
I called the mortgage company to see if we could make it happen financially. We scheduled another visit to the house. We liked it even better.
I spent a few days traveling on business. The wife wanted to look at some other houses, because that is the way she shops. Compare, contrast, compare again -- then think about it for a long time before you repeat the whole compare thing. That is just the way things are and after almost 30 years of marriage I know her decision making process is not going to change.
We got a pre-approval letter from the mortgage company and finally made an offer. So did another party. The sellers came back and said, "give my your best offer".. We upped the ante a bit. We offered the asking price.
We live in a small town and through the grapevine we learned the sellers were showing the house again Monday evening -- after they looked at the offers from the two they already had on the table. A third party offered more than the asking price and we lost out on the house. I have no doubt the sellers told the people viewing the house what they needed to offer to get the property. No one offers more than the asking price without a hint or two.
My wife cried.
I know what happened, but I cannot prove it.
The fatalist in me opines that it was just not meant to be. The realistic me is more than a little disappointed.
I called the mortgage company to see if we could make it happen financially. We scheduled another visit to the house. We liked it even better.
I spent a few days traveling on business. The wife wanted to look at some other houses, because that is the way she shops. Compare, contrast, compare again -- then think about it for a long time before you repeat the whole compare thing. That is just the way things are and after almost 30 years of marriage I know her decision making process is not going to change.
We got a pre-approval letter from the mortgage company and finally made an offer. So did another party. The sellers came back and said, "give my your best offer".. We upped the ante a bit. We offered the asking price.
We live in a small town and through the grapevine we learned the sellers were showing the house again Monday evening -- after they looked at the offers from the two they already had on the table. A third party offered more than the asking price and we lost out on the house. I have no doubt the sellers told the people viewing the house what they needed to offer to get the property. No one offers more than the asking price without a hint or two.
My wife cried.
I know what happened, but I cannot prove it.
The fatalist in me opines that it was just not meant to be. The realistic me is more than a little disappointed.
April 23, 2013
Condolences to my Liberal Friends
I know.
I understand your frustration.
First, the Senate fails to pass any kind of gun control at all. Then, a couple of terrorists set off some bombs and we discover the Marathon Bomber Brothers are mere religious fanatics (read Muslim) instead of home-grown, Tea Party, Hitler's Birthday, Tim McVeigh, Branch Davidian Tax Protester middle aged-white guys.
Sometimes life is just not fair. What else could go wrong? The next thing you know another "green" car company will go bankrupt, or there could be a growing "consensus" that global warming is a failed theory.
I understand your frustration.
First, the Senate fails to pass any kind of gun control at all. Then, a couple of terrorists set off some bombs and we discover the Marathon Bomber Brothers are mere religious fanatics (read Muslim) instead of home-grown, Tea Party, Hitler's Birthday, Tim McVeigh, Branch Davidian Tax Protester middle aged-white guys.
Sometimes life is just not fair. What else could go wrong? The next thing you know another "green" car company will go bankrupt, or there could be a growing "consensus" that global warming is a failed theory.
Dandelion Dreams
It is simply amazing what a little sunshine, a bit of warm southern breeze, and a few inches of rain can do. Ten days ago the trees around here were bare branches waving in the wind. Today, they are sporting leaves. The grass is a vivid emerald green so bright Ireland is jealous.
The lilies in the front flower garden have grown 6 inches in an equal number of days, and will begin sporting blooms in a week or two. But in all, most of the perennials and big grasses in my yard are behind schedule by at least a month due to the lingering winter. My daffodils should have bloomed in late March, not this week. Temperatures, while warmer, are still cool for late April. It spit snow on Friday! Still, I think Spring has finally pried the icy fingers of winter from our collective throats. I suspect we are in for a wet and wild May and June, followed by a long, hot, dry summer.
I can live with that.
I spent my Earth Day mowing the lawn and pulling weeds after a long day of boring paperwork. To reward myself for a job well done, I puffed away on a fine hand-rolled stogie in the garage before supper.
The lilies in the front flower garden have grown 6 inches in an equal number of days, and will begin sporting blooms in a week or two. But in all, most of the perennials and big grasses in my yard are behind schedule by at least a month due to the lingering winter. My daffodils should have bloomed in late March, not this week. Temperatures, while warmer, are still cool for late April. It spit snow on Friday! Still, I think Spring has finally pried the icy fingers of winter from our collective throats. I suspect we are in for a wet and wild May and June, followed by a long, hot, dry summer.
I can live with that.
I spent my Earth Day mowing the lawn and pulling weeds after a long day of boring paperwork. To reward myself for a job well done, I puffed away on a fine hand-rolled stogie in the garage before supper.
April 22, 2013
We are going to need a bigger Shop-Vac
The Mid-west has been walloped over the past week or so with lots of rain falling fast. Flooding is the result.
If flood waters were coming under your door, would you concentrate your efforts on cleaning up the mess in your kitchen and living room, or would you find a way to barricade your door to keep the water out first?
Our politicians would somehow have you believe that fixing the immigration problem lies in addressing the illegals already here, and worrying about stopping the incoming flood later.
I maintain our elected representatives have no common sense. I do not care how many towels you throw down, your carpet is still getting wet if you do not stop the water from coming in. And there is no immigration fix without closing the borders.
Block the door with sandbags and stop the incoming water, then clean up the mess. Close the border and then figure out how to clean up the immigration mess.
If flood waters were coming under your door, would you concentrate your efforts on cleaning up the mess in your kitchen and living room, or would you find a way to barricade your door to keep the water out first?
Our politicians would somehow have you believe that fixing the immigration problem lies in addressing the illegals already here, and worrying about stopping the incoming flood later.
I maintain our elected representatives have no common sense. I do not care how many towels you throw down, your carpet is still getting wet if you do not stop the water from coming in. And there is no immigration fix without closing the borders.
Block the door with sandbags and stop the incoming water, then clean up the mess. Close the border and then figure out how to clean up the immigration mess.
April 21, 2013
April 20, 2013
I can't help thinking
I am glad the second Boston terrorist has been captured.
As I watched the home video of the capture last night I cannot help thinking the Boston Police must be among the worst shots in the country if the hundreds of rounds fired did not bring the suspect to room temperature immediately.
As I watched the home video of the capture last night I cannot help thinking the Boston Police must be among the worst shots in the country if the hundreds of rounds fired did not bring the suspect to room temperature immediately.
More stuff to think about
In the wake of the Newtown and Colorado shootings some have taken the position we need to look hard at the Second Amendment. We need to ask if private citizens really need guns. In fact, Connecticut and New York have put in place laws that will certainly bring about lawsuits that argue Second Amendment questions.
If the Boston Terrorists prove to be motivated by their religion what then? After all, the 9/11 attacks were carried out by religious fanatics.. So was the ill-fated attempts by the shoe bomber, the underwear bomber and the Times Square bomber. Will those who argue we must limit our Constitutional Freedom to possess firearms for the public good also argue we must limit our Constitutional Freedom of Religion for the public good? Should we be taking a hard look at the First Amendment?
Of course, I am not advocating for a limit on our First Amendment Rights, I am just asking what is the difference?
If the Boston Terrorists prove to be motivated by their religion what then? After all, the 9/11 attacks were carried out by religious fanatics.. So was the ill-fated attempts by the shoe bomber, the underwear bomber and the Times Square bomber. Will those who argue we must limit our Constitutional Freedom to possess firearms for the public good also argue we must limit our Constitutional Freedom of Religion for the public good? Should we be taking a hard look at the First Amendment?
Of course, I am not advocating for a limit on our First Amendment Rights, I am just asking what is the difference?
April 19, 2013
Just a coincidence
It appears the two brothers sought in the Boston Marathon Bombing are Chechen and Muslim. I am sure religion had nothing to do with the acts of terror. I also have a mountain cabin located in central Indiana for sale.
The good news is one brother is now facing eternal judgement. I hope the other brother dies from rapid injection lead poisoning too. And soon.
Chris Mathews and the liberals who blamed right-wingers will apologize in 3...2...1...
update: According to a radio report, Dana Bash of CNN actually said even though the brothers were Chechen Muslims, they still could be affiliated with the Tea Party or other Right Wing Groups. I am trying to find verification. Clearly there is no media bias at CNN (insert sarcasm font).
The good news is one brother is now facing eternal judgement. I hope the other brother dies from rapid injection lead poisoning too. And soon.
Chris Mathews and the liberals who blamed right-wingers will apologize in 3...2...1...
update: According to a radio report, Dana Bash of CNN actually said even though the brothers were Chechen Muslims, they still could be affiliated with the Tea Party or other Right Wing Groups. I am trying to find verification. Clearly there is no media bias at CNN (insert sarcasm font).
Self examination
Unspeakable acts that dominate the news occasionally makes us take a look at our own morals and values. The shootings in Colorado and Connecticut has forced people across the nation to look at their guns, their rights and how the culture of violence affects common citizens. While the gun control measures proposed in Congress have failed to pass, the efforts have spurred us to look at our Constitution and individual belief systems. For the first time in almost 30 years of marriage, my wife and I had a real discussion and debate about guns and their role in society. I am sure such conversations have taken place across the land.
This dialogue is a good thing.
By the same token, are liberals having an honest look at their own beliefs and values when it comes to abortion? The Gosnell case in Philadelphia displays in gory detail the dark side of abortions. The public picture abortion supporters want to display is of a poor teen girl, or a rape victim opting for abortion as the best option in a long list of bad outcomes. We are reminded that abortions are performed to save the life of a pregnant woman facing certain death if the baby is carried to term. Abortion is disguised as "women's health", because who wants to think about such measures as baby killing?
Do you supporters of abortion look at the details of the Gosnell practice and wonder if killing live babies by 'snipping' their spinal cord meets with your definition of "choice"? Does the evidence of late term, partial birth and botched abortions make you question your unhesitating support of universal abortion?
Do the grisly details of abortion in America make you queasy? Do you ask your self if your beliefs are right and correct? Wouldn't that discussion be good for America?
This dialogue is a good thing.
By the same token, are liberals having an honest look at their own beliefs and values when it comes to abortion? The Gosnell case in Philadelphia displays in gory detail the dark side of abortions. The public picture abortion supporters want to display is of a poor teen girl, or a rape victim opting for abortion as the best option in a long list of bad outcomes. We are reminded that abortions are performed to save the life of a pregnant woman facing certain death if the baby is carried to term. Abortion is disguised as "women's health", because who wants to think about such measures as baby killing?
Do you supporters of abortion look at the details of the Gosnell practice and wonder if killing live babies by 'snipping' their spinal cord meets with your definition of "choice"? Does the evidence of late term, partial birth and botched abortions make you question your unhesitating support of universal abortion?
Do the grisly details of abortion in America make you queasy? Do you ask your self if your beliefs are right and correct? Wouldn't that discussion be good for America?
April 18, 2013
The Shot Heard 'Round the World
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
[...]
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
-
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
 |
| Lexington Green |
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
[...]
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
-
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
April 17, 2013
I bought an unlicensed 6203ZZ yesterday..
It is clear we need to ban ball bearings.
Now.
For the children.
No one needs ball bearings.
Unless you need to eliminate friction from a rotating shaft, but still...
Perhaps we can register ball bearings and put a limit on the number anyone can buy?
Too soon? The President called for a ban on guns 24 hours after a nutjob shot little kids in Newtown. The ball bearings were as responsible for the murders in Boston as the guns in Connecticut.
Now.
For the children.
No one needs ball bearings.
Unless you need to eliminate friction from a rotating shaft, but still...
Perhaps we can register ball bearings and put a limit on the number anyone can buy?
Too soon? The President called for a ban on guns 24 hours after a nutjob shot little kids in Newtown. The ball bearings were as responsible for the murders in Boston as the guns in Connecticut.
April 16, 2013
On Hardball
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about domestic terrorism as a category. Normally, domestic terrorists, people tend to be on the far right, well that’s not a good category, just extremists, let’s call them that. Do they advertise after they do something like this? Do they try to get credit as a group or do they just hate America so much or its politics or its government that they just want to do the damage, they don't care if they get public credit, if you will?
MICHAEL LEITER: What we'll see over the coming couple hours and days is lots of people taking credit for this. We'll probably have al-Qaeda take credit for it. We'll have domestic terrorists take credit for it. And it will be the responsibility of the FBI and the Boston police to figure out if any of those are actually real cases like Timothy McVeigh destroying the Oklahoma City courthouse federal building; no one took credit for that. So it might be some time or never that someone actually takes credit for this. Lots of people will say they were responsible for it.MATTHEWS: I was just thinking, again, it's early; it's an early situation, but going after the Kennedy Library, not something at Bunker Hill, not something from the freedom trail or anything that kind of historic, but a modern political figure of the Democratic Party. Does that tell you anything? link
What say we take a look at the scorecard over the the past 50 years? Leading the pack is foreign terrorists at least in damage and bodies. If we look at the raw number of attacks, the left-wing groups from the 1960's and 1970's are the clear victors. As for right-wing terrorists, you have Timothy McVey.
Here is a listing. if you look back over the past 100 years the leftists have committed more acts of terror than Muslims, Right-wingers, and just plain crazy combined.
Why would anyone watch this duchebag, Chris Matthews? His credibility is zero.Matthews clearly lacks a fundamental understanding of history. He is blinded by his leftist political beliefs. Matthews does not even have the good grace to apologize to the 50% of Americans he slanders on a routine basis.
What is wrong with some people?
Man's inhumanity to man never ceases to amaze me.
On the other hand it doesn't. Spend about two minutes reading about the Middle Ages and you will realize we live in a very safe world.
On the other hand it doesn't. Spend about two minutes reading about the Middle Ages and you will realize we live in a very safe world.
April 15, 2013
The weekends go so fast
Yesterday was a beautiful day, sunny with temperatures in the low 70's; Chamber of Commerce weather indeed. I did yard work most of the day. I cleaned out some flower beds, pulled a few weeds. You may or may not remember my mower died with the waning days of fall last year. I bought a new mower yesterday and mowed the yard. To reward myself for a hard day's work I had a couple of cold beers and a nice cigar*
I finished A Feast for Crows the fourth installment of the Game of Thrones books (A Song of Ice and Fire is actually the name of the series) last evening. I read nearly 800 pages in about four days. Not too bad when you consider I was reading at lunch and in the evenings. I normally do not like Sci-Fi or fantasy, but I dig these books. A semi-medieval soap opera is the best description I can muster. As soon as Amazon drops the price of the next installment I will read it on my Kindle.
I am certain you are riveted by this interesting post, but I have a conference call in a few minutes so I will have to cut off short. Sometimes life is filled with disappointment.
* A Rocky Patel Burn if you care.
I finished A Feast for Crows the fourth installment of the Game of Thrones books (A Song of Ice and Fire is actually the name of the series) last evening. I read nearly 800 pages in about four days. Not too bad when you consider I was reading at lunch and in the evenings. I normally do not like Sci-Fi or fantasy, but I dig these books. A semi-medieval soap opera is the best description I can muster. As soon as Amazon drops the price of the next installment I will read it on my Kindle.
I am certain you are riveted by this interesting post, but I have a conference call in a few minutes so I will have to cut off short. Sometimes life is filled with disappointment.
* A Rocky Patel Burn if you care.
April 12, 2013
Friday Music
For some strange reason I woke this morning with this song playing in my head.
No, I don't know why. You can have it bouncing in your skull now, too.
Thanks Democrats
My wife has worked as a teacher's assistant for 14 years. She is very good at her job, and likes it. Thanks to Obama and the Democrats she is about to take a pay cut. She works 30 hours a week. That means the school system has to provide her with health insurance starting in the fall. My wife does not want the school insurance. She is covered under mine. She knew she could not get insurance when she took the job. Now since she and her co-workers might opt in, the school will cut their hours to make sure they do not reach the 30 hour threshold.
Once again the unintended consequences and reality have stepped in to hurt the very people the Democrats are trying to help. Next, the morons in the Democrat Party will mandate employers who cut hours to avoid the excessive costs of ObamaCare will have to increase pay to make up for lost hours. That way millions will lose their job altogether.
Perhaps that is the plan?
Fucking moron assholes.
Once again the unintended consequences and reality have stepped in to hurt the very people the Democrats are trying to help. Next, the morons in the Democrat Party will mandate employers who cut hours to avoid the excessive costs of ObamaCare will have to increase pay to make up for lost hours. That way millions will lose their job altogether.
Perhaps that is the plan?
Fucking moron assholes.
April 11, 2013
Demthink
Many years ago I was involved in big change at the factory where I worked. I was part of a team that was changing the entire production control system and manufacturing philosophy. The changes necessitated a culture change and a buy-in (I hate that word) from the line employees. Once a week, we shut down the production lines 30 minutes early at the end of the shift to have employee meetings.
In these sessions we explained the changes we were making, and why. We asked for recommendations and opinion. Sometimes there was useful input, usually the response was reactionary. "We have always done it this way..." After time, as the production changes ran their course, the meetings became less useful. For me, they became hard to justify in the face of the lost production they caused. In fact, these meetings became nothing more than bitch sessions. I quit having them on my shifts.
About a month later I was called in by my boss to find out why I was not having the weekly meetings. Some people on my shift had complained to him. Not that they missed the meetings, but in typical UAW fashion, they were working 30 minutes a week longer than employees in other departments and shifts who still had the weekly meetings! They wanted to be paid for doing nothing too.
I explained my reasoning to the boss. I told John that if we had something that required a meeting I would certainly hold one for my shift. I told him that I fail to understand why we need to hold a meeting just because it is Wednesday. I said I do not believe in meeting for meetings sake. What he heard me say was I wanted to screw his wife and rape his dog. That was his reaction anyway. It was example 1,294 of where my boss and I failed to see eye-to-eye. John was more than disappointed when my annual employee review came around. He canvassed my employees and co-workers (per review policy) and found I was the highest rated manager in the plant. Moreover, there was a list of transfer requests for people wanting to get into my department. *
John was probably a Democrat. He would have been all-in on gun-control. He would have understood the mentality of "do something" even if it was pointless and had no effect on gun violence. He would probably mandate a meeting every Wednesday to discuss the issue.
* Eventually he went to personnel with a "him or me" ultimatum. He was gone the next day.
In these sessions we explained the changes we were making, and why. We asked for recommendations and opinion. Sometimes there was useful input, usually the response was reactionary. "We have always done it this way..." After time, as the production changes ran their course, the meetings became less useful. For me, they became hard to justify in the face of the lost production they caused. In fact, these meetings became nothing more than bitch sessions. I quit having them on my shifts.
About a month later I was called in by my boss to find out why I was not having the weekly meetings. Some people on my shift had complained to him. Not that they missed the meetings, but in typical UAW fashion, they were working 30 minutes a week longer than employees in other departments and shifts who still had the weekly meetings! They wanted to be paid for doing nothing too.
I explained my reasoning to the boss. I told John that if we had something that required a meeting I would certainly hold one for my shift. I told him that I fail to understand why we need to hold a meeting just because it is Wednesday. I said I do not believe in meeting for meetings sake. What he heard me say was I wanted to screw his wife and rape his dog. That was his reaction anyway. It was example 1,294 of where my boss and I failed to see eye-to-eye. John was more than disappointed when my annual employee review came around. He canvassed my employees and co-workers (per review policy) and found I was the highest rated manager in the plant. Moreover, there was a list of transfer requests for people wanting to get into my department. *
John was probably a Democrat. He would have been all-in on gun-control. He would have understood the mentality of "do something" even if it was pointless and had no effect on gun violence. He would probably mandate a meeting every Wednesday to discuss the issue.
* Eventually he went to personnel with a "him or me" ultimatum. He was gone the next day.
April 10, 2013
Something has to be done
First crazed Muslim terrorists some people used box cutters and exacto-type knives on 9/11. Now one (or two) people used a box cutter or exacto-type knife to stab and cut 14 people on a Texas college campus. It is clear the only solution is a national database of knife owners. A limit of two blades for such knives must be imposed. The "loan your neighbor your box cutter" loophole must be closed. Anyone caught buying an exacto-type knife for their kid's model building hobby will serve a minimum of 100 years in prison. It is for the children. We can no longer tolerate such brazen acts of knife violence against the children of this country.
When we get a list of knife owners the violence will stop. A background check will put a halt to the senseless killing.
Unnamed sources in the Obama administration confide that no private citizen needs such heinous blades. A recycling center can handle your box-cutting needs. Homeland Security is writing proposed regulations to present to Congress in the coming weeks.
"There are people who cling to their utility knives, that have several in their tool boxes, garden shed and kitchen drawers. No one needs more than one of these knives. The hawk-billed (or hook shaped) assault knives must be banned outright. Outside of roofing and cutting sod, no one needs one of these dangerous killing machines" said a Democrat Congresswoman from California.
I have contacted my local police department to see if they have instituted a buy-back program. I have dozens of these dangerous knives (most missing blades) and I do not want my children exposed. Imagine, one of mine is made from black plastic, and we all know anything made from black plastic is scary and should be banned.
Join with me in a dozen dad march on Washington. Our voices will be heard. Ban these killers now.
When we get a list of knife owners the violence will stop. A background check will put a halt to the senseless killing.
Unnamed sources in the Obama administration confide that no private citizen needs such heinous blades. A recycling center can handle your box-cutting needs. Homeland Security is writing proposed regulations to present to Congress in the coming weeks.
"There are people who cling to their utility knives, that have several in their tool boxes, garden shed and kitchen drawers. No one needs more than one of these knives. The hawk-billed (or hook shaped) assault knives must be banned outright. Outside of roofing and cutting sod, no one needs one of these dangerous killing machines" said a Democrat Congresswoman from California.
I have contacted my local police department to see if they have instituted a buy-back program. I have dozens of these dangerous knives (most missing blades) and I do not want my children exposed. Imagine, one of mine is made from black plastic, and we all know anything made from black plastic is scary and should be banned.
Join with me in a dozen dad march on Washington. Our voices will be heard. Ban these killers now.
This blog needs a theme song
I am pretty certain each of you plays this tune first thing every morning. After all, I am the embodiment of happiness in your life.
April 9, 2013
Content
...the stuff that fills the blog; words and images that occupy a space. Content can also represent a feeling of bliss and satisfaction. It is all about the accented syllable. I submit a picture that fulfills both requirements. It will, by its mere existence, be content for this blog, while simultaneously remind me of a recent time of pure content.
The picture is not as vibrant when published on the blog. The colors are very nice and clear in the original.
NSFW below the fold
 |
| St. Thomas USVI |
NSFW below the fold
April 8, 2013
This Monday keeps getting sadder
First we hear the news that Maggy Thatcher has left the building, now Annette Funicello has passed.
How Beach Blanket Bingo was overlooked by The Academy escapes me.
How Beach Blanket Bingo was overlooked by The Academy escapes me.
Best broccoli soup recipe ever
I suppose I should publish something. My creative juices are dried up like an overcooked steak. Unless you are in the mood for a diatribe on the evils of the designated hitter in baseball, I really have nothing to offer today.
April 7, 2013
April 5, 2013
Lists, and why we make them
I am fully aware I am a stupid redneck Hoosier. I talk slow and type even slower. Sometimes I just do not get it.
Can someone, anyone, offer a coherent and reasonable explanation how registering guns will prevent a crime? The weapons used in Colorado and Connecticut were lawfully held and acquired. How will any of the proposed violations of the Second Amendment have prevented those crimes?
Registering guns to prevent crime makes about as much sense as claiming registering cars will prevent drunk driving.
Can someone, anyone, offer a coherent and reasonable explanation how registering guns will prevent a crime? The weapons used in Colorado and Connecticut were lawfully held and acquired. How will any of the proposed violations of the Second Amendment have prevented those crimes?
Registering guns to prevent crime makes about as much sense as claiming registering cars will prevent drunk driving.
Friday Covers Prog Rock Version
A Yes song you probably do not know, but should.
An acoustic version
Glass Hammer covers the song
April 4, 2013
April 3, 2013
Ch-ch-ch-changes
I am thinking of changing the name of this piece o' crap blog to "Tapeworm Diaries".
What do you think?
What do you think?
April 2, 2013
The second Monday this week
The light bulb exploded in my desk lamp when I turned it on this morning. Exploded. I had to use pliers to get out the pieces. I suppose that warning to use a 60 watt maximum bulb was accurate.
My daughter called just before 8:00. She was at the gas station and her car would not start. I threw the jumper cables in the car. It took longer to find the hood release on her VW than it did to get her car running. i will have to figure out what is wrong after she gets off work.
As I was driving home the wife called on her way to work to let me know the bathroom toilet is clogged. Hooray, I got to fix that too.
At some point I have to get started on my monthly report. Too bad I have little to document.
My daughter called just before 8:00. She was at the gas station and her car would not start. I threw the jumper cables in the car. It took longer to find the hood release on her VW than it did to get her car running. i will have to figure out what is wrong after she gets off work.
As I was driving home the wife called on her way to work to let me know the bathroom toilet is clogged. Hooray, I got to fix that too.
At some point I have to get started on my monthly report. Too bad I have little to document.
April 1, 2013
What is wrong with this picture?
Since there is nothing more fascinating than looking at someone else's vacation pictures, here you go:
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| Sunset from the stern of the ship |
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| Sharp dressed policeman in Nassau |
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| Sunrise in the Caribbean. No pirates in sight. |
It is one of those Mondays...
I hate interleague baseball. This year we have have even more of it, including opening day in Cincinnati.
Why bother having divisions MLB?
On the other hand, the Cubs are in first place as of this writing!
Why bother having divisions MLB?
On the other hand, the Cubs are in first place as of this writing!
March 31, 2013
Happy Easter
Hello Boys and Girls. We got home in the wee hours of the morning from a fun and exciting cruise vacation. Sorry I had to leave you canned posts, but that is the price you pay when I am having my bestest vacation ever. You got snow and cold, I got fun and sun in tropical climes. I do not want to rub it in so I will tell you my nose got burnt and I have a bleeding blister on my left little toe. I am certain that will make you feel better about the food, beer, mojitos, pina coladas, rum punch and cigars I consumed. It soothes the resentment you harbor over the afternoon we spent on a catamaran sailing and snorkeling and drinking rum punch afterward!
Too many cars and far too many idiot drivers coupled with an intermittent rain made a normal14 hour drive home stretch into an interminable 19 hour ordeal, but it was all worth it!
Too many cars and far too many idiot drivers coupled with an intermittent rain made a normal14 hour drive home stretch into an interminable 19 hour ordeal, but it was all worth it!
March 28, 2013
Sumertime Blues
Here is another excerpt from the fictional short story I am working on.
In my youth, Indiana required every student to pass a class in biology in order to graduate from high school. Since every student had to take the class, the school was faced with a choice. They could hire several teachers just to teach biology, or they could offer the class as a summer course. My school offered a summer session. It was understood that the summer session was much easier than the winter version. After all, the teachers did not want to be there, the students weren’t interested and it was hot in the un-air-conditioned high school. So in that summer before my freshman year I found myself in a hot classroom learning about biology. Cells and bugs and trees and the human body – we covered it all in six weeks of three hour morning classes. We cut up frogs, captured butterflies and pored over diagrams of genitalia in a twittering, snickering mob.
Leroy Lewis sat behind me. Leroy was short and stocky and had a square head. I say he was short, but he was probably at least as tall as I was, he just seemed shorter because his head was so big. Leroy was square all over. His skull featured a Frankenstein-like forehead, and the shape was not enhanced by his unfashionable crew cut. Leroy's body was wide and square too. He wore a cheap Timex on his thick wrist.
Leroy was my lab partner. While we were not buddies, I got along with him fine. Along with a bunch of the other guys in the class we sat around at breaks. Leroy joined in the conversation staples of the day -- sports and sex and girls. He was frequently the good-natured butt of jokes and occasionally gave as good as he got.
One Wednesday after class, a large group of us was crossing Walser Road in front of the high school. There must have been eight or ten kids in the bunch, including a couple of girls. Everyone was going to head to the pool. I heard someone yell “Hey, wait up”. I did not slacken my pace, I wanted to get home and change.
I won’t lie. I did not hear the screech or the bump. I did turn to see Leroy lying on the asphalt, shaking, shaking, shaking like he had been electrocuted. There was a spreading pool of dark red, almost brown blood flowing from his head. There was so much blood.
Years of Boy Scouts flooded into my consciousness. I ran into the street and assessed the injuries. Head wound – check. Shock – check. I pulled a clean bandanna from my back pocket and put pressure on the wound. I told Cathy Posz to run home and call an ambulance. I checked Leroy’s breathing.
I did all those things in my dreams in the days and weeks after Leroy died. In reality I stood there like everyone else watching the trickle of blood flow into a larger pool on the hot pavement. I stood there until long after the ambulance arrived and took Leroy away. I was still watching as the firemen used their hoses to wash away the blood and glass. The cops were bored with hearing the same story over and over and did not even interview me.
The calling at the funeral home was quite the event. Just about every kid in school showed up. The popular girls and cool kids all sat on a couch and cried. Lynn Taylor hugged Leroy’s Mom and sobbed. If I had done an informal survey the week proceeding the accident, half of the people at the wake would not have known Leroy at all. They might have only recognized his face, but would have never known his last name.I would bet my future lifetime earnings Lynn Taylor had never spoken to Leroy in his life. If you would have asked me, I would have said he was I guy I knew in school. Thirty-five years later I would say Leroy’s death made me very sad because I learned in those days and hours what hypocrites most people really are.
In my youth, Indiana required every student to pass a class in biology in order to graduate from high school. Since every student had to take the class, the school was faced with a choice. They could hire several teachers just to teach biology, or they could offer the class as a summer course. My school offered a summer session. It was understood that the summer session was much easier than the winter version. After all, the teachers did not want to be there, the students weren’t interested and it was hot in the un-air-conditioned high school. So in that summer before my freshman year I found myself in a hot classroom learning about biology. Cells and bugs and trees and the human body – we covered it all in six weeks of three hour morning classes. We cut up frogs, captured butterflies and pored over diagrams of genitalia in a twittering, snickering mob.
Leroy Lewis sat behind me. Leroy was short and stocky and had a square head. I say he was short, but he was probably at least as tall as I was, he just seemed shorter because his head was so big. Leroy was square all over. His skull featured a Frankenstein-like forehead, and the shape was not enhanced by his unfashionable crew cut. Leroy's body was wide and square too. He wore a cheap Timex on his thick wrist.
Leroy was my lab partner. While we were not buddies, I got along with him fine. Along with a bunch of the other guys in the class we sat around at breaks. Leroy joined in the conversation staples of the day -- sports and sex and girls. He was frequently the good-natured butt of jokes and occasionally gave as good as he got.
One Wednesday after class, a large group of us was crossing Walser Road in front of the high school. There must have been eight or ten kids in the bunch, including a couple of girls. Everyone was going to head to the pool. I heard someone yell “Hey, wait up”. I did not slacken my pace, I wanted to get home and change.
I won’t lie. I did not hear the screech or the bump. I did turn to see Leroy lying on the asphalt, shaking, shaking, shaking like he had been electrocuted. There was a spreading pool of dark red, almost brown blood flowing from his head. There was so much blood.
Years of Boy Scouts flooded into my consciousness. I ran into the street and assessed the injuries. Head wound – check. Shock – check. I pulled a clean bandanna from my back pocket and put pressure on the wound. I told Cathy Posz to run home and call an ambulance. I checked Leroy’s breathing.
I did all those things in my dreams in the days and weeks after Leroy died. In reality I stood there like everyone else watching the trickle of blood flow into a larger pool on the hot pavement. I stood there until long after the ambulance arrived and took Leroy away. I was still watching as the firemen used their hoses to wash away the blood and glass. The cops were bored with hearing the same story over and over and did not even interview me.
The calling at the funeral home was quite the event. Just about every kid in school showed up. The popular girls and cool kids all sat on a couch and cried. Lynn Taylor hugged Leroy’s Mom and sobbed. If I had done an informal survey the week proceeding the accident, half of the people at the wake would not have known Leroy at all. They might have only recognized his face, but would have never known his last name.I would bet my future lifetime earnings Lynn Taylor had never spoken to Leroy in his life. If you would have asked me, I would have said he was I guy I knew in school. Thirty-five years later I would say Leroy’s death made me very sad because I learned in those days and hours what hypocrites most people really are.
March 27, 2013
Inspired by yesterday's post
Here is Ann Margaret steaming up the screen in Viva Las Vegas.
What? Sure here is a little more Ann for your viewing pleasure:
Remember when Ann took the Flinstones to a new level? Wilma was not even in the same league. Heck Betty was hotter than Wilma too.
March 26, 2013
Friday Covers -- Tuesday edition
The incomparable King after a scary ad.
The Dead kennedys, rocks it out, punk style.
Shawn Colvin mellows it down.
The Boss gambles his version will suit your fancy.
March 25, 2013
Reason 3,741 you wish you were me
I fried up some Spam for lunch served with some leftover mac n' cheese. I know you are jealous.
March 24, 2013
Feckless
We have no money for the annual Easter Egg roll, White House tours, meat inspection, border control, education, defense, air traffic control or the TSA. We do have the money for the President to play golf and vacation. We do have money to give to Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood. We do have the money to give to Yale "to study the evolution of sexual conflict and the evolution of reproductive structures" in waterfowl. source
Words fail me.. Somehow every Democrat believes we do not have one single place to save money. We are led to believe a reduction in the rate of increased spending will decimate the country. They spout that spending is not the problem, it is the damn Bush Tax Cuts. The problem is you and I do not pay our fair share.
Fucking bastards.
h/t GOC
Words fail me.. Somehow every Democrat believes we do not have one single place to save money. We are led to believe a reduction in the rate of increased spending will decimate the country. They spout that spending is not the problem, it is the damn Bush Tax Cuts. The problem is you and I do not pay our fair share.
Fucking bastards.
h/t GOC
March 22, 2013
I raise my glass to the Acidman
Wow.
Eight years.
I posted my first of many shitty posts on March 22, 2005. More than 4,000 posts later I am still at it. I suppose I could claim a thumbs up for consistency. .Like your neighborhood hash joint, I may not win awards for quality, but I do serve up quantity.
Together we have been through elections, and jobs, and seen my kids grow up. When I started this strange hobby my daughter was a senior in high school, my oldest son was learning to drive, and my youngest was still fielding balls in Little league. Now the two oldest are out in the world making their own mark. The youngest is away at college.
In 2005 the Cubs sucked and the next World Championship was just a couple of years away. Now, the Cubs suck and the next World Championship is just a couple of years away.
Some of you have been at this blogging stuff far longer than I, some are more prolific. Most of you are more popular.. But I have a good time blogging. I entertain me, if no one else..
Lots of my readers over the years have moved on. Many commenters and fellow bloggers have found new interests. Some of you have been around since the early days. I do not possess the vocabulary or writing skills to adequately express my appreciation for each and every one of you who have read, linked and commented over the years.
A simple 'thank you' will have to suffice.
Eight years.
I posted my first of many shitty posts on March 22, 2005. More than 4,000 posts later I am still at it. I suppose I could claim a thumbs up for consistency. .Like your neighborhood hash joint, I may not win awards for quality, but I do serve up quantity.
Together we have been through elections, and jobs, and seen my kids grow up. When I started this strange hobby my daughter was a senior in high school, my oldest son was learning to drive, and my youngest was still fielding balls in Little league. Now the two oldest are out in the world making their own mark. The youngest is away at college.
In 2005 the Cubs sucked and the next World Championship was just a couple of years away. Now, the Cubs suck and the next World Championship is just a couple of years away.
Some of you have been at this blogging stuff far longer than I, some are more prolific. Most of you are more popular.. But I have a good time blogging. I entertain me, if no one else..
Lots of my readers over the years have moved on. Many commenters and fellow bloggers have found new interests. Some of you have been around since the early days. I do not possess the vocabulary or writing skills to adequately express my appreciation for each and every one of you who have read, linked and commented over the years.
A simple 'thank you' will have to suffice.
March 21, 2013
Are You F-ing Kidding Me?
Today is March 21. Winter is over since yesterday.. It was 19 degrees when I ran to the curb to fetch my paper this morning. The wind chill was NINE. Yes, I know using big letters means I am shouting.
I could use a little global warming.
I could use a little global warming.
March 20, 2013
51
I know. Things have been quiet around here. That is because I am a moron when it comes to scheduling. I attended a rock concert in Louisville Sunday night. Then I had to drive the boy back to Bloomington, IN. I finally got home just before 2 in the aye em. I had to be in beautiful Elkhart/Mishawaka/South Bend before noon on Monday. Brilliant scheduling on my part, eh wot? After a full day of work and driving and being my charming self, all I could do was crash in the hotel Monday Night. More work and driving and smiling followed on Tuesday. No time for sergeants, and no time for blogging either.
I'm 51 today. Happy Spring.
I'm 51 today. Happy Spring.
March 18, 2013
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
I am stealing a bit from a post over at Ed's place. I am not sure this is really where he was going with his post, but as I think further about it, I see the end game for the progressive movement.
In recent years the political conversation has moved steadily to one of "need" . Obama and his cronies are always talking about our needs (I am going to dispense with the quotation marks around "need" as I find it tiresome). Early in his Presidency Obama told us we do not need to keep our houses so warm in the winter and so cool in the summer. he said American use way more energy than they should (read 'need'). We are told that at some point you do not need all of that money you are making. You are advised that some people have better health insurance than they need, so 'Cadillac Policies" are taxed under ObamaCare.
Much of the current gun control debate centers on what you need. You hear Feinstein and other gun-grabbers postulate that you do not need a scary black plastic semi-automatic rifle. After all, it is not good for hunting. It is not a big jump to argue you do not need more than one gun. You see, the notion that the scary black semi-automatic rifles are rarely used in crimes is irrelevant, it is about confiscation of firearms.
Back in the day you heard Sierra Club types complain that people did not need a Hummer. Now as far as I know every single owner of the Hummer in its various forms bought and paid for the vehicle and gas themselves, so for me, who cares what they drive? But rest assured Obama and your typical liberal looks at your pickup and your SUV/crossover and wonders why you need such a big gas hog. You are not in the farm or construction industry. You do not haul big loads. Trust me, before the next President is elected the question of why you need a big car will be in the national discussion.
We must do all we can to discourage the conversation turning to one of discussing needs. Every time a liberal starts a sentence with "You do not need..." we must respond with "Need has nothing to do with it". Rights have nothing whatsoever to do with need. Capitalism is not based in need.
I do not need a three car garage. I do not need a an SUV. I do not need a 'fridge in my garage. I do not need a humidor filled with imported cigars rolled between the thighs of luscious maidens in some far-off Caribbean Island or Central American country. I don't need a smart phone or computer or big screen TV. I do not need some bureaucrat or governmental flunkies making life decisions for me and my family.
Is there and endgame to moving the conversation to one of need? Progressives like to discuss needs, because that is how they think. Capitalism is fueled by greed in their mind. It caters to wants. For your typical liberal, there should not be profit in basic necessities. Food, shelter, health care should be free for everyone. No one should have better or best. I do not need to be eating a steak when you are munching on a generic brand hot dog.
Once the conversation becomes one of needs, then we are finally closer to the real goal: a society based on working to one's ability and receiving according to one's needs.
In recent years the political conversation has moved steadily to one of "need" . Obama and his cronies are always talking about our needs (I am going to dispense with the quotation marks around "need" as I find it tiresome). Early in his Presidency Obama told us we do not need to keep our houses so warm in the winter and so cool in the summer. he said American use way more energy than they should (read 'need'). We are told that at some point you do not need all of that money you are making. You are advised that some people have better health insurance than they need, so 'Cadillac Policies" are taxed under ObamaCare.
Much of the current gun control debate centers on what you need. You hear Feinstein and other gun-grabbers postulate that you do not need a scary black plastic semi-automatic rifle. After all, it is not good for hunting. It is not a big jump to argue you do not need more than one gun. You see, the notion that the scary black semi-automatic rifles are rarely used in crimes is irrelevant, it is about confiscation of firearms.
Back in the day you heard Sierra Club types complain that people did not need a Hummer. Now as far as I know every single owner of the Hummer in its various forms bought and paid for the vehicle and gas themselves, so for me, who cares what they drive? But rest assured Obama and your typical liberal looks at your pickup and your SUV/crossover and wonders why you need such a big gas hog. You are not in the farm or construction industry. You do not haul big loads. Trust me, before the next President is elected the question of why you need a big car will be in the national discussion.
We must do all we can to discourage the conversation turning to one of discussing needs. Every time a liberal starts a sentence with "You do not need..." we must respond with "Need has nothing to do with it". Rights have nothing whatsoever to do with need. Capitalism is not based in need.
I do not need a three car garage. I do not need a an SUV. I do not need a 'fridge in my garage. I do not need a humidor filled with imported cigars rolled between the thighs of luscious maidens in some far-off Caribbean Island or Central American country. I don't need a smart phone or computer or big screen TV. I do not need some bureaucrat or governmental flunkies making life decisions for me and my family.
Is there and endgame to moving the conversation to one of need? Progressives like to discuss needs, because that is how they think. Capitalism is fueled by greed in their mind. It caters to wants. For your typical liberal, there should not be profit in basic necessities. Food, shelter, health care should be free for everyone. No one should have better or best. I do not need to be eating a steak when you are munching on a generic brand hot dog.
Once the conversation becomes one of needs, then we are finally closer to the real goal: a society based on working to one's ability and receiving according to one's needs.
March 17, 2013
My early Birthday present
I am off this evening to see my favorite band. They will be playing this song. That notion makes me very happy indeed.
Watch and enjoy. Do it for my birthday. You will have to skip the ad.
You gotta dig the capes!
Check out the guitar work starting at 6:25 or so.
March 16, 2013
I need a four leaf clover, and not for St. Pat's day
It is increasingly clear my vacation decisions are just as poorly conceived as my financial decisions.
The wife and I are supposed to go on our dream vacation next week. I feel like Kevin Bacon in Animal House, shouting to my wife "All is well!".
Nonetheless, I am keeping my fingers crossed while clutching my lucky rabbit's foot .Does anyone know where I can find a bald midget to rub?
The wife and I are supposed to go on our dream vacation next week. I feel like Kevin Bacon in Animal House, shouting to my wife "All is well!".
Nonetheless, I am keeping my fingers crossed while clutching my lucky rabbit's foot .Does anyone know where I can find a bald midget to rub?
March 15, 2013
Wherein the Author Makes a Rare Modern Cultural Reference
In the fantasy series Game of Thrones there is much discussion of the coming long winter. Summer and winter last years, if not decades, in the far-off land of Westros. Well, it seems like winter has lasted decades around these parts. Last summer was brutally hot and temperatures dropped abruptly from the 90s to the 50's seemingly over night.
Here we are in mid-March and the expected spring warming has not yet arrived. It snowed a bit yesterday. This morning there is a thin covering of frost and snow on the grass. March snow is not unusual, even a scant week from Official Spring (and my birthday). Normally by now we have had some fine days of 70 degree weather mixed in with the cold days..
There is no doubt I am a March baby. My personality runs hot and cold with rapid changes. I can be windy. Those qualities also define a typical mid-western March. The March of 2013 has been steady cold. Last weekend we hit 60, but that is the warmest I have seen. I am ready for a little of AlGore's global warming.
Here we are in mid-March and the expected spring warming has not yet arrived. It snowed a bit yesterday. This morning there is a thin covering of frost and snow on the grass. March snow is not unusual, even a scant week from Official Spring (and my birthday). Normally by now we have had some fine days of 70 degree weather mixed in with the cold days..
There is no doubt I am a March baby. My personality runs hot and cold with rapid changes. I can be windy. Those qualities also define a typical mid-western March. The March of 2013 has been steady cold. Last weekend we hit 60, but that is the warmest I have seen. I am ready for a little of AlGore's global warming.
Friday Music
We have not spent time with The Stones recently.
When my kids were babies I used to sing this to them when they woke up in the middle of the night looking for a comforting voice to get them back to sleep. I can't hit the high notes any more. I never could sing worth a crap, so it does not really matter. I don't even sing well in the shower.
March 14, 2013
March 13, 2013
Are all Prius Drivers Assholes -- volume II
If a typical electric car is driven 50,000 miles over its lifetime, the huge initial emissions from its manufacture means the car will actually have put more carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere than a similar-size gasoline-powered car driven the same number of miles source
Read the whole thing.
March 12, 2013
Hysteria and the budget crisis
Can any one explain to me how it is that we don't have money for unguided White House tours, but have plenty of cash in the budget for the Secret Service, airplanes, helicopters, security and a fleet of SUVs to accompany our President while he plays yet another round of golf?
March 11, 2013
Ode to an Ode on a Greecian Urn
Sit back, grab some coffee or a cola, perhaps even your favorite adult beverage. This could quite possibly be the best blog post I have ever written. I let my wife read it and afterward she had that post-coital frazzled yet contented look I have seen on occasion. She wore the same leering smile on her face most of our wedding night. You might need a smoke when you are finished.
Think of a cold beer after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. The sweat is dripping on your brow. The heat waves are shimmering, visibly reflecting from the blacktopped street. Flowers are wilting, you almost expect their bright reds and yellows and purples to melt and run under the noontime rays. This post will is like a refreshing Bud or PBR or Strohs as it bubbles down your parched throat.
Think of that Christmas when you came down the stairs and glimpsed that bright red Schwinn under the tree. Remember the time Santa left you the Easy Bake Oven or the GI Joe with full scuba gear. Reflect on the joy of finding that Power Ranger Zoid wrapped in the yellow foil paper on your eighth birthday, when Mom had told you for weeks it was sold out from every store. This post is like getting your first Cabbage Patch or Barbie Doll.
I think I can fairly compare the joy you will derive from this post to the euphoria you felt with your first kiss, or the first time you held your daughter in your arms.
This post will remind you of puppies and kittens and the sweet smell of bread in the oven. Reading it is like jumping on a trampoline, spotting a bald eagle or staring into the wondrous and beautiful abyss of the Grand Canyon.
The post I present is like the first snowfall of winter, rainbows after a spring shower and red roses in a green vase. This post is waterfalls, watching a a pitcher hurl a perfect game, and your team winning the Superbowl.
This post is the joy of leaving a well-placed chili fart in the cereal aisle at WalMart, a glimpse of a nipple, and a video of a skateboarder racking his nuts on a stair rail.
This post will make you forget Shakespeare, Hemingway and Twain. It will invoke the emotional roller coaster of a Citizen Kane, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Gone With the Wind, or Rambo II.
This is a post for the EOB; I don't want my ass kicked.
You should read her. She is as wrong as wrong can be when it comes to politics, but she is entertaining as hell.
Oh, I am heading for the friendly skies and I don't have time now to write the post I had planned.
Sorry about that.
Think of a cold beer after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. The sweat is dripping on your brow. The heat waves are shimmering, visibly reflecting from the blacktopped street. Flowers are wilting, you almost expect their bright reds and yellows and purples to melt and run under the noontime rays. This post will is like a refreshing Bud or PBR or Strohs as it bubbles down your parched throat.
Think of that Christmas when you came down the stairs and glimpsed that bright red Schwinn under the tree. Remember the time Santa left you the Easy Bake Oven or the GI Joe with full scuba gear. Reflect on the joy of finding that Power Ranger Zoid wrapped in the yellow foil paper on your eighth birthday, when Mom had told you for weeks it was sold out from every store. This post is like getting your first Cabbage Patch or Barbie Doll.
 |
| As wondrous as the stuff I photograph from my car window at 60 mph |
This post will remind you of puppies and kittens and the sweet smell of bread in the oven. Reading it is like jumping on a trampoline, spotting a bald eagle or staring into the wondrous and beautiful abyss of the Grand Canyon.
The post I present is like the first snowfall of winter, rainbows after a spring shower and red roses in a green vase. This post is waterfalls, watching a a pitcher hurl a perfect game, and your team winning the Superbowl.
This post is the joy of leaving a well-placed chili fart in the cereal aisle at WalMart, a glimpse of a nipple, and a video of a skateboarder racking his nuts on a stair rail.
This post will make you forget Shakespeare, Hemingway and Twain. It will invoke the emotional roller coaster of a Citizen Kane, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Gone With the Wind, or Rambo II.
This is a post for the EOB; I don't want my ass kicked.
You should read her. She is as wrong as wrong can be when it comes to politics, but she is entertaining as hell.
Oh, I am heading for the friendly skies and I don't have time now to write the post I had planned.
Sorry about that.
March 10, 2013
Blogging may be dead, but I am not.
I suppose I outta put up some sort of post. Of course, writing something just to be writing something is the worst reason ever to post to a blog.
Friday we went ot the Windy City to see the boy's band in action up in Wrigleyville (Goose Island Brewpub -- thanks for a great evening). We had a blast in the big city. The wife rode the El for the first time as we ventured from our digs near Michigan Avenue and the Magnificent Mile up to the North Side. The venue was just a long fly ball from the Friendly Confines, so I had to grab some late night pics of my baseball mecca. .
Here is the author hanging with Ernie Banks while in Chicago. Mr. Cub did not have much to say. I am the one on the ground. No one has put me on a pedestal yet.
I have been to Wrigley Field many times, but this was the first time the wife had seen it. Her comment was one I have heard from her before: "Its not as big as I thought it would be."
Last night the band was in Ann Arbor doing a gig at the Blind Pig. I did not make that trip. Maybe I will come along the next time they visit the Big Mitten State.
I have to go do the change-the-clocks thing. Enjoy your Sunday.
Friday we went ot the Windy City to see the boy's band in action up in Wrigleyville (Goose Island Brewpub -- thanks for a great evening). We had a blast in the big city. The wife rode the El for the first time as we ventured from our digs near Michigan Avenue and the Magnificent Mile up to the North Side. The venue was just a long fly ball from the Friendly Confines, so I had to grab some late night pics of my baseball mecca. .
Here is the author hanging with Ernie Banks while in Chicago. Mr. Cub did not have much to say. I am the one on the ground. No one has put me on a pedestal yet.
I have been to Wrigley Field many times, but this was the first time the wife had seen it. Her comment was one I have heard from her before: "Its not as big as I thought it would be."
Last night the band was in Ann Arbor doing a gig at the Blind Pig. I did not make that trip. Maybe I will come along the next time they visit the Big Mitten State.
I have to go do the change-the-clocks thing. Enjoy your Sunday.
March 7, 2013
Urgent Update
Just like Generalissimo Fransisco Franco, Hugo Chavez is still dead.
Fidel, the clock is ticking...
Oh, and how about a big fuck you, Jimmy Carter-- you freedom-hating dickwad.
Fidel, the clock is ticking...
Oh, and how about a big fuck you, Jimmy Carter-- you freedom-hating dickwad.
March 6, 2013
Not Rain, nor Sleet...
Why is the Postal Service broke?
My son mailed some tax documents to me a little over a week ago. Yesterday, he received the envelope back in a bag marked return to sender. There was an attached note that informed him the drop box where he deposited his letter was no longer a valid drop box for the US Postal Service and referred him to the USPS website to find the nearest drop box.
Instead of delivering the letter, the Post Office sent it back to be re-mailed.
These are the very type of bureaucrats who are going to decide your medical fate under ObamaCare.
Sleep well tonight, Dear Readers.
My son mailed some tax documents to me a little over a week ago. Yesterday, he received the envelope back in a bag marked return to sender. There was an attached note that informed him the drop box where he deposited his letter was no longer a valid drop box for the US Postal Service and referred him to the USPS website to find the nearest drop box.
Instead of delivering the letter, the Post Office sent it back to be re-mailed.
These are the very type of bureaucrats who are going to decide your medical fate under ObamaCare.
Sleep well tonight, Dear Readers.
March 5, 2013
Riveting commentary and personal anecdotes that will leave you crying for more
I got out of Chi-town late last night to avoid the winter storm bearing down It made for a long day, driving up and back with three meetings in between. But a 14 hour day was far preferable to the long day driving through freezing rain an a half foot or more of snow.
This morning I was up at 5:00, I don't know why.
I had to replace the battery in the boy's car this morning. That is what happens when you do not start a car with a five year-old battery for a month. I tried jumping it and charging it, but it was D-E-D dead.
When did car batteries get so expensive? I was thinking a battery for a ten year old Honda Civic would run in the neighborhood of $50. It was about twice that. I blame Obama, just because I can.
This morning I was up at 5:00, I don't know why.
I had to replace the battery in the boy's car this morning. That is what happens when you do not start a car with a five year-old battery for a month. I tried jumping it and charging it, but it was D-E-D dead.
When did car batteries get so expensive? I was thinking a battery for a ten year old Honda Civic would run in the neighborhood of $50. It was about twice that. I blame Obama, just because I can.
March 3, 2013
Speaking words of wisdom...
Saturday we were fighting the winter chill in my buddies' garage via kerosene heater and beer and cigar smoke. Never mind the conversation leading to the quote:
"See one naked boob and you want to see them all"Can I get an 'Amen' from the dudes in the audience?
Summer Memories
I rolled my swim trunks into my beach towel.
I used a bungee cord to hold the cylinder to the handlebar of my white ten
speed. I went back in the house where I checked to make sure I had the
requisite seventy-five cents in the pocket of my cut offs. I pushed back my
hair from my eyes and glanced at the mirror. My tanned, soon-to-be-a-
high-school-freshman body had no fat. It had no muscle either. Wide shoulders
sat above narrow hips framed by even-skinnier arms and legs. I practiced a
James Dean smirk as I pulled on a faded Notre Dame T-Shirt.
I pushed the bike out of the garage and lowered the door. It occurred to me I forgot to eat lunch. I glanced back at the house, shrugged and mounted the bike. I checked the security of the bungee cords once more before heading down the short driveway. The Whitaker's aged collie-mix gave a feeble bark as I pedaled past.
I biked across town, avoiding the main streets. I traversed a set of railroad tracks, then another. I peddled past the old power plant A short distance later I came to the corner ice cream stand. If I had money I would have grabbed a taco. I was sorry I skipped lunch. Down the hill I coasted, hands at my side. The bike was perfectly balanced even without my hands on the handle bars. I silently hummed along with the music playing in my head.
I cut up the bike path through the expansive city park. past the playground I could hear the whistles as the lifeguards opened the pool. I locked my bike into the rack. I had arrived as planned; just after the opening crowd had entered, to avoid the crush. I paid for my entry and a basket to store my clothes.
Jeff was just pulling on his trunks as I dropped to the bench in the men's locker room. "S'up, man?" he intoned.
"How's it going? I'll be ready in a minute" I said as I threw my shorts and shirt along with my towel into the basket. Jeff padded into the shower. He was still standing under the freezing water, wetting his swim trunks when I came in. I pulled the chain and quickly dowsed my hair and body. I sloshed through the chlorine-heavy foot bath before going out to the crowded pool.
The fifty year old public pool was filled with shouting, splashing people on this hot summer afternoon. We walked past the kiddie pool and shallow end and marched toward the diving boards, trying our best to radiate cool from every pore.
Jeff walked straight up to the two foot spring board. He walked purposely to the end. He turned his back to the pool and did a back flip after a quick bounce. I ran to the end and executed a smooth jackknife in his wake. I saw Jeff flip me a middle finger as I leaped into the air for my dive. Laughing and sputtering we climbed up the side. Ladders were for pussies.
I caught a glimpse of blond hair and a shapely teenaged body as I sprang onto the diving board again. I did a sloppy one-and-a-half somersault into the water and swam towards the concrete island in the center of the pool.
I pushed the bike out of the garage and lowered the door. It occurred to me I forgot to eat lunch. I glanced back at the house, shrugged and mounted the bike. I checked the security of the bungee cords once more before heading down the short driveway. The Whitaker's aged collie-mix gave a feeble bark as I pedaled past.
I biked across town, avoiding the main streets. I traversed a set of railroad tracks, then another. I peddled past the old power plant A short distance later I came to the corner ice cream stand. If I had money I would have grabbed a taco. I was sorry I skipped lunch. Down the hill I coasted, hands at my side. The bike was perfectly balanced even without my hands on the handle bars. I silently hummed along with the music playing in my head.
I cut up the bike path through the expansive city park. past the playground I could hear the whistles as the lifeguards opened the pool. I locked my bike into the rack. I had arrived as planned; just after the opening crowd had entered, to avoid the crush. I paid for my entry and a basket to store my clothes.
Jeff was just pulling on his trunks as I dropped to the bench in the men's locker room. "S'up, man?" he intoned.
"How's it going? I'll be ready in a minute" I said as I threw my shorts and shirt along with my towel into the basket. Jeff padded into the shower. He was still standing under the freezing water, wetting his swim trunks when I came in. I pulled the chain and quickly dowsed my hair and body. I sloshed through the chlorine-heavy foot bath before going out to the crowded pool.
The fifty year old public pool was filled with shouting, splashing people on this hot summer afternoon. We walked past the kiddie pool and shallow end and marched toward the diving boards, trying our best to radiate cool from every pore.
Jeff walked straight up to the two foot spring board. He walked purposely to the end. He turned his back to the pool and did a back flip after a quick bounce. I ran to the end and executed a smooth jackknife in his wake. I saw Jeff flip me a middle finger as I leaped into the air for my dive. Laughing and sputtering we climbed up the side. Ladders were for pussies.
I caught a glimpse of blond hair and a shapely teenaged body as I sprang onto the diving board again. I did a sloppy one-and-a-half somersault into the water and swam towards the concrete island in the center of the pool.
March 2, 2013
Another Soperific Saturday Post
Here we are on an early Saturday morning. For some reason I woke up just after 5:00. I know, that is what I said too. I tried without success to get back to sleep, but here we are. I have read the paper and eaten breakfast and cup number two of coffee is warming my gullet.
I was up until after midnight finishing a book (Zorro - the Curse of Capistrano if you are curious), so I should have been tired. Oh well, I can probably muster a nap in the old recliner later this morning.
Too bad I deleted the next three paragraphs. You don't want to hear it. Not today anyway.
I hope you have a great weekend.
I was up until after midnight finishing a book (Zorro - the Curse of Capistrano if you are curious), so I should have been tired. Oh well, I can probably muster a nap in the old recliner later this morning.
Too bad I deleted the next three paragraphs. You don't want to hear it. Not today anyway.
I hope you have a great weekend.
March 1, 2013
Today's Thought
I really must make an effort to work the word "poltroon" into my every day conversation.
What say we give it a try?
President Obama, you are a poltroon. You could have stopped the sequester by vetoing the fucking bill. Now quit lying and get to work.
What say we give it a try?
President Obama, you are a poltroon. You could have stopped the sequester by vetoing the fucking bill. Now quit lying and get to work.
Friday Covers
Chicago in the early years (Chicago Transit Authority)
Spencer Davis Group -- Steve Winwood belts out the original
How could you Keith Emerson?
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