I hate stupid mistakes....

I can't stand stupid mistakes, especially when I make them. What makes it even worse is when I see the mistake after the project is all finished. I have a bad temper as it is, but when I do something totally, unmistakably stupid, I feel like punching the wall.(I don't though since then it would just be another project I would have to take care of, and more then likely I would make a mistake while doing it. It is such an evil spiral)
Oh I know I shouldn't let it get to me, but I just can't let it go.
It is usually the simple things that set me off the quickest. I should know better. All it requires is a little common sense, and some thinking. At times I seem to lose both.
There are times when I can go back and fix what I messed up, and then I feel a little better, but it still doesn't cover the fact that something had to be worked on twice.
And if there is anything worse than working on something once it is working on it twice.
Like I said it's an evil spiral.

Sometimes I wonder..

My son has suddenly become a baseball fanatic. He has watched baseball (especially the Detroit Tigers) since he was smaller, most of the games while sitting next to his great-grandfather. Now, however, something has changed.
He is eight years old and wants to play travel baseball. Now it must be understood that he has only recently started to learn how to catch the ball (once with his eye). As far as I know he hasn't had any practice at hitting a ball, (unless they tried during the school year) yet he wants badly to play.
It is the end of summer so getting him on a league of any sort at this time of the year is not going to happen. Which may not be a bad thing since he is going to need a lot of practice. This however might be a pretty good bargaining tool. If he wants to play then it should be easy to keep his room clean.
I should be happy that he has an interest in something other then game boy (and I am). I just hope his excitement for the game can be sustained until next spring when baseball starts up again.

"WHERE IS THE MUSIC...."

One thing about me is that I love music, and when I say that I mean, I REALLY LOVE MUSIC. So one thing that I hate is that when I want to hear music and all there is is Talk shows.

Now I'm not talking about stations like National Public Radio, or the occasional political or sports station on the AM dial. I will listen to some of their programing when the mood hits me.

No, the programing I am talking about it the regular FM stations that are supposed to play music. I have a 45 min trip one way to work, and music makes it a bare able ride. Now there is nothing worse then moving along at a good pace and all of a sudden the music ends and the DJs start talking about what is going on in the world.

It's not just the news that they talk about. They also talk about things such as what kind of interests the crew have, or, help me, the current reality shows from the night before.

If I wanted to know about the shows I would watch them myself, and even then I wouldn't need to hear the morning radio staff talk about it on the radio.

It is so frustrating to turn the station only to find another group talking about the same things. It's like when everyone goes to a commercial at the same time so that no other station seems to have an advantage of any sort.

I keep hoping to find a station that plays music and nothing else. That one day I will be able to listen to my music without endless chatter.

Then again, if that was to happen, I am sure all they would play would be rap.

Maybe Kanye West was right.....

Remember back after hurricane Katrina when we watched all the celebrities on TV asking for support for the victims in New Orleans. One such celebrity was Kanye West. He stood there before the whole word and announced "President Bush hates black people." At the time everyone responded with shock and disbelief about how someone could have actually made that statement. However maybe, just maybe, Mr. West may have been right.

At the writing of this blog, Hurricane Dean is leaving the Yucatan Peninsula and will soon be hitting (if its path stays as predicted)the Vera Cruz area of Mexico. The devastation has been great so far and if it again intensifies the damage will be even greater.

Now this is where Kanye's statement comes in to play. Today while attending the North American Summit in Quebec he made the statement that "The American people care a lot about the human condition in our neighborhood and when we see human suffering we want to do what we can." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070822/ap_on_re_ca/bush_canada_mexico_48

As a person who has relatives living in Mexico I am glad to hear that the American Government will do all in its power to help the people in Mexico that might be harmed by this Hurricane.

However, as an American I am a little put out that President Bush made his announcement even before the Hurricane came ashore. Even after Katrina had laid waste to the gulf coast Bush made no real effort to help out. (Unless you consider the little fly by that he did)

If I was an African-American I might be a little, no wait, a whole lot PISSED OFF. How dare our President claim to be a caring individual when he could give a rats A-- about the people in New Orleans that were in a worse position. They had already gone through the hell.

So I don't know for sure how true Mr. West words might be. Maybe President Bush was just responding to the situation because the Mexican President was standing there with him, Or maybe just maybe "W" really does hate black people.

Oh this pisses me off..

We keep hearing about how our education is as low as 29th in the Industrial world in Education.

I have to say that this is appalling. As an American I am disgusted with the politicians in this country for letting this happen to our nation. We still want to throw more and more programs into the mix, with the worst one being "No Child Left Behind." We want to blame the public education system, the teachers, and the unions.

There is one group however that I don't hear any of the politicians crying about, and who might that be? THE PARENTS

It doesn't matter how much or how little you pay a teacher. It doesn't matter how many extra classes a teacher takes to be prolific in his or her subject. It doesn't matter how strong or weak the Unions are. It doesn't matter how advanced the program might be.

What matters the most is how involved the PARENTS are in their child's lives.

You can have a child that goes to a "challenged" school, with little funding, and every thing working against them yet they are successful because they have the total support from their parental figures.

Then on the other hand you can have a child going to a "superior" school with all the advantages that every child should have, and because they are ignored by their parental figures they find ways of screwing up just to get attention.

Americans are so pre-occupied with their own lives that they forget about their children's futures. Children do no ask to be born. They are forced into this world, cold and naked, and all they long for is to be loved and accepted.

The problem is that Americans feel they deserve to have fun all the time. We place so much importance on going to bars, getting drunk, watching the big game, or (God help us) NASCAR. We need to hang out with friends, and waste time fiddling around. All things we place before our children's education.

We have too many divorced parents. Part time moms and dads who are usually fighting with each other, or trying to hard to keep up with the new living situation that cause the children to become second place.

Sometimes its even worse because the parents work so much to have the "good" life, that the start to neglect the children.

Now I am not saying that these other things aren't important. You need teachers who are good at their jobs. You need programs to help guide the children. You need funds to help keep everything running, but where I think the politicians need to spend more time is trying to figure out a way to get parents more involved in the lives of the children.

It is only then that we will see the improvements that are needed for a successful education system.

That went better then I hoped for...

I went to the store with my eleven year old daughter today and she was telling me about the two dollars she had gotten from the tooth fairy.

Now I must say that my wife and I have been contemplating about how to tell our little girl that there is no such thing as the tooth fairy. She will be going into the middle school this coming up year and we don’t want her to be the only one to not know the truth.

We also understood that telling her this would probably lead us to the question of Santa Claus.
This is why when she brought up the subject I had to take the opportunity of it being only the two of us to tell her.

“Sweetie,” I said, “I have something to tell you about the tooth fairy.” Without missing a beat she says to me “She isn’t real is she?”

Well that caught me off guard. So I told her “how long have you known?”

“For a while.” She said

“How did you guess?” I asked

“I could never understand how a little fairy could get the money into the film container”

(we have always used a film canister for the kids teeth because it was easier to switch the

containers)

“Besides I don’t know where the tooth fairy would get money for teeth anyway.”

To me these were both very logical questions. Not to mention that it was making it much easier for me to break the news to her.

“Are you sad?” I asked her.

“Not really,” she said, “does this mean that Santa Claus is not real too?”

I really wasn’t ready for that question

“Will you cry if I said he‘s made up?” I asked her.

“No.” she said, “I was wondering how he made the game boys.”

“Well that’s a good question.” I said

“And the Easter Bunny,” she said,

“Yeah him too.” I said.

“I guess I don’t have to worry about a large bunny whose feet were hurting from jumping around and hiding eggs.”

I have to admit that this was going much better than I thought it would. She had already had her doubts, and she wasn’t upset about any of it.

“I just have to ask one thing though.” I told her

“What?” she asked

“That you don’t tell your brother,” I said, “I think he is old enough to know but..”

“He’ll blab it to everyone right?” she finished my thought.

I have always thought my little girl to be a genius, but this little moment confirmed it for me.

I have often wondered just how she would react. I had the feeling she would be alright with it, but never did it occur to me how well she would take it.

Now the only thing I have to wait for is the time to come when I have to explain it to my son.

Let us remember the truth..

I have a wish for today. I wish that all these right-wing, conservative, pro war nuts would remember what happened to us on 9/11.

Yes we were attacked. A terrorist group sent some of their insane members on a suicide mission and it succeeded beyond any ones wildest thoughts. We responded correctly by going after the leader of this group. We even brought down the Government that was protecting Bin Laden, but that is where it starts to go downhill.

We had the Al-Qadia leadership in our sights, we had the world standing with us. We could have done anything we wanted in order to bring them to justice, but instead of taking advantage of the situation, presented to us, we chose to slow those efforts and change our course of action. We decided to invade Iraq.

Now lets get this straight once and for all. There were NO IRAQIS on any of the planes that were used in the attack on 9/11. In fact the majority of the terrorist were from Saudi Arabia yet I haven't heard any of the "Patriotic" folks call out for an attack on the Arabian Peninsula.
We were forced into Iraq by the lies of our President and his administration. We were told they had weapons of mass destruction, which they didn't. We were told that Saddam was trying to get a hold of nuclear technology, which the weapon inspectors weren't allowing.
We were told that Iraq supported and had training areas for Al-Qadia, even though Bin Laden called for the death of Saddam himself.

Every reason that the President gave was wrong, and this whole time the real criminal of 9/11 is still on the run.

The "rebuilding" of the Iraqi nation is not going the way we were told it was supposed to. There was supposed to be people in the streets waving at us, pretty young women handing out flowers, young children with smiles, their only need being the chocolate candy our soldiers were giving away. But that was not the case.

As soon as Saddam was dead the Iraqis wanted us to leave. They didn't want us to rebuild their nation, they wanted to rebuild their nation, they wanted to put their people to work REBUILDING their nation.

I know that people have been screaming that no one is reporting the good things that are happening in Iraq. Yea we built a school, oh wait someone blew it up. Hey we turned on the electricity, oh wait it's only for a couple of hours a day. We have running water, however it's not clean. We are placing people in jobs, too bad they are contractors from everywhere except Iraq. We are building up the Iraqi army, I guess it would have been nice had we not disbanded them in the first place. We are going to use the oil revenues to help offset our costs... no wait that is just wishful thinking on any reasonable person mind.

What good news are the righties hoping to hear? That the Shia (supported by Iran, and Syria) and the Sunni's (supported by the rest of the middle east) have finally come to terms. What gives anyone they thought that this is going to happen? These two groups are going to go head to head as soon as we are out of there regardless of if we leave now or in ten years. They have problems that are beyond Military, and possibly political fixing. Their problems are philosophical, little differences in their branches of Islam that have torn them apart for centuries. We cannot solve those problems, especially when our leader refers to our mission as a crusade. We have no idea of the history of these people, we clearly have no respect for their religion (and before anyone can say "read the Koran, it's filled with hate" maybe we should read the Christian Bible and see all the hatred and death in there.)

Another thing we missed with the whole episode (when I say we I mean the righties and the President) is the fact that the Kurds in the north are on the verge of a whole new problem. Did any one think that the Kurds in Turkey would want their own homeland? Did anyone think that the Turks might want to keep the Kurds in check by threatening to invade northern Iraq? Has anyone even thought about the possible Greek involvement if Turkey invades? (remember that the Turks and the Greeks are still having small exchanges over Cyprus)

We have asked a lot of our Military. They have spent so much time overseas, away from their families, being lied to by their Government.
We asked them to dispose of Saddam, and they did. We asked them to secure the areas they were in and they did. We asked to sacrifice everything and they have. It is now time to thank them by bringing them home.

The righties blame the left for this mess, but please remember it was the righties who got us in this mess, and the righties who refuse to help get us out of this mess.

I know I have been rambling on this subject, but there is so much to say on it. We ,as Americans, are at our best when we fight from the point of view of coming from behind and taking it to the enemy. We are at our worst when we start the fight, and regardless of what any one says, we started this fight.

I am sure I can go on and on, but that would redundant as those who agree with me agree regardless, and those who disagree are just idiots anyway.
We were attacked on 9/11 but we are fighting the wrong people in the wrong place.

FORE!!!!!

I always wondered about this happening. I was driving home from work today, taking the same road as I always do, and I came to this Golf course. Now I always pass this course with the same thought in mind, “Has any car ever gotten hit by a Golf ball while driving pass the course?” The reason I think about it is because there is no net or fence to block the balls from slicing into the road. There seems to be support beams that a net could hook onto, yet the net is non-existent.
Well today my question almost got answered (the hard way.) As I was going passed, paying attention to my driving (as I always do) one of the golf balls bounced on the road not four feet in front of my car. I had yet to turn up the radio, so it was still pretty quiet, so I actually heard the plunk of the ball as it bounced off of the road (Is plunk the correct descriptive sound for a Golf ball bouncing of the road.) The whole event happened quickly, so quick in fact that I almost missed it. Had I not been in this area I might have thought I had just imagined the whole thing, but it was what it was. A GOLF BALL.

I have half a mind to stop into the Golf course tomorrow and inquire about the netting (I mean I have heard about playing through but this is ridiculous.) I had my window open which means that had I been driving any faster I might have been hit by the ball. It seems to be real irresponsible of the Golf course to not protect the drivers from the drivers (Ok bad Golf pun.) Let this be a little warning to all of those who believe that Golf is not a dangerous contact sport. It is more deadly then anyone might think.

I really like this one...

No one says it like E.E. Cummings

"she being Brand"


she being Brand

-new;and you
know consequently a
little stiff i was
careful of her and(having

thoroughly oiled the universal
joint tested my gas felt of
her radiator made sure her springs were O.

K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her

up,slipped the
clutch(and then somehow got into reverse she
kicked what
the hell)next
minute i was back in neutral tried and

again slo-wly;bare,ly nudg. ing(my

lev-er Right-
oh and her gears being in
A 1 shape passed
from low through
second-in-to-high like
greasedlightning)just as we turned the corner of Divinity

avenue i touched the accelerator and give

her the juice,good

(it

was the first ride and believe i we was
happy to see how nice she acted right up to
the last minute coming back down by the Public
Gardens i slammed on

the
internalexpanding
&
externalcontracting
brakes Bothatonce and

brought allofher tremB
-ling
to a:dead.

stand-
;Still)



Of course this has to be spoken the right way to get the real feel for it, but it is a great poem.

What to do about Illegal Immigration?

This is one of the most debated questions today. Do we set a path for the Illegal Immigration to become citizens? Do we arrest all these immigrants and place them in prison? Do we go after the employers who hire these workers? No one seems to know what exactly to do. I however have an idea that may work and what may that be.... CREATE JOBS IN AMERICA. Americans are upset about immigrants taking jobs because so many of our jobs are leaving this country. China, India, Central and South America are performing jobs that Americans use to do. Soon this trend will extend to the African Continent as countries such as Kenya and Nairobi are setting there people up to be cheap labor.
We need to bring jobs to the good old USA. We need to give American workers the opportunities to grow the middle class not get rid of it. If Americans are working then they don't worry about immigrants coming to this country. A policy that rewards companies who send jobs to other countries not only hurt the American worker, but also anyone who wants to come to this country to better their lives and those of their families.
It will only be after jobs come home that we will honestly be able to deal with those who are here against the law.

Maybe it is time to change my "about me" Philosophy

Just living the best I can without hurting anyone else in the process.
Yes that sounds like quite a nice, and decent philosophy. It is something that I have tried my best to teach my children to live by. However, lately I have been having second thoughts about this way of thinking.
I love the thought of living in a world where you can get up in the morning, go to work, come home to your family, and getting a good night sleep without having to wonder and worry about having to deal with the daily stupidity that exist.
But I am finding that the rest of the world doesn't want me to live that way. The rest of the world, I believe, wants me to slap them in the face.
Everything from Politics (all the republican and democratic idiots), the American Health system, Education system, Welfare system....
Conservatives piss me off, as do the Liberals. I mean one side wants to keep the American public afraid of everything, so that they can continue to force their way of thinking down every ones throats, and the other side couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag if it meant saving the world from all that was wrong in it.
Racists really piss me off, that means not only Whites, but also Black racist, Latino racist, Asian racist, and yes all these groups can be racists. A racist to me is someone who wants to blame everything on groups not the same as theirs, and/or try to hold them back because of that race difference.
The media really pisses me off. I can't stand that our First amendment has been reduced to twenty-four hours of Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith, and which celebrities are happily married. We have serious problems in this world, and the medias job is supposed to be bringing these problems to the forefront, not to be hidden on page 9 of the Saturday paper, or to be played at the midnight hour.
Religions piss me off, almost more then any other group in the world. How can you tell me that you have the only right way. That God can be placed in such a box that only one group of people have the right to call Him their own. Christians get over yourselves. Jesus was Jewish. He, as far as we logically know, never converted away from the Jewish religion. Nor did he actually try to create a new religion after himself. (Oh yeah, all of you who will want to say "but the Jews killed Jesus", remember that it was the Romans who carried out the conviction, sentencing, the torture, the forcing of Jesus to move that cross, and the Crucifixion itself.)Catholics and Protestants believe in the same basic teachings of the Christian faith, but can they get along, oh hell no. That would be to much like right. Hell the Protestants can't even get along with themselves. Those of the Islamic faith. You guys are in your own world of hurt. You can't even get your act together enough to make a decent argument for your existence. We are a peaceful religion, except for the fact that we will kill anyone who doesn't believe in our way. Hey wait you guy have a lot in common with the Christians you so hate.
Finally, but by no means the last, Americans in general are beginning to really piss me off. How can we consider ourselves the leaders of the free world when we can't even muster more then 45% of the voting population to actually vote. When ever something happens we have to become extremist. School violence has happened in our nations cities for decades, but let it happen in a nice suburban school, such as columbine, and all of a sudden we have to change all the rules.
Instead of staying strong after 911 and demanding justice, we allowed ourselves to become like frightened children who were willing to let the Bush dictatorship begin to tear apart the very Constitution we should be fighting for.
Wow what a way to end the fourth of July. I have now come up with a new Philosophy "Just living the best I can without hurting anyone else in the process, unless you really piss me off and then I am ready and willing to slap the living shit out of you."

My letter to the Speaker of the House.

I don't know if this will do any good. I have written to many politicians, as should all Americans, but of course I don't know if any of the letters got past the staffers. All I can do is keep hoping that enough attention can be raised by such letters and maybe things will change.


Madam Speaker,
My name is Sam Reams, I am a 38 year old husband and father of two. I am an Independent voter who has a tendency to vote mostly Democratic. I live in the state of Michigan, a state that I believe our Government has forgotten about. However, this is not why I write to you today. On this day, as we celebrate our independence, we are faced with a situation that can no longer be ignored.
This administration has once again shoved all that is moral and decent in the faces of the American people.
By commuting Lewis Libby's sentence President Bush has once again shown us that he has no regard for the Law, or for the Constitution. He has proven once again that he does not have to follow the rules if he feels like not following them.
Libby is just the last in a series of foul ups that this President has committed. Iraq, Katrina, the Wars on Terrorism, and Drugs. Immigration, Education... and the list goes on and on.
These things, as well as all the no bid contracts that have gone to Halliburton, have led this Country down the road to ruin.
I know when you took over as speaker you said that Impeachment of Bush and Cheney was off the table, but I must implore you to please put it back on the table. This great nation of ours cannot take this anymore.
These two men have been allowed to take advantage of everything they place their hands on. We need leadership in Washington, and what we have right now is not leadership, it is more like an attempt at a dictatorship.
Two hundred and thirty-one years ago the people of this nation threw off the clutches of a dictator named George, now it seems that we must do it once again.
Thank you for time,
Sam Reams

All I wanted was some Ice Cream...

All I wanted was to get my family some Ice Cream, that's not much to ask is it?
Well I didn't think so either, but apparently the Ice Cream Gods thought that was too much of a request.
I had been thinking of Baskin Robbins 31 wonderful flavors, that's my favorite ice cream place, but there was this new place that we have driven past many times, always telling ourselves that we should go in. So instead of going to BR 31 we went to Captain Georges.
Now let me tell you that from a distance Georges looks like a nice place. It has a cute patio, surrounded by plants, where you can sit outside and eat your ice cream. They even mist water throughout the area on hot days to cool people off.
So we thought why not, what harm can it do?
Well I have to tell you there was a lot of harm done. The wife and kids all had their ice cream in a cone, and it looked good.
Me on the other hand, I usually get my ice cream in a bowl. I don't really care for cones, I don't like the taste of them.
So looking at the amount of ice cream that the family received I was expecting the same amount. Oh how wrong I was.
I ordered the medium bowl and waited for my bowl of ice cream loveliness to arrive. What I received instead was a tiny bowl, smaller then the size of a McDonalds sundae, with three of the smallest scoops of ice cream I have ever seen. I have to admit that my bubble of ice cream dreams quickly popped. Especially after seeing how much the ice cream cost.
I couldn't believe it. I paid more then normal, and got a lot less. Oh I was not happy. Ok I admit I acted worse then I probably should have, but I really wanted some ice cream and what I got was ice cr.
Next time, which might be tomorrow since I still want ICE CREAM, I will just go to Baskin Robbins and have the real bowl of ice cream loveliness.

A confession long overdue.

It was ninth grade, and like most ninth graders I was not very interested in being in school. I was even less interested in being in Mr. Morseys earth science class.
Not that I have anything against this teacher, or the class for that matter, at least I don't have anything against them now. But like I said, "It was ninth grade."
In this class I had a friend named Willie. Willie was a great guy but he wasn't the greatest of students. It wasn't a matter of him being dumb, he was just less interested in school then I was.
One day, in earth science class, Mr. Morsey returned the graded test we had taken a few days before. The grades were pretty much the same as usual. Gary and Joe got A's, Brett and I got B's, Doug got a C and Willie of course didn't do very well. Of course Willie blamed the teacher for not liking him for the bad grade. Never would it cross our minds that maybe the grade was due to the fact that Willie never studied for the test.
Anyhow, Willie was mad and wanted to get some sort of revenge on Mr. Morsey.
This is where the confession part of this blog comes in.
Mr. Morsey had a fish tank, nothing real exciting, just a ten gallon with some goldfish.
Anyway, in this classroom there were all kinds of chemicals, especially acids. I made the suggestion that maybe Willie could put some of the acid in the fish tank, and though I was pretty much joking, Willie thought it was a decent idea.
He gets up out of his seat and walks over to the chemicals, and slowly pours a little acid into the fish tank. Not to be out done Brett and Doug decide to follow Willies lead.
After about fifteen minutes, the whole time the three boys taking turns at adding chemicals to the water, something strange began to happen.
The three fish began to swim slowly, and their scale started to turn white. After a few more minutes all three were doing the backstroke at the top of the tank.
Of course, to a group of ninth grade juvenile delinquent boys, this episode was all the bit funny. Not so much though to Mr. Morsey, who didn't bring anymore goldfish to the room.
But what can I say, it was Ninth grade.

older then what?

Well here I am, nine days to my 38th b-day. Now I am handleing it pretty well, not being one of those people who worry about getting older. I do however, have to admit that there was something said that did make me think for a moment "I am old." What was this little phrase that made me stop for that one moment? "Oh my God, you are older then Sesame Street." These words were spoken to me by my wife, oh the pity she has on me.
Yes it's true, I am older than Sesame Street by about six and a half months. I mean it has been quite a while since I have watched the show, at least ten years since my daughter was little, and even then she didn't care for it.
I don't see what is so darn funny about it, I mean there are millions of people who are older then this show, I don't see them getting harrassed about it.
So I have grown with Kermit, Grover, and of course the Cookie Monster. It could be worse..., ok ok so it can't be.
I shouldn't think much about it, and after the 23rd I won't think about it again. At least not until my wife reminds me again next year.

Another religious rant.... go figure

As I sat on my lunch break today I got a good look at the Bible thumper group that graces the area I work in. They were deep in prayer/scripture reading, or what ever it is they do as a group. I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe, I should cut them some slack. I mean they don't talk to me about what they discuss, so I should just let them be. But as I continued to watch them, I couldn't help but think, what a bunch of hypocritical asses they really are.
One of them looks at as much porn as he reads the bible. Two others base their politics solely on what their church tells them (not the do onto others part, but the I don't care what they stand for as long as they are anti-abortion.) One guy won't talk to anyone that isn't in his group. Most of them try to hurry through a door so they won't have to hold it open for any one, and try to get them to say thanks for anything and you might fall over dead first.
They wear their "Jesus" shirts for all to see. Always putting it in peoples faces. Now I know I shouldn't care, but let me try to wear a Anti-Christian shirt and lets see how fast I am in the bosses office.
I really really want to let things be. Let them to their existence, and just try to live mine apart from their insanity. Yet I can't.
All I ever hear nowadays is how the poor Christian church is being persecuted. How their beliefs are being challenged at every turn, and how they have to keep to themselves in their churches because people don't want their load of crap shoved down their throats. Well in my opinion that's too damn bad that they feel that way.
I'm sick and tired of their crap being shoved down my throat.
I don't know if it is my problem, or theirs. Of course it's theirs, what am I thinking.
At least that is what God told me.

What I have learned today..

What I have learned today is that there is so much I need to learn.
I use to know quite a bit. I was one of those kids who would take the encyclopedia into the bathroom. I couldn't tell anyone about any sports stats, but I could tell you the history of world, and recite Shakespeare.
When I was twelve I was given a test and was told I had an IQ of at least 146.
That is considered to be very superior in comparison to most of the population.
However, today I feel as though a little more of what I have left, is slowly seeping from my skull.
I look at my children and I see some of the wonderment that I use to have for learning.
It is not that I don't want to learn, it is just that after working all day, I just don't have the energy to do so.
In talking to co-workers, I realize that I have forgotten more knowledge than most of them have ever learned, and yet here we are in the same place in life.
There are times, many times, when my hands and head are hurting, that I wish I had taken a different career path. I laugh because I don't have a career, I have a job. A career is something you wake up to every morning and are happy to greet it.
I get up every morning and head off to my job, because I didn't think when it was needed.
I do my best to at least place my children on the right course.
To get it into their heads that a higher education gives you at least a better chance at doing something you want to do in life.
I'm not bitter, really I'm not. I have made my choices, and I have learned to live with them.
However, sometimes I wish I could talk to that little boy, the one with that over sized IQ, and help him give himself better opportunities.

I believe....

I believe in America. I believe in the Constitution, and in the Freedoms it provides.

I believe in holding my country up to a higher standard, showing the world what it is like to be truly free.

I believe in speaking softly and carrying a big stick.

I believe in tolerance for others, even if they believe something other than I do.

I believe that just because you don't agree with someones lifestyle, as long as no one is getting hurt or being forced against their will to participate, you should mind your own business.

I believe that America is great, but if she is wrong that we should make her right.

I believe that God made us all different not only because he likes variety, but also to see if we could get along with one another.

I believe that just because you're the biggest kid on the playground it doesn't give you the right to push others around.

I believe that you don't start the fight, but you make sure you finish it.

I believe that we must help our own people, before we can tell others how to live.

And I believe that if anyone, for whatever reason, tries to take our freedoms away, they should be held accountable for their actions. This is true even if they are our very own leaders.

Fields of green.

This is for Shawn, Jason, Mark, Nicole, Joey, Hannah, and to all of those for whom it stopped long before it ever truly started. May you all rest in peace.


What lies beyond?
The fields of green,
A winding path
To a world unknown.

On higher ground I stand
But can only see,
A thinly veiled wall
Of mist and fog.

A group walks past
Their faces known,
I speak, but
They do not hear.

How is it I see them
And they not me,
As I stand beside
The steps they take.

I stand with them
But cannot move,
I try
But cannot go forward.

I want to see the other side
To know what is beyond,
Yet I know it is not my time
So I can only watch from where I am.

One by one
They step and move ahead,
Transforming from what once was real
To that of lucid memory.

One by one they turn and wave
One last smile then vanish into the mist,
Like beacons of a distant star
They shine then fade away.

Not trying to make anyone mad, but

Empress Bee (of the High Sea) said...
what do you suppose the terrorists are thinking when they commit their acts of death and violence in the name of their god? i often wonder this....

This question was asked to me because a previous post of mine. My religious view.
So what do I suppose the terrorist are thinking? It doesn’t matter what they think. They are just the brained washed right wing of their religion. They are born and raised in a religious system that tells them they are right, that they have the one and only Gods blessings. That they are defending their way of life. They know nothing of other cultures. Their leaders forbid the teaching of other religions as blasphemy, and are willing to burn books in order to protect their way of thinking.
Does this sound like any religious groups we might know? Catholics, Presbyterians, SOUTHERN BAPTIST... We could keep going.
I will admit that the majority of terrorist groups belong to the Islamic faith, but please remember that there are groups within the Christian community that also can be placed in the group. We just have to look at such groups as the Army of God, which has targeted abortion clinics in bombings, and the Ku Klux Klan, which has been performing terrorist acts for decades.
It seems strange to me that people are willing to say how others have performed “acts of violence in the name of God” when the majority of “Terrorist” acts in this country have been committed by what could be described as white Anglo-Saxon protestant males.
I will admit I do have a small fear of an Islamic attack. I live within ten miles of the largest Arab community outside the Middle-East, and I would be a fool to think that there is no one in that community working in support of the Islamic terrorist. Just as it is foolish to think there are no Irish-Americans in Boston, who support the Irish Republican Army, or no one in the Jewish community in New York, who would like the Jewish Defense League to return to its strong arm tactics.
I also however have a strong fear of the beer swigging, gun totting, confederate flag waving “red necks”. These are the “good Christians” that I am sure will start attacking the Hispanic communities, as they have done to the African-Americans, that are springing up all over the country. That is when and if their hangovers kick in.
Some may call these guys patriots, but I call them the reason the rest of the world hates us. It takes more then a gun, and a willingness to go kill people in other countries, to be called a patriot.
Sometimes you have to really look at a situation, to fully understand it.
If you are being a “Patriot“, willing to act blindly on the words of your leader, willing to kill others (whether or not they are responsible for your problems), and help create a situation that is ultimately worse now then when you first showed up, are you any better then the idiot who straps on a bomb and walks into a café.
I wonder about that…

professional driver, closed course

I just don’t understand these commercials. A car is racing along somewhere, a winding road on the side of the mountain, on a frozen lake, through a deserted city in the middle of the night. Places that clearly they shouldn’t be speeding along on.
But here’s the catch. The small print at the bottom of the screen always says: Professional driver, close course, do not attempt.
Now this would clearly tell you that this activity is dangerous and shouldn’t be tried. Yet there has to be a disclaimer stating DON’T DO THIS. (This must be for those who don’t really qualify to be saved by evolutions selective process.)
Anyway, my question would have to be… If this activity is so dangerous then WHY show it? Why make a car that can race at 100+ mph, and then give a person the idea to drive it that fast everywhere? I mean the highest speed limit on any highway I believe is 80mph. Curves on a mountain are to be taken at what about 45mph, and it is never a good idea to speed along on an “iced over” lake.
I get it. The car company’s are just trying to show the power of their products, but please, what is the sense of showing the car move in a way in which it can’t legally be driven.

Ninja Warriors step forward

Lately I have been having memories from my childhood that would probably scare most parents. When we were younger my friends and I thought we could be ninja warriors. Now we weren’t deep into any particular martial art, but we all wanted to be Bruce Lee. We wanted to jump backwards into trees, like they did on Kung Fu theater, and we wanted to run around in the night like the shadow warriors.
We ran around the apartment complex that we lived in with Bo sticks, clubbing one another. We jumped down from trees and the second floor laundry room windows in the attempts to ambush each other.
We punched, kicked, and wrestled like we thought ninjas would, though I will admit we didn’t resemble them in any way, shape, or form.
The one thing that we did enjoy was practicing with throwing knives, and Shuriken stars. No we didn’t use them on each other, we used them on the walls of the apartment buildings. Looking back I guess that wasn’t a very smart thing to do. Especially if the management would have seen what we were doing and made our parents pay for the damage.
Some of us even got pretty good at swinging the Nun Chucks, even though today there is no way I would let my kids even touch them without proper training and oh yeah a black belt.
Why would these memories come up after all this time? Well it is simple, my children are now paying a lot of attention to such shows as Yu Gi Oh, and Shuriken School. Their curiosity it sparked, and my son wants to start learning Karate.
It reminds me of how I use to think, but some how I think that both my kids, especially my son, have a better understanding of it then I did.

Did someone say "shock me?"

Everyone knows this problem. You have a television on in one room, a fan going in the next and the coffeemaker on in the kitchen. Everything seems to be going Ok, but then someone turns on the blow dryer in the bathroom and suddenly everything goes black. This has got to be one of the most annoying things about owning a home.

I have to wonder sometimes about how people wire their homes.

Mine has got to be up there as one of the worst. I swear whoever was the one to wire this house must have been in a rush. When one circuit in particular flicks off we lose power in the living room, a couple of outlets in the kitchen, the outlet in the bathroom, half of the computer room in the basement, and a few outlets in two of the bedrooms.

My wife seems to think it was the people that built the house, but the house was built in the 1940’s, and most of the wires look relatively newer.

I blame it on the people who lived here before us. As electricians they were good painters (ok so looking at their paint job of the house they might not be good at that either)

It really doesn’t matter who did the wiring, all that matters is that I am the one that will have to fix it. And that might be the scariest thing of all.

Another Flip Flopper

When John Kerry ran for the Presidency in 2004 he was considered the flip flop king of the world. Well I just have to say that the changing of the kingship has taken place, and the new king of the flip flop is (drum roll please) Senator John McCain.
That’s right Senator McCain has recently been showing that he will do whatever it takes to become the President. Even if it means “changing” his mind on where he stands.

Let us take a look at some of the things he has been flip flopping on:

1.Donald Rumsfeld- When the former Sec. of Defense resigned in apparent disgrace John McCain was one of the first people to mention how well of a job he had done. Now McCain is stating that Rumsfeld will be considered one of the worst Sec. of defense in history. I have to agree with the statement, however Mr. McCain, how does someone go from doing well to being the worst in only a couple of months?

2. Ethanol-"Ethanol is a product that would not exist if Congress didn't create an artificial market for it. No one would be willing to buy it," This is what McCain said in 2003, and it has been the way he has thought about it since its conception. Now since McCain has to go to Iowa this is what he says about it "I support ethanol and I think it is a vital, a vital alternative energy source not only because of our dependency on foreign oil but its greenhouse gas reduction effects.” Wow Senator do we like it or not?

3.Roe v. Wade- “certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.” This is what McCain said in 1999, but just this past weekend he has said, “I believe that we would be better off by having Roe v. Wade return to the states. And I don’t believe the Supreme Court should be legislating in the way that they did on Roe v. Wade.”

4. Tax cuts- Up until recently McCain has been against President Bush’s tax cuts calling them “unfair” but now he has embraced the Bush tax cuts. Finding that it isn’t the Tax cuts for the rich that are a problem, but the spending on entitlements that are the wrong things to do.

5. The Christian right- He once called Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell "agents of intolerance," He didn’t worry much about what the Christian right has said, but now he has been doing everything in his power to gain the support that Bush has so successfully controlled, however the only problem is that Bush has been Right Wing Christian for a long time, McCain on the other has not.
These are five flip flops of McCain’s. We could probably go on and on but what would be the use.

McCain is a man who wants to act like he is a balls out fire starter, but he is beginning to show that he is a desperate man that is starting to realize he will never be the President of the United States.

I have to admit that I am also a flip flopper. I used to like Senator McCain, but now I think he is just a sad excuse for a man.

Enlightenment.

There is a Buddhist saying: 'Before enlightenment he gathered wood and carried water; after enlightenment he gathered wood and carried water.'

Enlightenment- can we really find it?
Is there really a moment where we wake up and see everything anew? Everything fresh?
Is there the moment when the world finally makes sense, and we can say “now I understand?”
This is something I have always wondered.
At times I have thought that I have had such moments.
That all in the world had, for a mere second, become real and known.
It is then the moment slips away.
Is there true Enlightenment?
And if I find it will I still have to work in a factory afterwards?

I demand justice.

So I’ve seen this commercial, maybe you’ve seen it too. It has to do with a kid doing the rubix cube blindfolded. Now I don’t know if the commercial is real or computer designed, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my rubix cube must have been dysfunctional. I don’t think I was able to get more than two sides completed at one time, and that was using both eyes. Now I know it couldn’t have been me, I am a fairly intelligent human being, with pretty good logic skills, but I couldn’t figure that block out. Yes I know I could have gone the drastic route and pulled the pieces off, and rearranged them, or even worse tried to remove the stickers, (that might get my butt kicked) but I didn’t. I should write the rubix cube company and demand some satisfaction. I should be able to get my money back, only twenty years later. They at least could replace mine with one that works. To think, had they not come up with that commercial, I never would have realized that my cube was broken. I demand justice.

My letter to CNN

I wrote this because I am tired of hearing about this story. A story that everyone I have spoken with agrees is not worth the coverage it is getting.

"I have a complaint about your excess coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith story. There are many things going on in the world, and most of them are more important then the wall to wall coverage you are giving to this story. It is a tragedy when anyone suddenly dies, but we are talking about a person that only became famous because of the outlandish behavior she was willing to go through for being in the limelight.
I was disgusted with the fact that your cameras were in the room when the attorneys were acting like asses over where she should be buried. It was then I turned your station off.
I feel bad for Ms. Smith, as well as for her daughter, who will have to one day endure all the stories about her mother.
I would hope, for the sake of Ms. Smith’s memory, as well as for the rest of us, that you would finally let this story die with her in peace."

My religious view.

I’m not what you would call a very religious person. I am in fact a pretty anti-religious man. Don’t get me wrong I do have a very strong belief in God, the Great Spirit, a higher power, or whatever you might want to call it. I prefer to use the word God.
Some think that my problem with religion stems from being raised Catholic, but I think it goes way deeper then that. My problem with religions and religious people is that most of them are hypercritical.
Most religious people claim to be tolerant, and giving, but what they forget to say is that they are that way only with those that are like themselves.
Most of them have no tolerance for others of different faiths, and they certainly have no tolerance for anyone who may question any of their teachings.
They claim to be giving, just out of the goodness of their hearts, but they seem to give only when they are given the chance to convert people to their faith.
They use God when it is convenient. They praise his name, yet many of them do things that seem to be against what they are supposed to believe in.
Can a person be religious and still watch pornos? Can a person claim to be religious and still inflict pain upon others? Can a person say they are worthy of Gods grace and forgiveness when all they seem to do is break his rules, and treat his treasures with disrespect, and cruelness.
Religious people use their faith not to further what is best for the world, they use it to try and change the world into what they want it to be.
That is what I have a problem with. If people are suppose to be a certain way then have the strength to live that way. If you claim to follow the teachings of what is good, then live those teachings, don’t just pretend.
I think that if God wanted every one to be the same, he/she would have made everyone the same.

One of my first memories.

One of the first memories I have as a child is being on a family trip to Mexico. My mother’s family is Mexican and as a child we would travel to Mexico almost every year to visit family. This particular trip we were visiting my Great-grandmother. She was my Grandfathers stepmother, but since his real mother had died when he was very small, she was his mother.
She lived in a little town, a town of which the name escapes me at this moment. I remember her as being very old, not just the “old” that a child would see someone as, but the kind of old that even after all these years the vision is clear. She was tiny, as many of the women in my mother’s family are, but she had a big smile.
I remember the house. It was small and dark, from the lack of lighting. This would have been in the early seventies so I am sure the need for wall to wall lighting wasn’t a necessity, especially in a small town in Mexico. I remember the main color of the house to be a pale shade of blue, but my memory may be affected because of the lack of lighting.
There was this little black and white kitten, I believed it belonged to my Great-grandmother, and it quickly became the object of my attention. I would chase it around the house, and it would hide under the sofa, and everyone was laughing.
I remember sitting on the front porch, petting the kitten that my Grandfathers brother had finally grabbed for me. I didn’t understand a word that was being said that day, but I do know that there was plenty of love around me, and for that I remember a good day.

This is what we want.. Now to just get it.

This is what we would like to get, an Eclectus Parrot(female preferred. Which is the red one.) All we have to do now is get it. Yes we know we have rather high standards, but hey you have to admit these are beautiful birds.

Who does this guy think he is?

Australia's P.M. Rips On Barack Obama

Australian Prime Minister John Howard found it necessary to take a shot at Senator Obama shortly after he made his announcement that he was running for President of the United States. I understand that The Prime Minister is a very good buddy of President Bush, and as far to the right side of the spectrum, as they come. What I don’t understand is why he has attacked Senator Obama, and hasn’t said a thing about any of the other candidates. Of all the candidates running for the nation’s highest position only Senator Obama has firmly stood by his views and not flip flopped on the issues. He is also the only one that seems willing to work with BOTH parties to do what is best for this nation.
Mr. Prime Minister, why are you attacking Senator Obama for his views? Everyone else that is apart of the Iraqi Coalition seems to be pulling out, and you aren’t attacking them on the news. Do you think that only Americans should put their necks on the line, or maybe it is that you just have a problem with Mr. Obama? I would hope that a leader of a free nation such as Australia wouldn’t have a problem with a man that is partially of African decent. Or maybe I am wrong about that, I mean I’m not sure how Aborigines are treated in Australia.
Well I do have one thing I am sure of. This only strengthens my resolve to help the good Senator, not only win the Democratic nomination for President, but also to win the Presidency. How dare a man who has his own problems getting re-elected, start attacking a man who has done nothing but spoke his heart, and told the truth especially in a world where standing by ones views is political suicide.

My letter to Senator Obama.

Senator Obama,
Thank you for making your announcement that you intend to run for President. My wife and I have been waiting for someone to jump into the race that we would feel good about voting for. My wife tends to vote Democratic, but I usually vote third party because of the lack of worthy candidates within the two major parties. This nation has been failing in many ways for a long time. We believe that you not only have the ability to make the American people feel good about themselves again, but also the talent to inspire them to want to do more for this nation.
We admire you for the stances that you take on the many issues, and that you seem to genuinely wish to help all Americans, and not just those that can afford to attend the fancy dinners.
Thank you again sir for making this move. As fellow Americans it is our hope to be able to follow your lead in moving towards a better America, and a better world.
Sam Reams

There will be many people who will question my decision to support Senator Obama, but it is my belief that in the current field of candidates he clearly is the best of the bunch. He has what it takes to lead us into this new period in our nations young existence. I only hope that others will see this, and also decide to support the good Senator.

Why I love Michigan.

I love living in Michigan, I have lived here most of my life. I was born in New Jersey, but Michigan is my home. The weather is unpredictable, and it drives my sinuses crazy.
The summers are muggy, and mosquitoes are plentiful, but we are nearly surrounded by water making the beach experience great. I’m 1 hour from both Lakes Huron, and Erie, and about 3 hours from Lake Michigan. Lake Superior on the other hand is nearly 7 hours away, so getting there is not easily accessible.
The winters are cold, and even though I can’t stand most winter activates, I do like watching many of them. My favorite of course is hockey, and I have to admit that snow boarding is pretty interesting. Don’t get me started about Curling.
The best thing about Michigan winters is the contrast of the harsh beauty that Michigan presents. The beauty of snow falling in the middle of the woods compared to the large mounds of snow that form along the Lake Michigan shoreline (with the lighthouses as the back drop is totally amazing)
One of my favorite activities is called GeoCaching (A high tech search and find activity that allows me and my family to spend time in much of Michigan’s woodlands. Check out www.geocaching.com)
I live near Detroit which puts me about 35mins from the Canadian border, which is a great thing except that now I have to buy passports for the family to get across the border. It seems that we in Michigan have more in common with our Canadian family then we do with people in Ohio.
One great thing about Michigan is that we are shaped like a mitten. So whenever we have to show someone where something is in Michigan, we can point to our right hands and show them.
There is another reason that I like the shape of Michigan. It reminds me of when fresh concrete is poured, and you can place you hand in it. I like to think that when God finished making the earth he placed his hand print in it to show he was done, and that print is Michigan.
These are just some of the things I love about Michigan.

Why are these people held up so high?

What is our problem, and by "our" I am talking about the American public? Why do we constantly take "so called" celebrities and raise them on such a high pedestal? These are just people who have made it in a certain field because of some special talent. We seem to forget that they are just people, regular old people who scratch their asses just like the rest of us.

Why are we surprised when a rock/rap star is arrested for being drunk, or an athlete gets caught using illegal drugs?

Why is it shocking when movie stars jump into bed with their co-stars, get married, and then all of a sudden get divorced?

Now it seems that so called profession Astronauts are getting into the picture. The only reason I even speak about this story is because I can't believe the amount of time it is getting on cable news shows. A psychotic woman, who happens to be an Astronaut, travels 900 miles to do "something" to a woman that may be her rival for the same man. Had this been a waitress no one who have cared, no one would have asked what we could do for the stress level of waitresses.
However, now we have to question how NASA handles things, and should we now change the way it operates. Yet no one mentions that she seems to be the only one who has gone over the deep end.

We have to stop our obsession with all these people. It is ok to have your favorites in every field, but please get a grip. These are just people, PEOPLE, and nothing else. They will faultier, and they will fail, but regardless of how it happens the world will go on.

What is wrong with this picture?

I'm not an economist, I don't claim to understand everything about economics, nor do I claim to be an expert on anything that deals with economics. What I do know is history, and history tells us that when an empire begins to search for cheaper workers, services, and goods, outside its borders, it is heading towards the end of its reign.
The Romans, the English, the Spanish, only to name a few all headed this way. They expanded their borders and soon began to find cheaper ways of doing things because they found cheaper labor. They began to forget their own working class, they begin to forget about their own people.
America is heading this way. We are forgetting about our working middle class. By sending our jobs overseas we are putting our own people out of work. I don't care what people say, not everyone can be a computer programmer.
Why do we think that everything will continue to be OK the way things are going? Is it that we can look at the situation and say "well it hasn't affected me yet, so why should I worry". That doesn't work with me.
The Governments of China, India, Mexico etc... have a job to do, and that is to take care of their people. By the looks of it they are doing a great job. Our Government, the American government, has been failing the American people for a long time. They are not taking care of our people.
I am not an isolationist, I am not calling to be separate from the rest the world, but I worry more about the man down the street, who just lost his job, and might do whatever it takes to support his family, then I do about someone in another country looking for a job.
Economics make very little sense, especially if you are the one who cannot find a job, and it makes even less sense if you are an American and you agree with the policies that are hurting the American people.

The most important thing

We are told on a daily basis that the flag is the most important thing. That we have to salute it, honor it, protect it above all other things. That we must pledge our allegiance to it and, if necessary, die for it. If anyone says anything against it, or wishes to burn it out of anger, they are considered to be anti-American and should be jailed. Government officials have tried and tried again to outlaw any activity that may not show the flag in good standing. The American people have been brained washed into believing that our military has died over the years in the name of the flag, but I wish people would understand one thing. If the flag was in the shape of a circle, and was painted green, yellow and orange it still wouldn't be the most important thing. The most important thing is not our flag but instead our CONSTITUTION. Did you read that, our CONSTITUTION is the most important thing going for this country. It is the one thing that separates us from the rest of the world. It is the foundation of our great country, and it is what we should be defending, not some piece of fabric that in all reality is only important because it is visible. Americans would actually have to be smart enough to understand the Constitution, and how important IT is, and that is the challenge. Americans can understand a symbol, it's right there for all to see, therefor you don't have to think about it very hard. The Constitution on the other hand takes thought. It takes an educated attempt to understand its meaning, and the reasons that the founding fathers found it necessary to create it. We must realize that it is the Constitution that makes us free, that makes us strong, that makes us the envy of the world. The flag is a target for others to aim at, and it covers the coffins of those who have died for this country. Without the flag we are a great nation without a symbol. Without the CONSTITUTION we are not free, we are not strong, we are not AMERICAN.

I love gummy bears...

That's right, I am 37 years old and secure enough with myself to admit that I love gummy bears. These soft and chewy, fruit flavored, tiny little bears, bring a happiness to my taste buds that M&M's never could. Now don't get me wrong I do like chocolate, but when it comes to candy I will always choose gummy bears hands down.
These little German creations first came into being way back in the 1920's and since that time gummies have transformed themselves into other shapes. worms, frogs, hamburgers, cherries, cola bottles, sharks, apples, oranges have all made their way into the gummy world, but for me the bear is still the perfect gummy shape.
They have been made plain, and with a sour coating on them. There has even been a cartoon about them (yes I have watched it.) They even have a song for them.

Dashing and daring, courageous and caring
Faithful and friendly with stories to share
All through the forest they sing out in chorus
Marching along as their song fills the air
Gummi Bears
Bouncing here and there and everywhere
High adventure that's beyond compare
They are the Gummi Bears

Magic and mystery are part of their history
Along with the secret of Gummiberry juice
Their legend is growing; they take pride in knowing
They'll fight for what's right in whatever they do
Gummi Bears
Bouncing here and there and everywhere
High adventure that's beyond compare
They are the Gummi Bears

Dashing and daring, courageous and caring
Faithful and friendly with stories to share
All through the forest they sing out in chorus
Marching along as their song fills the air

Gummi Bears
When a friend's in danger they'll be there,
Lives and legends that we all can share,
They are the Gummi Bears
They are the Gummi Bears
They are the Gummi Bears

Yes I know it sounds sad that a grown man would act in such a way, but I LOVE MY GUMMY BEARS, even if they do give me an upset stomach.

My cat might as well live in south park. Yes I am talking about south park the cartoon. This is my reasoning for this statement.
Her full name is Izabela Zip Zap, which should give everyone an idea about her personality.
We got her as a rescue kitten from our Vet, and she fit in the family really well.
She is pretty much a friendly cat, but she can be very pathetic at times.
When she wants someone to pet her, she might come up to them and put her head next to their hands.
However, the way she usually lets you know that she wants you to pet her is to first make a strange high pitched purr. Then, when she knows she has your attention, she will bow her head towards the floor, and then does a somersault. At first she looks at you like she is embarrassed by the flipping, but then she will do it again.
When you try to make the bed Izzy will race into the room and jump under the covers. You can't straighten out the sheets until she is done playing.
When our dog Ally chases after her she doesn't even try to get away. She instead flips on her back and plays dead.
Her favorite toy is the ring from the milk container. She bats at it, flips it, runs around with it in her mouth, and every once and a while she will sneak up on it and pounce it to death. Yes we know it is only a small piece of plastic, but to her it is cats meow. (sorry about that)
Right at this moment, as I write this, I can her in the bedroom messing with our other cat Kit Kat. I can only imagine that she has slowly strutted up to Kit Kat and ever so gentle slapped her in the face with her paw. That how it usually starts. Kit Kat is minding her own business, Izzy walks up to her, and pats her on the face. This will happen a couple of times before Kit Kat jumps on top of her sending Izzy running for her life.
Izzy is a great cat, with a personality to make you laugh out loud, or at least will make you scratch your head trying to figure out what she is doing.

Well today's the day. You know what day I am talking about. It comes on this day every year.
Think about it, I can see that you almost have it. Yes, yes it's coming. That's right, it's
Groundhogs Day.
Today media from all over the world will converge on Punxsutawney Pennsylvania to see the one and only Punxsutawney Phil perform his feats of meteorological magic. Since 1886 the master of metaphysical mayhem has used his gifts to help for tell the coming of spring.
Now I have been around to witness 37 of these wondrous events, and I must admit I still have no clue as to what the signs mean (if he sees his shadow it means early spring or late winter, or if he starts to dance he really likes the music. I can't remember.)
Regardless of which sign means what, I will have to get my calender out so that I can write down the date that Phil says spring Will arrive.
I know it will be in March, he always predicts a day in March, and... Hey wait a minute. What does this say under March 20th "the first day of spring." Can this be? Can the calender people already know when the first day of spring is? Did Phil tell them early? And if so are we celebrating the wrong day as Groundhogs Day?
Or is it something worse? Could Phil be, oh please tell me it's not so, could he be a fraud?
It can't be true. Phil can't be a fake, a phony, a charlatan no better them Madam Zelda over on 18th street and Pembroke.
How shall we go on if we have been fooled all this time? I don't care. That's right, I DON'T CARE. I still believe in Phil. I still love the furry little guy.

I CAN'T THINK.. AAHHH
OK, so maybe it's not that bad, but I have been staring at this computer for an hour now and I can't think of what to write on this damn blog. I am bound and determined to try and keep this thing as far from serious as possible, but that might not always be the case (I mean there is quite a bit that pisses me off). What I can guarantee is that there will be a lot of rambling. I guess you can say that is what I am doing at this moment. So I might as well stop and just sleep on it. Hopefully there will be no dreams of bats tonight. Oh that is for another blog.

Where does a clown go to be sad?

Does he cry alone at night?

What lies behind the make-up,
the phony smile?

Who does he talk to,
when the lights turn out?

Is there any way to know?

Does anyone really care?

Sometime random thoughts lead me down paths that make very little sense. This would be one of those times. Have you ever thought about how the peanuts gang might have turned out twenty years later.
What ever happened to Charlie Brown? After many attempts at sports (failed field goals, losing baseball games) Charlie finally snapped. The final straw was when he finally got an invitation to a party being held by the cute redhead girl. Thinking that after all these years he might have a chance at letting her know how he felt he came across something he that tore him apart. The cute redhead girl playing a tune of her own with Schroeder in the back room while everyone partied up front. Charlie is now serving life in a mental facility for turning a gun on his high school English teacher for that whole wa wa wawa thing.
How about Linus? After trying hard to give up his blanket, something he tried to do after Sally left for the west coast, he found that he couldn't give up the one thing he truly loved. Instead he moved to the Canadian Rocky Mountains where her become a hermit willing to live out his last days huddled in a cabin with his blanket by his side.
What of Sally? Having no real male roll model to help her understand the male gender, she went from one man to another. Having many failed relationships, until finally finding contentment in a strange love triangle with Peppermint Patty and Marcie.
What of Lucy? Having spent most of her life giving advice to everyone in the neighborhood it was thought she would become a Psychologist. But things took a tragic turn. In one of those crazy moments when she was dancing with Snoopy. A tender moment turned into an abnormal animal fetish. She is currently living south of San Diego where she performs an adult animal show by the name of the Tijuana momma.
Finally there is Snoopy. What of the playful sidekick of Charlie Brown? After his little romantic interlude with Lucy, and the total breakdown of Charlie, snoopy found it best to hit the road. Packing his things in his dog house/fighter plane he and Woodstock set of to see the world. They made it as far as the Bermuda Triangle where they unfortunately disappeared never to be seen again.
Yes the world of Charlie Brown sadly turned out much differently then anyone could have ever known. Yet we still have the fond memories of what once was. Thank you Peanuts gang for all the good times. We will miss you.

The Decline of Western Civilization.
Where did it begin? What was the final straw that started us down this path to madness. It was this simple phase "You might be a Redneck if..."
I know that there will be many sceptics out there about this, but please hear me out. Remember back in the early 1990's when the term Redneck was something to be unspoken. Those who were referred to as rednecks were to be shunned, avoided by the masses, kept contained to the backwoods where they were safely hidden away. Even though they were separated from normal society they were quite content with their washboard music, and their circle track racing.
At this time our nation was strong, we had defeated the soviet union, and kicked Iraq out of Kuwait. Our economy was still first class, our military and education systems were strong, and we were still advancing our technology, science, and medicine around the world.
Then in 1993 those words were uttered and the world as we knew it changed. Rednecks went from something unmentionable to being quaint. From being sad and pathetic to being cute and cuddly almost like a hamster.
Soon everyone wanted to have their very own redneck. They were taken from the safety of the backwoods were exposed to the sights and sounds of normalcy.
Then like with most new pets, the families that took them in got bored with their limit intelligences and talents, and decided to part ways with them. They unfortunately were too big to flush down the toilets so in droves people made their way back toward the ancestral redneck homelands (somewhere near the Georgia/Alabama state line) and set the rednecks free.
It was thought, rather hoped, that the rednecks would just scurry back to their holes, however this was not to be the case. Like the racing they loved so much they only moved in circles.
Left to their own demise rednecks seemed destined to collide with evolutions natural course of extinction, but this was not to be. Lurking in the shadows lived an evil group known as the Far Christian Right. This diabolical group swooped in on the rednecks, like a hawk on a hare, and took them to their temples of brain washing.
By the time the normal people of the world found out, what had happened to the poor rednecks they had set free, it was too late to do anything about it. With a promise of all the red meat they could eat, all the circle track racing they could watch, and the chance to be first at salvation (for the low low price of one tenth of everything they would ever earn) the FCR talked the rednecks into doing their evil bidding's.
At first this only meant attending church services, but then in 1996 the FCR had the rednecks come out and vote for the Republican party and in a shocking fashion the Republicans took over both house of the United States Congress.
This caused many people to suffer, the elderly, the poor, the middle class, gays, minorities, oh lets just say everyone except the richest Americans, and the members of the FCR.
Then in 2000 the FCR called on the rednecks again this time to vote for King W. After that no one was safe. No one in America, and no one in the World, could consider themselves safe from the clutches of the Republicans, the FCR, and the newly formed redneck nation.
So here we are today, fighting for our lives, and our livelihoods. Our schools our underfunded, and failing. Our military is fighting a two front war and possibly getting ready for more fronts. Our health care is floundering, and the only people experiencing an employment boom are the rednecks who instead of working for American companies that might have a UNION would rather work for Japanese companies that have ties to the same Government that attacked this country in WWII.
To sum it up in one last sentence I would have to say. Rednecks have helped to undermine this country, they have helped to destroy the very fabric of this society, all because it has become sheek to be a redneck, to act drunk and dumb, and in a sense lead us down the road to where everything good has become weakened and unsound.

"Daddy I have a question for you in my bedroom." To most people this would seem like an interesting thing for an eight year old say. The thought that their son, so young, would use those words might just put some fear in a grown mans heart.
This, however, is our little routine every night. My son gets ready for bed, feeds his hamster, says his prayer, and kisses his mother and me goodnight. You would think that is where it ends, but no. Like I said about an hour later he comes out from his room and says that he has an important question for me.
This is our little exchange for tonight.
"Daddy I have a question for you in my bedroom."
(Now those of you with sons might be worried about that sentence, and yes I was. So I went and prepared myself for the worst)
"How hot is it in the desert?"
"Sometime 110-130 degrees"
"Why would people like to go there then?"
"I don't know"
"Maybe they like to look at the flowers?"
"Maybe"
"Birds live in the cactus."
"Oh do they?"
"Yes, because that is where the water is."
"I didn't know that. Now go to sleep."
"Goodnight Daddy."
"Goodnight."
Well the question wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be, but it did fulfill his question of the night. Oh well I guess I just should be glad he's not old enough to ask about such things as..... well you know what I mean.

What to blog about? That is the question I ask myself. There are so many things that I could discuss. Politics, Work( I work for Ford motor if anyone would like to know), Family(that is the ones I claim anyway), or maybe the voices in my head. I can't decide, not that I really have to decide, I mean I can blog about all of these things and more. I can even blog about the annoying people that complain about the content of other peoples blogs. (that is for Dino, you know who you are.) Or even better I can just randomly blog about nothing, such as writing the word VERY over and over again in memory of my 9th grade English teacher.
I guess I will just have to figure it out each time I come back here. Hopefully though it won't be as difficult each time.