What It's About

Welcome to my blog! I ruminate on random thoughts rattling around in my brain. Subjects range from reality TV to current events and everything in between. Whether you agree with me or not, I welcome your comments. God gave you the ability to think for yourself, and this country was founded based on the right to have your own opinion. Who am I to question that? Hope you enjoy! And, if you like to shop on the internet, or have always wanted to try, please feel free to click on one of the banners on the left. Do admit I get a small commission for anything you buy through the links. Appreciate it if you do decide to buy something!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Random Randomness

Well, hope everyone survived Thanksgiving. Ours was pretty nice. Went to eat at my parents this year cuz they bought the new condo. Managed to eat too much but had a good time. Anyway, got a few thoughts to throw out for public consumption this week.

And awaayyyyy we go:
  • Read Black Friday had more folks out this year but they bought less stuff. Interesting. Me and The Mrs were at HH Gregg at 3:30 Friday morning. First time I've been out on Black Friday in years. But, we were looking for something specific so we decided to get out amongst everyone. Found what we wanted and were in line by 4:20 to pay for our items. We finally got out around 6. Unbelievable. Went to our next stop and they had already sold out of what we were looking for. Figures. Ate at Waffle House then went home for a nap. Hope that will be my last Black Friday adventure for several more years to come;
  • Been halfway following the story about the folks crashing President Obama's big party last week. Purty scary stuff when you think about it. Here we've spent billions of dollars trying to increase our security across the nation, and two yahoos with TV cameras following them are allowed to meet the president with no questions asked, at least not until it was too late. Just as a reminder, no one would have suspected Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist by looking at him, either. Just sayin'...;
  • Have been following a story where some "prominent global warming" scientists in Great Britain have fessed up to not using information which does not support their theory. Have thought all along the "experts" have been using junk science. And, at least this group of bozos have been. Not saying all of them have, but it doesn't make any of them look good right now. Not sure what I think about global warming myself. Science has proven that the world's temperatures have always gone through cycles. Could be we are just going through a warming cycle. Not saying we aren't contributing to it, but hardly think the world is about to come to an end like AlGore and his followers want us to believe. Would be a little more concerned if we were breaking daily high temperature records every year from the last year. But, when you watch the weather, they always talk about how we broke a record from 1895, 1905, etc. Can still remember the headlines from the 70's which said we were about to enter another ice age. Just shows me that we don't control the weather, He does...;
  • All this stuff with Tiger Woods has been interesting...sort of. The injuries being described do not match the description of the crash in my opinion. When it first happened, told me wife he was probably running from his at the time. Might turn out to be true. This would go away if he would just come out and talk about it. Americans love to forgive their heroes. All they have to do is fess up. A-Rod fessed up and people (or some, anyway) love him again. Roger Clemons hasn't and he ain't a favorite like he used to be. Would think celebrities would learn from that. To be honest, since he wasn't killed or permanently maimed that we know of, could really care less about it. If he was cheating on his wife and she found out, that's between him and her. But, it's aggravating that every news network in the country is talking about it cuz he won't. Tiger, just be a man and fess up, for Pete's sake;
  • Will be curious to hear what we are going to do in Afghanistan. The Ruskies were there for 10 years with no success. Not sure why we think we will do any better. Fightin' in mountains ain't nothin' like fightin' in a desert. Too many places to hide. But, if we decide to stay, will support the decision and especially the troops who go there. Ultimately, agree we shouldn't just lie down and take it from these folks any more. Sometimes the alpha dog needs to bear its teeth to remind everyone who they are;
  • Hear Bobby Bowden will be "retiring" tomorrow. Not sure who's decision it really was, but sure have enjoyed watching the Seminoles play over the years. He brought a lot of innovations to college football. Always respected the fact that he would play anyone anywhere, even after the program had made it to the big stage. Will miss you, Coach Bowden;
  • Went with The Mrs to see The Blind Side last week. All the good stuff you've been hearing about the movie is true. It was AWESOME!!!! Highly recommend going to see it if you haven't already;
  • Got a map at the bottom which basically shows where folks are in the world when they look at my blog. Have noticed one from what looks like Great Britain several times in the last couple of weeks. Purty cool. Cheerio and all that stuff!

So, anyone have any interesting Black Friday stories they want to share? Any opinions about anything else? Comments are always welcome.

Y'all have a great week!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Things I'm Thankful For

Well, it's that time of year where you should count your blessings. So, reckon I'll do one of those blogs where you list some of them out. In no particular order, here we go:
  • God (couldn't be here without His love for us)
  • Jesus (loves us so much He died for our sins and then rose from the grave so that we can have eternal life)
  • Family (even the crazy ones)
  • Friends (especially the crazy ones)
  • Veterans (wouldn't be where we are without you)
  • The Constitution (one of the few government documents in all of history that preserves more freedoms than it denies; only 1-2 pages long, too; imagine that)
  • Our government (yes, both sides of the aisle; a job which you will probably make half of your constituency mad most of the time you open your mouth)
  • The Internet (have caught up with some old friends and made a few new ones thanks to this)
  • My job (something I take for granted way too often)
  • My house (ditto)
  • Food and clothing (ditto again)
  • Living in a country where all of this is possible (thanks again, Veterans)

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving this year. Even if things ain't exactly going your way, there's still lots to be thankful for. Just remember God loves you and so do I (well, the former is WAY better than the latter). Please pray for our military serving away from their families, whether it be here or overseas.

May God bless you, your family, our veterans, and the United States of America!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Quick Gapses in the Synapses

Got a few quick-hit random thoughts to get out of my system. Here we go:
  • Les Miles, what were you thinking today? Can see why LSU fans get so aggravated with him. Brilliant genius in one game, not so much in another. Whew;
  • Bet all you Golden Domers are glad you gave Charlie Weis all those extra years after his first one, ain't ya? He's making the last coach look purty good, and they couldn't get him out of town fast enough;
  • This one will get me in trouble with my fellow Bama alums, but, with all due respect to Bear Bryant, it's time to retire all the houndstooth stuff. Yes, Bear Bryant was a great man, great coach, and the best thing that ever happened to the Capstone. However, this is the Nick Saban era, who, as far as I know, has absolutely no connections to Bear Bryant at all other than coaching at Alabama. Don't remember all this being around back in '92 when one of his boys coached the team to the national title. Not sure why it's coming out now and think it's shows some disrespect to Coach Saban. Maybe folks are trying to say he's the next Bear. Don't know. Am willing to hear arguments for keeping the stuff out there. You can leave a comment at the bottom or send an e-mail through the link in my profile;
  • Have seen a group on Facebook called "I Hate Gary Danielson." Not sure why it's on there. To each their own, I reckon. Personally think he's pretty good. There's many times when he'll say it's time for such and such play and then it happens. Purty amazing if you ask me. He's entitled to his opinions just like everyone else. For all my Bama buddies, he was one of the first I heard this year to talk about how good our team is. Just something to think about;
  • A FB post from a friend today said she played Bejeweled Blitz for the first time thinking she would be able to stop after one game. Silly lady! Thought the same thing myself as have many others. My wife has even told me on many occassions how stupid the game is, but she can't make herself quit playing, either. Think someone needs to start a BB Anonymous group on FB;
  • About once a week there's a show on Discover or the History Channel about someone trying to find Atlantis. Wonder why people can't accept the possibility Plato just made it up? Do they think people were incapable of creating science fiction back then? If this was a real place, seems like someone else would have been writing about it, too. Just sayin'...;
  • If anyone has seen 2012, saw an interview with a Mayan who said their calendar does NOT predict the end of the world. That's just when their calendar ends cuz it had to end somewhere. The Chinese calendar ends on the same date but haven't seen anything from them one way or the other. Anyway, my Bible says no one knows when the world will end other than God, and He's not sharing that info with anyone. So, I have my doubts the world will actually end on December 21, 2012;
  • Hit the 35 pound weight loss mark this week. Woohoooo!!!!!!! Still shootin' for 5 more. We'll see what happens;
  • Hotel California came on when my son and I were in the truck tonight. He asked if that was Paul McCartney singing. While I admire the fact my boy knows who Sir Paul is, don't really hear many similarities between him and Don Henley. Maybe it's just me...;
  • This week our cats have brought two moles and a mouse to us. Am impressed with their hunting prowess. My wife wishes they didn't feel the need to show off their prizes to us.

Y'all have a good one!

Monday, November 16, 2009

And Now For Some Total Randomness

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Went to my ma-in-law's over the weekend. Always a nice trip which usually don't last long enough. It's like homecoming, too, since I lived down there for 12 years. Wish had more time to visit other folks when we go down there.

Anyway, have some random thoughts to get out of me noggin so here we go:
  • Saw where Ken Ober, the host of MTV's Remote Control was found dead today. Was 51 or 52 years old. Sad. Only saw the show a couple of times, but generally liked what I saw. Prayers go out to his family and friends;
  • Have seen a lot of news articles lately about Al Gore and Sarah Palin. Wish they would both just go away. Don't really care what either one of them think about anything although I'm sure they are both nice enough folks. Got no idea why Gore keeps surfacing. Got no idea why people think Palin should be pushed for the presidency. While I doubt she's the ditz the media portrays her to be, don't really think she's presidential material, either. So, please, both of you, please just quietly fade into the background and don't call us, we'll call you;
  • What is it about Buffalo that makes football folks want to tell the Bills fans they are Number One? Saw where the owner of the Tennessee Titans was fined $250,000 for giving them the one-finger salute. Seems like I recall a crazy Dolphin linebacker (can't remember his name) doing the same several years ago. Geez Louise...;
  • Did you hear about the three University of Tennessee football players getting arrested for committing armed robbery? No, that's not a joke. Two were scrubs and one was a starter. Two were kicked off the team today and the other one's decision is pending "gathering more information." Will let you guess which one is still on the team. While the armed robbery part may be unique to Tennessee, the personnel decisions ain't. Funny how the stars get second and third chances while the backups get no leniency. Imagine that...;
  • My useless information box up above said on April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the top five spots in the Top 40 chart. That is simply amazing! Most bands don't have five hits in their whole careers, much less 5 Top 40 hits, and even less 5 top 5 hits. Nowadays, bands don't have five songs released at once, either. If they ain't the greatest band ever, they are at least in the discussion and they have very few competitors;
  • Speaking of the The Beatles, my kids came home from school today singing Yellow Submarine. When I asked them where they learned that song, they said they learned it in music class. Purty cool. The only Beatles song we learned when I was in school was Blackbird. Anyway, thought it was funny they liked that song because the other day my daughter was talking about how old 80's music sounds to her. Decided not to get into the history of that song since they seem to like it;
  • In the last two weeks, have had a good friend, a friend's husband, and a guy in my Sunday school all lose their job. Two of the three were the result of the current economy and suspect the third one was probably an indirect result of it. Makes me thankful for the job I have. Hope you are thankful for yours, too, even if it's not exactly what you want to be doing right now. Asking that you keep these folks in your prayers (God will know who they are without you having to call them by name). Should probably thank the Big Guy for your job, too, if you have one.

That's all for now. Y'all have a good week!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Thanks, Veterans!

Thank you, Veterans, for serving our country and preserving our freedoms!

Sure most of you know Wednesday, November 11 is Veteran's Day here in the USA. The holiday was originally known as Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I, the War to End All Wars. Well, since it wasn't, we now use the day to honor all veterans, whether they served during war time or peace time. Think most people would agree every day should be Veteran's Day, but it is great to have one day which is specifically set aside for just for our veterans.

We should thank them generally for voluntarily (now, anyway) serving our country. However, there are some things we should specifically thank them for. So, thanks, Veterans, for the following (this is only a partial list):
  • The right to speak freely without worrying about going to jail (or worse)
  • The right to vote without fear of repercussions such as getting fingers chopped off, going to jail, etc
  • The right to criticize our government
  • The ability to criticize our way of life
  • The ability to have a new government without military coups, bloodshed, etc
  • The freedom to read this blog (and lots of others) without having to hide in the basement or closet
  • The freedom to write a blog
  • The freedom to practice your chosen religion
  • The freedom not to practice any religion (though personally not sure why you would want to do that)
  • The ability to sleep at night without worrying about our enemies attacking
  • The ability to live in a country people literally risk their lives everyday trying to get here
  • The hope that you can become a millionaire regardless of where you start in life
  • The right to a free press (whether you like them or not)
  • The ability to travel anywhere in the country you want anytime you want
  • The freedom to read and write
  • The ability to live a life where your biggest obsession can be if your team wins or not
  • The right to protest (or sue) your government to protect your rights
  • The freedom for Jimi Hendrix (a veteran) and others to put their own spin on our national anthem

These are but a few things we can (and should) thank veterans for. Please feel free to add anything you would like to thank them for in the comments below. Know there are several veterans who read this blog so some of them will see it.

These heroes walk among us every day. Many of our heroes are buried around the world because they were fighting for us (and our allies). Please take the time to thank our veterans on their special day. Also encourage you to lift up special prayers for them (and their families) whether they are currently serving (domestically or abroad) or are no longer on active duty.

So, again, thank you, Veterans, for all you have done for me and our country! May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Ruminating on Ft. Hood

John Lennon had a song called "Nobody Told Me," which talks about "strange days indeed." Thursday, November 5 was certainly one of them. By now everyone has probably heard about what happened at Ft. Hood, Texas. Just in case you haven't, an Army major, who is also a doctor, opened fire in the fort, killing 13 and wounding 30. Truly a sad day for our armed forces in general and the Army in specific, not to mention the victims and their families.

First heard about it in a post on Facebook. Went to cnn.com to see what the post was about and was shocked to read what had happened. My first inclination was it had to be terrorists who had gotten into the fort somehow. The article mentioned the suspect was in military fatigues and had been killed. Want to say it even mentioned there were three suspects. Sort of fits the "suicide bomber" mentality of the terrorists we generally read and hear about. Of course, later it came out there was only one guilty party, a major in the Army who was being prepared for deployment overseas. He was even a doctor who specializes in treating soldiers with post traumatic syndrome. He was also still alive.

There are several things which have really bothered me about this whole incident. In no particular order, they are:
  • This was done by a man who has taken an oath to do all he can to save lives. Most articles I've read said he is a pretty good doctor, too;
  • Not only that, he's taken an oath to be loyal to and serve the USA. By most accounts, he did this up until Thursday. If he feels this strongly, why didn't he just go AWOL rather than start pulling a trigger?;
  • Wondered if any of the victims had already survived a tour (or tours) in Iraq or Afghanistan only to be killed or wounded in a place where they should be safest by someone they should implicitly trust?;
  • Why was my first inclination this was the act of terrorists, more specifically Muslim terrorists? Is this a byproduct of 9/11, our times in general, or wanting to believe there was no way one of our citizens, much less a fellow soldier, would do this to our own troops?;
  • Will there now be a backlash against Muslims in our country? Hope not. Was glad to see Muslim organizations came out immediately to condemn what happened. Islam is no more responsible for terrorism than Christianity is whenever a doctor is killed for performing abortions. It's the individuals, not the religion;
  • The first article I read had a one-sentence paragraph to say President Obama had been notified of what happened. First instinct, "No joke. He's the commander in chief. Would certainly hope so." Second instinct, "Why is there a need to put that in the article?" Somehow doubt anyone felt better just because the president (and I mean any president in general) knew what was going on;

Will be interesting to see what comes out before all is said and done. Have already read articles saying he felt this was is a war against Islam and how people treated him unfairly because of his religion. Also read his family has come out to condemn his actions and say there's no excuse for what happened. Since he survived, we may get to hear his reasons for doing this straight from him. Maybe not. Will just have to wait and see. Haven't even heard how serious his wounds are.

Obviously, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. An extra prayer goes out to Kimberly Munley. She's the police officer who ended the carnage by shooting the assailant. Shot him four times and ended up getting wounded herself in the process. Hope it's nothing serious and she recuperates soon. No telling how many people were saved by her heroism.

May it be God's will that our soldiers are protected no matter where they are, and may God bless the United States of America!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Gapses in the Synapses

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween over the weekend. Ours was pretty nice in spite of the cold weather. Well, it was cold for the South, anyway. At least the rain quit around lunchtime. Could have been very miserable.

Anyway, have a few things to comment on this week. And away we go:
  • Watched a little of the Vikings/Packers game yesterday. The Favre worship wasn't quite as bad this time, but it was a little much at times. Yes, it's great that a 40 year-old-man is playing his position well in the NFL. But, there are two things that have bothered me about both of his comebacks. First, the media acts like it's the Second Coming every time. As much as it may pain some people to hear this, he's only playing football. He ain't coming back to solve world hunger, solve the Middle East crisis, etc. There are much more important things to talk about in the world. Second, don't think he understands why people outside of Green Bay aren't really fans of him, anymore. It's not because he's not playing for the Packers and it's not because they are tired of the media oogling over him, although imagine that's got something to do with it. It's because it appears he drags these decisions out to get all the media attention he can out of it. Hopefully, the third time will be the charm, and, when he announces his retirement again, he will really mean it this time. Now that he's beaten the Packers twice, maybe he will finally ride off into the sunset and retire for good while he's still at the top of his game;
  • Saw a story asking whether there's room for moderates in the Republican party. Made me a little angry cuz don't think there is room for moderates in either party. The reason for the story is there's a special election for a Congressional seat in New York. One of the Republican candidates withdrew from the race over the weekend cuz the other Republican candidate was ahead of her in the polls and in raising money. She was hand-picked by the committee cuz they thought her moderate views would appeal to more people. Maybe, maybe not. If people don't think she's likable, her stances probably don't matter a whole lot. So, now there are articles questioning whether there is room for moderates in the party. My answer is there's no room for moderates in either party. Read another story where Harry Reid added a public option to a Senate healthcare reform plan. Had to do it cuz the liberal constituency in his district was up in arms. So, he added something that will further drag out the process and probably has no chance of passing just to satisfy the less-moderate side of his party, which most likely shows him the most money. Think that is one thing wrong with America these days: there's no room for moderation in either party. Won't even get into the money part of it. Wish a viable third party would arise, or, at least a viable independent candidate. Not ashamed to say I voted for Ross Perot in '92 (before he wigged out). He had a pretty strong showing and got the attention of a lot of knuckleheads in DC. Unfortunately, he went crazy in '96 so both parties went back to their usual business. Sad to see;
  • See where President Obama's poll numbers have come back to earth. Shouldn't be a surprise. Most politicians seem more appealing when they are candidates as opposed to actually serving. Wish they would delve a little deeper in those polls and ask why. If I had to guess, half of those who don't like him think he's taking things too far and the other half thinks he hasn't gone far enough. For those in the latter, he's only been in office for a year. Surely you weren't expecting everything to be solved in a year. Most of our problems have been bubbling for 15-20 years (and even longer). Don't care who you are. They ain't gonna be fixed in a year. If you are a regular reader, you probably already know where I stand on this so won't chew that bubblegum again;
  • In case you were wondering, the blood pressure went down enough that won't have to take any pills for now. Have lost 33 pounds since the end of June in my Battle of the Bulge. Still hope to lose about 7 more before all is said and done. The Mrs has done even better than that. (Way to go, Honey!) Most of mine has been from running 4-6 times a week and using the Lose It! app on my iPhone to count my calories. My wife has done the same along with going to Curves three times a week. The hardest part has been finding the money for all the new clothes. (By the way, that's no excuse not to diet and exercise);
  • A friend reminded me that you don't have to be alone when times are rough. You can always reach out to your friends for support. True friends will be there for you through good times and bad. They will also never complain about you reaching out to them. More importantly, you can always reach out to Jesus. He reminds us in Matthew 11:28-30 that He wants to help carry our burdens in life. All we have to do is ask. Just as a reminder, if you have anything you would like me or anyone else to pray about, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail. There is a link in my profile.

That's all I got for now. Just wanted to point out the left-hand side of the page in case you've never noticed. Have some quotes over there. Also have links to other blogs that I encourage you to check out. Feel free to become a follower if you'd like. Appreciate those of you who already are. Gives me encouragement to keep it up.

Peace out!