Hello, It’s Me Again

WOW!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog.  Reckon that’s what I get for saying I would update it every week.  Still had the fight song from that other school on here. Well, the music has been changed and there are several things happening now that I feel the need to comment on.  So, if you are ready to see if I can get back into the swing of things, here we go:

• Want to start by recommending a TV show to you.  Almost hate to admit I watch Lifetime, but their show Coming Home is one of the best shows on TV right now.  It’s about U.S. military personnel returning home from various parts of the world to surprise their families.  It’s very well-done.  Odd how my allergies tend to make my eyes water so much during the show.  It usually features one story throughout the hour and includes several others during the course of that story.  Highly recommend you check it out Sunday nights at 9 central;
  
• Went away for vacation for a week and came back to a war in Libya.  Been interesting to see the comments around this war.  In my mind, it’s not much different than what happened in Iraq.  Had a looney tune running the country who needed to be taken out.  Just about everything the Colonel has been accused of, the dictator was guilty of, too.  Nobody has really mentioned the parallels between the two cases.  At least I haven’t seen or heard it.  Not sure if President Obama had the authority to do what he did (probably didn’t unless the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (look it up) is still in effect), but it’s gonna be hard to put the horses back in the barn now til it’s over one way or the other.  Hopefully we won’t need to send in ground troops.  One interesting thing to me is Ghadaffi, Qadafi, or however he spells it, said at the beginning Al Qaeda was supporting the rebels.  Have read several articles that say he may be right on that.  May end up fighting these folks again……just like Afghanistan….;
  
• On a side note, one of the best tweets I saw leading up to this was someone saying you know your president is looking bad when the French are being more aggressive than you.  That was before we started sending missiles but the French had already said they were prepared to bomb the Libyans.  At the time we were saying we were going to sit this one out.  How’d that work out for us?;
  
• President Obama has had several oxymoron moments this month.  Mr. Nobel Peace Prize has now gone to war (at least by his own choice this time).  Interesting.  He also received an award for the alleged transparency in his administration in a ceremony held behind closed doors with no media present.  That just seems like typical Washington-think to me;
  
• Food for thought:  Back when W was president and gas prices skyrocketed, conspiracy theorists were coming out of the woodwork yammering about how he was trying to line the pockets of his oil buddies.  Funny how you don’t hear those same comments now that the price of gas has doubled since the new president has been in office.  Wonder why?;
  
• Watched the HBO Inside Sports show on college football.  Have to admit it did not appear to me that the former players were lying.  Not sure if that’s cuz what they were saying was true or if they were having a Constanza moment.  (Remember what George told Jerry right before the lie detector test?  It’s not a lie if you believe it?)  Tend to believe there’s some truth to them receiving money cuz I believe it goes on at all (or at least most) universities, especially the big time programs.  Don’t know if the players should be paid or not.  Do know many of these kids come from less-than-affluent households so they have no money for clothes, shoes or many other essentials needed to go to college.  NCAA rules don’t allow them to hold jobs, either.  There’s no easy answer to this problem;
  
• Auburn is certainly paying a heavy price for their national championship at this point.  Can’t recall any other champions that have had so much turmoil this soon after winning.  Allegations of players getting paid, recruiting improprieties, starters getting arrested for felonies, alleged gang activities just to name a few of the things that have come out since they won.  Can’t enjoy their championship and hasn’t even been three months, yet.  Mr. Newton probably has a lot to do with this.  Inadvertently, that is.  People started looking closer at Auburn when all of his brouhaha started.  The NCAA’s screwy ruling in his and Ohio State’s cases hasn’t helped anything, either.  Have a sad feeling AU will be in USC’s boat in a couple of years;
  
• Been a crazy year in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.  Have heard some people griping about VCU and Butler making it to the Final Four.  Just can’t make some folks happy.  Most people root for the underdog but no one actually wants them to win.  Glad to see some new blood succeeding myself.  Although, seeing as how Butler played in the championship game last year, not sure if you can really consider them new blood anymore.
  
• Saw where Phil Collins announced his retirement from the music business the other day.  Hate to say it, but figured he had already retired cuz hadn’t heard from him in a while.  Was definitely one of the biggest names in music in the 1980’s.  Love his work.  No music from him this time, but maybe in my next post;
  
• On a lighter note, anyone else follow the Egyptian cobra on Twitter?  It got over 200,000 followers in just a matter of a few days, me included.  Whoever was doing it was pretty funny and had some really good tweets.  Hope they keep it up even though the snake has been returned to its proper cage now.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Feels good writing again.  Will have to try harder to keep it up this time.
Thanks as always for making it this far.  Hope you are doing well.

Back To Other Stuff

Well, there’s finally some things I feel the need to talk about.  If you’re curious, here we go:

• Read an article the other day which says women buy and wear sexier clothes when they are fertile during the month.  It’s mostly done without much thought to it.  Guess it goes to show we are not much different from the animals after all.  Females in the animal world do all they can to attract males of their species.  And, much like the males in the animal world, men will drop everything and come a-runnin’ when certain things are being advertised, contrary to what the beer commercials want you to think;
• Been lots of yammerin’ bout this dang mosque they want to build at “Ground Zero.”  Should they be allowed to build it or not?  Even President Obama has weighed in on it, sort of, but, will get back to him in a minute.  This is what I think about all this:  Do they have the right to build a mosque wherever they want?  Absolutely.  If you’ve got the money and the land is available, you should be able to build just about anything you want to anywhere you want to build it.  Is this the best location for them to build one?  Probably not, but don’t know exactly what their plans are.  Maybe they’re going to use it as some sort of memorial to the 9/11 victims.  I don’t know.  What I do know is you can’t blame 9/11 on Islam any more than you can blame the killing of abortion doctors  on Christianity.  Just because there are a few nuts in the religion don’t mean everyone who practices it is a nut, too.  And, like it or not, our country was founded on the principle that folks could practice any religion they want.  That’s why the First Amendment says the government shall not establish one over another.  I can just about guarantee you Iran wouldn’t let a Christian church or Jewish synagogue build anywhere they want.  Do you really want to live in a country which acts like that?;
• Knew when President Obama spoke out in support of building the mosque, he was making a big mistake.  Know what he was trying to accomplish, but it was a miserable failure.  He tried to back out of it the next day by saying he wasn’t saying he agreed with the wisdom of building it there, but it was too late.  All those folks that say he’s a Muslim and not born in the US came out of the woodworks again.  This gave them the ammo they’ve been looking for, and apparently some people who didn’t necessarily believe them are starting to have second thoughts about whether they may be right after all.  First, think it’s been established the dude was born in Hawaii.  Get over it.  Second, he’s been a Christian for years, and, even if he is a Muslim, does it really matter?  A vast majority of Muslims are against the terrorists who just happen to be Muslim.  Even if he’s trying to be a subversive Muslim (and he’s NOT), there’s enough checks and balances in our system to keep him from being too successful at it.  In the long run, hope he learned he should think all the way through before he makes a prepared statement and make sure it says everything he wants it to say;
• Keep seeing how the Dems are still trying to blame everything on W.  You know what?  He’s been gone for two years.  If all you have to run on after two years is “It’s all Bush’s fault,” you must not have much to offer, either.  Besides you had control of Congress the last two years of his presidency so you share some of the blame, too.  So, how bout both sides start coming up with some solutions and stop blaming each other for the mess we are in?  Thank you;
• Football season is almost here, and I can’t wait for it to start.  Been following this whole Darelle Revis story a little.  For those of you who don’t know, he plays cornerback for the New York Jets.  When he signed his first contract, it was for 5 years at a little over a million dollars a year.  Now, after two years, he wants to renegotiate it and is holding out.  Part of me thinks he’s wrong cuz I’m sure he insisted on the five year part before he would sign it.  Understand they want some stability, but, why insist on a long-term contract when you know you will probably outgrow that contract in a couple of years?  But, then again, I also know the owners really have the upper hand in this whole deal.  Players only have a finite number of years to play so the sense of urgency is more on their end.  Owners can also terminate the contract anytime they want to.  That’s why the players insist on the guaranteed money in the contract.  I’ll just be glad once the games actually start so we can talk X’s and O’s instead of $’s.  Part of the reason I just enjoy pro football but am really a college football fan.  At least with college football, you don’t have to worry about things like contracts and whatnot.  You just have to worry about gettin caught payin’ them in the first place;
• On a positive note, see where Vin Scully has agreed to come back to announce the Dodger games next year.  Will be his 62nd season with them.  I’m as big a Harry Caray fan as there is, but I think Mr. Scully is the greatest baseball announcer there ever was, is now, and ever will be.  Can remember watching him and Joe Garigiola calling the NBC Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons.  Vin was the perfect straight man to Joe’s humor.  He also has an natural ease of calling a game.  Much like Keith Jackson is THE voice of college football, Vin Scully will always be THE voice of baseball to me.

Well, that’s some of the things on my mind this week.  Feel free to let me know what’s on yours.

Y’all have a good one!

Thoughts on Things

May’s ending on some big notes.  Most reality TV shows are crowning their winners.  The NBA and NHL are about to start their finals.  And, Congress is about to make one final push before their summer break.  Let’s just hope they do some good. 

Got a few things want to talk about.  Hope you’re as interested in reading about them as I am in thinking about ‘em:

• Went to the grocery store and bought 8 items to the tune of $28.  Not sure what’s more shocking: the fact I spent $28 on 8 items or that I “saved” $12 by using my super saver card.  Now, come from a farming family and am all for farmers getting what’s owed to ‘em.  But, can remember food prices going up when gas prices skyrocketed a couple years ago.  Now that gas has come back down to more reasonable prices (relatively), seems like everything that went up cuz of higher delivery costs should come down, too.  Doubt the farmers are seeing much from the higher prices;
• Been a little over a month since oil started spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.  So far the Obama administration has been content with letting BP manage the clean-up.  Have to wonder why the Feds haven’t been more involved in this.  Believe this is something which falls under Federal jurisdiction. As I understand it, the states control 2 miles off the coast and the Fed control out to about 200 miles.  Could be wrong about that.  Either way, still seems like something they should have a bigger hand in.  When Katrina hit, folks were upset that the Feds didn’t step in right away when things should have been the responsibility of the city, then the county/parrish, then the state way before the Feds should have been involved.  Wonder which celebrity will step out and say Obama hates fishermen and the environment?  Have to wonder what would have been said if this had happened 2-3 years ago.  To be fair, not really sure what they could be doing any differently.  But, would like to think something would be better than nothing.  Then again, we are talking about the US Gov’t…;
• There’s been a lot of yakking about all the oil in the Gulf and how no one seems to care about cleaning it up.  Would like to point out there were 11 men killed when the explosion happened.  You just don’t hear much about them and their families.  Think it’s sad no one wants to talk about them;
• Looks like the Kagan hearings will start next month.  The Clinton library is saying they won’t be able to get her documents they have together in time for the hearing.  Wouldn’t think it would be that hard to get them together.  Just go to the Kagan section.  Of course, this is the same institution that said they wouldn’t be able to get any of Hillary’s documents out in time for any of her elections.  Seems to be a pattern here.  Anyway, short of saying Hitler and Stalin were just misunderstood, doubt anything she’s written will matter.  Naturally, the Dems are behind her.  From what I’m reading, the moderate Pubs support her, too.  So, looks like she will be confirmed without much of a battle twixt the Left and the Right;
• Arlen Spector lost his bid for the Democratic senate nomination in Pennsylvania.  Serves him right in my opinion.  It’s one thing when you switch cuz you believe more in the other side.  Seems pretty obvious he only switched parties cuz he thought it would save his butt in the upcoming election.  He was already trailing in the Republican race when he switched.  Guess he was trailing on the Dem side, too.  Guess you really can’t fool all of the people all of the time.  Wonder how many Pubs voted in the Dem election just to vote against him?;
• So, have you heard the latest out in Arizona?  Appears they are searching out teachers who have heavy accents so they won’t teach English to non-English speaking students.  Sure wouldn’t want someone to learn how to speak a second language from someone who had to do it themselves.  As the great philosopher Mr. Bugs Bunny says, “What a bunch of maroons!”  Not only is this just downright stupid, it also plays right into the hands of folks who claim their immigration bill is racist.  Idiahts;
• And now for some things completely different.  Was a lot of discussion again about if the right person won Survivor this season.  There’s no doubt Russell is a master manipulator/borderline bully.  However, his scorched-earth policy leaves him no friends on the jury, who are the ultimate deciders of who wins the $1 million.  Not really sure how someone who makes it to the end without making waves is any less of a survivor than the person(s) apparently pulling the strings.  You have to manage to stay out of the crosshairs while building relationships with the people you are voting out.  Sounds like an ultimate survivor to me.  Humans are social creatures by nature so we naturally gravitate towards those who know how to make friends and turn away from those who don’t.  That being said, while I am happy with Sandra winning, thought Parvati should have won.  She was targeted by everyone from day one and still made it to the end.  While her decision to team with Russell might have gotten her to the end, it ultimately cost her with the jury.  They hated him so much they wouldn’t vote for Parvati, either.  Just proves the adage bad company corrupts you more than it helps you in the end;. 
• Pacman turned 30 years old last week.  (And, am talking about the video game, not the football player.)  Hard to imagine that was cutting-edge technology back then, especially when you consider how realistic video games are today.  Was never very good at it myself.  Was more partial to Asteroids and Zaxxon.  Still…Happy birthday, Pacman!!!;
• Ran almost 67 miles in April.  So far, have only run about 27 miles in May.  Don’t think I’ll make 67 this month.  Can probably make close to 50 before June rolls around.  Will just have to see.

That’s all I got for now.  Hope y’all have a great week.

I’m out!

Sporadic Thoughts

Well, the pollen has finally died down a little where I’m at, and that makes me happy.  Was actually able to wear my contacts all day today.  Woo-hoo!!!  Hope it’s better where you’re at, too.

Not really much going on in the news which interests me, but have a few things rattling around in me noodle that need to come out.  So, if you’re ready, here we go:

• Started posting song lyrics on Twitter and Facebook this week.  Most of the time they reflect my mood and/or different thoughts going through me brain.  Sometimes I’m just being silly.  Always enjoy it when someone continues the lyrics.  Only had one response which threw me a little.  Anyway, if you follow me on Twitter or on Facebook, hope you are enjoying them and/or recognize most of the songs.  Due to character limits on Twitter, don’t usually credit the artist, but, if you want to know, feel free to ask.  And, if you’re curious enough about the trainwreck, you can follow me on Twitter @scotps23;
• Have told y’all before about my European tweeps.  Think what fascinates me the most is they tend to have actual conversations using Twitter.  Don’t see that much from my American tweeps.  Americans just tend to throw their thoughts out there but not comment on others.  Least not what I can see.  Not really sure why, either.  Maybe it’s unique to the folks I follow.  Or, maybe folks just think I’m boring.  Don’t know.  Anyway, it’s a lot of fun to watch their conversations ebb and flow throughout the day;
• Well, now that the airline industry lost billions cuz of the volcanic ash, the blame game has begun over who’s idea it was to ground the planes.  Believe you should always err on the side of caution when it comes to air safety.  Bottom line is no one really knew what, if any, effect the ash would have on the planes.  In the end, you have to ask yourself what’s worse, being inconvenienced or dead if you crash?  How would you like to be the airline executive who made the decision to fly when the plane crashes?;
• Been a lot of stuff out there about this whole Goldman Sachs mess.  Folks getting all excited cuz President Obama took almost a million smackers from them.  Well, they gave money to just about everyone on both sides of the aisle.  Someone asked if Mr. Prez was going to give it back.  He basically said no cuz it was from the employees rather than the company itself (long story how that is but true from what I’m reading).  Who in their right mind would think a politician would ever give that kind of dough back?  Anyway, his administration still appears poised to go after them fer now.  We shall see.  What concerns me more is the fact the Goldman Sachs indictment (or whatever it was) conveniently came out just as they are starting to make a push for Wall Street reform, whatever that means.  Nothing like using the judicial system to push your political agenda.  Of course, they are saying the timing is all just coincidental.  Uh-huh.  Whatever…Will just have to wait and see what happens;
• The Stanley Cup playoffs have been pretty awesome so far!  Lots of overtime games.  Even the ones that don’t go to OT have been pretty close.  The Stanley Cup commercials have been pretty good, too.  Have forgotten just how exciting playoff hockey can be.  Best thing about OT in the playoffs (other than the excitement of wondering which shot will be the last) is no TV timeouts;
• Been lots of hullaballoo about the NFL draft this week.  Hard to believe they are devoting an entire night of primetime just to the 1st round.  Guess it will REALLY be big time if it ever lands on a major network, not that ESPN is a slouch to be on.  Actually know some people who are going out of their way to watch them.  Will follow it close enough to see where my fellow Bama alums are going, but not much more than that;
• Peace reigns where God is present. Peace reigns when Love is present. Simple formula then: Where you have Love and God, you find Happiness – Posted on Twitter by Billy Corgan.  Billy Corgan?  Of Smashing Pumpkins fame?  Yep, that one.  Have always liked him;
• In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. - Robert Frost

Y’all think about it…

A Little Mish-Mash

You’re not just reading the blog of any half-brained nitwit.  You’re reading the blog of a half-brained nitwit who was quoted in Cory McCartney’s NASCAR article on SI.com this week.  Who says having a little redneck in your blood don’t pay off every now and then?  Anywho…

Got some thoughts on a few topics this week.  So, here we go:

• My son called me today and the first words out of his mouth were, “I luuuuv youuuuu!” just like his momma does from time to time.  Knew right away they either wanted to buy something or had already bought something.  After much hemming and hawing, he finally fessed up they’d bought another cat.  Black cat by the name of Zoe.  Makes three cats in less than a year.  Could have been worse.  Figured they would have bought one already.  Wonder what took ‘em so long?;
• May have seen a friend of mine posted a comment ‘bout me taking up for both President Obama and Sen. Chuck Schumer in my last post.  What can I say?  Even a broke clock is right twice a day.  Well, the ones that actually have a face, anyway.  Besides, wouldn’t be right for me to criticize folks for not seeing both sides have some good points if I didn’t acknowledge when someone is right myself.  Or should that be left?;
• Reckon you’ve heard about all the volcanic ash over in Europe.  Somethin’ else!  Travel plans getting ruined all over the world. Even President Obama had to cancel his trip to the Polish president’s funeral cuz of it.  Someone tweeted it’s a good time to be filming shows set in the Middle Ages cuz won’t have to worry about airplane contrails being in the background.  Now, that’s the power of positive thinking.  Anyway, read this volcano is considered a small one.  Hate to see what will happen when a big one finally goes off;
• This is a great time of year to be a sports fan.  Baseball’s going strong, the NFL draft is coming up, the NBA playoffs are starting up, and, best of all, the Stanley Cup playoffs have started.  Been watching them this week.  Forgot just how exciting playoff hockey really is.  You should drop by VS tv one night and check it out.  If you are lucky enough to catch an overtime game, you might just be hooked for life.  And, if it’s a game 7 in overtime, you definitely will be;
• Read today that Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, refuses to hire Cal Ripken, Jr, an Oriole legend to say the least, to help out with the ball club.  Says he doesn’t want to ruin Ripken’s legacy if it doesn’t work out.  Also allegedly said he doesn’t want Ripken to get the credit if they finally start winning.  That’s a shame.  Just goes to show Mr. Angelos is not about the team winning.  He’s all about himself winning.  Very sad.  Think Ripken is one of the classiest players who ever played the game.  Never wanted him to break Gehrig’s record.  But, when I saw how classy he was in finally breaking it, became one of his biggest fans.  He was the reason I came back to baseball after the strike.  Still get goosebumps every time I think about him taking that victory lap.  Even saw him at Epcot in 1996 but wouldn’t go talk to him cuz he’s so classy didn’t want to bother him while he was with his family.  Sure hope Angelos changes his mind.  Imagine a lot of Orioles fans do, too;
• Get to listen to Pandora when I work on Saturdays.  It is TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!  Have three stations:  Guns ‘N’ Roses, Pink Floyd, and Nirvana.  Used to have Metallica but some of the songs were too hard even for me.  In case you’re not familiar with Pandora, you choose a band you like then it programs songs for that channel based on songs in the same general category.  Although, have heard the Beatles on both Pink Floyd and Nirvana and Led Zepplin on all three.  Pretty amazing if you ask me.  The station plays that band about every third song or so, sometimes even sooner.  Highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t already.  You may ask why not just listen to your iPod?  Well, you got me there except you may hear songs on Pandora not on your iPod.  Still purty cool.  Don’t cost a dime, either;
• A lot of folks I follow on Twitter are European.  Mostly British and Irish but some others thrown in there, too.  Pretty interesting to follow their conversations.  Been a lot of talk about the volcano ash this week, naturally.  But, it gets really interesting whenever there’s a football game being played.  (That would be soccer to those of us on this side of The Pond.)  Seems like they all are watching it.  Same thing when Britain’s Got Talent is on.  (You know, that’s the show Susan Boyle got famous on).  Have been some interesting political discussions, too. Sometimes I have to ask for clarification on a few topics and they are always nice enough to provide the extra explanation this dumb American needs to follow along.  It really is a small world after all;
• Gotta couple new blog links to the left.  One by Girl Gone Healthy (follow each other on Twitter) and the other by Forevafit.  Ms. Forevafit just started following my blog today.  Not sure how she got here, but welcome!  Checked out her blog.  It’s still in the developing stages but looks pretty neat!  Ms. Healthy’s does, too.  Both are related to fitness.  Know you will probably enjoy both just as much as I will;
• Special shout out to my friend Sue Mac!  She has several blogs over to the left, too.  She ran a 15k race this weekend that bills itself as the toughest run in the South.  Has two hills in it that must be killerz cuz everyone she talked to about it told her to walk up the hills, even the dude who signed her up.  You know those jokers have to be bad!!!  Well, she managed to finish in under two hours.  Pretty good considering she just started training for it last week.  Congrats, Sue Mac!  And, no, I’m not gonna run in it next year…probably;

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Appreciate you hanging in here with me.  Y’all have a great weekend.  Looks like I will be out buying some new running shoes myself.  Wore the tread off of the old ones doin’ all my runnin’!!!  Woo-hoo!!!

Y’all keep ‘em straight out there!     

Proud To Be An American!

Have seen some things this week that have really made me proud to live in the good Ol’ USA.  Mean that literally and sarcastically all at the same time.  Got stories from both sides of the aisle, too, and the best story is last.  You may notice there’s no soundtrack.  You’ll see why later.  Anyway, here’s what I’m talking about:

• President Obama gave a 17 minute reply to a woman who said we are being overtaxed.  He outlined seven, count ‘em, SEVEN points to the woman. No one is sure he if even answered her comment.  There’s two things that tell me he probably did not give her a truthful answer.  First, he’s a politician.  Politicians and telling the whole truth are two things which do not belong in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence.  Second, (and, if you’re a female, about to let you in on a secret you may have figured out anyway) the more a man talks when answering a question, the more likely it is that he’s lying, or at least stretching the truth.  Probably cuz he’s trying to convince himself at the same time.  Anyway, twice said his answer was going on too long so he realized what he was doing but still couldn’t stop.  Appears even he knows the definition of “the rich” will expand before it’s all said and done.  Must have left his teleprompter at home that day, too;
• Phil Hare, the Democratic Congressman who represents the 17th District in Illinois, recently said “I don’t worry about the Constitution” on camera when asked if the healthcare bill was Constitutional. (You can hear it for yourself)  He went on to say the Constitution “says people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  When asked if he read the bill, he claimed to have read it 3 times.  People have jumped on this as an example of how out of touch politicians are these days.  In his defense, the cameraman said, “Jackpot, Brother” after the first remark, which leads me to believe they goaded him into saying something(s) stupid.  Rep. Hare later released a statement saying he meant he’s not worried about whether it will pass the Constitutionality test.  Willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on his intent.  The Constitution does give government the right to promote the general welfare of the people.  However, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.  Again, in trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe an easy mistake to make in that situation.  However, have to throw the BS flag on reading the 8,100 page bill 3 times before voting on it.  Let’s say it took 2 minutes per page just for argument’s sake.  That would be 16,200 minutes, or 270 hours, which breaks down into 11.25 days just to read it once.  So it would have taken him about a month to read it 3 times if he read 24 hours a day with no breaks.  You can break it down even further if you want.  Even if he really did read it, is it possible he comprehended all of it since he would have essentially been speed-reading?  The American public may not be all that smart, but we ain’t that stupid, either…are we?;
• Just so y’all won’t think I picking on the Dems, it came out this week that the Republican party approved an expense report with a tab close to $2,000 from a bondage-themed strip bar around Hollywood.  Was supposedly for meals.  Seems the fiscal conservatives don’t mind stimulating the economy (insert your own joke here) in some settings, anyway.  Along those same lines, the Pubs also sent out a fundraising letter this week with the phone number to a telephone sex operation on it instead of the party’s.  (Why does it seem phone number mistakes are always to sex lines?)  Talk about a typo.  Pretty sad when you don’t even know your own phone number.  There’s nothing I can say in defense of either one of these blunders.  Guess they’re taking the ‘P’ in GOP seriously these days;  
• All right, now onto something that does make me forevermore proud to be an American.  Heard of the Patriot Guard Riders but had never seen this.  No comments can do it justice other than “THANK YOU!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!”  You just have to watch the clip to see why.  This was put together by the family of United States Army Specialist Bobby Russell West, who gave his life serving our country in Iraq.  Be sure to turn your sound on and watch it all the way through.  WARNING – Watching this may cause tears, choking sensations, and a sudden urge to give a standing ovation and salute.

 

Our veterans are truly a different breed.  May God bless you always!

Hope you had a happy Easter!  Thanks as always for reading. 

These May Only Interest Me, But…

Before get started, how do you like the new look of the page?  Just seems a little more serene and thought-provoking.  Like the old saying goes, if you cant impress ‘em with your smarts, divert their attention.

Anyway, been some things in the news which have caught my attention.  May only interest me, but, they might interest you, too.  So, if you’re curious about what piques my interest, here we go:

• Jaime Escalante died this week.  You may be asking who he is.  He was the inspiration for the movie Stand and Deliver, starring Edward James Olmos and Lou Diamond Phillips.  Mr. Escalante was a math teacher in an inner-city school.  You know, the schools where no one is supposed to be able to learn?  Anyway, he started teaching advanced math classes such as calculus and his students became some of the best students in the country.  He proved attitude has more influence than conditions, which is something I’ve thought for a long time.  It’s easy for kids to lay blame on someone or something else if adults do it, too.  Just something to think about when you’re talking to your kids.  RIP, Mr. Escalante;
• Been seeing a lot of headlines about the Sandra Bullock/Jesse James situation.  Who is cheating on who with whom?  Why did they do it?  Who will be filing for divorce?  Why should we care?  If he cheated on her, that should be between them and not played out in all the tabloids.  Would this really be a story if she hadn’t won the Oscar this year?  Hard to say for sure, but I doubt it.  Barely know who he is and she hadn’t really been heard from in a long time until The Blind Side came out.  Am I saying he shouldn’t have cheated on her?  Absolutely not.  Just wishing the media would leave them alone, or at least her, anyway;
• Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder was killed in Iraq in 2006.  A Baptist church out of Iowa decided to protest the war during his funeral.  His father Albert Snyder filed suit against the church for invading the privacy of the funeral and causing even more distress than was already there.  The initial jury awarded him millions of dollars.  The appeals court not only overturned the award but ordered Mr. Snyder to pay the church’s legal bills.  Now, can understand the court saying the church had the right to free speech since they were protesting outside the funeral in a public place.  Freedom of speech even applies to idiots as long as they are not inciting violence or anything like that.  But, it’s a real slap in the face of Mr. Snyder to be ordered to pay the legal fees for the church in my opinion.  Would not consider this a frivolous lawsuit.  Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything.  The funeral for someone who died for your freedoms is not the place for an anti-war protest.  Anyway, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Mr. Snyder’s appeal.  Hope they have some sense about ‘em;
• President Obama has decided to open up some of the oil fields along the Gulf Coast and Virginia which have been closed for the last 20 years.  Now, you would think the Pubs would be happy and the Dems would be upset.  Well, at least one Pub has said it didn’t go far enough.  Some Dems are supporting it while others are leery about environmental concerns.  Obama started his presidential campaign by saying he was agin it but would open them up if there was scientific proof it would help.  Guess he found it somewhere.  Can’t imagine there’s enough oil in those reserves to make even a tiny dent in our needs.  But, have to give him credit for trying to appease the other side of the aisle on at least one issue.  I’ll give you a little oil in exchange for signing a health bill few people in the public are happy with.  Seems like a fair trade, huh?;
• Heard about Pat Venditte?  He’s a right-handed pitcher for the Yankees.  No, he’s a left handed pitcher for the Yankees.  No, oh, heck, he throws with both hands.  Just depends on which side of the plate the batter stands on.  Has a six-fingered glove so he can switch it back and forth.  Now, it’s amazing enough when anyone is talented enough to pitch a baseball at the professional level.  Hard to imagine having that kind of talent in both arms.  He’s still in the minors for now, but he may make it to The Show before too long.  Will have to keep an eye out for him;
• Most of you know I’m an Alabama Crimson Tide fan through and through.  But, saw a story this week where one of Auburn’s recruits (who picked AU over UA for some reason) was diagnosed with leukemia this week.  His name is Shon Coleman.  Has to be very tough to hear this kind of news when it seems you have everything going for you, especially for an athlete of his caliber.  My thoughts and prayers go out to him for his recovery and to his family for their comfort.  War Eagle, Shon!;
• As you may have seen on the left, decided to join the Twitter world last week.  My screen name is ScotPS23.  Some interesting people to follow on there.  Decided to follow Dr. Alan Zimmerman.  He wrote a note to thank me.  He mentioned my twins so know it wasn’t just some standard reply.  Was pretty excited about that.  It’s a great way to keep up with the news if you want.  The thing I wasn’t expecting is some of the businesses who decide to follow you.  Guess it’s in the hope you will follow them.  Had a couple of sports gambling and a vitamin store start following me.  Didn’t return the favor so they dropped me.  Oh well.  Try to provide an update on my thoughts several times during the day.  It’s a good release if nothing else;
• The more I hear “Mother” from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, the more I appreciate it’s melodies.  Could listen to it over and over again without the lyrics.  They are a little too Oedipal for me.  But, it has my second-most-favorite David Gilmour guitar solo in it.  Very nice.

Well, that’s all for now.  A little longer than I intended.  Hope one or two of ‘em interested you as much as they did me.  Thanks as always for making it this far.

Later.

My Takes

Both of you who read this blog are probably wondering why I haven’t had any comments on the news lately.  Well, as you may have seen, been on vacation part of the time.  And, it’s been kind of slow in the news department so just haven’t been motivated to write…What’s that you say?  There has been some news?  Are you serious?  Just kidding.  Just needed to blog on the funner stuff first.

So, in case you’re curious about my thoughts, here we go: 

• So, healthcare reform finally passed.  Not real sure what I think about it to be honest.  Am happy there’s no “public option”…yet, anyway.  Have to imagine that will be debated again in the years to come.  From what I’ve read and heard about the current version, am willing to see what will happen.  Although my instincts are not real happy about it, my rational side hasn’t seen anything that really upsets me.  Am certainly not like the nut mentioned in U S Common Sense or any of the other people out there threatening Congressmen with physical harm.  Reactions like that just cause more people to turn agin ya rather than fer ya.  If you really want to hurt a politician, vote against him and/or donate to his opponent;
• Have been hearing all the hullaballoo about VP Biden dropping the mother of all curse words before some press conference on healthcare.  Nobody ever said he was the brightest bulb in the bunch, but think this is being way overblown.  I’m of the same opinion expressed by Seth Frederikson in his blog.  You should definitely think before saying something like that in front of microphones and cameras.  As a disclaimer, while I agree with Mr. F’s take on this situation, I did not vote, will not vote, and certainly did not work to elect nor will work to re-elect the current administration.  But, just cuz we don’t see eye-to-eye politically, don’t mean we can’t get along and just agree to disagree on some things.  Anyway, learned all I needed to about Ol’ Joe when he plagiarized a speech way back when he ran for the Oval Office.   Bottom line, if you’re going to be dropping f-bombs, only load them in the bomb bay doors when you are far from the never blinking eyes and ears of the media;
• Have read a little about the lesbian in Mississippi causing the prom to be cancelled.  Now, if she wants to wear a tux and bring a girl with her to the dance, that’s her business as far as I’m concerned.  My issue is why did she ask for permission in the first place?  The conspiracy theorist in me thinks she got the answer she was hoping for so she could draw attention to herself and/or her cause.  Could be wrong, but…Otherwise, why not just show up with who she wants to be with wearing whatever she wants?  And, of course, the media has played along just like the lapdogs they are.  But, reckon if idiots like me didn’t click on the links to read the stories, they wouldn’t follow these stories…;
• The Indian military has made a weapon out of the bhut jolokia, a.k.a. – the world’s hottest pepper.  It’s a bomb which guess can be called the nuclear bomb of all the tear gasses.  To give you an idea of just how hot these peppers are, a jalapeno rates up to 8,000 units on the scale used to judge the heat in peppers.  This one rates at over 1,000,000.  Pretty dang hot.  The plan is to use it as a non-lethal weapon in their war against terrorism.  Reckon they figure to smoke more information out of them by turning up the heat.  The article also said they are looking to develop it for civilian self-defense.  Talk about too hot to handle;
• Have you heard of Corey Poitier?  He’s a Republican running for Congress in Florida.  The other day he made a comparison to Buckwheat in one of his campaign speeches.  People have interpreted it to say he was talking about his Dem opponent (who is black) or President Obama.  So, you’re thinking just another white, male Pub without a clue, right?  As one sports dude would say, not so fast, my Friend.  Mr. Poitier is actually black.  For the record, he says he was referring to the healthcare bill and not to anyone in specific. (Guess I would, too)   He also said he and his brother have used that term for years and it essentially means “dummy” to them.  To me, just goes to show there’s people on both sides of the aisle who need to think before they open their pie hole;
• Been an exciting year for the NCAA tournament this year.  Lots o’ good upsets.  This is what sports should be all about.  Everyone has a chance and folks love to root for the underdogs.  People say the basketball tournament proves that a football playoff would work.  Not so sure about that cuz, in college football, people like for the powerhouses to win the championship.  Anywho, as of tonight, the SEC still has two teams left so I’m still really interested.  If and when they go out, will only remain interested enough so my sports-minded friends will still think I’m cool.  OK, sort of cool.  Well, not as big of a geek…hopefully;
• Was looking at my friend suggestions on Facebook the other day.  Some of them I understood cuz we have mutual friends.  Some of the others made no sense at all cuz, not only do we not have any mutual friends, got no idea who they are in the first place.  Just wonder what criteria they use to make those suggestions;
• Still thinking about the Twitter thing.  Have almost made the decision to try it out although I’m not really sure why.  Might be a little too long-winded for the 140 character limit.  Will have to see;
• A friend of mine said he went through a drive-thru the other day and they asked him if it was for here or to go.  Guess someone was having a long day.

Well, that’s all for now.  As always, thanks for making it to the end with me.  March 27 marks the one year anniversary of my very first blog.  Where does the time go?  Want to thank every one of y’all who let me clear out the voices in me noggin.  Well, quiet ‘em down, anyway.

Y’all have a great weekend now! Ya hear?

More Stuff

Hope everyone’s had a great week.  Mine’s been pretty good.  Even though the week started with more snow in the Deep South, gonna be an awesome weekend weather-wise here.  Sunny and 60’s.   Can’t wait.

Gotta few things to comment on and wanted to throw them out there while they’re still fresh in me noggin.  So, if you’re willing to proceed, here we go:

• A North Carolina congressmen has submitted a proposal to replace Ulysses S Grant on the $50 bill with Ronald Reagan.  Now, I’m about as big a Reagan fan as you will find, however, not so sure about this one.  In the grand scheme of things, Grant did more for our country by winning the Civil War as a soldier than Reagan did during his presidency.  Think all the current folks on our money should stay put.  If they want to honor Reagan with his mug on some money, they should probably come up with another coin like a $0.20 piece.  That would help cover those $0.99 plus tax things you always have to find extra change for.  Just a thought;
• Saw where Scott Matheson was nominated by President Obama to be a federal judge.  So what, you may be asking.  Well, turns out he’s the brother of Jim Matheson, a Dem congressman from Utah, who also happens to be undecided on his healthcare reform vote.  Imagine that.  Now, Obama claims that has nothing to do with his selection, and from what I’ve read, Scott seems qualified for the position.  But, it still looks a little fishy no matter how you slice it.  Just goes to show the more things change, the more they stay the same;
• President Obama had a press conference the other day with a bunch of doctors standing behind him wearing white coats.  Why do doctors have to wear these things when they are out in public?  You see them all the time making public appearances wearing their white coats or surgical scrubs like they just left a waiting room full of patients or someone on the operating table.  Guess they think it lends an air of credibility or something.  Think it makes them look like they are trying to distract you from the dribble coming out of their mouths myself;
• Joined a blog promotion website called SeededBuzz.com.  The concept is you read other blogs and then provide a link to their blog on yours when you use theirs as inspiration on yours.  Sounds more complicated than it really is.  So, if you’re a blogger, suggest you check it out to see if it might be for you.  Ain’t a charge to be a basic member, but, naturally, you can upgrade for a small fee if you like.  They encourage you to remain a free member, though.  Say all this to let you know I will provide comments on other blogs from time to time now.  Will also provide a link to the blog so you can read it for yourself if you like;
• Read about a law being introduced out in California to outlaw cursing for a week on An Authors Journey (link here).  The politician who proposed it says cursing leads to all kind of social mayhem so it should be illegal for a week.  Should be noted there is no penalty if you break the law if and when it is passed.  This brings several thoughts to mind.  One, why worry about this $@^# when California has an economic crisis worse than the US?  Someone else agrees with this question in limerick form here  Two, at what point in language history did these words become bad to say?  If you think about it, why is “manure” or “anus” any better to say than their more colorful alternatives?  Even some innocuous words such as "hole" can be seen as offensive, I guess.  Have watched shows before where the speaker has said “ass” and the second half of the word is bleeped out.  To me, would think they would bleep the former rather than the latter.  Anyway, just seems like a politician wanting to tell his constituents he’s getting legislation passed when it comes time for re-election.  Better hope no one asks him what it is;
• US Common Sense (link here) has a commentary about Starbucks refusing to kowtow to the anti-handgun movement.  Seems California (and 42 other states) has a law which states you can openly carry handguns anywhere you want.  The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence went to several businesses asking them to prevent people from coming into their places if they were openly packing heat.  Several capitulated but Starbucks refused saying they always follow the local laws and regulations.   I say good for Starbucks!  It irritates me when people want to push their beliefs by trying to hold corporations hostage.  Went out and bought a venti non-fat latte this morning just to show my support.  Now, will say I’m not a big fan of handguns myself; however, I will fight to the death your right to own one (legally) if you so choose.  But, that is a topic for a whole ‘nother blog;
• Gonna have an interesting trial coming up here shortly.  Anthony Galea, a sports medicine doctor in Canada, is being tried for attempting to have HGH smuggled from the US into Canada.  He’s treated some big-name stars including Alex Rodriguez and Tigger Woods.  Of course, they deny taking HGH and say they were taking part in some sort of blood-cleansing type therapy the doc is famous for.  Could get real interesting, though.  Not usually a conspiracy theorist, but have always thought it was a little odd that Tigger blew out his knee the year the PGA started testing for performance-enhancing drugs.  Not that I think it gave him an unfair advantage if he did take PED’s.  His mental toughness is what separates him from everyone else.  Probably didn't take them.  Still…;
• Did you see where McDonald’s has struck up a sponsorship deal with…brace yourself…Weight Watchers?  Yup.  Happened in New Zealand.  McD’s will be able to use the WW seal of approval for several of their meals including chicken nuggets and filet-o-fish sandwiches.  Needless to say, not all health advocates are crazy about it seeing as how McD’s is always the poster child for unhealthy eating.  Never would have thought it would happen myself, but more power to them if that’s what both parties want to do.  It’s their name and money 0n the line.  Will be interesting to see if it makes its way to this side of the pond;
• Could be an interesting weekend in Alabama.  The bingo parlors have opened back up.  The state authorities have said they’re gonna raid them.  The county authorities have said they gonna stop ‘em at the door.  And our politicians wonder why people, including our own citizens, make fun of Alabama;
• March is one of the best months of the year for sports fans.  The NCAA basketball tournament (a.k.a – March Madness) will be starting soon.  Baseball spring training has started.  Basketball and hockey are wrapping up their seasons to start the playoffs.  Will be lots of stuff for sports folks to yak about.  Should be a fun month.

That’s all the news that is the news…to me…for now, anyway.  Thanks as always for trudging through it.  Hope you enjoyed it or at least have a few more things to think about, if you need more.  Please be sure to check the links on the left, too.  Some good stuff over there.

Have a great weekend!

And Now Back to Our Regularly-Scheduled Programming...

Don't know about where you live, but it is some kind of cold here in the Deep South. Guess it's wintertime so it's to be expected, but we usually stay in the 40's and 50's, not the 20's and 30's. Anywho...

Now that the holidays are over, have some things to get out of me head that I've been holding off on. Now that you've been warned, here we go:

• Saw where a global warming protest had to be cancelled the other day due to a blizzard. Have heard of that before, but this one was going to be in Utah mountains. Seeing as how snow skiing is a purty major industry in Utah, didn't make much sense to me to have a global warming protest there. Guess you pays your money, you takes your chances...;
• Yahoo had an article about Obama not being able to truly get away from his job over the holidays. Guess that's the price you pay for being the leader of the free world. If you're planning on running for president, please remember this is part of the job. Didn't read the article so don't know if President Obama was complaining or not. Would guess not. The cynic in me thinks they would have been criticizing a Republican for taking a vacation during these times, especially to Hawai'i, rather than moaning about his inability to truly get away from it all. Maybe that's just me;
• Speaking of vacations interrupted, the dude who tried to blow up his underwear has raised some interesting discussions. Saw where Napoliano (the Homeland Security czar, whatever her name is) tried to claim the system worked since his plot failed. Sorry, but his failure had nothing to do with "the system." Just plain dumb luck on our part. Think this exposed more kinks in the system. Has also raised discussions about full-body scans vs. privacy. To me, making sure someone doesn't sneak a bomb aboard a plane is more important than someone seeing if I'm wearing skivvies that day or not. Again, that might just be me. Joke all the time we will all be flying naked before too long. Might not be too far off since they say the full-body scanner wouldn't have picked up that stuff, anyway;
• Did read an article that whined about all the flak the president is catching about this episode. Said Bush didn't catch much grief from the Dems when the shoe-bomber thing happened. Don't really think you can blame President Obama for what happened. However, this did happen 8 years after we "tightened" our security whereas the shoe bomber was only 3 months after 9/11, when the new system was just starting and we were pretending to get along a lot better. Although it happened on Obama's watch, there's probably a lot more blame needed a little further down the food chain. When you consider the dude's own father tried to warn us about him and our only reaction was to mark his folder to be scrutinized closer if he decided to renew his visa, there is definitely something wrong with the system. Seems like that was an issue before 9/11, too. Hmmmmmm;
• Any of you play FarmVille on Facebook? Love that game. Think it feeds my inner desire to be a farmer like half my family without actually having live the life. You plant seeds, harvest the crops, raise animals, and do lots of other things you would on a real farm. Can even help your neighbors by fertilizing their crops. If I have several to choose from, will usually choose the crop which I would actually eat even though there's no chance it will ever happen. How crazy is that? Lots o' fun, though;
• All this stuff with Urban Meyer and Mike Leach shows what a pressure cooker college football coaches live in these days. The job is literally killing Meyer, and he can't make himself quit. Leach gets fired one day before he's due an $800,000 bonus over what appears to basically be a player complaining about lack of playing time when you get to the root of it. Not sure if we'll ever get all the facts since one of the principles involved is a well-known college football analyst. Can't help but think the media will look out for its own in this whole deal. Will just have to wait and see I reckon;
• See where Tigger is losing more sponsors because of all these women coming out of the woodworks. His best remedy will be playing in tournaments again. Once he wins one or two, all will be forgiven and the media will start singing about how much he's overcome. You know how folks love a comeback story;
• My kids start back to school from Christmas break on Wednesday, provided it don't snow around here. Way back when I was in school, seemed like we only got about a week off. Now they get a month and a half. Well, it seems that way sometimes. Think they will have been out two and a half weeks when they finally start up again. Been nice having them home, though, for the most part.

All right. Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone had a happy holiday season no matter which holiday(s) you choose to celebrate.

Don't know how many of you have your sound turned up when you read this, but I do have music playing in the background. Usually try to pick something that goes with one of my topics. Anyway, will go ahead and warn my non-Bama fan friends that, if we are lucky enough to win Thursday night, our fight song will make it to this site shortly thereafter. So, do with that info what you will.

Have a great week and, as always, thanks for stopping by and readin' fer a spell!

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!

Gapses in the Synapses

A few random things firing in between me synapses:

• Sometimes travel is not fun. Spent a total of 10 1/2 hours between airplanes and airports yesterday. The bad part is only spent 1 1/2 of those hours flying through the air. A combination of bad weather and maintenance issues for one of the planes was supposed to be on. We even had to wait on the tarmac for about 40 minutes in Atlanta because two mechanics were flying to Bloomington, IL with us so they could repair a plane there. The wait was for the tool they had to take with them. Billions of dollars in equipment and they only had the one tool for the whole country. Just hope it wasn't something the local hardware store had;
• Was disappointed to hear former President Jimmy Carter thinks resistance to Obama is due to his race. If that is the case, what was the reason people didn't support healthcare reform when Clinton proposed it? Will give President Obama credit for saying, while there probably are some people against him because of his race, most folks oppose the fix and not the color of the person proposing it. Bill Clinton came out and reaffirmed Obama's thoughts today. Now, there's no doubt in my mind there are some people who don't like Obama because of his race. But, would say most people oppose either his party or his policies because they disagree with one or both and his race has nothing to do with it. There were people who were against Bush because of his party and policies, oddly enough, some of the same ones now crying racism. Just think it's an easy out myself. As I've said before, people usually resort to name calling when they can't support their platforms with facts. Glad to see these allegations have not slowed down legitimate political debate...for now, anyway;
• Heard all the hullaballoo about Obama scrapping the missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Actually took the time to read an article on it. Turns out that, yes, they are scrapping this system, but they are replacing it with new technology which will allow greater coverage/protection. That's what this article said anyway. Read it on cnn.com so you can take it for what it's worth. Usually pretty reliable, though. Seems to be another case of media using overreaction to sell papers, etc.;
• OK, on to some lighter subjects. Thanks to all of my time in the airport and Disneyworld lately, have seen some "interesting" people, to put it politely. Just wonder sometimes what people are thinking when they wear some of the stuff they do. Seen some material stretched in ways the Good Lord probably never intended on more than one occasion. Also saw some body parts exposed that shouldn't be exposed in those settings. Wooshhh;
• Wonder what people are thinking with some of the things they buy at Disneyworld? Why would you spend $25/30 a Goofy hat that you will never wear again anywhere else? Good word;
• What's the deal with people wearing scarves nowadays? Saw quite a few folks wearing them yesterday. Wasn't because it was cold. Even saw a man wearing one with his suit and tie. More power to 'em, I reckon;
• Just finished Couch to 5K today. Even ran a little extra time so I could cover the whole 5K. Ran it in a little under 35 minutes. Not too bad, I reckon. Have signed up for the Susan G Komen run, a very worthy cause, in Birmingham on October 10. Going to run in memory of my aunt and in honor of my mother and grandmother;
• Friend of mine said it was snowing at his house in Colorado today. Strange weather we've had this year. Enough to make you think;
• Was glad to see Jordan won Big Brother. Sometimes nice people do win. Now the best reality contestant shows can start, Survivor and Amazing Race!!! Survivor looks like it's going to be awesome with Evil Russell on it this year. Hope he lasts a while;
• Running and watching my calories has helped me lose a little over 20 lbs since the end of June. Woohooooo!!!! Hoping to lose at least 15 more before it's all said and done.

Well, that's it for now. Gonna try and start posting a little more regularly. Will probably have lots of thoughts now that Congress is coming back in session. Could be an interesting fall. Also have some more travel on the horizon. Enduring these things has been a little easier now that I look at it as blog material. When life gives you lemons...

Have a great week!

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Well, not really. I just like saying that. Just have some more random gapses in the synapses to get out of me brain. Having Deadliest Catch withdrawals tonight so no telling what might come out:

• So, the Feds set aside money for the Cash for Clunkers program which was supposed to last for several months and it ran out after one weekend. And, they want us to believe they can handle health care?


• Was reading today that liberals are up in arms because someone has put up posters in Los Angeles depicting President Obama as Heath Ledger's version of The Joker. Funny how they didn't think anything of it when Vanity Fair did the same thing to W. Now, ain't saying either one is good or bad. Personally, think The Joker would be upset being compared to either one of them. What I'm trying to point out is the hypocrisy of the thinking. Just another example of agreeing with the freedom of speech until someone says something you don't agree with.


• Funny how you actually have to learn things when you get older. When I was younger (and SEVERAL pounds lighter), could run without worrying about my technique. Now that I've gained a few years (and pounds), actually have to pay attention to how I'm using my legs, knees, and feet. Funny how that happens.


• In case you're wondering, started the Couch to 5K program last week. Purty neat program. Downloaded the app onto my iPhone but think there's a book out there, too. It tells you when to run, when to walk, when you're at the halfway point, and when you are done. Ain't killed me...yet. First night was pretty rough, though.


• Shark Week on Discovery is pretty good, but it ain't Deadliest Catch.


• Honestly think this year's Deadliest Catch was the best, yet. A lot of drama and emotions this year. When this show first came on, thought it was one of the silliest premises for a show I'd ever heard of. Now think it's the best show on television.


• Anybody else watching Big Brother this year? Don't like many of the people on it this year. But, much like a bad wreck, just can't make myself quit watching it. Not only that, read a blog on it every day about what is going on in the house CBS won't (or can't) show you.


• In the spirit of my last post, if you have a concern you would like someone to pray for, please feel free to leave me a comment. Won't promise your wish will come true, but can promise I will pray for you and your concern. Other people who read this blog may pray for you, too. They may tell some folks and, before you know it, there may be lots of folks praying for you and/or your concern. Never know what might happen then. If you prefer to keep it anonymous, you can send me an e-mail using the link in my profile. Could then post it on my blog as either an "Unspoken Request" or "Unknown Concern" if you want. God will know what you want the prayer for. We'll just be letting him know we are praying for it, too, whatever it is.

More Gapses in the Synapses

Some random thoughts:

• Saw a headline saying President Obama has grown a thin mustache. Should this really be a story? What is the story: he has a mustache or apparently can't grow a full one?
• Why do people act surprised whenever a politician either doesn't tell the whole truth or flat out lies? They are politicians. They don't get elected, or get bills passed, when they tell people what they need to hear.
• Sad to see David Carradine seems to have hanged himself. Loved Kung Fu when I was a kid. Just can't imagine how someone can get to the point where it seems better to end it all than live. Pray that I never get there. If you ever get to that point, please talk to someone, anyone. If someone mentions it to you, please take it seriously. They are obviously reaching out for help. Offer it whether you think you are qualified or not.
• So, the Octomom is going to have a reality show. Well, the media won't leave her alone. Why not get paid for it?
• Without a doubt, The Deadliest Catch is THE best reality show on TV. Survivor is the best contest show, but The Deadliest Catch is the best overall show. Who'd a thought fishing could have so much drama? Best show on TV to me. Period.
• Final thought for the night, what if the family did turn to Jesus and stopped asking Oprah what to do? (No offense to Oprah)

Thanks for indulging me.