A Little Bit of This…

Well, fall is finally in the air.  Football season is under way, the NHL is playing exhibition games, the temps are falling, and there are political ads out the wazoo.  What more can you ask for?  Got a few things to talk about this week.  Hope you’re interested enough to hear me out.  Gonna end on a positive note this week, too.  So try to stick around if you can.  Promise you’ll enjoy the last snippet.  With that being said, let’s get ready to reeeeaaaaaddddddddddd:

• Not gonna be able to run in Birmingham’s Susan G. Komen, a great and wonderful cause, 5K run this year.  Was able to run a 5K here a couple weeks ago.  Was sponsored by Time Warner Cable and $5 of every entry fee went towards breast cancer awareness, whatever that means.  Have had a tough time running in both races.  Get to thinking about my grandmama and mother both beating breast cancer.  Also think about my Aunt Trisha losing her battle with it.  Well, she always figured she was going to win either way.  She was either gonna beat the cancer or get to meet Jesus face-to-face.  Will always admire the attitude she had during her fight.  Never really care about my time or what place I come in during these races, it’s more about the cause to me.  Highly encourage each and every one of you to be sure to check yourself for lumps on a regular basis.  That includes you, too, men.  If you think men can’t get it, just look up Ace Frehley on the internet one day.  Might be surprised.  And, women you should also be sure to get a mammogram whenever you get a chance.  It’s been proven over and over again they detect cancer at its earliest stages, which is the best time to beat it;
• Ain’t political ads fun to watch?  They’re usually more about the lies the other guy has told than what the politician it’s about is  gonna do.  Think the best one I’ve seen is one about a politician who stopped a crime from being committed.  Sounds like he got beat up pretty bad in the process.  There’s an ad for him that talks about how this shows he has great character.  I think it’s great that he stepped in and saved the day.  But, part of me also thinks, if he had such great character, he wouldn’t be trying to use this to his advantage in an election.  But, in his defense, there’s no “I’m so-and-so and I approve of this ad” statement at the end.  So, it could be some his supporters have put this ad out and not him.  (Just for the record, though, his wife speaks in the ad.)  However, have noticed he sports a very obvious, bright white bandage on his hand in the ads he does approve of.  Sad thing is, I can’t even tell you what office he or his opponent are running for.  In my defense, it is an ad for a politician in a state other than the one I live in.  Only pay about half attention to those ads in my home state.  Pay about half of that in someone else’s state.  At least they’re trying to talk about his positives.  Have said it once, and will say it again:  if all you got to brag about is you’re not your opponent, you ain’t got much to offer, either;
• Been hearing a lot of yapping bout folks being disappointed that Obama ain’t solved the world’s problems in two years.  Now, ain’t a fan of the man nor his policies, but anyone who thought he’d cure everything in two years should probably not be allowed to vote again, ever.  Well, not really, but it does show the short-sightedness of the American electorate.  In case you ain’t been paying attention, this is a world-wide economic downturn.  We are so dependent on the world economy, there’s only so much we can do as a country to improve things.  Reckon we’ll just keep overturning our elected officials until things finally straighten out.  Our economy has always gone through cycles.  We are currently on a downturn.  Part of me thinks some of the problem is we’ve basically legislated out the depression phase of it.  Great prosperity has always followed a depression whether we want to admit it or not.  Ain’t wishing a depression on us, but my point is eventually the economy will cycle through this downturn and things will get better.  None of the legislation passed during the 1930’s brought us out of the Great Depression.  But, it gave Americans hope, which goes a longer way than just about anything else.  Most of the hope was created by creating jobs.  Can’t say any of the legislation passed in the last four years or so has given folks much hope.  Reckon that’s why President Obama is in such trouble, if you believe the polls, anyway.  Imagine it ain’t a coincidence they just announced the recession has supposedly been over since June…2009.  Not really sure how they come to figure that out now.  But, will say it’s mighty convenient it was announced right before the mid-term elections when the Dems are supposedly trailing badly in many races.  Maybe I’m just being overly suspicious, though…;
• See where Lady Gaga has gotten involved in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” debate.  Think a majority of Americans (including our elected officials on both sides of the aisle) support doing away with this silly policy.  The problem is the language which does away with it is wrapped into other stuff which ain’t so good.  This is the problem most of the time.  Kind of like the debate which said the Pubs were agin extending unemployment benefits a while back.  They weren’t agin extending the benefits, they were agin the way they were going to be funded.  There’s usually more to a story than most Americans want to dig into.  Not sure why this is not just a bill in and of itself.  Would pass with flying colors.  Anyway, at least Ms. Gaga appears to be taking the issue seriously, unlike Stephen Colbert when he was called to testify about illegal immigration.  Read Congress will sometimes call celebrities to bring attention to a particular cause.  Not sure what knucklehead thought calling Colbert was a good idea.  First of all, they had to know he wasn’t going to take it seriously.  Second, this is a pretty hot topic right now so tricks shouldn’t have been needed to draw attention to this subject.  Nice to know our elected officials are taking things so seriously right now;
• Been lots of brouhaha about Katy Perry and her duet with Elmo.  Saw the video.  Think it’s much ado bout nothin myself.  Seems like the kids on lots of kid’s shows dress a lot racier than she did.  The Sesame Street folks have been doing this a long time.  Would think people would trust their judgment by now.  But, some folks nowadays just like to complain bout everything.  By her standards, her dress was pretty tame.  In just about every picture I’ve ever seen of her, she usually has a very low cut top on with a push-up bra shoving those things halfway up to Canada.  To me, it’s hard to tell she has any cleavage in the offending outfit.  But, in the long run, Sesame Street is getting a lot of publicity out this whole thing.  Proving once again that any pub is good pub;
• Heard an interesting debate the other day bout whether golf has lost it’s mainstream status now that Tigger’s struggling.  My man TK Stack Money (that’s Tony Kornheiser to most folks) was saying golf never has been a mainstream sport, especially in comparison to the other sports.  As much as it pains me to say this, have to agree with that statement.  Think Tigger has been mainstream, but not golf itself, least not at the pro level.  (Lot more people play golf than watch it on TV.)  Lot of people today don’t watch for the golf.  They watch to see what Tigger is doing.  Supposedly, TV ratings go way down when he’s either not in contention or not playing in the tournament at all.  Just proves they ain’t golf fans, they’re Tigger fans.  Such a shame, too.  Many people complain about the it’s-all-about-me attitude of many professional athletes these days.  Pro golfers are just about as polar opposite of this that you can imagine.  That’s both the men and the women, by the way.  I actually prefer to watch the LPGA cuz they show their personalities a lot more while they are playing.  It’s a real shame more folks don’t watch them.  Anyway, if you want to watch a sport where the players have honesty and integrity, take a little while to watch some golf on the telly.  It’s actually kind of relaxing;
• OK, here’s the positive ending I promised.  Ever heard of Ike Ditzenberger?  Well, you are about to.  He’s a 17 year old boy with Down Syndrome.  He goes to Snohomish High School out in Washington.  He also happens to be on the football team.  The coach promised Ike he will play in practice as long as he keeps his shoulder pads on and his mouthpiece in.  Every time he does, Coach Mark Perry closes practices with The Ike Special, a play where Ike gets to carry the ball for a touchdown.  Ike’s dream has been to score in an actual game.  Last Friday night in a game against Lake Stevens High School, Coach Perry called The Ike Special on the final play of the game.  Ike ran it 51 yards for the touchdown!  Now, Lake Stevens was in on it, and they let him score.  But, the defenders added touches of realism by “trying” to tackle him, even diving and missing several times.  Lake Stevens won the game on paper 35-6, but in my opinion, both teams won that game.  My hat is off to both coaches.  This is what sports should be all about if you ask me.  If you want to read the story and/or see the play, just follow this here link to see The Ike Special.  You won’t regret it.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Appreciate you hanging in here with me, and hope you’re having a great week.

I’m out!

Are You Serious?!!!

Got several things to talk about that just make me want to say “are you serious?”  Warning, some of these are just things I need to get off my chest so I can start focusing on other things.  But, try to end on a brighter note.  So, just going to jump right into ‘em:

• Saw a video of an Hispanic UCLA professor ranting about the United States and immigration.  Among the things he said were Americans are against Hispanics coming to the US cuz we’re scared they’re going to take over.  He also called for Hispanic people to revolt within the United States.  Now, got several problems with this dude and his so-called logic.  First, any American who is against LEGAL immigration is an idiot (Native Americans excepted).  There’s not a single person in this country who is not either an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant (again, Native Americans excepted).  Americans are not scared Hispanic people are going to take over.  People of Hispanic origin are elected to public office, run businesses, etc all the time.  Most citizens are grateful LEGAL immigrants are coming here.  What most Americans are opposed to are ILLEGAL immigrants.  We have rules.  Follow them.  Lots of other people followed them and they are now legal citizens of the US.  To me, they should be the most upset with the ILLEGAL immigrants cuz they want to shortcut the rules the LEGAL ones followed.  The second thing I’m opposed to with this dude is he is calling for an open revolt against the US government.  That could be considered treason cuz he ain’t talking about taking over through the ballot box.  Should probably post the video but have spent enough time on the idiaht.  Which leads me to my next topic…;
  
• Saw where 5 students were disciplined for wearing American flag t-shirts and bandanas to school on Cinco de Mayo.  School officials said they were incendiary.  So, you’re telling me displaying the American flag in the United States of America is an act of hostility?  That is RIDICULOUS!!!  When the school board said the school officials were wrong for punishing the boys, 200 Mexican students walked out of school in protest.  Now, I understand Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican day of celebration for a military victory over the French, and it’s something Mexican people should be very proud of.  However, you are in America now, not Mexico.  America celebrates lots of holidays which came with immigrants from other countries, and, by all means, please continue to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  However, please keep in mind, if you are going to choose to live in the United States, become a citizen, and take advantage of all the benefits of living here, you should respect the laws and customs of the country you are living in.  And, in our country, people have the freedom to display the flag any time they want to (please see the 1st Amendment under the part about “freedom of speech”).  Not to be rude, but, if you don’t like it, you always have the choice to go back where you came from or find another country to go to.  All right, enough of that soap box;
  
• Comedy Central is developing a show about Jesus.  As they used to say on Malcolm in the Middle, “This…will end….badly.”  Right now the premise is going to be Jesus is now living in New York City and is having a difficult time adjusting to the modern times and God is too busy with other things to help Him.  Now, when God, The Devil and Bob came out, people were in an uproar, and you could make the argument that show was based on the book of Job in the Bible.  Do they really think there won’t be a real uproar over their show which will have no Biblical basis?  Part of me thinks this is being thrown out there cuz they’ve recently been in trouble with the Muslim world over Muhammad being in an episode of South Park.  I don’t know.  Just don’t see how this show will have any chance of making it, at least I hope it won’t;
  
• Pretty odd what happened with the stock market last week.  Dove about 900 points in an hour, possibly cuz someone hit a ‘B’ instead of an ‘M’ on a keyboard, changing a stock sale from millions of shares to billions.  The whole stock market went into a tizzy cuz of the sell-off.  At least, that’s what they think happened.  No one really knows.  Maybe our recovery is not as strong as some politicians would like us to believe.  Wall Street reminds me of the stories you hear about how a buffalo herd would stampede cuz of a shadow.  Pretty scary to think a large part of our economy is based on a system which decides how it will spend its money based on whether Geither scratches with his left or right hand when he gets up in the morning;
  
• The former Chastity Bono is now officially Charles Bono.  OK.  So, what makes this such a big news story?  He’s only famous for being the child of Cher and Sonny Bono.  Maybe it’s cuz people thought he/she was so cute on his/her few appearances on the Sonny and Cher Show and still remember that.  I don’t know.  If Chastity decides to go through with being Charles, that’s her/his decision to make in a private setting.  Could care less about it myself and it shouldn’t be played out in the national media;
  
• Sad to hear Lena Horne died.  Hate to admit all I really know about her is she was a singer/actress and Fred G. Sanford had a big crush on her.  In reading about her today, she was a real civil rights pioneer.  RIP, Ms. Lena;  
  
• All right, now that I’ve brought everybody down, time to liven things up a little.  As of right now, I have 112 followers on Twitter.  Even got included in my first list this week.  (Thanks @flaysomewench!)  Hit 1,000 tweets, too.  Been lots of chattering about the British elections this week.  Been some pretty good jokes on Twitter about the whole mess so that’s one positive…for me, anyway.  One of the coolest things which happened this week was having a chat with @TheChristinaKim, the LPGA star.  Talked about restaurants in Mobile, AL, which is where the LPGA is stopping this week.  She doesn’t follow me, yet, but maybe some day…;
  
• Tigger’s catching a lot of grief for pulling out, er, withdrawing, er, quitting during the TPC this weekend allegedly cuz of a bulging disk in his neck.  One female commentator on the Golf Channel reported live on the air he left cuz of a “bulging d*#%.”  Whoops!!!  Talk about a slip of the tongue!  Guess the jokes were out there pretty quickly.  Anyway, if he really is having neck problems, could be from stress.  Been known to happen to folks.  And, now that he’s “cured,” reckon he doesn’t have a way to release all that tension, anymore.  Reckon his game will suffer until there’s some kind of conclusion with Elin one way or the other.  Has to be difficult for him waiting on the other shoe to drop.  Hard to feel sorry for him, though, when he’s got no one to blame but himself.  Don’t mean he should be judged by us, just hard to feel any empathy for him;
  
• Ended up running 66.9 miles in April, which is more than I ran from November to March combined.  Am up to 6-7 miles on most of my runs now.  If someone would have told me I’d be running that far a month ago, would have told 'em you’re nuts.  Have somehow managed to still gain 4 pounds, though.  Can’t figure that one out… 

Well, thanks for letting me vent.  Hope to be a little more upbeat next time. 

Y’all have a nice day!

More Gapses in the Synapses

Been some great weather where I am, but the pollen is still thick as all get-out.  Driving my eyes nuts, especially when wearing my contacts.  The more I blink, the more my eyes feel gummy. Yuck!  Anyway, have some more random thoughts to share this week.  Hope they interest you:

• The White House press corps got its panties in a wad this week cuz President Obama broke protocol and slipped off without them one afternoon.  This was the first time in about a bajillion years that a president has done that.  Oh, the horror!!!  It’s “protocol,” in other words, tradition, not the law, that the press goes with him everywhere.  Know he’s the most powerful man in the world and all that, but he should be allowed to sneak out every now and then.  So, just exactly where was he going?  Turns out he was going to watch his daughters play soccer.  Shame on him for not wanting the press to disrupt their game!;
• Speaking of the press, if you want to see how fickle they can be, hope you’ve paid attention to the Masters coverage over the last week.  Starting last Monday, Tigger was just about the only golfer they would talk about.  Thursday through Saturday you would have thought he was leading the tournament with all the coverage he was getting, and Thursday two legends of the game were leading when the day was through!  Now that he didn’t win, the press is talking about how horrible he played, he shouldn’t have played, Elin wasn’t there, etc.  Folks, he came in tied for fourth after not playing competitively for five months.  Pretty dang impressive to me, and y’all may recall ain’t exactly one of his biggest fans.  Just another example of how the press builds folks up just to tear ‘em back down.  Oh, by the way, congratulations, Phil, for winning!;
• Very sad what happened to the Polish government over the weekend.  Shows why our leadership and most big corporations won’t let all their powerbrokers fly together.  Sad thing about this is it could have been avoided.  The pilot totally ignored the air tower’s warning not to land.  Very sad;
• The Vatican sort of apologized for statements they’ve made about the Beatles in the past.  Made it in their newspaper while commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ last album.  Probably goes without saying the Vatican was not happy when John Lennon said they were more popular than Jesus.  Anyway, someone asked Ringo what he thought of the apology.  He basically said they have more important things to do than apologize to the Beatles.  Don’t think he was trying to slam the Vatican.  He was just trying to keeps things in perspective.  Guess he felt he and Paul moved on long ago so they should, too.  In the grand scheme of things, he’s right.  Gotta love that man!;  
• An update to an earlier observation.  Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, said he was going to introduce legislation outlawing airlines charging for carry-on luggage.  Now, can probably count on one hand and cut off some fingers the number of times I’ve agreed with Chuck on anything, but glad to see him come out against the airlines trying to pull this crap.  Fly quite a bit and see all these yahbos try to carry half their house onboard, but they really are the exception.  No need to punish the rest of us cuz of these knuckleheads.  Stick with it, Chuck!  Guess I’d better sew a finger back on, too;
• A friend of mine is a school nurse.  Said a little girl was sick enough to check out of school but didn’t want them to call her mother cuz “Mommy’s job is very important” or something to that effect.  Not passing judgment on the momma (could be she’s a single parent with 2 or 3 jobs), but it really struck a nerve with me.  Makes me worry that my kids might think the same thing about me.  Hope my kids don’t ever think they can’t call me when I’m working, especially if there’s an emergency;
• Have read Kitty Kelley is releasing an unauthorized biography of Oprah.  Thing is, none of the usual talk shows want to help pimp it cuz they’re scared of Oprah.  That’s pretty sad if you ask me.  But, with as wacky as some of her followers are, they probably won’t buy the dern thing no matter who’s trying to sell it.  Will probably get more pub this way, anyhow;
• Have really been enjoying Twitter.  (I’m @scotps23)  Have made lots of comments to folks but haven’t received many back.  Oh well, it’s still fun.  Am following a few celebs but don’t expect any of them to follow me back or even comment on my occasional comments to them.  Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars started following me this week.  He actually followed me first.  Think it’s cuz one of my tweets was about the show.  Pretty cool!  Have “met” some neat people on there.  Speaking of which…;
• Know some of you are health conscious.  You might be interested in one of my new blog links from the Chubby Chick.  Follow each other on Twitter.  Anyway, she’s blogging about her journey to lose weight.  She’s doing a great job with both!  Hope you’ll drop by and give her some encouragement.  Everybody needs a little dose of that every now and then.

That’s all for now.  If you live in the US, don’t forget your taxes are due April 15.  Gotta pay fer all this stuff Congress is passin’ somehow! Hope you’re having a great week and that the pollen ain’t choking you out, too.

Out!

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!

Just Some Stuff

Well, been some interesting things in the news over the last week or so.  Would you be shocked to find out had an opinion or two on them?  Figured as much.  So, if you’re willing, here we go:

• Have had a chance to mull over Tigger’s statement.  Think there was something in it for everyone.  If you are wanting to forgive him, he said all the right things.  If you ain’t ready, yet, there’s been lots of debate about if this was the real Tigger or just another incarnation of an image he wants us to believe.  Not really sure myself and not real sure I care.  Did think it’s interesting Elin wasn’t up there with him.  Not sure what to read into that.  All I really know is am tired of hearing people talk about it.  Know what I mean?;
• Have seen some hubbub about Scott Brown voting with the Dems on the job bill.  You’d think he was the only Republican to do it, but the reality is 4 others also voted with the Dems.  According to one article I read, a lot of folks on the right actually supported the bill.  They just didn’t like the way Harry Reid was somehow forcing it on them.  Since they knew it would pass anyway, they could vote no in protest.  As for Mr. Brown, I’m glad (at least on this vote) to see he is his own person.  Somebody has to break ranks.  That’s the only way we’ll be rid of some of the gridlock in Washington;
• Watched a little of the healthcare summit.  What a joke.  Read where the Dems spoke for about twice as long as the Pubs, although Obama claimed his time shouldn’t count since he’s the prez.  First of all, seems like the Pubs were being told they were going too long more than the Dems during the short time I watched.  Second of all, why the heck would anyone be timing either side in the first place?!  Seems like someone who was just looking for an axe to grind going into it.  Doubt this show accomplished very much for either side.   Sad to say, know it didn’t hold my interest very long.  Just seemed like a bunch of politicians wanting a little press time.  The Dems will probably use it as an excuse to proceed without the Pubs now, too;
• Eli Manning has agreed to give up $500,000 owed to him by a hospital for PR work.  Seems the hospital is already deeply in debt so he’s agreed to forgo the rest of the money owed him.  He’s even going to continue working for them.  Some folks are griping that he should give the $500 G’s he’d already received from them.  Just goes to show you can’t make everybody happy.  From what I can tell, the hospital was OK with it, so why should anyone else get upset by it?  Anyway, it’s a class move by him, especially since he has said he will keep working for them;
• Well, there’s already been a lawsuit filed in relation to the dude flying his plane into the IRS building.  Now, I’m not necessarily saying a lawsuit isn’t in order.  But, filing one within a week of the incident seems a little premature to me.  Guess that’s the American way now.  When something happens to you, don’t try to work things out on your own, feed the lawyers so they can drag things out forever and then end up getting more than you do.  Like lawsuits, there’s a time and place for lawyers, but seems a little early to get them involved in this case;
• Read a story last year where the mayor of Moscow said he was going to prevent snow from falling there this winter.  Supposedly had some scientific way to make it go around Moscow.  Saw another story this week where it’s snowed there this year just like it always does.  When are we going to learn that we are not God, nor do we play Him on TV?;
• ESPN has suspended Tony Kornhiser from his TV show for two weeks because of remarks he made on his radio show about a female co-worker.  He apparently didn’t like the outfit she was wearing one day and made some comments about it.  He later called her to apologize and then apologized on the air the next day.  Have heard TK make many comments like these before without any repercussions from his employer.  What makes these different is they have a no-tolerance rule for public criticism of fellow ESPN employees, even in non-ESPN outlets like his radio show.  So, it’s not what he said so much as who he said them about.  Guess it’s OK to bash folks as long as they don’t work for ESPN with you.  Somehow, that just don’t seem right to me and just another reason I rarely watch that channel, listen to their radio shows, or surf their site anymore;
• Very sad about the trainer at Sea World.  We went to the dinner with the whales on our trip last year.  Had the same whale during our dinner.  The trainers will constantly remind you that these are wild animals and can be unpredictable.  Sad way to be reminded of this.  Bout the only positive in this whole situation is the trainer went out doing what she loved, which ain’t much in the grand scheme of things.  Thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends;
• See where the Russian male figure skater has his knickers in a wad cuz he came in second during the Olympics.  Been complaining to anyone who will listen that the judges cheated him out of the gold.  That’s why I don’t like to watch those “sports” where the winner is chosen by subjective judging.  Never really know if things are on the up-n-up or not.  That being said, he’s just being a sore loser.  Get over it already;
• PARTY ON!!!  Hockey has a saying “GAME ON!” which means it’s time to play.  Apparently the Canadian women’s team likes the first one, too.  After they won the gold, they returned to the ice with beer and cigars to celebrate.  Some folks didn’t like it and complained.  Now the IOC is going to conduct an investigation although not really sure what they are going to investigate.  Maybe where they kept the brewskies and stogies during the game?  Who knows?  Maybe they should spend their resources investigating the men’s skating judges instead of worrying about some folks having a little fun. Geez, Louise.

Well, that’s the news for this week.  Thank you for your time.

This is Scot, and I am outta here!

See you next week.

Really?

Been some things in the news which make me think "really?" when I either see the headline or read the article. Just in case you have missed them, thought I'd share some with you. Might even add a snide remark or two. So, if you're ready...

• Someone has finally figured out what killed King Tut...they think.  The conclusion was he died of malaria.  Sure glad that issue has been solved.  Can't tell you how many nights of sleep I've lost over that.  Anyway, not sure why it's been so important to figure out.  Ain't gonna change our world today as far as I can figure.  But, if someone out there is happy this may have finally been resolved, more power to 'em;
• President Obama took credit for preventing a depression with the stimulus package passed last year.  That's the good thing about "preventing" something like that.  No one can really confirm or deny that you are right.  Just like W can say he prevented the next Hitler when he invaded Iraq.  Short of going to the parallel universe where these things happened because of something we didn't do, no one can really know for sure things were stopped or not.  Just so I can feel in the spirit, will now take credit for preventing the sun from not rising and not setting every day because I told them not to stop; 
• Saw a headline that said "Bill Maher Calls Dick Cheney A Liar."  Who cares? If you've ever seen Maher's show on HBO, this should not come as a shock to you.  He's as far to the left as Rush Limbaugh is to the right.  Plus, what difference does it make?  Maher is an actor, not a politician or leader of any sort, and Cheney is no longer in office. Seems like some writer needs more to do with their time.  Now, if he'd said Cheney was right all along, THEN you might have a story;
• There are billboards popping up in Minnesota and Wisconsin asking if we're missing W, yet.  No one seems to want to take credit for them.  Even if we were, what difference would it make?  Bush has served his two terms allowed by our Constitution and can't come back even if he wanted to and could somehow get re-elected.  Seems like the money could have been spent advertising someone who can actually run for office.  Guess some folks really do have more money than sense;
• That's something else about the dude who flew his plane into the IRS building in Austin, TX.  You reckon he had all his faculties about him?  Anyway, when you consider close to 200 people work in that building, it's lucky there were only 2 people killed (one of which is apparently him) and 13 people injured.  Only two of them went to the hospital.  Who knows what he was trying to accomplish?  Even set his house on fire before he did it.  Guess he wanted them to get an empty lot when they foreclosed.  More and more people want to go out in a blaze of glory (pardon the pun) nowadays.  Media feeds right into 'em, too, with their non-stop coverage of even the most minor things.  Not that this was minor.  Have to admit my first thought was another terrorist attack, too.  Sad sign of the times, I suppose;
• So Tigger has made his statement about what happened.  Whoop-de-doo.  Like have said before, this should be between him and The Mrs.  Have read comments saying he's being selfish for having the "press conference" on a Friday, a day when the tour is playing.  Other comments include he's taking away from the Olympics.  Hard to believe all the major networks covered this sham live, not to mention all the cable stations.  If that's what the public wants, then shame on us.  S'posedly the reason he had the conference when he did was cuz he has to head back to rehab after a week-long break.  Wonder why he couldn't have waited until he was done to make his statement/apology?  Could be just another step in the rehab process.  Might have been more interested if the lapdog pressmen that attended could have asked questions.  Probably not since they would have most likely asked wiffle-ball questions.  Sure the press will do the bathroom dance again when he finally plays in a tournament, then again when he wins.  Can hardly wait...; 
• A friend of mine posted this on Facebook the other day:  People will always be more violently opposed to the wearing of fur than leather for the simple reason that it's far safer to harass rich women than biker gangs.  Think about it;

That's all I got for now.  Interested to hear what you might have to say.  Might give me a different angle to think about.  Not such a bad thing sometimes.  Please feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an e-mail at ScotPS23@yahoo.com

Y'all keep 'em straight out there.

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

Well, another week down and closer to Christmas. Hard to believe 2010 is right around the corner. Like the song says, "The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older." But, have to say it's been a relatively good year and am sure God has even better things in store for all of us next year. Will just have to wait and see what happens.

Anyway, here are some of my random thoughts for the week. Hope you enjoy:

• It was 68 years ago today that the US was bombed at Pearl Harbor. Not many survivors left now but hope it is something we never forget as a country. This day was one of the biggest turning points in our history. This was the day we truly became a world super power. Before then, we had tried to remain an isolationist country. Sure, we helped our allies, but we still tried to stay out of things as best we could. After Pearl Harbor, that changed forever, or, at least for as long as we remain a world power, and, for better or worse, we're now policemen for the world. My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Pearl Harbor a couple of years ago. A very sobering experience and something everyone should do if you ever get to Hawaii. If you are fortunate enough to know a Pearl Harbor survivor, or even a WWII vet, be sure to thank them. They are without a doubt one of our greatest generations ever;
• It was 29 years ago this week that John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City. Can still hear Howard Cosell matter-of-factly announcing it between plays on Monday Night Football. Truly one of the most ironic things to ever happen. A man who championed peace was killed by a fan of all people in an act of violence. Just doesn't make sense. He was one of the best lyricists of all time and a bit of a dreamer. OK, a lot of a dreamer. Even though most of his dreams of peace won't come true until after the Apocalypse, it doesn't hurt to have people like him around just to remind the war hawks to give peace a chance every now and then;
• All this stuff with Tiger is getting more and more curious. Still have to wonder how much of the coverage is being driven by the fact he refuses to discuss it with the media, for the most part. Media folks tend to get uptight when folks don't genuflect to them with the proper respect. Have heard journalists on more than one occasion say they liked someone cuz they were "good with the media." Like I've said before, he's human just like the rest of us, and all of this stuff going on should really be between him and his mrs. Don't care how much money he makes although one of the trappings of fame and fortune is you will have very little privacy. Guess if you're gonna talk to the media when times are good, you should talk to 'em when things ain't so good, too;
• Sad to see Umaga pass away this week at the age of 36. Much too young for someone to be dying of a heart attack. Know he left WWE back in the summer cuz he refused to go to rehab for some sort of chemical-dependency problem so reckon he had his demons just like the rest of us. Very sad. Also a stark reminder that only God knows when our time is up so we should be prepared to go at any time;
• And now for something completely different, have you ever noticed that people never drive new pickups in the movies? Think about it. Just about every time you see someone driving a pickup, it's an old (and I mean like 1950's, 60's and 70's old), beat-up truck. The only two movies I can remember seeing new pickups in are The Blind Side and Facing The Giants. Can't remember any TV shows with new pickups, either. Just wonder how they can get Ferrari's, Porsche's, Corvettes, et al, but they can't seem to get new pickups. Don't make a lick of sense to me;
• As a proud alum just have to say "Roll Tide!" and hope we have something left for Texas. And, for you Husker fans out there, have to say think y'all was robbed, but there's nothing you can do about it now other than whip 'em good when you play again next year!

Wow, some truly random thoughts this time. Thanks, as always, for indulging me. Have added a new quote and a new blog I'm following on the left-hand side. Be sure to check them out.

Hope this Christmas season is not too hectic for you. Try to slow down every now and then to remember The Reason for the season. Christ was born so that He could die for your sins. And, if you happen to be Jewish, Happy Hanukkah!

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!

Random Thoughts

Some things kicking around in me noodle tonight:

• Sad to see Walter Cronkite died today. 92 years old. Can't say he didn't live a full life. Can remember watching him when I was kid. Don't think polictical views matched, but he was still one of the best. Very sad.
• "We have to spend money to keep from going bankrupt" - Joe Biden, VP of the USA, explaining to AARP why the health care bill has to pass. So, we have to spend even more money we don't have to keep from losing it all. Do what? And, to think we keep electing these guys (D's and R's) over and over again. Guess we'll get what we deserve eventually. Most likely sooner rather than later.
• So Tiger Woods missed the cut at the British Open this week. It happens. To hear the media talk, you'd think the world was coming to an end. And, while it might be, don't think Tigger missing the cut will have anything to do with it. Even CNN.com had it as the lead story this afternoon. Geez, Louise. Don't get me wrong. He's a great golfer and I appreciate that kind of talent. Still, not ready to call him the best ever like some others want to.
• This week's Deadliest Catch was emotionally riveting. We got to see the humane side of Sig. Could always sense it was there somewhere. Hope Jake's family is doing better.
• For those of you who watch Big Brother but have not found out what Chima said last night, she reminded everyone that Braden had called Kevin a "beaner" and then, "He called you a whore, Julie. Yes, he did." Supposedly, "beaner" is a derogatory word about Mexicans. Never heard it, myself. Funny thing is, Kevin ain't Mexican. Still, as Julie said, it was one of the most memorable speeches in Big Brother history, and few people heard all of it.
• "Those who hammer their guns into plows are destined to plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson. Always knew he was one of the smartest men who ever lived in this great country of ours.
• "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." - G.K. Chesterton. Thank you, Veterans, for loving us!

That's all I got for now. Have a great weekend!