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!

Things I'm Thankful For

Well, it's that time of year where you should count your blessings. So, reckon I'll do one of those blogs where you list some of them out. In no particular order, here we go:

• God (couldn't be here without His love for us)
• Jesus (loves us so much He died for our sins and then rose from the grave so that we can have eternal life)
• Family (even the crazy ones)
• Friends (especially the crazy ones)
• Veterans (wouldn't be where we are without you)
• The Constitution (one of the few government documents in all of history that preserves more freedoms than it denies; only 1-2 pages long, too; imagine that)
• Our government (yes, both sides of the aisle; a job which you will probably make half of your constituency mad most of the time you open your mouth)
• The Internet (have caught up with some old friends and made a few new ones thanks to this)
• My job (something I take for granted way too often)
• My house (ditto)
• Food and clothing (ditto again)
• Living in a country where all of this is possible (thanks again, Veterans)

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

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

Quick Gapses in the Synapses

Got a few quick-hit random thoughts to get out of my system. Here we go:

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

Y'all have a good one!

And Now For Some Total Randomness

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

Anyway, have some random thoughts to get out of me noggin so here we go:

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

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

Thanks, Veterans!

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

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

We should thank them generally for voluntarily (now, anyway) serving our country. However, there are some things we should specifically thank them for. So, thanks, Veterans, for the following (this is only a partial list):

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

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

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

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

Ruminating on Ft. Hood

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

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

There are several things which have really bothered me about this whole incident. In no particular order, they are:

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

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

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

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

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!

Childhood Memories

Axl Rose has a song about childhood memories and have had a few of those today. Went to help clean out my parents' house this morning. No, nothing happened to them. They have decided to move out after almost 30 years so my father won't have to navigate the stairs anymore.

Went out on the back deck and a flood of memories came to me while I was looking at the woods and the creek. Have talked before about how great memories can be and how one person's memories can trigger yours. Thought I would share a few I had today. More for the cathartic effect if nothing else. Anyway, here we go:

• My sister and I wearing roller skates the first time we went there. Was a little difficult going up and down the steps but we made it somehow without breaking our necks;
• Trying to restore the tree house with my friend Roger. We were going to use it as the proverbial club house. Ended up using the storage space/cellar under the house instead;
• The various business ventures he and I came up with. Never made the first dime off any of them. But, wasn't surprised when I found out he has his own business now;
• Many days playing football, basketball, and riding bikes with my various friends;
• Many long conversations with good friends;
• Listening to Pink Floyd alone in the dark;
• Playing Atari at my friend Michael's house;
• His sister taking us to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time. Can still remember seeing women in bustiers for the first time;
• Watching M*A*S*H on my little black and white TV after the late news;
• Being grateful Michael had a VCR to tape the final episode. We had a Jr. Achievement meeting that night and couldn't watch it as it aired;
• Having Christmas at home a couple of days before Christmas every year cuz we spent Christmas Day at my grandparents;
• Hearing the PA from the 13-14 little league field during baseball season. That old man had a true cigarette and whiskey voice. Not even sure he took the cigarette out of his mouth while he was announcing;
• Mr. Mayhall, the band director, speaking Swahili to us (at least his version of it) when we wouldn't listen to what he was trying to tell us;
• My father asking if we were going to have twins when we told my parents Stacey was pregnant. We had no way of knowing at the time that we were. Still haven't figured out what made him ask that.

There are more I could list but am getting tired of typing and you are probably getting bored, too. They actually move next week so will probably have more when I go over to help with that. May not share those, though. Anyway, as my dad put it today, at least we're not having to do this cuz someone died.

Later.

You Might Be Getting Old If...

Have had time to do some thinking cuz it's just too dang cold to go outside this weekend in the Deep South. Normally cold weather doesn't affect me, but just not ready for it right now. Anyway, sometimes when you think, you think deep thoughts and you feel like you resolve some issues. Other times, not so much. Well, this has been a not-so-much weekend.

One topic which has been in me gray matter is some things which MIGHT indicate your getting a little long in the tooth. Decided to share my thoughts with you. So, here we go, some signs you MIGHT be getting old:

• Realizing the coaches you see on TV are the same guys you used to watch play the game
• The players you watch now are the children of the players you used to watch several years ago
• The floor is not making the creaks and pops heard while you walk
• Wondering how the person who cuts your hair snuck in those silver highlights you see in the mirror
• Hearing songs you've always liked on Muzak
• Actually liking the Muzak version a little better than the original
• Hearing new songs on the radio and wonder, "What the &$*# is that?"
• Never hearing of today's pop stars until they make headlines for all the wrong reasons
• Predicting the weather by which body part aches
• Pondering longer on how your body may react rather than how it tastes when choosing food and drink
• Starting sentences with the phrase "Well, when I was your age..."
• Instead of going out on the town at 11 pm, you hope you can stay awake 'til then
• Seeing sunrises cuz you're just getting up rather than just getting in
• The anti-establishment behavior you used to think was cool now annoys you
• You're not crazy about your kids watching Looney Tunes because now you understand the humor
• Not making fun of the Lifealert and Little Rascal commercials anymore
• Having to ask your kids how to work the latest techno-gadgets

These are just a few I've thought of. Please feel free to submit a few of your own.

Stay golden.

More Gapses in the Synapses

Before I get started, want to point out the music which is playing. This song is the Apocalyptica song I've talked about several times on here. It's their version of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters using nothing but cellos. Hope you like it. If you don't, you can always turn your volume down. Thanks to my wife for showing me how to get it loaded on here.

A few random thoughts:

• Really enjoyed running in the Susan G Komen, a great and wonderful cause, Race for the Cure 5K this weekend. Hope you can tell that from my previous post, but thought I would say it again. It is an awesome cause. The only drawback is there are a lot of walkers who start in front of people who want to run. Think I covered an extra half mile weaving in between all of them. One or two people walking together is not a big deal. But, when there are 6 people walking side-by-side, that is a little much when you choose to start in front of runners. Not trying to discourage people from participating any way they can. Just think you should be a little more cognizant of your surroundings if you are going to do that;
• My kids are out on fall break for the next two days. Fall break?! We never had that when we were in school. Why, we had to walk to school in 6 feet...wait, never mind about that. Anyway, it seems like they take a lot more breaks nowadays than when we went to school. More power to 'em, I reckon;
• Anybody play Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook? Can't decide if I like this new version or not. You score a lot more points, but it seems a little less challenging. Does anybody else think of Bill Murray in Caddyshack when the voice says, "Excellent"? Kind of sounds like Montgomery Burns on The Simpsons, too;
• So, the Nobel committee awarded President Obama their peace prize. It's their award. Reckon they can do what they want with it. Couldn't believe it when I first heard it. Made a little more sense when I read they sometimes do that to encourage people to continue their course. Hope no one is mad at the president for it. He didn't vote on it and probably would tell you he doesn't deserve it at this point, either. Personally am in the school of thought that thinks this may make things even tougher on him. We shall see;
• Looks like there will be some form of health care reform before too long. All for that, just hope they hold the course with no public option. There's no way the country will be able to afford it, and there's only so long we can keep spending money we don't have. We may all be millionaires in the future but a loaf of bread will cost $5,000 because the dollar won't be worth the paper it's printed on. That's what happens when governments keep printing money with nothing behind it. It leads to inflation, which is a deeper discussion than I want to get in to right now. Just to give you an idea of what can happen: after World War I, Germany kept printing money so its people would have money. They eventually printed so much of it that it was worthless and people were using their paper money as wallpaper. Let's hope that doesn't happen here;
• Saw where someone is auctioning off some of Michael Jackson's hair which was burnt back in 1984. First, wonder who would want to buy it (although I'm sure someone will)? Second, why would someone keep something like that all this time? What is this world coming to?
• This is a good time of year for TV. Survivor, Biggest Loser, and Amazing Race are all on the airwaves. If they could have Deadliest Catch on, too, it would be perfect. Of all of them, I would want to be on Survivor the most followed by Amazing Race. I'm overweight, but nowhere near enough to be considered for the Biggest Loser. Was disappointed Coach Mo was sent home from BL last night, but when I saw him wearing that boot, figured that was foreshadowing he was not much longer for the show. Am soooo ready for the lawyer to be out of AR. He just grates on my nerves because he always talks about how smart he is but he can't find his way out of a paper bag then blames it all on his soon-to-be wife. Oy;
• Was sad to see Captain Lou Albano died yesterday. You may know him from the Cyndi Lauper videos. Or, you may actually know him from WWE wrestling but just don't want to admit it. He was a great villain and knew how to keep the crowd involved. Not many around today like him. RIP, Captain Lou;
• In case you're curious, my cholesterol came back at 173. At least it's below the 200 threshold, but still have to watch it. Encourage you to have yours tested, too. If you have health insurance, check to see if you have preventive medicine coverage cuz this would fall under it and there's usually no deductible for that particular coverage. Have to go back Monday to get my blood pressure retested to see if I will need to start medication for that. Not holding out much hope on that.

In the words of the great Mick Foley, "Have a nice day!"

Susan G Komen, A Great and Wonderful Cause, 5K

Had the opportunity to run in the Susan G Komen, a great and wonderful cause, Race for the Cure 5K over the weekend. It was an awesome experience to see that many people come together for one cause. According to what I've heard, there were about 14,000 people who ran in either the 5K or the one mile fun run in Birmingham alone. A great turnout, especially for a cool and rainy Saturday morning in the middle of college football season.

The picture above is our crew of folks that ran. We belong to the same church and most of us are in the same Sunday school class. One other husband also participated, but he had stepped away for a moment when the picture was taken. Several things stand out to me when I look at this picture:

1. Sure have some skinny legs compared to the rest of my body. (Lost 25 lbs in the last couple of months so the rest of my body is catching up);


2. The 7 year old was the fastest of the bunch;


3. More importantly, statistically speaking, at least one of the women will be struck by breast cancer at some point in her lifetime. Think about that for a second. Pretty startling.

While I was running in the race, my mind wandered to many subjects. The one that kept coming up was how breast cancer has affected my family. My grandmother and mother both are survivors. My aunt was not so lucky although she put up a good fight. That's three women in two generations of the same family who have been affected. Chances are good that other women on this side of the family will also have to battle the disease before it's all said and done.

Thought about my aunt Tricia when I saw folks running in memory of someone else. She was a great woman who taught first grade. She loved kids but oddly enough never had any biological children of her own. Can still see the tears streaming down the preacher's face while he was giving her eulogy. Still think about her often and wonder why God chose to bring her back home. Maybe He liked her singing and was ready for her to join his choir. Don't know. Do know her battle has inspired a lot of people, and that probably had something to do with it, too. Funny how He works that way. Anyway...

Breast cancer research is one of those things I always give to whenever I can. Do it in honor of my mother and grandmother and in memory of my aunt. I'm sure there's someone in your life who has been touched by this disease and would encourage you to do what you can, too. Even if you don't contribute to finding a cure for this disease, giving to research on another disease could lead to the cure for that one and a whole bunch of others. Already planning to run again next year.

If you are a woman, be sure to check yourself early and often for lumps and make sure you get your mammograms when you are supposed to. Right now, early detection is the best and most effective way to defeat this disease. Someday these won't be necessary, but, for now, they are. And, men, just for the record, we get breast cancer, too, although it's a much smaller percentage. So, it won't hurt to check yourself, either.

Until next time...

Shallow Thoughts

Do any of you remember the old Saturday Night Live vignettes Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey? Well, these are some of my shallow thoughts, but thought I would pay homage to him, anyway. Loved those things. Anyway...

• Tried to watch Monday Night Football tonight, but all the Brett Favre worship is making me sick. Yes, he is one of the all-time greats of the game. But, every time he completes a pass you would think it was the greatest pass ever thrown and no one else in the NFL could have done it. Just reminds me why I hardly ever watch ESPN anymore. Too much hype and not enough substance. Oh brother;
• Can't really figure out why some media folks are making such a big deal about David Letterman and his office romances. Doubt he's much of a role model to kids, especially since most of them are in bed when his show comes on. He's never really been one to take the moral high-ground, either. At least he didn't when I used to watch his show. He's an entertainer. He's not a journalist or anything else where he has to establish credibility. He makes his living telling jokes. Now, don't get me wrong, not saying what he's done is acceptable to me. But, he's human, which means he's a sinner just like the rest of us;
• Went to the doctor today and had high blood pressure. Bet my bloodwork will show I have high cholesterol, too. Thought my recent diet and exercise would help all that. Guess I'm getting old. Probably can't expect to erase years of not paying attention to my health in just a few months, either;
• Did you watch Amazing Race Sunday night? Loved Phil's line to the attorney, "Looks like the gazelles and zebras are outrunning the lion right now." That dude's been bragging about how he's the lion and the rest of the contestants are his prey and also talking about how smart he is. He gets lost just about every time he gets out of the cab or off the plane. Reminds me of the old joke where the "smartest man in the world" grabs the backpack instead of the parachute;
• Today my daughter told me I had a great job. When I asked why she thought that, she said because the people I work with really like her. The things a child thinks. Wouldn't it be nice if adults would think that way sometimes?

Only five more days until the Susan G Komen, a great and wonderful cause, 5K. If you are a woman, or just love one, please make sure you check (or remind them to check) for lumps on a regular basis. You can never be too cautious about something like that.

Peace out.

Quick Hits

OK. So I said I'm gonna start posting more often and haven't, yet. Apologize for that. The hotel I've been in had lousy internet reception so wasn't able to write like I wanted to. Hopefully will be able to write more now that I've made it back home.

Anyway, have some quick thoughts would like to share. Hope you will indulge me.

• This is my favorite time of year. Leaves are changing color with a bit of chill in the air. College football kicking off. (Roll Tide, by the way!) It's a great time to be alive. Not that there are many bad ones, mind you;
• Forrest Gump is on TV right now. Love that movie. Tom Hanks is vastly underrated as an actor. Know that doesn't sound right when he won consecutive Oscars, but don't think he gets the credit he deserves, which is probably a real testimony to his acting abilities. You don't even notice them;
• Still on track to finish the Susan G Komen, a great and wonderful cause, 5K in Birmingham. Won't make my 30 minute goal, but it's more about the cause than the time for me. Did I mention it's a great and wonderful cause?
• Heard people giving President Obama grief about going to meet with the Olympic committee. My knee-jerk reaction was against it. But, the more I thought about it, it made sense. It would have been great for the country if they would have come here. Will give him the benefit of the doubt he would have done it for another city, too. Too bad we didn't get it. Oh well, both the Mayan and Chinese calendars say the world is going to end in December 2012, anyway. Might not matter in the long run;
• Speaking of the world coming to an end, watch those shows on the History Channel all the time. Interesting to see people's rationale for these things. We've heard these things before. (Remember how everything was going to go haywire on Jan 1, 2000?) Not sure if there are more bad things happening in the world or we just hear about them more thanks to our 24 hour news channels. They got to fill the airs with something. Sure you've heard the old saying, "If it bleeds, it leads." Anyway, the Bible says only God knows when the world will end, and He ain't tellin'. Think I'll go with that;
• Does anyone else see the irony in Michael Moore making a movie about how bad capitalism is? Wonder if any of his movies would have been made much less released if he lived in Russia or China and made those kinds of movies about them? Just saying. Think that's what infuriates people about liberals. Won't say all of them, but many are more "do as I say not as I do" than the other way around. (Want another example? Think about the Clintons campaigning on being anti-Reaganomics when they made a bunch of money doing the same thing, and that's only one of many examples) Anyway, think they have a legitimate desire to help people, but it seems like they think they are smarter than the people they are trying to help and those folks are incapable of doing it themselves. Well, if you keep giving a man a fish, he's going to keep expecting you to provide them rather trying to catch them on his own;
• Heard where the inspiration for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" died this week. Think her name was Lucy Vodden. Lots of folks think that song is really about LSD. Does have some unique imagery in it. But, sometimes a song is just a song. If you have kids, take a look at their artwork. Their view of the world is usually a little diferent from adults. There's no vast conspiracy in the world where everything really means something else. At least, that's what my music tells me;
• Survivor has been pretty good so far. Evil Russell is keeping things interesting. At least he's honest to the cameras about what he's doing. A lot of times people take the attitude what they do is honest and it's just playing the game. Then, when someone else is doing it, all of the sudden it ain't fair. He knows what he's doing is wrong and doesn't pretend to think anything else;
• Speaking of Survivor, was glad to see Ben get voted out last night. What kind of person thinks calling a black woman "ghetto trash" has no racist overtones? As the wise and great Bugs Bunny used to say, "What a maroon!" It bothers me they referred to him being Southern. The boy's from Missouri, which ain't a part of the South on my map (and, yes, I know what side of the war they fought on);
• Amazing Race is looking pretty good, too. Understand the logic of not letting people know you are a millionaire poker player, but come up with something better than you work with homeless kids. You have to know somewhere somebody's going to recognize you and blow your cover, especially when one of you was all over ESPN last year. Telling that lie will just make people not want to help you even more. Will say they have been pretty spot-on when they've shared their observations about the other racers. Have a hard time believing any jury would be sympathetic to that lawyer;
• Saw where Jon Gosselin now thinks it's not good for his kids to be on a reality show. Hmm, wonder if that anything to do with the fact he's been canned from the show? Just sayin'...

Thanks for indulging me. Actually had a pretty good time on my trip. Got to see a few old friends haven't seen in a while. That's always nice.

If you have time, check out some of the blogs I follow. Their links are on the left. I don't get paid anything if you do, but, I like them so you might, too.

Have a great weekend!

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!

More Vacation Memories

We decided to join the Disney Vacation Club this year and took advantage of the free points to visit with The Mouse over Labor Day weekend. It's always great to spend time with the family and this one was no exception. It was a great trip! Went to the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot.

The Magic Kingdom was all made up for Halloween. Friday night was the first night of Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween. Kids of all ages dress up in costumes and trick or treat in the park. My daughter went as Hannah Montana. Rest of the family went as ourselves, which is scary enough.

As I've said before, vacations are all about memories. Here are some of the memories I will take away from this trip:

• Saratoga Springs Resort - Very nice and right next door to Downtown Disney. Had a two bedroom suite with a full kitchen and living room. Loved riding the bus everywhere! Our car never moved once we got on-site


• Jogging through Downtown Disney. Saw some stores hadn't ever seen before. It's pretty peaceful when all the stores are closed


• My daughter blushing every time one of the cast members said, "There's Hannah Montana!"


• My wife getting excited over the Halloween pins
• People oohing and aahing over the pin collection she already has. She needs 3 lanyards!


• My kids enjoying the Haunted Mansion...both times. Wanted to go again but didn't have time


• Shorter lines! With the exception of the Toy Story game at Hollywood Studios, don't think we waited in any line more than 15-20 minutes. Probably shouldn't have told that


• Trading for more Muppet pins. Especially loved the Beaker pin I got


• The Boo to You Parade. Awesome music. Still echoing in me brain

• The Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show at Hollywood Studios. Muy bien!

• Going through the American Movie Institute exhibition at the end of the Backlot Tour. Very cool costumes. Too dark to take a photo of Darth Vader, but the Darth Sith picture was good

• Breakfast with the characters at Chef Mickey's. Side benefit - since the kids saw the characters at breakfast, they didn't ask to stand in the long lines at the park to see them

• My son loving Stitch in Time ride! Can still smell that chili dog Stitch ate, though. Yuck!


• Scoring 493,000+ points in the Buzz Lightyear game. Yes!!!!


• My daughter getting a Bippity Boppity Bootique makeover


• Watching her blush when people called her "Princess"


• Soarin' at Epcot. Would stand in line for 2 hours to ride that one again. However, as The Mrs. pointed out in my Facebook post, will be waiting alone if that happens. Fortunately, only had to wait about 20 minutes this time


• Kids wanting to stay at Innoventions most of the day. Got to stay in the A/C! Woohooo!


• Downside - they have a neat fire prevention exhibit there. My son worried about fire hazards and ended up sleeping with us that night. Thank God for king-sized beds!


• Learning how to ride a Segway

• Going on the Kim Possible mission through France and finding the clues on the first try. Well, most of them, anyway


• The Hoop Dee Doo Review - Awesome food and entertainment

• Kissing Miss Claire - twice!!! (She asked me to. It was part of the show)


• My daughter stomping to my side of the table to ask why I cheated on Momma!
  

Overall, a very nice vacation. Everyone said they had a great time, which is the most important thing. Also have some great memories to file away in the ol' noodle.

My DMV Trip

Had the wonderful opportunity to go to our county courthouse today to renew the tag for my wife's vehicle. Due to the type of tag, had to do it in person rather than over the internet. It was quite the adventure. Some of you may have followed my trevails thru Facebook, but thought would spell them out a little more.

To preface all this, our county is going through a very tough financial crisis right now for reasons too numerous to name here. As a result, they have closed all of the courthouses but the main one and one satellite. However, you can only go to the main one to renew tags. So, you do the math: 1 million citizens + 1 courthouse = one looooonnnnnggggggg line.

You may have heard about the 5 stages people go through when they are grieving. They are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. After today, realized these apply to all sorts of life's adventures. This one was no exception. Here are the stages I went through today:

1. Denial - 8:30 am - Get in line outside the courthouse. "Oh, this line's not so long. Shouldn't be here too....What'd she say? It's probably an 8 hour wait from here?! Can't be!!!!"
2. Anger - 10:30 am - Still waiting to get inside the courthouse. "Bet ol' Thomas Jefferson (a Wise and Great American) ain't bragging about his name being attached to this county right about now!"
3. Denial - Phase Two - 11:00 am - Finally inside the courthouse. "Whew! Won't be long now!"
4. Anger - Phase Two - 11:05 am - "What do you mean it's probably another 3-4 hours from here?!"
5. Bargaining - 11:15 am - Find out the city is still writing parking tickets for people who do not feed the meters. "Will you hold my place in line please while I go move my car?" Heard from many people after this little announcement.
6. Brief Happiness - 11:30 am - Find a broken meter in a 10 hour parking zone! Woohooo!!!!
7. Depression - 12:00 pm - Return to find line has not moved at all.
8. Acceptance - 1:00 pm - "Reckon I really will be here all day..."
9. Denial - Phase Three - 2:15 pm - "Maybe this is really the line to try out for American Idol. Better warm up the ol' vocal chords!"
10. Bargaining - Phase Two - 2:40 pm - "Would you please hold my place in line? I need to go to the bathroom." Another phrase heard from many people throughout the day.
11. Brief Happiness - Phase Two - 3:00 pm - Finally in the DMV room! Woooohooooooo!!!!!
12. Depression - Phase Two - 3:01 pm - There's still 50 people ahead of me....
13. Acceptance - Phase Two - 3:10 pm - Still gonna be here a long time....
14. Anger - Phase Three - 3:15 pm - Three clerks going on break at the same time?! "Hey! Where are you going?! I'm too close to the end for you to be going on break!" Several people around me actually say this out loud.
15. Anger - Phase Four - 3:30 pm - "This has got to be some kind of conspiracy to trick people into being happy about the impending tax hike!"
16. Acceptance - Phase Three - 4:25 pm - 7 hours and 55 minutes later, I'm finally through. Guess that lady was right after all.

Now, being the observant folks that you are, you've probably noticed I actually went through six phases and several of them multiple times. Had too much time to think today so came up with the extra one. Originally named it "Delirium," but decided "Brief Happiness" was better.

Have to say, with all the aggravated people down there, only saw one woman get a little upset. She was worried about getting her kids from school, which is understandable. She ended up having time to go get them and return to her place in line, with lots of time to spare. The county had the perfect people for crowd control, too. They were all very nice and understanding. One of them told us they stay there until 9 or 10 every night waiting for people to get through the line. The clerk I dealt with was very nice, too. Give all of them credit for working hard through all of this.

Hopefully, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. Also hope you never have to experience it yourself.

Later.

Vacation Rerun

In honor of my upcoming vacation, thought I would repost one of my first blogs. Will be interesting to see how the upcoming vacation compares to this one:

Vacations are all about creating memories. Sometimes the memories are good. Sometimes they are bad. Sometimes what seems like a bad memory turns in to a good one as time goes by. The best part about memories is they are what you make of them. You don't even have to remember all the details to enjoy them.

The family went to Orlando, FL last week and it was one of the best trips I have ever taken! I have lots of memories from this trip which will remain with me forever. I would like to share some with you and hope they bring back your pleasant memories.They include (in no particular order):

• The kids' reactions every time they saw a Disney character
• Watching the space shuttle launch at dusk and feeling proud to be an American
• Hearing people around me clap because they were proud, too
• My daughter's excitement the first time she saw Shamu
• My daughter getting more excited seeing a lizard (which she sees just about every day at home) outside the gorilla compound in Animal Kingdom than seeing the gorillas inside the compound
• My son slapping high-fives with everyone around him after he got a game ball at the Braves' spring training game
• My son running the bases and getting autographs after the game
• My wife getting excited collecting Disney pins
• Getting kissed on the cheek by Minnie Mouse
• The whole family getting soaked by 52 degree water at the Shamu show and loving every minute of it (well, I did , anyway)
• Being happy the wife took the cheaper camera that day (it seems to be working now) (UPDATE - it is now kaput. At least that's what she claims. Could have been a ploy just to get a new camera, but will take her word for it.)
• My daughter wishing for and getting twin pearls out of an oyster at Sea World
• Diving (s0rt of) with the sharks at Sea World
• The kids hating Splash Mountain as much as they loved the Haunted Mansion
• My wife beating my score in the Buzz Lightyear ride
• Noticing how the light everywhere we went made my hair look gray in all of our pictures but not my wife or kids (how strange)
• Seeing an older gentleman wearing a t-shirt which said "Growing old is mandatory; Growing up is optional"
• Going to bed every night thinking there's no way tomorrow can be any better
• Being wrong about that every day and loving it!
• Being grateful God gave me the opportunity to enjoy this trip with my family!

So many memories. So little time and space.

Short Attention Span

Have some more random thoughts tonight. Seems like I have an awful lot of them as I don't expound on just one subject most of the time. Just get easily distracted, I guess. Makes me think of Jeremy from The Rats of NIMH. He was easily distracted, usually by shiny objects, though. Read the other day Geminis generally lose interest pretty quickly a lot of times. What a bunch of hocus poc...ooh, flashing lights on TV. Wait, what was I talking about?

Anyway, here we go:

• All this healthcare reform talk is getting old. The only thing either side seems interested in is calling each other names. Truth be told, neither side seems able to tell it like it is. The Right Side of the Aisle calls the other side socialists. The Left Side of the Aisle calls the other side hate-mongers. As I've said before, if you have to resort to name calling, you probably don't have much else to stand on. Supporters also claim they can pay for all of this without increasing the national debt by "taxing the rich." They are already paying for the bailouts, the stimulus package and probably some other things, too. Even the rich only have so much money. If this passes somehow, think their definition of "the rich" will expand to "if you ain't on welfare, you're rich" before it's all said and done. Have a feeling a lot of them will be looking for lobbyist positions if this edition really passes. We shall see...
• Along those lines, see where the White House hired a third party to send out e-mails on this whole mess. Turned out they sent them to a lot of people who didn't ask for it, i.e. - spam mail. Read today our tax money paid for this. What a great way to spend our money...NOT!!!
• Last comment on this whole mess for now. Saw where the White House set up an e-mail address for people to send them anything that "seems fishy" from people against this healthcare stuff. Supposedly so they could correct any misinformation. My head chooses to believe that. Not sure my heart does, though. Had the potential to evolve into Nixon's enemy lists. Glad they finally decided to get rid of that.
• Saw the other day where people are getting fired over their blogs. Most had been trying to do them anonymously. Once their identity was released, they got fired from their jobs. Somehow, that just seems un-American to me. Now, there are several things I'm not sure of in this whole mess: 1. What exactly were they writing about?; 2. Were they writing bad things about their employers?; 3. Were they doing it when they were supposed to be working? If the answer to either of the last two is "yes," might could agree with the firings, emphasis on MIGHT for # 2. My biggest question is why shouldn't they be allowed to write anonymously? Some of the most influential writings in our country (The Federalist Papers) were written by unknown authors. Historians think they know who wrote them, but nobody knows 100% for sure. Anyway, IF they were not bad-mouthing their employers, and IF they were not writing on company time, they shouldn't have been fired from their jobs just because they were blogging anonymously. That's all I have to say about that...
• Read several articles about people openly carrying weapons outside of President Obama's town halls in New Hampshire and Colorado. Most tried to put a spin on it of white folks not liking a black president. What those articles failed to mention was the guy in Colorado was black. Some did post pictures of him, but the photo was cropped to where all you saw was him from behind with a close-up of the AK-47. Goes to show the state of mind of the writers and that their opinion may also be in the article rather than just "reporting the facts." Write all this to caution you to always be wary of the source and what they may be trying to prove. It's one thing if they are writing an op-ed piece. It's another when they claim to just be "reporting the facts."
• Give the Secret Service credit for not making more out of these situations than they did. Said there is no law against the people carrying the weapons openly so they weren't going to ask them to leave. Now, if they would have entered the buildings, that would have been something else. See where Congress is now considering passing a law against carrying weapons in the vicinity of the president. Am one of the biggest Second Amendment supporters you will ever meet, but can't say I necessarily disagree with a law like that. Just hope there are specific guidelines spelled out and things aren't left for interpretation.
• Irritates me that Britain released that Libyan bomber. You want to be compassionate to folks, but this guy was responsible for killing almost 200 innocent people. Think that should outweigh just about everything else. Then the Libyans greeted him as a hero. Wish Reagan was still around to rattle their cages again. Saw one of those turn of the century shows which touched on Reagan's decision to bomb Libya. Most of the show had a pretty liberal slant, but the narrator's comment on this, "For all the controversy that decision caused, you have to admit terrorist activity out of Libya dropped to nothing after the bombs fell."
• Read where the Taliban cut fingers off a couple of people who voted in the recent Afghanistan election. No reason other than because they chose to vote. The Taliban warned everyone there would be violence towards folks that voted. You have to admire the courage of those people who still voted even with this threat hanging out there. Should also make you grateful we don't have to worry about such things when we vote. (Thank you, Veterans!) Hope it also makes you think twice the next time you decide not to vote in an election.
• Anybody else watching Big Brother this year? Have had some interesting people in the house this season. They claim to give everyone a psych evaluation before accepting them as contestants. Based on this year's cast, Charles Manson might could pass that test. Speaking of Charlie, thought of him the other night while those ladies were crying over Jessie's eviction. Their devotion to him was just downright spooky.

Well, thanks for making it to the end. Guess had more to say than I realized. Apologize for not being more witty. Hope to get back to that next time.

Food for Thought

Some more random things:

-- Sad to see Les Paul passed away, but he definitely lived a full life. By inventing things such as the Les Paul Gibson guitar and multi-track recording, his influence will be felt as long as music is recorded. My prayers go out to his family for comfort during this time.

-- Speaking of music, as odd as this sounds, think The Police are underrated, at least when it comes to their lyrics. They've always been regarded as great musicians, but never really hear anyone talk about their lyrics. Just a thought that passed through me noodle while listening to the iPod today.

-- Saw where Andy Kessler also passed away. Never heard of him but he was supposed to be an innovator of skateboard tricks. What intrigues me about this is he died from an allergic reaction to an insect sting. He had to have wiped out many times on his skateboard. Sure some of them probably should have killed him. And, he ends up dying from something most of us wouldn't think twice about. Just shows the fragility of life and how we shouldn't just take things for granted.

-- On a related note, my useless info above said the color blue attracts mosquitoes. It also said mosquitoes have killed more people than all the wars in the world combined. Don't freak out, though. Just some "gee whiz" info.

-- Was driving through north Mississippi today and noticed a lot of signs advocating teen abstinence. Reminded me of all the anti-abortion/pro-life signs I saw while driving through Kansas last year. Anyway, just found it interesting. By the way, now that I'm a parent, I support teen abstinence.

-- Have to give the politicians credit for continuing to have town halls on the health care reform issue. Disappoints me to hear Congressional leadership talk about how people who are against health care reform are "anti-American." Probably didn't think folks who protested Bush's policies were "anti-American." Not sure the protesters are being organized by Republicans. Just think most people realize this particular cure is something our country will not be able to afford. Agree something needs to be done. Just don't think this is it.

-- Just in case you think a free press is not important to freedom, Hugo Chavez, the South American dictator, is shutting down all media who present points of view in opposition to him. Very scary. Once again, thanks to all you veterans (and your family members) for making sure our country is truly the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave!

-- Joyful, been praying for your nerve pain. Hope it's been helping.

Have a great day!

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.