Into the Night

COMMENTS

2006-02-13T01:01:00.000-06:00

Once again, due to the stupid SPAM and just plain stupid comments, I am putting restrictions on comments to my blog. I am sorry for any inconvenience this causes. Don't blame me, blame the stupid spammers.

THE MEME OF FOURS

2006-02-13T00:51:00.000-06:00

The Meme of Fours.

OK Scott, Scott-O-Rama here is mine.

Four Job’s I’ve Had

IBM Machine Operator
Photographer
Electrician
Laborer

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

Champagne for Caesar
2001 A Space Odyssey
2010 The Year We Make Contact
Home Alone

Four Places I’ve Lived

Granite City, IL
Venice, IL
Hamel, IL
Edwardsville, IL

Four TV Shows I Like To Watch

Law & Order
Law & Order SVU
E-Ring
Paula’s Home Cooking

Four Websites I Visit Daily

AOL
Discuss-It
Scott-O-Rama
My Bank

Four Places I’d Rather Be

Winnetka, IL
Branson, MO
Nashville, TN
Orlando, FL:

MY TAXES ARE DONE

2006-02-06T02:05:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. Time for you to rush around trying to find that elusive receipt for your large purchase last July. Time to gather all your donation receipts from Goodwill, that is; providing you kept them. Or even worse, providing you really did donate Aunt Mae's antique bureau to Goodwill. Poor Goodwill, they must recieve credit for a billion donations that they never really get.

Well, where do you stand on getting your 1040 done? Interesting note here, you work a normal 40 hour work week for 52 weeks and you will have worked 2080 hours a year. Does the Form 1040 mean that you will give half of your income to Uncle Sam? Somehow, I think it does. Big Brother isn't dumb, they know how to tell you something without actually saying the words. Isn't life fun?

I must have worked three weeks at getting my taxes down. I seriously suggest you purchase TurboTax. It is the best tax program I have ever used. It allows you to try this and try that in your effort to lower the amount you give Big Brother.....er. make that Uncle Sam. Besides, G.W. and Mr. Halliburton need the money to finance their efforts overseas. Don't forget the opportunity to depreciate your home, your car or anything else that you can legitimately do.

I do not suggest that anyone cheat on their income taxes; but I do suggest that you take every deduction that you can. Don't forget the price of the tax program and the price of the stamps to send the return to Big.. . ah Uncle Sam. I have been audited twice and both times the auditor laughed at my deduction for postage; but he had to accept it. It was a legitimate deduction.

I am cheap and damn well proud of it.

WHAT DO YOU WATCH ON TV?

2006-01-27T01:02:00.000-06:00

As many of you know (that is the two that read this blog), I like to watch The History Channel, The National Geographic Channel, The Military Channel and The Discovery Channel. I just finished watching, TiVoing and cutting a DVD of The National Geographic Channel's presentation of The Final Report. The subject of this episode was the fiasco in Waco, Texas.

I am referring to the Mount Carmel Compound of the Branch Davidians. The TV report puts the main blame for this disaster on the Federal Government. Does that surprise you? It shouldn't. Our government, the FBI, and the ATF knew very little about the religious sect known as the Branch Davidians. The Branch Davidians had been amassing a vast array of weapons to defend themselves against attack of what they believed to be the enemy of their beliefs.

The first thing to understand is that they had a full God-given and U. S. Constitutional right to believe as they did. They were looking at the world as ready for the Apocolypse. The visions described in the Book of Revelations were, in their eyes, ready to occur. If you read the Book of Revelations it does encourage true beleivers to prepare themselves for a siege. In that belief, they purchased many semi-automatic weapons and converted them to ILLEGAL fully automatic status. This was their main activity that attracted the interests of the Feds.

The Federal Government had no idea what these people believed, nor did they care. The FBI lied to Attorney General Janet Reno in obtaining permission to use tear gas in storming the building. They claimed that David Koresh and his followers were beating and abusing children. This was a complete lie. We all know the outcome of this debacle.

Janet Reno later stated that the assault on the compound was a mistake. President Bill Clinton said the same. The man in charge of the FBI units at the compound quietly resigned after the outcry resided. In fact, they were shown on camera crying. They all were very sorry for the outcome of the attack at Waco. Our Federal Government overreacted and, most likely, contributed to the Branch Davidians resistance to surrender.

I was appalled at what I saw on this TV show. Yes, I watched the event play out on TV in the early 90's but never knew the full story behind our government's actions. The FBI acted in haste to storm the compound even while the hostage negotiators were trying to reach a peaceful end to it all. Sort of like, "here, take this olive branch I hand you in peace while I shoot you with my other hand."

What is your "take" on the situation?

P A S S W O R D S

2006-01-18T23:50:00.000-06:00

Do you remember the game show? It sure had some funny moments. You have passwords with your computer access and it isn't a funny time at all if someone were to guess your password. They can cause all sorts of havoc with your online account, even to the point of identy theft. Do you do online banking? Have you ever responded to a phishing expedition? Those are the spams that aggavate me the most.

How about those passwords that you are required to furnish when logging into a newspaper site or something that you are only slightly interested in? Should they even require you to log in with your email address and a password? I think not.

If I am required to furnish some stupid site with a password, I try to use something silly; like the word "password" if possible. I have used "stupid1" and "ID10T", words that express my disgust with the situation. I have even used "oh-shit" when it allows me to use the dash. I believe too many web sites require us to furnish passwords that allow people to peek inside our lives.

Computers are supposed to be here for our benefit, not the benefit of the spammers. Same with the telephone, they are in my home for my benefit, not for some asshole construction company to call and attempt to sell me something I do not want or need. Now, there is another rant for another time.

To think up a new password every month, as is required by some IS Departments is almost an impossible task. You can not reuse a password from the past nor can you duplicate the password of a fellow worker. Want some suggestions I have seen in use? I have seen "TOBOR" as a backdoor password for a complete series of machines. That is robot spelled backwards. Try using the make of your partner's automobile. Never use your mother's maiden name as I have seen some folks do. Think up a childhood nursery rhyme and use the first letter of each line.

One more suggestion, "MICKEY DUCK". That should give someone a bit of a problem. They know there never was a Mickey Duck. Or, from the Mickey Mouse era, how about "Annette", I kinda liked her. "Bobby" completely rubbed me the wrong way. There is always the cousin to Mickey Mouse, "RICKEY RODENT". Aren't you sorry you read this?

I AM STILL HERE

2006-01-16T00:44:00.000-06:00

I was surprised to see how long it has been since I last posted to this blog. My only excuse is that both of us have been sick. You really don't want all the details, so I will just say that Felix got a touch of the flu and had 5 days of the Hershey Squirts. We spent 5 hours on 10 January in the Emergency Room at a Hospital in St. Louis getting rehydration and medication for Felix. I was very patient, I sat there and shivered the whole time. Boy, they keep those Emergency Rooms cold.

Just as I predicted, as soon as he got well, I got sick. If there is one thing a colostomy patient does not want to go through is diarrhea. I had a very bad experience with it in 2002 when I was still doing the chemotherapy and it quickly turned into a major case of dehydration. I spent 3 days in the hospital getting my electrolytes back in order. The skin on the bottoms of my feet was peeling off in 1/8th inch thick pieces. I was in bad shape. The only thing I could drink was Gatorade. Even Gatorade popsicles. Didn't taste that bad.

Both of us are better now; but Felix was on vacation for two weeks and we had many plans that we had to cancel. Many restaurants had to go it alone, without us. You should know that we both like to eat. We cancelled trips to Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois for suppers and our favorite German Restaurant in Hermann, Missouri for lunch. Damn. The only real treat we had was on the day I had my annual cancer CT checkup. After getting out of the Radiology Department we made our way to the "Hill" district of St. Louis for some authentic Italian food.

We went to Amighetti's Italian Deli at the corner of Marconi and Wilson on the Hill. I wasn't even sure they would be open at 9:30 AM; but thank God, they were. As far as I am concerned, there is no better Italian Deli than Amighetti's. They make the best Italian soups in the city of St. Louis. I had a cup of Beef Barley soup and a full foot-long Amighetti's Special sub. Felix had a 6" Special sub and a 6" Taste of Italy sub. We had 2 cans of Coke each. Now, that was some breakfast.

After that, we looked up a camera store and I purchased some additional gear for my Canon 20D digital camera. Unfortunately, Quantaray doesn't make a flash handle for the digital market; but I didn't know that at the time I made the purchase of flash equipment. The next day, they were very agreeable to accepting it back with appropriate adjustment for my credit card. Now, I am going to have to, either modify an analog handle or come up with some other arrangement to hold the flash off camera. Trust me, I will figure out something that works.

OK, that is where I have been for two weeks. I apologize to my readers for my absence; but not only did I not have anything new to talk about, I simply didn't feel like talking at all. Like The Terminator, I am baaack.

TODAY IS JANUARY 2, 2006

2006-01-02T16:13:00.000-06:00

And a very Happy Lobster Newburg to all. Honestly, I am kind of tired of the old "Happy New Year" thing. Really folks, unless the person is giving me millions of dollars, my 2006 will be just like the 2005; I will still pay the mortgage, the credit cards and buy gasoline and groceries. What is so happy about that? Well, what? You tell me.

Christmas is for children and with all the colored Christmas lights, gifts cookies and nice meals; it is a joyous occasion. I love Christmas, I love the colored lights, the cookies, the happy kids, the cookies and the big festive meals. I don't like white lights, Santa Claus and bills. Oh, did I mention that I like cookies? Gingerbread, pumpkin, chocolate chip, sugar cookies; I love cookies of all kinds. Felix baked one batch of chocolate chip cookies and stopped. What a grinch he is.

Right now, Felix is laying in his easy chair in his room groaning about an upset tummy and a case of the squirts. I have no idea what caused his discomfort; I ate the same supper last night that he did. He may have overworked himself, yes that is what I said, overworked himself yesterday. He got some wild idea in his noggin that it was time to shred all old bill statements from 2004 and 2005. He burned up two paper shredders in the process. He started on New Years Eve and burned up the two shredders, On Sunday, January 1, we were at Office Depot to buy two new paper shredders.

Felix, then, cleaned house from top to bottom. I do not know what got in him, possibly a feather or a wild hair; but he worked himself into a bad case of the squirts. Squirts, I am not talking about the soda pop here. He says he won't eat a thing. I even offered to fix him a bowl of his favorite chicken noodle soup; but he refused it. The boy is sick, I tell you, sick The way he is moaning I am ready to call the morgue and book a table for him. From all the activity on Saturday evening, I understand they have standing room only at the morgue. Get it? Standing Room Only. Ah well, get your own cookies.

Felix has the rest of this week off work. He sure picked a nice way for a vacation, being sick and a sore pooper at that. That is one thing I do not have to suffer anymore. The colostomy has eliminated the pooper. Somehow I will bet you didn't really want to know all this. No cookies for you either.

Last night I was talking on the radio to two fellows that grew up across the street from each other 70 years ago. It was kind of nice to hear them bring up names that they both knew; but they did not know each other. We all talked about the early history of the city, the railroad tracks that no longer exist, the time a kid climbed up on the top of a boxcar and stood up to touch the hot 600VDC trolley line, of course it killed him, things we all could remember. What ever happened to trolleys? What ever happened to trains? Yeah, I know there are still a few of them around; but 90% of the tracks that used to exist are gone.

Sort of makes me wonder if the U. S. of A. is putting all it's eggs into one basket. There are too damn many trucks out there on the highways as it is, we sure don't need more. I wonder if everything ships in small quantities nowadays? Go to buy something and you will find out that it is on backorder. What ever happened to the days of a boxcar load of something, a truck load of something? Now the businesses only order what they will sell in one week and take orders for the next two weeks. That cuts down their inventory, thereby cutting their taxable goods on hand. That kind or retail business sucks. No cookies for them, either.

Now that I have gotten rid of the competition, I think I will venture into the kitchen for a can of soda and a couple of cookies. Happy Lobster Newburg to you.

OUT OF TOUCH

2005-12-31T22:53:00.000-06:00

Today is Happy New Year day. It is December 31 and everyone is supposed to be in a festive spirit, or filled with spirits. I am depressed. I am not really in a festive mood at all. Things have not gone bad, my life has not taken a turn for the worse; but I feel unfulfilled. There seems to be something lacking.

I have talked with old and good friends today. Felix and I have bought each other decent presents for the holidays; but I seem to feel that life is ready to pass me by. I have so many dreams of things I want to do, places to see, people to meet, friends to make; but none of this is happening. I feel stymied. I am retired;but not happily so. My health forced me to accept the company retirement. I was not ready for it.

Of course, along with retirement comes a cut in income. I am not hurting for money, at least, not at this point; but I think I would be happier and more content if I were working. I had planned to work until I reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 set by the company. I had all my plans, finances, everything set up to retire at 70. Even my credit cards were timed to that achedule. OK, so am I bitching about the financial crunch. Well, not really. Sure, an extra thousand or two coming in each month would be very nice; but I do not think that is the basis for my present feeling.

So, what is it, the lack of sex, the lack of money; what? I have a life that many people would envy. I have friends, I have Felix to attend to my needs, to be with me when I leave the house for the wild, outside world. I have six little kittens that entertain me all day with their funy antics. We have good food, a nice home, many good friends; but for the first time in my life , I do not have plans for the future. Maybe that is what I am lacking, a plan for the future, a reason to live.

Is this a normal feeling or am I in deep doggy doo?

CHRISTMAS PHOTOS

2005-12-25T22:50:00.000-06:00

Felix has been under the weather for the past three days and our plans have been stalled in order to allow Felix time to recover. Well, Felix hasn't really recovered; but he did give in to my desire to drive around and take pictures of Christmas decorations with my new Canon 20-D camera.

We went to the "Our Lady of the Snows" in Belleville, Illinois and crossed the river to the headquarters of Anheuser Busch to what I consider the special in Christmas decorations. The Lady of Snows display features over one million miniature white lights with a few colored lights thrown in to enhance the display. We have toured the display every year for the last 15 years and it gets better each year. Naturally, it is religion oriented considering it is owned and maintained by the Order of the Oblate Fathers of the Catholic Church. They, also, run a retirement home and apartment building in the complex as well as a full service restaurant.

The headquarters of Anheuser Busch in St. Louis is a marvelous place to visit any season of the year. It is, I believe, the world's largest brewery. They outline certain of their buildings in white lights and have many trees covered with colored lights. The centerpiece of the display is a 40 foot Christmas tree that slowly changes colors.

Now, to finish this post; I must admit that our first attempt at digital photos of these displays did not turn out as expected. I will not post them here. Corrections to the settings on the camera have been made and if I can talk Felix into going back a second time (that will not be a small feat), I will post the product of our efforts as soon as possible.

FUNNY STORY

2005-12-21T23:35:00.000-06:00

Felix came home with an interesting and funny story the other day. Felix had become friends with a lady at his place of employment and she knew of his sexual orientation. It seems this lady was attending a benefits meeting where all the company benefits were being explained, including bereavement benefits. She asked if bereavement benefits were available for employees with same sex partners. The person conducting the meeting was surprised by this question. She replied, "Why do you care, you are married". The answer from the quick thinking lady was, "I have been thinking about a lifestyle change lately".

That brought a round of laughter and a few dropped jaws in the meeting. The answer is; yes, such benefits are given by the company.

FOOLS RUSH IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

2005-12-08T23:26:00.000-06:00

Yes, that title is also the title of a song from my youth. However, it is a valid statement for society. George W. Bush rushed in to Iraq with incorrect information. He caused the death of many people, innocent civilians as well as the intended Iraq Army. His invasion of Iraq was an attack on a soveriegn nation. He had no legitimate reason for this attack. In his misguided mind he may think he was right; but history has and will continue to prove that false.

J.F. Kennedy attempted to invade Cuba based on valid intellegence gathered by satellites. We could see the missiles being set up in Cuba. Bush could see nothing out of the ordinary in Iraq. That nation does have different values from America; but nothing was pictured in satellite images that showed any military agression towards the United States.

Who was behind the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center? It sure wasn't Saddam. Presumably it was Osama bin Laden and his al Quadi followers. Those are the people we should have been after. It has been said and nearly proven that Bush was only after the oil fields. My opinion says that the son was attempting to fight the father's fight. Bush's daddy did not eliminate Saddam for a very good reason; but baby Bush decided to be big man in his father's eyes and do the job that daddy did not finish.

Our actions in Iraq have not been actions that showed the morals of America. Our actions have been of the same level as Saddam. Saddam is guilty of torture of civilians in his own country. Not exactly something that our military would look upon as threatening to America. However, we invaded the country and have been guilty of torturing civilians in Iraq. In my opinion, and I am quite sure, the opinion of many other nations; we are looked upon as wrong.

What usually happens to people when they are wrong. Well, when I was a kid and my mom caught me in a wrong, I got my ass beaten. Will it be an ass beating for George W. Bush, or will it be an ass beating for the United States of America? I fear for the future of our country.

WINTER IS HERE

2005-12-06T22:47:00.000-06:00

I can tell by the temperature that winter has finally arrived. Flutesnoot on Channel 2 says the temperature will be down to 5 degrees tomorrow night. Now the bald guy on Channel 5 says it will only be 9 degrees.

Then I read Scott-O-Rama and Scott complains because it is down to 60 degrees. I mean, really folks, don't those pansys' out there in the southwest know what cold weather is? Sorry Scott, it has been a slow day in St. Louis.

SHOULD A PHARMACIST REFUSE TO FILL A PRESCRIPTION??

2005-12-04T19:56:00.000-06:00

I just read in the St. Louis Post Dispatch that 4 pharmacists at Walgreens Pharmacy's in this immediate area, would not sign an agreement with the company to fill prescriptions for the morning after pill. The State of Illinois has passed a law that makes it illegal for any pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription, yet 4 of Walgreens people refuse to do so. Three have been terminated and the fourth found a new job before the company came down on her.

What do you think about this issue? Should a person allow their personal feelings and/or religion come into play on their job? The Governor of the state says, "NO". Just across the river, in Missouri, the Governor says he will sign a bill that allows pharmacists to refuse to fill any prescription that they have an objection to. Sounds like he is trying to set up a moral judgement that Illinois has less morals than Missouri.

Now, lets take this a step further. A Catholic gay man is dieing from AIDS. The priest refuses to give him the last rights of the church. Is this permissible? I think NOT. The pharmacist is in the same situation. The priest has taken a vow to treat all men equal. The pharmacist should do his job in the same manner.

A doctor writes a prescription. That prescription is treatment for something, maybe a disease, maybe a headache pill, maybe a birth control pill. It makes no difference. Any doctor who writes such a prescription expects it to be filled by a competent pharmacist. He does not expect the pharmacist to play doctor and decide whether to honor what the doctor wrote. What if my doctor wrote a prescription for oxycontin, can the pharmacist substitute Bayer Asperin? Of course not. Any prescription written by a competent doctor should be filled exactly as written by the pharmacist.

Your opinion.

DECORATE THE NEIGHBORHOOD

2005-12-01T00:34:00.000-06:00

Tony the Tiger, who lives across the street has his Christmas decorations up. He finally retired the broken animated deer and spiral Chrstmas tree that would not stay upright. Another neighbor, half way down the block, has white lights draped from his flagpole. I guess Christmas is coming to our subdivision.

Some of those outside decorations can really break your budget. I have always wanted to go all out with decorations in our front yard; but by the time I pay the regular monthly bills, there is nothing left over for decorations. Christmas always makes me feel like a little boy. I want to drive around and admire the decorations on other homes. Anheuser Busch in St. Louis always does a beautiful job of decorating their buildings. They have a huge 40' tree that changes colors from red to white. Well, not the tree; but the lights on it. It is all red, then they dim the red lights and bring up the white lights to full brillance. After a moment, they repeat the cycle..

I like to drive through the downtown shopping district of St. Louis and watch the trains in the corner window of Famous Barr. I guess they will have that display again this year. It was always a major hit with me as a kid. You could put your hand on a specially marked spot on the window and make a particular train run. Of course, there was a man behind the display that actually controlled the train. The Miles Fountain in front of Union Station is always decorated beautifully. These are the things that bring back the spirit of childhood in me.

Tilles Park in the Ladue section of St. Louis is decorated with millions of lights. You drive through the display in your car, then pay the $7.00 fee on your way out. You can, also, take a horse drawn buggy ride through the decorated park. I can just imagine what that costs. Oh, one little thing about this display, no religious scenes are pictured. It is a completely secular display. Felix and I will make the trip through Our Lady of the Snows decorated display. This is a Catholic retreat in Belleville, IL that must have well over 5 million lights in the trees, on the animated figures and arches. It is all done with a religious theme. No Santa Claus here. It reminds people what the real Christmas is all about. Again, you are allowed to make a donation on your way out.

There are other parks around the area that put out hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lights on their park trails. They all charge for your little trip through their Winter Wonderland. I think the "Snow Lady" as I call the display in Belleville; is a very beautiful and calming display. It is done in 99% white lights. Honestly, it is worth the time it takes to get in the mile long backup of traffic and inch your way through the display. Allow a full two hours.

Christmas is a time for children. So be a child again and enjoy the spirit of the Holidays. Allow me to be one of the first to wish you and yours a

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

IS EVERYBODY AS TIRED AS I AM//

2005-11-28T22:14:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is over, the turkey is gone, the pie is gone and so is my energy. I fixed a turkey breast in the oven and Felix agreed with me, it was the best tasting turkey we have ever eaten. It was only the brest portion, no wings, no drumsticks. I don't know it if was the method I used or just the turkey itself; but I could eat another one like that every week.

OK, I admit the dressing didn't turn out like it usually did; but I ate it. Felix ate a little; but didn't really like it. I agree, the seasoning was way off. I don't know why. This year I didn't go overboard like I have in the past. In fact, except for the turkey carcass, most everything was gone by Saturday. On Sunday, I put the carcass in a large pot of broth, added carrots, celery and onions and boiled it for about 90 minutes. Then I added the egg noodles and simmered it for another 60 minutes. We had turkey noodle soup Sunday evening with our White Castles. OK, so we cheated a bit. Both of us were just in the mood for White Castles.

The turkey noodle soup will be around all week. By the weekend we will be sick of turkey and noodle soup as well. I am going to check around and see who is offering a big Christmas buffet so we can pig out somewhere besides at home.

No Christmas decorations this year. With six cats, a tree is out of the question and it turned off cold today so there will be no outside decorations. Yesterday, Sunday, we nearly had tornado season all over again. Some high winds took down power lines in St. Louis and elsewhere. I guess I waited one week too long to put up the outside decorations. Well, that's OK because many of the other houses in the subdivision have put up decorations. I don't like to copy others and the house across the street has already done what I wanted to do, so I will sit in my living room and look at their decorations. Sit in my living room, talk to my cats and stay warm.

If I get antsy, I may bake a ham, make potato salad and cole slaw. That is, if I get antsy; otherwise we will look for the buffet.

I know my postings have been somewhat sparse lately; but there isn't anything special to talk about. Take care, be happy and be sure to tell your partner that you love him/her.

GOBBLE GOBBLE

2005-11-23T22:54:00.000-06:00

Is that the sound of the turkey or the sound of me eating the turkey? At my house it will be the sound of me eating the turkey. Felix and I are having a roast turkey breast, with home made bread/sage dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, mexicorn, turkey gravy and cranberry sauce made with cranberries and oranges. Are you hungry or sick to your stomach?

Felix always says I fix enough food to feed an army and he may well be right. It has always been the practice in my family to have the Thanksgiving dinner table loaded with all sorts of goodies. Besides, I love roast turkey. I even love the left overs. On the weekend we will be having turkey noodle soup. Sick yet?

In the past I always roasted a whole turkey. The only problem is finding enough refrigerator space to put the left overs. A whole turkey has a big carcass; the turkey breast will use a lot less shelf space in the fridge. That will allow me to make more side dishes. Right? ?

Thanksgiving is a time for family get togethers and a time to thank God for all the things He has given us. We should constantly be aware of Him and His blessings. At least we set aside one day a year to give Him thanks.

WAAAAH, MOMMIE, MOMMIE

2005-11-20T22:16:00.000-06:00

Today Felix and I had a late lunch, early supper at a local Mexican Restaurant. I love chcken fajitas and that is what I ordered this afternoon. The place was not packed but they had a very good number of clientele. We were seated next to a table consisting of one man, two women and two little girls.. The women were engaged in conversation that was obviously so important that if the building were to catch on fire, they would continue to sit there and jabber.

The man was left to attempt to keep the two little girls in line. It was a job he was ill prepared for. The two girls ran up and down the aisles, they attacked the game machine, they attacked the free mints, they were not obnoxious, they were the devil incarnate.

The waiter brought the food. One mommie proceded to rearange the plates on the table so people ate what she wanted them to eat. The man continued to try to keep the two girls in line. He managed to bring the girls back to the table so he could sit down and eat what mommie sat out for him. He did get a couple of bites down before the two girls ran off in the opposite direction. He got up and went after them. HONESTLY, THE TWO WOMEN WERE OBLIVIOUS TO HIS ACTIONS AND THE ACTIONS OF THE TWO GIRLS.

Felix knew what was going on in my mind. I ate two fajitas, some of the refried beans, drank my coke and picked at the rest of the chicken. I could not get the hell out of that restaurant fast enough. If I had stayed there another minute longer, I am sure I would have said and done many things that, most likely, would have landed me in jail. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO KEEPING YOUR CHILDREN IN LINE? WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO DISCIPLINE? Why must the rest of the world put up with obnoxious, bratty, stupid children?

This topic has been discussed on Discuss-It. I suggest everyone take the time to see what is being said there. I am not the only man in this world who believes that children should be seen, and not heard.

I LIKE THIS

2005-11-15T21:01:00.000-06:00

IS ECKS APPROPRIATE??

2005-11-15T00:48:00.000-06:00

Ecks. X. OK, I will talk English. Is "X" an appropriate abbreviation for Christ? Many people today are writing Xmas rather than spell out the full word Christmas. Other people become highly offended at this action. Christians say that those who use Xmas are leaving Christ out of Christmas. What do you think?

WHY CAN'T PEOPLE LET OTHERS ALONE?? P O S S S L Q

2005-11-09T23:14:00.001-06:00

Why must some people tell other people what they must do, how they must live? I am not talking about the law enforcement folks, I am talking about your neighbors, my neighbors.

When you buy a new home in a nice subdivision, you find you have, also, purchased a little document called C. C. & Rs. That stands for "covenants, conditions and restrictions". That little document tells you what color you can paint your house or the trim around the windows. It tells you that you must cut your grass every week. It tells you that you may not park your motor home in your driveway or on the street. In fact, you must unload it and drive it off to a rented parking space somewhere else. The CC&Rs tell you that you are not allowed to erect a TV antenna or put up a swing set for your children in your back yard. You may not erect a fence that extends forward of your home into the front yard.

Get the idea? Why must CC&Rs even exist. Are your neighbors afraid you will paint your home pink with purple polka dots? How about yellow with blue dots? Who would lower their property values by doing such a thing?

OK, now why must some people tell you how to live. I can remember when it was considered wrong for a white person to marry a black mate or an oriental mate. Those things are now accepted as, well, jsut accepted. Some folks still consider it wrong; but they know they can't do anything about it so they allow it even though they do not like it. Two people of the same sex are questionable today.

Two women who live together are questionable unless it a mother-daughter situation. Two men who live together are queer. Just ask your neighbors. For that matter, ask yourself. What do you think about two people of the same sex living together. We used to call it P O S S S L Q; pronounced posselque. P O S S S L Q is simply People Of Same Sex Sharing Living Quarters. It should not imply sexual activities. What is wrong with a mother-daughter or father-son living together? Some people just have a warped mind, they always look at the wrong side of things.

Let's take that a step further. What is wrong with two gay men or women living together? SEX, you say? Why are you sticking your nose into their bedroom? Would you like it if they stuck their noses into your bedroom? Of course not. But you think you have the right to stick your nose into their bedrooms. You think you have the right to tell other people they are living in sin? I have a question for you. Who the hell cares what you think?

If more people would keep their noses where they belong, that is on the front of their faces and out of other people's business; our world would be a much better place to live. Diversity would really be the word of the day. However, it isn't.

URBAN SPRAWL, IS IT NEEDED??

2005-11-09T12:26:00.000-06:00

Going to try something different today. I am going to put you in the middle of a conversation that I and others have been having on AOL. We have been talking about urban sprawl and the damage it does to our environment. One of the folks in this discussion said the following

(edited).
You're right about not being in the right direction. The reason they do this here is strictly for money. I can't begin to tell you the wooded areas that are no longer around since the 13 years we've been here. I wonder if in 75 years trees will be extinct other than the decorative ones planted on so called developments. It would have been better to divide the land in several big lots and have custom built houses on them and only clear enough trees to put the building. They build so many townhouses here it makes my head spin. There will be some in this area for over 700 thousand dollars. Now if I'm going to pay that much money for a place to live I sure as hell wouldn't want someone on the other side of the wall (thin wall no less) and no yard outside; plus a bunch of pussy association rules in order to keep everything looking shiny and plastic. I don't know where the deer went that were in these woods. We also had owls that I loved to hear at night and early morning. A large woodpecker and box turtles that are close to being extinct in the state are now without homes.

(my comment)
There is no doubt that our environment and ecosystems are being damaged beyond repair. All in the name of money. It makes me think back to the phrase, "the love of money is the root of all evil". Yes, I do believe that is correct. They love money so much, they are oblivious to the damage being done in their quest for money.

All they see is the shelter being made for many people. But, what about the poor people? Do they build shelters for them? Do they build shelters for the middle income people, the working folks? NO to both. Who was it in the 60s that sang a song with the line, "they tore down a tree to put up a parking lot"? She was right, and no one cares. No one can gather enough support to stand up to those desecrating our Earth.

(edited)
I figure if I move far out to the country now I will be dead before the sprawl reaches there.

(my comment)
If you ever find this place, let me know; but don't let society know or they will be hot on your heels with bulldozers.

I can remember when there were green spaces between cities and villages. Not today, there is no dividing line between the municipalities; you go from one urban sprawl to the next urban sprawl. I can remember when the coal mining town I live in had 6 railroad tracks for hoppers to sit while being loaded with coal). Today, homes and stores occupy that space. We were served by 5 railroads, today, all the tracks are gone; turned into bike trails but being preserved in case they are needed for light rail transportation. HUH. We had light rail transportation when I was a kid, where did it go? Why did they get rid of it?

Everyone wants to move to the countryside. But they want such restrictions on development that it looks like another big brother effort. All homes look alike, 15% brick, 85% vinyl siding, double car garages, no on-street parking, very small yards for kids to play in. They leave the cities for the countrysides. Who is left in the cities? The poor, the homeless who can now sleep in the boarded up and run down shacks. All this breeds crime and those in their nice country homes say that is why they fled to the country. NO, that is not the reason, it is the result of their fleeing to the country.

Now, lets take a look 40 yers ahead. It will all reverse and the population will be wanting to move into high rise buildings and condos in the middle of the big cities. They will leave their nice homes in the country in droves only to create urban blight again. Has anyone thought of why this happens? The people are restless, they are not happy with everything they have. There is an underlying reason for this unhappiness and it is mostly uniform from person to person. Has anyone bothered to think of this and attempt to determine the reason?

BLOG, BLOG, WHY A BLOG??

2005-11-06T22:30:00.000-06:00

Is there a purpose to this blogging thing? Why do you have a blog?

Some people have a blog in order to express their thoughts and feelings that they can not say to others. Some people have a blog in an attempt to impress others. Some people use their blog as a way to make new friends. Some people have their blog as a way to discuss things.

I have been searching the Tribe.net and looking for those who share interests with me. I found a few discussions that I could get into. Right now I am looking for more information on the Canon 20-D digital camera. I bought one last Sunday and I athink it is a very fine piece of technology. My reason for buying it is that I already own a Canon EOS 35 mm camera with two accessory Canon EF series telephoto lenses, so why start a new system when I can use the same lens' on both cameras.

Hey, believe it or not, I did find some new information on Tribe's digital camera section. There are other users of the 20-D with questions like mine. I don't feel like a complete nerd if I ask what looks like a stupid question. Others have the same questions. SO, Blogs do serve a purpose. Check it out for yourself. I am sure you will find an area of Tribe.net that has folks who think exactly like you do, folks who have questions about things, exactly like you do.

Now, If I can only find something to fill this space tonight. Oh, I think I just did.

FOLLOWUP TO YESTERDAY

2005-11-03T22:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I asked a question about why does the Religious Right always dance around and refuse to give you a direct answer to a direct question. I refer you to http://Discuss-it.net. Read the post about "Why Christians Should be Against the Death Penalty".You will understand my question in more depth. There is a person there that is arguing for the death penalty and is quoting the bible out of context in support of his view.

I used to work with a gentleman of the same denomination and religion as myself who had very different views than I did. I was an hourly employee and he was salried. He was my foreman on this one occasion where we went nose to nose in a very heated argument over the quality of my work performance. We argued, quite loudly, for nearly 15 minutes. We were so loud that we managed to draw attention from other workers as well as his boss. No one would dare get between us or make any attempt to stop us. I guess his boss figured I was going to be sent to HR. Funny thing, 16 years later, I retired with the requisite gold watch and 21 years of service.

I told him that he had the somewhat dubious reputation of being the one foreman responsible for sending more people to HR than all the other foreman combined. He felt honored. Why, I never understood. At 5 minutes to the start of production, I told him that the machine would now start 15 minutes late because he had delayed me in finishing my job. He looked at his watch, turned and walked away. No one said a word to me, even the Area Superintendent kept quiet. He did, however, have two other electricians come down to help me. We started only two minutes late.

A few years later I was sitting in this foreman's office when he turned to me and said something to the effect of, "I do not understand why a man who is on death row and accepts Jesus Christ as his Savior can go to Heaven and receive the same benefits as I do and I have been in church all my life, followed His commandments and " on and on. I simply said, "That is the love of God, He is no respector of men, He loves us all. Now, my comments were a paraphrase of the bible but he understood what I meant.

I say all this to make this point. In those days, over 15 years ago, this foreman would have danced around the issue to avoid giving a direct answer. There is a person on http://Discuss-it.net. who is doing the same thing. Many other posters have stated their views and reasons for their views; but this person simply refuses to accept anyone's views that are different from his. I gave up in explaining my views and backing them up with scripture; but he continued to express his one-sided thinking. There is no arguing with some people. They are always right, just ask them.

Back to the foreman; it took 10 years for this guy to rethink his attitude. When I had the opportunity to work for him again, I found a completely changed man. I actually enjoyed working for and with him. It would up that I would have busted my balls to do whatever he wanted done. I never found out what caused a change in his thinking; but one day, I had the opportunity to tell him that I thought he had become a changed man. He did not understand what I was talking about. To this day, even though I am retired, I miss the guy.

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER??

2005-11-02T22:18:00.000-06:00

I have read through my blogs and notice that I ask a lot of questions. Maybe I am just dumb; or could it be that I want to know a lot of information.

I want to know why;

The religious right will dance around and attempt to evade the question. Which question? Pick one. Why do they hate gays? Why will they not quote the book, chapter and verse of the bible that says such and such?
Why does the government deny that Area 51 exists? You knew I would throw this in, didn't you?
Where does the bible say that we must have a death penalty? Check out "Discuss It".
Where does the bible say that gays are to be condemned? If you can't give me the name of the book, the chapter and the verse, don't answer this, you are wasting my time.
Why do republicans always act arrogant?
Why do republicans dance around the issue and not actually answer the Democrat's questions? (Notice, I used a lower case R). That shows that I am a Democrat.

I keep asking questions; but no one has the answers. I wonder why?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN U F Os??

2005-10-31T21:19:00.000-06:00

I guess this will suffice for a post this evening. After having to block anonymous comments, I admit my anger and nerves are a bit eleveated. The reason for this blog is for me to vent my feelings and to ask others for their comments on those feelings. So far, it has had very limited effect.

I know some of the things I blog about are most likely thought of as weird. Well, don't throw stones because your walls are of glass.

I am watching a History Channel program about UFOs in Russia. The History Channel is probably my most watched channel out of the whole spectrum of TV starting at Channel 2 and ending with Channel 999. NO, not all channels are active; but I think we have over 200 channels to pick from. The History Channel gives me things to think about; I learn some new things, and for an old retired guy that can't be all bad.

Do you believe there are other lives in our solar system that could be "checking us out"? Well, why not? What ever gives us the belief that we are the only intelligent beings in existance? I do not know if there are real UFOs and real space aliens in existance; but I do not doubt it. Could Area 51 and the Russian counterpart, Kaputsin Yar, have UFOs and be doing "referse engineering" on them? Sure. Hell, anything is possible.

How well did you know your Great Grandmother or even your Grandmother? Did she ever fantisize about men walking on the moon? How about jet aircraft? I will bet you that neither one of those ladies would have ever speculated on the concept of flying at seven times the speed of sound. Much less the idea of taking an airliner of 500 people from coast to coast at jet speeds. Now, think about nuclear power, did they ever think it would happen? Probably science fiction to them, wouldn't you say?

Just as they thought of those present day events as science fiction in their day; it is quite possible that alien spacecraft could very well exist; but our minds just can't comprehend it. There are many things that we can not comprehend; but they are quite logical if we step back and take another close look.

I find the whole thing about secret aircraft, space aircraft, stealth aircraft, very interesting. What are we, the people of Earth, developing these things for? To fight who?