What I learned over my Christmas vacation - Pt 1

"Diggers dig dirt!"
- Explained by MetsFanJr (Hey, this is 2-year-old philosophy at it's finest!)

"You have activities that don't require batteries?"
- The difference between me and Cainam as explained by Slick...right before she realized what she had just said.

My friends live too far away and most of them don't play WoW!

The End...or is it?!?

Be Still And Know That I Am GOD

So, Posey confused the crap out of me this week when she sent a hurried email asking "us" to come up with memories about Karen. I thought she was asking us to speak about Karen at the funeral. Heck, Posey's husband & NothingKnew also thought she was asking us to speak. This was actually not the case. Posey was asking for memories to help her prepare. She spoke today and it was wonderful. But I digress...

The exercise of planning to speak (but then not actually speaking) gave me the opportunity to reflect on Karen, my college years and my many wonderful friends. It was not easy. I didn't want to remember Karen as the frail woman in the hospital or the immaculately groomed corpse in the casket. I wanted to remember Karen's soul. After pealing back the layers of drunken debauchery, I came to her faith and her compassion. I thought about her amazing innocence. For some reason, I found myself drawn to the Gospel of Luke. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter. - Luke 18:17 And that's where I rediscovered the Karen I remembered. I remembered her silliness, her friendship and her zest for life. As the pastor pointed out today, Karen saw the beauty in everything.

Speaking of the pastor's sermon: If you're ever in Oxford, PA and need a place to worship, give Oxford Presbyterian a try. He didn't try to serve up a batch of that "it was her time" or "God called her home" crap. The message was simple: God loves Karen. We want to know why this happened, but somethings are simply beyond our human comprehension. Karen has her answers now because she is a peace with God. As he spoke, I thought about the words, Be still, and know that I am God! - Psalm 46:10

To be still and to know God is not an easy thing. Stillness requires trust. Stillness requires us to be at ease with our surroundings and to be comfortable in our own shoes. Karen never struck me as being "still." Hyper, yes. Insane, you bet ya. Still? Not so much. And yet, listening to the stories about Karen and remembering my own, there was stillness in her faith & in her love. And now, a child of God is still and I believe that she truly knows God.

But all those verses speak to me about Karen. What about me? What about us? The first verse in that wonderful Psalm also helps me this evening. I hope it helps you.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1

In God's Country

Yes, yes, I know I said I was taking a holiday break, but I'm cranked up and need to express myself. As per usual, this trip has been "eventful." -- I love the word eventful, it's so full of potential & suspense. Eventful enables me to conjure up tails of brilliance, sorrow, silliness and in some cases all of the above. -- To say I have a lot of events to cover would be an understatement. I will not try and share everything for fear that I will not give proper weight to one tale or the next.

He's so smart I feel like my name should be Lennie Small

OK, Slick's family is so insane-smart that they turn any cliche' about farm-folk on it's head. Slick herself has a Master's degree from Yale and sometimes I wonder if she's the "slow" one.

Her cousin "BMW" does next-gen server software development for a large cable/internet provider. For years, he and I used to talk shop. Back when he was in high-school & I was actually doing on-site IT support, we had a relatively level playing field and could hold conversations. On Saturday night, I found my eyes glazing over as he's talking about redundant storage clusters using terms I've never even heard of before. Did I mention he's 24?

The Fall

"They" say that Potter County is "God's Country." Seriously, it's on the signs. I can't say this is true, but I can tell you that it's doggy paradise. My dog was beside himself with glee as he ran wild-eyed across those snow-covered fields. Unfortunately...

On Sunday morning while mulling the news about Karen, the dogs and I went for a hike up the hill. Unfortunately, on Saturday the we had a warm-spell and a bunch of rain. This was followed by a freeze-over. The snow covered fields were crusted over with ice. Coming down the hill, I found myself on section of frozen run-off. Even the dogs were sliding. I slipped, I fell, I was fine. I then took 3 steps and hit the ice before I even knew I had fallen again. The impact was bone-jarring. The ice was so thick that I didn't even leave a mark. I've now learned that a person with Fibromyaliga should never play impact sports. In addition to the slightly sprained wrist, my body went into complete pain-mode and has been that way all week. Needless to say, the rest of the dog's "walks" this week have been done from the driveway.

Christmas Eve

Christmas eve was amazing. There's so many things to choose from, but I've got to go with this one. You know those consumer electronic commercials involving separated family & video enabled computers? Well, AirForceFamily (That's Slick's cousin, pilot husband & kid) are expecting any day. They simply couldn't make the trip up. A video feed was setup via MacBooks & they participated in the gift exchange. Seriously, someone from Apple needs to get "us" to do a TV testimonial for them.

Flat Tires & Dumb Luck

Because of the funeral tomorrow, Slick and I drove to her parents' place a day early. We're here now. It's always odd living at someone's house when they are 5 hours away. But then, that's what family is all about. Anyway, we had to run out to get some supplies and discovered that a tire was flat on the Escape. Now, we could all look at this as rotten luck, but I look at this as serendipity. We made it 5 hours to their place before the tire went. And the Queen's Altima is in the garage. Since she doesn't need it, I can wait and call AAA tomorrow when we get back from the funeral.

Lying to Tech Support

So, the errand is done, I'm ignoring the flat and Slick is graciously doing a few loads of laundry. What am I doing? Setting up the Queen's new laptop & wireless router. One problem, their ISP has some wacky setup to make the modem & router talk, but they don't have it listed on their website. So, I called their 800-number. After 2-million prompts I get live tech-dude.

Poor junior IT-dude stuck on the swing shift: "What's the phone number of the customer?"

I rattle off the Queen & flyDad's* phone number.

IT-dude: "What's your name?"

I tell him flyDad's name.

IT-dude: "And what's the trouble?"

"Yes, I just got a wireless router and new laptop & I'm having trouble configuring it with your modem. I got a Linksys router as your company recommended. I'm really aching to get it setup so I can sit in my recliner and surf the web while watching sports."

"No problem *flyDad*. I can help you."

Turns out that they change the standard IP of the Linksys router. Why? No idea. Why couldn't they put this on their website? No clue what-so-ever. And yes, all their techs are trained to service Linksys. I was going to ask him if he really didn't have enough brain-power to service a Netgear, but he was being helpful and I didn't want to break character. ;-)

More mindless babble...

Well, that's about that. There were some other funny things like 6 people trying to figure out what PetDoc (the expecting member of AirForceFamily) might have used for Granny's MacBook password so it could be updated only to discover that there was no password. And yes we called PetDoc. If you only knew the number of advanced degrees in that room, you would have found the situation really funny.

flyDad* - I've been working on a nickname for my father-in-law for a while. Since my dad is iDad & Slick's dad is a rabid fly-fisher, we've got flyDad.

Sad News

I wasn't planning on posting over the holidays, but I wanted to write this now.

I'm writing from Granny's MacBook which is able to get WiFi access to Slick's Aunt's access point if you sit in the corner of the house and don't move. The farm is wonderfully covered in snow. The 11 hour drive was completely uneventful. The dog is loving it. We even get cell phone reception this year. The modern world creeps ever closer to the woods. It's a nearly perfect holiday...nearly...

Karen died last night. I go the call a few minutes ago. She did make it to Hospice but she didn't make it to Christmas. My heart cries out to her family. I don't really have anything to wear to a funeral, but I'm going to try and go. Just have to wait and find out when.

In the midst of all this pain, I'm also rejoiced because my good friends in Charlotte finally gave birth to their baby last week. Nate cost thousands of dollars and years of hardship to concieve, but now he's with us. I went to the hospital to visit with them and even got to hold him. This is one of those babies for whom the line "Isn't he beautiful?" totally applies.

My Grandmother, who died over the summer, would have been 101 today. So, I'm surrounded by news and memories of birth and death. It reminds to treat each moment as precious.

Everyone have a merry and safe Christmas.

Holiday Break

Sorry for the silence this week. I'm actually going to take a break for the holidays. I'll be traveling a lot and won't have time to sit down to post. So, have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you back here with lots to talk about in 2008.

Cheaters

In the wake of yesterday's MLB* report, the Hall of Fame discussion has begun. Do men like Clemens, Bonds & McGwire deserve to go? What does a Hall induction represent?

Unlike Olympic Medalists or Tour de France winners, the prize for winning in Baseball can not be returned or given to the runner up. How do we determine what games the Yankees should or should not forfeit? Keith Olbermann pointed out that the game would take care of itself. That records can exist and the record-holder not be recognized as one of the greatest to play the game.

I am a firm believer in the idea of justice. Justice in this case must call into account the general culpability of everyone involved, but move forward. Baseball must find a way to make restitutions to their fans and the players union must get their heads out of their asses and restore the integrity of the game. I say, leave the records but don't let them off the hook.

Mitchel is right, that active players implicated in this report shouldn't be penalized by baseball for past transgressions. BUT, the Hall of Fame voters should not give these men a free pass either. In order to be allowed into the Hall, they need to show contrition or proof of innocence. Yes, for the Hall, it should be guilty before proven innocent.

Pete Rose bet on baseball. These men cheated in the actual games. And we aren't talking about stealing a sign or having a little sandpaper in a glove, we're talking about the systematic use of drugs to improve daily performance.

Sorry, it just continues to make me sick that we've come to this. (I'm also pissed off at Floyd Landis and the entire cycling community, but that's another rant.)

And that my friends, is my final word on the whole ugly affair.

MLB*

If the era of steroids and performance enhancing drugs in baseball was a movie, today would have been the closing scene. George Mitchell is no Harrison Ford staring down the President before appearing before congress at the end of Clear & Present Danger, but his speech would be the Hollywood version of the end of this story. Alas for baseball fans, the story goes on.

I mulled this story over as I read and watched footage from many and various talking heads discuss punishment and asterisks. Within minutes of the report, there were already web-polls about the future of baseball and whether the Rocket would get into the Hall of Fame. The media loves a train-wreck, doesn't it?

As fan reactions seesaw from apathy to distrust, I notice the lack of self-reflection. Who is to blame when an iconic part of society falls apart? Society is. No, you and I did not hand the players the needles, but we certainly demanded it. The wrong that is the asterisk era of baseball is too similar to the wrong that is the mortgage crisis and the illegal immigration debate. We demand and do not ask how it is provided as long as it's cheap, available or (in the case of baseball) entertaining. When the dirt piles so high that we can not ignore it any longer, we ask with feigned innocence "How did this get here?" and then seek someone to blame. It's those damn immigrants. It's the mortgage brokers. It's the oil companies. It's Barry Bonds. We dare not ask, "Is it me?"

And so, for me MLB* becomes a new symbol of our fall from grace. It is proof that we can even take the joy of baseball and the ingenuity of science and pervert it. Sin finds a way.

Oddly enough, the sinners will probably not be cast out of the garden. Perhaps some will not see paradise (Cooperstown), but it's nearly impossible to punish any of these men without turning blame back to baseball itself.

And what of my own relationship with Baseball? Will these events mark the end of my love of the game? Will Baseball be shelved along with Hockey? No. Baseball is too much a part of my makeup to walk away from now. To abandon it would be to lay all the blame on baseball and ignore my own culpability as a fan. And frankly, the "news" of this story ended years ago. We've all known that there's CHEATING (there I've said it) in baseball for years. Now, the skeletons are out in the open. Hopefully, the healing can begin.

Still, the game for me will never be the same. And, baseball must change. The people in the business of baseball must fix the sport or many of us may say enough is enough.

Say it ain't so Roger!

You didn't listen and now look, even more 80's redux

K.I.T.T. is returning. He's going to be a Shelby GT5000KR Mustang. I've been warning my small, but faithful readership that something must be done, but did anyone listen? Now look, we've got even more 80's TV returning. What's next?

The Return of Knight Rider

Something's got to be done! If a presidential candidate starts running on a "fight off the 80's" platform, I'll campaign for him...or her!

Meditation and Fibromyalgia

It's been a while since I did a full-fledged post about my fibro. I've made random comments about it, like in my last post when I mentioned being in a lot of pain this week. Overall, I'm doing well. My pain management, diet & sleep schedule have generally been working well enough to allow me to function in my new limited "house husband" role. I have to pace myself through the day and through the week, but as the months go by I am doing more and more. There are some exceptions. After long trips (like Thanksgiving) I'm forced to take several days to recover. My body will build up tension from days of driving and I don't release it naturally. I also still have stretches of pain flair-ups. Usually, these are triggered by seemingly innocuous physical exertion. In this most recent case, it was raking leaves.

I did fall/winter yard clean-up on Friday. I got help from my neighbor (the landscaper.) He was arriving home from a day of working and saw me. He knows about my condition and decided to come over to help. This was both good and bad. It was good because it was done in a 1/4 of the time. It was bad because I didn't pace myself like I should have. By the time we were done, my arms were slightly numb, but my neck seemed OK so I was hopeful. By Saturday night it was all over. My neck lost most motion, my right shoulder was numb and painful enough that I couldn't carry laundry and the numbness was spreading throughout my body. This hasn't happened for months, but it's par for the course. What to do now? Like a normal person over-doing-it at the gym, sleep aids, pain killers, hot-pads all help to a point. Unlike a normal person who simply over-did-it, my body can take days or weeks to get back to normal. It's as if I have to slowly release the pent-up energy.

This is where stress management techniques help. By mentally relaxing, I encourage my body to physically relax. Since, again, fibromyalgics do not seem to release physical tension normally, anything that lowers the heart rate, calms/distracts the mind and generally loosens me up helps a lot. Walking while listening to folk music helps. Reading (when I can sit comfortably) helps. One trick I've experimented with is guided meditation.

There are tons of free guided meditation resources on the web. Like anything on the web, there's good and bad. The other real problem for me is the culture of the meditation and yoga crowd. It took me a while, but I finally found two series of podcasts that work for me.

The first is The Meditation Podcast. They use a combination of guided imagery and relaxing nature sounds. They also try really hard to be "non-denominational" and keep from getting all new-age on me. My only real stink is with the session titled "Falling Asleep." It does a good job of relaxing me step by step, but then it switches gears in such a way that I start to wake up mid-way through the thing. What's the point of trying to put me to sleep if you're going to wake me up? So instead I use their 20 minute "Calming the Body" piece when I need to relax during the day and use this next podcast for sleep.

The second podcast is from Meditation Oasis. The guide does get a bit new-aged on me. So, I use just one of the sessions called "Deep Relaxation." It's just a quick 7 minute breathing exercise. I listen anytime I need it, but also as part of my pre-bed routine. I listen to a short audio podcast from NPR or a short story, followed by some Wailin' Jennys and then the relaxation thing.

Admittedly, my problem is that I let myself slip when I'm feeling well and only reach for meditation when I'm not. The things I've read about my condition suggests that relaxation techniques aren't just ways to relieve symptoms, but also make for good preventative care. Just like my new dietary changes and the daily exercise, I should try and do guided meditation daily.

Well, that's my story for today. If you live a stressful life or if you have a chronic physical condition, consider adding some type of meditation to your life. There are options out there that don't require you to buy into or listen to new-age mumbo-jumbo. You just have to look.

Winter Survival in the South

Slick and I are Northerners. We love snow. No, we don't love shoveling it or trying to drive in it, but we love it none-the-less. So, how do we survive living in a place where it might snow 2-times a year and melt before noon? Well, we make certain to enjoy the other benefits. Today, for example, with my fibro-induced neck pain in full force, I'm enjoying the deck in my shorts.


WiFi for blogging & surfing, iPod full of relaxing music and a nice cup of joe. I think I can live without snow. :-)

Yes, I got him to post!

I have a confession to make. The reason for my rant today "because 'they' aren't 'our enemies" was a bit over-stated. I don't have the readership to create a critical mass of reactions. Rather, I was drawing from both the blog and from my real-life experiences. So, why post such a rant?

Firstly, I've been wanting to rant about this point for some time. It's become a regular road-trip discussion for Slick and me. There really is a lot of "Us vs Them" occurring in our country. My friends and family really do react to even the slightest hint for support of the other side's ideas and policies. The unfortunate truth is that there's a lot of good reasons for their reactions.

The second reason for my post was to goad NothingKnew (NK) into a response on his blog. Apparently, it worked, as evident by his post Us Bleeding Heart Liberals. Since the two of us really sit on the same side of the fence, we certainly can't debate politics. But I really wanted to see if I could get him to launch into something insightful. He doesn't post enough (he's really busy, so it's understandable) but he's really got the ability to become a first-rate over-the-top commentator. So, while I was honest, I was also pushing buttons.

NK makes several good points in response to my worst-case scenarios but missed the reason for them. It's our fear of these worst-case scenarios that are central to our inability to work together. Gun advocates are so afraid that we will take their guns from them that they refuse to give any ground even in the face of real statistics. They only see their worst-case fears. The same is true for abortion rights advocates. We (and I include myself in this camp) refuse to give any ground because we are afraid that the old draconian reality of back-alley abortions will return, the age of the giant orphanage filled with unwanted children will return and that women will not have any say in the treatment of their own bodies.

Are these fears reasonable? Well, my "common sense" (note what I said about common sense in the last post) tells me that these things can't possibly come to pass. But then, I would have never dreamed that we would get ourselves into a Vietnam-situation less than 40 years after the first time.

He is also right about needing a thick skin to blog. Someday, for better or for worst, my readership and traffic may increase enough to get real responses. If you've ever gone to a popular political blog you'd know what I'm talking about. Actually, if you read Fake Steve Job's blog, you would know that he's had some problems recently from an obnoxious comment about gun owners. So, a thick skin indeed.

So, thank you NK for responding. Your friends and loyal readers want to read more!

Because "They" Aren't "Our" Enemy

I'm a bleeding-heart, liberal Democrat. Everyone that knows me, knows this. Yet, I work really hard to not deal in absolutes. I believe in looking at all sides of a story. I know from experience that my way is not always the best way. Lately, whenever I say or write anything that doesn't outright flame a right-leaning idea, my liberal friends come down on me. It's like a Pavlovian response. Even neutral statements are taken as "pro" statements.

It's easy to rationalize this reactionary behavior because the current occupant and his supporters are so full of Zeal and so unquestionably wrong, that even folks in the middle go running to the left to curse and spit at anything he or the religious right have to say.

At some point, we've got to stop reacting like victims. We've also got to stop looking across the isle at our fellow Americans and seeing enemies.

This is where my friends will tell me that we can't possibly let our guard down. They see it as a sign of weakness and pounce like a pack of wolves. Before we know it, we'll have Oliver Twist style workhouses, back-alley abortions, scarlet-lettered homosexual communities, grannies packin' heat & Latino ID cards.

This absurd vision is only matched by the vision of America that the far right has of a left-controlled America. We'll just call it 1960's-style Soviet Russia for the sake of brevity.

Don't get me wrong. Zeal must be matched with equal energy and effort. I believe that men like Mike Huckabee must not be president. I believe that Intellegent Design is the work of the devil! Seriously, I really fervently believe that Creationism as science (in all it's forms) is proof that the devil still weaves his sweet-poison into the minds of my fellow Christians. He tried the Crusades & the Inquisition; now his trying something more subversive...but I digress.

So, for the record all the following ideas are always good ones:

Fiscal conservatism is good for our country. The ideas of low-taxes, streamlined government and essential services need to be encouraged. The people spreading this concept are bold-faced liars, war-mongers and hypocrites, but that doesn't make the concept wrong.

Individual Liberty is essential foundation to our constitution. As are the rights to bear arms, the right to free speech and the right to privacy. Both sides of the fence constantly screw this up. The fact that a confirmed racist is leading this charge doesn't make this concept wrong. That's not to say that these rights should not have appropriate boundaries. Automatic weapons & the proliferation of concealed weapons is not a good thing. Hate speech is not a good thing. Getting too much privacy when you're both proliferating your guns and spewing hate...clearly not a good thing!

Standardized tests would in-fact be good for this country if they were designed and implemented by actual educators!

Wait, that was the liberal in me talking again. Well, since the liberal is out, let's talk...

Taxes, Social Services, Libraries & Schools are ALL good for our country. Seriously, this Republic for which I stand needs these services in order to continue to be the country for which I stand.

The separation of Church and State protect both the Church and the State. This should neither be treated as an excuse to kill Christmas NOR as an excuse to implement school prayer. This is also proof that "common sense" is a bold-faced lie. There's no such beast. There are no common sense solutions to the question of Church & State. The best way I know that this separation is working is that it's constantly being debated. This also covers the test of free speech.

I could go on like this for a while. My point, however, is this. Yes, point out when I don't know all the facts. BUT NO, stop looking at every idea that doesn't come from the approved list of liberals are being bad. Good lord, the Current Occupant is right about the need for a real guest worker program. *Gasp* I'm going straight to liberal hell for that one.

Closing Shot: As proof to my unwavering allegiance to the "click here to vote ALL Democrat" side, read this great blog post from Daily Kos called With God On Our Side. (Actually, add Daily Kos to your RSS feed.) My buddy NothingKnew linked it earlier today. Since this rant was partially brought on by him, I thought I would simply point out that he's generally right and that the blogs he reads are excellent.

Anywhere from 2 to 10 days

Well, today we took the first step in doing away with our traditional landline phone.

Why did we finally do it? Well, after months of not wanting to deal with the headache of contacting all our utilities, credit cards, church, etc...we learned that our phone number qualifies under the new phone number portability law. So, we keep the number! (Thanks Cainam for the idea!)

Oddly, it will take anywhere from 2 to 10 days to complete. The guy at the store was rather matter-of-fact about it. One day next week our landline will stop working and the cell phone will receive the calls. When? Well, 2 to 10 days. Duh!

Since the phone is my old cell (which was 6 months old due to a free replacement for a broken one) is the new number, the process cost us nothing. We just pay $10 more a month for a separate "home" phone number with voicemail & caller ID. That's a lot better than the $35 we were paying for all those services. And frankly, $35 was a lot to pay to receive daily telemarketing calls. Everyone of consequence calls our personal cells.

I'll keep you posted on how this all works out.

Side Note: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair was also making some cell phone changes today. Ric and I seem to frequent the same shops and restaurants. When I was still working, he and I were in the line at Starbucks more than once. We've eaten at Dean & Deluca's at the same time. And we both use the same Verizon Wireless Store. I should really introduce myself. I never see anyone else I know around here. Maybe we should grab a beer or something.

Rehash of Ron

If you don't read comments, you may not have noticed the helpful link from Nothing Knew. Take a look at the information here titled Ron Paul's Race Problem. It's unfortunate that the ideals expressed on Mr Paul's website do not seem to match up with his own believes. Indeed, Mr Paul's statement on racism holds a layer of truth.

So, on one hand we have Mr. Paul's PR machine saying, " The collectivist mindset is at the heart of racism." And on the other hand we have him back in 1992 saying, "I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal."

So, if he's right and the collectivist mindset is "at the heart" then he too is at the heart by making such a sweeping statement. It's sad really. While I would have never entertained voting for a Libertarian, I was heartened to see a Libertarian voice in the picture reminding us about the foundations of our Democracy.

In conclusion...

Dear Mr. Paul, My hope for America is that men like you fade into nothingness so that true freedom & liberty reign.

Pearl Harbor

Let us never forget that on this date in history, brave men and women died defending our liberty. From their sacrifice, a nation rose up and through communal sacrifice made the world safe once more. From the ashes of one of our nation's darkest hours came one of our greatest triumphs.

Decision '08 - Random Observations

Today's post is going to be a mix of random observations and thoughts about the current presidential campaign landscape. The amazing thing about the lastest stuff I've read and seen is that none of it touches on the actual issues: The Economy, The Environment and the War. (Those are my big 3 that I'm voting on, BTW.)

Mitt "Mormon" Romney's Speech: I didn't watch it, but I've gotten a lot of reports about it. No, this was not Romney's Kennedy moment. The bottom line is that Romney needs the Evangelical Republican block to win. Evangelicals are apparently really frightened by Mormons. Look, my own prejudices about Mormonism aside, Romney's not one of those weird zealots you see on Dateline. Frankly, Christians who consider themselves Pluralist, Democrats, Scientists or all of the above should be a lot more concerned about Huckabee than they ever should about Romney. Romney is the closest thing to a centrist that the Republicans have. We could do a lot worse than him.

NPR has been talking a lot about diversity and the presidency this month. If nothing else, having a Mormon, a Black Man and a Woman as serious candidates has been good for this country.

Fred "Just an Actor" Thompson: Whew. Before he entered the race, his spin machine did a good job painting him the next Ronald Regan. My friends are very divided on the historic impact of Regan, but damn the man was popular and so where his politics. Thank goodness Fred's a complete waste of hot air.

Rudy "Don't even need to list his last name" Giuliani: Rudy should never have become a candidate. His "good" name would have stayed good and his skeletons would have remained in the closets. I like Rudy as the guy who rallied this nation after 9/11 (because the current occupant sucked ass at it.) Rudy's still a player in this one, but the recent girlfriend & dog walking reports will probably cost him the endorsement. Am I saddened by this? No. Rudy was the guy I feared the most in the general election. He's got the best chance of stealing Democrat votes.

Mike "Un-Intelligent Design" Huckabee: 'Nuff Said!

Hillary "Ice Water in her Veins" Clinton: Hillary's got two big news stories of late.

First: The nut-job -- I mean -- man needing professional help . Hillary won the "cool under pressure" test with the first, but she's in dangerous territory on the second.

Second: Going after Obama. How many of us would be satisfied with a Clinton/Obama ticket? (I would and I'm an Obama supporter.) How hard would that be if the attacks go too far?

Barack "Caucus Killer" Obama: Oprah endorsed him. What's the real stuff in the news? His get out the vote campaign encouraging Non-Resident College Students in Iowa to vote in the caucus. Iowa is up in arms! He's destroying the caucus! Oh, the morality! Oh, the complexity! Oh, the gravity! Oh, give me a break!

Ron "Road Signs" Paul: Driving home through South Carolina from our hiking excursion the other week, I became vaguely aware of these words playing through my head over and over again, "Ron Paul for America." Suddenly, it dawned on me why. At every small town. At every major cross-roads. EveryFUCKINGwhere, was a sign that read "Ron Paul for America." I hate little "teporary" road signs. I think they are a symbol for everything that's wrong with American.

Still, this worked. I had heard about Ron Paul, but mostly as a sound-bite. So, I looked him up. He's a Republican from Texas. Or at least, that's his official political affiliation. Dude, he's a Libertarian. Heck, he's a Libertarian's Libertarian. He hates all things Big Government. This is not to say I disagree with him on all things. But I've always believed in the ideals of government as a place where people can come together. Not Ron Paul. Mr Paul's message should not be "Ron Paul for America." He should borrow from history and use "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!"

Conclusion: Well, that about wraps it up for this time. As the weeks drag on and the news gets more interesting, I'll be sure to share my observations again. Until then, remember Voting is your civic duty. Vote earns you the right to complain. If you don't vote, shut up!

Update: Hams for Hanukkah

OK, here's an actual news story about the Chanukah (Hanukkah) Ham picture.

Hams for Hanukkah

The even more hysterical part is that the offending store was in Manhattan. I figured it would have come from a place with very little diversity, but NYC is incredibly multicultural with a large Jewish population. Well apparently, stupid is as stupid does.

Today's WTF: It's for Chanukah, that makes it Kosher right?

Some of you have already seen today's WTF. It got such a great response, I figured it has to be shared. I'm still searching for the original source. I got it from a friend on my WoW guild forum.


Optional Captions include:

- Mmmm...Forbidden Ham!
- I can serve this with latkahs, right?

Eagles Season - Thank Goodness That's Over

While theoretically not eliminated from the playoffs, we can pretty much call this season over for the Eagles. Happiness is a train wreck that you don't have to watch anymore. Simply put, if the Giants win one more game, we are eliminated from the playoffs.

If by some stroke of madness, the Giants were to get swept in the last 4 games, the Eagles would still need to win ALL their games AND hope that Detroit, Minnesota & Arizona all go .500 for the rest of the season. And that still doesn't keep them from getting eliminated.

Under these conditions, here's what I would do: Put McNabb on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season and let the rookie get some snaps. This doesn't preclude McNabb coming back during the next camp and "winning" back his starting job.

Please, won't someone stop the 80's?

Last week, I commented on the upcoming return of American Gladiators. Sad but true. Today while scanning through my RSS feed, I learned about the return of another 80's phenomena, Rambo. Who can forget the great 1982 movie staring Sly and Brian Dennehy that brought increased attention to the plight of our nation's Vietnam Vets through over-sensationalized, Hollywood-explosions?

Much like the great classic Rocky, Sly's follow-up films went on a downward spiral. Rambo went from being a icon of everything wrong with this country to a late Cold-War source of American propaganda. Rambo II taught us that Vietnam is still unfinished business and that we still had a job to do. Rambo III taught us that Afghanistan was overrun by those damn communists. Won't someone please help? Enter John Rambo who tells the Russian officer, "I'm your worst nightmare!"

Still, I would be a liar if I said I didn't eat these movies up. I was a teenager at the time and Hollywood was feeding me a never-ending supply of violent action movies. This was the age of Robocop, Rambo, Aliens...& Arnold reigned supreme.

So, here we are back to present day. Sly appears to be reinventing himself by going back in time. First there was Rocky Balboa.

-- tangent alert --

Admittedly, I Netflix'ed it. It was *ahem* good. I mean, I liked all of it except the actual fight. The fight was crap. Seriously, it was a story about a man mourning his wife and looking back over his life. The mood, the cinematography, the characters were all surprisingly well done. Really, if you liked the first Rocky, rent Balboa. Simply turn it off before the fight. The fight was a completely different movie.

-- end tangent --

Now there's Rambo going to Burma. Much like Rocky, the trailer suggests that Rambo has "retired" and is driven back into action by a bunch of do-gooders try to sneak into Burma --Probably a film crew-- to bring attention to the situation there. Clearly, Sly and the gang intend to do it their way. To put it another way...

"Who do you think this man is? The Lord?"

"No. God would have mercy. He won't."

Please Sly, have mercy on us. Go back to running your Hard Rock Cafe'. Don't suck me into your new Rambo movie, please!

Billy King is out! Now if we could just get rid of Ed!

Sixers fire GM/President Billy King after 10 years with the team.

It came about 7 years too late!

Look, I don't wish for anyone to get fired, but Billy has been bad news for Philly. He was a fine understudy to Pat Croce and an even better puppet for Larry Brown. Once those two were out we saw how completely ineffective Billy really was. Yes, his task was daunting, but too many bad decisions later and here we are.

Frankly, I think that his boss, Ed Snyder is simultaneously one of the best and worst things to happen to Philly sports. On one hand, he almost single-handedly built Comcast SportsNet, the great arena on Broad Street and the franchises that play there-in. On the other hand, He refused to consider Croce's desire to run the entire business and then stuck with Billy King for way too long.

However, Ed is also the man I blame the most for killing my last bit of love for Hockey. What am I talking about? The Eric Lindros vs Bobby Clarke train wreck. Is it Ed or Bobby's fault that Lindros had all those concussions? No. Is it their fault that Lindros was represented by one of the worst agents (Daddy Lindros) ever? No. But while Bobby Clarke might have been the greatest hockey player in Flyers history, he was the biggest dick as team GM.

Clarke was responsible for destroying team chemistry during the Lindros spiral. Clarke was responsible for players not wanting to play in Philly. Clarke just didn't understand that coaches can be dicks, but GM's need to be bridge-builders. I heard too many stories (and several first-hand accounts) of Clarke treating people like shit.

And so I blame Ed. Why? He's loyal to a fault. He built up two great franchises and then let them crumble because he let loyalty and past results blind him to the fact that sometimes change is necessary. He held onto Clarke & King for too long, but failed to keep Croce (at his prime) because he didn't want to give someone else that much control. He let the Lindros years leave a bad taste in the mouths of Flyers fans everywhere and he allowed King to drag the Iverson year on for 2-3 years too long.

OK, now I really start to ramble...

The intervening years between the Lindros affair and now were the nail in the coffin for me and hockey. The strike and the bad TV deal sealed it. I have more interest in NASCAR than hockey now. (Which is to say I have no interest in hockey what-so-ever, but I live in NASCAR country so I get details whether I want to or not.)

Looking back, this is the hell that makes the life of a Philly sports fan. We chew up players and spit them out. Lindros fell apart here. Scott Rolen, one of the finest men in sports, was driven out of town. Donovan McNabb was booed coming into town and the way things are going he'll be booed on the way out too. Charles "Not a Role Model" Barkley ran screaming. The great Mike Schmidt survived, thank goodness. Iverson is still beloved by Philly for reasons that escape me.

Well at least that hell is over. Can't wait to see what new kinds of terror Snider and Ed Stefanksi put me through.

It's just a hike in the woods, what could possibly go wrong?

Slick, Maxie-Moose & I headed over to Kings Mountain National Park yesterday for a few hours of hiking. It was a truly beautiful day with bright sun-shine and temperatures in the low 50's. This, IMHO, is perfect hiking weather.

All the leaves had completed their annual suicide plunge, requiring us to pay extra attention to the trail-markers. The dog was being extra good, thus affording him extra off-the-leash time. He romped in and out of the stream. How he could stand the cold water is beyond me. We picnicked on a bench someone made deep in the woods. It was beautiful.

We had been out for about 2 hours (including lunch.) Slick was admitting to being a bit tired and my legs were starting to ache. Since we were about a mile from the car, we started heading back.

Max was in the stream again, but came running when I called him. He arrived, dutifully, at my side. Everything was "perfect." My wife was smiling. My dog was loyal and trustworthy. This is the moment where the "wrong" happened.

We never saw that which Max caught wind, but I assume it was deer. He went into full track mode, bolted down the trail and then off into the woods.

Later, I mused that his usual quarry doesn't cause this kind of problem since squirrels & rabbits make it into the trees or down into holes (or are caught and eviscerated.) Deer, on the other hand, simply run and run and run.

With-in 30 seconds he's gone. Out of sight and clearly not paying any attention. I say to Slick, "Stay here" and go up the ridge after him. I'm glad Slick stayed on the trail. The trail simply vanished by the time I was 30 feet away. If not for the contour of the land or the fact that there was a stream nearby I would have been completely reliant on my sense of direction within minutes. And that's problematic since all my focus was on finding Max.

I hiked out, but not too far, until I got to the top of a hill looking over a small gully. There I stood calling and blowing the whistle I keep in my pack for "emergencies." Finally, after what felt like ages (approximately 20 minutes) I started back to Slick. We regrouped and assessed our options. All the thoughts about sundown, the park closing, leaving without my dog came into my mind. Just when I wondered if I would actually have to face some stark reality, we heard a frantic bark from down the trail.

Max, looking a bit disheveled, had finally made it back but to the spot where he left us. Unable to find us he panicked and started to call out. Copious amounts of treats were consumed. (If I had caught him, he would have gotten a spanking. His returning on his own had to be rewarded.)

Poor Slick. I drug her to the woods to help her unwind and forget about work. Instead, her heart was pounding. (Mine too.)

In the end, everyone made it home safely. We were all exhausted. I walked an extra mile. Max ran an extra few? Still, safe and together is all that matters. ...Stupid dog!...

Watchmen

Word of the impending Watchmen movie has been getting me more and more interested in reading it over again. So, today while I was spending my birthday giftcard at Barns & Noble I picked up a copy. -- I seem to recall that my original reading was from a copy borrowed from "the Cop." Remember him, Cats? -- But I digress...

Thanks to some incredible writing graphic novels like the Watchmen & The Dark Knight Returns are much more than just stuff that kids picked up at the local corner store. Indeed, Frank Miller's Dark Knight is on my personal top-ten favorite books list. The impressive Watchmen was voted by Time Magazine as one of the All-Time 100 Novels. Imagine...Great story-telling, amazing plot, wonderful dialog, gripping moments AND it's got pictures!

The story of the Watchmen is a story of one-time heroes, forgotten by time and forced once more to slip on their spandex to fight the good fight. It's a story of regret & lost direction. I'm looking forward to sitting down, rediscovering these legends and reminiscing about my own days of youth.

If you're a fan of comic books, murder mysteries, gripping story-tell and tragic heroes, then pick up a copy OR borrow mine. If you don't like any of these things, what's wrong with you?

Caught in the Act!

Proof that he's not as good a dog as my family thinks he is!

NFL Network Link

This is the link...

NFL Network Live

I make no promises that it will work. I can't find the blurb that suggested it would work anymore. But give it a try.

It's the Enterprise!

Sometime before Thanksgiving both cordless phones were left off the hook. We didn't have a corded phone plugged in. So few phone calls come into our land-line I didn't even notice until today. Well, I searched around and plugged in the old Star Ship Enterprise phone. My college friends will remember this contraption. It looks like NC-1701. (Notice the lack of letters after the name.) I figure hearing the red-alert sound once or twice will be enough incentive for us to finally activate the 3rd cell phone and dump the land-line for good.

Gosh, I wonder what the dog will do when he hears BeeeeeePPP!!! BeeeeeePPP!!!

NFL Network - A Rant

I would like to give a big middle-finger to the NFL, ESPN & the NFL Network for taking prime-time football out of the reach of the "common" man. The NFL's decision to move their major events to Cable & Satellite companies forget the millions of hard-working Americans that have made their services so popular. Hey, perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps they've done the research and decided that the poor and middle-class trying to save a few bucks aren't worth their time.

Sunday Night Football has become my new MNF. Besides, I saw MNF at a bar a few weeks ago. I love Stewart Scott, but he can't hold a candle to Madden and Co. I was completely unimpressed with it.

Note: Why the hell does NBC need 9 on-air personalities to produce a football game? Give me 4: A Play-by-play, a Color-commentator, a roving reporter & 1 poor slacker back at the studio for "game-breaks."

Let's get to the match that lit this fire. Tonight's game is Cowboys vs Packers. I would love to watch this game, but it's on NFL Network. The good news (for me anyway) is that NFL Network is apparently going to show the game online for free. I'll get back to you on how that works. But the fact remains that people with only broadcast TV will not be able to watch. Also, apparently Comcast Subscribers who won't pay extra for sports packages are equally screwed.

Question for the day

Should I feel dirty checking my hotmail account on the Ubuntu box?

On a related note: The biggest failure of the Ubuntu box experiment are the Netflix "Watch Now" option & CBS "Innertube" TV. Netflix "Watch Now" does not support any other browser but IE, period. CBS Innertube will run on Firefox, but not in full-screen. I also tried Opera, but Innertube will not even play on it.

iDad gets WiFi

So, here's the latest iDad tech watch news...

iDad's wireless router showed up today. He was nervous but got it installed. He called me a few times with that harried "what do I do" voice, but basically I just held his hand as he walked through it on his own. Seriously, he's more tech-savvy than he thinks.

Once the router was up and encryption was on, he finally understood the pulse-pounding power of iPhone. He talked to me on the iPhone (on speaker) while I emailed him a large picture attachment. The fact that he could get a picture, show my mom & still keep talking to me was simply spellbinding to him. He's always made fun of me and my "Toys." Now maybe, he understands my world.

His new Dell laptop arrives later this week. He still keeps going on about how he wishes that he had gotten a Mac. But his Dell broke the bank at $200 less than the base MacBook. I think he'll be happy when he's got his iPhone plugged in to a USB 2.0 port and he's loading his Duke Ellington & Mozart fast, fast, fast.

Life w/ Ubuntu

I am typing this from my Vista machine, but I've gotten things setup on the Ubuntu machine well enough that I could easily be doing it there.

Ubuntu's leg up on my previous Linux experience is that everything is graphic-interface. I've not had to type anything into a code window yet. That's good. The trick has been learning how to find and download software. Slowly, I've been getting the hang of downloading and installing. The files are not "executable" but must be run through a package manager.

Ubuntu itself loaded with all the drivers I needed or found them in an automatic search. Again, this is much improved over my previous Linux experience when I had to find every driver bit by bit before I could get the GUI to load.

Ubuntu also came pre-loaded with Firefox 2.0, OpenOffice & most of the utilities I needed. Thus far, I have successfully installed: Firestarter (Firewall), Pidgin (Multi-Instant Messager tool), Google Desktop, Picasa2 & flash plug-ins for the browser.

My big issues are now:

1. Integrating the machine into my Home workgroup for file and printer sharing.
2. Turning the machine back into my main entertainment center PC. This is a challenge since several online video streaming programs require or function better with internet explorer. I am exploring the options here.
3. Understanding the need for and installation of Virus Protection.
   
4. Learning about available software and the pitfalls of installation.
   

Anyway, it's a fun and stimulating exercise. I can't live without Windows since I'm a gamer and games run on windblows, but I'm impressed with what can be done thus far.

I'll keep you posted.

P.S. I was also able to use my card reader to load photos from my camera. So, that's another success.

No Going Back Now

Since the HP box needed a re-image, I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to play with Ubuntu. I worked with Linux & Unix a few years ago while I was still in the I.T. profession. It's been a while, but I've also read that Ubuntu is a lot more "user-friendly" than those old /root command days.

Everything was simple enough in the beginning. I downloaded the *.iso image to my Dell and made a CD-image. I then got to work on the HP. The splash screens are rather simple, except that I was having problems with the partitioning. I really wanted to keep the recovery partition. Unfortunately, I screwed up. Keeping a partition requires the user to manually select the boot & swap partitions. While doing this, I allowed myself to become distracted and deleted the wrong partition. Still, that meant I could go back and start over with the automated process.
So like Cortez, I've burned my fleet and am now stuck with either figuring out Ubuntu or having a really big doorstop.

Welcome to the new world.

Good OpEd Piece on Marriage

Taking Marriage Private - NYT

The above link is a quality Op-Ed piece with a short history lesson about the use of Marriage Licenses and the questionable melding of government & religion for the purpose of legal documentation.

I've been saying (to anyone who will listen) that I don't give a rats ass about the government's opinion about marriage as long as they make no laws to infringe on my (or anyone else's rights.) My marriage is something determined by Slick, myself & God. I don't want or need some politician to tell me that my marriage is more moral or proper than someone else's.

While I personally think that the anti-gay rhetoric in some religious bodies is rather appalling and hypocritical, I also believe that my friend NothingNew is right when he routinely says, "People are entitled to their own wrong opinions" as long as said opinions do no harm to others.

Too much "sacred" stuff has been twisted by well-meaning people in government. Yes, a person's religious believes must be a moral compass to the decisions they make. Yes, this holds true for Government. But again, I want Government to stay out of my marriage. I believe, as does the author, that there are reasonable ways to determine ownership, dependency & beneficiary without getting involved my (or anyone else's) marriage.

Anyway, enjoy the link and I'll get off my soapbox now.

Warcraft tip of the day!

You get new abilities at even levels. Go train you n00b!*

* This means you, Cainam. Good lord, how many toons have you leveled?

Important Life Lessons from LRNs

It's very important to cut the vent hole in your spaghetti squash wide & deep enough to allow for proper venting while microwaving. A simple steak or paring knife is insufficient. Use a larger implement and make sure to go deep enough to reach the center of the squash. A second "cross" cut might also be appropriate.

Next time on Important Life Lessons from LRNs we will explore proper cleaning of a microwave.

It...Must...Be...Mine!!!

The Spork of the Gods

I can not explain my love of the Spork or my flashlight obsession. But man, I need an excuse to buy this! ;-)

Writer's Strike Must End Soon

Anyone remember the 80's? Well, Hollywood better fix the strike soon, because we're about to relive them...

NBC pumps up for "Gladiators" redo

Be afraid...be very afraid!

Will someone please tell me what's going on?

OK, this is amusing. One of my favorite "fake" blogs is The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. The author -- pretending to be Steve Jobs -- is really Daniel Lyons of Forbes Magazine. The blog obviously lost much of it's hype and thunder when he was outed earlier this year, but it's still got some funny posts for techno-geeks like myself.

Over the holiday, the posts were all authored by someone claiming to be Bono of U2. This had the effect of both feeling like the old fake-steve & being extra irreverent. It must be Lyons being funny right? Well, not according to him. On Sunday he issued an apology suggesting that the site was hijacked.

If it was, it was perfect. If it wasn't, it was perfect. Frankly, I think FSJ is full of crap. Still, I just don't know.

How do Philadelphians feel about the QB controversy

Well...

Thus far the responses on Philly.com have looked like this:

Who should start at quarterback for the Eagles against the Seattle Seahawks next week?

Donovan McNabb, if he's healthy (17.0%) = 803
A.J. Feeley, if McNabb can't go (9.3%) = 440
A.J. Feeley, no matter what (73.7%)= 3482
Total votes = 4725

No, I'm not going to start a campaign for AJ

Tonight's Eagles vs Pats game was exciting. I'm glad I watched. I'm disappointed, but not surprised that we lost. I believe that AJ showed us two things. He showed us, with his late-game mistakes, why he'll always be a back-up. He also proved to us that the Eagles are faltering because of McNabb. The offense can play. The receivers can run and get open. The line can protect the QB. Thus the bulk of the blame must rest on his shoulders and on the shoulders of Andy Reid.

I have no doubt in my mind now that this team would have a better record if they could have kept Jeff Garcia. This is a health & skills thing. McNabb's strengths have always been his mobility and his creativity. Both are gone because of his injuries. Perhaps he can get them back. Perhaps not. But today we learned that the Eagles are good enough, better actually, without him.

Well, that was a waste of time

This is another story about my further experiments in digitalizing my TV experience.

Today's story is about my 3-hour (14-day) free trial of Vongo. Conceptually, my television/computer setup is perfect for getting direct downloads of movies to watch. Netflix has generally been good to me, but there are times when the lag between shipments or the occasional scratched DvD means that I'm paying a higher average cost for my DvD's. The idea of a flat-fee digital download system is appealing.

I read a lot of reviews of the different services. Even though most of the Vongo reviews were unflattering, (to say the least) it's fee structure and general concept seemed to work best for me.
Well, my experience was such a resounding failure, I thought I would share.

Strike 1 - There is no way to preview their movie selection without downloading their software.

Strike 2 - Right after downloading and setting up the service on my entertainment PC, I rebooted. Now the box will not boot back up except in SafeMode. Since the only thing I did on the machine was load Windows Media Player 11 (must have to run Vongo) and install Vongo, I'd call this a bad sign. Thankfully, Safe Mode w/ Networking is functioning. After recovering the few files that weren't part of last month's backup, I'll be re-imaging the drive.

Foul Ball - Since the clock is ticking on the trial period, I decided to cross my fingers and load Vongo on my new Vista machine. It loaded fine and I was browsing their selection in a matter of minutes. The interface & browsing functions are the worst shit I've seen in ages. The selection is everything I've read, i.e., worse than the DvD collection at your local library branch.* And big selection? Where? I saw all the screens and saw maybe a few hundred titles. I tried their "search" function. I tried over a dozen titles spanning my lifetime without a single hit.

Strike 3 - But what the hell, let me download a movie I've never seen. I randomly picked a SciFi movie called "the Covenant." Well, it "flew" through 40-50% of the download (in about 20 minutes) before suddenly and inexplicably canceling the process with a completely unhelpful error. There's no "partial" download. The file was completely gone from the list and my new attempt had to start from scratch.

I canceled on the spot and uninstalled the crap from my machine. I never saw the actual video quality, but by that point it could have been HD and I wouldn't have given a rats ass.

Game Over!

* Note: My mother-in-law is the President of her local library board. Her town library has a wonderful DvD collection. Heck, I wish I lived near "the Queen" so I could watch movies with her.

Highlights from a Joyful Day

Here are the highlights from my day...

Slick & I took Princess Kitty (my niece) to see Enchanted today. What a surprisingly delightful film. It was funny, sweet & showed that Disney still knows how to make fun of itself. Really, this is a family find. Cute enough for the kids but intelligent enough for the adults. Slick and I were laughing just as much as Princess Kitty. The message was also a good one: Women can be strong & have their fairytale endings.

For dinner, Slick & I also went out w/ Cats & Hubby for dinner in downtown New Haven at a really fabulous Irish Pub. Glasses of Guinness were raised & great food was consumed.

iDad sent his "thank you" email from his iPhone. He admits that the touch screen typing is not easy, but he seemed to do rather well.

I leave you with these words from my current book...

One of the central elements of the Christian story is the claim that the paradox of laughter and tears, woven as it is deep into the heart of all human experience, is woven also deep into the heart of God.
- N.T.Wright, Simply Christian

iDad

Happy Thanksgiving!

The big news around here is not my birthday (yesterday) or the moistness of the turkey (mouthwatering) but the surprise early birthday/Christmas present for my Father (from everyone.) Since we're all together and mom wanted to do something extra special for Dad's 65th, we got him an iPhone. And yes, it pwns all other phones.

The hardest part about the gift was talking to him last night. He was actively verbalizing his desires for a way to get easy access to email while on the go. But he was also asking me all these questions about iTunes & YouTube. He was seriously considering a Laptop purchase. The more he talked the more I realized that he was describing an iPhone to me without realizing it. It suddenly dawned on me that iPhone was not made for me, but for him. I'm just a gadget nut. He's actually going to use all the features.

OK, desiring all these things is fine, but navigating these little devices is a whole different story right? Wrong. His old computer did take a while to load everything, but setup was a breeze. He was flipping to wide-screen & zooming with his fingers like a pro in the first hour. At one point he called me back into the room excitedly to show me how he could find a contact (from his imported contact list) and use Google maps to get directions to their house in a matter of seconds. Imaging the value of this for a busy pastor trying to do visits. For the first time in my 35 years, I saw where I got my "new-toy" giddiness.

Now, if I could get his attention for a moment, maybe we can play some cards or something. Hmmm...maybe I should try calling him. :-)

Motor Trend Just Doesn't Get It

OK this might seem like an odd topic for my blog, but today I'm going to criticize Motor Trend's selection for the 2008 Car of the Year.

This year's selection is the Cadillac CTS. Yes, it's gorgeous. Yes, they've done a phenomenal job of incorporating some very nice features into a well designed & well-appointed vehicle. Given it's competition, it's great to see an American car win. Surprisingly, there have been a number of positive steps happening in Detroit this year. The big three are finally starting to deal with their financial issues & are starting to focus on their products. Years of focusing solely on the bottom-line while forgetting that it's the products that drive a company not the stock options has taken it's toll on American car companies. It's good to see the things they are doing.

Unfortunately, the auto industry still doesn't get it. Yes, the CTS is "affordable" luxury. Yes, it's going to have some serious get-up and go. But with an EPA estimated MPG 17 city/26 highway, it just doesn't fit the bill. Yes, they are able to make a 304 HP 3.6L V6 get 26 MPG highway. But why not have a 204 HP engine get an average of 30?

The simple truth is that current tech is here to allow for a powerful & smooth driving experience while conserving fuel & lowering CO2 emissions. The ability to turn off pistons, use fuel-injection & integrate batteries into the vehicle aren't just possible, they are techniques used by General Motors. Heck, GM vehicles have used fuel-injection & engine performance techniques for decades. They even have vehicles using these options now.

But all this is beside the point, more than blaming General Motors for making one sweet ride, I'm blaming Motor Trend for failing to get with the times. I love a gorgeous car just like the next guy, but this is a new era.

With gas prices over $3/gal, Slick and I chose the vehicle for our Thanksgiving trip not on comfort or room, but on fuel efficiency. Yes, we are not the demographic for the CTS, but look at the big picture. Gas prices continue to rise. Consumer discretionary budgets are tightening as the economy slows. The Environment has finally become relevant. These are the things that should be on the minds of Automakers & the people who earn a living off the auto industry.

I'm beginning to see signs that Ford is starting to get this point. Several of their latest ventures have been around building quality into affordable & fuel efficient vehicles. This is what all of Detroit should be focusing on. And thus, Motor Trend should be giving their awards to those kinds of vehicles.

Perhaps, I should do my own research and pick my own car of the year.

Milestones

So, with the holidays coming up my family and I have been going back and forth via emails about birthdays & Christmas. Over the last few years I've been really trying to come to terms with my materialism. I love gadgets, things w/ zippers & pockets &...did I mention gadgets? But I like to think I've tempered this craving with a certain practicality.

Listen and you can hear is my wife rolling on the floor with laughter.

But I digress...

This week, I'll be 35. My mother has told me that 35 is not a milestone. My attitude about birthdays has always been simple: I don't really care about the year, I'm just looking for some new tunes or a gadget. In the online gaming world we call this "Phat loots!" Sure, I welcome any excuse to get free cake and maybe get out of doing dishes, but it's never really been about the need to celebrate. Birthdays are birthdays. But 35?

Part of why I haven't been writing for a few days is because I've been busy trying to ignore the big-picture. At some point along the line, 35 became my personal cut-off for having kids. I stuck with that number both as a point of no return and as a motivator. Until I got sick, I still assumed that Slick and I would beat that deadline. Well news-flash, we aren't going to have a kid before Wednesday.

So, much like the U.S. exit strategy, I'm going to have to avoid time-tables for a while. I'm not ready to give up on the whole kid thing. But the reality of yet another unrealized goal in my life also frustrates me. So yeah, 35 is a milestone for me. And no, I'm not particularly happy about it.

So, there's the other reason for the limited postings last week.

Dear family, if you're reading this: A Wii or a PSP would totally help my emotional state. ;-)

Odd Silence

Sorry about the odd silence. My muse must have gone on holiday. I just haven't been inspired to really post about much.

The big personal news this week was our anniversary date. Slick & I went to Firebirds on money from the inlaws. I had a really nice piece of filet mignon.

We then went "uptown" (that's what they call downtown here) to see the Wailin Jennys concert. It was in a small arts theater built from an old Baptist Church. The acoustics were wonderful. I was a touch disappointed w/ the turnout. It wasn't well-publicized and they aren't really well-known. A lot of the concern-goers were clearly theater patrons, but there was a good selection of folk/bluegrass fans. Admittedly, I'm reminded that very few people our own age are into this kind of music. Mostly x-hippies. Folks in the 25-35 crowd (besides us) look like they should be in Asheville or in the Austin City Limits crowd.

Anyway, the Jennys were great. Their blend of A-Capella songs & folksy harmony is great. Their mix of musical instruments is rather need to see. Their token male plays a mean fiddle. The highlight of the concert was definitely when the came away from the microphones to close the show and sang "the Parting Glass" at the front of the stage. The stillness in the room and the way they filled the one-time sanctuary was worth the price of admission.

Looking for the best word

Today, I'm on a search for the word to best describe the recent actions of the Toyota Co. Here are just some of the words I've come up with so far:

- Disingenuous - Giving a false appearance of simple frankness
- Two-Faced - Action contradictory to a professed attitude
- Hypocritical - feigning to be what one is not

What's got me on this tirade? Toyota is lobbying against higher fuel standards? I've been reading blurbs about this for a few weeks now. Seems that, just like other big automakers in America, they are worried about their truck sales. Big shock! Here's a recent article about it at Newsweek:

Toyota's Green Problem

Yes, Toyota has the best consumer hybrid vehicle in the world. But, it turns out that just like all big businesses it's all about the bottom line. Their recent ad campaign really is full of crap. So, I too have to ask the question: Why not?

Higher fuel standards can be achieved.

Cowards! Hypocrites! Liars!

OK, I feel better now!

What's For Dinner?

Slick is away visiting "King M" & her new baby. Since I spent most of the day working in the attic & organizing electrical equipment, I'm entitling myself to a guilty pleasure that she won't eat...meatloaf. Yes, meatloaf. I love it. And not just any meatloaf, but my father-in-law's super-awesome meatloaf. Yup, meatloaf, mashed potatoes & beer! I ate yogurt, fruit and veggies all day in mouth-watering anticipation of this "manly-man" meal.

To wash it all down, I've got a double-feature of action-flicks from Netflix.

It's fun to play bachelor for a night.

ZOOM

And now, I am the master AV geek. Yes, I'm writing this using my TV as my display. The "old" computer is now a multimedia device. It's not perfect. The wireless mouse & keyboard do not have sufficient range to really sit at my couch and relax. I'm considering options there. Maybe an extra-long USB cable?

There were several challenges with this project. Wiring the ethernet cable was the big challenge, but it's a lot nicer than using wireless. The other issue was setup: picking the right cables and isolating the ground loop (speaker hum.) I fixed the ground loop by carefully choosing how to connect everything and made sure to plug the whole system into one high-end surge supressor.

Anyway, now my TV project is complete. I can watch online video and download stuff straight to watch on the TV. MLB.TV should be awesome for the '08 season.

Damn, I've got a ton of cleaning to do.

Not as painful as I thought

Well, the new computer setup was not as painful as I thought.

- Adjustment #1: Getting Vista to talk to XP. I couldn't for the life of me figure out the problem until I checked the web and found that Vista will only talk to XP-boxes with a special update loaded from Windows. Why was this update never simply added to all XP Automatic updates?

- Adjustment #2: All the jokes and complaints about the permissions box are true. It got old in the first 10 minutes. There's no way to train it to automate. The worst is when I started a 20 minute software install and try to walk away. Nope, every "element" of the install wanted another approval. I sat through the entire thing.

- Adjustment #3: (Actually, this is a good one.) This computer is so much more powerful than my old one. World of Warcraft rendered FAST FAST FAST!!! I turned on all the video shading and all the sound effects. Woosh, Bang, Frames!!! I don't know how much Vista slows stuff down, but going from a Low-End AMD Athlon 64 w/1Gig RAM to a Intel Core Duo E6550 w/ 2Gig RAM is like going from a Yugo to a BMW.

- Adjustment #4: On my old box, I avoided using "fancy features" like Google Desktop. Well, now I've got all these gadgets floating around. It's really kind of cool. I admit to liking the sidebar. I loaded the Google Talk, Calendar, Email & Notepad. It's nice.

Anyway, it's late and I should hit the sack. Lots of unfinished chores to complete. Yes, I dropped everything to setup the computer. Did you expect anything different?

How a Geek has Fun

The new computer showed up today. (You can see it near the bottom left of the screen.) Anyway, busy learning how to integrate Vista into XP network and trasfer files from old PC (box on right.) Laptop is for show & emailing. ;-)

Sad But True Eagles Humor

Before you read, here are my comments on the latest news from the IgglesNest. Did anyone see the remarks by "Bounce-Pass" about sharing the blame? Dude, you're the QB. Take it like a man! Sigh! It's gonna be a long season! Well, on with the funny...

My buddy Crash just sent me this and I just had to share.

Q: What do you call 53 people sitting around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A: The Philadelphia Eagles.

Q: How do you keep a Philadelphia Eagle out of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.

Q: Where do you go in Philadelphia in case of a tornado?
A: The Linc - they never have a touchdown there.

Q: What do you call a Philadelphia Eagle with a Super Bowl ring?
A: A thief.

Q: Why doesn’t Camden have a professional football team?
A: Because then Philadelphia would want one.

Q: What's the difference between the Philadelphia Eagle & a dollar bill?
A: You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

Q: What do the Philadelphia Eagles and possums have in common?
A: Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

Q: How many Philadelphia Eagles does it take to win a Super Bowl?
A: Nobody knows and we may never find out.

And Finally:
Q: What do the Philadelphia Eagles and Billy Graham have in common?
A: They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell "Jesus Christ".

New Feature

So, I've started using the Google Reader (RSS feeds) for my news and blog reading. On of the more interesting features is the ability to flag a story that I want to share & sync it with my blog (also a Google product.) What does that mean? It means that I'll be able to randomly note stories from MSNBC, Digg, Slate or wherever and you'll be able to see them on the right-side bar. Sometimes, a whole blog post isn't worth your time or mine. If you see a headline that sounds interesting, simply click the link and read.

Speaking of Google Reader & RSS feeds in general...

NothingNew has been bugging me for a while to read my news and favorite blogs via a reader for years. I tried a while back and hated it. Well, I like it now, but there is one draw-back. It's too damned efficient. Seriously! There's something mind-numbingly relaxing about visiting all your favorite News sites and checking to see if there are new posts on your favorite blogs. But now, I know if there's something new to read at a glance. I can skim through the headlines really fast and pick the stories I want to read even faster. I did 30-minutes worth of news surfing today in under 10 minutes. Where's the fun in that?

"Yea! We did our civic duty!"

These words were uttered by Slick at approximately 7pm as we drove home from the polling place. I put on my best, mock Irish tenor voice and sang a few lines of "God Bless America" for her. Laughter & a round of "God Bless My Underwear" ensued.

Everything was local: Mayor, 2 Town Council Seats & 2 County-Wide votes. The controversial one was a new tax on property sales paid by the owners. I swear we got a card in the mail every day for a month to vote "No" on this new tax. By the middle of the second week, I realized that the concerned civic organization was really a lobbying group of developers. Duh!

Properties are being turned over at an alarming rate around here. Our region is still booming. The house across the street from us is working on it's third owner. It was built 2 years ago! Developers have been building mega-sized house-farms as far as the eye can see, but with no incentive or requirement to help with infrastructure, schools or consideration for the effects of increased traffic. The county finally realized that we're screwing ourselves and realized that we've got to generate income to pay for these much-needed services. Options include raising property tax, sales tax or this home sale tax. Of course the developers don't want to pay this when they sell new homes. Slick pointed out that this particular tax (unlike so many local taxes) will be progressive since it's based on the value of the property sold.

Needless to say, as a home-owner, I don't want to pay more to sell. On the other hand, I would rather have the new schools & water treatment plants we need AND I would rather not have an increased property or sales tax to do so. Those taxes eat at our cost of living.

The sad thing is that the mail-bomb campaign will probably work. It certainly "scared" me before I got the facts. Many busy and confused people will probably vote "No" to anything that might hurt the value of their home. The housing bust hasn't really reached us, but everyone seems to be holding their breath.

Yeah, God bless America all-right...

Even the Doctors are Amazed

Karen went home from the hospital over the weekend. Her one doctor used the words "divine intervention." I'd pontificate, but I find myself at a loss for words. Don't stop praying for her. She's got a long road ahead. She still needs more Chemo. But for now she's home with her family. To that, I can only say Amen.

WTF - They Cast Who as Moses?

Remember when I said I wouldn't post again today...I lied. - Done to voice of Arnold "Commando" Schwarzenegger

So, some nut-job is doing an animated Ten Commandments in a frighteningly similar style to the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. That, by itself has the burning bush up in flames. Then I saw the casting.

scene: LRNs with gaping mouth of shock and confusion.

Christian "Fuck me, they cleared it!" Slater is Moses?!? I don't mean to type-cast him, but Kuffs? Will Scarlett from the Kevin "can't talk with an English accent" Costner's Robin Hood? Has he actually done anything noteworthy since "Pump Up the Volume?" It could be the best animated Bible movie of all time, but all I can see is Moses saying, "Fuck me, it parted!"

OK, OK...deep breath. Who else is in this movie? Sir Ben Kingsley. OK, he's good. I've seen Gandi. Of course, I've also seen about 5 minutes of Blood Rayne...5 minutes I can never get back!

So, Sir Kingsley is the Narrator. And God is...

Elliott Gould?!? Reuben Tishkoff? Reuben's taking a break from bad casino deals and scams with Ocean to lend his voice to God?

Could this be a sign of the apocalypses? I sure hope so. I really don't want to be around when Sunday School classes start screening the DvD.

Better than Monopoly

This is the danger of my sitting around watching football and nursing a cold, I make a lot of posts. This is the last one today, I promise. BUT, I saved the best for last. ;-)

Slick has been secretly trying to figure our a "large" checkbook error for several weeks now. She finally gave in and started a spreadsheet the other week. Well, she found the error and has authorized my much-needed computer upgrade! --Dance of Joy!-- Of course, I've been researching computers for months and have been watching all the major build-to-order companies for deals. Yesterday, I found my system from Dell and came in under budget (including tax!.) I won't go into specs here, I'm really excited. After I rebuild the hard-drive on my old system, I'm hooking it up to the entertainment center so we can play MP3's on the stereo & stream video straight to the TV.

Joy!

Blogs Worth Reading

I was chatting over gmail-chat with NothingNew today and we started talking about the blogs we like to read. I thought I would post my favorite blogs here. I actually read several more. I assume that NothingNew will make a similar post with a much longer list after seeing this one.

"Professional" Blogs
TreeHugger - This is a great blog with tons of daily posts with news, products and ideas concerning the creation of a eco-friendly society.
The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs - The author of this blog is really Daniel Lyons from Forbes Magazine. He was "outed" a few months ago. It's still a great place to get a combination of snarky humor & slanted-tech news.
Geeks of Doom - Ever read Ain't It Cool News? Geeks of Doom is like a blog version of Ain't It Cool. Regular news posts with news and reviews about Comics, TV & Movies.
Overheard In Philly - My taste of home. One-liners overheard on the streets of Philly. Raw, rude, crude & so very Philly. Don't say I didn't warn you!

"Personal" Blogs
FindingAvalon - This is my sister's blog. She started it a few months before me. Surprisingly, we've both taken very similar approaches. We both use pseudonyms. We both mix personal stuff with social commentary. We both have one "big" topic that we come back to. Her "big" topic is the Silent Prince & his struggles w/ Autism.
Sermons at Salem - My sister's blog of her sermons. Technically this could be listed in the "professional" list. Her sermons are an inspiration & often hold more meaning for me than the sermons of my own pastor. Recently, she posted a wonderful sermon about Karen. It was passed around to Karen's family.
NothingNew - College friend, roommate, groomsman & all-around skeptic...I mean...great guy. The problem with this blog is that he --Hint-- doesn't post enough. He posts a mix of personal stuff & really fun/useful links.
Koinonia 21C - My Mother-in-law's Pastor's Blog --No Seriously-- about life, family & his spiritual journey. He's the kind of person with whom Slick and I would just love to get together and drink wine. Insightful, faithful & struggling. He understands that ministry is not about the LAW but about spreading Grace. He's got my in-laws and all their friends feeding the hungry & doing all sorts of community outreach.

f-f-f-football

Ah, football -- America's Pastime -- All Day!

It's a wonderful thing watching the back-to-back-to-back football games in "free" HD. It makes me almost forget this nasty cold that Slick brought me from England. The only thing that would make this better would be beer, BUT the hot tea w/ lots of honey will have to do.

Originally, I was planning a bunch of yard work until the Colts-Pats game, but this cold is nasty. So, laptop, recliner and football...lots and lots of football.

I can't stress how excited I am about the Colts-Pats match-up. Usually, I think the TV networks over-hype games for the sole purpose of ratings. This time, no amount of hype can do this match-up justice. We've got the two best quarterbacks of this generation playing at the peak of their abilities. Their teams are playing the most amazing football. This is the farthest into the season that 2 undefeated teams have met. The next-best team look like AAA college teams next to these two power-houses. I'm really excited. The fact that I've got the Panther's game before & the Eagles game after only adds to the excitement. Unfortunately, the Panthers look like a practice squad with Carr at QB & the Eagles are playing like shit. (Admittedly, I've left the Panthers game in favor of the Jax/NO game.)

What's With Social Networking?

I'm a fairly open person in real life. To talk to me is to know me. That said, all this Web 2.0 Myspace, Facebook & now OpenSocial by Google gives me pause. Yes, I write a "semi-anonymous" blog where I share a lot of personal info, but I'm very mindful about it. I have no interest in plastering my face all over the web or giving out all my information.

I'm from the "old-school" generation of web-browsing & posting. I believe in the philosophy of "Lurking" on sites. Aside from this blog, I only really post on private forums. I'm very cautious and deliberate about when I spend my money online. I believe in the beauty of online pseudonyms. 99% of my online interactions occur in World of Warcraft. Sometimes I play with people I don't know, but usually I usually only play with my real life friends and members of my guild. My guild-mates (most of whom I've never met) are the closest thing I have to the effects of these social networking sites.

Perhaps it's my old-school attitude, but I just don't get social-networking for the sake of social-networking. Then again I never understood the bar scene, blind dates or speed-dating. Perhaps I'm lucky but all of my relationships grew out of mutual interests and day-to-day social interactions. It's due to this lack of prospective that I refrain from completely dissing these sites. I just don't ever intend to use any of these sites and I encourage people to think before they try them.

Canceled due to Bleh

Today's rambling post has been canceled due to an overwhelming sense of BLEH! In addition to still being completely beat up from my trip north, Slick brought me something really special from her trip to England...HER COLD!!! Sharing is caring, right! *SIGH!*

Steampunk in Real Life

Steampunk is a Scifi/Fantasy version of reality where machines are all stylized steam-powered systems. There's a bunch of books, movies & RPGs that use this version of reality. It's very 19th Century Victorian Era British looking with vehicles and gadgets all powered by steam. I've always thought it would be cool to decorate a home in this style. Slick is a huge fan of Steampunk since she's both an avid lover of the Victorian Era & of SciFi. Anyway, I came across a website where they deck stuff out in the Steampunk style.

The Steampunk Workshop

The cool one is the LCD monitor and keyboard.

Waiting With Bated Breath

I'm cautiously waiting to see where this goes. Yesterday, Halloween, Karen made a dramatic turn-around. She's lucid, talking and able to take off her breathing mask to do so. Pooh* spoke to her on the phone. I plan to try calling her later today.

I'm cautious because my experience has shown that sometimes people make a dramatic recovery just before the end. The doctors aren't in agreement either. Some things are greatly encouraging and others remain unchanged.

Do I believe in miracles? Yes, but...

So, I wait with bated breath and I continue to pray.

*Pooh - As you know, it's my usual practice to use pseudonyms in this blog. Only Karen has been exempt from this rule. Pooh was a huge obsession with this friend. I couldn't come up with a better name for her, so she's stuck with it. Sorry Pooh. At least the rest of your family will be easy to name now. ;-)