Sunday, September 30, 2007

Sorry Folks

I attempted to see if any good would come from allowing Mandy free access to post comments here, and within 24 hours it has become a war zone. I apologize that I have to go back to moderating comments, but people are becoming way too emotional here and the great force of negativity is Mandy. So everyone say goodbye Mandy.... "Goodbye Mandy!" and have a nice life in your little Utopian bubble. The rest of us will go on living in the real world, with its problems and I will continue to point them out as I choose.

For more on this and how I am the Great Satan, check Mandy's blog at http://www.mandysmoments.blogspot.com

From Bill Cosby (an American with dark skin)

"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English I can't even talk the way these people talk:
Why you ain't,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be...


And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.

And then I heard the father talk.

Everybody knows it's important to speak English

except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor

with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.


In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living. People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around.


The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal.


These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids. $500 sneakers for what ? ?

And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.

I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.

Where were you when he was 2 ? ?

Where were you when he was 12 ? ?

Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol ? ?

And where is the father ? ? Or who is his father ?


People putting their clothes on backward:
Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong?

People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something ?

Or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up ?

Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?


What part of Africa did this come from??

We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa .

With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap, and all of them are in jail

Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem.

We have got to take the neighborhood back.



People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now.

We have millionaire football players who cannot read.




We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job. Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.

We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.



We cannot blame the white people any longer."



Dr William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr., Ed.D.







WAY TO GO, BILL !!

It's never been about color...



It's about behavior!!!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Use your voice!

Help pick Michael's Halloween Costume....






Errand running

I did not do well at poker today, so I was home before 3pm. I got home and after Amy came down from her nap we watched this week's How I met Your Mother and then we went to the Mall. Amy needed some new shoes, and we walked around and I looked at some sunglasses. When we were done we went to dinner at Red Lobster, then browsed at the Halloween store for costume ideas. Amy really wants me to dress up this year and I really liked a Ghostbusters costume I saw.
On the way home we also stopped at Petland, where almost two years ago we bought Lucy the Basset Hound. They have a TON of kittens today and as you can see, they are absolutely cute. A stop at Walgreen's finished the day's errands and home we are to relax and probably watch some Grey's Anatomy Season 3 episodes.

Did you know...

Did you know there is a secret force policing the internet for unpopular content?

It appears there is, and that a member of this force is someone posting as "Mandy."

Mandy has been sending quite a few comments my way, starting back about a month ago when I wrote a post about crime and behavior that perpetuates stereotypes by fullfilling stereotypes.

This, in her mind, makes me a racist. I would perhaps, I stress perhaps agree with the description that I have some bigotted opinions, but that wouldn't even be accurate because I do not dislike any group based solely on their race, age, religion, sexual orientation or any other protected demographic label.

My greatest curiousity involves why Mandy expresses an opinion that it's wrong to hate anyone. It appears that having any dislike/hatred for another person makes me "sad" in Mandy's opinion.

Back in August I wrote in a stream-of-consciousness style, so I did not stay to a single direct point, but kind of hit on a number of related topics. Unfortunately, I responded to some comments on my blog in the same manner, which lead to more criticism from Mandy and an inflation of her opinion of herself and of my evil nature.

It's also very interesting to me that I've received (and rejected) a number of her comments in the past few days and that she is still very concerned with my writings, and that even though my post on responsibility addressed no specific demographic group, she continues to assail me as a "sad" person, a "hater," a "racist," and someone who should be monitored.

She's even gone as far as to warn me that there are many more people watching me than I might think. Just curious who these people might be and what their purpose and plan is.

If you'd like to see what any of this is about, you may visit "Mandy" at http://www.mandysmoments.blogspot.com

At this site, Mandy's Moments are all about me. Perhaps the title should be Michael's Moments? Mandy has offered (several times) this week to repost my comments from August. She has saved files (should I be flattered?) of my old posts (some of which I chose to delete but she felt to save for posterity).
In a vigilante move, she even posted a picture of me on her blog (which she later removed).
Somehow a seven year old graphic image (which is MY property) made an impact in her desire to police the internet for content she disagrees with, and for her and her "others" to perhaps read, discuss, and get upset about.

I don't know Mandy's ultimate purpose. She has instigated a conflict with another blogger who I know, resulting in that blogger being added to Mandy's list of haters. She has now taken to posting on my wife's blog because I have been rejecting her comments here. I have wondered to myself if her purpose is to get me to respond to her, and if by writing this post I am feeding her ego. I have considered a sabatical from blogging, which would probably satisfy Mandy in that my voice would be silenced, but I think her true desire may be more noble, and the simple fact is that if I stop writing about my thoughts, feelings and opinions, there would not be a change in them, and as there are a total of three posts on her blog (all related to me), what would she have to write about if I did not write?

Friday, September 28, 2007

Friday Flashback #44 - Prayer

Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer


Duran Duran - Save a Prayer


Madonna - Like a Prayer


MC Hammer - Pray

Friday Feast #21

Appetizer -How are you today?
Is this a trick question? A little tired, but I'm still waking up, pan down to the Tirade and Tirade Revisited posts to see how I am.

Soup -Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.
ER (14th season if you can believe it), Lost, How I Met Your Mother

Salad - What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?
The day of my HS graduation practice a group of about 20 of us went rafting on the Chattahoochee River (it's a slow float) and got caught in a Georgia Summer storm with lightning crashing all around us. Being exposed on the water was worse than any hurricane I rode out in Florida.

Main Course - If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be? Ooh, good question with two answers. For financial and general emotional security, England. For my family, China, because I would be there to get LynnMarie.

Dessert - What do you usually wear to sleep?
Well, since you asked.... usually whatever underwear I have on (usually boxers) though I can't rule out wearing nothing to bed but a smile.


Thursday, September 27, 2007

Tirade Revisited

I don't apologize for saying what I think.

I refuse to censor myself in the name of political correctness.

There are too many problems that need to be fixed at the source rather than treated after they manifest themselves.

I wrote a blog entry about some of this a few weeks ago and someone called me a racist, perhaps this newer version is non-specific enough to prevent that from happening again.

I write about things like television and sports and the majority of the comments can't really relate. I write about the possession of information and the majority express lack of knowledge.

So what do you want to read here?

I can't write about the beauty in the world because there is simply not enough of it in my life to share and I refuse to be artificial. Do you want a world where if you get hurt, everyone you know rallies in support and waits and prays for a positive outcome? I would like that too, but it only exists in books, movies, and television, in works of FICTION.

You want to tell me that if I change, than I will have a life like that? Tell me how. How do you change your personality. How do you change who you are, especially if we are the people God created us to be?

A Tirade for Respsonsibility

I copied this after posting it as a comment on a friend's blog. Chris said he was nauseus after talking about a political fundraiser and slamming Rudy Gulianni for a while on his blog....

Good thing you support liberals Chris. As you are suffering your nausea, you can have hope that the Democratic Party wins and move to make the government responsible for everyone's health care.It'll be more handouts for the listless masses who don't want to take the effort to provide for themselves.

It would be a great world if eeryone simply took responsbility for their choices instead of asking for help and handouts.

Those on drugs, did someone hold a gun to your head and make you start doing them?

Those without jobs, did you finish school? Have you applied for jobs every day?

Those needing welfare assistance to pay for your children, did you consider how you were going to pay for this child before you decided to f***?

Those who built your homes below sea level in New Orleans, duh!Those who build on hurricane-prone coastlines. If you can't afford the insurance, don't build there.

Those who want to live here, did you follow the procedures to legally enter the country and apply for permission to work and live here?

Those who can't make rent, food, utilities, did you first purchase tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets?

It is so simple to ask, but so much harder to do. Take responsibility for your own choices.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

2nd Place!

We just got back from trivia and for the first time in over a month, we placed in the money! We had a good shot at first place, having been the only team to ace the round 1 bonus, but we missed two we should have gotten right, here are a few of tonight's offerings....

After China and India, name the next 4 countries in order of highest population. (this is the one we got all four parts on, no one else did).

The other 4-parter, name the 4 MLB franchises with the most World Series Championships.

What is the largest muscle in the human body?

How many stars are there in the big dipper?

In what Colorado town is Columbine High School?

What Brownsville Station song did Motley Crue cover in the 1980's?

What state comes last alphabetically?

In what month, on its first Monday, does the U.S. Supreme Court begin its calander year?

In what year did the USA boycott the Summer Games because Russia had invaded Afghanistan?

What rock group created the rock opera Tommy?

In what German city did the Oktoberfest originate?

Yeah!

The Phillies beat the Braves tonight (5-2) and the Mets lost to the Nationals (9-6)!

What this means.....

The Phillies are basically out of the playoff picture (unless they win every one of their remaning games and the Mets and Padres lose all of their remaining games (and the Phillies and one or two other teams).

After two years of coming VERY close, the Phillies may make the post-season this year.

Life Lesson of the Day

This was discovered the hard way (if you know what I mean).

When you look at the container of tartar sauce in the fridge and it says Best By 9/20/07, take that as a "USE BY" meaning throw it out. It you take it to mean, it will be slightly less tasty than before 9/20/07, you may regret it.

News of the weird and plain stupid

Man finds human leg in auctioned smoker

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published on: 09/25/07

Maiden, N.C. — A man who bought a smoker Tuesday at an auction of abandoned items might have thought twice had he looked inside first.

Maiden police said the man opened up the smoker and saw what he thought was a piece of driftwood wrapped in paper. When he unwrapped it, he found a human leg, cut off 2 to 3 inches above the knee.

The smoker had been sold at an auction of items left behind at a storage facility, so investigators contacted the mother and son who had rented the space where the smoker was found.

The mother said that her son had his leg amputated after a plane crash and kept the leg after the surgery. The mother said her son plans to drive to Maiden, about 35 miles northwest of Charlotte, to reclaim his amputated leg, police said.

Motorcyclist clocked going 135 mph on Ga. 400


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/25/07

Alpharetta police say they clocked a motorcyclist, with a female passenger on back, going 135 miles per hour on Ga. 400 Monday night.

Police reported that they first spotted the motorcycle about 11:20 p.m., traveling 102 mph while going north on Ga. 400 near Haynes Bridge Road. Officers began chasing and realized a woman was riding on the back of the Suzuki GSXR600.

RELATED LINKS:
More North Fulton and Forsyth news

Before reaching Forsyth County, the motorcycle was clocked at 135 mph, police said. The motorcyclist pulled off the side of Ga. 400, police said, but sped away when an officer got out of his car to make an arrest.

The motorcyclist turned onto Peachtree Parkway, drove through two red lights and turned onto Old Alpharetta Road before stopping, police said. The officer said he tackled the driver and rider because he did not see their hands and they did not comply with his order to get off the bike.

Sergey M. Drotenko, 23, of Powder Springs was charged with felony attempting to elude police, two counts of speeding and other violations. The passenger was not charged. Police said they gave her a ride to a nearby gas station, where a friend picked her up.




Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Wordless Wednesday #25 (me and my dad)






Tired to the point of Dementia

I guess I was up too late last night (watching TV with Peter) and up too early this morning (had to go to work). I hae been in and out of sleep for the past three hours while trying to watch the Phillies and Braves on TV and the last few episodes of Heros Season 1 on DVD.

The end results are mixed.

In reality, the Braves were beating the Phillies 10-6 in the 9th inning when I last saw what was going on.

In Dementia, Chipper Jones just cut open Tom Gordon's head to read his brain and blast a homerun to right-center field.

Bobby Cox was getting so upset over the concessionaires running out of hotdogs that he was about to set off a nuclear explosion with himself.

Jimmy Rollins opened the game for the Phillies and literally flew around the bases, his feet never touching the ground, only touching the bags.

Chase Utley reinjured his hand (broken back in August) but healed himself and continued the game including making a great catch that Ryan Howard could not get to.

Skip Carey collected a variety of paintings of events in the game and some artifacts including a magical bat that channels the power of Dale Murphy. This bat was not controlled by any one player as many hit home runs tonight.

Bob Wickman appears from possible invisibility and stops Cox from exploding by offering him some nachos since he's been in Arizona the past month.

A Japanese guy appears and says save the ballgirl save the world. In fulfilling this prophecy the Mets lose and the Phillies stay in the race.

Ten on Tuesday #7

Ten Things I've Been Putting Off
1. Cleaning the garage.
2. Cleaning the white room.
3. Cleaning our bedroom.
4. Cleaning the computer room.
5. Watching the rest of Season 1 of Heros (though I'm getting close).
6. Seeing a bunch of Summer movies including Spiderman 3, Transformers, I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry, Superbad.
7. Finish dewallpapering the master bathroom.
8. Plant some bulbs this Fall.
9. Walk the dog and exercise more.
10. Finalize plans for my anniversary weekend (Amy and I hit 6 years in a week and a half).

Monday, September 24, 2007

Waiting for the birds...

After many months of having a broken (plastic chewed through by squirrels) birdfeeder, we bought a new one yesterday at Target. I put it up last night at dusk, and I've been watching all day today, but we've had no visitors yet. We have a number of cardinals in the area, so I expect they'll be back, along with a number of other birds of varying shapes and sizes. We like the cardinals best though.

Who's Cuter

Amy and I were watching The View this morning and I had the thought....


Who is cuter (personality and physically) Kelly Ripa or Elisabeth Hasselbeck?

Kelly Ripa

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Happiness Is...

a final score in a conference game for UCF where UCF wins by a 56-20 score over the Univeristy of Memphis Tigers!

They lead 42-0 at halftime. We are 2-1 for the season and 1-0 in conference play for the year.

The University of Louisianna-Lafayette is our next guest, next week at 6pm.

Speaking of gurst, I received a really cheesy email this week from the alumni association, the athletic director and the president of the University asking out fans to be nice to the visiting team and their fans as they want our new on-campus stadium to be a nice place to visit.

Aparently no one in these groups knows that competition, bragging, and taunting are all part of the experience of watching college football. They want our stadium to be like Disney (which they are trying to do already with the no outside drinks so you must buy our $3 bottles of water). I don't see it happening.

Go Knights!

The Weekend - Time for Sports!

Hey guys, it's early Saturday morning (1:45am) and I am psyched because my favorite baseball team won again, keeping hope alive for a playoff berth, the Philadelphia Phillies! They are still 1 and a half games behind the New York Mets.

It's Saturday in the Fall and that means college football! My hopes are that UCF (my alma mater) will win in their 2nd home game of the season, against University of Memphis, and that Georgia will lose to Alabama simply because I don't like Georgia.

it made me wonder what kind of question I could pose tonight, and this is it....

What is your favorite sports movie of all time?

Here are a few sports, and some great movies in each genre for you to consider.... (titles in bold are among my favorites)

Golf - Legend of Bagger Vance, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Tin Cup, Caddyshack.

Baseball - Major League, Bull Durham , Field of Dreams, The Natural, Eight Men Out

Football - The Longest Yard (remake), The Replacements, Unnecessary Roughness, Brian's Song, Little Giants, Wildcats, Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, Varsity Blues

Basketball - Hoop Dreams, Hoosiers, White Men Can't Jump, Blue Chips

Hockey/Ice Skating - Ice Princess, Cutting Edge, Mystery Alaska, Miracle, Slapshot, Blades of Glory

Boxing - Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull, Play it to the Bone

Other Sports - Ready to Rumble (wrestling), Visionquest (wrestling), Days of Thunder (auto racing), Talladega Nights (auto racing), The Karate Kid (karate), Airborne (rollerblading), Bend it Like Beckhan (soccer), Chariots of Fire (track)

Tell me what you like and why.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Friday Flashback #43 - Oh Canada!

Hockey season is nearly upon us and we're heading North of the border this week to honor our Maple Leafed neighbors. In the arena of Canadian Rock, there is none better than Bryan Adams, even if there are mega-continuity issues in his video. The girl comes in, changes to a bikini, exits the changing stall in a one-piece, and then climbs the diving platform in a bikini. Hello?!?! Loverboy - skipping the song with the COWBELL, we jump back to 1980 for Turn Me Loose. Men Without Hats were more pop, but they gave us a video with a medieval wench and a midget, you gotta like that. And finally, Glass Tiger, a one album wonder and YES that is Bryan Adams helping them out with backing vocals on this song.

Bryan Adams - Cuts Lke a Knife


Loverboy - Turn Me Loose


Glass Tiger - Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone


Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

Friday Feast #20

Appetizer - What is your favorite type of art?
Static - oil paintings, Fluid - Broadway-style dance
Soup - When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it?
It was probably May if we're talking about going out to a restaurant, and it was my father-in-law.
Salad - On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you?
8
Main Course - Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails?
Just a few minutes, because honestly, I don't get many emails and fewer still that are ones you'd respond too.
Dessert - To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat?
For air conditioning, 74. For Heat, I'm aiming to do 68 all year this year. And we are in one of the Atlanta transition periods now where we need the heat on in the morning and the AC on in the afternoon!

Oh, and I should mention this. My wife, Amy is having a blog-based contest with some very nice prizes she used a giftcard for (which she got for providing excellent care at the hospital). Go to her blog Amy's Random Thoughts, to say you want to play, and post comments as directed to win!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Survivor - China

I have a pretty strong feeling that I am going to be pretty enthusiastic about the new season of Survivor. Can you believe this is the 15th season? They filmed this season in China, on the Lake of A Thousand Islands. Tonight was the premiere, and here are my thoughts.

Location - Beautiful, and of personal interest as I am going to China sometime in the next couple of years.

The People - Holy Cow what a diverse and stereotypically scripted group. I will have to go back and revise my pick for the MVP on the fantasy league. For the past few seasons Amy and I have competed with her college friends and associates in Fantasy Survivor (www.fantasysurvivor.net) where you form a tribe and earn points based on correctly guessing who will win reward, immunity, be safe, be voted off, and answer a mystery question.

As Amy and I watched, we discussed the players and how awful we thought some of them are. There are always a handful of oddballs and regular people mixed in with the bulk of the players who are models, bartenders, and waitpersons. This season is no exception with the beautiful people.

Leslie - Leslie is the token Christian. They usually have one or two people who are outspoken about their faith, and they ALWAYS get kicked out early in the game. Leslie is a Christian Radio Talk Show host! In the first episode they went to a Buddhist temple for a welcome ceremony and she walked out during the ceremony saying, "I only bow to Jesus."

Chicken - The token old guy, token southern guy. He almost needed subtitles but it won't matter because he got voted off. He tried to make a suggestion about building shelter and they ignored him, so he pretty much refused to speak the rest of the three days. He did speak at tribal when he got voted off, yelling "Damn!"

Frosti - this guy is kinda cool. He's half Russian and half Japanese (I think). He's an athlete of sorts, specializing in the art of vaulting obstacles. If you saw the opening of the new Casino Royale, he does a lot of running and jumping.

Peih-Gee - the token Asian - she's already jumping into the role of the pushy/bossy/hated Asian female that we saw in previous episodes. I picked her because of her background, including being born in Hong Kong and having a good deal of outdoors experience, but her personality means I have to switch MVPs.

Sherea - the token black female out of her element - some of these characters do better than others. I don't expect much from this one. She's a school teacher from Atlanta. She started the game in her healed shoes and competed in the immunity challenge with only her bra on, and it was not a bra built for speed or agility if you know what I mean.

Denise - the older white woman - When I first saw her picture on the CBS website, my first thought was nice mullet, another lesbian who looks more manly than a lot of men. Well, I'm wrong. I'm not wrong about the mullet, it is as fine as Billy Ray Cyrus ever grew, but she's a mother of three and a school lunch lady. She will not win.

Ashley - a professional wrestler. This is outside the Survivor stereotypes, but she has reality competition experience as she won a WWE Diva Search and got a contract in the process. I was reading a wrestling news site today and found out (unintentionally) how long she will be in the game. Let me say this. She will be home in time to be ready to compete at Survivor Series in November.

Jean-Robert - a professional poker player. I have not seen him play cards, but his bio says he's won $700,000 in his career so I hope it's more from being able to read people than it's from being lucky. One thing, from early in this episode, DUDE PULL UP YOUR PANTS! We do not need to see the crease of your groin in the frontal shots, especially while you are hanging out with the gay guy. Save it for the Minneapolis airport bathroom.

Speaking of airport bathroom gayness...

Todd - the token outspoken gay - his bio lists him as a gay, Mormon, flight attendant. Does it matter that his family is Mormon? Do the Mormons condone homosexuality? Will he use his time on the show to be as queer as possible?

Courtney - the fake - Amy and I might consider turning off the TV whenever she gets camera time. She's the most annoying Gwen Stefani wannabee we have ever seen. Her initial camera time was spent arguing over knowing how to bow at the temple and telling everyone in America that she's not wearing a bra. Dingbat. The sooner she's out, the better.

James - the token black guy - he's gonna be interesting to watch. He's very quiet as he apparently works alone, as a gravedigger. He's big and strong, and Leslie reached out to him early to help him with socialization. I think he'll do well and I'd like to see him go far.

Aaron - a surf instructor? He was my first choice for MVp and I think he'll do well. He did step up and accept a nomination to lead his tribe, which will probably hurt him unless they do well, and they already are.

Amanda - eye candy, but outdoorsy eye-candy. She's a professional hiking guide and I think they said she's a Miss Montana or something.

Dave - one of the older guys, but he IS a former model (at age 37). He also volunteered to lead a tribe, the one that is not doing well. At the same time he volunteered, phee-gie did, so there could be some conflict here.

Erik - girl's eye candy - he went to Furman (which is cool) and now lives in Nashville working a s amusician. He reminds me a bit too much of Adrian Grenier (Vincent from Entourage).

finally there's Jamie

Jamie - more eye candy - she's a die-hard Univ. of South Carolina fan, that should be reason enough to count her out, but I did enjoy watching the Gamecocks beat the Georgia Bulldogs the other week. It aooears that she is smart and athletic, and her work as a waitress should help her with dealing with people.

It's gonna be a fun season!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Wordless Wednesday # 25

Some pet fun this week. A family member asked for a newer picture of Pixel the kitten, and I found my original (better wide angle) lens, so the pics of Lucy the Bassett Hound are original (not cropped or edited).





Three Days?

I looked at the old blog here a few minutes ago and noticed, "Hey! I haven't blogged in a few days..." so here I go, with a few topics on my mind.

My Jeep - I like my Jeep, a 1995 Grand Cherokee. It is 13 model years old now, and is approaching 180,000 miles. I am putting some money into keeping it around a few more years as it's a lot cheaper than trying to buy a replacement right now. I've had AC issues for about two years now, and I've endured the heat by driving with the windows down. About two weeks ago, the front passenger window was down and decided it did not want to go back up! So we trekked out to Lithonia (about 45 miles from Kennesaw) to Rogers'. (yes the apostrophe is in the right place, the garage belongs to a guy whose first name is Rogers) He has been our family mechanic for about 25 years now.
He has fixed the window issue (electrical), and done an oil change. He discovered a leak in the anti-freeze/coolant and the water pump is failing, so those are being addressed as more urgent, and he found two leaks in the AC system, so the total job to fix it all will be about $1500. I expect/need about 3 more years out of this vehicle.

My Knights - I blogged about UCF and the debut of the stadium on campus last weekend, the Brighthouse Networks Stadium. They bragged about the stadium because it was built on time (in less than a year and a half), it came in under budget, and it was built without any public funds. They didn't mention that it was also built WITHOUT ANY WATER FOUNTAINS!
It appears it is not required by the code, so they didn't plan for them. Minor problem here. This stadium is in Orlando, where it gets hot, and it was in the 90's on Saturday. They ran out of the $3 bottles of water they were overcharging for in the third quarter. 18 fans were transported to local hospitals with heat-related medical needs.
Yesterday I was writing an email to the Director of the Athletic Dept. and decided to hold on for a moment. This afternoon, according to http://www.orlandosentinel.com/, there will be water fountains installed IMMEDIATELY. They will have 10 installed by this week's game with Memphis, and 40 more after that. My pride is somewhat restored.

My Phillies - I posted a very celebratory comment about the Phillies winning their game at St. Louis last night. I expected the win, because in the 7th inning they were winning by about 8 runs. It turns out they were ahead by 11-0 at one point. They won the game 13-11 after letting the Cards get WAY TOO CLOSE. But the win came, and Ryan Howard had 2 home runs, and the Mets lost, and the Phillies are now just 2 and a half games behind the Mets in the NL East!

My Sleep - Not nearly enough of it. I got home last night after playing poker at Winston's (before which I took Amy to work because my car is in the garage). We expected that one of her coworkers would be able to give her a ride, but it did not turn out that way. As a result, Amy called this morning to wake me to come get her. I have been fighting to stay awake all day.

The Bug Man - yep, the every-three-month visit from the exterminator was today (part of why I could not sleep after we got home). He asked if we were saving our dead cicada (didn't know we had one). Anyways, his stuff works and we are without bugs, yeah!

Oh yeah, and back to the Jeep - do you guys name your vehicles? I never have. Any ideas for mine? (It's a burgundy SUV). Amy used to call her gold Honda Accord "Ginger," but does not do so much anymore.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

So Close!

Yesterday Amy and I went to a sports bar to join the Atlanta UCF Alumni to watch the opening game in our on-campus stadium. UCF could have booked a weak team to ensure a win, or they could invite a big team and get national TV coverage and a paycheck in the process. We opted for the latter bringing in #6 ranked University of Texas.

I had poor expectations, but it was a wonderful day except for a 15 minute lightning delay and some rain showers, but this is Orlando in the late Summer.

We lead the game at 7-3, we were behind at the half at 20-10, we lead the game in the 4th quarter at 24-23, and I thought our fate was sealed when we fell behind 35-24 with less than 3 minutes left and having lost possession of the ball. We managed to get it back, score and get the 2 point conversion, for a final score of 35-32.

Very respectable for a game in which we were unranked, and we gave up an interception and two fumbles by our quarterback (running the ball). An upset would have been fantastic, but a loss by three when the betting line said lose by 20 is tremendous.

Go Knights!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Ooooof

Ever have a meal SO GOOD you don't want to stop eating? Literally, you are trying to find a way to consume more despite the limits of your digestive system?

This happened to me last night courtesy of my lovely wife and her online recipe hunting.

We had pork spare ribs, slow cooked all day in the crock pot (with BBQ of course), an entire casserole dish of mac & cheese, and an entire casserole dish of baked beans with bacon and onions added in. I am thankful for leftovers today, but oh my God.

What a meal!

Friday, September 14, 2007

WonderGirl CARLY Flag Football

Friday Flashback #42 - Supermodels

Let's see, in three of these four videos, the artist has/had a relationship with the supermodel in the video, and all three are no longer couples.... as for the fourth video, well, he wouldn't be in THAT kind of relationship with a FEMALE model.... enjoy the tunes.

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl - Christie Brinkley


George Michael - Freedom 90 - EVERYBODY


Guns & Roses - November Rain - Stephanie Seymour


Rod Stewart - Infatuation - Rachael Hunter

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #28



Thirteen Things about Michael

There's some cheese here, but 13 favorite movie musicals.......

1. Moulin Rouge - who-da-thunk-it that Ewan MacGregor and Nicole Kidman could sing?
2. The Pirate Movie - a spoof on the Pirates of Penzance done in 1982 in Australia with Kristy MacNichol and Christopher Atkins - some funny stuff and cheesy songs.
3. Grease - Yeah well, every 13 year-old girl in the world can't be wrong.
4. Guys & Dolls - a favorite since I was introduced to it while student-teaching in 1994, and the movie stars Sinatra and Brando BOTH singing.
5. Xanadu - considered by some to be the worst movie musical of all time, it is actually proving a success on Broadway currently.
6. Grease 2 - different from the first, but it had Michelle Pfeifer and the lead male was named Michael and he got her in the end.
7. Rent - loved the stage play, and thought the movie was done very well, especially considering Chris Columbus of Home Alone fame directed it.
8. State Fair - saw the stage production on tour with a friend in Orlando and went after the movie next. You have to love some of the classics.
9. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - okay, the movie was animated, but it has been done as a stage play as well, including by ME in the lead role.
10. Jesus Christ Superstar - the movie is dated, but I still love the music.
11. Hair - the stage production (though edited because it was in Kissimmee, FL) was great, and the movie is not that bad, better than Godspell.
12. Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds, Dom Delouise. Do I need to say anything more? Well, the UCF Theatre department put on a good production as well.
13. The Blues Brothers - while not following a traditional musical format, it is packed with talent and has some great songs.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Oops! I forgot to post this earlier

Hey, it's 7pm on the East coast of the USA and if you see this in the next 3 hours, you still have time to get to your nearest Walgreen's Pharmacy for

FREE INKJET REFILL DAY

No joke. One per household, black or color, TODAY. Check the website, www.walgreens.com to find a store with the ink jet refill service.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Tuesday - About 9 Hours Later

Here's the weird thing. I didn't even think about what the date was this morning, being September 11, and the fact that it's the first time the 11th has fallen on a Tuesday since the original day of the terror attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001.

As the years are passing it seems more and more distant, as I imagine it should. I heard that several memorial services were held today at the crash sites. With supporting evidence of the book Let's Roll and the movie United 93, it's a lot harder to justify such an idea, but in the back of my mind I still believe it's possible that U-93 was shot down by American military forces. Consider at the time they were struggling to account for every commerical airplane that was aloft. They may have received information identifying U-93 as a plane that had been compromised, and knowing that the Pentagon had already been struck it would be reasonable that in order to protect the White House, the Senate, or other key buildings, the President could well have ordered the downing of that jet. As I said, I think it less likely, but not entirely unreasonable.

So aside from this, the day went on as any normal day would. This afternoon we actually got some rain, so I had to buy some Saran Wrap and cover my front passenger window which will not currently close. I managed to swing by Publix and pick up dinner for Amy and myself, and she will head off to work and I will likely sit and reflect on a lot of different things tonight.

This reflection is not because of the anniversary of the terror attacks, but I will simply say that I have a lot on my mind and I am trying to sort through it all.

Tuesday

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

College Football - Updated and Trivia

It's about 12:15am on Sunday. Right now I am 14 and 4 in my picks with three games still in play, so I could wrap up at 17 and 4 which isn't too bad. Update Sunday Morning, I wound up 16-5 because Auburn couldn't handle South Florida, geez.

I imagine that by Wednesday they'll have announced the dismissal of the head coach at Michigan. No team with that legacy should start out the way they have.

Games of note today... Michigan losing horribly, Georgia Tech winning splendidly, and UGA losing to the unranked Gamecocks of South Carolina.

We went to trivia tonight and came in first. We were never behind, though we were tied going into the final bonus question. We missed 6 possible points in the whole game. The points we lost were 2 points on a regular question...

Who is the first person to receive two busts in the NFL Hall of Fame, one as a player and one as a broadcaster? We said Madden.

And a bonus question worth 4 points each, to name the 4 oldest baseball parks in the National League (he specified these are for baseball only and to name the park, not the team). We answered correctly... Shea Stadium, Dodgers Stadium, and Wrigley Field. Our incorrect 4th answer was RFK stadium in Washington DC.

I'll let y'all guess at what we missed in those two.

The final bonus was on the olympics. As organized by the IOGC (I think), in what year were the first MODERN Olympic games held? We knew it right off, and the team that was tied with us was off by 8 years.... your answers....

Friday, September 07, 2007

Saturday Photo Hunt #17 Music



Friday Flashback #41 - Animation

A couple of my old favorites are featured this week with Hall & Oates Family Man and the Alan Parsons Project Don't Answer Me, all the videos have some form of animation, qualifying them for the themed flashback #41. Enjoy!

Hall & Oates - Family Man


Dire Straits - Money For Nothing


Alan Parsons Project - Don't Answer Me


A-ha - Take on Me

Friday's Feast #19

Appetizer - Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?
Indifferent
Soup - What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?
Need 3 here... cooler weather, changing colors, college football
Salad - Have you ever had any bad experiences online?
Yes. Last week some lady I don't know decided to copy parts of my blog (including my picture) in an attempt to defame me over an opinion I expressed.
Main Course - Name three things that make you happy daily.
My wife, my cats, getting email (other than spam)
Dessert - What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without
Broom - somehow there seems to be a lot more dirt and dust on the hardwood floors.



Thursday, September 06, 2007

Yeah for Casting Crowns!

I have posted a video a few times by Christian Rock Band Casting Crowns. Click here for a link to a story about their latest album. It released on Tuesday and debuted at #2 on the Billboard album charts, that's ALL types of music!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

From Sparky Duck (he got 63%)

How smart are you?Am-I-Dumb.com - Are you dumb?

College Football - w/e 9/8/07

Okay, I have to admit, I am no expert, but here are my gut feelings regarding the top 25 college teams for this coming week...

Thursday, September 6
7:00 PM ET Middle Tennessee St. at Louisville (8)
Lousville in a landslide, I say by 24 points

Friday, September 7
7:00 PM ET Navy at Rutgers (16)
Rutgers in a game that will be closer than it should, by 10.

Saturday, September 8
11:10 AM ET West Virginia (4) at Marshall
Laughing all the way to the goal line. UCF beat Marshall last year in front of a national audience and WITH Matthew McCaughney on the Marshall sidelines.
Mountaineers by 15.

12:00 PM ET Nebraska (17) at Wake Forest
Here's the first upset of the day. WF got some votes this week and they are at home. Demon Deacons by 6.

12:00 PM ET Akron at Ohio State (11)
Mercy Killing, OSU by 30.

12:00 PM ET Miami at Oklahoma (6)
This is Miami as in Florida? Guess the judge gave them permission to travel, Sooners by 22.

1:30 PM ET Samford at Georgia Tech (21)
Something tells me not to guarantee Tech after their high and mighty upset at Notre Dame last week, but they'll maintain. Tech by 9.

2:00 PM ET California (10) at Colorado State
Cal by 12.

2:30 PM ET North Carolina State at Boston College (25)
The Wolfpack are reeling after a visit from UCF last week, and they are on the road. BC by 7.

3:30 PM ET Fresno State at Texas A&M (23)
Home game for the 12th man. Not a nailbiter, Aggies roll by 10.

3:30 PM ET Boise State (20) at Washington
Close enough they may as well call it an in-state rivalry, not that anyone cares about college football in the Pacific Northwest. The blue field guys by 18.

5:45 PM ET South Carolina at Georgia (12)
I called on Spurrier to beat the Dogs last year and he failed me. UGA here by 18.

6:00 PM ET Troy at Florida (3)
Good Lord, pad the National Champs with patsies two weeks in a row?!?! UF by 45.

6:00 PM ET Notre Dame at Penn State (15)
The Irish drop to 0-2 after Papa Joe (and his oxygen tank) beat them by 21. The Lions are NOt the Yellowjackets.

6:30 PM ET Brigham Young at UCLA (14)
Oh Yeah, pick on the Mormons... UCLA by 21.

7:00 PM ET Southern Mississippi at Tennessee (24)
An in-conference match-up in the SEC! UT lost last week to a better team, they'll redeem themselves this week. Vols by 13.

7:00 PM ET Texas Christian (19) at Texas (7)
I'd love to see an upset here to put UT off for next week's game at UCF. I don't expect it, but my pick is TCU by 8.

7:00 PM ET Hawaii (22) at Louisiana Tech
The Samoan Defensive Line rules. Hawaii by 6 because of the jet lag.

9:00 PM ET South Florida at Auburn (13)
I really don't care for Auburn, but UCF has USF again this year and that's enough to make me a Tiger this week. Auburn by 27.

9:15 PM ET Virginia Tech (9) at Louisiana State (2)
Probably the best matchup of the week. LSU will dominate, but it will be fun to watch. Tigers by 8.

10:00 PM ET Wisconsin (5) at UNLV
Bucky the Badger in the cheesiest game in Nevada. Let's see, UNLV is known for hoops and cacti, time to say UW with the W, by 23.

Thursday Thirteen #27


Thirteen Things about Michael

Thirteen Things I Stocked from the truck today at Walgreens.
1. Bottled Water - actually built a floor display.
2. Adult Diapers
3. Baby Diapers
4. Twizzlers Licorice Bites (Strawberry)
5. Light Bulbs (3-way)
6. Poster Frames
7. Arizona Iced Tea Pomegranate Green Tea Energy Drink
8. Right Guard Sport Sticks
9. Hand Sanitizer
10. Mops
11. Toilet Tissue
12. Trash Bags
13. Humidifiers


Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
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Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




Wordless Wednesday #24

This is a little different for a Wordless Wednesday. I was short on time, so I did not review photos this week, but as you'll see i nthe video, the performer is wordless (David Aramand), and Natalie Imbruglia is quite cute.




Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Small World

While at work tonight I met a lady who was looking for some baby formula. While I was checking another store's stock, we were talking and it turned out we have a lot in common. Tricia went to UCF and graduated the same years that I did '94 and '99. Her husband is also a UCF alum. She attended both of the high schools that I student taught at when I planned to be a HS English teacher. And we both went to Valencia Community College West Campus in Orlando.

We talked a bit about UCF and their victory this past week at NC State and the gathering to watch UCF and Texas in a week and a half.

Opportunity to Shine

Things sometimes just don't go as you have them planned.

Today was to be my second day off in a row, my second day off of the week as it would be. Amy knew I had Monday/Tuesday off, so she managed to switch her schedule to have tonight off and work on Thursday, so she worked last night and came home to sleep.

About an hour ago I got a call from my store manager needing my help tonight due to a combination of a scheduling error and a scheduling conflict, so I immediately said yes that I would come in.

Obviously Amy is disappointed, but it's one of those situations where I am new to the company and I am in a position of responsibility, so I have to step up and accept the shift. So I will be closing tonight and opening tomorrow. We'll have trivia tomorrow night and I work day shifts Thursday and Friday.

Thursday will be Amy's other work day, and Friday we have our adoption support group meeting and the open house at our church as they unveil the completed construction. I don't know what next week's schedule holds, but hopefully a full day off with Amy will be in there somewhere.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Happy

Okay, so the Phillies lost yesterday and the Mets won, but I'm okay with that.

In the family interest of college football......

UCF 25, North Carolina State University 23

Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3.