Bathfitters arrived this morning at 8:00 to begin work on our bathroom remodel. They immendiated started working to remove the old fixtures, took an hour for lunch, finished the job by just a little after five, cleaned up inside and out and were gone by 5:30.
They spread tarps over the carpet, did their cutting outside, and di an exellent job. The only things missed were two pieces of plastic about the size of a gallon freezer bag, that the wind had blown away and they didn't fasten the basement door.
I lack the time but I will send a picture of the finished work soon.
If anyone wants a bathfitter job, please give them my name.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Bees in the yard
It seems that Bumblebees have been busy this year, taking over the jobs that honeybees once did. Besides the obvious differences in size and color between the two bees, there are some similarities. Both bees build hives and produce honey. However, their lifestyle is totally different.
Honey bees build larger and larger hives and tend to stay with one hive for years. Sometimes a group of honeybees will swarm, breaking away from the hive and starting a second one in another location. Bumblebees, on the other hand, only stay in groups of around fifty bees and build new hives every year.
Both bees do pollinate fruit and vegatables. which is good for people like me wwho have gardens. I have three kinds: flower, water, and vegatable.
Honey bees build larger and larger hives and tend to stay with one hive for years. Sometimes a group of honeybees will swarm, breaking away from the hive and starting a second one in another location. Bumblebees, on the other hand, only stay in groups of around fifty bees and build new hives every year.
Both bees do pollinate fruit and vegatables. which is good for people like me wwho have gardens. I have three kinds: flower, water, and vegatable.
Before
Tomorrow is the big day for the bathroom remodel. We are having the garden tub (pictured) taken out and a shower stall installed. If not the largest, it will be close to the biggest shower stall put in by bathfitters. It will come equiped with a built-in seat.
Spies are more common than you think
One is left with the feeling that it isn't believed that this woman can be a spy because she is so pretty. Exactly how ugly does one have to be to spy? Seems James Bond and all the beautiful women and transexuals weren't too pretty to be spies in the movies?
Jack Kennedy dated a spy, from Russia no less, and I'm sure she was very attractive.
Spying isn't all cloak and dagger stuff.
And it isn't limited to people with certain looks.
Did the police actually see this?
Man, 81, accused of machete chase near taco stand
Published - Jun 29 2010 03:20PM EST
SALEM, Ore. — Police said an 81-year-old man was arrested after he chased another man around a Salem taco stand while armed with a machete. Salem police said Monday the man accused the taco stand owner of stealing a drill from his nearby business. When the taco stand owner denied it, the suspect left and returned with a machete.
Lt. Dave Okada said the suspect chased the unidentified man around the stand several times before officers arrested him on accusations of menacing and attempted assault. He was booked into the Marion County Jail.
There were no injuries in Sunday's incident.
I was attacked by a mad motorist two weeks ago and the police could not make an arrest because they didn't actually witness the attack on me. Made me feel real safe.
___
Published - Jun 29 2010 03:20PM EST
SALEM, Ore. — Police said an 81-year-old man was arrested after he chased another man around a Salem taco stand while armed with a machete. Salem police said Monday the man accused the taco stand owner of stealing a drill from his nearby business. When the taco stand owner denied it, the suspect left and returned with a machete.
Lt. Dave Okada said the suspect chased the unidentified man around the stand several times before officers arrested him on accusations of menacing and attempted assault. He was booked into the Marion County Jail.
There were no injuries in Sunday's incident.
I was attacked by a mad motorist two weeks ago and the police could not make an arrest because they didn't actually witness the attack on me. Made me feel real safe.
___
Monday, June 28, 2010
An idea
Back in the day when i was running the streets of Greensboro gatering information for my book "Queen of Southgate" I had observed actions by several Greensboro Police officers that didn't seem to be part of their job. I also heard rumors about other cops, particularly one cop who was a central figure in "Cops in black and white" a series of articles written by Jerry Bledsoe that appreared in the Rhino times and covered his investigation into the firing of the Poice Chief of Greensbor, David Wray.
During that investigation I was interviewed by a reporter for the Greensboro news and Record and i gave her the names of two policemen I suspected were involved in shady dealings and that information was rwisted and used to trick David Wray.
It appeared to be apparent that there were some shady goings-on within the Greensboro police department yet with the exception of questionable violations and cover-ups of some minor department policies, nothings substantial was investigated with vigor.
I was reading a story I had read several times before and never really thought there was a connerction but now I'm not so sure. An excerpt from this TruTV story is as follows:
"The connections both Bryant and Vance had made would prove useful in the formation of "Executive Protection, Ltd.," a private security service that they started with Thornton. The business, nicknamed "The Company," was in actuality a front for a large-scale drugs and weapons smuggling enterprise. Bryant, the brains of the outfit, used his connections to obtain and manage the capital they needed to run the operation. Thornton, the logistics coordinator and pilot, arranged the transportation of the goods, mostly marijuana, cocaine and guns, flown from as far away as South America back to Lexington, where the cargo would be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars to dealers throughout the region. Finally, Vance would serve as the inside man, tipping his colleagues to any official investigations into The Company's activities, for which he would receive a significant cut of the profits. To assist in their expanding operations, the men also "recruited operatives, drawing from a pool of former police officers and drug agents from various state, local and federal agencies," Sally Denton wrote in her book The Bluegrass Conspiracy: The Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs and Murder."
Thorton was a former narcotics officer and Vance was an investigator for the state
police.
Could it be possibel that there is a more organized group involving some Greensboro cops as there were in this story about "The Company" and not just a small group of unrelated rogue cops as suggested by all the stories that came out during this time.
I suppose without legal proof of concusion, one dare not even hint as such stuff and dare not to even think of names of possible suspects.
Such thoughts would make for an interesting story, if one had the talent to write such things.
During that investigation I was interviewed by a reporter for the Greensboro news and Record and i gave her the names of two policemen I suspected were involved in shady dealings and that information was rwisted and used to trick David Wray.
It appeared to be apparent that there were some shady goings-on within the Greensboro police department yet with the exception of questionable violations and cover-ups of some minor department policies, nothings substantial was investigated with vigor.
I was reading a story I had read several times before and never really thought there was a connerction but now I'm not so sure. An excerpt from this TruTV story is as follows:
"The connections both Bryant and Vance had made would prove useful in the formation of "Executive Protection, Ltd.," a private security service that they started with Thornton. The business, nicknamed "The Company," was in actuality a front for a large-scale drugs and weapons smuggling enterprise. Bryant, the brains of the outfit, used his connections to obtain and manage the capital they needed to run the operation. Thornton, the logistics coordinator and pilot, arranged the transportation of the goods, mostly marijuana, cocaine and guns, flown from as far away as South America back to Lexington, where the cargo would be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars to dealers throughout the region. Finally, Vance would serve as the inside man, tipping his colleagues to any official investigations into The Company's activities, for which he would receive a significant cut of the profits. To assist in their expanding operations, the men also "recruited operatives, drawing from a pool of former police officers and drug agents from various state, local and federal agencies," Sally Denton wrote in her book The Bluegrass Conspiracy: The Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs and Murder."
Thorton was a former narcotics officer and Vance was an investigator for the state
police.
Could it be possibel that there is a more organized group involving some Greensboro cops as there were in this story about "The Company" and not just a small group of unrelated rogue cops as suggested by all the stories that came out during this time.
I suppose without legal proof of concusion, one dare not even hint as such stuff and dare not to even think of names of possible suspects.
Such thoughts would make for an interesting story, if one had the talent to write such things.
Friday, June 25, 2010
rors weigh Chicago cop's word against 5 felons
These accusations have persisted for years and the tales are consistant over time. Looks, walks, talks, and smells like a duck.
Shame but it's a false honor. Not the first time. There was a recent case in which a high ranking police officer, a female cop, was arrested and convicted of murder. She had killed in a rivalry for a mans affection. Just didn't like to lose.
Shame but it's a false honor. Not the first time. There was a recent case in which a high ranking police officer, a female cop, was arrested and convicted of murder. She had killed in a rivalry for a mans affection. Just didn't like to lose.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
News Shorts
A young mother took her two year old with her when she went to visit relatives in Henderson (located in Vance County, about 40 miles north of Raleigh). The two year old accidentally shot himself when he picked up a loaded gun left on the kitchen counter.
That's why I don't allow children in the house. I believe they should be outlawed but if we can't do that, maybe we can kept them locked up and under control so they don't hurt anyone or anything. It seems they are always in to something that they shouldn't be. it's a shame a man just can't kept a loaded gun anywhere in the house without some brat trying to play with it.
In other stories, some about the President, Barrack Obama (in case you aren't sure who it is), has suffered some set-backs. A judge ruled against his ban on off-shore drilling in one case and in another, a provision for the government to control the auto industry was stricken.
Not to worry, these are just a few minor bumps in the road to the governments take over of the American economy. I know some of you just don't believe that and he's counting on that. Even though he hasn't made it a secret many of his followers just haven't recognized the truth yet.
That's why I don't allow children in the house. I believe they should be outlawed but if we can't do that, maybe we can kept them locked up and under control so they don't hurt anyone or anything. It seems they are always in to something that they shouldn't be. it's a shame a man just can't kept a loaded gun anywhere in the house without some brat trying to play with it.
In other stories, some about the President, Barrack Obama (in case you aren't sure who it is), has suffered some set-backs. A judge ruled against his ban on off-shore drilling in one case and in another, a provision for the government to control the auto industry was stricken.
Not to worry, these are just a few minor bumps in the road to the governments take over of the American economy. I know some of you just don't believe that and he's counting on that. Even though he hasn't made it a secret many of his followers just haven't recognized the truth yet.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The changing of the seasons
June 20th is the last day of spring and the first day of summer. June 21st will be the first full day of summer but the 20th is the first day.
This spring has brought much rain, plenty of vines on cucumbers, watermelons, cataloupes, pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes. In my garden, I have been picking tomatoes for 2 weeks, cucumbers for over a week, and have cataloupes the size of, well, cataloupes. My first watermelons appeared on the vines today even though the vines strength like forever.
Blackberries, one of my favorite things to eat, are plentiful this year and early. I've already picked three quarts and the crop hasn't really began to turn from red to black yet.
I always thought that a blackberyy was a blackberry was a blackberry except, of clourse, for the blackberry that is a dew berry but it turns out there are more than one kind of blackberry just like there are more than one variety of just about everything else, including people.
This spring has brought much rain, plenty of vines on cucumbers, watermelons, cataloupes, pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes. In my garden, I have been picking tomatoes for 2 weeks, cucumbers for over a week, and have cataloupes the size of, well, cataloupes. My first watermelons appeared on the vines today even though the vines strength like forever.
Blackberries, one of my favorite things to eat, are plentiful this year and early. I've already picked three quarts and the crop hasn't really began to turn from red to black yet.
I always thought that a blackberyy was a blackberry was a blackberry except, of clourse, for the blackberry that is a dew berry but it turns out there are more than one kind of blackberry just like there are more than one variety of just about everything else, including people.
The Ice plant
A great ground cover plant that spreads quickly, growns to only two inches high, needs little if any attention, and is easy to transplant; just stick a piece in the soil and it will root itself in a couple of weeks.
Comes in three colors, white, yellow and the most popular purple.
Feature Story
http://www.storyhouse.org
A short story I wrote many years ago is the feature story on the home page of storyhouse.org. The owner of the site says it is one of his favorite. The story is labeled as fiction but it is more truth than not.
A short story I wrote many years ago is the feature story on the home page of storyhouse.org. The owner of the site says it is one of his favorite. The story is labeled as fiction but it is more truth than not.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Am I crazy?
If I pay a company to provide a service and they fail to do so, am I crazy to expect them to pay for the consequences of their fraud?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Bold face Lie
"Friendly, Knowledgeable Customer Service
Our friendly and knowledgeable auto glass technicians and customer service staff are dedicated to providing you with fast, quality service - at your convenience. Right from the start - our customer service representatives will answer your questions, handle the details with insurance and get your vehicle scheduled for in-shop replacement or mobile in a manner that is easiest for you.
You can rest assured when a Kimble Auto Glass technician begins work on your vehicle:"
They won't even respond to a request for a quote via e-mail or by phone. Sucky way of doing business. AARP auto club is about to get on my last nerve too.
Want to do business with a good company, try Ames Tru-temper tools. My Mom has a 2-prong hoe (strawberry rack) that is at least twenty years old and works as good as a brand new one. I bought one a few years ago but the head came loose. Ames is sending me a brand new one and all I did was ask how to fix the one I have. That a good way to win a customer for life.
Our friendly and knowledgeable auto glass technicians and customer service staff are dedicated to providing you with fast, quality service - at your convenience. Right from the start - our customer service representatives will answer your questions, handle the details with insurance and get your vehicle scheduled for in-shop replacement or mobile in a manner that is easiest for you.
You can rest assured when a Kimble Auto Glass technician begins work on your vehicle:"
They won't even respond to a request for a quote via e-mail or by phone. Sucky way of doing business. AARP auto club is about to get on my last nerve too.
Want to do business with a good company, try Ames Tru-temper tools. My Mom has a 2-prong hoe (strawberry rack) that is at least twenty years old and works as good as a brand new one. I bought one a few years ago but the head came loose. Ames is sending me a brand new one and all I did was ask how to fix the one I have. That a good way to win a customer for life.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Excerpt
"The report includes the story of an American girl named Harriet who ran away from home at 11 and was pimped out by a man in his thirties. "The police arrested Harriet when she was 13 and charged her with committing prostitution," it says. "They made no efforts to find her pimp." She was sentenced to 18 months' probation, even though she wasn't old enough to legally consent to sex.
That story is one of many horrors recounted in this mammoth document, a compendium of the trafficking situation in just about every country in the world. According to the report, which measures trafficking for both sex bondage and forced labor, 12.3 million people are trapped in modern slavery worldwide. Yet across the globe, only 4,166 trafficking prosecutions were successful in 2009, suggesting that the vast majority of perpetrators are operating with impunity."
In many cases street prostitutes are criminals but in many cases thet are victims.
The justice system has a two-fold purpose and that is to punish and correct. Too often the emphasis is placed on the punish part without any effort to correct the errarnt behaviour. We need a better system.
That story is one of many horrors recounted in this mammoth document, a compendium of the trafficking situation in just about every country in the world. According to the report, which measures trafficking for both sex bondage and forced labor, 12.3 million people are trapped in modern slavery worldwide. Yet across the globe, only 4,166 trafficking prosecutions were successful in 2009, suggesting that the vast majority of perpetrators are operating with impunity."
In many cases street prostitutes are criminals but in many cases thet are victims.
The justice system has a two-fold purpose and that is to punish and correct. Too often the emphasis is placed on the punish part without any effort to correct the errarnt behaviour. We need a better system.
Monday, June 14, 2010
I-40 incident, follow-up part 1
I did receive a response from the captain of the police department in Morganton in which he said
" I can imagine that the incident you described was a very harrowing experience for you. I don’t know all of the facts of the incident but for most misdemeanor offenses an officer cannot make an arrest unless the crime occurred in their presence. It may very well have been that the officers were unable to make an arrest. I will pass your email on to the watch commander that was on duty yesterday so that he may look into the facts and respond back to you. Thank you for taking the time to make us aware of your concerns."
" I can imagine that the incident you described was a very harrowing experience for you. I don’t know all of the facts of the incident but for most misdemeanor offenses an officer cannot make an arrest unless the crime occurred in their presence. It may very well have been that the officers were unable to make an arrest. I will pass your email on to the watch commander that was on duty yesterday so that he may look into the facts and respond back to you. Thank you for taking the time to make us aware of your concerns."
A response
Putting a bow tie on a pig doesn't change the pig into a cow and neither does putting gloves on an unsanitary worker make that worker clean. The health department does not require food handlers to wear gloves. What the health department does require is that a food handler wash their hands before beginning work and after all breaks, after smoking, coughing, sneezing, or eating, after all bathroom visits, and that the food handlers wash their hands or change their gloves after handling uncooked foodsand before handling ready to eat products, and when changing from working with one species to another. Following that procedure will eliminate cross-contaimination.
The biggest concern in the food industry for illness prevention is temperature control and proper storage. There isn't anything a person can do with an ungloved hand that he can't do with a gloved one.
Some employers require their workers to wear gloves but that is a company policy and not one required by law.
Dale E. Sperling
The biggest concern in the food industry for illness prevention is temperature control and proper storage. There isn't anything a person can do with an ungloved hand that he can't do with a gloved one.
Some employers require their workers to wear gloves but that is a company policy and not one required by law.
Dale E. Sperling
Sunday, June 13, 2010
talk about poor English
"The kitten known as Two Face brought the animal to the vet shortly after it was born on Wednesday because its mother refused to"
That is a real sentence from a MS MBC story. I think there is an opportunity for some recent college graduate.
That is a real sentence from a MS MBC story. I think there is an opportunity for some recent college graduate.
June 12, 2010: the I-40 incident
June 14th is Mom's 85th birthday but I have to work so I decided to pay her a surprise visit on the 12th. When I was just a wee lad I used to picked swwet pea blooms for her and on this day I saw some growing beside the road so I picked her a nice bouquet of sweet pea blooms.
I had purchased her a pineapple cupcake from "Cupcakes to go" in Randleman (they were nice enough to put it in a sturdy brown box to protect it during the long trip). Honestly, the girls there are just as sweet as the cupcakes are. I took along with me her birthday card and a pack of party favors, the little horns that unroll and toot when one blows into them.
I sang Happy Birthday to her, she blew out her candle, and she just laughed with joy over our little party. She was happy.
I needed to go to Old Fort and hang a "For Sale" sign on my property (anyone interested?) and just as I was approaching Morganton a vehicle overtaking me to my left threw a can at my car, hitting it. I Called the highway patrol and gave them a description of the incident and the vehicle involved and while on the phone the van exited at exit 104 which is the exit that leads to the highway patrol station.
"My good fortune" I thought. Not so. When the van stopped at the traffic sign, a passenger, a big burly man, got out of the van and walked back to my car and started pounding on it. After five or six hits, he walked back to the van which took off across the intersection back to I-40.
The van then took the next exit (103) and then my call was transferred to the Morganton police. The van then pulled into a service station and I pulled in too but kept my distance. The burly man got out of the van and walked back to my car and tried to pull my door open. He then struck my door glass with his fist three or four times and then attacked my roof. He walked off just as two police cars pulled in.
One officer spoke to me and then spoke to the passenger. As the officer was walking back to me, the passenger got back into the van and they left. The officer told me that he told the man he needed to find a better way to handle his problems and that there was nothing he could do about the incident.
Throwing an object at a moving vehicle (called launching a missile) is illegal as is littering. Since the object throw was a large empty can of beer he could have been charged with carrying an open container. Certainly putting me in fear of my life and limb is an assualt. And I believe the dent on the top of my car is damage to personal property.
I had a taste of what it is like to be a minority as the attacker was Hispanic and the clerk at the service station was Hispanic and was hostile towards me. Excuse me for being an American!
To add insult to injury, I locked my keys in the car along with my wallet which contains my spare key in case I lock myself out of my car. My car was running.
I called my travel club and got a lady with a heavy accent which makes it doubly tough for a person who is hearing impaired. One has to remove ones hearing aid to talk on a telephone or cell phone. She couldn't find the Citgo station on her GPS locator although she did find the Exxon across the street. I finally convinced her to send the guy to the Exxon station and then tell him to cross the street to where I was.
That call took about thirty minutes. Forty minutes later help had still not arrived and I was getting hot, tired and annoyed. I couldn't buy a drink because my wallet was in the car. Ten minutes later she called back to inform me that the help was involved in an auto accident and would not be coming. She had no one else to send but I could hire my own lock smith, pay out of my own pocket, and send them the bill.
That's not what I pay dues to an auto club for.
I had twenty dollars, a cell phone with a low battery caused by trying to give her my location and the aforementioned incident. I do not carry a credit card and I only had a $100.00 in my checking account, probably not enough to get a locksmith out on a Saturday evening to unlock the door of a stupid motorist.
I decided to find me a big rock. Seems like an easy thing to do but it really isn't. Ten or so mighty whacks later, I gave up. Finally a man came over and he offered to break the glass. He grabbed my big rock and it didn't work for him either. So he went to get his hammer. After five whacks he looked dumbfounded at the still shinning piece of glass before him.
"It might be easier to just push it out" he suggested and he placed the hammer head up against the glass and pushed. The glass shattered.
I thanked the man, opened my car door (at least the car was cool) and took off to finish my mission.
After hanging my signs, I stopped for a bite to eat and noticed the lady behind me had a fresh dressing on her hand.
"Just come from the doctor"? I asked.
"Why yes, how did you know?"
"The dressing is perfectly clean and professionally done and by the way you are holding your hand I can tell it is a recent injury. Operation or accident?"
"Accident. I cut it on a piece of glass"
"I thought I was having a bad day" I said "but I wouldn't trade mine for yours."
I sent an e-mail to the captain of the police department in Morganton, NC to protest the way the incident was handled but i have a feeling I'm cursed with whatever malady Dr. J has when dealing with our legal system. I have a long list of horror stories but you don't want to hear them and I don't want to tell them anymore. It's kind of like asking a soldier just home from the war what it was like. He just doesn't want to relive the nightmares.
It happens to be a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy I can relate to.
I arrived back home safe and sound at a quarter to midnight. All and all, it was a good day. I sent the morning with my wife, made my mom happy and got my signs hung, and it wasn't me who had nine stitches from a nasty cut to the main hand.
Life is good and my grass seed finally sprouted and it rained.
Things could be worse: Ask a soldier or a homeless person.
I had purchased her a pineapple cupcake from "Cupcakes to go" in Randleman (they were nice enough to put it in a sturdy brown box to protect it during the long trip). Honestly, the girls there are just as sweet as the cupcakes are. I took along with me her birthday card and a pack of party favors, the little horns that unroll and toot when one blows into them.
I sang Happy Birthday to her, she blew out her candle, and she just laughed with joy over our little party. She was happy.
I needed to go to Old Fort and hang a "For Sale" sign on my property (anyone interested?) and just as I was approaching Morganton a vehicle overtaking me to my left threw a can at my car, hitting it. I Called the highway patrol and gave them a description of the incident and the vehicle involved and while on the phone the van exited at exit 104 which is the exit that leads to the highway patrol station.
"My good fortune" I thought. Not so. When the van stopped at the traffic sign, a passenger, a big burly man, got out of the van and walked back to my car and started pounding on it. After five or six hits, he walked back to the van which took off across the intersection back to I-40.
The van then took the next exit (103) and then my call was transferred to the Morganton police. The van then pulled into a service station and I pulled in too but kept my distance. The burly man got out of the van and walked back to my car and tried to pull my door open. He then struck my door glass with his fist three or four times and then attacked my roof. He walked off just as two police cars pulled in.
One officer spoke to me and then spoke to the passenger. As the officer was walking back to me, the passenger got back into the van and they left. The officer told me that he told the man he needed to find a better way to handle his problems and that there was nothing he could do about the incident.
Throwing an object at a moving vehicle (called launching a missile) is illegal as is littering. Since the object throw was a large empty can of beer he could have been charged with carrying an open container. Certainly putting me in fear of my life and limb is an assualt. And I believe the dent on the top of my car is damage to personal property.
I had a taste of what it is like to be a minority as the attacker was Hispanic and the clerk at the service station was Hispanic and was hostile towards me. Excuse me for being an American!
To add insult to injury, I locked my keys in the car along with my wallet which contains my spare key in case I lock myself out of my car. My car was running.
I called my travel club and got a lady with a heavy accent which makes it doubly tough for a person who is hearing impaired. One has to remove ones hearing aid to talk on a telephone or cell phone. She couldn't find the Citgo station on her GPS locator although she did find the Exxon across the street. I finally convinced her to send the guy to the Exxon station and then tell him to cross the street to where I was.
That call took about thirty minutes. Forty minutes later help had still not arrived and I was getting hot, tired and annoyed. I couldn't buy a drink because my wallet was in the car. Ten minutes later she called back to inform me that the help was involved in an auto accident and would not be coming. She had no one else to send but I could hire my own lock smith, pay out of my own pocket, and send them the bill.
That's not what I pay dues to an auto club for.
I had twenty dollars, a cell phone with a low battery caused by trying to give her my location and the aforementioned incident. I do not carry a credit card and I only had a $100.00 in my checking account, probably not enough to get a locksmith out on a Saturday evening to unlock the door of a stupid motorist.
I decided to find me a big rock. Seems like an easy thing to do but it really isn't. Ten or so mighty whacks later, I gave up. Finally a man came over and he offered to break the glass. He grabbed my big rock and it didn't work for him either. So he went to get his hammer. After five whacks he looked dumbfounded at the still shinning piece of glass before him.
"It might be easier to just push it out" he suggested and he placed the hammer head up against the glass and pushed. The glass shattered.
I thanked the man, opened my car door (at least the car was cool) and took off to finish my mission.
After hanging my signs, I stopped for a bite to eat and noticed the lady behind me had a fresh dressing on her hand.
"Just come from the doctor"? I asked.
"Why yes, how did you know?"
"The dressing is perfectly clean and professionally done and by the way you are holding your hand I can tell it is a recent injury. Operation or accident?"
"Accident. I cut it on a piece of glass"
"I thought I was having a bad day" I said "but I wouldn't trade mine for yours."
I sent an e-mail to the captain of the police department in Morganton, NC to protest the way the incident was handled but i have a feeling I'm cursed with whatever malady Dr. J has when dealing with our legal system. I have a long list of horror stories but you don't want to hear them and I don't want to tell them anymore. It's kind of like asking a soldier just home from the war what it was like. He just doesn't want to relive the nightmares.
It happens to be a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy I can relate to.
I arrived back home safe and sound at a quarter to midnight. All and all, it was a good day. I sent the morning with my wife, made my mom happy and got my signs hung, and it wasn't me who had nine stitches from a nasty cut to the main hand.
Life is good and my grass seed finally sprouted and it rained.
Things could be worse: Ask a soldier or a homeless person.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Memorial Day
It wasn't love of country or a call to arms that caused to to enlist in the US Navy in 1968, a year this country was bogged down in Vietnam. The Vietnamese War was a time that changed America while giving birth to the drug culture. No, my enlistment was the result of a disagreement with my father. My girlfriend at the time was a Texas beauty from a small town named Yokum near the Mexican border who was Catholic. I doubt that the problems this relationship caused could have been worse if one of us had been of a different race or if we had been of the same sex. Her family was just as opposed to us being together as was my family--perhaps more so.
It wasn't as if my parents would have tried to keep us apart even though they did make their displeasure known. What brought about the rift with my dad was my refusal to attend the same church we had gone to that Sunday morning. It seemed the pastor there believed the Pope was the Anti-Christ and shared that view in that mornings sermon. That view didn't set well with Sandra and embarrassed me.
I was given the ultimatum to drop out of school and come home right then or I would be drafted. It was only a few weeks later when I received a latter instructing me to report for duty on December 30. 1968. The draft ended two days later. Rather that go into the Army, I "volunteered" for the Navy, a fact constantly thrown into my face whenever I objected to some action of my "superiors".
I was good at my job and quickly rose in rank to an E-5 but I was never military. I once held hands with another sailor and skipped down the middle of the hanger bay while aboard the USS Midway (A WWII aircraft carrier, USS 41), argued with an officer about whether being under a covered walkway was inside or outside, called for a meeting to protest treatment of minorities in my division aboard ship, was hauled before a commission of the Admiral, the Captain, and six other officers to determine if I was a subversive for requesting additional work, and earned more awards for my work that I ever could figure out how to arrange the medals for.
I hated being herded about like cattle to the slaughter, being stuck in a system that was more evil than those of the governments we were opposing, and watching as others were mistreated for the enjoyment of others.
I hated even more the day the plane crashed on board the ship killing some friends of mine and injuring scores of others. I'm sure their experience in the military was far different than mine, there reasons for joining more noble, and the satisfaction of their job much greater than mine, but I'm also positive they didn't want to die.
Vietnam was a difficult war, not only because America didn't fight to win but because of the attitude of the American people. I can't say if my friends joined the service because they were drafted, because they volunteered to avoid the Army, or because they believed in American, or just because they were not cowards who fled to Canada, but I do know they were good men with lives and hopes and dreams and plans that did not include dieing that day.
Each one of us had our own reasons for being there. Decisions that seemed the right ones at the moment or were forced upon us without us having a viable alternative. but it was our own decsion to be where we were on that fateful day. We all did our jobs and did them the best we could. There were no slackers for each of us knew that every job was important and ever detail needed to be attended to, for the lives of many, including our own, depended on every thing being done right. It didn't matter if it was flying the jet, frying the eggs, or cleaning the bathroom, we had to keep each other safe and healthy for our own survival.
Were the men who died heroes or in anyway special? No, not among their peers for they were all just doing their job. In many ways. all men and women in the service are heroes and special, and especially those who served in Vietnam because it took a lot of guts to volunteer for such an unpopular war and how soldiers and sailors were treated by the american public.
For those who died, I hope it was painless and quick and for those who survived, thanks, for neither will ever be forgotten.
That day, with the flight deck littered with carnage, the ship, with its seven thousand sailors and marines, and all our escorts and supply vessels, were at grave risk. Without our ability to launch a plane in defense we were an easy target for the enemy. Without the dedication and training of the men on board, many more lives could have been lost.
Thanks to all service men and women in every branch of service, in peace and in war, for what you do and for what you risk.
It wasn't as if my parents would have tried to keep us apart even though they did make their displeasure known. What brought about the rift with my dad was my refusal to attend the same church we had gone to that Sunday morning. It seemed the pastor there believed the Pope was the Anti-Christ and shared that view in that mornings sermon. That view didn't set well with Sandra and embarrassed me.
I was given the ultimatum to drop out of school and come home right then or I would be drafted. It was only a few weeks later when I received a latter instructing me to report for duty on December 30. 1968. The draft ended two days later. Rather that go into the Army, I "volunteered" for the Navy, a fact constantly thrown into my face whenever I objected to some action of my "superiors".
I was good at my job and quickly rose in rank to an E-5 but I was never military. I once held hands with another sailor and skipped down the middle of the hanger bay while aboard the USS Midway (A WWII aircraft carrier, USS 41), argued with an officer about whether being under a covered walkway was inside or outside, called for a meeting to protest treatment of minorities in my division aboard ship, was hauled before a commission of the Admiral, the Captain, and six other officers to determine if I was a subversive for requesting additional work, and earned more awards for my work that I ever could figure out how to arrange the medals for.
I hated being herded about like cattle to the slaughter, being stuck in a system that was more evil than those of the governments we were opposing, and watching as others were mistreated for the enjoyment of others.
I hated even more the day the plane crashed on board the ship killing some friends of mine and injuring scores of others. I'm sure their experience in the military was far different than mine, there reasons for joining more noble, and the satisfaction of their job much greater than mine, but I'm also positive they didn't want to die.
Vietnam was a difficult war, not only because America didn't fight to win but because of the attitude of the American people. I can't say if my friends joined the service because they were drafted, because they volunteered to avoid the Army, or because they believed in American, or just because they were not cowards who fled to Canada, but I do know they were good men with lives and hopes and dreams and plans that did not include dieing that day.
Each one of us had our own reasons for being there. Decisions that seemed the right ones at the moment or were forced upon us without us having a viable alternative. but it was our own decsion to be where we were on that fateful day. We all did our jobs and did them the best we could. There were no slackers for each of us knew that every job was important and ever detail needed to be attended to, for the lives of many, including our own, depended on every thing being done right. It didn't matter if it was flying the jet, frying the eggs, or cleaning the bathroom, we had to keep each other safe and healthy for our own survival.
Were the men who died heroes or in anyway special? No, not among their peers for they were all just doing their job. In many ways. all men and women in the service are heroes and special, and especially those who served in Vietnam because it took a lot of guts to volunteer for such an unpopular war and how soldiers and sailors were treated by the american public.
For those who died, I hope it was painless and quick and for those who survived, thanks, for neither will ever be forgotten.
That day, with the flight deck littered with carnage, the ship, with its seven thousand sailors and marines, and all our escorts and supply vessels, were at grave risk. Without our ability to launch a plane in defense we were an easy target for the enemy. Without the dedication and training of the men on board, many more lives could have been lost.
Thanks to all service men and women in every branch of service, in peace and in war, for what you do and for what you risk.
4167
Free Cell game 4167 is a toughy, and the moves needed to clear the first row are gutsy but once that is done, it is clear sailing to victory.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
First of the Year
June 10, 2010, was the day I had my first tomato sandwich of the year from my own garden. I believe the tomato was a Celebrity which I have found to be a really good tomato: round, about the size of a tennis ball or baseball, with a pinkish-orange skin and lots of flavor.
The sandwich was excellent.
The sandwich was excellent.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
First Tomato
My garden looks good this year what with the warm weather and recent rainfalls but this is still early June and I've never expected a ripe tomato before July but there is a nice big one that is turning already. Three or four more days and it will be ripe enough to pick. That first tomato sandwich of the season is coming soon. Wow!
Another believe it or not garden story is blackberries. I actually picked a dozen or so Monday. They were nice big sweet jet black blackberries. I love blackberries and they make the best homemade ice cream. I have dozens of little cantaloupes on the vine as well as some nice size green peppers already.
It's been two years since I've eaten out of a garden (with the exception of a few small scraggly tomatoes I planted last year) due to my move last year. I miss my peach trees. The store bought peach trees don't seem to grow very fast nor have they produced any fruit yet. The tree I purchased last year doesn't look any more like a peach tree than when I planted it and is no bigger than that either.
The ones I planted from seed at the apartment reached six feet tall and produced a bounty crop after only a year. Even though I have grapes on three out of four vines, there are probable only a dozen or so grapes total. The vines are growing fast this year so maybe in 2011 I'll have vines big enough to provide me with some tasty treats.
But for whatever bounty my crops provide me and my family, nothings is more anticipated nor appreciated more than that first ripe tomato for the year's first tomato sandwich.
Another believe it or not garden story is blackberries. I actually picked a dozen or so Monday. They were nice big sweet jet black blackberries. I love blackberries and they make the best homemade ice cream. I have dozens of little cantaloupes on the vine as well as some nice size green peppers already.
It's been two years since I've eaten out of a garden (with the exception of a few small scraggly tomatoes I planted last year) due to my move last year. I miss my peach trees. The store bought peach trees don't seem to grow very fast nor have they produced any fruit yet. The tree I purchased last year doesn't look any more like a peach tree than when I planted it and is no bigger than that either.
The ones I planted from seed at the apartment reached six feet tall and produced a bounty crop after only a year. Even though I have grapes on three out of four vines, there are probable only a dozen or so grapes total. The vines are growing fast this year so maybe in 2011 I'll have vines big enough to provide me with some tasty treats.
But for whatever bounty my crops provide me and my family, nothings is more anticipated nor appreciated more than that first ripe tomato for the year's first tomato sandwich.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Bumper stickers and electricians
Yes, I can connect the two. i recently purchased a storage shed and had it wired for electricity. I hired Interlandi Electrical, LLC from Browns summit, NC to do the work. Nick seemed like a nice guy and was punctually, Informative, and competent to do the job.
He was right on time to begin work, took care of the building permit for me and completed the work on time. The only trouble is, he didn't do it right. He should have known the building codes before beginning a job but he ran the wire under the house sans conduit because he thought my brick foundation precluded him from having to do so. It didn't and he had to come out a second time and do the job right.
Now he wants me to cover the extra cost of the conduit.
It's only $50.00 and the man did work for 6 hours on a four hour job and I will cover that expense for him but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
I won't use him again just because he had to redo the job and wanted to to cover his a... I was the one inconvenienced: the inspector and I.
But I have light and outlets in my shed now that work. I'm glad about that.
Oh, yea, the bumper stickers. I've decided to decorate my out building with bumper stickers. Find a free one and want to donate it to me, I'd appreciate it.
He was right on time to begin work, took care of the building permit for me and completed the work on time. The only trouble is, he didn't do it right. He should have known the building codes before beginning a job but he ran the wire under the house sans conduit because he thought my brick foundation precluded him from having to do so. It didn't and he had to come out a second time and do the job right.
Now he wants me to cover the extra cost of the conduit.
It's only $50.00 and the man did work for 6 hours on a four hour job and I will cover that expense for him but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
I won't use him again just because he had to redo the job and wanted to to cover his a... I was the one inconvenienced: the inspector and I.
But I have light and outlets in my shed now that work. I'm glad about that.
Oh, yea, the bumper stickers. I've decided to decorate my out building with bumper stickers. Find a free one and want to donate it to me, I'd appreciate it.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Taps by Dr. J
http://drjshousecalls.blogspot.com/
She has a tribute to service personal on her blog site. I served 36 moths over seas, including multiple tours of Vietnam. It was the only war in which service personal went as individuals and returned as individuals. Most of us have never been thanked or appreciated. Whenever I meet a Veteran, I always thak them profusely for their service. I know what they gave up and what they risked for their country.
On memorial day I put my flag out and I had my cook out, like most Americans did. But I remembered my friends who never lived long enough to have a wife or to see their children grow up, or even to come home one last time.
I didn't agree with Vietnam either but I did my duty as an American citizen. Never have heard anyone that the cowards who ran off to Canada. To tell the truth, the vast majority of Americans were opposed to the American Revoluntion. I don't hear many wishing we were still Bristish citizens.
If you are american, be strong, be proud, and above all, be thankful.
She has a tribute to service personal on her blog site. I served 36 moths over seas, including multiple tours of Vietnam. It was the only war in which service personal went as individuals and returned as individuals. Most of us have never been thanked or appreciated. Whenever I meet a Veteran, I always thak them profusely for their service. I know what they gave up and what they risked for their country.
On memorial day I put my flag out and I had my cook out, like most Americans did. But I remembered my friends who never lived long enough to have a wife or to see their children grow up, or even to come home one last time.
I didn't agree with Vietnam either but I did my duty as an American citizen. Never have heard anyone that the cowards who ran off to Canada. To tell the truth, the vast majority of Americans were opposed to the American Revoluntion. I don't hear many wishing we were still Bristish citizens.
If you are american, be strong, be proud, and above all, be thankful.
Bathfitters
Garden tubs look nice, especially6 on TV where one can view a beautiful woman taking a bubble bath in one with candles lining the tub and with a glass of champagne in her hand. The trouble is, almost half the time, that lady becomes a murder victim either while in the tub or shortly after she gets out.
I have one. I have never used it. Soon, I'll have the largest shower in Randolph County, maybe the country, in a private home. It will be the largest one installed by bath fitters, or at least they say it will be. They want a picture once it is installed.
It is surprisingly affordable, considering. If you ever get anything from them give them my name. I could use the $50.00 referral fee.
In a way I feel guilty. It seems that several of my neighbors have had to forsake their house because they could no longer afford to make the payments. One neighbor keeps their food in a cooler on the back porch until they collect some insurance. It's a shame they can't afford to go ahead and purchase a new refrigerator. One neighbor has to use an old push mower because he can't afford to get his riding mower fixed or replaced and another neighbor cut is grass with a weed eater. Times are tough.
In the last month I purcahsed a new mower, a new grill, and large out building which I just had wired for electricity and now I'm having my bathroom remodeled.
I feel fortunate to not only having a job but to be able to buy stuff as well and not go into debt doing so, especially after Debbies knee replacement surgery and both our expensive dental work.
Six years ago I lived in a one bedroom apartment with a park bench as a couch and two folding TV tray stands pused together as a dinning room table. My bed was a fold away and my dresser was the laundry basket.
I had seeing people struggle but I've been there, done that.
I have one. I have never used it. Soon, I'll have the largest shower in Randolph County, maybe the country, in a private home. It will be the largest one installed by bath fitters, or at least they say it will be. They want a picture once it is installed.
It is surprisingly affordable, considering. If you ever get anything from them give them my name. I could use the $50.00 referral fee.
In a way I feel guilty. It seems that several of my neighbors have had to forsake their house because they could no longer afford to make the payments. One neighbor keeps their food in a cooler on the back porch until they collect some insurance. It's a shame they can't afford to go ahead and purchase a new refrigerator. One neighbor has to use an old push mower because he can't afford to get his riding mower fixed or replaced and another neighbor cut is grass with a weed eater. Times are tough.
In the last month I purcahsed a new mower, a new grill, and large out building which I just had wired for electricity and now I'm having my bathroom remodeled.
I feel fortunate to not only having a job but to be able to buy stuff as well and not go into debt doing so, especially after Debbies knee replacement surgery and both our expensive dental work.
Six years ago I lived in a one bedroom apartment with a park bench as a couch and two folding TV tray stands pused together as a dinning room table. My bed was a fold away and my dresser was the laundry basket.
I had seeing people struggle but I've been there, done that.
Friday, May 28, 2010
If you said no while kissing me, I wouldn't believe you either.
Gurney's attorney said the woman only recently said she had sex against her will, after making earlier sworn statements that didn't mention that allegation. Maj. Gwendolyn Beitz, who is leading Gurney's defense, repeatedly asked the woman whether Gurney had used any threat, force or restraint as they had sex.
She responded that he hadn't. She said the encounter last year began when she stopped by his office at lunchtime and they began kissing, which they had also done in earlier meetings. He took off his shirt and began taking off her blouse, she said.
"I just kept telling him no," she said, then testified she wasn't sure how her clothes were removed or how she wound up having sex with Gurney against a table.
"I didn't want to have sex with him," the woman said. The Associated Press is not naming the woman.
She responded that he hadn't. She said the encounter last year began when she stopped by his office at lunchtime and they began kissing, which they had also done in earlier meetings. He took off his shirt and began taking off her blouse, she said.
"I just kept telling him no," she said, then testified she wasn't sure how her clothes were removed or how she wound up having sex with Gurney against a table.
"I didn't want to have sex with him," the woman said. The Associated Press is not naming the woman.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Death Pond
I have two water ponds. The smaller one sits above the larger one and gives the appearance of flowing into the larger one. This spring I discovered only three of my five fish in the small pond made it through the winter and last week I discovered two of those were not doing well so I transferred them to the larger pond and bought 10 feeder goldfish to replace them with. All ten died within two days.
Last year three birds drowned in the pond along with several frogs, including one that tried to consume a bird, which frogs aren't supposed to do.
I am planning on having the water tested to determine if there is a water problem.
I put up a bluebird house a few weeks ago and a bluebird family quickly moved in and before long there were eggs, or maybe just one egg, I'm not sure but there was only one baby bluebird. Yesterday the parents kicked baby out but it was too scarred to fly so I picked it up and placed it back in the nest.
Today when the electricians came to wire my shed I discovered the baby bluebird in my trench so I put it back in the nest again and was promptly attacked by one of the parents. I hoped all would be well, at least until after the workmen were finished. But alas (yes I really used the word alas) the baby was again kicked out of the nest.
It was the lasted victim of the pond of death.
Last year three birds drowned in the pond along with several frogs, including one that tried to consume a bird, which frogs aren't supposed to do.
I am planning on having the water tested to determine if there is a water problem.
I put up a bluebird house a few weeks ago and a bluebird family quickly moved in and before long there were eggs, or maybe just one egg, I'm not sure but there was only one baby bluebird. Yesterday the parents kicked baby out but it was too scarred to fly so I picked it up and placed it back in the nest.
Today when the electricians came to wire my shed I discovered the baby bluebird in my trench so I put it back in the nest again and was promptly attacked by one of the parents. I hoped all would be well, at least until after the workmen were finished. But alas (yes I really used the word alas) the baby was again kicked out of the nest.
It was the lasted victim of the pond of death.
Patience
I have the bread, bacon, lettuce, and the Duke's. The recent rains have done wonders for my crops and now I can just wait patiently for nature to take its course, now that I know there is a good possibility there will be something to eat coming out of this garden this year.
I've lived in Guilford/Randolph Counties for the last 25 years and have never experienced weather conditions anywhere else like I have here. One year we have a drought, the next year it can rain so much that plants drown.
Who knows. This could be the last rain we see all summer. Then again, it may rain continuously for the next month or two.
Nevertheless, it does appear I'll get at least one sandwich out of the garden this year.
Ann Curry apologizes for mixing up her Wheatons
How much does this woman make per year? Mixing up institutions is an honest mistake but for some one who is actually going to a place to give a speech should have paid much closer attention to what she was talking about.
In case you didn't catch the story, Ann Curry was invited to give the graduation speech at Wheaton College in Mass. and she mentioned distinguished graduations from Wheaton College in Illinois.
If she can't get her facts straight when she is personally involved, how can we be sure she knows what she is talking about otherwise?
Maybe she should talk with Dan Rather about fact checking before speaking.
In case you didn't catch the story, Ann Curry was invited to give the graduation speech at Wheaton College in Mass. and she mentioned distinguished graduations from Wheaton College in Illinois.
If she can't get her facts straight when she is personally involved, how can we be sure she knows what she is talking about otherwise?
Maybe she should talk with Dan Rather about fact checking before speaking.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Ground Cover
In the first picture you can see a yellow flower on the right side of the picture. The leaves of this plant are thick, waxy looking circles and the flowers are a yellow star with a red border. The description on the tag of the slowly spreading ground cover plant says the flowers are supposed to be "star-shaped pink and white" flowers. The pink and white is one of the reasons I picked up this plant.
The bottom left photo is a shot of my bamboo plant. I have a rubber liner surrounding the plant so it's growth is confined to a certain area.
The upper right photo is of my purple ice. Last year when I planted it, it was the size of a 12-oz drink cup so it spreads quickly and is easy to plant in other places. Just grab a hand full and cut from the main plant, stick it in the ground where you want a new plant to be, throw some extra dirt around it and water. new this year is a yellow ice plant which hasn't bloomed yet and is still only as big as that 12-oz drink cup.
The last photo, the one on the bottom right, is Lamb's ear. It is a dull greenish gray in color but has tiny deep purple flowers on the tops which bumble bees seem to be attracted too. (As with all the pictures you can click on them to enlarge).
Next year will really be exciting after the plants finish filling in the water fall mound and my new plants get big enough to show themselves off. I've planted candy tuft, grape hyacinth, and lily of the valley on the pond bank just above the
bog garden.
I sure would like to see some pictures of what other folks have done in their yards. The plants in the front flower bed should be showing themselves off soon.
One neighbor and I swap plants from time to time. Maybe some of you would like to join in and share some of your favorite plants?
Vacation
One of my favorite ways of enjoying time off from work is to stay at home and do those things that you say you want to do but never have time. This year my wife and I went fishing in the new lake in Randleman, took in two baseball games, had some friends over for a cookout on my new grill, went to Raleigh for the pig picking and bluegrass festival (mighty good barbecue, mighty good) and plan on taking in a production at the barn dinner theater this afternoon.
I also got some work done. I'm having my new playhouse wired and I dug the trench. It's a narrow hole, eighteen inches deep and about thirty feet long. If I had to pay to have it dug, it would have cost me $400.00 or more whether it had been hand dug or a trencher used.
It's a good thing I look at digging as a good form of exercise. Really, it wasn't that bad except for the rain. I dug about half the trench on Thursday and finished the rest yesterday after having to pump the rainwater out of the trench. It seems that working in red clay for a two day job is a sure way to make it rain.
News from the home front
I have been rewarded thrice this year by my Iris. First, the flowers in the regular garden bloomed, then the Iris in my water garden. Now the Iris in the bog garden are blooming.
One thing that amazes me about that plant, besides the beauty of them, is the fact they have two ways of propagating. Below ground the plants have rhizomes which grow larger each year and the larger it gets, the more flowers that grow above ground. The Iris also have a bulb that appears just below where a flower bloomed. The first time I saw one I thought the plant was diseased but that growth is a seed pod.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Service magic
I needed some electrical work done so I sent my request via Service Magic. To my surprise my phone was ringing before I even logged off the site. I scheduled an appointment with three companies and they came out as scheduled, looked the job over and gave me their edtimates.
The first to arrive was a very nice man with a good personality. He checked things out and to ld me he would sent his estimate via e-mail later, which he did. He did the least amount of looking and checking, asked only a few questions and was gone.
The sencond one to arrive went over everything with a fine tooth come, asked lots of questions and I never thought he would leave.
The third was a Yankee and charmed my wife. He was a cross between the first two men. Tall, good looking with his yankee-Italian accent, he asked questions, checked everthing out, offered suggestions, and stayed and talked to us. He was entertaining. He called back shortly after he left with an idea he had.
The three estimates were close, within $25.00 of each other, which I was surprised about.
As far as the three men I would feel confident hiring either one of them.
The first to arrive was a very nice man with a good personality. He checked things out and to ld me he would sent his estimate via e-mail later, which he did. He did the least amount of looking and checking, asked only a few questions and was gone.
The sencond one to arrive went over everything with a fine tooth come, asked lots of questions and I never thought he would leave.
The third was a Yankee and charmed my wife. He was a cross between the first two men. Tall, good looking with his yankee-Italian accent, he asked questions, checked everthing out, offered suggestions, and stayed and talked to us. He was entertaining. He called back shortly after he left with an idea he had.
The three estimates were close, within $25.00 of each other, which I was surprised about.
As far as the three men I would feel confident hiring either one of them.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Racial profiling?
A woman from Michagan is Miss USA. She may be deserving on her own merits but she is discribed as Arab American and it is the Arab part that seemed to be the emphasis of the story. I wonder how much her heritage played in her winning the crown?
While we are discussing political correctness how many of the leaders of unfriendly countries has Obama actually gone to visit and talk with? I suppose reality serves as a real check against campaign rhetoric.
Americaq has always been touted as the land of opportunity yet when someone who isn't white and of European background does something unusual their native country is added to the American part. Take Obama for instance. If he was born in america then he is american. If he was born in Africa and was naturilized then he would be Africn-American.
The Miss USA would be Arab American only is she was born in Arab (there really is no such place, is there?).
While we are discussing political correctness how many of the leaders of unfriendly countries has Obama actually gone to visit and talk with? I suppose reality serves as a real check against campaign rhetoric.
Americaq has always been touted as the land of opportunity yet when someone who isn't white and of European background does something unusual their native country is added to the American part. Take Obama for instance. If he was born in america then he is american. If he was born in Africa and was naturilized then he would be Africn-American.
The Miss USA would be Arab American only is she was born in Arab (there really is no such place, is there?).
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Confusing
Samples of bad writing by professional journalists abound, like the following example:
"Northwest Flight 255 stalled after takeoff and crashed onto a highway just after takeoff from Detroit. All six crew and 148 of 149 passengers were killed, as were two people on the ground. The sole survivor was a 4-year old girl who was found strapped into an airplane seat by a volunteer firefighter."
The way the sentence is written indicates that the firefighter strapped the sole survivor into a seat which doesn't make for a whole lot of sense. More likely, the survivor was found, strapped in a seat, by a a firefighter.
Some of the more common samples of bad writing occurs in crime reporting. It's amazing what people were shot with and where they were shot. One story reported that the home owner shot the burglar in the kitchen. Exactly what part of the body is the kitchen?
Fortunately, in most cases, the reader can determine what the writer meant even though that isn't a good excuse not to write properly.
"Northwest Flight 255 stalled after takeoff and crashed onto a highway just after takeoff from Detroit. All six crew and 148 of 149 passengers were killed, as were two people on the ground. The sole survivor was a 4-year old girl who was found strapped into an airplane seat by a volunteer firefighter."
The way the sentence is written indicates that the firefighter strapped the sole survivor into a seat which doesn't make for a whole lot of sense. More likely, the survivor was found, strapped in a seat, by a a firefighter.
Some of the more common samples of bad writing occurs in crime reporting. It's amazing what people were shot with and where they were shot. One story reported that the home owner shot the burglar in the kitchen. Exactly what part of the body is the kitchen?
Fortunately, in most cases, the reader can determine what the writer meant even though that isn't a good excuse not to write properly.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
NC 5th out of fifty
The Most Corrupt StatesNo. 5 North Carolina (photo: Gerry Broome, AP)5 of 10Public Corruption: 36
Racketeering & Extortion: 22
Fraud Rank: 1
Forgery & Counterfeiting: 7
Embezzlement: 2
Recent Scandal: Kalu Kalu and Martin Ifeani Iroegbu of Raleigh netted more than $12 million in a Medicare fraud scheme, but they acted more like old-time grifters than seasoned criminals. The team, doing business with legitimate-sounding company names like Enuda Healthsource and Universal Medical Supply, would give presentations at homes and churches, obtain Medicare numbers of unsuspecting patients, and then send prescriptions for unnecessary medical equipment to patients' physicians for signature. The physicians would often nullify entire prescriptions, but the grifters charged Medicare for the medical equipment anyway. Kalu was sentenced in March to 90 days in jail and was ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution.
Source: The Daily Beast
Read Story: The Most Corrupt States
Racketeering & Extortion: 22
Fraud Rank: 1
Forgery & Counterfeiting: 7
Embezzlement: 2
Recent Scandal: Kalu Kalu and Martin Ifeani Iroegbu of Raleigh netted more than $12 million in a Medicare fraud scheme, but they acted more like old-time grifters than seasoned criminals. The team, doing business with legitimate-sounding company names like Enuda Healthsource and Universal Medical Supply, would give presentations at homes and churches, obtain Medicare numbers of unsuspecting patients, and then send prescriptions for unnecessary medical equipment to patients' physicians for signature. The physicians would often nullify entire prescriptions, but the grifters charged Medicare for the medical equipment anyway. Kalu was sentenced in March to 90 days in jail and was ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution.
Source: The Daily Beast
Read Story: The Most Corrupt States
Computers are not private
The recent arrests of two local men in child porn cases should serve as notice that computers are not private. Every computer has a unique "address' just as a telephone has a number so a call can be directerd to that particular phone, a computers address allows information the user seeks to be directed to the particular computer being used.
Pleae also be aware that people lie alot on the internet. In one case a 48 year old man pretended to be a young man and used a picture of his friend. He corresponded with a young lady named jessica and was building a relationship with her. The man who climed the younger guy was his son and also a marine, would keep in touch with Jessica, relaying maeesages between her and his son. When the man's wife found out about the ruse she contacted Jessica. Jessica contacted a person Montgomery had mentioned in his emilas and discovered the other person was the person in the photograph that originally attracted her. She stareted a correspondence with him and when Montgomery discovered that he shot and killed the younger man.
In wasn't until his trial for murder did he discover that the beautiful jessica was actually a fat 45 year old woamn poseing as her daughter.
There really isn't a thing as anonomous on a computer.
That's how police tracked one serial killer. Tauting police, he sent a map to where they could find a victim's body. Tracing the map, police learned that only one had been down loaded by area resisdents in the time frame indicated and tracing that computer, an arrest was made and a conviction gained of a serial murderer.
And let's not forget the resent Craigslist killer. Sure, the internet lead him to his vicxtims but the internet also led police to his door and the jury to the conclusion he was guilty of robery and murder.
Pleae also be aware that people lie alot on the internet. In one case a 48 year old man pretended to be a young man and used a picture of his friend. He corresponded with a young lady named jessica and was building a relationship with her. The man who climed the younger guy was his son and also a marine, would keep in touch with Jessica, relaying maeesages between her and his son. When the man's wife found out about the ruse she contacted Jessica. Jessica contacted a person Montgomery had mentioned in his emilas and discovered the other person was the person in the photograph that originally attracted her. She stareted a correspondence with him and when Montgomery discovered that he shot and killed the younger man.
In wasn't until his trial for murder did he discover that the beautiful jessica was actually a fat 45 year old woamn poseing as her daughter.
There really isn't a thing as anonomous on a computer.
That's how police tracked one serial killer. Tauting police, he sent a map to where they could find a victim's body. Tracing the map, police learned that only one had been down loaded by area resisdents in the time frame indicated and tracing that computer, an arrest was made and a conviction gained of a serial murderer.
And let's not forget the resent Craigslist killer. Sure, the internet lead him to his vicxtims but the internet also led police to his door and the jury to the conclusion he was guilty of robery and murder.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Dysfunctional families
I was unfortunate to grow up in a dysfunctional family although I am sure there are worse families than mine but that really doesn't make me feel any better.
My younger brother does quite well for himself but I have no idea what he makes but I'm sure it is enough to make most doctor's jealous. My older brother makes about 2 1/2 times what I do and he gets along fabulously with the younger one. Me? I never got along with any of them. Still don't even though I try.
My mom will turn 85 next month and although she only ate cottage cheese and tomato wedges since I started the seventh grade and she no longer eats anything since turning 82 she still looks like a little beach ball with a face. I drive 200 miles round trip once a month to take her grocery shopping. Although she usually spends between $300 and $400 each month the sweets she buys are for company. Strange because she claims no one ever comes to see her.
Anyway, foolish me became concerned because last year in fell in the yard and laid there for hours before she got help and two weeks ago she fell in the house and it took her three hours to pull herself unto the couch. I suggested that maybe she could move to Randleman and leave in a hoyse just a few houses away from me. Since she has always objected the tought of spending any money on an apartment I suggested she might purchse the house outright and bank the difference she would make from the sale of her house. 'Oh, that would be wonderful" she exclaimed and she shed a few tears of joy.
"Of course, I'd have to talk it over with your two brothers first."
That was Thursday May 6, 2010. I e-mailed my two brothers and sent them pictures and vitals on the house so they would know what Mom was talking about. On Saturday the eighth, I received a letter from Mom saying that she was going to stay in Hickory because she would miss all her friends and it was too far for them to come and visit and too costly for them to call long distance and she would miss the memories of the house she lives in now and her brother who ony visits her on holidays and her doctors, none of which does her any good, she claims.
On Sunday she talked to the older brother when he came for Mother's day but only because he brought it up just before he got ready to leave. I got an e-mail from my younger brother saying that he thought Mom should sell the house but move into an assisted living facility but in Hickory, not Randleman.
Today I received a letter from my Mom saying she had never intended to mention my idea to my brothers, she would never consider moving from a brick house into one with siding, and that she could just as easily get someone from the church to take her grocery shopping if it was too much bother for me.
My concern was trying to take better care of her and to see to it that she was not left alone for long periods of time.
Now i am being accused of trying to make things easier on myself and to enrich myself by having Mom sell her house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.
My younger brother does quite well for himself but I have no idea what he makes but I'm sure it is enough to make most doctor's jealous. My older brother makes about 2 1/2 times what I do and he gets along fabulously with the younger one. Me? I never got along with any of them. Still don't even though I try.
My mom will turn 85 next month and although she only ate cottage cheese and tomato wedges since I started the seventh grade and she no longer eats anything since turning 82 she still looks like a little beach ball with a face. I drive 200 miles round trip once a month to take her grocery shopping. Although she usually spends between $300 and $400 each month the sweets she buys are for company. Strange because she claims no one ever comes to see her.
Anyway, foolish me became concerned because last year in fell in the yard and laid there for hours before she got help and two weeks ago she fell in the house and it took her three hours to pull herself unto the couch. I suggested that maybe she could move to Randleman and leave in a hoyse just a few houses away from me. Since she has always objected the tought of spending any money on an apartment I suggested she might purchse the house outright and bank the difference she would make from the sale of her house. 'Oh, that would be wonderful" she exclaimed and she shed a few tears of joy.
"Of course, I'd have to talk it over with your two brothers first."
That was Thursday May 6, 2010. I e-mailed my two brothers and sent them pictures and vitals on the house so they would know what Mom was talking about. On Saturday the eighth, I received a letter from Mom saying that she was going to stay in Hickory because she would miss all her friends and it was too far for them to come and visit and too costly for them to call long distance and she would miss the memories of the house she lives in now and her brother who ony visits her on holidays and her doctors, none of which does her any good, she claims.
On Sunday she talked to the older brother when he came for Mother's day but only because he brought it up just before he got ready to leave. I got an e-mail from my younger brother saying that he thought Mom should sell the house but move into an assisted living facility but in Hickory, not Randleman.
Today I received a letter from my Mom saying she had never intended to mention my idea to my brothers, she would never consider moving from a brick house into one with siding, and that she could just as easily get someone from the church to take her grocery shopping if it was too much bother for me.
My concern was trying to take better care of her and to see to it that she was not left alone for long periods of time.
Now i am being accused of trying to make things easier on myself and to enrich myself by having Mom sell her house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Showa
Best shot yet of my fish "Showa". It's harder than one would think to get a good shot of a fish.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Iris garden
This Iris garden in on the left side of my home and less than half of the flowers have bloomed so far. I also have my water Iris, both in the water garden and the blog garden. Those are different colors, mostly a lavender to combinations of purples and yellows. Hopefully they will bloom soon.
Relaxing by the pond is so peaceful, especially since i have added a fountain to the pond as well as my waterfall. The waterfall mound is filling in with ground cover plants nicely.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Opps, just a sleeping bird
I wanted to put all my pictures on a CD (which I have done many times in the past) but something went wrong today and all I am left with is the lastest picture of a sleeping bird. Last year I took a picture of a red finch sleeping on the edge of my birdbath and earlier this spring I had one fall asleep on a rock in the waterfall to my pond and now this one was sleeping on one of our many feeders.
It's nice to know the bird's feel safe enough in my yard to take a snooze just about anywhere.
The bluebird family is enjoying their new home, having moved in almost immediately after the house was built. I haven't checked to see how many eggs there are-I believe the birds are entitled to their privacy.
Pictures, or rather my ability at taking pictures, just doesn't seem to do my hard work in the yard justice. I took a picture of my cherry tree and it came out looking like a stick in the ground. The tree that was cut down recently could have been eight inches long or eighty feet: one could never tell from the picture. And the one I took of all my apple trees and cherry trees in a row only shows burned grass on the edge of the yard. None of the trees are really visible.
I do have two peaches on the tree I planted last year and all ny grape vines have grapes this year. Some of my apple trees are three feet tall now and look like sticks with leaves--no real branches to speak of,
Just think how happy all the birds will be when all these fruit trees and vines started producing. I know they aren't excited as they have no clue, I suppose, but they will come and enjoy.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
doughnut holes sauerkraut, and sex
No, the woman in the picture has nothing to do with this article. I don't even know who she is but she is probably an actress or the other half of an actor. She's just pretty.
This morning I checked out a box of doughnut holes: 220 calories a serving which was 6 doughnut holes. There were 9 serving in a 16 oz box. That's 1980 calories are almost an entire days worth of calories in one little box. A 16 oz bog of kraut only has 130 calories. True but as my friend pointed out, doughnuts holes are much tastier than kraut.
True I said but I like sex better than doughnut holes so I eat kraut.
"What does one have to do with the other?" he inquired.
"If you eat too many doughnut holes, you get fat. At first being fat is only a turnoff to women. Then, you might get hig blood pressure and maybe become a diabetic so you don't feel like having sex. Then the doctor gives you medicine and it affects you so you probably can't have sex so even if a women isn't repulsed by your fat body it really doesn't matter anyway.
So I eat the kraut, feel full, slim down, and enjoy my improved health and the benefits that goes along with it. So the next time you are enjoying your doughnut holes anbd a pretty girl walks by and you think of her and sex, don't you wish you had eaten kraut instead?
Eat right, drive slower, live longer.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Yard work
My wife and I purchased our first out building and I am really enjoying it. One really wouldn't think a storage shed would bring one enjoyment but it does. I don't have to protect my mower from the elements with a tarp(the blue vinyl kind, not the government bailout kind). I once lived somewhere where I had an out building but it was small even though it was useful. The one we have is 12 by 16 which is quite sufficient for most anything one would want an outbuilding for.
I now have a place to store my tools and yard equipment, a place for a work bench, and a place for growing my plants. It is an aluminum building so I insulated it and then put paneling up. On the outside my wife and I planted plants on three sides. The back side borders my Iris garden so no additional flowers will be needed there.
On the edge of the property there is a huge tree which was dead long before we moved in and looks as if it is decaying quickly. We are having it removed tomorrow which will not only make the yard look better, it will make two old people feel much safer.
I enjoy working in the yard and like watching things grow, especially flower gardens planted with plants that bloom in sequence as the weather changes so the yard appears to be constantly in motion, like ones property is doing the wave to the angels in the sky.
I now have a place to store my tools and yard equipment, a place for a work bench, and a place for growing my plants. It is an aluminum building so I insulated it and then put paneling up. On the outside my wife and I planted plants on three sides. The back side borders my Iris garden so no additional flowers will be needed there.
On the edge of the property there is a huge tree which was dead long before we moved in and looks as if it is decaying quickly. We are having it removed tomorrow which will not only make the yard look better, it will make two old people feel much safer.
I enjoy working in the yard and like watching things grow, especially flower gardens planted with plants that bloom in sequence as the weather changes so the yard appears to be constantly in motion, like ones property is doing the wave to the angels in the sky.
Monday, April 19, 2010
News from the home front
First I would like to report that someone went through my trash and took from the collection a weed whacker that had melted and an old leaf blower.
Some guy was sitting in my neighbors shed and must have thought my wife and I were curious about him. Actually we were watching the bluebirds checking out the new bluebird bird house I just erected. I was hoping for a family when I put the box up but my wife, ever the pessimist. bless her heart, said we wouldn't get one until next year. I didn't notice the guy in the wood box until my wife said the man was waving at us.
I'll be glad when my trees grow up so I can watch my fish and the birds without the neighbors thinking I'm looking at them.
On a more personal note I've lost 50 pounds and I am now below 200 for the first time in over a decade. Slowly but most sincerely, the weight is coming off and the health is imroving. Now if I can just figure out a way to get younger...
Some guy was sitting in my neighbors shed and must have thought my wife and I were curious about him. Actually we were watching the bluebirds checking out the new bluebird bird house I just erected. I was hoping for a family when I put the box up but my wife, ever the pessimist. bless her heart, said we wouldn't get one until next year. I didn't notice the guy in the wood box until my wife said the man was waving at us.
I'll be glad when my trees grow up so I can watch my fish and the birds without the neighbors thinking I'm looking at them.
On a more personal note I've lost 50 pounds and I am now below 200 for the first time in over a decade. Slowly but most sincerely, the weight is coming off and the health is imroving. Now if I can just figure out a way to get younger...
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Pope: Church will protect young from abuse
He got caugt protecting the abusers so now he promises to protect the abused and those that might be abused in the future.
A religious man is still just a man. A pervert is a pervert no matter what he/she does for a living
A religious man is still just a man. A pervert is a pervert no matter what he/she does for a living
L.A. white supremacy rally gets bloody
If a person has to tell everyone else that they are prettier, smarter, or more athletic, or even superior in any other way, then that is proof that they aren't superior at all. People don't have to go up to dogs and say "I'm smarter than you"
Of course some people get jealous because someone they care about or someone they dislike might get more attention or even some attention from the dog but that is because the person is feeling insecure about themselves or we can't stand it that the dog can't see the other person the way we do. But in either case, the jealous dog owner is the one with the problem.
Anyone who calls themselves a supremacist or lives to hate others that are different, or advocates that others are less deserving than themselves is the one with the problem.
Of course some people get jealous because someone they care about or someone they dislike might get more attention or even some attention from the dog but that is because the person is feeling insecure about themselves or we can't stand it that the dog can't see the other person the way we do. But in either case, the jealous dog owner is the one with the problem.
Anyone who calls themselves a supremacist or lives to hate others that are different, or advocates that others are less deserving than themselves is the one with the problem.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
What's wrong with people
JACKSON, Tenn. — A white supremacist convicted of plotting to kill then-presidential candidate Barack Obama -- and slaughter dozens of African Americans in the process -- has been given a 10-year prison sentence.
Authorities have described 19-year-old Paul Schlesselman and an accomplice as white supremacist skinheads who hatched a plan to go on a cross-country robbery and killing spree that would end with an attack on Obama in 2008.
Their plan was to kill 88 African-Americans
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/04/16/2010-04-16_obama_assassination_plot_paul_schlesselman_sentenced_to_10_years_for_plotting_mu.html#ixzz0lKaTNSYe
Eight-eight lifetimes would have been a more just sentence. Ever thought what life would be like for yourself if you had been born another color?
Authorities have described 19-year-old Paul Schlesselman and an accomplice as white supremacist skinheads who hatched a plan to go on a cross-country robbery and killing spree that would end with an attack on Obama in 2008.
Their plan was to kill 88 African-Americans
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/04/16/2010-04-16_obama_assassination_plot_paul_schlesselman_sentenced_to_10_years_for_plotting_mu.html#ixzz0lKaTNSYe
Eight-eight lifetimes would have been a more just sentence. Ever thought what life would be like for yourself if you had been born another color?
Friday, April 16, 2010
In the news
Citizen complaints about a lady gardner fall on deft ears. It seems a lady likes to garden in the buff, or nearly so. She does wear yellow thongs and pink gloves but nothing else. I suppose the city was going to enact a law making it illegal to garden in the buff but probably realized it wasn't the ladies nakedness that was offensive-it was the color combination of pink and yellow.
In equally offensive news, a man gives a police officer a provacative gesture and is awarded $5,000.00 for his behaviour. Makes one want to puke at a baseball game. Oh, sorry, that's another offensive story.
In equally offensive news, a man gives a police officer a provacative gesture and is awarded $5,000.00 for his behaviour. Makes one want to puke at a baseball game. Oh, sorry, that's another offensive story.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Just deserts
I ate there once, my wife and I, and we enjoyed our experience there. The only trouble was the fact that my wife had just had knee replacement surgery and walking up those long, narrow flights of stairs was difficult for her. For that reason alone we never went back.
The stairs must have turned away many people for the restaurant is no longer open for business. Too bad. Nice people owned and operated it. Just a bad location and not really the best choice of a name for a eatery either. I thought maybe it was a bakery at first but later I realized that it must mean that when one gets what they deserve it is as the saying goes "getting their just deserts". Clever concept but maybe just too clever.
The stairs must have turned away many people for the restaurant is no longer open for business. Too bad. Nice people owned and operated it. Just a bad location and not really the best choice of a name for a eatery either. I thought maybe it was a bakery at first but later I realized that it must mean that when one gets what they deserve it is as the saying goes "getting their just deserts". Clever concept but maybe just too clever.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Why do I blog?
Because I can. True, my blog is just one among thousands and most likely on of the leat read of all of them but I blog for me. In fact, I dropped my blog on Rsndolph is talking because I felt pressure from certain readers to not broach certain subjects and life could have become difficult for me if I had so the best thing I could do was to write on a blog they did not know existed.
Freedom of expression is grest and blogging is an excellent way of expressing one self. it also establishes the fact that we are all equal. True, certain celebrities will instantly have a fan base that I doubt I'll ever be able to generate in a lifetime of blogging but that is a status the reader gave them and not one that they were entitled too. I'm positive if i were rich and famous i would have a bigger readership too. But the point is not to gain readers but to exercise ones freedom of expression.
A favorite saying of mine is "One who doesn't read is no better off than one who can not read." I suppose the same can be said for freedom of the press. One who doesn't express himself is no better off than one who can not."
Freedom of expression is grest and blogging is an excellent way of expressing one self. it also establishes the fact that we are all equal. True, certain celebrities will instantly have a fan base that I doubt I'll ever be able to generate in a lifetime of blogging but that is a status the reader gave them and not one that they were entitled too. I'm positive if i were rich and famous i would have a bigger readership too. But the point is not to gain readers but to exercise ones freedom of expression.
A favorite saying of mine is "One who doesn't read is no better off than one who can not read." I suppose the same can be said for freedom of the press. One who doesn't express himself is no better off than one who can not."
Change of focus
Two years ago I was shocked to learn the real truth about my health. I realized I was over weight but otherwise healthy. I was totally wrong. I wasn't overweight; I was obese and I was anything but healthy. I had high blood pressure, was borderline diabetic, had high cholesterol, and my triglycerides were so high it would make one dizzy. To save my life would take more than just diet and exercise. It would require a change in lifestyle.
Joining a health club or a gym turned out to be something that wasn't going to work for me and even walking was a difficult thing to accomplish on a regular bases with my crazy schedule at work. Even following an eating schedule would be nearly impossible. What I could control however was what I ate. I started making better choices.
I didn't want a diet that says you can eat this but not this or one where I had to make swaps or count calories or have to have foods I never heard of or that required pills or other artificial supplements. My goal wasn't to lose weight. My goal was to get healthier.
What I could do was eat a breakfast that was high in fiber and low in calorie content so I choose Cheerios and shredded wheat. I also tried some oatmeal upon occasion.
My lunches consist of a sandwich on whole grain bread, a few slaps of lunch meat and mustard, a no calorie drink and an apple. Supper (or dinner-whatever) was the biggest challenge but I knew that it had to be varied, taste good, and good for me. As much as possible, I chose fruits and vegetables to make up the majority of the meal, if not all of it.
What I did eliminate is snack foods, deserts, and candy. When I order unsweetened tea I drink it that way. At first it was hard to take, being used to the taste of sugar, but after a few times I discovered I actually liked the taste of the tea.
To combat the exercise problem, especially during the colder months, I exercise on a Wii. It works wonders.
It really didn't take long for my numbers to decline towards healthier levels. Although I am classified as a diabetic I take no medicine and have blood sugar levels in the normal range. The thing is I am still obese but have a near normal blood pressure, excellent numbers on everything else.
So far I have lost 48 pounds and have gone from wearing a size 42 pants to getting into a size 34 (this week). I want to drop to 197 pounds which is the line between obese and overweight for me. It would really be nice to get below 200 for the first time in over a decade. 200..9, 200.7, 200.5, 200.3. and this morning 200.2.
It's never been about weight until now. I'm so close but the 199 mark is taunting me but I'm not going to skip a meal or change my eating habits to sped up the march toward thinness. My goal is an eating habit that is healthy and sustainable and I have achieved that. But I can think about that weight goal now. which is something I haven't allowed myself to do before. It's like going for a hitting streak or a home run record. One cannot help but think about it but one has to be careful not to try a little harder for that extra effort may through off the rhythm that got you to where you are in the first place. 'Steady as she goes" is an old navy saying that works well in many situations, this one included.
Joining a health club or a gym turned out to be something that wasn't going to work for me and even walking was a difficult thing to accomplish on a regular bases with my crazy schedule at work. Even following an eating schedule would be nearly impossible. What I could control however was what I ate. I started making better choices.
I didn't want a diet that says you can eat this but not this or one where I had to make swaps or count calories or have to have foods I never heard of or that required pills or other artificial supplements. My goal wasn't to lose weight. My goal was to get healthier.
What I could do was eat a breakfast that was high in fiber and low in calorie content so I choose Cheerios and shredded wheat. I also tried some oatmeal upon occasion.
My lunches consist of a sandwich on whole grain bread, a few slaps of lunch meat and mustard, a no calorie drink and an apple. Supper (or dinner-whatever) was the biggest challenge but I knew that it had to be varied, taste good, and good for me. As much as possible, I chose fruits and vegetables to make up the majority of the meal, if not all of it.
What I did eliminate is snack foods, deserts, and candy. When I order unsweetened tea I drink it that way. At first it was hard to take, being used to the taste of sugar, but after a few times I discovered I actually liked the taste of the tea.
To combat the exercise problem, especially during the colder months, I exercise on a Wii. It works wonders.
It really didn't take long for my numbers to decline towards healthier levels. Although I am classified as a diabetic I take no medicine and have blood sugar levels in the normal range. The thing is I am still obese but have a near normal blood pressure, excellent numbers on everything else.
So far I have lost 48 pounds and have gone from wearing a size 42 pants to getting into a size 34 (this week). I want to drop to 197 pounds which is the line between obese and overweight for me. It would really be nice to get below 200 for the first time in over a decade. 200..9, 200.7, 200.5, 200.3. and this morning 200.2.
It's never been about weight until now. I'm so close but the 199 mark is taunting me but I'm not going to skip a meal or change my eating habits to sped up the march toward thinness. My goal is an eating habit that is healthy and sustainable and I have achieved that. But I can think about that weight goal now. which is something I haven't allowed myself to do before. It's like going for a hitting streak or a home run record. One cannot help but think about it but one has to be careful not to try a little harder for that extra effort may through off the rhythm that got you to where you are in the first place. 'Steady as she goes" is an old navy saying that works well in many situations, this one included.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Is there life beyond Earth?
Not anymore. Once, the universe teemed with different life forms that one didn't have to have an electronic microscope to see but those life forms have ceased to exist and humans are all that is left now.
Just as Lysol kills 99.9 % of all germs, all higher life forms have died out but us and not because we are anything special but just because we were that one that just didn't die. Not yet, any way.
Just as Lysol kills 99.9 % of all germs, all higher life forms have died out but us and not because we are anything special but just because we were that one that just didn't die. Not yet, any way.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
What's fair is fair
Redistribute the wealth, increase taxes on the rich, tax benefits, limit pay of executives of companies which receive federal aid, etc., etc.
I've got one more for you.
Federal housing plus food stamps plus welfare check plus value of attorney as in "will appointment you one if you cannot afford one" plus value of free health care equals taxable income. If the receioient cannot afford to pay the income tax, then he must either get a job or forfeit the benefits.
I'm rather tired of supporting people who can work and be productive citizens but who live off of us instead and supplement their freebies by sellling/manufacturing/using drugs and committing various other offenses, aren't you?
I've got one more for you.
Federal housing plus food stamps plus welfare check plus value of attorney as in "will appointment you one if you cannot afford one" plus value of free health care equals taxable income. If the receioient cannot afford to pay the income tax, then he must either get a job or forfeit the benefits.
I'm rather tired of supporting people who can work and be productive citizens but who live off of us instead and supplement their freebies by sellling/manufacturing/using drugs and committing various other offenses, aren't you?
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Spring thing, part 2
A yellow tulip popped out today and my cat tails did indeed survive and are beginning to grow. Upon close inspection, all the twigs I stuck in the ground are budding, including the limb that broke off the butterfly bush last year. So far, the only problem I have had is with the same hole that I couldn't grown anything in last year. I wouldn' try except I like balance and that hole is necessary to complete my pattern.
My father could do everthing wrong and still get a plant to grow and thrive and while I don't have the fortune he had, I'm still adapt at getting things to grow that shouldn't. I just hope my plants bear fruit. I have apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, and grape vines as well as my vegatable garden.
My father could do everthing wrong and still get a plant to grow and thrive and while I don't have the fortune he had, I'm still adapt at getting things to grow that shouldn't. I just hope my plants bear fruit. I have apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, and grape vines as well as my vegatable garden.
Dislike Duke?
I don't. I've always been a Duke fan. I also pull for Carolina, State, and Wake Forest, but always Duke first and foremost. I pulled for Carolina last year after Dukes embarrassing loss and I was pulling for Carolina in the NIT this year (ACC honor, you know).
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Friday, April 02, 2010
Spring thing
With my neighbor's help my garden is dug, tilled and some crops are planted (cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers). Cherry trees in bloom, apple trees with new leaves, and grape vines showing signs of life, all signs that spring is really here and plants are waking up from their long winter's nap.
I planted a tomato garden for my mom yesterday and also planted some Iris nearer the front door so she can see them easier than where they had been on the far side of her house. I really enjoyed my visit with my mom yesterday but missed working in my own yard. My fish are eating and eating alot now. When things get a little warmer I'll clean my filters and do some spring maintenance on the ponds.
I still have some plants that are not showing any signs of life so I'll give them another week or so then really start to investigate if that is normal or if the plants aren't going to make it, or didn't make it. There are some I;m not positive of the life-cycle/ winter sleeping habits of so patience and time will give me the right answer.
Maybe I'm weird but I hate it when a plant dies. It's like I failed it.
I planted a tomato garden for my mom yesterday and also planted some Iris nearer the front door so she can see them easier than where they had been on the far side of her house. I really enjoyed my visit with my mom yesterday but missed working in my own yard. My fish are eating and eating alot now. When things get a little warmer I'll clean my filters and do some spring maintenance on the ponds.
I still have some plants that are not showing any signs of life so I'll give them another week or so then really start to investigate if that is normal or if the plants aren't going to make it, or didn't make it. There are some I;m not positive of the life-cycle/ winter sleeping habits of so patience and time will give me the right answer.
Maybe I'm weird but I hate it when a plant dies. It's like I failed it.
What do you want?
"On the “have-not” side of the ledger, inflation-adjusted household income fell by 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303."
Granted, in today's economy $50,000 a year isn't much but when compared to the world as a whole, it is a good amount. The trouble with %50,000 a year is that it only provides for what we need and not much left over for what we want. More and more, it seems that people who only have what they need are starting to depend on the government to provide for their wants. The government, of and in itself, has nothing. All the government can do is take from those who do have and give to those that do not have.
People who know how to get things done will always be able to get things done but will have less and less input on the government. People who have little will begin to depend more and more on the government to give them their needs but if one poor person and one ricvh person has one vote each and there are many more poor people than rich people, the poor will control the government.
I find that the more one depends on someone else to support them the less incentive they have for supporting themselves.
Granted, in today's economy $50,000 a year isn't much but when compared to the world as a whole, it is a good amount. The trouble with %50,000 a year is that it only provides for what we need and not much left over for what we want. More and more, it seems that people who only have what they need are starting to depend on the government to provide for their wants. The government, of and in itself, has nothing. All the government can do is take from those who do have and give to those that do not have.
People who know how to get things done will always be able to get things done but will have less and less input on the government. People who have little will begin to depend more and more on the government to give them their needs but if one poor person and one ricvh person has one vote each and there are many more poor people than rich people, the poor will control the government.
I find that the more one depends on someone else to support them the less incentive they have for supporting themselves.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Spring
1: Park bench beside new morning glory and moon flower garden
2: Tulip garden-one in bloom
3: Sleeping bird on the water fall--I told you it was relaxing.
$: Garden space-dug and fertilized and ready to be tilled
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Anti-virus program that isn't
I just learned about an anti-virus program that really isn't one but it supposedly better. I first heard about this concept from a web designer and he swears by it so I thought I would check it out.
It's called sandboxie and the concept is to allow programs and web sites you click on to run on your computer without actually affecting your computer. The data is isolated in a small area called a sandbox and if an e-mail or other program has spyware or a virus or malware, it is confined to the sandbox and cannot get into your computer.
It's called sandboxie and the concept is to allow programs and web sites you click on to run on your computer without actually affecting your computer. The data is isolated in a small area called a sandbox and if an e-mail or other program has spyware or a virus or malware, it is confined to the sandbox and cannot get into your computer.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Places to go/or not
A new place of business opened in Randleman called "Cupcakes to Go" and is located next to Firestone on main Street. No, you don't have to take them with you. There are a few small tables where one can sit and enjoy a cupcake there.
Yes, cupcakes is all they do.
They are delicious.
A trophy shop just opened a few doors down from the cupcake place. It didn't look like they were fully stocked but it did look like they have other things besides trophies. Need a plaque for your desk? Didn't check them out closely so will reserve judgement for later.
The Finish Line. I needed an inspection and didn't have time to drive to Asheboro to Thomas tire and make it to Greensbor for my dental appointment so I took my car to the Finish Line in Randleman.
Is it still legal to smoke in places like that? I think my blood pressure shot up ten points because of the air in that place. I'm serious--it really reeked.
So if you need an oil change, an inspection, or other car repairs and aren't a smoker, steer clear of the Finish line. If you need a trophy or placque, keep the new place in Randleman in mind. If you want something sweet, definetly go to the cupcake place. When I retire, you'll find me there each morning eith my checkerboard. Just kidding about that, but everthing is sweet there, including the cupcake maker.
Yes, cupcakes is all they do.
They are delicious.
A trophy shop just opened a few doors down from the cupcake place. It didn't look like they were fully stocked but it did look like they have other things besides trophies. Need a plaque for your desk? Didn't check them out closely so will reserve judgement for later.
The Finish Line. I needed an inspection and didn't have time to drive to Asheboro to Thomas tire and make it to Greensbor for my dental appointment so I took my car to the Finish Line in Randleman.
Is it still legal to smoke in places like that? I think my blood pressure shot up ten points because of the air in that place. I'm serious--it really reeked.
So if you need an oil change, an inspection, or other car repairs and aren't a smoker, steer clear of the Finish line. If you need a trophy or placque, keep the new place in Randleman in mind. If you want something sweet, definetly go to the cupcake place. When I retire, you'll find me there each morning eith my checkerboard. Just kidding about that, but everthing is sweet there, including the cupcake maker.
What did I just eat?
Know before you go. To help in meal planning, dietary concerns and health issues, it might be helpful to know what's in your food before you go out to eat. Check out food facts at http://www.foodfacts.info/ for calorie counts.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Change: believe it
Obama promised us change we can believe in, a new way of transacting business in Washington. I heard a man call in to a talk show the other day and he said "Obama promised us something free (referring to health care) and you white folks just can't stand it."
Nothings free. Someone has to pay. maybe not you. But I will.
Nothings free. Someone has to pay. maybe not you. But I will.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
vindictive coworker
I have always thought that one of my co-workers did mean things on purpose but was assured by others that it was just a thoughtless act of indifference and not any deliberate act of meanness. I never had any definite proof one way or the other until tonight.
After chiding my co-worker (a cocky faster and better than you attitude type person) about taking too long to do the grind, I had to take over the job after his time was up and he headed home. That's when I discovered he had sabotaged the grinder so as to cause me to have to break it down and clean it before I could finish the job. This had to be a deliberate act on his part.
His plan didn't work as I quickly noticed the problem and fixed it before there was any opportunity for his sabotage to work.
After chiding my co-worker (a cocky faster and better than you attitude type person) about taking too long to do the grind, I had to take over the job after his time was up and he headed home. That's when I discovered he had sabotaged the grinder so as to cause me to have to break it down and clean it before I could finish the job. This had to be a deliberate act on his part.
His plan didn't work as I quickly noticed the problem and fixed it before there was any opportunity for his sabotage to work.
Bad writing
"Anania and other friends of Elizabeth Edwards were reacting to a lengthy interview with Hunter published Monday by GQ. It was the first time Hunter has spoken publicly about the affair that ended John Edwards’ political career and produced a 2-year-old daughter, Frances Quinn. "
Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35926541/ns/today/#ixzz0ii865lnT
One could easily conclude that the "love child" of Edwards and Hunter was two years old when she was born but you and I both know that isn't true. The writer would have been correct in writing that "the affair that ended John Edwards' political career produced a daughter, Francis Quinn, who is now two years old." Another interesting thing about the paragraph is the use of the word "and" which implicates the possibility of the event happening again. If the union of Hunter/Edwards had in fact produced a two year old named Francis Quinn, I doubt seriously that event could ever be duplicated and if it is, I don't believe the second two year old would be named Fancies Quinn.
I'm sure glad this writer wasn't penning a legal document or a technical piece because it could be confusing. What I think is sad is that such poor writing as this doesn't bother most people. Someone wrote "Whose the father?" and when someone pointed out that whose was incorrect, a third person responded that it doesn't really matter since who's and whose is pronounced the same.
Maybe in a text message using u and r is acceptable to save time and effort, but if one wants to convince me they know what they are writing about, one really needs to know that the u is you and the r is are and that a carrot and a karat, while pronounced the same, aren't interchangeable.
Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35926541/ns/today/#ixzz0ii865lnT
One could easily conclude that the "love child" of Edwards and Hunter was two years old when she was born but you and I both know that isn't true. The writer would have been correct in writing that "the affair that ended John Edwards' political career produced a daughter, Francis Quinn, who is now two years old." Another interesting thing about the paragraph is the use of the word "and" which implicates the possibility of the event happening again. If the union of Hunter/Edwards had in fact produced a two year old named Francis Quinn, I doubt seriously that event could ever be duplicated and if it is, I don't believe the second two year old would be named Fancies Quinn.
I'm sure glad this writer wasn't penning a legal document or a technical piece because it could be confusing. What I think is sad is that such poor writing as this doesn't bother most people. Someone wrote "Whose the father?" and when someone pointed out that whose was incorrect, a third person responded that it doesn't really matter since who's and whose is pronounced the same.
Maybe in a text message using u and r is acceptable to save time and effort, but if one wants to convince me they know what they are writing about, one really needs to know that the u is you and the r is are and that a carrot and a karat, while pronounced the same, aren't interchangeable.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Love children, rape, and basketball
"Love child" is a term used to designate the baby born to a couple as a result of an affair. The most famous "love child" in America at the moment is the baby born of Ms. Hunter and John Edwards. For the life of me, I fail to understand why that couple would make a sex tape when it was in his best interest to keep their relationship private and the sexual part of it non-existent to the outside world.
If a man's wife is suffering because of some life threatening disease and cannot pleasure her husband, I can understand why he might look outside the marriage. I didn't say agree because I don't, especially entering into a love affair. At least Tiger Woods, a cheating creep in his own right, had the good sense to find women willing to have brief affairs. Lordy, how does this mans stupidity shine through from this incident. Falling in love, failing to use any birth control methods, taping the affair, and leaving a cell phone where his wife could find it. One would think he wanted to be caught and if his wife was dumb enough to ask "are you having an affair" he had the tape to prove he was.
I wonder too if Elizabeth had the ability to regulate the state of her cancer--getting sicker when it would give John needed publicity and getting less sick when she needed the strength to fight him in court. Doesn't it seem like someone who was the son of a mill worker would put himself through school to become a lawyer and a successful one at that and a US Senator and a Presidential Candidate would be happy with his life. But you know what they say about power.
Some people can't handle power and some can't handle responsibility. Give a man a little responsibility who can't handle power and bad things are bound to happen. If John Edwards isn't enough to prove that point, just look at the refugee camps in Haiti where the workers handing out food are demanding sex from the women before they can receive rations. It seems rape is a rampant problem too with numerous reports of girls as young as two falling victim to this despicable crime.
One commenter on a story suggested that the US allowed this to happen and we should put a stop to it. Don't I wish we could. I'm sure if the American people made it a priority, much could be done to change the mentality of the Haitian men who engage in this behaviour and the legal system there that does little to discourage the practice, but we have too much other stuff going on and something to focus our attention on that is oh so much more important right now; College basketball and March madness. Come April, we will have the fianl run to the pro baketball championships to draw our attention.
Now, I'm not belittling sports fans or sports or our need to espcape from the pressures of life for awhile. Enjoying ourselves is as important to living as solving problems for if we didn't have pleasure, life woule hardly be worth living but we still need to pay attention to what others are going through. Instead of arguing with other sports fans on why UWV, Sienna, or Wolford will be the surprise team of the NCAA tournament or why Cardinal fans are really idiots, maybe we can just find a little time to enjoy the games and then put the world into perspective.
Maybe we can just show a little love to that yong girl who lost her home,maybe her family, and her virginity, to a sadistic rapist. If we could just show some of the passion for their plight as we do for our favorite basketball team, things like what is going on in Haiti would not happen nearly as often.
If a man's wife is suffering because of some life threatening disease and cannot pleasure her husband, I can understand why he might look outside the marriage. I didn't say agree because I don't, especially entering into a love affair. At least Tiger Woods, a cheating creep in his own right, had the good sense to find women willing to have brief affairs. Lordy, how does this mans stupidity shine through from this incident. Falling in love, failing to use any birth control methods, taping the affair, and leaving a cell phone where his wife could find it. One would think he wanted to be caught and if his wife was dumb enough to ask "are you having an affair" he had the tape to prove he was.
I wonder too if Elizabeth had the ability to regulate the state of her cancer--getting sicker when it would give John needed publicity and getting less sick when she needed the strength to fight him in court. Doesn't it seem like someone who was the son of a mill worker would put himself through school to become a lawyer and a successful one at that and a US Senator and a Presidential Candidate would be happy with his life. But you know what they say about power.
Some people can't handle power and some can't handle responsibility. Give a man a little responsibility who can't handle power and bad things are bound to happen. If John Edwards isn't enough to prove that point, just look at the refugee camps in Haiti where the workers handing out food are demanding sex from the women before they can receive rations. It seems rape is a rampant problem too with numerous reports of girls as young as two falling victim to this despicable crime.
One commenter on a story suggested that the US allowed this to happen and we should put a stop to it. Don't I wish we could. I'm sure if the American people made it a priority, much could be done to change the mentality of the Haitian men who engage in this behaviour and the legal system there that does little to discourage the practice, but we have too much other stuff going on and something to focus our attention on that is oh so much more important right now; College basketball and March madness. Come April, we will have the fianl run to the pro baketball championships to draw our attention.
Now, I'm not belittling sports fans or sports or our need to espcape from the pressures of life for awhile. Enjoying ourselves is as important to living as solving problems for if we didn't have pleasure, life woule hardly be worth living but we still need to pay attention to what others are going through. Instead of arguing with other sports fans on why UWV, Sienna, or Wolford will be the surprise team of the NCAA tournament or why Cardinal fans are really idiots, maybe we can just find a little time to enjoy the games and then put the world into perspective.
Maybe we can just show a little love to that yong girl who lost her home,maybe her family, and her virginity, to a sadistic rapist. If we could just show some of the passion for their plight as we do for our favorite basketball team, things like what is going on in Haiti would not happen nearly as often.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Doubts over Prius story
It seems the experts are in agreement with me--they have their doubts about the sudden accelaration of a Prius to 94 mph and the inability of the driver to stop the vehicle. They have their data to support their position--I have my knowledge of phony stories.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
pushahead
"pushahead" was used as a word in an article I read today. Could it be that someone forgot the space rather than really thinking this is a word?
I believe it is just poor proofreading as the first paragraph also contains this word: teambefore and in the the full article quotation marks are rendered '' rather than ". Fox News must not be able to afford proofreaders. Slate was once the worst but I am beginning to believe few reporters have a good command of proper English anymnore.
I believe it is just poor proofreading as the first paragraph also contains this word: teambefore and in the the full article quotation marks are rendered '' rather than ". Fox News must not be able to afford proofreaders. Slate was once the worst but I am beginning to believe few reporters have a good command of proper English anymnore.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
A Good Day
I enjoyed my day off even if it did begin with a 7:30 am dentist appointment. My wife and I went out for lunch together. It is good having her able to get out some now. She still has a long way to go but she is making good progress.
I worked on my water ponds some, cleaning the filters and installing my new pump. It works great but I haven't gotten my fountain pump installed the way I want it yet. Maybe Monday on my next day off.
My doctor's office called with my blood work results. Total cholesterol of 118 and triglycerides of 96. When I started seeing my doctor I weighed 45 pounds more than I do now, I smoked, my cholesterol was almost 400 and my directorates were well over 600
Lots of hard work went into achieving these good results but I still have problems. I'm still considered obese, my blood pressure still runs high sometimes and I am still considered a diabetic even though I take no medicines for that condition.
Now that the weather is warming, maybe I can get out and walk some now. Working out on the Wii has been helpful but I still believe the real thing is better.
I'm still debating on whether it is safe yet to plant my tender young saplings. Any one with ideas?
I worked on my water ponds some, cleaning the filters and installing my new pump. It works great but I haven't gotten my fountain pump installed the way I want it yet. Maybe Monday on my next day off.
My doctor's office called with my blood work results. Total cholesterol of 118 and triglycerides of 96. When I started seeing my doctor I weighed 45 pounds more than I do now, I smoked, my cholesterol was almost 400 and my directorates were well over 600
Lots of hard work went into achieving these good results but I still have problems. I'm still considered obese, my blood pressure still runs high sometimes and I am still considered a diabetic even though I take no medicines for that condition.
Now that the weather is warming, maybe I can get out and walk some now. Working out on the Wii has been helpful but I still believe the real thing is better.
I'm still debating on whether it is safe yet to plant my tender young saplings. Any one with ideas?
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Feds to probe cause of runaway Prius in California
I think when all is said and done, this incident will prove to have been staged. I believe the man just wants to make money from Toyota, a little fame and fortune so to speak.
Sure his brakes were worn almost to nothing from the attempt to stop the car but what would one expect if the accelarator was pressed to the floor. Why didn't the man cut the engine off when instructed to by the 9-1-1 operator? Not enugh media attention had not been generated by that time. It wasn't until the CHP got involved did the man even attempt the recommended method of stopping a run a way car. If it has no power, it has to stop.
The only excuse for not being able to stop a car with a stuck accelarator is if the engine won't cut off. Even if the brakes fail, without power the car is going to eventually stop.
I'm not implying other incidences are not real and I know people panic and do stupid stuff in a paniced mode but I just don't buy in to this incident.
Sounds like another "baloon boy" incident to me. Check out the driver's history.
Sure his brakes were worn almost to nothing from the attempt to stop the car but what would one expect if the accelarator was pressed to the floor. Why didn't the man cut the engine off when instructed to by the 9-1-1 operator? Not enugh media attention had not been generated by that time. It wasn't until the CHP got involved did the man even attempt the recommended method of stopping a run a way car. If it has no power, it has to stop.
The only excuse for not being able to stop a car with a stuck accelarator is if the engine won't cut off. Even if the brakes fail, without power the car is going to eventually stop.
I'm not implying other incidences are not real and I know people panic and do stupid stuff in a paniced mode but I just don't buy in to this incident.
Sounds like another "baloon boy" incident to me. Check out the driver's history.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Bear eats fingers
A lady fed a bear and it ate her fingers. I don't have any bears to feed but I do have some fish. I fed them today which is the first time they have eaten in over three months. I worked in the yard digging holes in anticipation of next month when I can start planting my seedlings. I did plant some bulbs (only half-I'll plant the other half next month so the flowers won;t all bloom at once) and dug the holes for the rest of them. I also dug twenty-five holes where the hibiscus plants will go olus another five holes for the apple trees.
I cleared the grass from the fence where I will plant my Moon flowers and morning glories. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy so I put some steaks on the grill to go with the salad and potatoe we had for lunch.
After all the work was done, I uncovered my ponds and noticed the bigger fish were active so I gave them a few pellets. At first the fish were preoccupied in exploring the disappearance of their winter hiding place and discovering they could swim around the entire pond now. Then they realized they were hungry so they nibbled at the food. After they consumed the few pellets, I gave them some more and they were more eager that time to eat.
I took some pictures and finally got one in which all five fish can be seen. Shark, the black and orange one, is in the lower right hand side and is only prtly visible. Spot is the white and tan one with the round black spots. Showa is the tri-colored Koi, and Old Yeller is the orange one. Sasha is also a tri-colored fish but isn't a Koi. She is a smaller fish, chunkier with colors that aren't as pure and organized as the Koi has.
The comets were still too shy to eat today although two of them did venture out. It will be warm enough soon.
Tomorrow I'll clean the ponds.
48 hr mystery
Seldom do I get the chance to watch on regular TV. My wife records the show or I watch it on the computer. I just watched the segment about the funereal director's wife who drowned in the pool. The defense claim was that a stranger must have saw the woman by the pool, beat her, robbed her, threw her in the pool and cleaned up the crime scene and did not arouse any neighbor's or the husband or any of the four children. It was around 10:30 pm when the lady drowned.
How convenient for the husband who was having an intense affair and just found out his girlfriend was pregnant.
How convenient for the husband who was having an intense affair and just found out his girlfriend was pregnant.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Snow plow
A lady told me this morning that she had to travel some in Randoph County this morning and none of the area she passed through had been touched by a snow plow. "Don't they have one?," she asked.
"Oh" I replied. "Randolph County uses a Green snow removal method. It is so far advanced it is even solar powered".
"Really?" the lady quizzed. "I certainly didn't see any evidence of anyone using any kind of snow removal system in the area I passed through and it is a busy area. Wonder why they hadn't used it there?'
"The sun hadn't come out yet" I answered.
"Oh" I replied. "Randolph County uses a Green snow removal method. It is so far advanced it is even solar powered".
"Really?" the lady quizzed. "I certainly didn't see any evidence of anyone using any kind of snow removal system in the area I passed through and it is a busy area. Wonder why they hadn't used it there?'
"The sun hadn't come out yet" I answered.
Congress, health care, compromise
I once had a pick-up truck that I needed to sell. I looked the value up in all the latest "value books" and determined the vehicle was worth $1200.00. I parked it in the front yard with my phone number on it and the next day a man called and wanted to see it.
He asked how much I wanted and I quoted him a price and he made a counter offer of less than that and I accepted. That is compromise. He purchased the truck he wanted for less than the asking price so he felt he did a good job negotiating.
I sold the truck, which was my goal, and I sold it for more than it's book value.
It was a good compromise for us both.
Obama promised Americans change and one of the things he wants to change is the meaning of compromise, or at least the way it is done.
Obama wants the Republicans to accept the premise that compromise is accepting as fact that in the end, he will get what he wants with or without their cooperation so if they will agree to stop fighting him on what he wants, he will tell the American people it was a bipartisan piece of legislation but if they don't agree to just roll over, he is going to get his way one way or the other and he will do his best to make the Republicans look bad in the process.
It's kind of like if the man came to look at my truck and offered me a price way too low and I said no so he told me if I didn't accept his offer he would steal my truck and I would get nothing and I still said no even though I knew he was the local sheriff and if he stole the truck I would never be able to prove it or would I ever get my truck back or any money for it.
Change you can believe in (yea, right)
He asked how much I wanted and I quoted him a price and he made a counter offer of less than that and I accepted. That is compromise. He purchased the truck he wanted for less than the asking price so he felt he did a good job negotiating.
I sold the truck, which was my goal, and I sold it for more than it's book value.
It was a good compromise for us both.
Obama promised Americans change and one of the things he wants to change is the meaning of compromise, or at least the way it is done.
Obama wants the Republicans to accept the premise that compromise is accepting as fact that in the end, he will get what he wants with or without their cooperation so if they will agree to stop fighting him on what he wants, he will tell the American people it was a bipartisan piece of legislation but if they don't agree to just roll over, he is going to get his way one way or the other and he will do his best to make the Republicans look bad in the process.
It's kind of like if the man came to look at my truck and offered me a price way too low and I said no so he told me if I didn't accept his offer he would steal my truck and I would get nothing and I still said no even though I knew he was the local sheriff and if he stole the truck I would never be able to prove it or would I ever get my truck back or any money for it.
Change you can believe in (yea, right)
Monday, March 01, 2010
Rottweiler kills 4 year old
ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon authorities say the 4-year-old daughter of a reality TV show star was mauled to death by the family's Rottweiler.
Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin says Ashlynn Anderson's mother found her badly injured on their lawn in Astoria on Sunday. Ashlynn is the daughter of Jesse Browning, who stars with his father on The History Channel's show about the logging industry called "Ax Men."
Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin says Ashlynn Anderson's mother found her badly injured on their lawn in Astoria on Sunday. Ashlynn is the daughter of Jesse Browning, who stars with his father on The History Channel's show about the logging industry called "Ax Men."
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