The Nature Boy Says, "Whoooo!"

Double Standards?

2009-11-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

The following is an excerpt from a NYT article.

Mr. Awlaki, an American citizen born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, wrote on Monday on his English-language website that Mr. Hasan was “a hero.” The cleric said, “He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people.”

He added, “The only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.”

"...contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people..."

Last I heard, it seems that Muslims like this Awlaki don't really care who they fight against and kill with their terror tactics. Millitary, civilian, man, woman, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, or P.A.G.A.N. They all blow up really nicely with a properly placed car or suicide bomb. But, he can hide behind his rhetoric and his interpretation of the Qur'an.

I don't think Nidal Hasan knew or cared if any of his victims were going to be Muslim when he opened fire. Mr. Awlaki, I hope those virgins that you think you are promised upon your entrance to heaven are all horny teenage boys and you get ass-raped for eternity while Muhammad and Allah look on and laugh at your misguided arrogance and cowardice.

Idiot.

Hello Again...Again

2009-04-10T07:16:00.001-07:00

Hello, everyone, or anyone who is still out there in blogland. Just a quick little update before the Easter holiday. So much has happened over the last few months of relative inactivity online. My special needs hockey team is gearing up for a tournament in Toronto the weekend after Easter. We have our last team practice tonight. Then they are off to the tournament next weekend. The following weekend we have a coaches vs. players game. I don't get to go to the tournament this year. I joined the team too late and don't have the funds to make the trip. Next year the tournament is in the Washington D.C. area. I will do everything in my power to make that one. I have a couple of aunts that live out there and would love to add to the trip by visiting my family. Plus, at that point I will have two seasons of coaching these kids and just won't want to miss it.

My baby brother's wife has received her visa and is in country now. I got to watch them have their legal ceremony about a month ago. She is a bueatiful, sweet young woman and they seem very happy together. I also got to meet her parents. Her family are missionaries in Honduras and are originally from Guatamala. It was fun meeting her folks. Her father speaks almost no english and her mother teaches english (as she told me, "all of my children speak english pretty well, my husband never really learned because he's sleeping with the teacher."). They are good people. This weekend I get to spend some time with the newlyweds and my other little brother and his two children, who I cannot wait to see again.

On the relationship front, everything is still going great. I can't believe how easy it has been up to this point. But, again, I still remain cautiously optimistic. I just don't know if I am ready for my heart to take another beating yet. So, I am still keeping a bit of distance for a while longer. I hope everyone has a great Easter, or Passover, or just a good weekend if you don't pratice either of those religions. Hasta Luego.

I'm Back...Sorta

2009-03-24T05:14:00.001-07:00

Vacations went very well. I got to visit the old stomping grounds outside of Philly for a few days. I hung out with some old friends and made some new ones. Then I went to Park City, Utah for skiing. I hung out with an old friend and made a few new ones there, also. Park City was fun. Who knew that the Mormons could make such good beer? There was a brew pub at the top of Main Street in town, Wasatch Brew Pub. They had a really, really, really good double bock and a very good winterfest. I would suggest that if anyone ever visits and likes their beer, to give them a visit.

The skiing was rather uneventful. We didn't get any snow, one of the days (when it was dumping several feet of snow across most of the rest of the United States) it was 60 degrees F near the top of the ski mountain. I fell in love with Alta Ski Resort. If their had been any fresh snow at all, there would have been so much fun terrain to get in trouble on. As it was we got ourselves down into a bowl that funneled us into a chute...very fun, but very challenging with only packed conditions.

Since I've been back, I have finally caught up on my work. I have also started a new relationship. We are in the really great stage. Getting to know one another always wanting to talk to each other. Finding excuses to see each other as often as possible. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. But, I've been here before...However, I am spending quite a bit of my spare time talking to or hanging out with this woman, so my blogging time has been cut quite significantly.

I hope everything is going well with everyone else, if of course anyone is still reading this.

One Last Trip

2009-02-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

I'm on my way out to Park City for a week. Then it's back to real life for quite a while I think.

Ahhhhh

2009-02-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

That was fun. What a great weekend. Started out right off the plane, when we headed over to my favorite Philly cheesesteak joint, Tony Luke's. Then we headed up to the area I would be staying in/had lived in previously. On our way to my friend's house we drove through the little town that I used to live in. I tell ya, I missed the boat on this one. After I moved away it turned into the trendy town for twenty-somethings to hang out in. Lots of new bars and a brewery.

When I got up Friday morning, I talked to my friend's wife and daughter for a bit then headed out to a brewery tour of the oldest brewery in America and one of my personal favorite beers, Yuengling, with my friend Mark. First, let me thank Dr. Mark for driving and all of the costs incurred. Brother, that is why I bought that case of beer...and I can tell you that the Ichor and Rasberry were great, I wasn't really into the Saison. Save a bottle of the Icarus for the next visit, or you trip down here. The rest is yours. Next, let me say, I missed my friend Yuengling. What a great beer. We don't get it in St. Louis. Plus at the end of the tour, they had a bock beer that was soooooooo yummy. I hope they mass produce it after their limited run. It was awesome, but if it is a one time thing, I will never get it again.

After the tour, we headed back to the convention center where all types of drinking, socializing and related hilarity ensued. I remember a lot of it, but I was very, very drunk for some of it and my retelling would not do it justice. Suffice it to say it was a great weekend. Reconnected with some old friends and made some more new ones.

This week it is back to work with a ton of stuff to do before Friday. Because after that I will not be back to work for a week and a half. My ski trip to Utah starts next Wednesday.

Just A Few More Hours...

2009-02-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

...And I will be on a flight to Philadelphia. I've been promised a trip to Tony Luke's to get my favorite cheesesteak once I deplane...

...Lots of drinking with Scottish and Irish folks to follow...

...Recover on the flight back home...

...I'll write about it sometime next week.

Yet Another Hockey Post

2009-02-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Last night, I played hockey in my rec-league. One of my friends, who I have known for a little over a year, came out to watch. In real life, I am a mild-mannered...no, I am a nice-fun-laid-back-nothing-needs-to-be-taken-too-seriously sort of guy. Mild-mannered isn't really accurate. This is all my poor friend Mandy had ever seen of me.

I tell stories every now and again about losing my temper while playing hockey. Just the general stuff, trash talking opponents, getting rough and even an occasional "fight" (not a traditional fight, there are rarely more than one or two punches thrown in these things). She kept telling me that she couldn't see me being like that. Last night, she saw it come out full force. I'm a smart ass most of the time, anyway. When I get angry, I'm downright ignorant. I must've said a few things while yelling at some other players that were pretty funny. When I got back to the locker room after the game, I had a text message on my phone. "I love angry Larry! It's so funny!" I had to laugh. She sent it to me while I was seated in the penalty box.

You'd Think I Would Know Better

2009-02-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to play hockey with a friend of mine that I really hadn't seen much of since high school. I ran into him a few weeks ago when I was at the local Home Depot picking up materials to build a closet. We caught up at the store and he invited me out to play with his group of friends. They have some ice time every week at one of the outdoor rinks. I couldn't go last week because of a huge snowstorm that forced me to work massive hours and get very little sleep. This week, however, I was free to go.

When I showed up, my friend wasn't there yet. I introduced myself around, met one of his many brothers that I did not know and found out that his older brother (who was also a friend of mine that I hadn't seen since we graduated high school 13 years ago) was in town and going to be playing. So, I got dressed out, stretched out, and ready to play. My two friends came in and we caught up a little bit, then went outside...

I forgot how flippin cold 10 degrees and windy could be. I also forgot to bring any insulated undergarments. It was bitter. Any part of my body that was only covered by a jersey, socks or helmet and no other padding, was bright red and numb for several hours afterward. With all of the snow removal, skiing and past outdoor winter surveillances that I have been involved in, you would think that I would know better than to be caught out in that sort of cold with no insulation. Hopefully, next week, I will remember to pack some more clothes in my hockey bag.

On a side note, it has been about 15 years since I have had ice form on my face while playing hockey. When I reached up to touch my beard it was caked in ice. Brought back a lot of good memories from my youth.

The Waiting Game

2009-02-03T07:47:00.001-08:00

I am playing the waiting game, now. My trip to Philadelphia is coming up in about a week and a half. A week later, I fly to Scranton, PA for a few days of work and then I fly back home just long enough to switch luggage at home and return to the airport to head out to Utah for my ski trip...which we just added a day to!

I washed my kilt and won a free beer or two in a bet when I get to Philly. I love it when St. Louis teams beat Philly teams. It is especially fulfilling when the loser's fan has to buy the first round. We have a trip to my the brewery of one of my favorite beers planned for the first day, a concert that night and the festival the rest of the weekend. It's soooo close. Come on, Next Friday!

I am trying my best to stay focused, but the closer it gets to my trips, the harder it is. I took my skis to the one shop in St. Louis that actually tunes skis. I pick them up tomorrow. I have been watching ski videos and downloading music that I will listen to while skiing. I may actually have to go purchase an iPhone before the trip with some of the money I am going to be getting from an unexpected raise that I just received (retroactive to last July...33 weeks of back pay!!!!). The iPhone will allow me to have a 2-way radio, phone and MP3 player all hooked up to the speakers that are installed in my ski helmet. That way I can keep in contact with the guys on the slopes, listen to my music and receive any phone calls that may come through.

I will leave you all with a photo that I took three years ago (i think...it might have been two).
Sorry for the lack of quality. I took it with my cell phone. What did we ever do before camera phones?

This is proof that God prefers skiers to snowboarders. :P

Happy Birthday Jackson Pollock...Even Though You've Been Dead For Over Half A Century

2009-01-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

I have decided to name this one "No Talent Punk in Blue".

You can have a little fun, too. Go here and just move your mouse all over the place. Click the left button to change colors. It kept me occupied all through break.

A Date With Robocop

2009-01-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

I think I have to disown one of my brothers.

Here's the story. My brother has managed to start tutoring Peter Weller (who will, from here on out, be referred to as Robocop. If you prefer, you can think of him as Buckaroo Banzai). This past weekend Robocop called him up and invited him to watch a midnight showing of the original motion picture Robocop with him and several other people. Since bro doesn't own a vehicle, Robocop offered to pick him up and take him...

MY BROTHER REFUSED HIM!!!

Now, in all fairness my brother is a PHD candidate and has plenty of things that keep him busy, but refusing to do something as unique as watching Robocop with Robocop (even if it did kinda seem like date) is just too much. He should have sucked it up, lost some much needed rest and participated if for no other reason than to have a story to tell his grand kids (or hell, even my grand kids) someday.

Right now, I am having trouble accepting the fact that he is of my same blood.

Million Dollar Ideas

2009-01-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

Everybody wants one, I may have come up with one. I'm cautiously optimistic. Lots of research to be done and costs to be figured. I won't go into details because then someone else could in a better position to pursue it quickly could pounce. But stay tuned for updates. If I have any breakthroughs or setbacks, I'm sure I blog about it. I have a friend involved and am waiting to talk to another one who is already involved in the industry in question. It should take a year or more to get really moving, but it may never go anywhere. Wish me luck.

Oh yeah, Mossy, if you are still reading this, I built a closet over the last four days. It actually turned out. But, I wish I had your tools and expertise. It would have been a lot easier, and probably been done in a day.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

2009-01-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

That was a sigh of contentment, folks.

I love it when a plan comes together. I have been trying to figure out how in the world I was going to pay for everything I needed to and still fit in a ski trip this year...I did. And I just booked a much overdue trip up to Philadelphia for a long weekend at Midwinter Festival, a Scottish/Irish music festival(with the band Albannach, YAY!), too. How I managed, I do not know. I will probably regret my decision when I actually need the money that I spent to book the airfare to that fair city. But, all of my bills are paid and I had a little bit of extra money. I have friends that will transport me everywhere(or at the very least let me borrow their cars) so a rental is unnecessary. I have a few options as far as places to stay with the same friends and since food and drink can be as expensive or cheap as I make it, that really isn't a problem. The only issue that I have now is getting tickets to the festival, which isn't a big issue at all.

As for the ski trip. I kept running through my mind how I could come up with the money. I forgot that one of the advantages of being a very poor college student who spends a whole lot of cash on school allows for large amounts of refunded income taxes. Problem solved. Although, again, I may regret the decision to spend all that money if the time comes when I really need it for something not so frivolous. But, I'll only live once, and there is no real debt coming from the trip. Park City here I come.

February is going to be an awesome month, I hope.

Good Family And Friends

2009-01-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

Since I am finally caught up at work after 3 hellish weeks, I have managed to sit down and read a few news stories online. I found this one, about being paid quite handsomely to live on a tropical island near the Great Barrier Reef for six months. After reading it, I sent this email out to my brothers, sister, and some select friends:

"I think I will apply for this job.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090113/od_afp/lifestyleaustraliatourismoffbeat_20090113032028"

To which, I received these replies:

First, from the Steph, my beloved sister,

"PLEASE DO.  Let me know if you need any help with your application. Or getting a passport.  Anything I can do to help get you out of the
coun--*ahem*, I mean, get you the job of your dreams."

Next, from my older brother,

"Don't listen to steph. I mean, your her "other" nameless brother anyway. She doesn't even really know who sent the email. Follow your dreams, little man! (It's the only way you'll end up emotionally crushed and curled up crying in a ball on the floor for us all to see!)"

And, last, from one of my best friends, Joe (who you might notice is nice enough to not wait until he gets home, but instead uses his iPhone to pour it on),

"I can't believe that Larry couldn't figure out that we faked that story just for him to apply, win and head 1/2 a world away from most of us!!  Did he read the fine print that the $105,000 is payable over 105,000 years and is subject to taxes leaving him making $0.50 per year?
Congrats to Larry, but mostly congrats to us!!

Joe.

Sent from my iPhone"

Can you feel the love?

My Favorite Christmas Story

2008-12-25T21:35:00.000-08:00

For the last few years, I have been without kids to share this story with. When I was married and got to see my nieces every Christmas I would have one of them snuggle up on my left and one on my right. They would hold the book and turn the pages while I read it to them. After a few years of not reading it to anyone but myself, I settled for reading it to Steph. It was nice to read it out loud, but it just wasn't the same. I think I will share it with you.

It is the book "Red Ranger Came Calling" by Berkeley Breathed. Pick up a copy if you can find one. Go hardback with this one. It is one you will want to keep in good condition.

Here is an excerpt:

Christmas, 1939
During the Depression years, before the second war, my folks would banish me from East Orange, New Jersey, to Michigan for the school year and then ship me to upstate New York for summer camp. The lone remaining month, for Christmas, would find me on a train to my aunt Vy's house, on Vashon, a damp little island somewhere off the country's upper left-hand corner It was an out-of-the-way corner, but a good place to grow things, where strawberries and sour-faced little boys might ripen up sweeter. Or so my mother told me each time she sent me away.

But on Christmas Eve of 1939, I'd grown no sweeter at all. My prize eluded me: an Official Buck Tweed Two-Speed Crime-Stopper Star-Hopper bicycle. It sat there gleaming in the Vashon Hardware Store window, tantalizing earthlings with its spine-tingling glamour.

The Red Ranger of Mars - me - visited this place daily, like a cow returning to the salt lick. There I would loiter, miserable in my bicycle poverty, kept company by Amelia, Aunt Vy's Dalmatian wiener-dog mix. Most of the time Amelia just snoozed nearby, dreaming, like me, of other places and other lives far away.

But it was 1939, and although Christmas Eve had arrived, dreams were unaffordable. Amelia and I headed home with mine far behind in a store window.

As usual, I looked for delays on the walk home. Aunt Vy would be waiting, and we made each other equally uncomfortable, so I saw no reason to hurry. That evening's detour brought me and Amelia past the ramshackle lighthouse perched high in the mist on Point Robinson. As always, we paused to consider the old house's legend.

Island old-timers insisted that its unseen occupant, old Saunder Clos, was actually Santa Claus himself...the real McCoy of childish fancy migrated down from the North to spend his final days in secretive retirement on Vashon Island.

It took folks far more fruity than the Red Ranger of Mars to be tricked into believing such twaddle. Like many my age, I knew that Santa Claus and the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny were just that many more promises hatched by those who weren't very good at keeping them.

As we turned to leave, an astonishingly squat little man no bigger than me rushed past us toward the old lighthouse. He carried an overnight carpetbag, which bumped along behind him. The tiny man smiled weakly and tipped his hat, revealing pointy ears. Something flowery needed to be said by the Red Ranger of Mars, but in my shock, all that came out was, "Mister, you look like a turnip."

I could not recall ever actually seeing a genuine elf, nor calling one a vegetable, but I was certain I just had. An elf. You-know-who's elf. To a dyed-in-the-wool everything doubter such as myself, it was mind-boggling.

I love this story for several reasons. One, it is written for children and adults. Two, the artwork is phenomenal. And three, one of my nieces was "a dyed-in-the-wool everything doubter" and she would come away from the reading of this book slightly less convinced that Santa Claus was fake (you'll see why if you manage to procure a copy of this book).

I hope everyone is having a good holiday season.

It's All True

2008-12-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

I was reading an article on cities that you should live in rather than visit. I was surprised to find Philadelphia, PA on that list. Probably shouldn't have been, though. I loved it there. The funny thing about it, everything negative that you have ever heard about Philly is true. Yes, they booed Santa. Yes, they throw batteries at athletes. There is a jail and courthouse located on site at their sports complex. You might assume that the people are mean because they seem so harsh. But, in fact they are some of the nicest, straightforward people you will ever meet. They are completely different from us midwesterners, but that isn't really a bad thing.

It is a very dangerous city. But, that is only in certain parts. In other parts it has some of the most historically significant structures and items in the United States. There are some of the nicest neighborhoods I have ever laid eyes to the northeast and to the west of downtown. You just have to go far enough north and east or far enough west, otherwise you can end up in those really dangerous areas. Anywhere you look you can find buildings dating back to the revolution. The architeture is awesome. If you go east you can hit the shore in an hour or so. If you go west you can hit the plains in a few hours. North will take you into the Poconos in an hour or so, and into the Adirondaks if you go furhter. South to the nation's capital and the Virginia countryside. New York City is about an hour and a half away.

I completely understand the author's point of view about needing to live there and not just visit. There is way too much to see and do, and no way to fit it all into a trip. I doubt it could be truly appreciated any other way. I know I wouldn't have the feelings I do about the city if I hadn't stayed rather than passed through. I can't wait until February when I get to go back for a few days.

I Need To Recenter

2008-12-13T23:29:00.001-08:00

And cannot figure out how.

Yesterday really threw me off. I am not where I want to be in life. That has been a constant for most of my adult years. But, it has seemed to me that since I got divorced four years ago I have been headed in the right direction. The problem is that even though I have felt like after years of making poor decisions and working my way out of them, now that I seem to be making the right ones I still feel stuck in a bad situation with no end in sight for the foreseeable future. And no effective way to change my circumstances and keep headed in the direction I want to go. So, my dilema is, do I keep moving in the direction that I am moving or do I change it yet again and see if that helps?

Lately I have been asking myself this question and yesterday really made me have to examine it. I really can't ask my friends and family what they think, because I know what they think. Their thoughts are very valid. They know where I have been, where I am, and where I am going. But, knowing what they would say, only confuses me more. I just don't know how long I can keep going the way I am. In some ways, it was so much better before. In other ways, it was so much worse. I had so much more freedom, but I didn't have the control over my life to use it. Now, I have control of my life, but I am confined to small steps. I don't know which I prefer.

I am a very patient person. My life has made that a requirement for keeping my sanity. But, every once in a while, the light at the end of the tunnel gets obscured somehow. Right now, I can't see it.

A night out with friends last night, although very fun and thanks to Steph, very free, did not help. When I woke up the cloud was still there. I avoided everything and everyone today and went out to play hockey tonight. That didn't help either. My one last great hope for the weekend is when I go to coach tomorrow afternoon. If that doesn't set my head on straight, I have to go back to work in the wrong frame of mind. That will make how I am feeling right now so much worse.

If I had any money, I could take a trip somewhere and relax and recenter after finals this week. But, I don't and my other very few, normally effective options for personal healing haven't done the trick. I need something unexpected to lift me up soon, or I just might have to make a change that I really dread to get me out of my funk. It just seems to me that the only choice I have will put me in reverse. But, that is a different direction and it might just be what I need. One step back, two steps forward, repeat?

Maybe if it snows tomorrow my outlook will change.

For Tracie and Kristi (and whoever else is interested)

2008-12-09T06:38:00.001-08:00

"Most of us no longer heed Leviticus on haircuts or blood sacrifices; our modern understanding of the world has surpassed its prescriptions. Why would we regard its condemnation of homosexuality with more seriousness than we regard its advice, which is far lengthier, on the best price to pay for a slave?" -Lisa Miller NEWSWEEK Published Dec 6, 2008

I did not do the research on this and unless I do, I will take it for what it is. It is an interesting news article on the Bible and Gay Marriage. For the three of us, we have already discussed it in length and none of our views are changing, I don't expect this to change them. But, it is a "third party" analysis of the topic that we argued. I am not posting this to get into another lengthy discussion. I am posting it because it covers a very relevant subject and I would like to hear if any of my other readers have a thought on this subject. If you readers want to know what Kristi (original post), Tracie (rebuttal), and I think about it follow the links. We all have our reasons for believing how we do and none of our discussions with each other changed that. In some ways they helped reinforce and clarify our individual ideals but did not sway us. I expect this article to do the same thing. For those of you that believe this should be legal it is ammunition. For those of you who believe it is immoral, it will show you where to direct your arguments against. Either way, it is interesting to me, the interpretive value of information. If we all used the same version of the Bible as our only reference, we would all interpret it differently.

I will not participate in the discussion because I have said what I had to say, and argued what I believe and why I believe it with Kristi and Tracie. My view have not changed in light of this article. I doubt yours will either. Enjoy it, or at least wrap your mind around it and, if you would like, formulate your response.

I Guess I Finally Have To Admit It

2008-12-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

I'm getting older.

There, I said it. I have been avoiding that idea for the last few years, but I think that this morning is about as good a time as any to actually accept it. I have been sore for the past few weeks. Aches and pains ranging from a stiff shoulder and a bum knee to a tight back and sore elbow. After playing hockey last night, I now have two sore knees and my shoulder which had gotten better is back to being pretty stiff again.

But the final straw, and this is a doozie, I was actually checking out a 40+ year-old woman in the crowd. I found this out when I asked my 20 year-old teammate's girlfriend who she was sitting with and she told me it was his mother. I my defense, she looked like she was a whole lot closer to my 31 than her mid-forties.

I used wake up pain free, go out into the world and think that any woman who looked older than 25 was, in fact, old. Now, I wake up with aches in parts of my body that I didn't know I had, get out and think that any woman who looks younger than 25 is a kid. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen until at least 40. I mean, is 31 really that old?

Changing Seasons

2008-12-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

I just got to work this morning. While engaging in my normal start of the day routine-starting my media player, checking email, browsing the interesting headlines and doing a quick once-over of my daily blog reads-I came across an article while listening to a song called "Summer Skin" by Death Cab For Cutie and watching one of my coworkers throw some ice-melt on the steps outside of my office window. It reminded me, as the weather of the past week has, that seasons change in life, like they change over the course of the year.

The title of the article was "Jobs That Make Good Cocktail Party Conversation". You see, I used to have one of those jobs. It still peeks peoples' interest when they first find out. I am now in a job that has very few remotely interesting occurrences. I just do it so that I can pay my bills, have health care benefits and pursue my educational goals. I love the fact that I am finally moving forward. I am happier than I have been in my adult life, but I sure do miss an interesting work story.

I also love the newest season. Some people use Winter as a metaphor for the ending of things. For me it is just a way to cleanse the pallet before you take the next bite of food or sip of wine. I mean, people use strawberries or sorbet to cleanse their pallets. How yummy is that? Mmmmmm. Winter is my sorbet. It is cold and sweet and delicious. It helps my body get rid of the taste of the three previous seasons and get back to center before the next series of birth, growth and decline takes place. Just as my new job and my continued education are helping me cleanse the past jobs and past life away as it helps me prepare for my future endeavors.

But, oh how I long for an interesting work story or two. It was so awesome when someone would look at me with that "I-amazed-if-you-actually-do-that-but-I-think-you-are-feeding-me-a-line-of-bullshit" look and then be completely taken with the adventure that I unfolded for them. (Except of course Steph, who is bored to tears by just about anything that comes out of my mouth.)

2008-12-03T05:23:00.000-08:00

"...you don't embarrass the team and you carry yourself with class and good character. I've told him before, there's more to the game than just lacing up the skates. There are things you have to be accountable for." -Brett Hull, former NHL great and Dallas Stars co-GM, on a horrible statement made by Dallas forward Sean Avery.

I had to post this quote. It's kinda like a "pot calling the kettle black" statement. One former classless player calling a current classless player, um, classless.

Hey Brett, last I checked, YOU SHOT A PUCK AT YOUR COACH'S HEAD and still had not apologized. You are right. But if someone chooses to listen to you on the subject of character and class, their ability to reason and make good decisions should be questioned.

I guess this is a "do as I say, not as I do" sort of moment, eh.

Time Travel, Giving Thanks A Bit Late

2008-12-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

With my bother and his friend both back in town for the holiday, we all spent a lot of our spare time together. As I mentioned in the previous post, my brother and I were not close as teenagers. So, I never really knew his friends. I knew who they were, but never hung out with them. Every night that they were here, we hung out, either at our home or his friend's. It turns out that his friend and the friend's wife are really cool and fun people. On Friday, we went over to his house to have a few drinks and hang out in the basement. We were all transported back to our childhoods, if our childhoods had alcohol.

We went down into the basement and my brother's friend started digging out a bunch of old stuff he or his parents had saved from his childhood and college years. He had G.I. Joe figures and vehicles. He had a Voltron toy where the lions all connected to make the big robot, "...and I'll form the head!" He had Garbage Pail Kids trading cards, of which I stole all of the doubles. We listened to vinyl copies of the Footloose soundtrack and Michael Jackson's Thriller. Looked through old yearbooks and school dance photos. We talked about mutual aquaintances and old friendships. We even played billiards on a table that was not quite level, so everything rolled to one side. This really brought me back. Even though we did not hang out together when we were younger, one of my best friends growing up also had a table that wasn't level. Needless to say, I managed to win most of the night.

We shared our stories of things that we had done or that one of the other people had done. My brother's friend had kept a break-up note that my brother had written in blue crayon to his college girlfriend. It was brilliant. I will not share the whole note or whole story of what had transpired. But, I will share a few of my favorite lines:

"...leave the rest of the money for the acid on the bed..."

"...if there is anything wrong with my car or anything is missing I will start breaking things that you like..."

Seriously, knowing the whole situation makes it really funny. I can't believe his friend kept it. It's pure gold.

It was one of those magical nights that if you're not careful, you will forget to appreciate. Everything seemed to be perfect, good friends, good music, good memories and I even happened to find a really good beer that one of my new friends had not had in ten years. She was in heaven.

So, belatedly for American Thanksgiving, let me give thanks for the wonderful occurances in my life this year.

First, thank you all for reading, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

Also thanks for a great start to the year with fireworks over the mountain and the best powder/tree skiing I may ever experience for three straight days. Thanks for the moment in Hooters where Doug embarassed the new guy. Thanks for a few more semesters of undergrad education. Thanks for my new friends (real and cyber) and thanks even more for my old ones. Thanks for the lessons learned. Thanks for pulling me up on stage and helping me do things I would have never thought I could do sober, and thanks for letting a friend be there to back up the story. Thanks for making hockey more fun and opening my eyes to what it is really all about. Thanks for making me wear a kilt. Thanks for those "Wow" moments that seem to make it all worth while. Thanks for one last show with LeRoi.

And most of all thanks for my family. They have always made it easy for me to be me, even when it was extremely hard just to be.

Family Fun Time

2008-11-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

My brother is visiting from Los Angeles this week for the holiday. He arrived in town last night. The family went out to dinner and then he and I went to one of his friend's houses. His friend is in town from Chicago. We drink and talked and then they continued drinking and we continued talking. I really miss my brother. Just like with Steph, he and I rarely got along when we were growing up, but as adults we are great friends. I met one of his high school/college friends last year over Christmas and another one of that same group last night. It is so much fun hearing about the crap that they got themselves in to. I heard about some of it when it was happening, but a lot of the details were completely new to me. I realized last night how interesting our lives have been since we separated.

I always thought his was interesting. He is a little over a year older than me and was two years ahead of me in school. He has been in school since he graduated highschool and is now pursuing his PhD in Classics (Latin-something-or-other). He has lived in KC, Norwich (England) and LA. In KC he received his undergrad degree, and then went to KU and earned his Masters. While there he made some money just by being in the Masters program, did research work and had other odd jobs from grocery stores to food delivery. Who knows what else he did to get by. From there it was over to England to live for a bit while his girlfriend finished her Masters program. While there he washed windows. He wasn't supposed to be working since he didn't have the proper visas. But, he made it work. When he moved back to the states, it was back to the KC area while he applied to different Doctoral programs. He finally got accepted to one of the best programs in the country out in LA and headed west where he has been for the past few three years. He makes more money in salary just by being a student and teaching undergrad classes (1 a semester, and I don't think he has to do that at this point) than I do where I am at. He gets to travel to Europe every summer (mainly Italy). Some summers he worked on archeological dig sites in Sicily and last year he taught a class at an American University somewhere outside of Rome. If he gets accepted, he will be spending a year at the American Academy in Rome starting next fall, while he continues his work on his discertation.

Over that time, I got married and received an undergrad degree in Criminal Justice. While doing that I worked in retail and in a factory. I went through the six month long hiring process for the Missouri State Highway Patrol three times, making it into the final phase twice. The only reason I am not a patrolman today is because when they asked if I could "take a life in the line of duty, yes or no, and why?" I answered, "No. I think that I could given the training and circumstance, but until I am placed in that situation I cannot honestly answer yes." I spent a majority of my two final interviews explaining my answer. Both of my parents had strings that they were pulling for me, I had passed everything else, but could not answer that question to their satisfaction. Thank God for that. I would not be nearly as happy today if I had. I became a PI when I got laid off from the factory and while working a file in Philadelphia I had a gun pointed at my head. I know now that I do not deal well with that sort of stress and would not have been happy as an officer who faces that possibility with every traffic stop and emergency call. I had moved to Philadelphia about the time my brother headed to Europe, and managed to work all over the United States. I have seen parts of this country that even the most traveled Americans never will. It was a very unique experience. I ended up moving back to St. Louis when my wife decided she was unhappy in Philadelphia. About three months later I was going through a divorce, turns out it wasn't just Philadelphia that was making her unhappy. By moving back I had given up any real opportunity for advancement in my company and had been slowly becoming burnt out with all of the travel and extra unpaid working hours and lack of a personal life. Once I got my head on straight after my divorce, I decided I needed to return to school and pursue a different path. I found a job as a drain cleaner and returned to school. Since then I have entered an accounting program and started working at a nursing home.

Neither of us would have ever guessed that we would be where we are now, back when we were first beginning our often interesting journeys. But, as I have come to realize, we are both very happy people who may not be traditionally "successful" but we know what real success is. Happiness. And I can say that his ability and willingness to follow his happiness where it lead him, inspired me to not be afraid to make the changes in my life that have lead to my fulfillment. I just wish that most of our time together wasn't spent talking on the phone, 2000 miles apart.

But Who's Buying

2008-11-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

These are the NHL's commercials for their broadcasts on the only network that airs national telecasts. They portray hockey players as they are. Most are very approachable and I have not known any to be primadonnas in recent years. You non-hockey fans tell me if they would sell the game to you, I'm kinda biased.

I love these commercials, but the only time I see them is during NHL hockey games on the channel that is broadcasting those games. The league isn't in financial trouble anymore, but I don't see the point of advertising hockey during hockey. The fans already know it is there. They need to try to reach a different market I think. Although, in my opinion, the only way to make a non-fan a fan is to take them to a game. It is hard to follow the game on TV if you don't know what you are watching.

I'm Beginning To See A Pattern Emerging

2008-11-23T23:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight my men's league hockey team won our fourth straight game. I also scored a goal for our fourth straight game. Tonight was the second game in a row I scored the game winner. Although tonight's goal was one I had never scored before. I scored the goal with my left butt cheek.

The best goals are the ones that you don't really have to do much work for. All of the other three goals were of the highlight reel variety. Two of the three were off of great passing plays from my teammates where I didn't have to do anything but hit the right spot on the net and the other was an end to end rush where I moved around four of the other team's skaters and beat the goalie with a backhand through the five-hole. I remember goals that I score, because as a defenseman I don't score too many. Tonight, I just skated into the slot and one of my teammates shot the puck off of my bum and it bounced into the net.

I don't know how much longer the team I play for will be together. The team has been together for about four years and has been changing a lot over the last several sessions. We subtracted a few guys and added a few more this session. The new guys have definitely brought a new energy with them. I love playing on this team because everyone has a great attitude and they just want to have fun. There is a great mix of guys from from one guy in his mid-fifties* to a few 18 and 19 year-olds. We ended our regular season tonight with a 4-7-1 record. But we are going into the playoffs knowing that we can beat all of the other teams if we play the way we have played the last four or five games.

Now I am going to go to bed and hope that the bruise that is forming on the left side of my derriere isn't too bad when I wake up for work in a few hours. I hate the late night games, I just can't fall asleep when I get home.

*As a side note, there is nothing like sitting in the locker room after a game and hearing a guy who is old enough to be my father talking about being pissed off that he missed the Crystal Method show at some local venue a few weeks ago. Then referencing Paul Van Dyk and Underworld. Seriously, blew my mind.

Busy Night

2008-11-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I went out for my friend Lindsay's birthday. By going out with her, I missed out on a few things that I got to catch up on today. I missed the Toronto Maple Leafs retiring the jersey of Wendell Clark, whom I also disliked when Toronto was in the Blues' conference back when I started watching hockey. He was a great player with a lot of character and heart, and those opponents are the types of guys that always make it hard for your team to win against. It was moving watching the ceremony online.

But, the one I really missed was the Montreal Canadiens raising to the rafters the number of the greatest goaltender ever, Patrick Roy. I have had the privilege of watching a lot of the greats that I grew up having their numbers retired by their teams. I have even been present at the retirement of one of my very favorite player's number, Al MacInnis. But, I don't know if I have felt as moved by any other ceremony as I was when watching Roy's. Maybe it was knowing the circumstances of his departure from that storied club in 1995, or maybe it was because he was one of the first player's names that I knew when I started watching and playing, other than Brett Hull of course. But, whatever it was, if you are a hockey fan, you need to find that ceremony online and watch it. Fantastic.

Giving of One's Self

2008-11-20T15:34:00.001-08:00

I was having a conversation with a woman today and I was surprised at the way it went. Not because I should have been surprised or the direction it took surprised me. I was surprised by the thoughts it provoked. We were discussing dating. For some reason, some of the women I work with are extremely comfortable around me. This one is one of them. While discussing dating, the subject of farting came up. She was telling me about how she was laying in bed at her boyfriend's house. He got up to go into the kitchen to get something to drink and she had to fart. She figured if she was going to do it, that was the time because they were going to be under the sheets together for the rest of the night. I understand being courteous where bodily functions are concerned, but she was mortified that he may have heard her fart when he was walking away. She was also afraid she might "scare him off" by being herself when they were doing competitive activities (bowling, mini-golf, video-games). She is the type of person that will joke about beating you, or rub it in a little. She is not sure how he would take it.

Now this is where the surprise occurred. I am slightly old-fashioned when it comes to relationships. I don't chase women like most men seem to now-a-days. I keep my eyes, ears and heart open, just in case an intriguing woman comes along. But, it's just not a priority for me right now. I enjoy getting to know someone well enough to feel completely comfortable before sleeping with them. I was thinking to myself, how can you be comfortable enough to have sex with someone and sleep with them, but not be comfortable enough to be yourself around them. I don't judge people just because they are not as old fashioned as I am. But, it is really hard for me to understand how people can share such an intimate experience without being comfortable with one another, first. Don't get me wrong. I believe in kicking the tires and taking a test drive before you buy the car. Or, taking a tour of the house before you sign the contract. Or whatever other analogy you like for sex before marriage. But, I just don't understand how you can enjoy the experience fully without being completely at ease and comfortable with your partner. And sex should be comfortable and much, much more. If you can't be yourself, what is the point?

Ideology, Charisma, Murder

2008-11-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

30 years ago today, a great tragedy occurred. A madman that was considered by his followers to be a prophet, "helped" over 900 people die in several ways. Mass suicide and murder followed people's good intentions. I often find myself wondering how people could follow someone like Jim Jones, or any other maligned leaders of the past for that matter. But, I have realized that a little charisma and a silver tongue can go a long way. And people have a need to believe in better things than seem to really exist. I have read several articles over the past year about Jonestown. The first one, about Jim Jones' grandson and one, today, about the events that occurred exactly 30 years ago. It scares me how easily any one of us could fall into a similar trap.

Believing someone that you think you can trust can happen to any of us. I have met a few people that have steered me wrong in the past, and I believed every word that they had said to me. I am not naive, and I am not stupid, but I had fallen for it. How? The person knew how to read me, and how to talk to me in order to get me to listen. And, they said exactly what I wanted to hear, although I had no clue that it was what I wanted to hear until I heard it. Friends and family warned me, but I believed anyway. There are plenty of people out there that are like that. Once you finally realize that you have been trapped, you are already trapped and extracting yourself is hard to do.

When you want to believe something can exist so badly that you are willing to believe against your better judgement that it does, people can take advantage of that. The people at Jonestown gave their love and trust to a madman and paid for it with their lives, some of them willingly. Be careful who you choose to trust and try not to dive into something without at least looking at what it is that you are getting into. Good intentions can mask bad ideas and lead to disaster. And normal, intelligent people can get lost just as easily as simple minded and naive folks. Intelligence makes it harder to accept that it could happen to us.

I try to make it a point to learn from the past. I use other people's experiences as well as my own to get by, now. When I was younger, I would only use my past as a reference point. I was too stubborn to believe that other people's experience affected me. Remember, we all make mistakes everyday. Except that we can make mistakes and it is easier to except that we do and ultimately it is easier to fix the issues that occur when we do. Learn from them and keep moving forward, treat everyone with respect and love and this world will be a better place for all of us.

Bum Knee

2008-11-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

This weekend had it's ups and downs. I went out late Friday night to play a bit of pick-up hockey with some friends (up). I was awakened before I was ready by my work pager and had to go in to fix some stuff (down). When I left work, there were snow flurries flying around (up). Later, I went out for my cousin's birthday dinner and then a bar for live music (up), but couldn't drink (they had one of my favorite beers on tap, very few people do) because I was on call and driving (down). Got called in again at just after midnight, while still out with my cousin (more down). Sunday, I got to sleep in, went to coach my kids (not really MY kids), then played in a game right afterward. We won the game, our win streak is now at 3 games, as is my goal scoring streak (all ups). Near the end of the game one of the goons on the other team hit one of my guys from behind. He had been doing this all game, had even hit me earlier, but it just wasn't the right time to get even. With the score at 5-2 in our favor, this guy hit my teammate very dangerously and I finally completely lost my temper and went after him. After I hit him and he came at me, I planted my foot awkwardly and tweaked my left knee. So, today, for my efforts I get to limp around and hope that the pain starts to subside. If not, I may have actually done some real damage this time.

First Snow of the Season

2008-11-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

I was not very enthusiastic about having to get out of bed before noon today to go to work. I was out until about 2am this morning after playing hockey late last night. But, I am on call and had to check on a few heating issues. I went in and did what I had to do. On the way back out to my car, I walked out into the first snow of the season.

It has been a great day.

Choice and Consequence

2008-11-14T07:24:00.001-08:00

So, I read this article this morning. I didn't even finish it before I started typing up this post. This is not addressed to anyone in particular. But is aimed at Rev. Jay Scott Newman of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, S.C. I know that different issues carry different weight with different people when it comes to picking our leaders. With that being said, this country is not a theocracy, and should not be run as one. Sure, we pick our leaders based on our beliefs, but I hope one of the most weighted beliefs we choose with is the one that tells us the person we chose will help this country thrive. I don't think our abortion laws really help us suceed or fail as a country. I think our social, economic and foreign policies have a whole lot more to do with it, than our religious leanings do. I can understand telling parishioners that they should refrain from communion if they have been directly involved in an abortion. Not because they have voted for a candidate that takes a pro-choice stance on the issue. I voted for Obama. I would be one of the first people in line to tell someone not to abort their child. There are too many other viable options. I used to say I was pro-choice. I have been through something that taught me that I wasn't. I didn't have a choice, my baby didn't have a choice, the mother had the choice. It is a long, complicated and emotional situation that I will probably never go into fully on this forum. But it taught me that I was wrong (for me to say that I was pro-choice, you are allowed your opinion on it). But, I will not choose a candidate that might run this country into the ground, based solely on their abortion views, and I would hope that the staunchest supporters of the pro-life agenda would make the same choice. Although, I know that is a pipe-dream.

So, Rev. Newman, I am here to tell you that you are an idiot for trying to alienate your parishioners because they did not vote for someone that will probably do nothing for or against abortion while they are in office. This country has too many other important issues right now. It would be stupid to be focusing on what is ultimately a personal one. Teach your congregation that there are CHOICES that do not include abortion. But don't chastise them for making a CHOICE for a leader, probably based on many more factors than how they feel about a woman's right to choose. By supporting someone else, they might have chose a candidate that is supporting a war that was unjustified in the first place (Iraq not Afghanistan) in which innocent people are being killed everyday. I only use this example to prove a point, that no matter which choice you make, the candidate is probably supporting the death of innocents for what they believe is right. So, as a Christian, a voter and a pro-life individual, I would say, it is not up to you sir, to decide whose soul is at risk. Leave that to God, he will judge us when we pass from this earth. It is up to you to guide them in the right direction. If communion is taken to prove that Jesus died for our sins and this is one of the ways that we can receive Him, then why would you stop someone from receiving Him who might be trying to atone for the sin of choosing a pro-choice advocate. Maybe they used their religion to guide them in their choice and still found that the lesser of the two evils was Obama. Now they feel they need to repent and YOU won't allow it. You may be Christ's representative, but you are not Christ, you did not die for their sins and they are not receiving you, you pompus ass. Get over yourself and do your job. Help people find God, don't turn them away from him. None of us are perfect, least of all you.

Getting The Urge

2008-11-13T09:25:00.001-08:00

Hahn's Peak, Steamboat, CO 11-12-08

It's snowing in Steamboat, my friend Troy sent me a picture from a mountain cam at Park City(snow covered), and I am now getting that urge...

I need to see if I can sell a kidney. I want to go skiing this year.

By now, I usually have made reservations and am just waiting my turn. This season, there is a trip planned for late February/early March, but I just don't think I will have the money. Since, well, I don't even have the money to pay off school.

Anyone want to donate to the cause? :)

Wallflower

2008-11-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

I used to be a wallflower. Sometimes, I am still a bit reserved in social situations. Finding that life sucks when I didn't take chances, I taught myself how to be outgoing. Sometimes I still turn many different shades of red when stuff happens. But, most of those times the only thing that is embarrassing is my body's reaction. It betrays me. Anyway, I just thought that for those of you out there that may be mortified by social situations such as speeches, parties, dates, or even going to a restaurant or movie where you may meet new people, you need to know you can change. It took some doing. I used to be the guy that walked around looking only at my feet, if someone made eye contact, I looked away. If someone said "Hi" I would very softly reply, sometimes with voice cracking. Most of my friends have a hard time believing this. I am very outgoing and not shy at all if I know you. But, believe me, once you learn how to be outgoing the world is a much more interesting place. What brought this on was earlier today on my morning break, I read an article about flirting. "Expert Flirting Tips". It seems that I have managed to become a huge flirt over the past few years. There were ten tips, and I am good at all of them. And only 4 short years ago, I was not this person at all.

Here is the article:

Some people are natural flirts, but what if you’re not one of those people? We’ve compiled 10 expert tips on flirting that even the most timid of singles can use.

10. Flirting is an attitude

A good flirt is self-confident and not afraid to take risks. Be enthusiastic and positive—it works! (I am a naturally positive person, the enthusiasm for the situation had to be learned)

9. Start a conversation

The best opening line is saying hello. Talk about the surroundings, ask a question, ask for help or state an opinion. (While working as a Private Investigator, I had to initiate conversation a lot. I had to learn how to be good at this. It is an invaluable skill. I know some masters, I am not one of them)

8. Have fun

Be playful, light-hearted and spontaneous. Show your vulnerability. (If you are quick-witted with your friends and family, transfer that over to those you don't know. If they don't get your humor, they aren't right for you anyway. If they do it makes you feel more comfortable, too.)

7. Use props

Never leave home without a prop. Props are natural conversation starters. They encourage conversation and others will be compelled to start talking to you. Great props include dogs, kids, unusual jewelry, a fabulous scent, a sweatshirt with your favorite passion, interesting ties, hats or an interesting book or newspaper. (I have a TMBG t-shirt that I wear. It is a great conversation starter. I was wearing it with a kilt one day, and the people didn't ask about the kilt, they asked about the shirt. Every time I wear it I get asked about it. Seriously, anything to break the ice, but be comfortable with whatever prop you choose. Oh, and for those of you who don't know TMBG is They Might Be Giants. Fun band.)

6. Be the host

Change your behavior from guest to host. You are not a passive person waiting around for romance; instead, you’re the welcome committee. (You're there, they are there, you may as well both feel welcome. You were both invited. If you don't know where you are, offer a tour that you can both get lost on. If you do know where you are, get lost together anyway. Another P.I. lesson is this: "Walk in like you own the place, most people will assume that you do.")

5. Make the first move

Move closer to the person you want to meet. Say hello. (It's not hard to say hi. If the other person blows you off, move on. If they say hi back, revert to a few of the previous steps; start the conversation, use props, be the host and attitude, always attitude. Remember, confidence is key. Believe me, you can fake it. They don't know you yet, they don't know you are really nervous.)

4. Listen

You have two ears and one mouth because you should listen twice as much as you speak. Listening is a true art. Your flirting partner will be drawn to you. Everyone loves to be heard. (One of the skills that I already had. Thankfully, I didn't have to learn them all.)

3. Eye contact

Please look your partner in the eye gently (no more than a few seconds) and then glance away. Don’t stare—it’s a turn-off. (This is the only one that I have issues with. I never know if I should look away or keep looking. I take the woman's body language into account and just hope to God that she doesn't start looking uncomfortable. But the suggestion of "a few seconds" makes you seem flighty. Use external "exit" cues; people entering the room, any nearby motion that you can pretend drew your attention, etc., if you have a hard time keeping eye contact. It's not so obvious that you want to look away if you can do that. But, don't look away for good, you will either look uninterested and bored or you will look timid. Neither one is good.)

2. Compliment

Compliment your flirting partner. The best compliments have the element of surprise. The “flirtee” will know that you really noticed him or her. Remember, your compliments must be honest, sincere and genuine. When you receive a compliment, the best response is a simple “Thank you!” (Try not to over do it. There is a fine line here. I had to learn it, I don't get it right every time. If you are bad at it, learn it. I wish I could give good advice on how to learn it. Practice makes perfect. I use the women I work with, that I am already comfortable with. I fine tune my approach and then use it on strangers. A well placed compliment is magical.)

1. Smile It's contagious

Smiling makes you so much more approachable. A smile lights up your face and draws people to you. You’ll be a people magnet. (The only other skill that I didn't have to learn. I am naturally happy. People are always more comfortable if it doesn't look forced. Think of something that makes you happy and use it, if you can't naturally feel that way in the situation you are in.)

Happy hunting.

Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

2008-11-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

No this post is not about Coleridge's poem:

It is an ancyent Marinere,
And he stoppeth one of three:
"By thy long grey beard and thy glittering eye
"Now wherefore stoppest me?

The bridegroom's doors are open'd wide
"And I am next of kin;
"The Guests are met, the Feast is set,--
"May'st hear the merry din.

But still he holds the wedding-guest--
There was a Ship, quoth he--
"Nay, if thou'st got a laughsome tale,
"Marinere! come with me."

He holds him with his skinny hand,
Quoth he, there was a Ship--
"Now get thee hence, thou grey-beard Loon!
"Or my Staff shall make thee skip.

He holds him with his glittering eye--
The wedding guest stood still
And listens like a three year's child;
The Marinere hath his will...

Nor is this about the song "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" by Iron Maiden. Although that is where the title of this post came from. Because nothing of consequence has happened in the last few days and I felt like posting. I like these memes that require a bit of randomness in an otherwise random world. I got this over at Scaramouche Jones' place. Be prepared for a bit of Dave Matthews as about a third of the music on my windows media player is DMB, or Dave and Tim, or Dave and friends, or just plain Dave.

Instructions: Use your mp3 player set to random to answer the questions with random song titles.

What does next year have in store for me? "You Never Know" Dave Matthews Band (pretty appropriate way to start. "Funny when you're small/How the moon follows the car/There's no one that you see/Hey, the moon is chasing me")

What does my love life look like? "Grey Cell Green" Ned's Atomic Dust Bin (hmmm, I guess desire is inside me)

What do I say when life gets hard? "Laid" James (yeah, it doesn't make much sense to me either)

What do I think of when I get up in the morning? "Falling Off The Roof" Dave Matthews Band (It must have been a bad dream)

What song will I dance to at my wedding? "Better Off Dead" Bill Withers (I'm such a romantic)

What do I want to do for my career? "We Didn't Start The Fire" Billy Joel (So, I guess I can rule out arsonist...)

Favorite saying? "Good Morning, Good Morning" Dave Matthews covering John Lennon (I do say "good morning" an awful lot)

Favorite place? "Televators" Mars Volta (I love frightening places)

What do I think of my parents? "Play Crack The Sky" Brand New (What?)

Where would I go on a first date? "My Sundown" Jimmy Eat World (I have watched the sunset over both continental divides, in my rear view mirror, over the Pacific several places, in the mountains, from the middle of nowhere, and over the skylines of cities like New York, Chicago, L.A. and San Francisco. It never gets old, but I don't think I have ever shared a beautiful sunset with someone special. If I ever do it on a first date, that woman might just be a keeper.)

Drug of choice? "The View" Modest Mouse ("my mouth runs on too...")

How do I describe myself? "Hope She'll Be Happier" Bill Withers (Now that is just plain depressing, I'm gonna try again) "Wonder" Natalie Merchant (that's better)

What is the thing I like doing most? "My Descent Into Madness" Eels (My life in a nutshell)

The song that best describes the president/prime minister? "Rushing" Moby (rushing legislation through at the end of his last term, hope it doesn't work)

What is my state of mind like at the moment? "Pepper" Butthole Surfers (did you know that the lead singer's dad was a famous children's show host, kinda like Mr. Rogers, only he was local to Dallas, TX?)

How will I die? "Let You Down" Dave Matthews Band (wow, just for letting you down? you're hardcore.)

Song they'll play at my funeral? "Seven Minutes In Heaven" Fallout Boy (I got nothing)

What song will I put as the subject? "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" Iron Maiden (Ohhh, good title, fate was kind with this one)

4/18 songs from Dave, about 50% less Dave than I would have predicted. Not bad considering...

"Why Can't We All Just Get Along"

2008-11-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

This is one of the funniest things I have ever read. I know it is actually a bit sad, but this is precisely the reason I don't attend church. There are so many sects of Christianity and none of them can get along. It's rediculous. I don't think Jesus preached a message of intolerance and stubborness. Just take the ladder down, fix the rooftop monastary and learn how to live with one another. If Christians can't live and work together, how can we even try to pretend that our way is "the right way"? A turf war among the members (albeit "different" religions) of a church...how stupid.

R.I.P. Bruce Cannon

2008-11-07T05:32:00.000-08:00

My prayers are with your family and friends. I know I didn't know you well, but I knew you well enough to know that you were a decent man and you were a very good friend to one of my best friends. You will be missed.

I Swear, Officer, I'm Only Casing This Joint For My OM Class.

2008-11-06T06:11:00.000-08:00

I am in an Operations Management course in school. Last night we were learning about project management. The terminology, the skills, the way things can be tied together or broken down into small units. We learned things like the Critical Path, earliest start, earliest finish, latest start, latest finish, slack time, blah blah blah blah blah. As interesting as that stuff may or may not be to some people, I need to know it for my degree program, if for no other reason. The best part is how we learned about this stuff. Our professor split us up into groups of three and we applied the terminology and techniques that a project manager uses to perform a jewelry store heist. She didn't teach us with a lecture, she didn't give us a general description of these terms or techniques beforehand. She just handed out a diagram of the store, a list of activities that were involved in the robbery process and set us to work.

The good news is that if I fail at accounting I know that I can lead a team of highly skilled safe-crackers and alarm-specialists into a jewelry store. If the statistical data that we used was correct, my team had a 99.99999999999999% chance of success. And, hell, if we failed we could at least go out guns drawn, in a "blaze of glory."*

*That was for you Steph. Bon Jovi is my hero.

Conservative Or Closed Minded?

2008-11-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

I have always been a centrist. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that when I voted yesterday, it was without trepidation. However, I do not believe either candidate was a horrible choice. I think they are already both excellent leaders. But, as much as I fear change, as much as I am frightened that my choice may bring about a few changes that I do not want, I chose change. I chose to hope that change will be good, not bad or indifferent. And I chose to believe this because, McCain was not really talking about his agenda so much as he was attacking Obama's plans. I chose to believe this because as eloquent as his speech was, Obama never used that eloquence to change his story and see if we would believe him. I chose to believe in hope, because although Obama is a very talented politician, he has not been at it nearly as long as Senator McCain. I chose to believe it because, as my sister pointed out, "there is conservative and there is close minded". I like to consider myself open-minded. I am religious but don't believe that everyone will be happy believing in my God. I am pro-life, but don't think that the choice is always that easy. I am straight, but love my gay friends and respect their "choice" to pursue their own happiness. I had a conversation last night where someone said to me, "if all those black people hadn't come out to vote based on the color of his skin..." I said, "at least they got involved, and they will be much more willing to vote now that they see that it does matter. Look at most of them, they are lower-middle-class or below and are suffering through not only this recession but also have dealt with racism forever. This is their chance." (I know this statement was a generalization and a bit stereotypical but if the person I was talking to was willing to use race, I feel comfortable turning it back on them) The black population equals roughly 17% of our population, if we all voted racially, McCain would have won by a landslide. I'm 100% positive that some white people voted for the exact same reason the other way. Every time I have voted in the past, I have been disappointed with the outcome. Not because my candidate didn't win, because to be honest I am 3 for 4 in picking winners. I actually voted for Bush his first term. I am disappointed because it always seemed to be politics as usual. Nothing changed, the game stayed the same. With Obama I hope that this country can united and work together, which is something we have not seen since the 1940's and WWII. We have had moments of greatness since then, but I am ready for more. I love this country but believe it is becoming more and more divided. We need to centralize, work together and compromise a bit. Nothing is ever as black and white as the extreme right would lead you to believe, but nothing is nearly as easy as the extreme left would try to make it. Hard work and sacrifice built this country. It is the only thing that will save it from the mediocrity that we are heading toward. Not just monetary or physical sacfice, mind you. We need a little bit of idealogical sacrifice from both side. We need to learn how to be united again.

I choose to hope Obama can lead us down the path of change as he has been preaching that he will try. I hope he does work with both sides and that people follow his example. Change is coming. Let us all be flexible enough to change a little, too.

Hold On Tight

2008-11-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

I have just arrived at work after casting my ballot. I live in a lower middle class neighborhood, as I have for most of my life. I have voted in four different presidential elections and never had to wait longer than 15 minutes. Today it took almost 2 1/2 hours. One of my friends lives out west of me in a much more affluent area. It took her 10 minutes. History is being made here today folks. I'm just sorry that some of you are only passengers on this ride. We'll try to steer you in the right direction.

My Weekend

2008-11-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

This weekend is normally a pretty big one for me. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and it is directly followed by my birthday. But, as you may have figured from my previous post, I was involved with some friends that were having a much bigger weekend than I would have. They got married and I was the best man. It started Friday with a rehearsal dinner and rehearsal in the small village of Elsah, Illinois. The town was pretty neat at night, however, it was spectacular on Saturday. It was a rare Indian Summer day. 70 degrees and sunny, with leaves ranging in colors from brown to maroon, red, yellow, orange, green and even a bit of purple. They were as bright as I have ever seen leaves in the fall. And, I spent three falls in the Poconos, which are famous for their fall foliage.

The wedding was held at a beautiful little Methodist church in town. The wedding went off without a hitch and we went on to the reception at a local country club. I met quite a few really cool people. After the reception was over and I had gone back to my friend's house to help his mom feed their cats and dog, I went over to another friend's house to a Halloween party, that I was not dressed for. Had some fun there and went to bed. I got up and drove back out the River Road to Grafton, Illinois, just up the road from Elsah, for a gift opening party. I got out there early and took my camera so I could take a few pictures of the church and some of the changing leaves. I have lived most of my live within 20-30 minutes of this wonderful drive and have never seen it so beautiful as it was this weekend. Hopefully the pictures I took while driving will turn out. From there I went directly to coaching and my hockey game, out to dinner with some other friends and now I am waiting for my laundry to get done so I can throw it into the dryer and go to bed.

It was a great weekend, but, now I need a few days off to have some time for myself.

There Is Pretty And There Is Great

2008-10-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Being a hardcore hockey fan, I love most everything about the game. Last week I was watching a really good game between the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres. Both teams competed well and there were several good goals. There was one goal that really stood out to me. It wasn't the highlight reel goal by Buffalo forward Drew Stafford that forced O.T, or the shifty S.O. goal scored by his teammate to win it. It was a quick wrist shot from the slot by Boston forward Phil Kessel. Growing up watching hockey in St. Louis, I saw a lot of similar goals by one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of the game, Brett Hull. When I saw Kessel rip off that shot, I thought, "Wow, that was Hull. This kid might be as good as advertised." Most goals that are scored in the league today seem to be off of great passes, highlight reel moves, deflections or rebounds. I never see a great, unscreened wrister from the slot beat a goalie anymore. We have a kid in St. Louis that can do it every so often (Lee Stempniak), but he is not a pure goal scorer. I hope for the sake of every kid growing up watching Boston (or the NHL for that matter) that Phil Kessel can be that guy. It will make watching those simple looking, really hard to score goals, something to be appreciated again.

Today I read this story. I am just glad that other people can appreciate the plays that aren't flashy, but are just pure hockey at it's finest.

Wedding Speech

2008-10-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend I have the honor of being one of my friend's best man. I have been wrestling with the speech for a few months. Over the last week of so I have come up with an outline. I just need some opinions before I give this speech, other than the one from his future bride who said, "Just remember his grandma is going to be there." I think she has a bad opinion of my form of tact. That, I guess comes from knowing me for a while. I know there is a time and place...

Anyway, here is my outline so far, let me know what you think.

Introduction
-"In the relatively short time we have known each other, John and I have been through quite a bit..."
-Touch on Yeti in a van. (first time I met him, it was to borrow his work vehicle on a trip to St. Louis when I was living in Philly. Seriously folks, it smelled like I would imagine a yeti smell if they truly exist)
-Touch on next seeing him in Philly. (after the trip home and borrowing his van, the next time I saw him was when he had to come up to Philly to work. I let him into my personal circle and took him out to dinner at one of my favorite places for a true Philly Cheesesteak. I love Pudge's.)
-Touch on Inverted Nipple. (he has one nipple that never comes out to play. I only know this because we spent so much time on work road trips together. I am one of a very, very select few who knows this about him, until I give the speech, of course.)
-Helping me through a tough time @ Hooters in Biloxi, MS
-Our waitress never left the table despite John's best attempts at being "John".
-Before you Charity, John was very much a loner.(seriously, I am one of his best friends. before me it was mainly just his family that he would keep in touch with or care to talk to. I don't know how I managed to get to him. He is a great guy, but a lot of people would write him off because he is very closed off for a while.)

Coconut
-Hard Hairy Outer Shell. (This is a reference to him being so hard to get through to. Also has double meaning. He is a hairy Italian man. I crack myself up.)
-Soft Milky Center. (Once you get through that hard hairy outer shell you get to the good stuff. One of the coolest people I know. He is funny, and very sincere, once you finally do get to that part.)

Poem
-Only Partially Written. (The poem may or may not be part of the speech. I won't throw something at them that is not good by my standards and I have only come up with 2 lines so far. It's less than a week away. We'll see if I can get it done.)

Toast

It's Still Early

2008-10-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

I'm having a Garfieldesque Monday morning. I should have stayed in bed. I had a late hockey game last night, did not get home until after midnight and had to be up at 5:30. I never fall asleep right after I get home from hockey, it takes an hour or two. So far, I left my work keys, I.D. and proxy card (allows me into certain areas and elevators) at home. I get to look forward to clearing my parents' main sewage line when I get off work this afternoon. And, in 2 hours at work, it has taken me almost the whole 2 hours to do something that normally takes me about 20 minutes because people have left every area I stock a complete mess and I had to clean them before I could inventory them. I normally have to do a little bit of straightening, but It was ridiculous this morning. Once I was ready to start taking supplies to the floors, I could not track down my cart. There are a finite number of places it can be, and after checking most of them and having my team members help, I am going to have to make due with something else.

I love bad days. They seem to get everything out of the way at once. At least I get to start my Principles of Finance class tomorrow night. It says something, that I am actually looking forward to that occurrence as a "good" thing. Please end, Monday.

Good Ol' Family Fun

2008-10-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

I want to live in Sweden. Too funny.

All Mixed Up

2008-10-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

Today, while excepting a delivery from the UPS guy, I received a DHL box. I asked him if he had switched sides. To which he laughed and said he was wondering why someone would use a brand new DHL box to ship something UPS.

When I delivered the package to the lady who it was addressed to, she had trouble opening it. So, being chivalrous, I helped. Once we pryed the poor confused, stubborn box open, we found another package inside...

...A FedEx envelope!

Thank God that when she opened that one it was a golf shirt. If it would have been a U.S. Postal Service envelope I might have had to quit. Because, I don't think there would be anything else to accomplish here.

Another Great Quote

2008-10-20T05:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, after coaching, I was conversing with one of the other coaches. He is an older man. A pilot in his early 60's and very colorful. He was telling me about an old karate instructor he had while stationed in Hawaii a long time ago. This instructor told his students that confidence was the most important thing to have in any situation. I thought that the way he said it was brilliant and perfect.

"When defeat inevitable, run with confidence. Never lose confidence. Always be confident."
-Unknown Karate Instructor from Hawaii

Work Wife

2008-10-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

I was reading this article at work yesterday morning. When I finished reading it, I realized that of the 7 signs we both exhibited 6. So, I sent the article to her, just so she could be as freaked out by it as I was.

The one sign that we don't exhibit is knowing each others' eating habits. I think we have eaten lunch together once, and that was at a luncheon earlier this week for a co-worker who is leaving for a new job. I mentioned that in my email to her. She called and asked me, "How do I take my coffee?" I was thinking to myself that I don't think you drink coffee and answered, "I've never seen you drink coffee." Turns out it was a trick question. She doesn't drink coffee. Then we started asking more questions about each others' eating habits, just to see if we could guess. We kept guessing right. Kinda eerie.

I have several really close women friends at work, but I figured I'd add another rule to the work spouse signs. You cannot have a relationship outside of work with them. All of my other friendships would qualify, but I spend time with them outside of work. With this one, we have run into each other a few times, and I have met her husband and few of her friends, but only because we have crossed paths while we were all out separately.

The best part about my work wife is that she is brutally honest. I was dating a woman that we both worked with and my work wife did not like her at all (the woman didn't like her either). One of the times that we ran into each other outside of work was when I was on a date with this woman. We were eating dinner at a Brazillian restaraunt and I see this look in my dates eyes that said, "DAMNIT!" I turned around to see my work wife, her husband and two of their friends walking toward us. My work wife, not normally one to stand around and talk forever, took this time to stand at the edge of our table and talk nonstop for 20 minutes about nothing. God bless her, she only did it to bother my date, which over time did not work out anyway.

Do you have a work spouse?

Free Food, Free Beer, Free Game

2008-10-17T05:34:00.000-07:00

I went to my first Blues game of the season last night. I got the tickets from one of my best friends who is a season ticket holder and could not go. My friend has been having problems receiving his tickets in a timely fashion over the last few seasons. They normally send them to him in big book of tickets. The last couple of years he has not received them on time and had to wait at will call for his tickets for the first few games. This year he didn't get them until after the home opener last week. When he finally did get them, it was just a huge bunch of tickets in an envelope. He had to go through and separate them and make sure he had every game. He didn't. He didn't have last night or tomorrow night's game. So, he called and raised hell with an account rep. He let them know that he was not going to be at last night's game and to leave the tickets in my name at will call, but that he would be at tomorrow's game.

Now to the good part. When my other friend and I arrived at will call to get our tickets, they handed us very nice upgrades. We ended up in the club section. This section has leather seats, all you can eat free food, all you can drink free beverages (beer, soda, water, hot chocolate) and you never have to leave your seats to get any of this because they deliver it to you. And, the two of us that went got to see the Blues win big. What a good evening. It cost me 75 cents in a parking meter and a gallon or two of gasoline. Doesn't get much better than that.

I love how they are kissing my friend's ass by giving me great seats. I just find myself wondering what sort of treatment I am going to miss out on by turning down his second seat for tomorrow's game. I already had plans that I couldn't cancel.

I Still Don't Understand What She Wants

2008-10-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

I received a phone call from one of the nurses this morning. She was asking me for several things and told me how she was cursing me under her breath when she realized that she did not have them. Then she asked how she should go about securing said necessary items. Jokingly, I told her that putting it a memo would suffice, since I didn't quite understand what she wanted. This is the "memo" that I received from her:

"F@#$ YOU, YOU F@#$ING F@#$.

This memo was brought to you by your favorite co-worker. You know, the one at the bottom of your list.
Have a great day, DOUCHE BAG."

When she handed it to me, I read it. I then looked at her and replied, "I hope this isn't asking me for what you need. That would be inappropriate at work." Thank God this woman is very pregnant and very slow because of it. I was able to escape the hand that was flying toward my face. She should know that sort of physical violence will not move her up the list (another story for another time) that she mentioned in her memo.

Control

2008-10-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

Love Without Hope

Love without hope, as when the young bird-catcher
Swept off his tall hat to the Squire's own daughter,
So let the imprisoned larks escape and fly
Singing about her head, as she rode by.

-- Robert Graves

It is funny how I have run into several situations these last few days, either with my friends or via blog surfing, that have led me to hold even more firmly to one of my beliefs.

You can only control you.

In the poem above, the bird-catcher was willing to give up everything for love while the squire's daughter took it for granted and rode on. Love is not perfect, nor are the people involved. Whether they are your family, friends, or partners, you have no control over how they are going to act or react in any situations. They will only give what they are willing or able to give. Funny too, that even though we may not realize it, we are guilty of the same thing. We will only give what we are willing or able to give. Sometimes we surrender completely, other times they might. Most of the time we keep something for ourselves.

I do also believe that if both people in the relationship (again, it can be any type of relationship) don't give somewhat equally over time, that relationship will suffer for it. Over time, I have become more selfish in my pursuit of happiness and I have been happier for it. I don't know if this is a good thing. But, I have learned that no matter what I give, how much or how little, the situation is not in my control when there is more than just me involved. We are able to influence things, but ultimately, we are at the mercy of circumstance. Give what you can afford to give and the rest will come out in the wash. Over time, you will realize that your good relationships are doing the same things and the bad ones you can let go.

Sometimes it is okay to give everything and watch the squire's daughter ride away. At least then you know...

"My Feet Ten Feet Off Of Beale"...W/ A Kiddie Cup Full Of Beer

2008-10-13T05:47:00.001-07:00

Memphis was fantastic. Two of my favorite people got married to each other. I met them both when I moved back to St. Louis, from Philadelphia. Back then they were just out of high school and working for my friend Joe. I really have trouble thinking that they are old enough, or ready to be married. But, they are. I just have to face facts. Everyone gets older and I am too.

After driving down Friday morning and checking in to the hotel, the Steph and I got dressed up and headed over to the chapel on the grounds of Graceland to watch Timmy and Jodie tie the knot. It was awesome...very short. I almost teared up. Those two are good together and I love em both. When we showed up we got to see one of our friends that has been living in Idaho for a few years. He seems happier then he was before he moved up there and he is also in great shape. The northwest is agreeing with him. After the wedding we all dispersed to await the beginning of the reception at the Hard Rock on Beale St.

I have to say, these guys did it right. They had an open bar. And, being on Beale Street, one has to drink. "When in Rome, " you know. Our waitress was awesome and kept me in the Miller Lite. I think I was double-fisting the booze for the whole two plus hours of the reception, and I wasn't the only one doing that at our table. For her troubles, our waitress was getting tipped handsomely, and I stole her a cupcake (the wedding cake was made up of tiers of cupcakes) that she had been eyeballing all night.

After the reception, when we were leaving the Hard Rock, they won't let people leave with glass bottles for safety reasons. So my friend Joe and I ended up with Hard Rock kiddie cups to pour our beer into them to leave the building. We headed over to the Hotel that most of the wedding party was staying at, right off Beale, where they could change. From there we went over to B.B. King's bar and had a drink and listened to some music. The beer I had was a Yuengling. It's from the oldest brewery in the United States. I was very surprised to be able to get one in this part of the country, as the only place I thought they were distributed was in the northeast. I love Yuengling and used to drink it when I lived in Philly. Just one more thing that made this trip even more worth it. By the time we finished our one drink, everyone was pretty much done. Most of us are getting older and just can't party like we used to.

The next morning, some of us headed back to the hotel off Beale to meet up with the newlyweds for lunch. Upon our arrival, we sat outside the front doors at some tables and were talking amongst ourselves, when a film crew started taking exterior shots. Pretty soon, Gene Simmons and his son walked out of the hotel to get filmed entering it. They were filming for an episode of Family Jewels. Turns out, Gene Simmons is pretty much a jerk. However the show's line producer was cool. We talked to her while they were filming.

Once everyone was ready to go, we headed back over to B.B. King's bar and had lunch, which was followed by a trip to Graceland for a tour. That was interesting, but, my God that man had horrible decorative tastes. I know it was the sixties and seventies, but ugh. I did dig the "Jungle Room" though. From there the Steph and I headed back to St. Louis. It was a great time. Pictures to follow, when I actually get them uploaded to my computer.

Crazy Is Fun/Memphis For A Day

2008-10-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I was reminded that I should listen to what is going on around me a bit more than I do. I used to be great at it, but I guess I have just stopped doing it over the past few years. While working on one of the floors I overheard one of our residents asking someone what their name was. I hear, "What is your name?" followed by a pause. I turned around, because I did not know if she was addressing me. She wasn't. She was speaking to no one. That is not so weird where I work. The funny part is while I was turning around to see if she was asking me, she said, "You said it was the square root of what?" Her imaginary friends have weird names. I just wonder what it was the square root of.

After I finish typing this, I am going to bed. When I get up in tomorrow morning my sister and I will hop into the car and head to Memphis for our friends' wedding. They are getting married at Graceland, followed by a reception at the Hard Rock on Beale St. Then when we get up on Saturday, the bride has booked a tour at Graceland. Should be a blast, although I don't know how great a hungover tour of Graceland will be. Hopefully there will be pictures to follow.

What Color Is Your Parachute

2008-10-08T05:39:00.001-07:00

The "Golden Parachute". What a concept. Everyone is getting really pissed off about them. Guess what. We helped put them in place. Just like voting for public officials, when you buy a publicly traded stock, you are putting your confidence in that company. Mainly, you are placing your faith in the company's top officers and board. We knew these companies were overpaying their chief executives, but we bought the stock anyway. It was making us money. Now everything is in free fall, except those executives. They opened those golden chutes. Why didn't we mind that they were getting so much guaranteed money while we were making ours? Those contracts that they signed to get those huge payouts have been in effect before this financial crisis was visible to most of us.

What gets me, and this is an American problem, is how our legislators who are supposed to be "of the people, by the people and for the people" don't have to share in the social security mess that we are also in. I know that my government assisted retirement is not what I should be worrying about at a time like this. I should probably be more concerned with staying employed and making ends meet. But, I was reading an article about American retirement accounts losing a collective $2 trillion dollars, or roughly 20% of their value during the last year and a half.

During Congress's investigation of the financial meltdown, the House Education and Labor Committee got to hear about how our retirement funds lost all this value. There was a quote that really got under my skin. "Unlike Wall Street executives, America's families don't have a golden parachute to fall back on," said Rep. George Miller, the panel chairman. "It's clear that their retirement security may be one of the greatest casualties of this financial crisis." Hey Rep. Asshat, sir, why don't you say, "Unlike Wall Street executives and us (your elected officials)..." Remember, you aren't in the same boat with us American people either. Your parachute may not be golden, but under the separate system you guys set up so as not to rely on Social Security, you do receive an average of $60,972 per year at retirement. That is quite a bit more than Social Security pays out to most people. As of the year 2000 the average individual payout was roughly $10,200 per year. Unfortunately, that is the most recent figure I can find. I doubt it is much higher 8 years later.

My point is, maybe we should stop supporting companies that offer such lucrative payouts without performance. And, maybe just maybe, we should stop voting for people who don't care enough to reform a very broken system that effects those of us who are voting. There are still other problems in this country that need to be addressed. We need to come out of this crisis better than we are going into it. And I don't, for one second, believe that my representatives actually care about my retirement when theirs is assured to be comfortable. And Mr. Miller actually managed to sound indignant about someone else's golden parachute. That's funny.

This Makes Me Happy And Sad

2008-10-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

I love it when I get the e-mail from my ski resort telling me that they got their first snow. It's kinda bittersweet this year, though. I doubt I will get to go skiing at all this season, due to financial reasons. A friend of mine is planning a mini trip in February or March, out to Utah. If I can somehow wrangle up the money, I will go. Anyway, I love seeing it snow in the mountains. That means it's getting close to possible to go skiing.

Look at how deep that powder is. MMMMMMMMMMMM.

This was one of the first times I had gotten into trees with a fresh dump of powder. So much fun.

Taking a break up top, to take in the view, take a few pics with my phone and send them to friends.

This is what I get for making fun of my cousin when he kept falling early in the week. "Say cheese," he said while laughing hysterically.

See the "Sleeping Giant" off to the right of the gondola building. This place is my heaven on earth. There is seriously nothing like a great powder day, spent in the trees.

And here is a bit of video of me skiing. I never get much tape of me, since I do most of the shooting, myself. I have watched tape from the time I got back out on the slopes four years ago and then watched tape from every year since. It's amazing what one or two lessons a year has done for my form and ability. I guess I should get back to work on my papers, now.

Procrastination Is A Waste Of Time

2008-10-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

But, I'm good at it. I am in the middle of typing up two papers for my two classes. I also have to put together a small presentation on one of the papers to give in class. However, I am blogging.

Weird Science

2008-10-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that there was an award for "improbable", yet practical, scientific study. Then I read an article about the Ig Nobel Prize being bestowed on scientists studying things like armadillos changing history, cruchier sounding potato chips taste better, Coca Cola as an effective contraceptive (one study won the Ig Nobel by proving this true and another for proving the same thing false, using seperate methods) and my personal favorite from this year's awrds, strippers make more money while at their most fertile.

Wow, if science were this fun in school, I might have been a lot more involved.

Here are some of my favorite past winners (and a link to the complete list of past winners):

-1991- Education - J. Danforth Quayle, consumer of time and occupier of space (as well as the U.S. Vice President from 1989-93), for demonstrating, better than anyone else, the need for science education.
-1992- Art - Presented jointly to Jim Knowlton, modern Renaissance Man, for his classic anatomy poster "Penises of the Animal Kingdom," and to the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, for encouraging Mr. Knowlton to extend his work in the form of a pop-up book.
-1993- Mathematics - Presented to Robert W. Faid of Greenville, South Carolina, farsighted and faithful seer of statistics, for calculating the exact odds (860,609,175,188, 282,100 to 1) that Mikhail Gorbachev is the Antichrist.
-1994- Medicine - Two prizes. First, to Patient X, formerly of the US Marine Corps, valiant victim of a venomous bite from his pet rattlesnake, for his determined use of electroshock therapy. At his own insistence, automobile spark plug wires were attached to his lip, and the car engine revved to 3,000 rpm for five minutes. Second, to Dr. Richard C. Dart of the Rocky Mountain Poison Center and Dr. Richard A. Gustafson of The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, for their well-grounded medical report, "Failure of Electric Shock Treatment for Rattlesnake Envenomation."
-1995- Literature - Presented to David B. Busch and James R. Starling, of Madison, Wisconsin, for their research report, "Rectal Foreign Bodies: Case Reports and a Comprehensive Review of the World's Literature." The citations include reports of, among other items: seven light bulbs; a knife sharpener; two flashlights; a wire spring; a snuff box; an oil can with potato stopper; eleven different forms of fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs; a jeweler's saw; a frozen pig's tail; a tin cup; a beer glass; and one patient's remarkable ensemble collection consisting of spectacles, a suitcase key, a tobacco pouch and a magazine.
-1996- Public Health - Presented to Ellen Kleist of Nuuk, Greenland and Harald Moi of Oslo, Norway, for their cautionary medical report "Transmission of Gonorrhea Through an Inflatable Doll."
-1997- Meteorology - Presented to Bernard Vonnegut of the State University of New York at Albany, for his report, "Chicken Plucking as Measure of Tornado Wind Speed."
-1998- Statistics - Presented to Jerald Bain of Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto and Kerry Siminoski of the University of Alberta, for their carefully measured report, "The Relationship Among Height, Penile Length, and Foot Size".
-1999- Managed Health Care - Presented to George Blonsky and Charlotte Blonsky of New York City and San Jose, California, for inventing a device (U.S. Patent 3,216,423) to aid women in giving birth: the woman is strapped onto a circular table, and the table is then rotated at high speed.
-2000- Computer Science - Presented to Chris Niswander of Tucson, Arizona, for inventing PawSense, software that detects when a cat is walking across your computer keyboard.
-2001- Astrophysics - Presented to Dr. Jack Van Impe and Rexella Van Impe of Jack Van Impe Ministries, Rochester Hills, Michigan, for their discovery that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements for the location of Hell.
-2002- Interdisciplinary Research - Presented to Karl Kruszelnicki of The University of Sydney, Australia, for performing a comprehensive survey of human belly button fluff - who gets it, when, what color, and how much.
-2003- Interdisciplinary Research - Presented to Stefano Ghirlanda, Liselotte Jansson, and Magnus Enquis of Stockholm University, for their inevitable report, "Chickens Prefer Beautiful Humans."
-2004- Economics - Presented to the Vatican, for outsourcing prayers to India.
-2005- Agricultural History - Presented to James Watson of Massey University, New Zealand, for his scholarly study, "The Significance of Mr. Richard Buckley's Exploding Trousers".

& (because these two were both so good)

-2005- Fluid Dynamics - Presented jointly to Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow of International University Bremen, Germany and the University of Oulu, Finland; and József Gál of Loránd Eötvös University, Hungary, for using basic principles of physics to calculate the pressure that builds up inside a penguin, as detailed in their report "Pressures Produced When Penguins Poo — Calculations on Avian Defecation".

-2006- Nutrition - Wasmia Al-Houty of Kuwait University and Faten Al-Mussalam of the Kuwait Environment Public Authority, for showing that dung beetles are finicky eaters.

And, finally we reach last years winners, of which I could not choose just one or even two:

-2007- Aviation- Patricia V. Agostino, Santiago A. Plano and Diego A. Golombek, for discovering that hamsters recover from jetlag more quickly when given Viagra.

-2007- Linguistics- Juan Manuel Toro, Josep B. Trobalon and Nuria Sebastian-Galles, for determining that rats sometimes can't distinguish between recordings of Japanese and Dutch played backward.

-2007-Peace- The Air Force Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, for suggesting the research and development of a "gay bomb," which would cause enemy troops to become sexually attracted to each other.

Who knew science was so much fun?

Blogging For Beginners

2008-09-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

My friend Lindsay sent this via e-mail today. I was getting nostalgic for the first few months of my blogging career when I read it, so I thought I would post it. Enjoy getting to know a little bit more about me.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30

2. Diamonds or pearls? Neither

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Burn After Reading

4. What is your favorite TV show? It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Breakfast bar. Sometimes I buy eggs and bacon at work.

6. What is your middle name? It took one of my best friends months of investigating to find out, I don't just give it out.

7. What food do you dislike? There are several, but this seems like a pretty negative question for getting to know someone. Try "What do you like on your pizza?" It's more upbeat.

8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Hmmm? I don't really have a favorite, but Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big and Buzzy is n my car CD player.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Cobalt

10. Favorite sandwich? Tony Luke's. American. Wit. (Philly cheesesteak with American cheese and onions.)

11.What characteristic do you despise? Dishonesty

12. Favorite item of clothing? My orange Chucks.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Alaska, Australia and then Europe. All of Europe.

14. Favorite brand of clothing? I'm not loyal to a specific brand.

15.Where would you retire to? Colorado. Or, if I make it there during my professional life, maybe back to Missouri.

16.What was your most recent memorable birthday? My last one. My 30th. Drunken Karaoke with my friends and passing out at Steph's.

17. Favorite sport to watch? If you have to ask, you haven't been paying attention, followed closely by Lacrosse.

18. Furthest place you are sending this? "To infinity and beyond"

19. Person you expect to re-post this first? Another one of those really bad questions. I don't EXPECT anyone to re-post this.

20. When is your birthday? Soon.

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? That depends on if I went to bed late or got up early, and sometimes it is dependent upon a combination of both factors.

22. What is your shoe size? BIG. VERY BIG. ;)

23. Pets? My cat and my bearded dragon.

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Not that comes to mind.

25. What did you want to be when you were little? Older.

26. How are you today? Tired and under stimulated.

27. What is your favorite candy? Lemon Drops.

28. What is your favorite flower? The ones from Pink Floyd's "The Wall" that grow into representations of man and woman.

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Probably Thanksgiving. My older brother is coming in from L.A.

30. What is your favorite pastime? I like to play hockey, spend time with friends and family, travel, and relax. Not necessarily in that order on any given day.

31. What are you listening to right now? The movie "Iron Man" is playing and my cat is scratching herself, so her bell is jingling.

32. What was the last thing you ate? Part of a granola bar.

33. Do you wish on stars? Not very often.

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Orange, but I bet you knew that.

35. How is the weather right now? Don't know, I'm inside.

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? I would guess one of the nurses at work.

37. Favorite soft drink? Diet Dr. Pepper.

38. Favorite restaurant? Roberto's Italian Restaurant

39. Real hair color? Dirty blond on top and a red beard.

40. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Transformers.

41. Summer or winter? Winter

42. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Swirl.

44. Coffee or tea? Tea, if pressed. But, neither, given the choice.

45. Do you want your friends to email you back? If the original message requires a response.

46. When was the last time you cried? October 5, 2007. I will feel incomplete for the rest of my life.

47. What is under your bed? Carpet.

48. What did you do last night? Slept.

49. What are you afraid of? Never being completely happy. I fake it well, but there are things that are missing.

50. Salty or sweet? That varies.

51. How many keys on your key ring? 3

52. How many years at your current job? 2+

53. Favorite day of the week? Wednesday.

54. How many towns have you lived in? 3

55. Do you make friends easily? Most of the time.

56. How many people will you send this to? As many as will stop by and read it. Or none if you refer to how many I will physically send this to.

57. How many will respond? Check my comments link in a few days. You will have the answer that you desire.

Big Problems, Big Solutions, Big Mystery To Me

2008-09-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

I am not extremely knowledgeable about my nation's or the world's economic workings. And, I am a big supporter of personal responsibility. I am also a realist. I am going to try to bring all of the statements I just made together in this post. Bear with me on this, it might get ponderously verbose before I get to my main points.

The U.S. House of Representatives just voted down a huge bill that may or may not have helped out our economy in the long run. But, when it was voted down, it definitely didn't help today. The largest single-day loss of points by the Dow Jones on Wall Street directly followed the vote. I don't know how the government was going to get the money to put into this action. And, that fact makes me a whole lot less uneasy about the fact that they did not get this done so quickly. I also am weary of quick fixes for problems that took so long to come to a head. More often than not, they are band aids. But, something needs to stop the bleeding in this country until we can figure out how to truly correct the problem.

As I understand it, the government was going to drop about $700 Billion US into the banking system by buying out bad mortgages and assets to ease up the banking industry's capital problems. I don't know if this would be a good thing or a bad thing. In my opinion, the fat cats at the top wanted to make a quick buck off of the average joe. They should have been able to foresee that the average joe was going to have to default when those "too good to be true" loans adjusted upward. Knowing this, could they not foresee that by bankrupting their customers, it would cause them to lose chunks of their customer base. In effect losing their money, accounts and loans, by taking a small sum quickly. It seems so very shortsighted and greedy. So, it seems the institutions were taking advantage of uninformed buyers to make a buck knowing that they would bankrupt more than a few. In the bank's defense, we average joes should have also known that if it adjusted upward, we would not be able to afford it.

I know the old adage "Buyer Beware" very well, but, where did the integrity go? Seriously, is it so hard to take a little less of a profit and rightfully earn peoples' trust by making the smart business and correct moral decision at the same time? One of the main issues that I would love to know about this bill is, when we as a country give these private institutions this huge bailout, what happens to the company leaders that put us in this position? Do they get reap the rewards for being profitable again? If so, I say let them burn. It is a dog eat dog world. And, sometimes the consequences of our actions actually do catch up to us. If that means big business suffers and we have to learn the hard way, SO BE IT. I've had to do that in my personal life and I know I am better for it. Maybe the same will be true of doing it on a national scale. After all, look at how we came out of the wars and depressions of the past century and a half. Always a little more knowledgeable about the problems that put us there.

When this bill was voted down, a whole lot of the "no" votes were cast because the representatives were afraid of losing their jobs in the elections five weeks from now. And, some are blaming it on a very partisan speech by Nancy Pelosi. Don't vote against something that you feel will work for our/your nation because it is against your personal goals or because someone from the opposite party just hurt your feelings by placing political blame on a national problem. I understand it has political consequences, but if you all weren't so self important, you might realize that those of us that are less inclined to play God, need you to make the right decision to help us out. Come on people, do your job, and do what is right for this country. If that means voting against this bill because you have factual evidence that a quick fix is only going to hurt us in the long run, that is fine. But, if you are voting it down out of spite for the "opposition", please remember, we are all in the same boat. Don't sink us with your pride. Your job status should come a very far second to actually doing your job. Do the right thing, people, or you may end up without a job anyway.

I am very unsure of what would happen if this bill passed, and as I said earlier, quick fixes scare me. But, the few articles I have read about the bill, the vote and how everything transpired, lead me to believe that the bill seems like a good thing on the surface and is supported by the leaders of both parties. It also sounds like people are voting against it for personal and professional reasons. On an issue like this, I think they should vote against it based on facts that show it is a bad decision. This is too important an issue to use personal feelings to decide it.

Update: The more I learn about this bill, the more I think voting it down was a good thing. It just seems like a knee jerk reaction to a huge problem. With what I am hearing and reading, the bill is pretty much going to print some extra cash, based on a number ($700 billion) that has been plucked out of the air because "we wanted a large number." according to the Fed. Seems like a very slippery slope and printing money can only make it worse. The dollar is already losing ground we don't need more of them out there. All I know is we need to make an informed decision with this. If we screw it up, we could slip pretty far down the slippery slope that we are perched upon right now.

Another Update: Or more precisely, another random thought on the matter. If we accept this bailout, are the banks falling into the same trap that the people did? I believe that if Congress were to have passed the bill, the banks would eventually have to pay back the line of credit being extended to them according to the plan. Peoples' dependence on credit to help them live beyond their means is what got us all in this mess to begin with. If we let the banks do this too, what happens?

"I Do That Too"

2008-09-28T22:20:00.001-07:00

My first afternoon helping coach the Locomotives was as much fun as I thought it would be. I got to work with the more advanced group, which was great for both me and the players. I really don't have much coaching experience, although I have been involved with hockey in one form or another for about 20 years. These players require a lot less teaching than the intermediate and beginning players. They just require a bit of instruction and once they understand the drill, sometimes they have to be led through it. It was much easier than I expected it to be. The players all just do what they are asked to and enjoy it.

During one of the drills I was skating into a corner to do something and I took a mis-step and fell. As I was getting up one of the players looked at me and said, "Ha, coach, I do that too." and smiled at me. I just had to laugh and tell him, "We all do it." It was so much fun.

Too Far! Too Far!

2008-09-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a definition of TOO FAR.

I've Got The Hunger

2008-09-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

When I walked into class tonight, I received the most disturbing greeting that I have had the pleasure of hearing. The woman behind me said, "So, Larry, cannibalism." Not a question, a comment.

I was lost. I was confused. I was terrified. My first instinct was to throw my book at her and run. Then, my fear turned into curiosity, so I turned to face her.

I turned, and the look on my face must have spoke volumes. She then said, "Sunny." OH, THANK GOD! She was referring to the season premier of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I had completely forgotten that we had discussed the show last week during one of our class breaks. For those of you that have not had the pleasure, it is by far the most consistently funny shows on television. The forth season just premiered last week and you can catch the first three for free on Hulu.com. Just sign up for a free account and watch. If you don't believe that there is a "too far" when it comes to comedy, this show is for you. It is brilliant and disturbingly funny. Plus, they added Danny Devito into the mix starting in the second season. How can you go wrong?

Photo Personality Test

2008-09-23T07:36:00.001-07:00

This thing is pretty spot on. And it was quick and painless to take. If you want, hop on over to Youniverse.com and take the Visual DNA Personality Test. It will start you on the first question "Art is..." Pick the picture that suits you and go from there.

Sometimes Hockey Takes Me Places I Would Never Expect

2008-09-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I go out on Saturday nights. Not to the bar, club, or even dinner and a movie. I go out to play games of pickup hockey. I started doing this when I got divorced. It was a way to get out of the house and unwind (yeah, I use hockey to unwind). Now it is a way to get some exercise and connect with some friends that I have made over the past few years. A few months ago, one of these friends that I have made, told me he took a job in Miami and he would be moving down there soon. Well, he has moved. His brother still lives in St. Louis and shows up. I was talking to him last night and he made mention of needing a coach for one of the programs that he is involved in. I would be taking over for his brother. They are coaches for one of the pioneering special needs hockey programs on continent, the Gateway Locomotives. They practice once a week on Sundays and very rarely go to tournaments or play games. So,even with school and work, I can fit in a few hours a week.

I go to the rink on Sunday afternoons and evenings every week, anyway. I have games, myself. When I showed up this afternoon to get ready for my game, my friend introduced me around. I asked questions of the people that run it about time commitment and necessary coaching experience. The players all just love being out there. And that will be refreshing. Most of the time, the players that I play with and against can get somewhat tense and can tend to take things a bit too seriously. I used to referee kids games, and that was some of the most fun you can have with hockey. They all just love it. These special needs kids and adults are the same way. The powers that be, all seem really cool and laid back, too. My friend and his brother really enjoy it.

I think this will be a very rewarding experience.

Woo hoo! Another post with no spelling errors during spell check!

Me Name is Jenkins. Redbeard Jenkins.

2008-09-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Ahoy me mateys, it be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Aye, ya be hearin' me correctly. 'Tis th' only day a land lubber like me can speak this way and get away with it. So, put a parrot on yer shoulder and get loaded to the gunwhales with some grog and do yer best cap'n Jack impression. Be off on yer merry way and impress some scurvy dogs and saucy wenches with yer abilities to speak just like they do. If ye be not up to th' task, ye can always be off here to get regular speak translated to pirate speak. Don't be forgettin' to speak louder than ye normally do. Ye be a scurvy pirate, this day.

In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I used this random pirate name genrator. It's funny that it would call me Redbeard on my first try, since I actually have a red beard.

The Vikings Need Your Stuff To Impress Their Women

2008-09-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

There have been several theories about why those Scandinavian bad asses we know as Vikings tore through Europe and beyond. From improved seafaring technology and unfair trade practices brought about by Christians who would not trade with "Heathens" to climate change opening up water ways to overpopulation of the Scandinavian peninsula. But a recent study by a man named James Barrett suggests that it was brought about by the men's desire to gather a fortune.

These men had to gather a fortune, you see. It was a "marriage imperative". If they wanted a wife, they had to impress the woman with their fortunes. During the "Viking Age" women were relatively scarce in Scandinavia due to selective female infanticide. Or, they killed female babies for ritualistic reasons and this led to a much lower female population. Wives were hard to come by and having a family was a means of increasing their status.

So, the young, single, male Viking horde dispersed to foreign lands and worked as teams and plundered and pillaged until they got what they needed. Then those that survived returned home to ply the small female population with their pilfered goods.

Isn't history fun?

I had never really read anything about Vikings, with the exception of some Norse mythology when I was much, much younger. Then I read this article, yesterday. The theory sounded feasible and I felt like sharing.

Seriously, to think that the Viking age was brought on by a bunch of desperate dudes, trying to impress a few women...I have to laugh. I don't think things will ever change. :P

Happy Birthday...

2008-09-17T07:17:00.001-07:00

...Steph. I hope it's a good one. I'd let you take me out for a beer tonight, but unfortunately I have a midterm to attend to. And here's your birthday song, again. From the first time I heard it, until the last time it's notes will ever grace my thoughts, it will always remind me of you.

Everyone, Steph is one of the most loving, loyal, honest, funny, mean, beautiful people that you will ever meet. She gets me through my bad times, shares most of my good ones, and helps me kill the boring time (even when it almost kills her:P). Somehow, our mutual hatred growing up, has blossomed into one of the greatest friendships that I could ever know. We should all be so lucky, to have someone like her in our lives.

I love you, Steph. Have a great birthday.

R.I.P. Rick Wright

2008-09-16T06:46:00.001-07:00

Another of my favorite musicians passed away yesterday. This time it was one of the members of Pink Floyd. His long time band mate and friend, David Gilmour had this to say about him, "In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him."

As I commented on the post that informed me of his passing, Pink Floyd introduced me to music. Before them, all I knew was noise. Because of their music, my world is a beautiful, poetic place, that it may not have been, otherwise. Thank you, Roy, for making me listen to them. Thank you, Rick for adding your touch. You will be missed.

It may sound cliche, but Rick, I Wish You Were Here.

People I Thought I'd Never Hear From Again (or, Your Bald Head Looked Like I Rock To Me)

2008-09-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

Twice, this weekend, I was contacted by people I never thought I'd hear from again. First, one of my friends used to have a friend that turned out to be a PSYCHO. This person was never my friend, just an acquaintance that I saw on a semi-regular basis. When checking my email, Saturday, it turns out this person found me on Myspace. I got one of those "How have you been...everything is great here...I hope you don't mind me checking in on you...just hoping everything is good with you." There was a lot of extra fluff in the message. None of which I needed or wanted or-and this may sound cold-really even cared about knowing. I feel the need to qualify this a little. I get along with almost everyone. I don't hold grudges very well, unless you are one of a select few that meant a whole lot to me. And, I am not one of those people that has to not like you when one of my friends doesn't like you. I don't see the point of holding someone else's baggage against you. However, in this instance, the person I am referring to, is someone that upon meeting them, I had always thought was a little off. I was wrong, this person truly is psychotic. Not boil your bunny on the stove because you ended a relationship psycho, mind you. But, they definitely don't get that when their friend broke off contact by saying "I never want to hear from you again. Stop trying to contact me," it was not an open invite to contact that person's friends when the ex-friend doesn't return their phone calls/messages/threats/pleas for attention. It's sad that they can't let it go. Maybe, it's sad that I am blogging about it.

The second occurrence was actually someone I didn't mind hearing from. It was my ex-mother-in-law. I know that may sound kinda weird, but I loved my ex-in-laws. They always treated me great. As soon as I started dating their daughter, they started to treat me like part of the family. They did a whole lot for me when I was married to their daughter. And, although my ex is one of those few people I mentioned above, about holding grudges, I told my ex-in-laws that if they ever needed anything that they could call me. Well, imagine my surprise when I received a text message yesterday evening that said, "Hi Larry, this is (x) my number is (y) please call me". Figuring, something may have happened to someone, or that they needed some help with something, I called. I haven't talked to her in almost exactly four years. It turns out, they are both retired and are moving halfway across the country. They found something that my Grandfather had given me and that I had left in the car that eventually ended up as theirs. They were wondering if I wanted it back. We talked for about 20 minutes about a lot of things (we're both long winded, it could have lasted a lot longer, but my phone died). However, at the beginning of the conversation, we both made sure that the other knew that there weren't ever any hard feelings but with the situation being what it was it was easier to not have contact. I found out about my nieces, and heard some other stuff. She found out about my job changes and returning to school. At one point she said something to which my response was, "I don't think I was ever happy, but, getting married so young, I didn't have anything to compare my lack of happiness against. Now I know. I am much happier." To which her reply was, "Oh, honey, believe me, you are much better off. MUCH BETTER OFF." I chuckled to myself. That, my friends, is what you call VALIDATION.

Now, on to more interesting stuff. The Steph and I were having a conversation last night. It was morbid to begin with but it was also interesting. We ended up looking up this list of unusual deaths on Wikipedia, so take these with a grain of salt, but here are a few of my favorites:

-458 BC: Aeschylus, Greek playwright, was killed when an eagle dropped a live tortoise on him, mistaking his bald head for a stone. The tortoise survived. (I think I need to reevaluate the possibility of shaving off all of my hair. We have a whole lot of eagles that nest near a turtle infested river, only a few miles from our house during the fall and winter months.)

-207 BC: Chrysippus, a Greek stoic philosopher, is believed to have died of laughter after watching his drunk donkey attempt to eat figs. (Ladies and Gentlemen, this proves the saying "Everything in moderation". He tried to go too funny, too fast.)

- 336 AD: Arius, the heretical priest who precipitated the Council of Nicea, passed wind and evacuated his internal organs. (There have been a few times when I was afraid this would happen to me.)

-1410 AD: Martin I of Aragon died from a lethal combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughing. (I got nothin)

-1673: Molière, the French actor and playwright, died after being seized by a violent coughing fit, whilst playing the title role in his play Le Malade imaginaire (The Hypochondriac or The Imaginary Invalid). [Over actor]

-1912: Franz Reichelt, tailor, fell to his death off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first ever attempt with the parachute and he had told the authorities in advance he would test it first with a dummy. (In my estimation, he did use a dummy. I probably shouldn't judge)

-1979: Robert Williams, a worker at a Ford Motor Co. plant, was the first known man to be killed by a robot. (It's just a matter of time folks. I watched IRobot, I know.)

Here is the link to the very extensive list of unusual deaths. I thought the few I picked were pretty fun. At least as fun as death can be.

Think About It

2008-09-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Thinking, or more precisely, thinking for themselves, got three young women killed. While another two were shot and killed for begging for the lives of the three. How can people get away with this? "Tradition". I have known many Muslims. The ones that I know, have told me that the Qur'an actually prohibits violence except in self defense. How then, can it be that this holy book, God's word given to Mohamed, can sanctify this behavior. I guess what they say is true, "Power corrupts." Being an American, with our propensity toward violence, I know I might catch some flack for the statement I am about to make. But, I'll do it anyway. How can anyone hold life in such low regard as to kill someone for wanting to make a decision on their own. Even if tradition dictates that such an act (thinking) is not allowed.

That is their daughter/sister/niece/neighbor/"friend" that they killed. Why not say, "No, you are not allowed." Keep them locked up in the house until a suitor that they deem worthy is available to take her hand. Is subjugation so important that a few women can pay for the men's loss of power with their lives. If there is a God that not only tolerates this behavior, but encourages it, then we will all surely suffer at his hand.

I will not pit religions against one another. Although, I am a Christian, I cannot and will not tell someone they are wrong for what they believe in. Belief in something gets me through the day. However, I refuse to believe this is what Allah or Mohamed had in mind when they were having their lengthy chat. Only 20% of the world's Muslims live in the Middle East. To think that most everyone's impression of them is skewed by the ass backward way of doing things in parts of that region, is sad. I guess they don't remember "As-Salāmu `Alaykum" or "wa `Alaykum As-Salām". "Peace be upon you," "and on you be peace".

Sgt. MacKenzie

2008-09-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is the piece of video I promised you. It is a song called Sgt. MacKenzie, originally composed by a Scot named Joseph Kilna MacKenzie in tribute to his great grandfather, who died protecting a fallen friend in the first World War. The video is of my new friend Brendan playing it, standing on a rock by the edge of Beirstadt Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. I wish you all could have been there to see this in person. It was one of the most moving musical performances I think I will ever have the privilege of witnessing.

"There And Back Again"

2008-09-09T09:59:00.001-07:00

Here are some more tales from the trip, which I have unfortunately returned home to real life from.

After I posted on Saturday afternoon, we went out to another Albannach show Saturday night. Both nights, we tailgated in the parking lot while waiting for them to take their turn on stage, as the venue did not allow alcoholic beverages inside and the other bands weren't all that good. On Saturday, we went out to a few bars afterward and continued to honor our Scottish roots...by drinking Irish Car Bombs?...anyway, we continued drinking. I guess technically I'm not really Scottish and one of the guys WAS Irish.

At the first bar we reconnected with a group of women that we had met on the first day of hiking. There were a couple of pretty good looking twins in this group that myself and the Irishman were looking to hook up with. That didn't quite workout as planned and we ended up at a table with a few other women. The Irishman has a pickup line that is fantastic. I will not give it out here though. Needless to say, he had them eating out of the palms of his hands. He also had chipmunks eating out of the palms of his hands, but that comes later. Back on track, we finished drinking ourselves stupid, said our goodbyes and headed to another bar.

The other bar was at The Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for The Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's "The Shining". It appears in the movie Dumb and Dumber as Hotel Danbury. We encountered a wedding party there, finishing their night also. The Irishman's pickup line was also used there, on a married woman, while her husband and I became drunken pals. The husband knew about it, and actually told him to use it on her. It was brilliant. Twice in one night. The man is a genius.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast with Aya and Donny from the band, and then went out to show our "solidarity", and watched them perform at Noon. Which we could not do after the first night of drinking due to our massive hangovers. When Aya saw us Saturday afternoon at their third performance, he was a bit disappointed that we didn't show our solidarity that day. I just couldn't bring myself to disappoint him again. Either that, or I wanted to hear them one last time before we went hiking for the afternoon. Since they don't come anywhere near St. Louis. I think there is going to have to be a trip to Philly planned for February, when they perform there. It will give me a chance to visit some old and new friends.

Sunday afternoon, three of us went hiking again. We started out by climbing some waterfalls at the bottom of the mountains. Then we started driving up Old Fall River Road, which is a one lane gravel track that winds its way up toward the highest drivable point in the U.S. We stopped and hiked a few places along the way. One such place, while trying to get out into the middle of a stream near a waterfall, I fell in. Oops. I was cold for the rest of the day, but it was only my feet and my butt that got wet. We worked our way up to the top and hiked as high as we could go. The three of us sat up top and talked for a while, then had to head back into town to meet some folks. There was no real drinking on Sunday night.

We got up Monday, packed up and headed back out to the park for one more morning of hiking, before having to head into Denver to catch our flights. We hiked Alberta Falls, where we took turns feeding a cute little chipmunk. I feel a bit guilty, but the little thing was too damn cute. He would reach into our hands and take the sunflower seeds. From there we went to Bear Lake and found a large boulder that sat out in the lake. We climbed out to it, had a picnic in the sun, surrounded by crystal clear water, surrounded by trees, surrounded by towering peaks, surrounded by a deep blue sky. What a way to end a trip.

Hopefully, between exchanged emails and finding a way to retrieve the pics from my broken phone, I will have some pictures from the last few days. I will post some from the first few days, when I get a chance to go through them.

A Quick Hello

2008-09-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

As I sit here in the cabin in the quaint little Rocky Mountain town of Estes Park, I have a moment to scan my favorite blogs and post a little something myself. Halfway through this trip, I can say this is one of the best trips I have taken in a long time. I only knew one of the five other people that I was sharing a cabin with before I got here. All of the others are pretty damn fun. I been to a few concerts, tried a Rocky Mountain oyster while someone else had to eat a whole one (ugh), and been on a five mile hike in the national park. We also partied at our cabin with one of the coolest groups of guys I have ever met. All the guys from the band Albannach.

I witnessed a solo bagpipe performance on a lonely foggy lake high up in mountains. It was almost surreal, and definitely one of those "wow" moments in life. People started hiking in as Brendan was finishing his performance. He had to do an encore for a half dozen hikers. I wonder what it sounded like as they hiked toward us through the trees?

The only bad part so far has been that my phone crapped out on me so I can't transfer any of my pictures to my computer until I get home and can mess around a bit with it. I have some great pics and even some video of the pipe performance on the lake. I will be back to actually commenting on all of your blogs in a few more days. Cheers.

Never Knew, And I Worked In A Bookstore

2008-09-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

Seriously. With as many recommendations as I received over the two years I spent in the book retail industry, I was never told to read Philip K. Dick. More specifically, A Scanner Darkly. But, no worries. My sister, The Steph, rented the movie and made me watch it. I had never heard of either incarnation. If what has held true thus far, still holds true, the book must be brilliant. The movie was fantastic. Robert Downey Jr., as always, earned his money. Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochran, and Keanu Reeves more than hold their own, too.

How do I avoid hearing about the good stuff for so long? This movie has been out for several years. The book, as long as I have been alive. For those of you who are as out of the loop as I am, watch the movie. I can't recommend the book yet, but I will be reading it when I get some time.

Watch this scene. The man that turns on the radio is Charles Freck (Rory Cochran). This was one of my favorite scenes.

Clarior Hinc Honos

2008-08-31T19:45:00.000-07:00

Clarior Hinc Honos-"Hence the brighter honour".

That is the motto of the Clan Buchanan, which my family is somehow associated with. I'm not sure exactly how. While researching the subject online, I found that my someone with my family surname migrated to England. This occured in or around 1066 A.D. in the wave of migration that took place after the Norman conquest of England. We first made a name for ourselves in Cambridgeshire, where we held a family seat as Lords of the manor Crowhurst. As far as I can tell it was either Robert Count of Eu (who may have deeded some land to my family) or later Walter de Scotney who might have been my relative in ownership of the land (although I believe the former more likely from my reading). From there I don't know what happened. Somehow, we either married in or came under the protection of the Clan Buchanan.

I did all this research because I am going to a Scottish-Irish Highlands Festival next weekend and want to be prepared for any questions regarding my family history. I always knew I had some Irish ancestry, but only knew about the Scottish link through my baby brother's research. And, since he gave me a kilt to wear, which is of the Buchanan tartan (pattern), I figured I better at least have some clue as to why I was wearing a particular family fabric.

Although, to be completely honest, I was only going to drink and enjoy the mountains on the cheap. It was very interesting tying my family name to history. I also found some pictures of the ruins of Crowhurst Manor, the Buchanan family crest and the Buchanan tartan kilt that I will be wearing. Hope this was somewhat interesting to everyone else. Maybe I'll find someone out in Colorado that knows more on the subject than I do, or maybe I'll just drink and listen to the bands and eat the food.

Here is the ruins of Crowhurst.

Here is the pattern of my kilt.

And, the family crest/coat of arms.

Preparation...

2008-08-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

The owner of the private investigation firm I used to work for had a saying. He would say, "Guys, you need to use the five P's." The five P's stood for: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. I thought I was prepared for something that happened to me yesterday afternoon. However, sometimes things just don't go as well as I think they should. I thought I was prepared. I wasn't.

A little less than a year ago, I put myself in a bad situation. I had no control over the outcome and was forced to accept the way things went. Now, almost a year later, the eventuality of the situation caught up to me. St. Louis is one of the biggest small towns in the world. You can't hide from anything for too long, here. Not that I was trying, I accept the consequences of my actions. But, I was hopeful that I would only have to deal with the nagging emotions-anger, guilt, helplessness, sorrow, pain, sadness-on my own. Never having to be put in the physical situation, again. In my experience, emotions dull over time. Unless, of course, they are brought back to the surface. Yesterday, the whale came to the surface for air. It hurt quite a bit. More than I thought it would or even could.

Steph, thanks for listening last night, as you always do. I know there are certain things I could possibly do. And, the legalities that we discussed last night are the least of complications for me. But, some of the consequences of those actions are a little too harsh, even if the reality of them may turn out better than I think they would. But, the fact that there is more at stake than my self, and it might turn out worse than I imagined, I feel as if I have to let it be. As with every difficult decision, this one has been pulling me apart. For the better part of a year. Is it cowardice to leave it be? Is it brave? I don't think I will ever know for sure.

I thought I was prepared.

The Thought of You (7-22-08)

I think about you
More often than I want to admit
And the thought of you
At once, makes me smile
And crushes my heart from the weight of it

When I met you
I was happy and I was terrified
And the thought of you
Was an angst-ridden joy
When I lost you, something in me died

Were you ever mine
I know that it was possible
And the thought of you
When that enters my mind
Is a biting wind, and my heart an empty hole

Hopefully, someday
There will be another or more
And the thought of you
I know will never leave
Just the thought of you, has struck at my very core

T.P.

2008-08-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

When I got online this morning, there was an item on my home page about toilet paper. To be more precise, it was a link to free e-cards for August 26, Toilet Paper Day. I smiled and proceeded to send the card to several friends. If you are one of my friends and did not receive it, I'm sorry, I was just throwing a few names on there to get it into circulation. The link above will take you there.

Anyway, I didn't even know there was such a thing as Toilet Paper Day. I shouldn't be surprised. There is a day for everything else in America. Why not T.P.? It got me to thinking about that wonderful cleansing tool that most of us take for granted, until we have to waddle around looking for it with our pants around our ankles, because we forgot to check for it before we sat down. You know you've been there. We all have.

An article I found about toilet paper, reminded me of the constant struggle, that was placing the TP on the dispenser in my marital bathroom. You see, my ex-wife was very anal about things (hehe. toilet paper. anal. sorry.). She had to have the roll set so that the toilet paper came up over the top and rolled toward her. I, on the other hand, didn't care if the toilet paper was even hung. And, being a man, I knew that she would want it hung, but I would always forget which way she wanted it. I hung it, inevitably wrong most times. Then, she would get pissed. I thought I was doing a good deed by hanging it, she thought I was hanging it "wrong" on purpose just to raise her ire. After about the first year of living together, she managed to realize that I was not doing it on purpose, and stopped getting angry when I would hang the TP backward. And, I got so used to hanging it so that it would roll over the top toward her, that to this day, I rarely hang it the other way, unless I am just not paying attention. I've been divorced for close to four years.

Now, on to some random toilet paper facts. Did you know that the first commercially available toilet paper was manufactured by a man named Joseph Gayetty in 1857, in New Jersey? Or that the Scott Paper Company (Scott paper towels, TP, etc.) was started by selling some form of toilet paper from a push cart in lovely Philadelphia? Coincidentally, they did not market their toilet paper under the family name Scott when they started selling it, "not wanting to, ah, soil the family’s good name." Can anyone guess when two-ply was introduced to the marketplace? 1942, by the St. Andrew’s Paper Mill in England. Who knew that if Americans used rolls made from recycled paper 424,000 trees would be spared by replacing a 500-sheet roll of virgin fiber toilet paper? That would save a whole lot of Canadian forest, which is where most of our paper products come from. Here's a couple more random facts for you. In China AD 1391 the Bureau of Imperial Supplies began producing 720,000 sheets of toilet paper a year, each sheet measuring two feet by three feet, for use by the Emperors. The average American uses 57 sheets of toilet paper per day.

The funny thing about all these facts, I couldn't find any mention as to why we celebrate toilet paper on August 26th every year, the first year it was recognized, or who pushed for it. Happy Toilet Paper Day everyone!!!!!

Looking Forward

2008-08-23T17:03:00.001-07:00

Last week was atrocious. I managed to fall behind at work by helping out my department. Nobody does my job, so when I am not doing my job, it doesn't get done. I worked really hard the last two days at work and managed to get mostly caught up. Situation under control. I finally got my last semester of classes paid off, so that I could register for my next semester of classes. So, by getting registered so late, I didn't get any of the classes that I wanted. Although, I did get classes that I needed, so it isn't really a bad situation. However, now I am very, very, very broke. My books have been bought and I have enough money for gas next week, so, I'm alright there. And, if you read my post, one of my favorite musicians passed away. But, DMB is still performing and will move on, so it looks as if I will still be able to enjoy their music for years to come.

Now that I have the bad week out of the way, the next month looks like it is going to be great. School starts Tuesday and I can't wait to get back at it. Next weekend is a long one, due to a holiday here in the states. I will be traveling down to my Dad's farm to spend it relaxing miles and miles away from the closest town. Then, I'm back to work (and school) for two whole days before I fly out to the mountains of Colorado for a Scottish festival with a very Scottish friend. Managed to snag that trip for just the cost of airfare, as my friend had already rented a cabin and I got him a huge rate cut on a rental car through another friend. So, he isn't making me share in any of those costs. For those of you that are new to my site, I love Colorado. I haven't been in the mountains without snow cover in almost 20 years. The last time I saw this friend was almost three years ago in Vegas, it should be just as much fun (although I doubt there will be midgets wearing diapers). The next weekend is going to spent down at the Lake of the Ozarks for a friend's bachelor party. I haven't been to the lake since high school.

So, as long as I can fit in my schoolwork, the next month should be awesome. Then after a few more weeks, my bachelor party friend is getting married at Graceland. Another trip, if I can afford to make a whole weekend out of it. Memphis is supposed to be a really fun city. I have only had the pleasure of driving through it (several times) on previous, P.I. road trips. It's a shame none of my old claimants stopped in Memphis, the BBQ and bar scene is supposed to be fantastic.

R.I.P. LeRoi Moore

2008-08-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

"We all had some bad news today. Our good friend LeRoi Moore passed on and gave his ghost up today and we will miss him forever." Dave Matthews, L.A. 8-19-08

Listen to the crowd get louder and louder as he gets further into his sax solo. This happened every time he would play a solo.

Just listen to a tribute from one of his best friends.

You will be missed, LeRoi. I didn't know you, but you moved me a time or two or more. Thanks for all the beautiful music. Don't be surprised when God asks you to play for him.

I Own A Lot Of These

2008-08-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

I own a whole lot of live Dave Matthews Band (and Dave with Tim Reynolds) albums. I even own a few concert posters form shows I have attended (like the one below, from June). But, I am really excited about the new live album that is coming out. You see, I love live albums from just about any band that can do it right. A lot of bands don't sound as good live as they do in the studio. Some bands sound ten times better, though. DMB is one of them. It is one of the reasons I like them so much.

Their newwest release, DMB Live Trax 13, is from the show that I attended earlier this year. I own a lot of live albums, by a lot of bands. This will be the first one that I will own that I will have attended the show.

If I had more time and money, I would attend as many DMB shows as I could every summer. They are just that fantastic. The energy is always high, so are most of the people. The quality of music and the way they all play to the crowd. Some people would classify them as a jam band. I won't go that far, because I think they are a bit too structured to actually be a jam band. But, the way they drag out their songs with long solos of every color, shape and size...

I would strongly recommend them to anyone who even remotely enjoys their music.

Fulfillment?

2008-08-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

People need to stop chasing instant gratification and start pursuing fulfillment. Instant gratification is all well and good, but, it only lasts an instant. It seems like greed to me. How much pleasure can one attain from an instant? Even if it is the highest degree of pleasure, it is still only an instant. Fulfillment does what the word implies, it fills one up with joy and contentment for long periods of time. What fulfills you? I know I have been looking for my answer for quite some time. It took me a while to stop pursuing the fast fix. I have found things that kinda fall in between pleasure and fulfillment. They last longer than an instant but not really long enough to say that it has fulfilled me in any way. I know some people find their answers relatively early in life. And others find their answers when it is almost to late to enjoy the spoils.

Some people say having a great family or a successful career is the answer. Unfortunately, others turn to forms of vice. I know I love my family and they, along with my friends, keep me from ever being lonely. But, being single, I have noticed that I am happier than I was in my very few relationships. So, really, I am basing my thoughts on this on a failed marriage and my immediate family. I know that one night stands aren't my answer. I have yet to find a job that speaks to my soul. They all spoke to my bank account, some louder than others. I am fine with that. A job pays the bills and supplies me with the means to pursue my interests. As long as that is the case, I don't need my job to fulfill me. Although it would be nice. I have never really been into vice. So, where do I go from here?

I have my hobbies. But, they are like forms of instant gratification. I perform my intended task, I reap my reward, then it is over. In essence, it's like reading the side of the shampoo bottle. "Lather. Rinse. Repeat." It's fun, it's a distraction from the everyday boredom that rules us. But, when it's over, it's over. I am, by no means, unhappy, or even looking to speed up the process. I know that, once found, whatever it is that fulfills me, will be the sweetest of rewards. Until then...

Author's note: When I used spell check, there were no misspellings. Never happens.

I Love Animals. I Swear.

2008-08-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

It's just that I. HATE. GEESE.

They're not really animals.

It seems that they know this, and are taunting me. Twenty-two of those filthy bastards were on the parking lot this morning while I was working outside. You don't believe me? Count for yourself. Look carefully, they are all there.

One of these days I am going to find a way around the Federal Migratory Bird Act of 1918. Then, they are all in trouble.

Time and a Half Can Be Very Boring

2008-08-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

This evening I am sitting at work, pulling a few extra hours of O.T. My boss wanted to leave, and since I am on call, I told him I would stay for a few hours. The evening guy is on his last day of vacation. I told my boss that I would sit in the shop and wait for any calls, but was not going to be visible on the floor. Not surprisingly, he was cool with me sitting online until 7 or so.

I'm bored out of my skull. The filters on our server don't allow for much web-surfing variety. I have read about all the interesting news stories I can find. I have surfed all the blogs that interest me, and that it will allow me to read. Can't listen to music online, although I have the limited selection on my phone memory card to keep me from going too stir crazy.

Does anyone know of any good sites that can skirt filters? These filters won't allow much, other than news sites and some email sites. G-mail, Google, and by extention, Blogger are okay.

Sore Loser, Part Deux

2008-08-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

Another weekend, another hockey tournament, another 0-for. Like I said last week, I was going to be the worst player on my team. It was a toss up between myself and another guy. Right before the start of the tournament, about half of the guys that were supposed to be playing pulled out, for one reason or another. That left us with eight players and a goalie. For any of you that don't know hockey, there are five skaters on the ice and normally about 10 more on the bench. Or, two more "lines" of skaters, so you can rotate through and not get too tired.

We did have a dominant team, for the first period or so. Then, as our energy disappeared, the other teams with full benches would take advantage of our lackluster play and pour it on. We thought we were going to get one more guy for the last few games, but when he showed up, one of the other guys got hit in the eye with a puck. It was gruesome. Stitches above and below the eye and his eyelid was also cut. His eye, thankfully, was undamaged. So, there we were for the whole tourney with only eight guys. And, being in a college town, with everyone starting to return for fall semester, there was a lot of partying going on every night. For our last game on Sunday morning-AT 7AM!!!-we were short one more, due to overindulgence.

When I got home, I worked my butt off on Monday. Then, went out with one of my friends to meet a new woman he is seeing. And back to hockey on Tuesday night. I think I might be overdoing it a bit. On the last shift of the night, I pulled my groin and have been limping around all day today. Thankfully, I got to sleep in, as our evening guy, at work, is out in Sturgis and I got to go in late and got to cover his shift.

Hopefully, I'll have something else for y'all this week. Maybe I'll blog on the multiple tiger attacks that have occurred in the great state of Missouri this week. Who knew we were a hotbed of tiger activity? Maybe, Mizzou fans, but come on, I'm referring to actual tigers this time. We're turning into India, or something...

Just a side note, for those of you who hit the "tiger" link. I know The girl in the picture's step-brother (if it is the same A.B.). The only reason I bring this up, is because he had sex with her about a year before they became step-siblings. When he would piss me off, I would shut him up with comments like, "You screwed your sister, dude." and "What is incest like?" Nothing shuts someone up quicker, than bringing up their quasi-incestual past.

A Big Thank You...

2008-07-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

...to any emegency reponders out there, for all that you do.

This past week has really made me appreciate what several of my friends do on a daily basis, even more. Last week, we had a man in St. Louis, set his truck on fire, and then ambush the firemen, police and paramedics that arrived on the scene. A 22 year-old fireman was killed and two officers were shot. I have read all the stories about this incident as they are posted and wanted to post something about it, but thought it would seem a bit dramatic and...I don't know...maybe, not enough.

You see, it hits me kinda close. As most of you know, I was going to be a cop. That is what I wanted to do growing up. I have a criminal justice degree. I came really, really close several times to becoming an officer. Went through the hiring process for the state police three times. Made it through the six month process twice. All the way to the final interview before they offer the job. The way I answered one question on the application is all that kept me from being a trooper. I had a few strings being pulled by some family friends that were pretty well connected. But, I was told by several troopers to be honest all the way through the process. I was and am very happy that I was not chosen. I don't think I would be happy after dealing with the stresses that can be laid upon someone in those positions. It bothered me when I was not chosen, but after a few incidents from the old P.I. gig, I know that my honesty and their standards worked to perfection.

I have several friends that are officers, paramedics, and firemen, and one that is a U.S. Marshall. And I normally don't give a second thought to what they do, because they have been doing it for years and sometimes, over time, things start to get taken for granted. But, with everything that happened last week, I started to think about it again. And, last night, one of my newest friends was involved in entering a building that was possibly hiding a gunman. His girlfriend is a really close friend of mine and contacted me while it was happening, because she was worried and just needed someone to talk to. It brought all this up, again.

So, even though this seems contrived and not nearly enough, thank you all for all you do.

Sore Loser

2008-07-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

Y'all remember last week when I was complaining about being really sore from playing way too much hockey in a such a short time? Well, I managed to play five games in a little less than 30 hours this weekend and I hurt sooooo much worse. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. It's a good type of pain. The type that you can only receive from a great workout. I've still got a tournament next weekend where I should play at least four more games.

Friday morning when I got to work and checked my email, a friend had invited me to play in a local tourney that he was playing in. His team needed one more player, as one had dropped. I contacted the team captain and let him know that I was interested. But, was informed under the circumstances that I would be a sub. After their first game Friday night, they called and told me to show up for the rest of the tournament. It was a fun group of guys who I had never met before. The best part is that we were an orange team. My new jersey is possibly my new favorite. It has a screen print of a traffic cone on it. We were officially "The Pylons". That name was very fitting.

I was the best overall player on the team. I'm good at hockey. Not great, but I can and have played with a very diverse range of skilled players. From horrible, to average and good to great. Some high level juniors and a few D-1 NCAA guys. I've even played against a few over-the-hill NHLers from time to time. One was involved in our level of this tournament. So, I can gauge my skill against that. Unless you count roller hockey, I have never been a prolific offensive player. I skate well and pass well, but, I am a defenseman by trade. The scoring touch was never bestowed upon me.

That being said, I was one of the teams leading scorers with my one goal. We lost every game. The only one that was even close was the last one, where we went about 10 rounds deep into a shootout to lose. My poor friend Todd, the one who invited me, was one of our goalies. He's probably shell shocked at this point. I have never had so much fun losing so horribly. These guys were all good sports, and except for one team, where someone threw a hat onto the ice for a hat-trick, after their 12th goal (12-1 at that point, and the guy who scored is a junior A player, playing in the middle skill level division of the tournament), the rest of the teams were really good sports a well.

I think as a team, they should have put us in the lower level of competition. But, I really enjoyed playing at the level we played, and against the teams we competed with. However, I can't wait until next weekend, when I will be one of the worst players on my tournament team. It makes the game very simple for me. Play defense, make good passes and let the natural born finishers try to score the goals. No real pressure.

Interesting Quotes, From Interesting Folks

2008-07-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have found myself collecting quotes. Most are not famous quotes, song lyrics, or poetry. They are quotes I have found while reading interesting news stories online, about intersting people. It started several weeks ago when I was reading a story about Tempest Storm an 80 year-old burlesque dancer. She dated Elvis, and rubbed shoulders with a whole lot of other famous people and has lived an absolutely fascinating life. And at 80, she still dances every so often. I just tracked down a link to this story, here. Anyway I loved this quote:

"Never stop doing what you love, it makes you who you are." Tempest Storm, an 80-year-old burlesque dancer

Another quote that I found while reading something (I wish I could remember what), was a quote by Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. This one really hits home with me. I always tell my friends when they are bothered or upset about something that someone else has said to/about them, "Don't worry about what they say unless they really matter to you. Everyone who doesn't matter is just background noise." Dr. Seuss puts it even better and I was amazed that I could think so much like such a genius. His quote:

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Dr Seuss

Then today, I read a story about a man named Dr. Randy Pausch. He was a college professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I had never heard of him before reading the article at break this morning. However, he was an internet sensation and published author of "The Last Lecture" for a lecture he gave after finding out about his desease. He was a man who did what he loved and enjoyed life to the fullest, even after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He died this morning after living with the knowledge that he would for almost two years. A quote from the story that I loved was this:

"I mean I don't know how to not have fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play it." Dr. Randy Pausch(11-07 lecture at University of Viriginia)

Periodically, I will be posting more if I find them. I thought that there was really no use in collecting them if I could not share them.

Forgive Me Father, For I Have Sinned?

2008-07-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

It has been roughly, two days since my last confession. And I think I am guilty of being a glutton. Not with food, nor money, or even physical pleasure. It is the morning after my third straight night of hockey. I knew the good Lord wouldn't let me be gluttonous without some form of retribution being paid. And since I hadn't really done anything physical for the past 3 weeks, I HURT ALL OVER! It's not a bad pain. However, my legs are jello, my shoulders and neck are stiff, and after a late night last night, I am exhausted. And, my job requires a whole hell of a lot of walking, bending, squatting, lifting, etc., etc., etc. Today is the day I receive my shipment of supplies for the week and have to put them away.

I didn't think it through all of the way. Ooops. I think my bed will feel wonderful this evening. Right after dinner.

Flyin By

2008-07-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been great. But, it has also flown by. Friday, when I got home from work I mowed the lawn, shaved my head, and went out to dinner with the Steph and a whole lotta friends. That took up my whole Friday night. We went to a pizzeria located near The Loop, called Dewey's. Hands down the best Buffalo chicken pizza ever!

I had been sick for most of the last two weeks, so I didn't set my alarm. I figured I'd let my body dictate when I should wake up Saturday. It didn't. One of my best friends was expecting me over at her place around noon. She called at 30 after to see if I was on my way. I groggily told her no. We spent the afternoon running around and went to her brother-in-law's birthday BBQ in the evening. Saturday night was spent playing hockey. Something I hadn't done in over 3 weeks. The week before I was sick, I managed to get a concussion playing roller hockey. So, until my headaches went away, hockey was out. When they went away I was sick. I played from about 10 to almost 2am. It was great, and surprisingly I felt good and played well.

Unfortunately, my Sunday, which was shaping up to be good anyway, could have been a lot better. I was again planning on sleeping in. Then, this evening I will either be playing ice hockey again, or roller, if a friend needs any subs for his team. The sleeping in thing happened again. Except this time I slept through a call from another friend who had an extra Cardinals ticket. They won on a walk off grand slam. I missed it, because I couldn't hear my phone. Oh well.

In other news, I have been invited to a wedding in October, to be held at...

...Graceland. That should be an experience. I have never been to Graceland, and to see it as a wedding guest should just add to the experience. The only problem I have with this, is that it is the same night as the Blues home opener. They should have known better. He proposed to her at a Blues game for Christ's sake. I wouldn't miss their wedding for the world, though.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend. Hope to have another post for you soon.

Family Time

2008-07-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

My step-dad, who I am only calling my step-dad so as not to confuse my very few readers, I call him dad, fainted last Sunday night and has been in the hospital since. He will be going home tomorrow. However, he has a few decently serious health problems already and it seems that there will be several more added to the list over the next few weeks and several more visits to the doctor. As much as this worries me, I am just as concerned for Steph. If anything happens to her dad, it will destroy her.

Also, I went down to visit my dad in the sticks this weekend. From there we went over to Springfield to visit both of my brothers, sister-in-law, and their kids. My niece turned one last week and they had her birthday party on Saturday. I realized just how little I have seen that side of my family this past year. After everything that happened this week I feel I need to visit them a bit more often. I just don't know how many more times I will be able to get down there this year. School will be starting in a month. Then, I got home and checked my email. I had an invite to play in a hockey tournament with some friends, in Springfield, at the beginning of next month. I think I will be going down there for that weekend. It will give me an excuse to get down there.

I Thought the Sausage Would've Been Better

2008-07-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I ordered a pizza one night for dinner. Thankfully, I looked at the receipt. I normally don't. This is what I saw...

The sausage was just average. I kinda expected more from the Sausage King of Chicago.

Celebrity Gossip

2008-07-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

I find myself reading celebrity gossip at work, on lunch. Not because I care. Because, I don't. Not because it's interesting. Because, for the most part, it's the same people doing the same things over and over. It's because I'm bored and have already read all of the stories that interest me. So I go for the time filling garbage.

Since I'm a sports fanatic, hockey being my biggest passion. And, NHL free agency gets about as much press as the new Barney tour. I finish the few short blurbs about who signed where each day in a few moments. Then I move on to that huge celeb drama that is A-Rod and Madonna. Today one of Fox Sports' columnists wrote this little cutting piece about A-Rod.

I swear to God, Mark Kriegel must be a huge egomaniac to believe that he knows thought one about what's going through A-Rod's head. Don't get me wrong here. I'm am not a fan of Alex Rodriguez. I hate the Yankees (worse than I hate the Cubs, and from a Cardinals fan, that is something). And, with the money and publicity that Rodriguez generates and/or brings home, he should know that every little thing he does is going to get huge coverage. That being said, holy shit, Mr. Kriegel, what do you expect? The guy has been the next coming since high school. Everyone and their mother had him in Cooperstown before he saw his first big league pitch. He's only 33 years old and this is arguably the first big hardship he is going to have to face, as an adult.

Shit, this guy is the poster child for "not knowing who he is". Outside of baseball what has there been in his life. So, good work dectective Kriegel, you win the "Captain Obvious" prize. But, who are you to judge A-Rod!? Write another book about what someone else has done with their lives instead of living yours, asshole. Seriously, I got married at 20 and divorced at 27. I had no idea who I was until I went through my divorce and was forced to figure it out. I had never in my adult life been alone long enough to figure it out. It seems to me, that is the case with Rodriguez. I doubt he will truly know who he is until after his baseball career is over and life slows down for him enough to figure it out. Until then, this will hopefully help him figure out a little bit more, what he needs or wants out of life. Who knows? I sure don't. I'm just guessing. Maybe, he already knows and maybe he never will.

The point is, why glorify people like Jeter, who is "making his way through Maxim's Top 100" and vilify the guy standing to his right on the field for screwing up his marriage by doing, arguably, about the same thing. Neither one is really that great of a role model, unless you really think that moving from woman to woman to woman is a noble pursuit. I really don't. Although, there are plenty of worse things that someone could do. And, honestly both of them are just trying to find what makes them happy.

So, Kriegel, who cares that Madonna is past her prime and Jeter has had some younger talent. I'd be willing to bet my next meager check that you've jerked off to most of the women either one has brought home. Don't be bitter cuz you can only write about it.

Everyone Has Felt This Way

2008-07-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

At some point in time, everyone has or will feel this nervousness. Chris Carrabba captured the feeling beautifully. It reminds me of how I have felt several times. One of these days I may feel it again. As one of my female coworkers said the other day, "Larry, you should take someone there(referring to a really awesome restaurant) when you finally go out on another date. It's really romantic."

Funny how when I wanted to date and was looking to, it seemed as if there were no women interested. Now that I just want to finish school and get out of town, there are several. Of which I am interested in none. Funny, because at least one of them is really cool, and would probably be good for me. What the hell is wrong with me? Oh well, c'est la vie. In a month or so, when I am back to 18 credit hours and 40 hour work weeks, I won't even notice.

"Remember To Breathe" by Dashboard Confessional

She fixes her lips, they always look perfect
Never a smudged line, never too much
I try on my blue shirt, she told me she liked it, once
She wonders what I'll wear, she knows just what she'll wear
She always wears blue
So, sneakers or flip flops? I'm starting to panic, wait, wait
Remember she asked you
Remember to breathe
And everything will be okay

Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright

Now every time we do this I fall for you
Wave after wave it's all for you
And now you listen like your hearts on fire
Like you wanna believe in me
So, I'll try
Put your hands in the sky
And remember
It will be here forever
I'll be alright, alright, alright, alright

Starting the Day Off Right

2008-05-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

My job is boring. It's mind numbing and a lot of the people that I would consider friends have either quit or been fired in the last few months. I don't enjoy being here nearly as much as I used to. Most days, I just want to get it over with and go home. I have been in a horrible mood the last few weeks when it comes to being at work. Yesterday, one of my best friends came up to visit and brought her son, my Godson, and that helped brighten my day considerably. Today I read this. Seriously, it makes my day to know that the world doesn't really suck. Knowing that there are people like that out there gives me hope. Because, lately, I just haven't been feeling it.

I knew I Was Crazy, Now I Know I Can Blame Subway

2008-04-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

Watch this video. It will explain everything very clearly.

Colors, School and Baseball Loving Physicists

2008-04-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

Callie, I am okay. I have been sick for most of the last week, but that doesn't normally slow me down too much. School and some other issues have kept me away from my computer for the last few weeks, except to do school work of course.

As for the last few weeks of color posts, I'm out. I have not been able to come up with anything creative or in the least bit original and believe I will not subject any of you to any forced posts. Just like forced conversation, they are very uncomfortable, and you would be able to tell I didn't really care. I will continue monitoring colors and when I have something for one of them, I will definitely post on it.

As for baseball loving physicists, well, here goes. On Tuesday, my friend called me and asked if I wanted to go to the Cardinals game with him. The new woman he is dating, was going with one of her friends and had asked him to pick up a ticket and meet them down there. Being an awesome wingman, I skipped my History of Rock and Roll class and headed down to the stadium for some beer fueled fun. When we arrived, we met the two young ladies at a bar down the road from the stadium, had a beer and those of us who didn't know each other, got aquainted. After that we headed over to the ballpark and into our bleacher seats, where we were joined by the two lovely...stowaways?...they didn't have bleacher tickets. We had to split up into groups of two. My friend and his date went their seperate way and her friend and I got to know each other better for a few innings until four seats opened up together a few rows further up from us.

When that happened the four people behind us ended up all be PhD students in Physics, all from different parts of the country/world, in town for a conference. Me, not wanting St. Louis to be portrayed as an antisocial sort of town, started conversing with them. Turns out one of them was a north-sider from Chicago. No wonder he kept claiming, "I'm not a Cardinal fan, I just love baseball." Well, sir you have to love baseball to continue to put yourself through the hell that it is to be a Cubs fan. Oops, forgot to set the scene. The young woman I had been conversing with, was no longer sitting next to me, as she had wanted to sit by her friend when they moved next to us and I ended up sitting next to mine. So, back to the story. A few innings after the move the daters went off on their merry way to, I don't know, buy beer, hit the head, make fun of the stumbling drunks in Ford Plaza? Which again left the friend and I alone. At this point, she is very into the game and had moved up a row when the people in front of us left (it was getting cold). So, I continued to converse with the physicists, they were there more for the "cheap" beer (at $8 a cup this didn't make any sense to me, but come to find out that in LA/Geneva, Switzerland and several other towns I can't remember, it is much more expensive to drink. God bless you, Anheiser-Busch, for driving down beer prices in St. Louis) than to watch the game. Think about it, the Cubs fan was watching the Cards whoop up on someone else. Can't be very satisfying (for him, made me enjoy it even more). We kept BSing about different things. When my two friends returned, the woman asked if I had been talking to the physicists the whole time and why I hadn't talked to her friend. I was like, "What, you mean your friend who has been sitting up there (pointing to the row in front of me) actually paying attention to the game? She has been more than welcome to join into the conversation. I just figured I would leave her to the game, she seemed fine."

At this point one of the physicists points out that, even though he only "flirts with one woman a year" he would have chosen this one, because, "where's she gonna go?" My response, "Yeah, but the problem is you have to build your woman before you can talk to her, cuz, I know you don't talk to real women. I've seen Weird Science." Drunken physicists loved that one. One of them even told me he was going to use it next time one of his friends started talking about women. It was a fun night. I love the bleachers at Busch. I hadn't sat in them since I was about 10 years old. I think I will make it a more common occurance.

Pride

2008-03-29T15:44:00.001-07:00

After doing a little drinking and hanging out with a few friends and a few of their friends last night, I got to thinking about this. The details of why are too long, unimportant and personal to other people to disclose here. But, here is what I was thinking about.

It's funny how pride can, at the same time, lead us to the truth and keep us from excepting it. It helps us lose things and makes us unable to let them go. It can also help us earn things and make us too proud to take them when we have. It is great for motivating people, but, can make us go too far or not far enough in our actions.

Can you imagine a world, where, pride did not rule most of us? I wish I could.

Magenta

2008-03-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Really? Cuz, I got nothin.

I guess we'll go with the origin according to the always right, Wikipedia.

"The name magenta comes from the dye magenta, commonly called fuchsine, discovered shortly after the 1859 Battle of Magenta near Magenta, Italy."

Interesting enough?

I hope so. I can't waste much thought on magenta this weekend. I have to come up with 3-4 pages about a piece of wax that Descartes wrote about in two paragraphs in his second meditation.

Listen To The Past

2008-03-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

This is really cool and kinda freaky. Some really smart people have figured out how to listen to the oldest known voice recording. You can also listen to it here. Click the link, then sound files referenced in the presentation.

When Good Words Go Bad

2008-03-25T05:30:00.000-07:00

This is also known as Foot In Mouth Syndrome. It is very common among adult males of any age. It can strike at any time and there is, as yet, no known cure. Approximately 100% of men will suffer from this on at least a semi-regular basis. I have managed to turn it into an art form.

Let me set the scene up for you. We have a few long term care floors at work. The nurses generally work on the same floor everyday. This, of course, can change due to staffing shortages (or overages). I have a different relationship with everyone I work with. One of the nurses and I verbally spar, a lot. I found that it was a way to get her open up. She is very introverted. I wouldn't call her shy, just quiet. As most of you know, I don't do quiet very well. And, I prefer when others don't either. Anyway, this nurse does not normally work on one of the long term care floors.

When the resident finally succumbed to father times habitual harassment, it was at the beginning of the day shift and this nurse just happened to be one of the nurses who was working on the specific long term floor. Well, the family was notified. They came in to say their final farewells and contacted the funeral home of their choice.

When anyone dies, and the body transport arrives, it is my job to lead the transporters through the bowels of the complex to whatever room they need to get to. On the day in question, I was leading the man from the funeral home onto the floor where the deceased was. I happened to see lil' miss quiet sitting at the nurses station (not her normal nurses station). My comment to her, "My, (insert name here), aren't you the angel of death this morning."

On any other day this wouldn't be so bad. You see, working in an old folks home has gotten me used to death. It occurs, whether or not we want it to. And, as employees here, everyone seems a bit jaded by it. This day, however, was special. As I rounded the corner (that I was roughly 5 feet from when I made my statement), there right in front of me, was the whole family of the deceased. Grieving for their loss. I just hope they were so engrossed in their process that they didn't hear me. None of them made any indication that they had. Thank God.

Hopefully, Golden

2008-03-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling to find a gold post, just like the rest of you did. Steph put an idea in my head. But, it was just not all that palatable for me. However funny posting about golden showers might actually have been, I just don't think I'm the right guy to make it work. We'll leave that one up to the late great Frank Zappa.

I was reading this article this morning. I just hope my accounting degree, when earned, will be the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg. I just want to be comfortable again, without having to work 80 hours a week and travel all the time. Although, one of my interests in the accounting field would be auditing. I hear there is a lot of travel involved with a lot of auditing jobs. Guess I'll find out in a few short years.