On deck...

we opened family gifts last night... finally broke out the Guitar Hero World tour band kit, which is pretty cool, although I think I may be able to wean Ryles off the drum thingy because of this...she started to get tired after the 7th song or so... I-Man took his turn on the drum set and lasted about a quarter thru the first song before quitting. I think it will eventually be Ryles on vocals, I-Man on bass, Jessica on lead guitar on.. gulp...me on drums.

..today see us hitting Grandma for lunch, then continuing on to Nanna and Pappa's for Christmas eve, with Santa finding his way down there tomorrow morn. I will return back late Chrismas day for I have to work Friday. I might use time on Saturday to catch up on some stuff around the house....

Dude...you like..um...SUCK!!!!

I kinda think Kanya West is average. But his performance on Saturday night live left something on the table... ouch... click here or google it on the web...

Happy Anniversary!!!!!

We celebrated 10 years on Friday. A lot of times I have a tad bit of chip on my shoulder concerning this but I wont delve into it this year.

We celebrated at The Eiffel Tower Restaurant and that Filet Mignon was as tasty as tasty can be. They came out with a special small dessert (some sorta Chocolate thingy that was flat out awesome) for Jessica and I to share. Jessica also had some sorta souffle that took 30 minutes to cook for dessert. It looked awesome... I just sipped my French Martini, which i had several of during our stay... We all stayed at Paris Las Vegas, and while the view from the room was uninspiring, the hotel itself was pretty slick. It was a definite change of pace from the typical casino hotels. We spent a lot of time sitting around and drinking spirits and people watching. And boy, were there people to watch. The things some women chose to wear was...um...questionable.... yet entertaining. I figure we gambled less tha a 100 dollars while there, but it was nice playing the games and never quite figured out the deal with the supposed free drinks to you when you were playing. I guess me playing at 25 cents a play didnt warrant the "high roller" treatment. We didnt really do a club/dance thing but I dont figure I missed much. Maybe when we return in ten years... I also didnt get to a strip club... sigh... oh well... not like I'm missing out on anything.... the interior of the hotel was like you were sitting outside in Paris with shops and tables outside for people to sit and watch everyone else. Really did remind me of Paris in that while inside, even at 2 in the morning, it was still a glow to the air... all in all I had a blast on the trip and I think it was appropriate for the event. I guess all else I want to say is that I am grateful to be blessed with my family... Jessica , Ian and Rylee. I think we have done good so far and I look forward to 10 more years and the many adventures that it will lead us to...

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

[Chorus:]Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

VEGAS!!!! Baby!!!!

So... we went out to Vegas for a couple of days to celebrate our Ten Year Anniversary. It was a lot of fun and I think overall, the trip went fine. I will post some pix tonight once i get home... the only thing kinda weird about it is the letdown now...I have devoted so much mental time to this trip tha i am now kinda at a loss...gotta spool up for the next event, whatever that is going to be. In the meanwhile, after arriving back home @ 2:30am, I am back at work.

Yea!!! we are more better 7!!!!!

Ryles and I-Man celebrated their official birthday last night...a day early. They couldnt wait to open their last couple of presents from us and themselves...now all that's left today is another cake... Seven Years!!!...wow... I-Man continues his Star Wars/Clone Wars/Iron Man/Batman/Transformers/Hotwheels/Speed Racer/Lego/anything green run O' Loot while Ryles continues to be a little more diverse, hitting Hanna Montana/Miley Cyrus/Barbie/Bratz/Baby Born(in her hand)/"Butteryflies"/anything pink along the way... by the way, that's a Star wars Tie fighter I-Man has, and he went to bed with it over his head last night with his head under it...

by the way, Congrats to Josh on the birth of his Son... way to go, guys...

Next up...10 years of marraige....

KNIGHT RIDER HAS BEEN CANCELLED!!!!!... how could they cancel such a fine and well produced TV show?

in other news, the twins had their birthday party last Saturday at the YMCA. It was a pool party and i must admit that it went better than I initially thought it would. About 10 kids showed up, along with various adults. Most of the kids were from the twins' class at school. And the swimming was a big hit evidently. It was an indoor pool and when you walked into the pool area you were hit by a wall of heat. It felt like it was a 100 degrees inside, except for the blaring sun, which made it actually cool to be inside... imagine a sauna with an olympic size swimming pool. And the twins got a bunch o stuff... a week early at that. Their actual birthday isnt until next week... Today I-Man and I finished the X-Mas shopping by getting his gift to Ryles at Wal-Mart. Did I mention that the twins' Piggy banks (with an aditional jar of money from Pappa) netted them $156.00 for Birthday and X-mas gifts for each other? They will open these on their actual birthday and when we open gifts for family. So..I think we will stick with this program for the future.. nothing like taking a couple of jars of change you have been collecting all year, dumping them in a machine, and having it ring up 150 dollars. I'm like...BONUS!!!

Turkey Week

Wednesday saw my Mother and Brother coming to town and bringing turkey meat. We had Thanksgiving food stuffs with them and put up the tree... Thursday we then headed to Florence and met up with Aunt Ellen, Uncle Wes, Aunt Ashley (and her Mother and Step Dad), Cousin Madison, Grandma Catoe and Nanna and Pappa for Turkey Meat. I actually baked a Chocolate Applesauce cake and it seemed to go over well... Friday saw us come back to Lextown for more turkey meat with Grandma Moore and the long lost enigmatic Uncle Buddy from Knoxville. Came back to the home ranch Friday night and I went over and watched Clemson beat USC...(yawn)..again... like...ISN'T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A RIVALRY OR SOMETHING??? gets to be boring if we win all the time... tsk, tsk... Then Saturday night went over to Brandy and AJ's house for a while...played this strange new game called Costanza. Went to Frat meeting tonight and listened in on discussions on giving bids to candidates...seems like everything that was said I have heard about people since 1994, but it is always interesting to hear the slightly different twists every year... twins having an early Birthday party this coming weekend...more on this at another time...

a small beef

I have very few things that bother me...but... when I do drop by a fast food joint for a burger and fries, I would appreciate IF YOU WOULD JUST GIVE ME EXACTLY WHAT I ORDERED, ESPECIALLY THE DAD GUMMED, FRAKKIN DIET COKE. NOT COKE... NOT PEPSI... NOT Dr. PEPPER... JUST EXACTLY WHAT I ORDERED...a DIET COKE, WHICH I REPEATED 3 (THREE!!!) TIMES.... A SIMPLE, SUGAR FREE DIET FRAKKIN COKE (or PEPSI)

pretty busy weekend...

...the twins were off to visit Grandma for a couple of days this past weekend.... We met up with a friend of Jessica's from work, Chris and Aunt Ellen and Kenneth for dinner at Stax Omega, then saw Quantum O Solange or something like that. It was pretty decent for a Bond movie...

... then I went over to the Homecoming game and stood around on the sidelines for a half and watched the team upclose. Interesting seeing how the team reacts to Dabo... watched the band at Halftime then bolted back to the house...

...It was great to sit around 2 (TWO!!!) firebowls and visit with Chris Sloan, Brent White, Aunt Ellen, Kenneth Russell, Brian Harwood and wife Jessica, Gresham and Cheryl Barker, Mike Spacholtz and girlfriend Christina and talk about old times....

???

I know we talk about this every year, but....

Even though Walmart and the Malls have their Xmas stuff out now... in oh.. say... September, I noticed yesterday while at the Mall that Santa had made the trip into town and was at the Mall taking pictures with children. November 12th!!! I remember when we didnt even have a mention of Santa until Turkey Day at the earliest...now I get to see him sitting in town at least 2 weeks earlier now...

Santa has last laugh.....

Well... "Anonymous".... Santa tells me that you can keep chuckling, but He's ALL DONE. The fix will be that Ryles and I-Man both have piggy banks with about 60 dollar coin in them both... here's the plan...each one splits their banks to the tune of 30 dollars jack for one gift each for their birthday and Xmas for their sibling. I will give them each one of the 2 Toys R Us catalogs (complete with 10 dollar off coupon) we've gotten in the mail, let them circle 3 things they want, and take each one separately shopping for each other to get gifts for the other one... follow that. Any extra things not manufactered by Santa can be retrieved from the Toys R Us assembly line quite nicely, thank you.

Santa tells me that he has already spooled up the ThinkThank for birthday/Xmas 2009. Gotta keep pushing ahead before Obama tells me I need to tell Santa to give gifts to people who failed to plan ahead and spent their stimulus checks getting their hair and nails done or wasting it on 20 inch rims next year. Yeah... i know...complete stereotype there...but...well..its true...

Who's coming? Homecoming?

Everyone is invited to drop by after the game on Saturday... Alumni, Actives,spouses, significant others and kids are all welcome to drop by. We'll be hanging out all evening, so drop by whenever. Need directions, email me or call me or text me...

TV ads suck...

..or at least thats what Santa tells me.... especially when he was telling me today about how he has his list of naughty and nice boys and girls here at the house, and has virtually completed toy making. And how it really sucks when one of those blasted toy makers puts on a TV ad for the newest, greatest, hottest, most possible funnest toy EVER, and you get to hear your son and/or daughter go "OOOOHHHH...that's SOOOOOO cooooooolllllllll. THAT'S WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!....I'm going to ask Santa to bring me that for Christmas!!!!!"...silence...crickets chirping...

Obama Wins!

Obama takes the White House by 7 million ( or so) votes, or a 52-46 count. Time for less talk and more action. I wanna see all this change happen. The Democrats hold the Executive and Legislative Branch. No excuses. if you want to do all these things, I expect to see them happen. if they dont, i suspect you will get booted out too... (see Republicans '94)

glad this is over

I long ago stated that I thought there was a definite slant toward Obama from the NBC/MSNBC, CBS, and ABC. Several studies have shown that these outlets have "reported" up to 70 percent of their stories about McCain as negative. I have seen legitimate questions about Obama go unasked or be downplayed, yet see story after story go on about what dress Palin is wearing. I dont beleive this election has been fairly reported. Perhaps Obama is the right choice. But I dont think all the information has been placed on the table for ALL Americans in the same light about Obama as has been about McCain. I no longer take ANYTHING NBC news has to say about the elections as serious. I may never again. If you are looking at a place for fair reporting towards both sides, I go to www.fair.org It is these types of places where I made my decision regarding my vote... not Foxnews or MsNBC and their obvious or subtle slants on their coverage. Because it was even shown that coverage of the debates and how they had cameras posed on candidates was designed to make you think a certain way about candidates...

..my biggest beef now is ths... if it is so important that you vote, why is this not a national holiday? Or at least change the day to a Saturday. Why do you have to make plans to get to the poll @ 7am or wait in line @ 7 pm?

????

Click here (here) and (here)

Halloween...

I-Man was a.... soccer player. He dressed up in his soccer uniform. Ryles was a gymnast. She dressed up in her gymnast leotard. That is what they wanted to be. We didnt even have to point them in that direction. they decided on their own. So... no trip to the Halloween store this year.... thank goodness...

Hot water

Ok...so after purchasing and installing the new water heater (and removing the old gas water heater), we now have hot water. Had to add a circuit breaker to the fuse box and run another cable and wire directly to the heater, but the job got done. Many thanks to my Uncle for the electricity expertise and making sure the wiring was all good.

Screw Fort Hill Natural Gas... I will enjoy walking in on Monday and canceling my service.

P.S., anybody want a used gas water heater?

Tickets, please

"At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell. But as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found, one Christmas, that she could no longer hear it’s sweet sound. Though I have grown old, the bell still rings for me. As it does for all who truly believe." - Hero Boy

...Santa was talking to me a couple of days ago(we have a surprisingly close relationship) and he was telling me that he figures this might be the last year I can think that the kids will not ask any questions about what is in the house right in front of them...

...After our HD Box went dead on Sunday, I have realized after all the comedy of error on part of Charter, that they are idiots... After 3 days of snafu and a bunch of irate calls and 2 visits to the local office, we finally have cable and HD again downstairs....

..and then did I mention that after I reported the smell of gas near our house, they came out and found the cause of the gas smell way up the hill at another house. Then they supposedly found a potential leak underground at the base of the fron of the house, but they cant actually confirm a leak..but... they cut our gas off and wont turn it back on until we pay to have test run on our lines, potentially dig up our front yard and eliminate any possible leak that may or may not be there...at our expense. Well... looks like the gas powered Hot water heater is about to be heading to the dump and in comes a new fangled electric hot water heater...

So..the comedy of errors for a week is about to end...just when I thought I would have to figure out a way to run power over to where the hot water heater will go...well.. lookee here...whats this? well, i'll be...there is power running down the wall right exactly where I need it. looks like someone was thinking WAAAYYYY ahead of me about this.

So...agenda for the weekend... drop 300 on a hot water heater, get it hooked up and see if we can get it powered up so we can get hot water again...oh, and go to I-Man's last soccer match of the Fall...oh, yeah...Halloween tomorrow night...

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

....or L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs ("Hell is full of good intentions or wishes") - St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Thank goodness this election stuff is about over. Then what, a couple of months before we start it all over again? Seriously....

...but... McCain... has a long record of experience...patriotic...more moderate in the Conservative movement...Obama... a definite catalyst with ability to galvanize people... fresh approach at this level of politics....

I have wavered for a while now, but have remained somewhat right leaning in my thinking in regards to this election. Since the first George Bush, I have had a moderate conservative way of thinking. I supported Bill Clinton, then I supported the current Bush for election then re-election. I think some people mistakenly take me as a neocon, while others assume I am a member of Operation Push. i am none of those things... but here is a sampling of what I believe, for what its worth...

I believe it is a Woman's right to choose (up to a point)

I believe that you should be a citizen of this country and pay taxes to use the infrastructure (schools, hospitals, banking system, etc.)

I believe that it was the right response to go after the people (and the supporters) who attacked us on 911

I believe that the US got sidetracked by greed in pursuing the previous response

I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was part of a large, covert conspiracy to kill JFK

I believe that my money that i work for should not be taken away and given to people who have not worked hard for it. I will decide who I want to assist. Not someone else. If I want to keep every single penny of my money, that should be my right. Period.

I believe that the same people who jumped up and down and accused the Republicans of altering voting 4 and 8 years ago are doing the exact same thing now.

I believe that we are not alone

I believe that the overwhelming majority of the media has slanted the entire coverage of this election process to elect who they want to elect.

In addition, I believe that the coverage of the polling is slanted only to those polls that show Obama ahead by larger margins. Coverage rarely mentions the slim leads in the most respected polls.

I believe that education should be a top priority of our society.

I believe that peanut butter and jelly should be mixed very carefully, with about 2 parts peanut butter to 1/2 part jelly being about right.

I believe that America as a whole is ready to elect a Black man or a Woman as President

I believe that racism and sexism are still a huge problem in this country, and that problem may unfortunately play a factor in this election

However, for me race is not a factor at the bottom line. Obama getting to this point is a fact that I can be proud of in some form. But honesty must tell you that he got to this point because he is black. If he was white, he would quite possibly not even be a Senator. But he has used the opportunities given him and made the best of them, and he is to be applauded for his acheivements in so short a time. However, i cannot support the somewhat far left thinking that he seems to support. Be it the past associations that he seems to always have an excuse for to the more recent comments about redistribution or spreading the wealth. His past comments that are record seem to show support for a socialist way of thinking. While I certainly am not in the super rich, rich, wealthy, well off, or financially set for life category I am still ahead of the paycheck to paycheck category...albeit not by much. And even then, i do not want other peoples money. yes...that stimulus check helped buy an extra tank of gas, but the more you squeeze the people supplying the goods, the more that same tax break or credit is simply going to get eaten up by the increase in costs/price handed down to me by the taxed. And where is Obama going to get all this money for all these entitlements? where is it going to come from? i keep hearing that redistribution thing over and over. Well, we just bailed out the banking stuff...there went a whole heap of programs and other promises by Obama. Then how is he going to keep these promises? by taking from those who have money and giving to those who dont even pay taxes? how is this going to work, let alone even fair?

While McCain certainly has his drawbacks... somewhat ill-tempered, somewhat old, somewhat well... a bunch of things... he doesnt scare me with the radical associations and changes that are potentially out there with Obama (and more importantly..Pelosi). Some people call it the smell test, and when I see Obama at this point in time, I see an untested politician who we are taking about giving the keys to, who has shown bad judgement at times in the past, and who hasnt really done ANYTHING of note at this level, other than run for President. I will say again...McCain has his shortcomings, but I sense that his Change is a better type of change that we need...will McCain keep some Bush things in play?...Yes...will he change some things and end some things...Yes. Does he have experience at this level working? Yes.

Now all this being rambled on, Obama is still playing with the lead. The polls are all over the place, with some giving him a 10-15 point lead (oh, NBC/MSNBC shout about this nonstop...) to some like Gallop and Rasmussen citing a 3 point lead with likely voters (never hear about these polls, do you?) Lets see...the last two elections had both Gore and Kerry winning the same way with the polling data going into election day, where Bush squeaked it out by a 200-300 thousand votes or so. Will the ACORN stuff get Obama over the top in a similar type of tally? we shall see...

So... I am choosing to go with the proven experience and a more temperate mode of change of McCain versus untested and unknown experience and ideas (Do we REALLY know if he is as radical as his friends are or is he just using them to get to the top?) for change from Obama that reek of a socialist society and government acting as a nanny for us all. For me, it has nothing to do with his skin color. It has to do with his lack of record, as well as his on the record statements for what he believes in.

Maybe Obama gets elected and is the person he has led us to believe he is. If he does, I will be happy. For now, he has not met my bar. I have not bought in. I will cast my vote for McCain

"Memories of the past remain in the past, but as you make new memories in the present and walk towards the future, the past is still simply, the best. ~ Mark Aaron A. Corrales "

This has been a kinda cool week in that I heard from a childhood friend the other day, and that really brought back some memories...these come from WAYYYY back, long before band and all of what followed that really steered me toward my friendships, wife and family of today. These are a couple of cousins that I feel I really had a lot in common with, at the end of the day. Our paths veered away from each other as their parents had to move elsewhere, but one of my few memories now of childhood are from playing out in the yard with them. Thinking back on walking up and down the road to each other's houses, I wonder if that would be allowed in todays "here today, snatched and kidnapped the next minute" society...

..I then went to see the old highschool play the local highschool tonight. I had not seen the highschool play since the 80's and, well, they kicked butt just like to State Champs years from my highschool days...I stayed thru halftime to watch the band (of course) then left for I think I will be spending friday nights watchin my kids in some form or fashion soon enough.... be it Football ( i doubt), band, cheerleadin...something... I dont think I want to think about my kids walking around with a cell phone glued to the ear trying to be cool....

I noticed a particular game last Spring during a seemingly random NBA game that seemed to be "aged" and have a different look, with a lot of different camera angles, etc. Well, the Florida State/NcState game had that same look tonight. Interesting thing about this is that it only looks this way in high def. On the "normal" TV upstairs, the game looks normal. It suddenly dawned on me that this must be some sorta way of rehearsing this look for the BIG games in the future. Maybe I'm just seeing things...

...but I did notice that FlaState is eerily in the same boat as Clemson... talented skill players with a average QB, a stout defense that is forced to stay on the field all the time...and... a horrible, inexperienced offensive line makes the offense look miserable....

well, well, well...

Bowden "resigns" today and gets out of town before the lynch mob can get to him. Cant say i wouldnt have taken the money and bowed out too. Imagine what it must have been like...everywhere you go you know that everyone is talking about you, and most people are talking bad about you, when you were trying your hardest to give these same people what they want... imagine knowing that your wife and kids have to hear people curse your name all the time. Yeah.. I know he was (and will be) well paid for it. But imagine the ENORMOUS pressure he was under. And wow...What kinda person must Harper actually be, the way he piled on after the fact with his statements...kinda ironic when it was Bowden who stuck by him over the past year of ineffective performances when everyone else was screaming to replace him. An NFL scout was quoted today as stating that Harper dropped from a potential second round pick to 6th round at best with his statements... At any rate, the "resignation" will set up the AD to make the best choice possible and give plenty of time to search and be contacted about the job. They better not mess this up. He made a good hire in Purnell and he will need to to make a similar hire again or else the out of whack expectations will have the fans complaining again in what?...3 or 4 years?.... I sometimes wonder if this is as much a move to buy 5 years of giving from IPTAY and keep the focus away from the AD and the President. There are plenty of discussions out there about who they will hire. And Swinney may actually be the best fit for now. But I just wonder if we will be right back here before the London Olympics... I think we"ll see more energy overall, and it will be a positive move. But unless we are going to import a bucket of better offensive linemen Gatech will give them a problem, FlaState will present a problem, Boston College will present them a problem and South Carolina will present them a problem. Maybe the Korn factor will allow a different type of playcalling mentality, which I think is what Bowden had decided. Once again, how ironic Harper spouted off like a punk 6th grader who had his Nintendo DS taken, when it was his ass Bowden and Spence kept tryin to call plays for to make him succeed over and over again. I hope Korn shows the abilities he showed in high school and we never see Harper again. But if we do, I hope Harper keeps his mouth shut and plays hard. And I hope i can finally go to a game and not have to hear nothing but negativity from the so-called Clemson Family.

Change, passion and hotties

So... looks like Bowden has said "Look son, I appreciate all you have done but... I got a BIG mortgage to pay, and my job is on the line. If you cant MAKE a PLAY, you got to got to gots to go sit down and if I'm going to get fired, at least I wont have left any options on the bench".... All these fans been talking about playing the backup...well... we're going to see if he's the real deal or not...

I watch Dr. Lou on Thursday nights and while a lot of people like to make fun of him, he does actually say some profound things... one of the things he mentioned last time was talking about having a passion for something... here is his quote..."everybody needs four things in life: everybody needs something to do, someone to love, something to hope for, and something to believe in. You have to have those four things." I heard that and it struck me because that is something i personally have tried to always apply to myself. talking to a friend the other night, I heard them mention that they were a little "down" and and my mental question to myself was "do they have these four things to think about?" I couldnt remember the exact Dr. Lou quote, but found it for them... I always end up falling back on my own little personal statement that sometimes drives my wife crazy, but has yet to not be true... "The sun will rise tomorrow...everythings going to be just fine."

I-Man had a moment the other night while watching the beginning of the race... when the camera showed the Lowes car and its driver, they showed his wife standing beside him. I-Man immediately says "Ohhhh...she's a hottie!!!....wow...she's hot!" (crickets chirping in room as I tried to process the many different levels of meaning and ramifications of that statement) Me..."what did you just say I-Man?"... I-Man says..."SHE'S REALLY HOT!"...giggles and walks off with his lego pieces to make another random vehicle... Of course, when Jessica got home, I immediately waited till the Lowes car was on TV again (not too long, unfortunately) and asked I-Man to tell momma what he told me...she didnt think too highly of his statement....

watchin the game...

I'm watchin this Clemson/Wake game.... here are some observations whilst this game happenz...

Defense seems ready to play... Offense is still playing soft. Our offensive line is playing horrific, snapping the ball on the ground, getting smacked in the mouth by the Wake defensive line...wait...this reminds me of Alabama again here... is this "weak, soft" mentality still rearing its head. Ah... the announcer just said it..."Someone needs to get in the face of the offensive line", he says. The tightend just gets plastered. Harper throws a weak lollipop pass down the field. Davis tiptoes to the line. There goes the announcer again...and he says EXACTLY what i have been saying all along..."I put this on the players. They are not performing"

Hmmm...Good pass down the field. But...Davis seems to be running NOT to get hurt. That means he has no confidence in the offensive line. Well...then again, the replay shows Wake guys standing there as soon as Davis gets the ball.... And down goes another lineman. What? We calling Daniel High tomorrow for some linemen? ...tsk, tsk.... a fake punt and the line cannot get a half yard.

OK..It is now EXTREMELY obvious. The old adage still holds true. The offensive line is HORRIBLE and it has pretty much affected the entire team, especially the offense. Defense still seems to be playing hard. I know what I do when playing my videogame, when I cant run the ball. I THROW THE BALL EVERY DOWN!!!!... I dont care if its 1st and inches...I throw it EVERY DOWN. Spiller and Davis are going to get drafted anyway. I tell the linemen to just get in somebodys way for 2 or 3 seconds... and i just start sending everyone out for a pass...

OH...yep...announcer said it again..."If you hit Clemson in the mouth, they just dont respond" and he also said "the players know they are good. They just are not playing" I am sure that Bowden will get hammered and I am sure he has jumped and down and spoken til he is blue about playing hard and with intensity. But have you seen ANY clemson player show ANY emotion? I am tired of hearing the crap about Bowden. I want to see all these skill players MAKE A PLAY!!!! Goodness. If you want to fire Bowden, go ahead. BUT...things wont change with the next coach until the players change. Period. I am willing to bet George Patton, Hannibal, Vince Lombardi, General Lee, Lou Holtz or General Swartzkopf (sp) could all show up and yell at the players and it doesnt seem as those the guys on the offense would show any life... oh another throw to Kelly who seems to get tossed around like a ragdoll everytime he catches the ball... his draft stock is falling everytime he gets shown on TV.

OK...halftime... went to Talladega over the weekend. That was pretty awesome. my guy was doing awesome until the big wreck at the end and he gets taken out. Got a chance to see Kristen in Atlanta on Saturday night after spending time with Andrea and Will at a bar, listening to Will try to persuade me as to his side on a variety of subjects. Not sure he was persuasive enough...heh, heh. At any rate, spent the night at Harwood's and we drove on to the race where we surprising drove right in and parked with no traffic, and after the race got out of the parking lot in about 5 minutes. By the way, my guy and the guy who caused that huge wreck got into a fight/scuffle at the track today. That's why I cheer for the #29, baby!!!

Ok..Second half. lets see what happens. Wow..the announcers just said what I said above. Just start throwing the ball...

Well, looking at this... The offensive is obviously an issue. But Harper is showing NO leadership now...taking too long...looking with that DEER in THE HEADLIGHTS look. So time and time again, they have left the defense hanging. Sooner or later, Wake is going to score.

offense showing a tad bit o life.... BIG interference call.... time out. Harper is WAAAYYYY too chalant. I see the coachs yelling and screaming at the players, and Spiller getting in the players faces. Spiller seems to be the only guy being a leader.... and he's out of the game.

FINALLY.... A gutty drive for a score.

Last time out called after it seemed some sorta trick play was being setup and some people didnt have a clue where to go. I sometimes wonder if having too many good players is NOT agood thing. it looks like we spend too much energy trying to get everyone the ball....

Harper throws an interception..oh..like... RIGHT to the Wake guy. Hmmm...wonder if thats Bowdens fault too....

Wow...on a Davis run, as soon as he is given the ball, he runs into the back of an offensive lineman that has been driven backwards into him. wow...

Wake drives. Throw into the flat. Clemson guys needs to make a tackle...whiffs. Wake scores...

Wake guy runs thru and over two Clemson blockers to sack Harper...

...and how many Clemson players do we have to see get knocked out of the game???????

Our offfensive line is terrible....

Kelly doesnt hang on...hmmm...imagine that. Has he ever made an IMPORTANT catch?

OK... People are going to scream for Bowdens head. I am not sold it is totally his fault. And beware of watch you wish for. but... when do we start to call out the players who are supposed to be great? Harper showed NOTHING. The offensive line is horrible. Its real convenient to blame the coaches. And you can see the anger in Bowdens face with his players. But I guess somebody has to pay for the way out of whack expectations for Clemson football. Lets see what happens....

Nothing but negativity for the rest of the year for Clemson football. I wonder if those fans who show up for Gatech will show up to cheer Clemson, or boo the coach?

well.. I passed 4 gas stations that were closed...out of gas entirely...came across a Pumpers that had regular unleaded and...DIESEL. Mercy, mercy, mercy.... pull in, and get the gas so I am good for a couple of weeks at least.

This so called bailout got shot down yesterday. Maybe if they wouldnt have tried to have all this crap added to it... money for all types of radical groups... no oversight initially...what are these people in washington thinkin? And dont think people cant see that this is BOTH sides that are trying to screw us over. Republican president and Democrat led House and Senate. Seems like the people in Congress and Senate got bombarded by calls and emails and with elections coming up in a month, they cant afford to not listen now, can they? But i wonder what wouyld happen if all this had happened in February. Would they listen then?

By the way... as long as president Barker and the Trustees are happy with Bowden, no amount of whining by the Clemson fans will force a move to remove the coach. And all indications are that as long as Season tickets are where they are, the teams wins 9 games every year, there is no public embarrasment to the institution... and most important...Bowden offers no threat to their power.... Bowden will not be removed. The major reason they removed West wasnt because he went 3-8, it was because only 40,000 people were coming to games. They will remove Bowden only if their is an obvious lack of ability on his part, and the Financial bottom line starts to change. So...if Clemson fans continue to come to games, they can bitch all they want as far as Barker cares because he would rather have a Bowden who is in line with the "Family" than a Ford type coach who maybe usurps their power at Clemson. I still contend that Clemson will only succeed at the highest level when everyone gets on the same page and moves in one direction, not trying to protect their own little places of power.

ya know...I was going to respond to stuff about the football game, but I just am starting to not care right now...it aint that important right now... I have to go get in my car and take a gamble that I can find a station within a 50 mile radius of my house that actually has diesel available to purchase. I have been putting it off because every gas station around here has a 1 to 2 hour wait. THIS is they type of stuff i feel Obama and McCain have NO CLUE about. Non...not at all...I'll say it again...when was the last time THEY had to pay for gas. instead, I am paying for their gas, and their campaigns while I am fixin to go get in my car and pray i get back to my house... of course you here very little mention of that on the networks...

tsk, tsk...

Lots to say about the Tigers, but since I am guessing that there will be a gut check internally on the team, I'll wait and pass judgement after their next game. I think it isnt the coaches. I think its the players. You KNOW the coaches had a sense of urgency against Maryland. You could see it. The players didnt. And dealing with that same age bracket in another venue, i can tell you from experience that they dont EVER get it until its too late. They never learn until they experience the exact thing you talk about over and over and over trying to prevent it from happening. Bowden jumped up and down and yelled at his team to not let up and close the deal during halftime. But it was obvious the team kinda started out going thru the motions in the second half, and I have seen it happen time after time with these college kids... they think that the other team is simply going to give up and they let them hang around and Suddenly...you are in a dogfight and 1 or 2 plays go against you and you are sacked with a loss... Happened with Southern Cal, happened with Florida.... At any rate, the season is far from over and the Conference championship is still attainable.

oh and another thing....

I am looking forward to see how UGA handles Alabama tomorrow. UGA has the advantage of knowing that Alabama is not as bad as everyone thought entering the season. But I believe Alabama is going to try to do the same thing to UGA that they did to Clemson, because UGA is essentially Clemson, except better. if you think about it, there are a lot of similarities.... great skill players, offensive minded coach, way out of whack expectations of fanbase, a general obsession on what color uniform the team will be wearing every week,a single national Championship eons ago... and... a very fragile psyche in many phases of its program. I expect Alabama to try to come out and punch UGA in the mouth like they did Clemson. UGA will be expecting this. The key is if UGA will be able to then sustain the body blows that will follow. If Alabama wins this game, then it will be even more proof that the Alabama game with Clemson is more of a situation where Alabama was simply better then and better now than Clemson.

P.S. in a slightly band geeky note, I look forward to hearing two BIGTIME band programs go after each other. Guarantee that you will hear BOTH of those bands bringing the heat all night long, play after play....

just goes to say....

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Will Rogers

last night was a perfect of example of why I just dont get that worked up over a Clemson loss...Southern Cal is a FAR, FAR...FAR superior team to Oregon State. And yet they showed up, seemed to think they would just automatically win, and by the time they realized they needed to step it up and play at a high level, it was too late. This is what happens when you have 18-22 year olds playing a game... the better talent, no matter how well coached or prepared, just doesnt believe what you are telling them. And they think they are invincible. And Oregon State was a perfect example of what happens when everyone is "All In" from the team to the cheerleaders to the band to the fans. I am wondering what will happen in Clemson if Maryland scores first? Will the fans sit down and start mumbling and cursing with their arms crossed? Or will EVERYONE pull together and try harder? I'm hoping that the Clemson Family figures it out...

And of course the Bail Out crap is all messed up, because the same stuff that caused the issue is popping up with the Politicians who are supposed to be fixing it...GREED. From both sides... I dont want to hear anything from OBAMA...does this guy ever do ANYTHING other than stand apart and yell about how he is going to Change things? As for MCCain, well...he seems to be pandering to some groups and i am not feeling the supposed rhetoric he is spewing either... But... I am still not understanding why i have to pay for the bad loans of others. We work hard every month to make sure Citimortgage gets their money and we certainly did not apply for a loan that we knew we would not be able to pay for. Same goes for Jessica's car. Yet there are people out their who feel i should pay for other peoples mortgages and car loans. How about the people who gave them the loans in the first place giving up ther money that they made off these bad loans? Whoa...wait...cant do that...lets get the GOVERNMENT to bail us out.... Well... obviously we are at a point where the governement needs to say/do/govern something in this mess...but why do i get the feeling that they will ultimatly run this in the ground like so many other things? As I have said before, I can be compassionate to people who areless fortunate than me, but I feel I should get to decide what to do with the money i earn, not other people. If I want to spread it around, I will decide who and where to spread it to. Why do people want to tell me what to do with what i have worked hard to earn? Can someone tell me?

Shaking head...

So... I am going to give this Knight Rider show a shot. So far, it kinda is corny, although the car is about as awesome a Mustang Cobra Transformer Knight Rider wannabe thingy can be on NBC. Its kinda weird that a character named Billy is the EXACT same guy that plays a character named Billy on Battlestar Galactica, that was killed off on that show a while back... the show also seems to be a commericial for Ford Motors....

Meanwhile, I saw perhaps one of the coolest shows ever the other night of Family Guy. It was a show that was basically telling the store of Star Wars, but cleverly done.

Tomorrow has the season premeir of The Office. Obviously, I have pretty much zoned out of the political stuff for the moment, although I really am kinda annoyed about having to bailout the financial crap...I really dont feel I should have to pay for others peoples greed, but I guess it happens all the time and we've been paying for it already... I just done feel the Socialist vibe I am seeing from all of this... but obviously we cant let the system go to pot, so...

How quickly you are dismissed...

Watching the football game tonight when they mentioned the Wake Vs Florida State game this weekend, and talked about the winner would win the ACC. No mention of Clemson, despite the fact Clemson has to play them both. Wow...this is what happens when EVERYTIME you get on TV in a big game, you take the gaspipe. No respect for Clemson until they kick Wake in the mouth and then take out Florida State. Lets see what happens...A couple of more tune up/fine tune games over the next 2 weeks... I'm thinkin that Clemson will come out fighting. I'm hoping they will come out fighting. And I am ALL IN, as they might say. I just wonder if most bandwagon Clemson fans are too...

I had the opportunity to do the photos at a wedding this past weekend. I've been to a few weddings and they have all bee great events that celebrate 2 people commiting to each other. But I found this wedding a little different and very unique. It was out in a field behind a barn. They got some tables and strung up some lights and got a boombox and had a party afterward.... iliked the atmosphere at this wedding... it was really cool....

Dealing with the twins and how simple they see things is always eye opening... like watching my son eating pizza and watching the same episode of Phineas and Ferb for the 37th time. Pizza is greasy, and he has to take off each peperoni and eat it separately. And when a commericial comes he has to get the remote so to fast forward. of course, he simply licks his hands several times then picks up the remote....

head games....

... If there is one thing i can see about this election, it's this... Sara Palin is clearly...CLEARLY... inside Obama's head, and the Democrats as a whole. Listening to Obama, even his public speaking has changed, from a position of confident front runner to a position of defense. To me, he is concentrating t0o much on deflecting instead of getting his message out. From my point of view, it is panic and even more PANIC coming from the Left. And the attacks are flinging from both sides. 50 more days of this, I figure. This is what I can see happening... it is starting to look to me that even if Obama manages to right his ship and hangs on and wins, he is in a weakened state and Palin will return in 2012 as a very..VERY formidable opponent. I still say that if he chooses Clinton, this would have not even been close. The Republicans would have folded tent and gone home till 2016. And I am beginning to think the Dems should have had their ticket as Clinton/Obama. Do that, and they have the White House for 16 years. Instead they may barely get in, and will be under fierce attack from day one. and set themselves to lose in 2012. Ultimately, i see a Clinton vs Palin campaign in the future...and THAT will be one hell of a catfight, heh, heh, heh....

by the way, Olberman and Mathews have been "reassigned" on MSNBC. yeah... "reassigned"...sure... whatever you say.

Looks like I-Man will be Goalie for the majority of matches this season. He has moved up in age group and there is an obvious difference in coaching and expectations in regards to level of play. And did I mention that Ryles is doing dance and baton, as well as Gymnastics? It makes for a busy week...with Monday being gymnastics, Tuesday being the first soccer practice, Wednesday being Dance and Baton, Friday brings the second soccer practice and Saturday brings a soccer match. Whew...and then it starts all over....!!! A busy weekly schedule for the Fall, it seems...

Watching USA vs Trinidad and Tobago... pretty slick home jersey for the USA side.

I talked with Santa today and he is starting to finalize his list for I-Man and Ryles. I am fortunate to have a pretty good relationship with the man, and he's starting to spool up the toy making machine. I told Santa today about how good Ryles seems to read now, and how good she is about getting on the internet. Santa told me that it wont be long before she starts trying to branch out from the Hanna Montana/Waverly Place/Barbie/Hotwheels websites on her pc. I guess she might be able to read this one day...probably not anytime soon... but eventually.

you would think...

Kids are supposed to be in bed, right...but I hear my computer chair rolling back and forth upstairs. Obviously they are in our bedroom catching some more Suite Life of Zach and Cody, even though they have seen every episode 23 times, AFTER they have been put to bed. So... I walk over to the steps... Cough loudly a couple of times...listen...no movement out of our bedroom... i start walking up the stairs...SLLLLOOOOOWWWWLYYYYY....step by step. Now, each of of those wooden steps makes an agonizing creaking noise when stepped on. Surely they will hear me and make a bolt back to their bedrooms.... i hear no tell tale pattering back to their bedrooms....OK... I get to the top of the stairs and make a big production of opening the front door and going out to my car (right outside our bedroom too), then coming back inside and locking the door. Surely they would have retreated to their beds and be "sleeping", right? Nope... so i walk to the door expecting to have to dodge a mad dash past me. Nope... walk in and here they come..PANIC on their faces. The look is that "BUSTED!!!" look. But i cant help but think that while they are certainly advancing and growing up, simple things like how to avoid getting caught, etc. havent dawned on them yet. And I realize that maybe that isnt a simple thing....

taking care of business

You get up every morning
From your alarm clock's warning
Take the 8:15 into the city -BTO

The press conference to announce my pick for President has been called off....

Tigers take care of business against the Citadel. Should continue to do so until the next real road test... Panthers take care of business too...

watchin the speech tonight....

and mcCain seems a little uneven, but a eloquent speaker he is not. It seems to be typical of all these speeches.... lots of flourish and generalities, and nothing of substance. i look forward to seeing them all speak specifics. I am not sure the person who wrote this for him was thinking of how Mccain speaks when he wrote it. And it is coming off as a little...um... stiff. But, well... i understand that about McCain. And it looks as though he ended on the stuff he was more familiar with, and felt more comfortable...

But I really was pissed off by the protestors who chose to interrupt his speech. It's one thing to disagree. its one thing to protest. But this is why I look at Democrats (the fring loons of the party) and it makes me not want to have ANYTHING to do with them. Surely the same thing could have been orchestrated at Obama's speech. But notice that he was allowed to speak. Why wasnt McCain given the same courtesy?

"The more we take the less we become, the fortune of one man means less for some." - Sarah McLachlan

Watched Governor Palin's last night over at Harwoods' place... It was an amusing speech and she delivered it well... looks like she was trying to make sure everyone understood she wouldnt pull a Clemson and fold under pressure when punched in the mouth. She made some references to a couple of things she has done and it was basically an introduction. It was a good speech. It didnt get into much specifics, but did lay out what her experience was... Some people immediately started saying that she didnt write it. Well, i dont think ANY of these guys, including Obama, writes ANY of their speeches so that is a non issue. It is how they react to the non scripted moments that will be telling. It seems this Veep choice for the Republicans matters more than the Democrats and it will probably be 2 on 1 for the rest of this race, as far as the public goes.... Brown asked me if I was swayed to vote McCain. No. I am not. I have not been swayed to either side.

I have noticed a subtle change starting yesterday with NBC and CNN with what seems to be an attempt to be a tad bit more even in their reporting. An obvious slant (just as with Foxnews to the right) but less of the overt cheerleading that you see with Olberman and Mathews on MSNBC. Polls are showing that the public is starting to be turned off by the love affair some are outwardly showing toward Obama, and a somewhat overt sexism toward Palin (and Clinton) and I think the smart people will pull back the overt cheerleading. I also think that Olberman will continue to be out of control until someone reigns him in... I wonder if Olberman would have gone off the deep end if Tim Russert were still alive.

Anyway... on to more important things. Plans for Talledega are pushing forward. I'll be at that Oct 5th race and it will leave only Richmond left as the track I need to get to in Nascar.

"Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness." - George W. Bush

Govenor Palin as a choice for Veep has proven to do exactly what I believe a lot of Republican strategists may have hoped for..."Obama who?" Hardly any conversation of him except to point out the inexperience question, which is probably Obama's biggest weakness. The issues with her family and daughter will eventually fade away, i feel. just as most scandals do and i think that this is just the beginning of these two months... You will probably see more stuff come out in regards to Obama and more stuff come out in regards to McCain. this is ALL going to get real nasty, and I might just go back to listening to Sports talk again until November. But then again, with the Braves in freefall and Clemson nation getting punched in the face and crying to mommy, I might just have to stick to the 80's channel on XM. But.. I was thinking...if...and its a big IF.... Palin makes it thru and this all becomes a positive, it might be Sara Palin who becomes the face of the Republican party, not John McCain. And it might be Palin who is able to win the center like Bill Clinton did. I think ultimately the Republican party is slowly reinventing itself and if Palin emerges out of all this stuff intact it might be this CHANGE that is what actually makes a difference, not the supposed change Obama keeps spewing.... by the way, Obama did sorta denounce the media frenzy regarding the daughters pregnancy, but of course, NBC, MSNBC and others keep pounding the issue over and over. How many times have i have this exact phrase on the today show over the past 2 days???... "Governor Sara Palin's unmarried 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant."...over and over and over... As my friend in Florida mentioned in his comments below, I wonder why Obama doesn't forcefully stand up and say..."everyone...Stop It!!!" but he isnt that type of leader, or at least hasnt shown that to me yet. If he is going to go ballistic over comments about his children, then why is it OK to tacitly let the Kool Aid drinkers continue to do this...yeah, i know..he made a statement. But it was...well... surprise, surprise... "weak"... by the way, I wonder if Obama has forgottn how close the margins were in the last 2 elections...close enough that 80, ooo in Ohio that might vote for him (including me) could be swayed if he showed some leadership... that same 80,000 that gave Bush the election...

by the way, ESPN can stop running that commercial where they knock Howards Rock off the pedestal...I am beginning to think that that might be the bad karma moment for this season. And EA Sports can quit running the NCAA '09 game commercial that shows Clemson n the game...alright..enough now... please?

... looks like Hanna will not be as forceful as once thought, which is good. However, it looks like the twins are going to have to hit the Fair with Grandma on Thursday night instead of Saturday as rain is going to be prevalent this weekend...

I still think (right now) Obama wins in a squeaker....

"You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today's world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms." - Neal A. Maxwell

My old friend from high school has been blessed to adopt. It is good to see him progress to this next step in that "circle" people keep mentioning.... Congrats to John and Pam.... and Lauren Grace. As a lot of people who read this have found out, a lot of things change and only begin to make sense when you are blessed with another life to be truly responsible for.

Speaking of children... I think the choice of VP for McCain is a cagey and risky pick, but i certainly dont understand how the Democrats even remotely think they can talk about her experience when they have the candidate they do. It is extremely hypocritical and I dismiss anyone who thinks that somehow being a communtity organizer makes you more qualified to be President than her stints as a small town mayor and Governor for a year and a half. Heck, Obama has been running for President the entire time he's been Senator. So.... any argument against Palin in that regards is disregarded and seen as plain stupid by me. If you wanna disagree with her politics and policy, fine. and the people who are piling on her because of her daughter have no clue. No matter what you teach your kids and no matter how hard you try to guide them, they are going to make mistakes...and then make mistakes again. Even Obama himself has tried to remind his FANATICS (and thats what i will call these airheads who are blogging and saying this crap about her daughter) that his mother gave birth to him when she was 18. Now Barack Obama's birthday is August 4th. You do the math on that one and guess what age his mother was when she became pregnant with THE CHOSEN ONE. Dont hear people talking about that, do we? And we shouldnt. I agree that the children of these candidates really should be left out of this. While it is to be noted, it is a family matter that they will address. But this wont stop the Kool Aid drinkers from being shrill with their crap about Palin's daughter. What are they so afraid of?...worried that Obama's supposed easy walk aint going to be so easy anymore? While I am still sitting on the fence... crass and ignorant behavior from the far left whack jobs will keep pushing me to the right.

Now... Hurricane Hanna is looking like its going to give us a little rain toward the weekend. heh...and we need every bit we can get. i just wish we could get rain in a steady normal downpour instead of flash flooding.... but we gotta get what we can while the gettin's good, so they say.

tsk...tsk...

Clemson and its weak mentality reared its head again last night. The entire Clemson community as a whole suffers from this, as i see it. And the football team exemplifys it over and over. Hit Clemson in the mouth and instead of hunkering down and fighting, Clemson folds and starts fighting with itself. Once again, toughness was an issue at the line of scrimmage and it doesnt matter who runs the ball or passes the ball, when the offensive and defensive lines are as weak as they showed last night, no coach or player can consistently win against superior competition. Last night, Clemson gets down early and the band fell silent...the cheerleaders started standing around the as usual, the Clemson fans in attendence started pouting and the players looked around at each other. instead of pulling together, Clemson pulls apart. EVERYTIME..... as I have said before, there is a "play not to lose" mentality at Clemson. And you see it in every major sport. In football, if the team gets down by 10, the fans start bitching. In basketball, a missed free throw brings an audible groan from Clemson fans, and the pressure mounts on the players. In baseball, it has always been the releif pitching and the World Series... Ever notice that the big time college programs hunker down in adversity situations and fight? ever notice that when its all falling apart for Duke basketball on the road, they band together and fight thru it. they may lose, but they dont just give it to you. But Clemson will just roll over and start crying if in a fight... and its sad. The band stops playing and gets quieter even if exhorted to play by the directors. The fans start moaning about Danny Ford and visibly turn on the players. the players stand around with that look in their eyes. And thats the reputation Clemson has nationally. And Clemson will continue to see what happened last night happen again and again until it changes. Oh...they will roll for the next three games or so..but..on the road at Fla State and at Wake, they will attempt to simply run straight at Clemson and say "are you man enough?" and unitil EVERYONE in Clemson Nation stands their ground and answers the question "Yes, I am " and punches back, all the talent and coaching in the world will be negated.

...oh, and I wonder what fools are sticking around in New Orleans this time. Oh, i am sure there will be some fools who stay despite being told a week ago that this storm is coming, and that there will be NO SHELTER or HELP. and you will see them blame Bush when they are sitting on top of their house in a couple of days. And I will say now as i said then. You.. are.. a.. DumbAss...

more random musings....

I heard this morning where they banned a 9 year old from participating in a Little League baseball league because he threw too hard????? WTF??? they disbanded his team and wont let him play. Because he is better than everyone else. This is about as lame as lame can get. If my son goes out and he strikes out 4 times in one game against this kid, I would say "tough going son, go try again. Guess what???...wont be the last time you strike out. Gotta keep tryin...." Tis is very much a part of this EVERYONE WINS crap that even I-Mans soccer league kinda prescribes to. Whats funny is that even though they didnt keep score last year, the kids knew EXACTLY what the score was. But I found it profound and refreshing that while they knew what the score was, about 5 seconds after the final whistle they didnt care. And it was on to the playground, snacks or McDonalds. Didnt matter if they beat the crap out of the other team or lost by 10 goals...they were having fun. Its the PARENTS who ruin the whole thing. And this kid who is smoking it by his peers has learned that to excel at something is not good. I can guarantee that this kid will be caught up to in a few years and the fact that he is throwin 85 miles an hour wont mean a thing. Just ask that kid Almonte from the Bronx who is toiling away in the minors with little hope of ever making it big to the majors...

and by the way, to all you racists who might be thinking that to kill Obama will keep a black man from being president.... you are only making sure he DOES get elected. Or that the next black man who gets to this point becomes a landslide winner...dumbasses...

...I am proud that Obama is at this level and if he is elected, i willbe proud of that fact. But I will repeat again that I beleive that voting for Barack Obama should be about his issues, not that he is black or that he reads speeches well. And that is what I will base my vote on. The fact that he is black has nothing to do with the fact that he is essentially a Socialist in his thinkings (or at least what has been spouted by his Kool Aid drinkers). If he wins my vote, the fact that he is black will be a bonus on a somewhat personal side, but only after the fact. But... as i said above, and is part of an ongoing conversation between Brown, Andrea and me... is that we are slowly starting to see the racial overtones become more and more apparent, and this latest threat of assasination is probably only the tip of what is to come. tsk tsk tsk...they better make sure they do the job because their rhetoric is only going to make sure he gets elected. Somewhat ironic, I think...

by the way...

...with all the stars on the Olympic basketball team, I still say that Dwayne Wade is THE MAN in the NBA. HE was far and away the most valuable player on that team....

been thinkin.....

...Great to see John and Pam this weekend with their new daughter. I am sure they are aware of the change they are going to experience in their lives. But...this is a good change.

...and i FINALLY got my text int the middle of the night. Biden really does nothing for me. Its who Mccain is going to pick I am more interested in. For that will be a factor in whether nor not I give him any consideration. But.... if Obama and his campaign are so much about change, why did they select a Veep who is about as "inside" an insider can be in Washington? If he is so much about change, Biden surely is OPPOSITE that rhetoric he constantly puts out there. And I assume Biden will be the guy attacking for Obama, which is what I would do too. But it just seems that we have been fed a pack of lies by Obama...and the more i think about it, it probably is his Kool Aid drinkers who have been feeding it more than him. Biden is a definite political move designed to get him elected NOW. But...here is what i dont understand.... Biden has been summarily rejected on a national stage by Democrats a couple of times as a Presidential Candidate. (and now that i think about it...so has McCain, but...i digress...) thinking long term would assume that 2016 would see Biden running as the Dem Nominee. Do people really think he will have a prayer then? No way, I say...and I see this move as a purely WIN NOW and WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW THEN move. pick Clinton and the might have very well had the office till 2024 at least. who knows... but I sense a tad bit of desperation that perhaps wasnt needed by Obama. I think he has definitely shown a thin skin that again makes me see him as "weak" but... man... this just reminds of sports in so many ways...Obama now in a prevent defense playing not to lose... McCain throwing the ball with abandon because he has nothiing to lose...

Ok...this drought thing is gettting a tad bit out of hand.

WTF?

WE LOST IN SOFTBALL????? HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE????!!!!!!

anyway, I was getting ready to head to bed early last night when...whoa...wait...what's this???? USA vs. Guatamala in World Cup Qualifier. Awesome...gotta watch this... but...its like the game was played at the Tiger Band practice field, except with worse lighting and 20,000 people. Honestly...it looked like they rolled in some of those portable lights you see in the parking lots for the night games at Clemson. I had to keep standing 2 feet from my TV to see what was happening. But...USA wins and gets out of the country with a win....

Yesterday was the First day of school for the twins. First day of First Grade. FINALLY!!!!!! Places them into the graduating class of 2020. its always weird as I dropped them off at school...they hop out of the car and they're gone about their way... its strange that they essentially have their own little world that i am not really privy too on a hourly, daily basis.... no cell phones though....

This gymnastics stuff...part Deaux....

...OK...first of all, watching this supposed competition makes me really wonder just how this crap is judged...the american girl does her vault and while not perfect, she at least lands on her feet, bounces a couple of times and walks away with dignity. The Chinese girl goes and vaults and lands almost on her face...landing on her knees and hands. And gets a better score. Dont give me that higher degree of difficulty crap. Shouldnt you at least have to actually land with your senses? given this whacked reasoning, I should be able to squeeze into some tights, and go down and throw myself into the air spinning and twisting in some vault that has the highest level of difficulty, land on my face breaking my neck, get carted off to some Chinese dungeon beneath Tiananmen Square and score better than the American girl. RIGHT? Right? RIGHT?!?!?! well this would be like John taking Laurens Junior High 7th and 8th grade band students and having them march at State Marching Band Festival and... well...since they are playing Flight of The Bumble Bee on upside down instruments...well...they score a 98.7 since their level of difficulty is out the roof. I am not following it... I think I'm just going to ignore this stuff till they figure out a way to be fair about the judging. I dont really care if the USA people win or not. well, maybe not true. I probably do care. But if the judging is fair, well it's all good.

Meanwhile, can't we find any fast black boys and girls to run track anymore? Where are they all?...trying to make Rap records? We got Jamaicans running at half speed blowing kisses to the crowd kicking our ass. Do we need to get some better steroids? Man... so what are we left with now?.... Womens soccer..barely. Men"s basketball...barely. Beach Volleyball? Volleyball? One robot we have disquised as a swimmer? womens basketball... womens softball? where did the boxing go? where are our rap artists running track? now that I think about it... i am starting to wonder if I would really care if Clemson went 14-0 and it was discovered later that the players were getting 100 dollar handshakes. Not like it hasnt happened before, huh?

The gymnastic stuff....

...is a little confusing. First, the scoring is whacked. They take deductions for stuff that I just cant figure out. And neither can the people commenting either. Its like if I was to go to Solo and Ensemble , play a 4 minute song, miss one note and squeak once, and get a III. I dont get this stuff... and is it me, or am I remembering things a little different from when I was growing up...used to be I'd watch this gymnastics stuff and you NEVER saw anybody fall, slip, take a step...whatever. may a small step here or there or something. But now you see people crashing into the horse, landing face first into the mats and stuff... same with ice skating. people fall now. Used to never see it. Maybe Wide World Of Sports was just cutting that stuff out or something. And dont give me that "degree o' difficulty" crap. they are all doing stuff I cant dream of even attempting, much less doing....

And I still dont get the 6 year old Chinese chicks... they crash, bobble and get near perfect scores...Everyone else does all these twist, triwls, death defying crap and they have 17 different deductions....

We regret that in the August 13th issue of this blog, i used the word "erstwhile". What was actually meant to be printed was the word "Great" and we retract that statement and ask that you place "Great" instead of "erstwhile"

The Redeem Team is doing what they are supposed to do...took care of business against the dastardly Greeks. Next up, the comedians from Spain.

So..while reading the esrtwhile friend from Florida's comment below, I was flipping thru the cable checking out the extra HD channels that NBC has going for extra Olympic coverage. Whoa....WHAT THE FRAK?!!!!! WEATHER CHANNEL HD!!!! wow...and it looks awesome. Also Animal Planet (who cares), Discovery Channel (cool), TBS (why?) and The Learning Channel(even cooler) all in HD...they kinda sneaked them in... well, i did get an email about it but i think I dismissed it quickly into the trash on the Curve. Of course Ryles immediately started pictching a fit when I turned away from some inane show on the Animal Planet. I can see where this is heading already and that direction aint good. Luckily the first day o school is on the horizon... kinda ironic when my daughter warns me about not messing up her "house" (made of pillows,blankets and cushions from the couches) while I am trying to clean up the house. ah...i then think and wish I could go back in time and be their age again and have no worries or responsibilities except for having to stomach brocolli or green beans during dinner.

...did i mention that The Weather Channel HD looks specatular?...

in related news, the temps are slowly cycling downward...but we have now officially had water restrictions placed upon us. No watering plants and yard basically. Yard already was toast but I might have to continue to sneak in the watering of plants. I have always said that this is the most ideal place to live in the US, and continue to think so, but this drought thing is a little annoying.

As John mentioned earlier, i will chime in...I too wonder why it is that Foxnews covered the John Edwards deal 2 weeks ago and that all the networks sat on this for essentially months. I wonder if the outcome of the primaries would have been different for Clinton if Edwards wasnt in the race during those early contests. Wonder if the media sat on this to keep Edwards from retiring early. With the polls showing the Obama/McCain race virtually tied, i find it amusing to see Olberman and Mathews trying to paint a spin on how this isnt important or that they dont need to report it. But if it was a Republican, they would have been 24/7 with it. Obama will need to come out of Denver smoking hot on the campaign trail becasue if he isnt up by at least 10 percent in the polls come November, we know how this all turns out. It will be 51-49 McCain in the popular vote and McCain will win the electorate.

Two weeks to gameweek and to see if Clemson makes a run. Alabama SHOULD be a win for Clemson. However, Alabama will come to play, and it wont surprise me if Clemson loses. Alabama has too much talent and pride to simply toll over in this type of game. If the game was in Clemson, i would have no doubt. In Obama/McCain fashion, Clemson needs to come out and take control of the game and put their foot on Alabama's neck, else the longer Alabama stays in the game, the worse the outlook will become for Clemson. And i wont even begin down the Fire Tommy crap that will come out. I will say this...I would much rather have a chance to win like we do now that not have a chance to win like we did before.

We have these lights that come on after dark at our house that light up the place like daylight. we had a storm come thru a couple of weeks ago and for whatever reason, 2 of them were not working. Had the power company out here for the second day working on them and you would have thought that we had asked them to work under whips. the look i got from the guys working when I went to lunch was so " i hate you for making me work on this meaningless task" like... but I assume they are working. we shall see tonight, I guess. They left and didnt say a word.

Seems like yesterday it was Dora... suddenly it became The Backyardigans....went to Hanna Montana...now its The Wizards of Waverly Place and... Phineas and Ferb. Where did the time go?

"Shake and Bake!" - Cal Naughton, Jr.

So...watchin this Olympics thing. One of those Chinese guys is amazing, especially on thos e them there rings o fire or whatever it is they do.... but it just kinda seems that sometimes all the Chinese guys do is hop, skip and jump and they get this gigantic score....

Bernie Mac, then...Isaac Hayes. Who next?... Eddie Murphy... or how bout Chris Rock? Goodness...

The Kids start school officially for good in a week. First Grade!!!! FINALLY!!!!!

We got this boat in the backyard now. Its the old Sunliner from Jessica's family that they have had since the late 80"s I think. It should be fun...we plan to take it out some and take advantage of doing some different things on Saturdays this Fall, for a while. Speaking of which, I talked to Dr. Spede and confirmed that the Brooks Parking lot is no longer available for parking unless you cut a check to IPTAY for some football tix.... and it better be more than $350.00 too... and it will probably take a special Tiger Band hangtag to get to the spots above the Brooks Center too. I may not get over to a game til Homecoming or at least South Carolina. But of course, that usually changes once the season starts and since I can always get a band field pass, plans might change.

I guess I could pile on John Edwards, but... since someone once mentioned something about glass houses a ways back, I'll lay off... but it sure does make you wonder about the judgement at that level. Like...dude...you are running for President. Dont you think that sorta stuff might get noticed in todays climate? Not like you can simply walk out your door and go down to the Stop-and-Shop and pickup some Pringles, a Dasani grape soda and a Powerball ticket and it not get some play on MSNBC...

a kick to the stomach

Yeah...I know...for most of you, if not all of you, will think this is a little bit dramatic...but...Skip Caray passed away today in his sleep doing a nap. Who is Skip Caray? well, he was the voice I listened to as a kid, then teen, then adult on the Braves radio broadcasts. if ever there has been a constant with radio broadcasts for me, it was Skip Caray. Even more than Jim Phillips, for my Saturdays once highschool started found me mostly doing band events until a few years ago. But Skip Caray took me back to the late 70's listening to a rickity radio out the backyard while I shot baskets until it was too dark to see, then to sleep late into the night. He is a part of why the Braves are my NUMBER ONE TEAM, period. How many nights did i fall asleep listening to 1600AM while the Braves were on the west coast???...losing yet again.... countless..... so the broadcaster passed away today, and I am reminded that as a fellow diabetic, I have to do a better job of taking better care of myself. At any rate, i will miss hearing his voice on the Braves broadcasts.... flipping thru stations and automatically stopping when I recognized his voice out of the blue. Kinda reminds me that we are not guaranteed tomorrow....

Holiday Road!!!!

Everytime we go somewhere touristy or vacationy, I get this song in my head by Lindsey Buckingham...from National Lampoon's Vacation...If you have seen the movies, you know what i am talking about....

Sorry folks, park's closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya.

oh yeah...and the beach part

We did get to the beach...but we first went to Murrells Inlet and did the seafood dinner thing. But this was a lunch instead, and it was a better idea, I thought. I has some fresh flounder, and was not tricked into eating shark, squid, octopus, clam, dolphin or even... deer. Good old flounder. And it was tasty. We then went to Brookgreen Gardens. That was pretty cool and we walked around the gardens some and saw lots of statues and art, as well as naked women. We also spent time in their "zoo", which was about as close to a tropical rainforest as I need to come. But that was pretty slick. If any of you go down there and you are looking for a change of pace while at the beach, I think you should try it for a few hours. Of course, below is what I-Man thought of the Gardens after about 6 minutes....



Like I said, I-Man's comment was "When do we get to BOOGY BOARD!!!!". Well, we went across the street to the beach and all I saw was a flash and I-Man was into the water for 2 hours and 15 minutes straight. Below is what he was doing for 2 hours and 13 minutes...One minute was spent sprinting toward the water, the other minute was when he reluctantly left the water....






Ryles spent a shorter period of time in the water, and spent her other time in more creative pursuits....




On our way back home, we stopped off to help Uncle Wes and Aunt Ashley celebrate cousin Madison's first birthday. It was the typical mashed cake, smeared icing "what the frak is this?!" sorta event, but She obviously enjoyed herself and racked in some birthday loot.

SO......

I sometimes wonder if I think too much about vacation time...as in, I look forward too it too much and set too high expectations on it. I think its because the amount of days I have are so precious, and are in reality somewhat valuable because I only get so many. The kids have no clue as to what goes into prep for that sorta stuff...for them it's just another day in paradise. Which is the way I want it to be for as long as possible.

...went to beach last week....
The twins got on some rides and made a Car and a Doll.... The rides were pretty cool. They were brought over from the old Pavilion at the Beach and restored. I rode on the thingy that swings you around. That was somewhat scary and I wont find myself doing that again. I-Man was hell bent on riding the big Pirate boat thingy was Jessica rode that with him. He was trying to hold his hands in the air. Darn near flew out of the thing (not really)..... I-man picked out the color, engine, wheels, rims and effects and put his car together at the "shop". Ryles got to have her doll made right in front of her, complete with stuffing and a couple of outfits...oh, and glasses too....(click on their picture to see the glasses and pajamas "Krystal" is wearing)

oh...man....delayed post

for whatever reason, this didnt post when it was supposed to. I have since actually played TJ and it was a short game of 1 quarter, which ended tied...


flippin channels last night when i come across the ESPY's, and there was a commercial for NCAA 2009 for XBOX360.... and they show Clemson on the game...I was stunned and...immediately got up and went to Wal-Mart and purchased that game, came back and picked out a team (Not Clemson) and started working on getting that team up to speed. But...I did setup clemson as my favorite team, and its weird to see current Tigerband members in the pictures on the game. Anyway, TJ.... I"'m coming after ya...its only a matter of time. You have my xbox name. I'll be ready soon.

by the way, TJ and Lisa (and Trace) came by Saturday and its awesome to sit for a while and visit....

WE MUST DRILL NOW...THAT WILL FIX IT ALL!!!!!

...I'm sure that my title will have the same effect as the current The New Yorker cover and people will assume that is exactly how i feel....

let me clarify...Do I think the Oil companies have fault with the current gas prices and oil issue. Yes. Do I think that they are drilling everywhere they possibly can???.... I suspect that some are not. Do I think that simply drilling in more places will solve the issue. No? Do i think that oil companies have stymied the growth and research of alternative fuels and energy? Yes. Do i think that our government currently takes away 3 times as much money per gallon as the oil companies do? yes. Do i think that OPEC and the middle east yahoos think that they can contine to squeeze the US because they know that people will block our attempts to get currently needed resources into place? yes. Do I think we need to come up with AFFORDABLE energy sources and put them into play ASAP? yes.

but what am i supposed to do in the meantime. wait for all these alternative things to come into play 10 yers from now. Like i said before, is somebody going to come take my car and replace it with a hydrogen cell car? for free??? wait...let me guess....Obama and the government are going to bail me out, right? Romney is going to buy me an electric car to get me the 60 mile round trip every day for work. right? oh...no..dont think so... Gas has risen 40 percent but my paycheck has definitely NOT followed that rise. I am fortunate that i make a decent living. but it has already changed things for us. And I suspect all of you. But all i hear is that we need to come up with alternative stuff...OK? fine...sounds good to me...seriously. Well, lets get to it. Wait...oh i get it...we need to let the government pay for it, right? which really means that I am going to have to pay for it. ANYWAY, what are we waiting for? Oh I forgot...Hope for Change i can Believe in...yeah...thats it.... meanwhile McCain is stumbling around mumbling something another that I can't understand....

back on point... 44 million acres and only 10 being used by the oil companies. Definitely an issue there. I suspect that a lot of that 34 million doesnt have oil. I also suspect that alot of it does. At some point something has to give... but like i say to Brown... I am not concerned as much with 10 years down the road as I am with tomorrow. Because 10 years from now doesnt come BEFORE tomorrow. And if I am giving larger and larger percentages of my money to my car and my heat water heater for my house, that means less for my kids. like i have said before, i have pretty much all I need. Its all for the kids now.... It seems like I whine about this a lot, but here is the root of the issue. If a 30 dollar trip to see nanna and pappa is now 70 dollars with no end in sight, it becomes a larger issue that has all sorts of long term ramifications....

Nascar, Snow, Jesse and Obama.... with a little 'Cain

Oh father high in heaven -- smile down upon your son
who's busy with his money games -- his women and his gun.
-Ian Anderson from....Aqualung

While I was saddened to hear of Tony Snow's passing, it did not have the same type of effect on me. Not that I mean to diminish his accomplishments or his obvious talents. It was different. I did think to the old adage about these types of things coming in threes...

I am glad that I have held my vintage 1984 Jesse Jackson for President T-shirt on the bench, based upon the firestorm his comments brought last week. I didnt comment on those because it really is the tip of the iceberg on what a lot of people in the black community think. Jesse came/comes across as jealous (and he may very well be...i dont know...hard to imagine he isnt though) but the black community was slow to warm to Obama initially because he isnt really seen as "one of us"...jumped on the wagon when he started to win in February, and since then are becoming increasing mistrustful of Obama's very obvious shift away from a buch of stances he initially took. "Change We Can Believe In" seems to be slowly fading as Obama is becoming just like all the other candidates, doing and saying whatever he needs to do to get elected. While I would be doing EXACTLY the same thing as he is, his schtick initially was that he wasnt like all the other candidates...and it is being revealed everyday that he is not the Change we can Hope for, but just more of the same thing from the Democrats. But I still am waiting on McCain to see his choice for VP, for I am not sure McCain will see 2012, so might need to see who really will end up Prez by then....

I like NASCAR because it's cool. And if anyone goes to a race, you will be impressed.... but i digress, for I am still wondering why I keep hearing Harry Reid and that scary wild eyed Pelosi screeching about how drilling in new places/more places/old places(whatever that argument is) isnt going to help us and that we wont get anything out of that for 10 years, all the while seeing/hearing people come on TV who are work in that industry everyday who say that they can be drilling actual oil in any location in about a month. I am all for developing other avenues for fuel/power/energy and I think its obvious we need to get away from oil, but...with the overwhelming majority of people in this country living a little bit more than a taxi ride away from work, if the DEMS are willing to drop a $45,000 hybrid car in my yard...wait, make that TWO $45,000 dollar hybrids in my yard, or pay for the solar panels for the roof, or whatever other "green" thing that is hot today...read: expensive, well I'm all for it. But its easy for these politicians to block solutions when they dont have to spend one dime of their own money for gas. As a matter of fact, Obama and McCain are spending MY money for their gas. Wonder when the last time either of them stopped by Exxon or Shell and filled up their car. I 'd love to drive a hybrid, or pursue alternative "green" stuff. But when faced with he scarcity of those options, and the increase in cost of those options, and people blocking any seeming alleviation of my financial burden, I get annoyed. THAT is why OBAMA gets the elitist tag, because its real easy to talk about 72 degree thermostat settings when you dont have to worry about your 72 degree thermostat setting. Bet his kids havent droppeed a bead of sweat or worried about how much a gallon of gas cost, and never will. So we come full circle...When Obama is now speaking (and his speeches have slowly evolved from that HOPE/CHANGE/FINALLY/BELIEVE crap to a I-am-your-savior-I-will-have government-fix-it-all leaning) and telling me that he thinks its sad that we all say "Merci Beaucoup" and I better have my kids speak Spanish, i get annoyed. Its obvious he doesnt do well when he strays from his "script"...

Ok...well, this is all kinda on the surface of a bunch of larger arguments, I guess. McCain is starting to get his act together. Polls today have Obama seeing his 10 point lead gone and its a dead heat. I know the previous paragraph seems to have me leaning toward MCain. But i still remain Independent, hoping someone can make sense and earn my vote. I dont talk much about McCain because..well..aint much to talk about....

The South is still probably the best place to live in the USA, especially here in the area we are in. a somewhat afluent area with very moderate weather, decent sports teams and an easy drive to larger cities. I think things have improved from my parents time to my time to my kids time, and they see a far different time than Idid when I marched into first grade. So its all improving...and as more people like that old man die off, the better it will be....

When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things

just shakin' my head and wonderin'

...about the cover of The New Yorker and just what those guys were thinking. I mean, it actually took me a few minutes to spin that around and around again and MAYBE get what the satire for what that was. I guess maybe it was actually meant to be seen a couple of ways, and that confused me...but... somebody might be out of work soon over that one.... the whole "Barack is a Muslim because of his middle name" is so tired. I guess I'm a member of the IRA because of my first and middle names, huh?

...and isnt interesting that the price of a barrel of oil was starting to drop, when... well, well, well...Iran "supposedly" shoots off a bunch o rockets and starts jumping up and down shouting LOOK AT US. Well.. they did shoot off some old rockets of theirs...nothing new it seems. But of course, that sends the price of oil skyrocketing again. Lets see...Irans total economy is based off oil, and they are totally invested in keeping the entire area unstable and therefore keeping idiots jacking the price of oil up on all fronts.... its like if a Jew steps on an ant in Syria, the price of oil goes up....

...Coach Ibrahim (the old soccer coach from Clemson) passed away over the weekend.

I think I have placed the August Bristol Friday night race back on the docket... if anyone wants to join Harwood and me to see the Cup guys practice and qualify, and the Nationwide guys race, let me or Harwood know...