If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Summer is here. And the livin is easy... or something like that i once heard someone mention... I relented and powered up the AC for the first time last Friday night. Every time I do this I am always reminded how different the experience of childhood is going for my children than it did for me. Of course, I wouldnt want it any other way as I am sure my path has been easier than my parents as was theirs in comparison to my grandparents. But as I see how my children wilt under the heat, i remember that I grew up with no AC whatsoever at home. We didnt have AC in our cars either. Our AC was open windows and boxfans...and rolling down the window in the car. And even now, the heat doesnt bother me to go to sleep. But my daughter has issues if the temp is above 75 degrees in her room... Anyway, a project of mine this summer is to get the kids out into outdoors more this summer (and not just the pool) by sending them off to Grandma's a few times (well, maybe like 3 or 4 times)....

..watching Law and Order -Criminal Intent and I am thinking I like the Jeff Goldblum, Juliann Nicholson pairing just as well as the D'Onofrio side of things

...aquired a Netbook thru work...pretty slick. Now I can retire the old lapper to I-Man so he and Ryles can not have to fight over PC's now. Here is the plan..Ryles and I-man will have their own setups and I can use an old PC Aunt Lynn gave to us as a server of files/music that I can access from work. The only problem is that the 20mb pipe is going to be tested if/when Rylee is streaming Disney Radio, I-Man is playing Monster Jam/Hotwheels/Lego whatever DirectX games, Jessica is looking at Utube videos and I am trying to steam Trackpass at the same time... as well as play a game online with XBOX 360. Let's see how this all shakes out with the router. Curiously enough, i am now seeing a new wireless signal coming from my Internet leeching neighbor. And its wide open...I am thinking about testing his attentiveness by seeing if I can connect ALL our devices to his network. heh, heh... but that would take a larger effort than I am wiling to waste time on right now....

And does everyone really think that Pam is pregnant on The Office?

oh..and if I ever get to see a Lakers game live, I certainly hope I am there when they have what absolutely, positively must be the greatest basketball pep band I have EVER heard.... They must have the Johnny Carson era Tonight Show band playing at their games

200,000 and still going strong

Just went over 200 thousand miles on my Jetta. After a timing belt change last weekend by Uncle Wes, the Jetta is set to continue on (barring a total wreck) for another 100 thousand. I'll keep my 45 mpg in the city and 60mpg on the highway while belching (well, not really...my jetta doesnt do that unless I really get on the throttle) fumes into the air. Toyota, Honda, Obama and whoever can kiss my butt with their 40,000 dollar cars. At least until i decide to upgrade... and it WILL NOT be a Prius or some other similarly ugly supposed "Green" car.

by the way, this from my Facebook post...

"So I am to beleive that Pelosi, a seasoned politician and 3rd IN LINE TO BE PRESIDENT!!! gets up and stutters and stammers and looks at her note cards and tries to make us believe that the CIA are the ones lying here? No one with half a brain thinks she is not lying, including any rational Democrat"

So... after watching Harwood"s shenanigans with other people's wifi routers this past weekend, I went back and made sure our house wifi was at least password protected, and it was. But... since i have always left it open and assumed no one would try to sit in their neighboring house and leech our internet, I figured that it would never happen, right? Well... logged into router, saw 3 devices connected. Main desktop Mac address...check. Lapper Mac address... check. Hmmmmm... there is another Mac address. Ryles computer? not on. Secondary router for print server? not on. jessica lapper? not on. Xbox 360? not on. Nintendo DS's? not on. Hmmmmm.... lets ping this IP address... no response... hmmm... lets check the logs for this MAC Address... AOL!!!???!!!!, I havent logged into aol since like...oh.... 1992 or something.... Time to encrypt with password for "mr neighbor leeching my 20mb pipe" and now maybe Obama will bail him out for his Internet. Encrypted, powered off/on router, logged back in and no body else leeching my internet... now... if he wants to give me a stimulus check to help with my Charter Bill, maybe I will open it back up...

another weekend down

Race at Darlington went OK...the 29 was between 15 - 5th place the entire night... enough to keep my hopes up, but he never really contended seriously.

Today we have the Clemson baseball game makeup. showers early but I am hoping it dries up for this afternoon, at least. While we still need days of rain, I'd like to get this game in. The greenville Drive field is a replica of Fenway park and its actually a great venue...

after that is a typical dreary week of work and school for everyone until this weekend when I will be going to the All Star race in Charlotte and jessica is headin to the beach for her teacher Sorority stuff. No big deal this year for the All Star race... just me in attendance so I will drive up on Saturday morn, do the concert, races and return back to town in early morning... need to figure out something to do with twins in meanwhile....

looks like I have it planned out pretty good this summer with spacing as to events to look forward to... end of June will see trek to Florida... end of July will see trek to New York/New Jersey... not sure about Bristol this August... might have to go by myself this year.... then September will see the usual Fall stuff of soccer/football....

OK... off to Darlington I go today... Nationwide race tonight, with Sprint Cup Qualifying, Practice and Nationwide Qualifying during the day....

some days you win, some days you lose, some days it rains

Supposed to go to the baseball game in Greenville last night, but got rained out. gotta go on Monday, it seems...lets hope the Thunderstorms hold off for one afternoon then...

Well... this weekend saw another soccer match.The Harwoods came over to the match and we got to meet their new son, then went to lunch together. Following that, Jessica introduced Ryles to softball as far as catching. Jessica was a pretty good player back in the day so she was giving Ryles somestarter pointers in softball. Then I-man got to toss some baseball with her as well as me, before I tore my rotator cuff and went on the D/L retroactive to April 28th.... we then went over to Brandy and AJ's house for dinner. Pretty busy day overall...

"Talkin' bout yo mud flap
Six pack, beer crack
Over-taxed, flag-wavin', fun-lovin' crowd
They're heart is in the music
And they love to play it loud
There's no forms or applications
There's no red tape administrations
It's the American Honky-Tonk Bar Association"

As I mentioned before, I was working on getting this Baritone up to speed for I-Man and Ryles to putz around on... i got valves 1 and 2 oiled fine but simply could not unscrew valve 3 to oil it. I could not remember having this sorta issue with the tuba. A quick Email to Brown enlightened me to simply put oil in that little hole on the bottom. That worked like a charm, which is amusing cause I kept looking at that hole, but never put 16 and 16 together.... Now i gotta aquire a tuner and get going getting my chops back (like I ever had any)

Bolt has this song with John Travolta singin' on it. Kinda cool to here him give a solid shot at singing with Miley Cyrus. Of course, I am so up to speed on all the Disney flicks it is insane, as well as all the tween stuff that Ryles likes. At least I-Man is still all about The Clone Wars right now...

As I-Man's soccer season is slowly winding down with a few matches left, I am evaluating if this is something I wanna start pushing with him beyond the "Its just a game ...let's have fun... everybody wins, not keep score" phase. I think I wanna go into the Fall and see how he plays as a veteran at his U-8 level... I think he is not destined for Goalie now. I think my original prediction of defender/fullback is more on point

Today I had a person in a convenience store ask me where Dunder Mifflin ( I had my work shirt on) is located..."I never heard of that paper company before" she said... I told her it was located in a warehouse downtown. She seemed to actually believe me...

Time is moving quickly...

The past weekend saw Ryles have her dance and baton recital... It is somewhat strange to now see her performing on a stage I had the opportunity to perform on countless times... then to watch I-Man play the same piano his mother used to play in Jazz ensemble... weird... Tonight as I watch the Celtics, I am oiling the valves for a Baritone that we have aquired. I-Man was able to produce a solid tone right off the bat. More on this as it develops....

Hiatus over...

Ok... I have been researching some options as to whether or not I wanted to change hosts for my blog. I decided to stay put and keep diggin. I had thought I might wanna start posting vids or something, but have decided against.... So I'll resume a somewhat random, almost daily posting here...

"I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah"

As always, it seems that so much good for me revolves around music, as I was taken to so many places by all the songs at Ryles dance recital the other day. I always seem to lose my way a little when I forget about music and how it changes my mood... for the better.

Family stuff

Bunch of people from Jessica's father side O' the family got together today. The major occasion was Jessica's grandmothers 90th birthday celebration. A secondary reason seemed to be ato get the various brothers and familiam cousins together for a meet and greet.... The kids also did a couple of Easter Egg hunts... I took a photo of the group gathered. It was fine except for one person moved their head and covered one of the group, and their seemed to be a smudge on my lens, which blurred a very small part of the photo... It is always interesting with family get togethers becasue their are so many person, hidden and old agendas that seem to creep up, even for gatherings that are only 4 or 5 hours old. Its like the Frat. Politics are always in play and alliances are alwasy being struck. You have the core family...then the people who have married in...then...you have the kids, who immediately find their age buddies and strike up their own friendships. And then you have the old arguments and grudges from misunderstandings, slights, mistakes and hurt feelings of the past. Interesting, though... And plans are already in place to do this again next year. And I think I will be prepared to make this type of photo more "interesting" next year.... outside of the one person half blocked, which one person looks not like the others, which one of these things is not quite the same?.... just kidding...but amused.... notice the kid with the Easter Bunny ears?

over on facebook... amusing...

"Which Transformer are you?" with the result Ultra Magnus.

"You are one of the strongest and most noble Autobots that Optimus Prime has the privilege to command! Although you have the talent, courage, and power to become a great leader, you have devoted your life to being a soldier for the greater good. Insecure in your own judgement and leadership skills (even though you are the only one with that opinion), you are loyal to your commander to the end. In the battlefield, your fellow Autobots know that you can turn the tide in any fight and so do the Decepticons."

wow..a week just up and flew by... went to SED convention, Crached with Aunt Ellen... sat thru Frat elections and started another work week, caught a quick plane to London for a few hours, then voila, here we are a whole week later.

I have taken the time to ponder if it was just me feeling "sour" grapes or if other friends of mine thought the same way in regards to the Divine Prophet of Hope and Change who can do no wrong and certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt with any experience or track record for us to go on, according to those who say I should just "get over it" Well, today surfaces the video that Obama goes and bows before the Saudi King. Um... our supposed leader BOWS BEFORE ANOTHER LEADER OF A COUNTRY? Well...I have heard from TJ, Patrick, John and Mark who all piped up that they felt the same way. That it is simply getting ridiculous...so I know it isnt just me. I am not just going to sit and just say nothing. If others want to be naive and keep their head in the sand and Hope that Obama will Change, so be it. I am going to speak up. At least I will have spoken my mind and stood for something, even if I am proven wrong in the end. I am not going to stand in the shadows with my fingers crossed that the policies that have failed over and over in the past are suddenly going to magically work...this time. If they do... well...miracles do happen. And it would be a good thing.

I have often said that Brown and I are basically standing on the opposite edges of the same coin. He took a position and has backed up his position with reasoned thought and discussion. I can respect that and am willing to allow that at least he has researched why he believes what he believes. I have done the same thing as I dont want to go out on a limb and not be able to speak coherently on all these topics. (i guess Brown is my Obama... dude, when you going to run for Alderman or something?....)

At any rate..in short...Obama?...really, dude?... you are going to represent me and bow to the Saudi King? You dont see the Saudi king bowing to Obama, do you? Does Obama really want to show us as being that weak?

On deck... Aunt Ellen, Uncle Wes, Aunt Ashley and cousin Madison coming into town Friday for a birthday gig, reunion sorta thing on Saturday. people crashin on the floor and stuff at the house. Cable people supposed to coming on Saturday morn at 7am (yeah...right...) for the THIRD HD cable box... Direct TV telling me I got to cut down this huge tree by the creek in order for them to put a dish right by the road on a pole in our front yard, looking back over the house... RESET the Direct TV idea for the moment and more reseach is coming on that for the moment. I will sluff by on the 2 and a half HD channels soon to be bankrupt Charter is driveling to my flatscreen.

Braves start off good, then bullpen implodes in 3rd game....sigh...

headin' to the road again...

Whirlwind weekend coming up... headin' tomorrow to Cola for the Southeast District Convention. Will stay with Aunt Ellen and get a chance to visit with her. Saturday will see meetings in Cola for the Frat (I'm advising a committee) before getting back home last Saturday night, then back to work on Sunday with KB electing officers on Sunday night.

It"s been a trying year for the Kappa Beta chapter. Some internal issues have hung a dark cloud over the chapter for most of the year. I think that the cloud is slowly lifting and I am looking forward to pressing forward with the new brothers and a fresh, POSITIVE attitude toward service to bands.

Finally...baseball is back. My favorite sport and favorite team of my childhood (notice a theme here), the Braves, starts anew on Sunday. Let's cross the fingers and hope the pitching holds up this year and lets get to September in contention and see where the chips fall. The Mets, Phillies and Fightin' Fish will all be good so the Braves might improve again (as they did do last year) and still finish 4th.

amusing... wonder if MSNBC,NBC,ABC,CBS will mention this...

WASHINGTON (AP) - One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.

The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000. This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.

To be sure, Obama's tax promises in last year's campaign were most often made in the context of income taxes. Not always.

"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." He repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime."

Now in office, Obama, who stopped smoking but has admitted he slips now and then, signed a law raising the tobacco tax nearly 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes, to $1.01. Other tobacco products saw similarly steep increases.

Since no one could tell me where all the bailout/stimulus money was coming from, I found my answer... huh?

By the way... we give GM all this bailout money months ago because we couldn't let GM go to bankruptcy. now...It's OK to let them go to a "soft" bankruptcy once the Government has taken over. So we basically wasted that previous money?

And since we have fired a CEO, why havent the CEO's of banks gotten pink slips? or the heads of the Labor Unions? I'm guessing that the campaign money they donated put them into a TOO BIG TO FAIL status, huh?

Well..it was Tuesday...so...wait for it...wait for it....wait...here it comes..... ANOTHER OBAMA NOMINEE WHO HASNT PAID TAXES!!!!! wow... I wonder what will happen to me if I havent paid $7,000 in taxes. Even if I claim it was an "innocent mistake". Yet this is cool with Obama and the Dems, right? Yep...all that tough vetting. Hmmm....

If its Monday... well...nah...it can't possibly be true, can it?

the past weekend was a tad busy..but was made less frantic when the weather took I-man out of soccer duties....however, he would find solace in a visit to Grandma and the usual jackpot of some sorta Speedracer/Hotwheel/Transformer/whatever action figure... the Frat had their new class join the circle. After what i can only describe as a year of dramatic license within the chapter, they have finally reached the end of the year with SED coming up this weekend in Columbia then Formal in Greenville....Ryles had her Baton and Dance photos taken...I'll post those later... we then had some people over on Saturday night and dodged the rain around the firebowl. Jessica was celebratin a birthday and I went to bed around 12:30. The Harwoods stayed way into the night and...well...whadya know...looks like they will be announcing a new arrival soon... it was indeed interesting to spark up some interesting conversation with Shannon Faulkner, who was in attendence to celebrate with Jessica. Yes...this is THAT Shannon Faulkner, if you are old enough to remember.... It was interesting to talk to her a little about that experience, but I must admit that talking to her left me impressed that there is far more to her than that experience. I hope she becomes a regular visitor....

if its Monday, it must mean another stimulus!!!!

Let me see if I understand this correctly.... you mean to tell me Obama is announcing ANOTHER stimulus package for 1 Trillion dollars today? can anyone tell me that this is even remotely sane? wow...I cannot beleive that people are simply going along with all of this like sheep...

for Brown....

hera ya go...is this blue or purple... I am actually things about staging this for a high key photo of sorts... not like this, but in some similar form.... click on the photo for a larger print... note the aged letters... definitely not something the youngsters would throw on for a early fall tailgate, would they?

"plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

Last Episode of BSG tonight. ER winding down... wont be long till all that's left is The Office, Law And Order and various sportin events

As of this moment, I am officially pondering a moratorium on wearing any of my Clemson gear (except for hats) until a time as which I see ANY Clemson Athletic team actually show up for a game that matters... this goes for my cool heavyweight sideline grey football sweat, purple sweat with sewn on letters, grey hoodie with sewn on letters, Athletic Dept t-shirts, various sideline gear T's and and one of 43 band t-shirts i might still have floating around. It also includes the cool Clemson A & M t-shirt I have been holding in reserve... I am swaying heaviliy to the moratorium...maybe even giving some stuff away....

I have been struck by the tragic event locally of a young boy (2 years old) whos mother went inside for a couple of minutes and left him outside in the yard, she came back out and he was gone. After a frantic search, she called the authorities and after about 24 hours of searching, they found the body a mile away in the river. I cant begin to even think what that must feel like for that family. Those of you with children who read this already know just thinking about losing your kids puts a knot in your stomach. And I am confident those of you without kids have no clue. I just hope that no one ever has to go through that and it is my kids that makes me get so angry with the current direction of things with our government. As I have alluded to before, I am not overtly religious... but when i heard that news yesterday I said a brief prayer for that family and for all my friends families.

I have often mentioned that I wonder what will happen when the twins get older and their relationship changes. Obviously, they are "best friends" right now. I think I see a sliver of the future when I see Ryles reading a book to I-Man in the backseat on the way home from dance. Then they get to a point, and Ryles starts reading a line, then I-Man reads another line with her correcting him when necessary. While I-Man isnt dumb and seems to be doing well in schoool, she is obviously ahead of him and it is amusing to see her go out of her way to help him learn, even at this age.

Headlines today...

Watchin' the Dog and Pony show today on MSNBC with the hearings with the AIG CEO... My feelings about the bonuses are listed below. I find it amusing that this little Headline below comes out today, conveniently snowed under by the coverage of the crap today...

Fannie Mae plans bonuses of up to $611,000 for 4 executives; Freddie Mac has similar plans

Oh...and the Treasury also slipped in that they are going to be printing a trillion more dollars. Look at the 20 in your wallet. It isnt worth 20 anymore.

Oh...and wait...Chris Dodd is actually kinda sorta almost meekly stating that it is someone elses fault that he maneuvered the clauses in the stimulus/bailout/whatever plans that would allow these very bonuses.

Wonder how much tax money is it going to cost to fly Obama and his hangers on, the Press, Secret Service, etc to LA for this Campaign..oh ... sorry... Presidential trip that just so happens to include a stop over with Jay Leno? Noticed that so far, whenever there has been a bruhaha with hearings, etc, Obama conveniently gets on his plane and is out on the campaign trail...oh sorry ... holding town meetings ... with teleprompters...

I think the reason I like Battlestar Galactica so much isnt because of the Sci Fi stuff (it isnt that groundbreaking)or the pretty women (lots of) but because of the way music has been woven into the story sometimes suble, sometimes overt. Since most of the people reading this have some sorta tie to band, you understand the profound effect it can have on your life and the direction your life takes. It is an everyday occurence in mine and I listen constantly at work to about 1000 songs over and over and over. BSG also has struck a chord with me because the characters have never been totally typecast into certain "roles" and that all of the characters had flaws. You gotta take the good with the bad, I have heard people say....

If its Tuesday, it must mean another bailout...no...wait...Nevermind.... Now we see this Administration telling Military Veterans that they will have to get insurance to pay for their medical bills for injuries incurred during service to the USA. Ummmmm....am I reading this right. You mean to tell me that Obama expects a soldier, if he is wounded in combat, comes back to the States, and has to have further treatment... that he expects them to pony up a deductible and cross their fingers that good ole Blue Cross will foot the bill? Wow..I knew his inner circle was arrogant, but...WOW!!!! If this becomes true, there goes that segment of vote for good. Does Obama think that he can just go running way off into Liberal Kool Aid land wacky left , Commie Land and think he will be able to keep that swing vote that got him elected?

Now I must agree that the indignation over the AIG bonuses is justified for the most part. But what of Chris Dodd? He and Geitner KNEW that this would happen and manouvered so it would remain so. For them to be standing up jumping up and down is hypocritical, isnt it?

And of course the "Politics of Change" sees the DNC attacking South Carolina's Governor for trying to use the bailout money to pay off debt... which is what virtually anybody who gets a windfall of money would do, right. Pay off the bills, then look at what"s left to spend. But...Obama doesnt want the stimuls to go anywhere they don't control. This is starting to seem more and more about...Control. Control this stimulus and bailout crap and be able to control power and...votes. Far be it to let the money go to pay off debt. doing that would mean that Obama and the administration would not have...wait...here it...comes... Control over you.

...and Pelosi is clamoring for the Newspapers to be bailed out. Whatever happened to the market deciding that Newspapers are no longer needed? Oh...I get it...The newspapers would then be beholden to her, wouldnt they?

Starbuck: There's this one song that he taught me, it made me feel happy and sad all at the same time

The Piano Player: The best ones do.

I am starting to beleive that a LOT of people were adversely affected by the time change. This seems to be more than the usual "grab-a-quick-nap-on-Sunday" and it clears it up thing. It seems to have lingered way into the week...very much like jetlag...

Here is what I have to say about Clemson Basketball.... ?....

? ..... ? .. .. ?

? ... ? ?

.. ? ? ...

Last episodes of Battlestar Galactica starting tonight.... ER last night was somewhat dissapointing, although I did get how it was all tied together....

another day...

another day...must mean another stimulus bill. While some of you must find this boring to be kept mentioned, but today ANOTHER 410 Billion in spending was passed with almost 9000 earmarks. Earmarks Obama promised in his campaign to not allow. But now...its a "We'll do that the NEXT TIME".... very convenient...how much you wanna put down that the next bill he wont cut out anything. Seriously. How much? I dare anyone to take me up on it. And Pelosi is today stating that another Stimulus Bill is being written right now.

This is more like it...

Temps in the high seventies...THIS IS WHAT WINTER IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE IN THE UPSTATE!!!!

.. I-Man had his first Soccer Match over the weekend...he was in Goal for about a half, then played some defender and a short time at forward.... On Saturday, we did some cleaning up, then went to a local park for a while before heading over to Brandy and AJ's for dinner with his parents...

First match for I-Man in the spring season tonight. I plan to do some serious picture taking of his match so I'll post a couple of action photos later...

The Emperor has no.... well.. um.. Nevermind...

I want to find it funny, but sadly...it's not... Another day, another large drop in the Stock Market and another Obama Cabinet nominee deciding to drop out... wait... sorry... make the TWO people dropping out... oh, and more bailout proposals to the tune of 400 Billion. Sitting here reading that and suddenly a thought popped into my mind... Where is all this money going to come from?

..and I said a long time ago that I thought all this fawning over how well Obama "speaks" was smoke and mirrors... a myth perpetuated by the people in media who have too much invested see Obama fail now...the ones talking of a "feeling running up their legs" Hell... I can read a speech and slowly but surely the Obama myth of his oratory skills is starting to fall apart... read this article and know that virtually everytime you have seen or heard him speaking, be it a real speech, or an actual answer in a town hall meeting, has been read... not answered off the top of his head. Admittedly the article comes from The Politico, a right leaning website so those of you drinking the now watered down kool aid can take it for what its worth. But I think it telling that Bush was constantly chided for how he spoke, and Obama is constantly lauded. If everytime i spoke in front of people, i could simply read the same bullet points and sound bites, i guarantee I would be impressive. Guarantee.... click here http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090305/pl_politico/19663

"Ahh...music, a magic far beyond all we do here." - Albus Dumbledore

Watching Battlestar Galactica DVR'd today reminded me of why I like the show...in that Music is a somewhat subtle, yet HUGE part of this story. There are a couple of songs from the first season that I listen to on an almost daily basis...

...as a matter of fact, whenever I take my IPOD into work and simply plug into it all day, it changes my mood for the better, and makes the day go by so much faster. As a matter of fact, I think I will take time tonight to clean up my playlist (i have a lot of duplicates...same songs, different names) and add all the current stuff I have downloaded recently....

"The friendship that can cease has never been real." - Saint Jerome

I had the opportunity to see my friend Kristen last night. And was reminded as I drove home thru the night that I have few friends. Perhaps because of my post below, or perhaps because I have been extremely cautious as to whom I have become close to over the years... As I have mentioned in posts before, the closest circle of friends for me are in Brooklyn...New Jersey...Raleigh...Atlanta...Charlotte.... Tallahasee.... I am fortunate to have one in Anderson whom I never seem to speak to anymore and one in Greenville who I am blessed to be able to see occasionally. I say these things not to call anyone out or rail on anyone. We all have our families and our own lives and time is precious... I just sometimes feel that the times of seeing people for any appreciable time is over. Its a stop over here... couple of hours there... a tailgate then....a stop by now... it saddens me. I love my family and I definitely love my wife. My son and daughter are the reason I do virtually everything and most of you reading this experience this for yourselves everyday. But...it saddens me... life goes on. You hear news of unexpected sickness with friends and it gives you pause. You say a little prayer even though you are not prone to sayin prayers... you hear of additions to friends families and you smile inwardly, knowing they have been blessed again. But it saddens me... with those blessings go away the weekends at a Nascar race, or a cabin in the Georgia Mountains... it saddens me that to even make plans with family is even difficult.

But... I guess I will continue to see these people. And try to make the most of the time together. i think it is why I have put so much mental energy into planning something like a weekend at the All Star race, or thinking about getting family together for a July 4th weekend. Some think it silly, but I really look forward to the exchanges, and the ability to create memories... its why I can understand why my wife's father purchased a ATV and jetski, and why I extend an offer for people to join me when I go to a race. No.. I never am the life of the party... but I certainly like watching the life of the party. At the end of the day, when the end is near or when whe are standing around drinking some punch at a memorial service in 30 years, i will be glad I took the time to ride down to see Kristen for 3 hours. And I need to figure out how to do the same with some other people too...

So... for those of you who read this ( and you KNOW who you are)... I aint just sending you a text because I'm bored...

Social Justice and Shared Sacrifice

Social Justice and Shared Sacrifice... is this what everyone wants? Is this what I am supposed to go along with. No longer am I really giving any thought to the numbers anymore. Every other day is more bailout, stimulus and another program that costs money. Mixed in between the handouts of MY money is another cabinet nominee who has somehow forgotton, overlooked or made an "innocent" mistake in paying their taxes. If i hadnt paid 10,000 in taxes, do you think I would be getting to be a cabinet post? Yet somehow, this is OK that Obama ( or his people) trots out person after person who has has some sorta issue. Dont misunderstand me... nobody"s perfect. But how is it that time after time the same sorta issues are propping up with these people?

I am beyond the numbers now. I have seen enough. I can add the math...and no matter how you spin it, those numbers never add up to the utopia. You can want it to add up. You can HOPE that it adds up. You can think it will CHANGE everything. At this rate, it will... and the CHANGE I'm seeing with will adversely affect my children. Obama's children, his grand children and their children are set. My heirs will be paying for his Vision. His wont be. Period. That you cannot throw some number at and say won't be the case.

I dont like what I see. Obama has been reckless in making a dash to get his Vision done before people realize what hit them. And he is right. Pelosi is right. "We Won!!!!" But the agenda is barreling toward socialized banking, health care.. EVERYTHING. Can't let the banks fail...TOO BIG To FAIL!! Can't let the mortgages fail...TOO BIG To FAIL!! Can't let the Car companies fail...TOO BIG To FAIL!! Can't let the Obama fail...TOO BIG To FAIL!! Let me ask this question... Is it no longer a possibility to let anyone or anything fail? History has proven that the way Obama is approaching this DOES NOT WORK. Can anyone show me a historical precedent where it did work? Will it work this time? is the 4th time a charm?

Social Justice and Shared Sacrifice... Is this about evening the playing field? Since when does the American Dream mean that we are ALL owed a house? What about earning the house. Oh, I'm sure Will will pipe up about predatory lending, etc.? Its not all the banks fault. definite fault there. Its not all Wall Streets Fault. Definite fault there. and guess what...its not all Bush's (Republicans, Conservatives, whoever you want to try to place blame on and not critcise Obama ) fault. Definite fault there. But guess what... beside Brown, I havent seen anyone else who shows any sorta testicles to post here to do any thing that criticises Obama or his coat-tail riders. Or the Democrats. Who has been running the Congress for the past 2 years? Oh...wait...wait...wait for it... it's George Bush's fault, right? plenty of blame with the masses too. (yeah...I know John... i can hear you pitching a fit right now... you have mentioned that fact.)

I am beyond the numbers now. I see Obama wanting everyone who "is of means" to feel the pain of those who are not. That is what I see and I dont agree that two wrongs make a right. I do not have a small business like Kristen and John, but I do know that they give as much as ANYBODY, yet it seems Obama feels that taking half of what THEY work hard for and earn everday by themselves isnt enough. We need to take more from them becasue they are bringing in more than 200 grand a year. We need to "spread it around". Why is it that he knows best how to spread it around? virtually everything he has positioned himself to do since coming into office has been to play Robin Hood. If I make money legitimately, why do I HAVE to give it to someone else. That is at the crux of what I see with Obama.... And I have yet to see him say..."OK. this should be enough". Every Bailout, Stimulus and handout is followed with "we may need even more".... I'll throw this question out there since I dont think I have asked it before.... where is all this money supposed to come from?

Social Justice and Shared Sacrifice... Since when are we supposed to be handing over our financial system and those major decisions to people in other countries? this global thing is going too far. Wasn’t America founded by people wanting to get away from Obama, er…, King’s rule? I think it is somewhat interesting that over 2000 people met in Greenville on Friday on the Reedy River in the cold for a "tea party" to protest Obama and this wild orgy of spending. Bet you didn't hear about that did you? And there are plans for a bigger rally once the temps rise...

"WHAT DID YOU THINK A STIMULUS BILL IS?".... Fits and starts for wall street are not important? Day to day gyration not worthy of attention? Well, Obama may not pay attention, but everyone else does. Does he think that his solution is the only solution? There for the fact that he tells people to buy stocks sends people into another panic? There is a reason that whenever he speaks, the market taildives...

...and Health Care community centers…who will be using these? Let me guess...people who havent paid for them with their taxes and illegals...sigh...

despite Obama's claim ( and even louder shouts by others) that he has some huge mandate(67 million voted for him), over 58.5 million people did NOT vote for him. A lot of people seem to be forgetting that. And a lot of people seem to be forgetting that it will come time to vote again soon. Obviously Obama knows this as he seems to spend most of his time giving that same campaign speech from his teleprompter over and over. However, I can't say that he isnt making an effort. And for that, you have to applaud the man. He said he was going to go to Washington and make changes. And he hit the ground running... so at least he has attempted to do what I wanted to see...leadership

but... I dont want Socialism. I want everyone to stand on their OWN merits. I dont want a handout. And I dont want MORE of my money being taken out of my paycheck to go to all this crap... Bumblebees and Swine odor?

And Erik, people have told me to "move on". You haven't. And you won't because you believe that everyone should have the same voice you have. You and I are two sides of the same coin... mother a school teacher, father hard workin middle class... workin for that house and the BMW.... Our life experiences are a a little different since Clemson but I cant wait for you to look into the eyes of your son and/or daughter, then look up and suddenly see the world completely different... not sayin you'll be calling up Michael Steele for tips or anything..but... just sayin...And while I wont pull a Limbaugh and say that I hope Obama fails...I am very worried that his Vision is not one I currently teach my children, or one that will help them in the future. Plain and Simple.

I still kinda am tryin to figure out where all this money is coming from? I think I am starting to figure it out but was hoping someone else might actually own up to where it is coming from. Oh well...tomorrow is another day...around noon we should see either some new "package" for some random Billion dollar number or...some report of a caninet nominee that somehow forgot to pay 30,000 in taxes...

Finally, I rant about this because I dont want to live in Europe. These policies havent made people want to get in boats, fly in airplane tirewells or make boats out of plywood to get to France, have they?

in other news....

I-Man has started soccer practices and his first game is next week. Looks like he will be doing goalie duty and defender duty mostly this half season. I think this suits him for now. He is still not aggressive enough for striker and he seems to prefer that defensive mindset.

The Frat has its Candidate Retreat this weekend and Alumni are officially invited for the first time. Even though I only expect about 15 Alumni, I think it is a positive step in the direction that will give Alumni an avenue for involvement as well as a planning step for the future.

And Battlestar is winding down... i am wondering if their is a huge ending to this or if it will pull a Seinfeld and simply whimper off into the night...

...speaking of which, don't get me started on Clemson Basketball....

one last time

"This spending-leads-to-growth concept is a perennial failure that can actually harm an economy. Its advocates suffer from a crucial error in their understanding of economics: for in fact, consumption is an effect, and not a cause, of economic growth. Stated simply, more spending without the greater output of goods and services that results from increased saving and investment -- and concomitant higher real incomes -- can only lead to higher prices and inflation. Alternatively, if government spending programs engender uncertainty and loss of confidence, while at the same time excluding incentives to invest (such as through tax cuts on profits or capital gains), the demand for money holding can increase dramatically, choking off recovery. The former scenario played out in the U.S. stagflation of the 1970s, while the latter occurred in the U.S. in the 1930s and Japan in the 1990s." — John L. Chapman, research economist for the conservative American Enterprise Institute, arguing why President Obama's economic plan will fail


Ok.. I am going to dare to be not just go along with Obama and just take it.... I want someone...ANYONE.... to tell me where the money is going to come from for the spending bills, stimulus, programs... whatever that comes out every other day. I have asked... no-one can tell me. There are not enough taxpayers in this country to pay for this crap that I am supposed to sit and just go along with. I will ask again...where is the money coming from? And no..."Its Bush's fault" wont work...

OK...I'll go back to being a coward now.. I'll just go back to doing what I was told to do...just shut up and go along with it all.... after all, I am the ONLY person (well, John in Florida too, I guess... oh, and a bunch of people at Foxnews) who thinks this way. Right?

Who is going to pay for all this?

Its Thursday, must be time for another stimulus package....

Sigh... so as I mentioned, we have another plan to avert the crisis of foreclosure. This is supposed to keep people in danger of foreclosure from losing their home. Hmmmm.... looked in my mailbox, no check to help my situation out. doubt one will be coming, either. I am a "person of means".

Brown sent me forward the other week, and I have actually given it some thought as I think it does ring a theme that I think is true in many ways....

A holy man was having a conversation with God one day and said, ' God , I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like..'

God led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished.
They were holding spoons with very long handles, that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
God said 'You have seen Hell.'
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'
It is simple,' said God . 'It requires but one skill.
You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

Remember that I will always share my spoon with you.

So we can all be plump together)

Ok... gotcha.

But....

Here is what bothers me... Is it fair that those who were given a house when they obviously couldnt afford a house, and now are losing that house, are STILL given that house while those who worked for a house, bought the house they could afford, make the payments on their house, and are getting no aid are getting the shaft? Isnt this simply redistribution of wealth? Is it fair that I am getting taxed to give other people something they have not earned? Is it fair that if I call Citibank and ask to have my mortgage cut in half, they are going to look at me, see that i make my payments on time, have plenty o cash on hand and tell me that I am a person of means and havent had that "personal misfortune"?

All of this smacks of Obama and "the left" feeling that they can/will redistribute the wealth around. I just don't see how that is fair when a lot of people receiving this simply haven't earned it. Its one thing to have lost your job because if this mess and need assistance. Its another thing to have NEVER made an effort and feel you DESERVE a home and will be given one. If you have never worked for it, how do you deserve it? Can someone explain this to me?

wow...check this out...

Remember when I mentioned a kid named Tanner Smith playing at Clemson??.... check out this link

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3914889

dude is on the front page of ESPN.com

Superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they were not there, when they succeed they take no credit. And, because they take no credit, credit never leaves them. ~ Lao Tzu

Why is it seems evertime I get on the internet or watch TV news, there is some sorta of bumbling announcement coming from this Obama admnistration? If it isnt someone having not paid their taxes, then its someone else backing out of a Nomination for any number of reasons. Commerce Sec #2 dropped today. I find it amusing that all we could hear (and still hear as excuses for any problem Obama has) is Bush this and Bush that. I am tired of hearing this crap everyday. I will say this again... Bush caused some problems. Bush is to be blamed for several issues. Obama (and those riding his coattails now) seem to want to still turn your gaze to the past. Wasnt this about Hope for the future? A different kind of Washington? Change we can believe in?

Today I see where Obama is contemplating using taxpayer money (isnt it all, but I digress) to directly pay some of, or all of Mortgage payments for people who are either in foreclosure or "nearing" it. Well... somehow I am betting that I wont be seeing a check helping me out of my mortgage anytime soon... and I am perpetually 3 months away from foreclosure all the time. If this happens, he will lose me for good. Especially since a lot of these people were given mortgages without credit checks, proof of employent or even paying 200 dollars down payment , much less 20,000.00 Oh wait, I already know the answer some will give me...Bush was President then. its all his fault.

And what of the transparency. Wasn't this stimulus bill going to be "posted" for the public to see for 48 hours before they would vote. Yet Pelosi and company seem to think that "the American people dont care" and surprise, are not letting hardly ANYBODY see whats in it, even Democrats. I guess I shouldnt care about little porky parts of all of this and should stop listening to the chatty people or something like that...

...why is it that all I see out of all this is manipulations to make more and more people reliant upon them, so they will feel compelled to vote for them in the future? I have a great parable/story that Brown sent to me. Its one thing to want to help others in need. I am willing to do that. I am not willing to simply give to people and do nothing but enable them into a reliance on the government for handouts. And that is where we are going...the governement will pay for my mortgage, electricity, food, car, gas...whatever. I dont want the government giving me anything except the money that I earn. Well...that and maybe the powerball payment, but..again... I digress...

Oh and all this money and "stimulus" gets me $7.70 a week more in my paycheck....

on a different note, did anybody see Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman last night? Wow...

True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost. - Charles Caleb Colton

The Facebook thing is interesting. I have resisted the temptation to do the 25 things thingy but I might as I have thought about it often over the past few days

... And now A-Rod admits he used performance enhancing drugs a few years ago. Look, I aint perfect and I have made mistakes. And I certainly am not a public figure like Alex Rodriguez. But this dude was going to be anointed as the saint of baseball as he approached Aaron then blasted by Bonds. Now... this all reminds me of... VeVickers... I can see what i will be thinking if/when he passes Bonds..."There arose a mild applause, amply merited..." as I was tellling Brown via text tonight...what next? Micheal Phelps will get caught taking a puff at a frat party? Oh...wait...that already happened....

Oh...and the #29 takes the Bud Shootout. Off to a good start for the year. Lets see if we can actually contend this year instead of finishing 6th every race.

Updates of the twins

Ok..for those of you clamoring for recent pix of the twins...here ya go... Age 7... taken today out back on the hammock swing near the creek on a glorious 68 degree day in February!!!

What's interesting is that their photos make you think of their personality as one way, while in reality they are trending to be about as polar opposite as you can be. Guess which one is the emotional one.. privy to outburst of laughter or instant meltdowns? And guess which one is the cool, even keel, calculating one?

a repression of "dissent" under the guise of "fairness."

I am glad that Obama seems to be against this Fairness Doctrine bull. I think its funny that almost every liberal, progressive whatever radio show fails. No one listens. Or watches. Almost 3 times as many people watch Foxnews as Msnbc. Is it because the people on the "right" are more entertaining? Hardly not.... and one of the reasons NPR still exists is because it is subsidized by tax money. But politicians and media wanna get all upset that Rush Limbaugh spouts his mouth off and millions of people listen and nod their heads while a a few thousand people tune in to Rachel Maddow whine about how its all Bushs' fault. I sense that Obama sees that he isnt beyond criticism. However, the media is so far invested in Obama that to criticise or have him fail would be an indictment of themselves...

And why is this DTV thing being extended? estimates are about 5 million TV/homes who dont already have cable or sat havent got the boxes they would need. My question is..Why not?.... I havent been able to turn on the TV or watch NBC for more thata 5 minutes over the PAST YEAR without a commercial or crawl across the screen YELLING AT US THAT THE ANALOG SIGNAL WOULD BE GOING AWAY ON FEBRUARY 17TH!!!! if you havent seen this constant announcements and infomercials on NBC and PBS and taken steps by now when you have had almost TWO YEARS to get a box, then I am willing to drop a large amount of money and say that 95 percent of these people wont be ready this summer. You would think that if you were sittin there without cable, and they are telling you that your TV signal is going to stop, that might... just might...make you take notice. And what will happen this summer? ... extend it again?

Micheal Phelps has been suspended from USA swimming for 3 months and has lost a couple of sponsors in reaction to the photos of him taking a puff of the bong down in Columbia. Look... arguments can be made that its stupid for that to be illegal while Alchohol and cigarettes are perfectly fine... but my only question for Mr Phelps is this... "Was she worth it?"

Change We Can Believe In!!!

Clemson basketball is definitely not playing with the malaise that hangs over everything else... Clemson.... The basketball team took Duke out back... and they might have to call DSS becasue of this beating.

...And.... Does Obama know anybody to appoint to a cabinet spot who has paid their taxes, isnt a former Clinton guy ( or gal ) , isnt a recent lobbyist? or have several conflicts on interest with their position and its dealings with others? Wasnt this supposed to be an Administration based on ethics? No...I dont want to hear the "Well, Bush blah, blah, blah..." nope. Aint hearing it. 37percent approval for this "stimulus" package... why is it that Obama has basically let Pelosi take this and add all this crap to the supposed stimulus package. Is Obama President? or Pelosi? This is at the root of why I was always turned off by this guy. Obama seems..."weak"...not masculine..."passive"...it seems to me that he said... "i want a stimulus package." and basically handed the wheel over to Pelosi who has proceeded to hijack and add all this crap and stipulations...

Dude...Obama... Man up, dude. And it is NOT a coincidence that you are starting to hear the bluster (albeit typical grandstanding) and rhetoric about Obama and the US being "weak"

This stuff abou the government taking over EVERYTHING isnt going to sit well...

"Every month we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs". - Nancy Pelosi

meh

Snow in the Mountains, Snow in Northeast Georgia, Snow in North Carolina... snow in Myrtle Beach!!! but...no snow here...no clouds, and all sun.

put up or shut up

...tomorrow is time to get off the porch and run wth the big dogs time for Clemson Basketball. I almost hate to say anything for fear I furthur jinx the team. They showed some moxie on the road at VaTech last week and this is definitely the best "program" at Clemson. They certainly seem to be the best coached, best organized and least affected by the permanent cloud of "getting punked" that floats over Clemson. on another note, the football team seems poised to get a small, but impressive recruiting class...

...someone actually commented at work today that we didnt really need to have Black History Month now that Obama is President... um...anybody who is reading this who beleives that, please speak up.

...looks like the frat Alumni retreat is a go. 15 dollars a person for Alumni. I am now looking forward to saee how many alumni actually show up. The last time the actives made efforts to accomodate Alumni, only 1 person showed up.... now that the Actives seem to have nailed down a place/time/etc, I think I will take a more active role in setting up an Agenda and Activities that would make it worthwhile for the Alumni to show up

... First Nascar race is this Saturday...

...but Jessica's parents ( and Aunt Ellen I think) are coming into town to assist with the re-do on the downstairs half bath. Jessica has ripped up the tiles, and has taken out the old sink....

the phenomena that is facebook continues. It is so interesting to see people from WAAAYYYY back back and see their families and kids, and think back to those many years ago...

Super Bowl!!!

Ok...I think that even if I were Pavorotti/Justin Timberlake/Ray Charles and James Cleveland all rolled into one, I would NOT sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl... even if they were offering me a whole huge wad o cash. Well, if I were that person, as wad of cash wouldnt be that significant, I hope. I mean, no one will ever top the Whiney Houston National Anthem from 1991 ( even though she lip synced it) and even Jennifer Hudson's seudo throwback anthem wasnt even close.... The Boss should have just sang "Glory Days" for 12 minutes...

...and the first 5 minutes of The Office was simply hilarious....

FINALLY!!!!

I finally got that Frakkin google virus off my lapper, after booting in safe mode (per harwood's recomendation) and running this removal tool someone had posted online, then taking another 3 hours to figure out that some random driver had installed for my Wi-i card, I FINALLY got my lapper working for Wi-Fi and normal searches. It wasnt that everything else was broken, its just that it annoyed me to not be able to search.

heading to Elon on Saturday for a frat thingy...should be interesting to see how Kappa Beta brothers interact with other...

I'll give you a Stimulus Package!!!!

"The yardstick of generosity is not how much you give others, but how much you want in return." - Leonid S. Sukhorukov

So... 816 Billion in Stimulus passed. And what of the 750 Billion last fall. Oh wait, half of THAT (350 Billion) has been spent..but...wait...NO ONE can tell us where and how that money was spent. And the majority of this Stimulus passed yesterday wont get out for another 18 months, just in time for the House and Senate elections....hmmmm???? And I bet I dont see any Bank or Car CEO's missing their mortgage payments, will I?

And why is it that when Bush was in office, there was a constant bashing of him on TV, Radio, etc. yet now that Obama is in office, any criticism of him (valid or not) is now subject to petitions and warrants? Is the man beyond criticism? If Limbaugh wants to say what he says, does that mean he should be taken off the air? I disagree with Limbaugh more than I agree, but I do beleive that if Olberman can basically call Bush names everynight for 4 years, Limbaugh should have the same latitude, whether you agree with him or not.

I was reading last night to I-Man and Ryles and they had picked out some random Dr. Seuss story... now, these stories are boring as all get out and somewhat long. So I was going to cut a couple of corners by trying to maybe skip a page or two. As I have said in the past, it is weird how they can figure this out. I'm reading and CAREFULLY skip a page in my hand before i turn the page. I turn the page and keep on reading without skipping a beat. After about 4 seconds, I-Man reaches over and says "You skipped a page". I'm like.."Whaa??" "YOU..SKIPPED...A.... PAGE!!!!! Daddy!!!" me thinking..."Curses!!!" Now this is a story I cant remember having ever read to them, but these guys can somehow decypher out in this endless rhyme that I skipped over something. I'm kinda thinkin "WHY AM I READING THIS TO YOU IF YOU ALREADY KNOW THE STORY?"...but... i digress...

Companies are laying people off left and right... hope no one I know gets caught up in the economy thing...

Monster Trucks!!!....

A friendship that can be ended didn't ever start - Mellin de Saint-Gelais

Went to see Monster Jam at the Bi-Lo Center here in Ole G-Ville. It was fabulous. I-Man went nuts because...just imagine...GRAVEDIGGER (his favorite truck) won. Now...let it be stated that GRAVEDIGGER wins 90% of the time. But then again, I don't think I-Man is sweating facts in this regard right now... Not sure Ryles and Jessica are really getting into this Monster Truck thing. Might have to start making this a boys night out sorta thing for the future...

Got some sorta Yahoo/Google Redirect virus on my laptop and it is annoying as hell. After hours of research, I think I have it figured how to get it off my laptop without a format. you tech guys reading this might wanna take a look at this one. It's really the first virus I've gotten on any of my machines in a long time ( yeah, I have gotten an occasion spyware infection, but nothing like this) and I and somewhat annoyed with this...

Finally got my white muslin last week and I think in a couple of weeks I'm going to start experimenting with high key....

This is really kinda slow time for sports... nothing on TV and not much going on. The Superbowl does not have me really excited and I guess it will be about the commercials this year for me. Two week till Nascar Spools up and Pitchers and Catchers report. Then I will have some stuff to watch again, I guess. Which is pretty much it for me right now.

..other than the occasional frat stuff...

Did I mention that we played Cadoo tonight?...and of course, i won!!!!!

I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama

Times tickin fast.... too fast... just yesterday I was pickin out clothes for Ryles to wear...now, whenever we havent laid out clothes for the week, I will put out an outfit for her to wear before I go to bed. Funny, now... without fail, she walks past my outfit, I hear her scrum around in her closet for 30 seconds or so, and see her come out with another outfit. EVERY single time. And I am confident that the outfit I pick out is perfectly fine... meanwhile I-man just groggily gets up.. throws on the jeans and plain color polo shirt I have picked out for him (backwards) and stumbles down the stairs without complaint. The only issue I have with him is his fascination this past week with the sweatshirt Jessica picked up at Target for .97 cents in a pinch when we were going to the Planetarium and he had no shirt on except for the plain color polo that he had managed to get turned the right way. He wears this like 3 days in a row and I'm tryin to get him to wear any other sweatshirt because I am sure his teacher is probably thinkin that his parents aint got no skillz...

I am somewhat impressed the Ryles fashion sense. I must admit to being a little saddened by the fact that I was walking through the mall the other day and realized that I see many outfits I think she would look good in. But I just don't know for sure anymore... while I know I can get I-Man virtuallly anything, as song as its green or has something to do with soccer.

Its Obamamania!!

So..cool...Obama is now President. It is historical in its significance along racial lines. I am glad that that barrier is seemingly broken. I am glad that this event at least signifies that a lot of people voted for him based on what they thought of his ability to lead, etc.

Now what? Are we still going to simply fawn and try to re-create Camelot? How much is the reporting now going to be over what dog is in the White House as opposed to how much of our tax money is going to the CEO's of the auto companies and banks? How much more time is going to be spent gushing over what dress Michelle Obama is wearing as opposed to addressing the Middle-east/Asia stuff? yeah...I know...Obama isn't asking that the media fawn over that stuff. But I am already tiring of the constant excuses being given for him..the "its going to take time to fix this mess" argument, "blah, blah, blah... it George Bush's fault...blah, blah, blah..." Well, that is a legitimate statement. But I want to see it being fixed... not reports of what the kids are doing tonight at the White House. I guess this is more directed at the media that seems to be trying to create a story, or recreate JFK. And I still have not seen the answer to the question of where all this money is supposed to be coming from to bailout everyone, except me. When it comes time for me to make my house payment and car payment, do I send the bill to Obama?

Nice to see the two Baritone players from Brooklyn and Tallahassee respectively kinda come to a "Lets Agree to Disagree" stalemate. I could and do see the argument from both sides... although when I see all the crap we try to recycle here at home clutter our space while we wait for the recycle day, only to see the trash guys take the recycling and throw it in with the trash, I simply shake my head and start wondering why waste my time... and space. But I suppose the efforts of Brown and my wife are a good cause... albeit an uphill one.

'bout time for me to start spooling up prep for the May Races. I am wondering what kinda participation I will have with me this year as I realize that funds are somewhat tighter than in the past, and i suspect a closer look at budgets may affect some decisions. I am already pondering trying to get more people involved to dilute the cost per person for the usual camping event. However, the more people, the more agendas... sigh...

Next up..Monster Trucks this weekend... I'll be taking a shield to watch out for flying parts...

random...

My mother and brother are going to Washington next week for the inauguration of Obama and it does make me ever so slightly nervous, because you never know if some fool KKK jackass might be wanting to do something, or some fools from the middle east might wanna be wanting to meet their 40 virgins or something equally whacked....

...eating my genero rice krispies from Aldi this morn and just wonder whatever happened to milk. Yeah, I know I have been eating the 2% fat free skim devoid of life milk for sometime now. But its so sad to almost feel as those I am eating cereal and water with a touch of white...

... its supposed to be getting super cold here later ths week. Wasnt it not too long ago that everyone was talking about global warming... er... "Climate change"? ...speaking of which, with all the Clinton people Obama has chosen to posts (whatever happened to "Change we can beleive in" for Washington?), where is Al Gore? Oh wait, I guess jetting around in his Lear jet burning fuel all over the world making speeches...

...While I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop with Tiger basketball, I remain optimistic that this team will make some noise this year. speaking of which, after watchng them knock off NCstate the other day, I am ready to see what happenes now that the true tests on Wake, UNC and Duke loom on the horizon. But I must admit that the long term future of the team seems very bright...and where did this Tanner Smith kid come from? just when I had him typed as the slow white kid picked up from Fike, he goes zooming in with the ball in one hand, then switches to a two hand power slam. I'm like.."whoa...kid's got skillz!!!" when I saw that and i bet a lot of people in the ACC suddenly sat up when they saw that and definitely changed their opinion of him.

...still wondering why Isaac and Ishmael are fighting over sand and rocks after all these years. Saw plenty of room in Nevada the other week. I would have long ao caught the first boat out of dodge from the land of milk and honey...

Rawr!!!

Go Panthers!!! oh...wait...um... nevermind.

well lookee here...

checkin out the "National Championship" game on right now and who do I see as Referee, but good ole Ron Cherry. He of ACC fame. He has been a lead ref in the conference for several years now and it is actually a great accomplishment to get to Ref the "National Championship Game" he is famous (or infamous) for several calls he has made against Clemson over the years, although honest assesment of history shows he has made equally bad calls that have favored Clemson too. I will always remember him for the time I was standing with Dr. Hosler watching Tiger band do script Tigers and he comes walking over to us and says "I just absolutely LOVE Tiger Rag. I just love hearing that song!!!" I just remember casting a glance at Dr. Hosler when he said that while chuckling with the ref. We both commented afterward that I bet the other team would have just LOVED to hear him say that....

And off we go.......

The first normal week of the year... basically starting the grind, I guess. It kinda always seems to be a sorta letdown at this time of the year. No big holiday on the horizon, cold weather socked in... nothing but routine on the horizon. But I wonder if routine is so bad.

At any rate, I have always tried to offset the routine by having things to look forward to, and the family schedule is starting to fill up for the first half of the year... Monster Trucks is up first, with soccer, Gymnastics, Dance the daily things going on. On the horizon are Nascar Races with trips to Florida/NY/NJ to see friends coming in late June/early July. I also have the usual Frat stuff with conventions and rituals and meetings, as well as Valentines day, Birthdays, Mothers Day and.. BASEBALL!!!

I think that I am going to try to concentrate on those resolutions with figuring out how to fit in the Y membership and utilize it, while addressing the house here and there. We have so many things to keep us entertained here at the house, with the kids games and GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR!!!!.

My mother and brother are headin to Washington for the Obama coronation.

and finally...

Happy New Year!!!

So Christmas was pretty good. Santa hit up the twins with some stuff and I was blessed to get some stuff from friends and family.

here are my resolutions for 2009...

1) Live Healthier!!!

2) get some things about the house fixed (baseboards downstairs, carpet for stairs, cleanout of house)

3) See a Celtics game, either in Charlotte or Atlanta

4) Rent an RV

5) take the twins to Wally World

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...