Sunday, February 28, 2010

Homemade Jerky

I received a very special birthday treat this weekend from my wife.  No, not that.  Get your minds out of the gutter.  She made me a batch of homemade beef jerky.

She tells me that it was pretty simple to make, though it is a bit time consuming.  Let me tell you, it is so much better than anything you can get in the grocery store.

It all starts off with some flank steak.  You slice it at an angle in very thin slices.  You then marinate the beef slices in some soy sauce.  Take some cooking racks and place them on a baking sheet. 

After marinating the beef, place the strips on the rack so that any drippings from the beef will land on the baking sheet.  Then season the beef with some lemon pepper and garlic salt.  Place the meat in the oven at about 170 degrees.

It usually takes about 6-10 hours in the oven for the jerky to be done.  My wife recommends checking the beef after about 6 hours.  To check the beef to see if it is done, take a slice and bend.  If it breaks, it is ready.  Enjoy.
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Friday, February 26, 2010

Dickster's Random Thoughts Cafe Press Store

I was driving to work this morning thinking about the President Obama's health care summit.  It comes as no surprise that the Democrats would decide to try to go ahead and ram the current bills through without any bipartisan support.

Originally, I was going to send a tweet on Twitter saying "if they think they can shove Obamacare down our throats, then they can shove it up their ass."  Instead, I decided to design the picture below and open my own CafePress.com store.  The design is currently available on shirts, mugs, buttons & magnets. I hope you will check out my first effort at Cafe Press.

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Health Care Summit

Just a short little comment on the Barack Obama's farcical health care summit.  According to Webster's Dictionary, the word bipartisan is defined as "of, relating to, or involving members of two parties ; specifically : marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties."  Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Before, during, and after the summit, the Republicans asked that the current bills on the table be scrapped and that both sides begin working on a new bill.  They want to find the areas of agreement and work on crafting a bill that incorporates those ideas.  Sounds pretty close to the definition of bipartisan to me.

Apparently the Democrats have a different definition of bipartisan. The Democrats on the other hand, feel that bipartisanship involves taking their ideas and accepting those ideas.  Since the GOP would not agree with Obama's plan, the Democrats plan to push forward their ideas and use reconciliation.

Every major poll shows that most Americans do not want the current Democratic bills being considered.  Nearly everyone agrees we need some reform.   It was interesting to watch a focus group on the Sean Hannity show tonight.  The group was half Republican and half Democrat.  They were nearly unanimous in agreement that the folks in DC are not listening to the public.  They were also nearly unanimous in agreement that they did not want the Senate to use reconciliation to pass a bill most do not want.
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Join the Online Tax Revolt

An Americans For Fair Taxation sloganImage via Wikipedia
In the past, I have expressed my support for the FairTax that would eliminate the Federal Income Tax, payroll taxes, and would give you your full pay check from your employers.  The Federal Income Tax would be replaced with the FairTax which is a consumption tax that is designed to be revenue neutral.

Regardless of whether or not you think the FairTax is the answer to America's woes, I think most people can agree that the tax system as it currently is comprised is broken.  If you are among those who thinks the tax system is broken and a burden on our economy, the folks at Americans For Fair Taxation have launched an Online Tax Revolt.

The Online Tax Revolt is a virtual march on Washington DC.  At the site, you enter your name, location, and select an avatar to represent you.  Your avatar, along with over 50,000 other so far, will appear on a Google map of the country. As each day passes, the avatars will march to Washington where all will meet on April 15th.

In addition to the virtual march, there will be a rally in DC in support of tax reform.  I have signed up and my avatar is on the move.  Take some time to visit the site and if you decide to sign up, leave a comment and let me know.  Be a part of the movement to make April 15th just another day on the calendar.
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Monday, February 22, 2010

Tiger & the Porn Star

Tiger WoodsImage via Wikipedia
For the past three months, I have deliberately stayed away from blogging about the Tiger Woods saga.  I tend not to expect too much from professional athletes in the "roll model" arena.  Sure, I admire their work ethic and their skill, but not much beyond that.  This way, you aren't too disappointed when their personal failings are revealed as is the case in the revelation of Tiger's multiple sexual transgressions.

To be clear, in no way, shape, or form do I condone the actions of Tiger Woods. To be honest, I am not surprised that Tiger Woods ended up having an affair. High profile athletes constantly have women throwing themselves at them.  It would be one thing had it been one or two incidents, but the multiple women and transgressions, puts Tiger into the world class scoundrel category.

Last week, Woods finally made a public statement regarding his issues.   Reading from a prepared statement, Tiger made his public apologies.  It is not up to me to judge the sincerity of his apology, but I hope he was sincere.  The only people who really are important in the judging his sincerity are his wife, family, and friends.  Unfortunately, his apology wasn't enough for lawyer Gloria Allred and at least one of her clients, former porn star Joslyn James.

The two women were upset that Tiger did not include any of his co-conspirators, like Ms. James, in his apology.  In a tearful press conference, Ms. James claims that she deserves a face to face apology from Tiger.  With all due respect to Ms. Allred and Ms. James, but Tiger owes you bupkiss.  You were a willing participant in an affair with a married man.  There is only three people that Tiger owes anything to, and that is Elin Woods and their two kids.  Give me a fucking break! There is only one reason why Gloria Allred and Joslyn James are together.  They smell a big payday.


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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Music Monday-Elvis Presley "Kissin' Cousins"

Every now and then you learn something new. For instance, last week, I learned that in the state of Maryland, it is legal to marry your first cousin. I thought that was illegal everywhere with the possible exception of West Virginia (bad joke, I know, but I could not resist). But, it's true. Maryland state delegate, Henry Heller, has introduced a bill that would make it illegal to marry your first cousin unless the couple were over 65 or could prove they were infertile. The other thing that surprised me, is that if the bill were to be passed, Maryland would be only the 25th state to ban marriages between first cousins. Who knew?

So, in honor of kissing cousins everywhere, my choice for Music Monday is Elvis Presley and "Kissin' Cousins."










Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!


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Saturday, February 20, 2010

Help Gomey

I have mentioned here before that I am the father of an autistic child. In a couple months, he will be 16 years old. Where does the time go?

I know all too well the issue of people who do not understand dealing with an autistic person. When he was younger, my son would have severe meltdowns. Often these occurred in public places and we had to endure the stares of people who did not comprehend what was going on. On one occasion my wife had him in a store and he plopped himself down on the floor and started crying and yelling. An employee actually threatened to call the police if my wife could not get him to calm down.

Like many people who have autism, my son also suffers from anxiety issues. Change and unfamiliar situations can be very traumatic for him. So, while doing my blog hopping, it touched me and broke my heart to read the story of Gomey. Gomey is a 19 year old with autism. He was taken away from his family by a social worker who did not understand his situation. I can not do justice to his story, but I encourage you to click on the link below to learn more.

Thank you.


Help Gomey

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Important Issues for the Maryland Legislature

Seal of MarylandImage via Wikipedia
Today, I received a call from Mrs. Dickster asking me if I had heard about any more snow on the horizon.  Apparently, some woman she ran into told her they were forecasting another storm for next week that was going to drop another 14 inches of snow on the area.  Needless to say, I started searching Al Gore's internet for a forecast.  Fortunately, I did not see any impending doom on any of the news sites I frequent.

Instead, though, I did find an interesting article about what my state (Maryland) legislators are doing with their time.  Maryland, like many states, has been hit hard by the economic difficulties of our time.  In spite of Governor Martin O'Malley's tax increases, we are seeing revenues in the state drop.  Revenues have dropped so much, that the state faces a $2 billion budget deficit.  So our legislators have taken up the important debate on whether or not to recognize "Sassafras Sandy Loam" as the official state soil for the state of Maryland.

That's right folks.  $2 billion in deficit and we must tackle the important issues like naming an official state soil.  I also discovered that in addition to a state flag and state seal, Maryland has several other official state symbols.  I knew a few of them, like the state bird and flower, but I was not aware of several of them.  For your edification, I will list them below, followed by the year they were adopted.
  1. State Bird-the Baltimore Oriole (1947)
  2. State Crustacean-Maryland Blue Crab (1989)
  3. State Dog-Chesapeake Bay Retriever (1964)
  4. State Flower-Black Eyed Susan (1918)
  5. State Insect-Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly (1973)
  6. State Tree-White Oak 
  7. State Boat-Skipjack (1985)
  8. State Folk Dance-Square Dancing (1994)
  9. State Drink-Milk (1998)
  10. State Fossil-Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae (1984) it is an extinct snail shell
  11. State Reptile-Diamondback Terrapin (1994)
  12. State Theater-Center Stage (1978)
  13. State Summer Theater-Olney Theater (1978) I guess it wasn't enough to have just a state theater.
  14. State Cat-Calico Cat (2001)
  15. State Dinosaur-Astrodon Johnstoni (1998)
  16. State Fish-Rockfish (1965)
  17. State Horse-Thoroughbred Horse (2003)
  18. State Sport-Jousting (1962)
  19. State Team Sport-Lacrosse (2004)
  20. State Gem-Patuxent River Stone (2004)
  21. State Dessert-Smith Island Cake (2008)
  22. State Exercise-Walking (2008)
So there you have it.  All of the official state symbols for the state of Maryland.  I am so glad to know our legislators have such important issues to tackle when we are facing a $2 billion budget deficit.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

One Second After and an EMP Attack

How the area is affected depends on the burst ...
Image via Wikipedia
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about a book that I had started reading, One Second After, by William Forstchen.  It is the story of the potential impact of an Electromagnetic Pulse attack against the United States.  In short, an EMP attack could occur if one or more nuclear devices are detonated above the atmosphere.  An EMP attack would basically fry the delicate circuitry of most of our technology and electrical grid, throwing us back to 19th century technology.  The book deals with the struggles of a community in trying to survive.

For the most part, I enjoyed the book.  There were a couple things here and there that I thought were a little questionable.  For instance, new automobiles would be rendered inoperable due to the delicate circuitry in modern automobiles.  Older cars, that did not rely on higher tech circuitry would still operate.  That part of the book was based in technological fact.  However, the story covered over a year in the life of this community, and one year after the attack, they still had gasoline to operate cars that still worked.

The book also contained an afterward written by Captain Bill Sanders of the US Navy. Captain Sanders addresses the possibilities contained in the book.  Throughout his life and his Naval career, Captain Sanders has had an interest in nuclear weaponry. A group of nine American scientist came to a consensus in the Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack came to the conclusion that the threat of an EMP attack was not just theoretical but very possible.  Unfortunately, the report was released the same day as the 9/11 commission which garnered far more attention from the media.

Captain Sanders quotes one of the authors of the commission, Dr. Lowell Wood, a nuclear physicist who has studied EMP weaponry for three decades.  Dr. Wood describes an EMP attack as "a continental time machine that would move us back to the nineteenth century."  When questioned about the ability of 19th century technology supporting the current population, Dr Wood replied, "The population will shrink until it can be supported by the technology."  In other words, the population would die off from disease and starvation.  In One Second After, the community had a survival rate of 20%, which was considered good under the circumstances.  Cities, in particular, would be hit hardest by an EMP attack.

Captain Sanders states that a well designed nuclear weapon detonated at a high altitude over Kansas could have an impact over nearly the entire continental United States.  In Forstchen's book, the attack came from three nuclear devices detonated over different parts of the country.  The commission has warned that we are "vulnerable and virtually unprotected against an EMP attack could damage or destroy civilian and military critical electronic infrastructures triggering catastrophic consequences that could cause the permanent collapse of our society."

We ignored the warnings that lead to the 9/11 attacks.  With countries like Iran and North Korea pursuing nuclear and missile technology, will we ignore the warnings of the consequences of a potential EMP attack?  I certainly hope not.  There are steps that can be taken to protect us against the consequences of an EMP attack.  When I do, I will publish that letter here.  There is a lot of debate on how extensive the role of the federal government should be.  What is not in debate is that their chief role is to protect us from attack.  In the next day or two, I intend to email my Senators and Congressman to ask them what they are doing to protect us from the hazard of an EMP attack.  
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Monday, February 15, 2010

Music Monday-Brad Paisley "Then"

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day, I thought I would pick a love song for Music Monday. This song is for all of you hopeless romantics out there that fell in love at first sight, and it just grew from that point on.  I met my wife in April, we were engaged in August, and married in November.  That was over 18 years ago.




Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

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Sunday, February 14, 2010

Daytona 500

Daytona 500Image via Wikipedia
I had been looking forward to this day for weeks.  No, not Valentine's Day, but the Daytona 500.  Not that Valentine's Day isn't important, but this year it just so happened to fall on the same day as the Great American Race.  It also happens to be my father in law's birthday.

Mrs. Dickster happens to be a huge race fan.  Truth be told, I probably became interested in NASCAR thanks to her and my son and their interest in the sport.  So our plans for today were to meet the in laws at the restaurant for dinner at 6pm.  No worries, the race was to start at 1pm, so most likely we would get to see the race before heading to the restaurant.

With the blizzards of the past week, I have been able to watch a lot of the Speed Week activities in Daytona that lead up to the actual Daytona 500.  I was able to watch the Bud Shootout last Saturday night and the Gatorade Duels on Thursday afternoon.  Those events led me to think we were going to get to see some exciting racing this afternoon.  Since the forecast was for sunny skies during the race, so it looked like we would not have to worry about any rain delays.

Unfortunately, the racing gods were not smiling on me today.  A little more than half way through the race, they had to stop to repair a freaking pot hole on the track.  That delay lasted about an hour and forty minutes.  So much for getting to see the race in its entirety before dinner.  At dinner, I checked my Blackberry and discovered they had a second delay to repair the pot hole a second time.  This delay lasted 40 minutes.

To be fair, the race did have an exciting finish.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch it from where we were.  Congratulations to Jamie McMurray, who managed to hold off Dale Earnhardt, Jr to win his first Daytona 500.  Had it not been for the two delays, I could have seen it.  Oh, well, there is always Fontana next weekend.
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Friday, February 12, 2010

Vegetarian Diet More Harmful to Environment than Meat Eating

A USDA Choice 2-bone standing rib roast.Image via Wikipedia
Environmental and vegetarian activists have been touting the virtues of a vegetarian diet as a means of helping combat climate change. They argue that raising livestock such as cattle and sheep leads to an increase in greenhouse gasses due to their belching and farting. The British government has even gone so far as to create recommended menus to eliminate high carbon foods like lamb and beef.

Now, a new study conducted by Cranfield University has concluded that switching to a vegetarian diet could actually be more harmful to the environment than a meat eating diet. You might think that the study was commissioned by the cattle and sheep farming industry, but you would be mistaken. It was actually commissioned by the environmental group the World Wildlife Fund.

The study concludes that if people switched from a meat and dairy diet to a vegetarian diet, that more farmland would be needed to supply the United Kingdom with all of their needs. This could potentially lead to further deforestation of the planet to provide that land. In addition, soy based protein substitutes often require a lot of processing and therefore more energy is expended.

I am sure that environmental groups and PETA will continue to push their far left agenda. We will continue to hear how livestock production is harming the environment. To be fair, it would probably benefit us all to occasionally have vegetarian days in our diets. As for me, I think I will have a steak, and I don't think I will feel guilty about it harming the environment.










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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Surviving the Latest Blizzard

It looks like we have made it through the second blizzard to hit the DC area in less than a week.  The first one hit Friday and Saturday dumping about two feet of snow.  It took me about four shifts of digging after that one to get the cars out.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, blizzard number two hit the region.  It only dropped about a foot of snow on us.  It took only two shifts of digging to get the cars out.

With the latest round of snowfall, the 2009-2010 winter is the snowiest on record in the DC area. It has surpassed the previous snowiest winter of 1898-1899, and there is still nearly six weeks of winter remaining.

On Monday, the Washington Examiner had a post online regarding an editorial written by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. just 15 months ago. RFK, Jr. is a hypocrite in the order of Al "I invented the Internet & Global Warming" Gore. They type of person who flies around in his private jet while telling everyone else what they need to do to save the planet.  The Examiner reprinted most of the editorial, but to sum it up, RFK, Jr. blamed the lack of snow in the DC region in recent years on global warming.

Fast forward to today.  As I said, this has been the snowiest winter on record in the DC region. We now have Time magazine writer Bryan Walsh telling us that the record snowfalls are a result of "global warming."  We also have MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan telling us the same thing.  The Heritage Foundation has an excellent rebuttal to Walsh's argument.

Now, I don't claim to be a climate scientist, but I am a thinker and I do tend to think logically.  On the one hand, you have a global warming alarmist, RFK, Jr saying that due to global warming, the DC region doesn't get much snow fall.  Then when the DC region does get snowfall, and a bunch of it, we get more global warming alarmists saying it is due to global warming.  Which is it?  Doesn't seem logical to me.

Let me put it into our old mathematical equation of if a=b, and b=c, then logically, a=c.  In this case "a" will be DC not getting snow; "b" would be global warming, and "c" would be DC getting a bunch of snow.  So a=b is DC not getting snow=global warming; next b=c would be global warming=DC getting a bunch of snow, therefore DC not getting snow=DC getting a bunch of snow.  Again, doesn't seem logical to me.

Now I know that one season doesn't a trend make.  However, the global warming cultists want to attribute everything to their cause.  Even if those two things are polar opposites.  The phrase, "You can't have your cake and eat it to," comes to mind.



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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Sanyo Incognito & Boost Mobile


This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

The item you see picture here is the new SANYO Incognito Model #SCP6760 qwerty keyboard flip phone.  Pretty slick looking isn't it?  This is the kind of phone that Mrs. Dickster would want to carry around with her, a flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard.  She prefers having the actual keys instead of the virtual keyboards you find on a lot of phones.

The Sanyo Incognito is being launched by the folks at Boost Mobile at an introductory price point of $129.99.  The phone features a 2MP camera with a VGA Camcorder.  It also has a music and video player with enhanced web browsing capabilities.  All of these features go well with Boost Mobiles $50 per month unlimited plan.  That's unlimited phone calls, texting, and web browsing.  There is also no contract required with Boost Mobile's unlimited plan, so you are tied down to a carrier for two years.

$50 a month for unlimited texting, voice, and web browsing.  That's amazing!  Most unlimited plans are more expensive, and you might even have to pay extra for either the texting, the web browsing, or both.  I won't mention my current carrier here, but Mrs. Dickster and I share minutes on a family plan.  After we add in our additional fees for a set number of text messages and web browsing, we are well over $100 per month in our current plan.  Boost Mobile looks like a bargain to me.  Unfortunately, we are under a contract for at least one more year, but when it ends, I will have to look into Boost Mobile's unlimited plan.  All of the things that are wrong with my current plan (contract, limited airtime, texting, and browsing) are all the things that are right with Boost Mobile's unlimited plan. 


Click Here
Visit my sponsor: Boost Mobile


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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Another Reason to Drink Beer

Kranz (Wreath) of KölschImage via Wikipedia
As if I needed another reason to imbibe in one of my favorite beverages, beer, besides its great taste, beer may have some additional health benefits.  In particular, a recent study showed that beer is a good source of dietary silicon.  This dietary silicon has been shown to improve bone health and could help fight osteoporosis.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, found that brews that were rich in hops and pale barley malts provided the most silicon.  Pale malted beers were better sources of silicon than wheat beers or darker brews.  Two beers could provide 30mg. of the dietary silicon.  There is not a recommended daily allowance for silicon, but most get between 20-50mg. daily.

Like anything else, all things in moderation.  More isn't always better.  So, if you are concerned about your bone health, especially you ladies, go ahead and have a beer or two.  I think I have a couple cans in the fridge, so I will lift a glass and drink to your health.
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Monday, February 8, 2010

The Green Police

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints who defeated the Indianapolis Colts to win their first Super Bowl. I have actually grown somewhat tired of the endless hype leading up to the Super Bowl, what with the six hour pre-game show and the extra long half time show. I just want to watch the damn game.

The other big thing with the Super Bowl is the hype of the commercials that will be shown during the game. I have to admit, that in past years, some of the commercials have been just as entertaining as the football. Aside from the usual assortment of beer commercials and Go Daddy commercials none really stood out to me, with the exception of the Audi Green Police commercial.

It isn't that I thought the commercial was particularly well done or clever, but that it is a frightening example of the direction of we are heading in as a society. Sure it is supposed to be a tongue in cheek, over exaggeration to show the Audi as an eco-friendly automobile, but how far away are we really from having a "Green Police?"

Let's just take a few examples.  We have several jurisdictions that have banned the use of plastic bags in the grocery stores and several others that have passed legislation taxing those bags.  Several states have already banned incandescent light bulbs, and current federal legislation will eventually phase them out in the next few years.  Years ago, when I was a buyer for trash bags for a grocery chain, one local county passed legislation requiring blue trash bags for recyclables and clear trash bags to make sure people were not throwing out items that could be recycled.

Now, I am all for a cleaner planet and conservation.  However, most of these things that the political elite are trying to force upon us are more costly and disproportionately impact the lower and middle classes.  Do we really want to live in a society where every decision we make in our consumption is controlled by government forces?  I don't.



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Sunday, February 7, 2010

Music Monday-Jimmy Buffett "Boat Drinks"

I have spent the better part of the last two days shoveling out the two cars from the two feet of snow that fell Friday and Saturday.  I am physically exhausted and unbelievably sore.  The worst part is, I just saw a weather alert saying there was a winter storm watch is in place for the area for Tuesday night and we could get another 5 or more inches of the white stuff.  There is just no place to put anymore snow.

I was checking the Capital Weather Gang and they say we only need one more inch to surpass the second snowiest winter in DC history and only nine inches to surpass the snowiest winter ever of 1898-1899.  That is over 100 years ago for all you global warming cultists out there.  Right now, they are saying that four inches is a decent bet and that eight or more inches a distinct possibility.

 I don't know how much more of this I can take.  I am definitely sick of the snow and suffering from a bit of cabin fever right now.  I have made enough progress with the shoveling that I will be able to get the cars out tomorrow.  So, even though it is a few more hours until Monday for me, here is my choice this week for Music Monday, "Boat Drinks" by Jimmy Buffett.  It pretty much sums up how I feel today.  



Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!


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Saturday, February 6, 2010

Snow is a 4-Letter Word

Well the worst of the blizzard is over.  Now the shoveling out begins.  I actually have been out twice already to start the process.  I have at least dug a path to get out to the front of our cars to begin the process being able to move them.  To be honest, I don't expect to be able to get out anywhere until Monday at the earliest.  I am not as young as I used to be and I am definitely not in as good a shape as I could be.  I don't want to overdue it.

The plows have been through a couple times already and when I was outside a couple hours ago you could see pavement.  Unfortunately, the plows also have piled snow in front of the cars.  That is now frozen pretty solid and much harder to shovel.  I came back inside after the plow driver told me not to kill myself too much yet because he would be back at least two more times tonight.  I only asked that he not bury too much on his next passes through.

The roads were not too bad when it was time for me to head out to my pizza delivery job last night.  The snow was just beginning to stick to the roads as I headed out to work.  When I got to the store, they had decided to cut off delivery service to a couple of the areas we normally service.  There are a lot of narrow, winding roads in our delivery area.  Thankfully those areas were shut off early.

I made it through the night unscathed though there were a couple times I had some difficulty with sliding and stopping.  Unfortunately, at least three drivers had some sort of accident.  One driver slid off the road into a guardrail.  Another missed a turn and ended up turning into somebody's yard and had to be dug out.  The third driver had somebody slide into him.  All in all, it was not worth it (other than keeping my job by showing up) since I ended up with about four deliveries and $28.

I am assuming that we are closed tonight.  I checked the company website, and my store is not accepting online orders due to the inclement weather.  I also tried calling the store and nobody answered. For the rest of this evening, I am going to check out some of my fellow bloggers, play some games, watch the Bud Shootout, and drink a bit of red wine to help me thaw out from my earlier bits of shoveling.
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Friday, February 5, 2010

Have You Ever Had One of Those Days?

Have you ever had one of those days when nothing seems to go right?  Today is shaping up to be one of those days for me.  First off, as I was getting dressed this morning, the button popped off of my khaki pants.  Fortunately, I found a second pair of khakis in the closet that fit. (I have to wear khaki pants for my part time pizza delivery gig.)  When I pulled up to the parking garage of the office, I noticed that the seam in the crotch of the pants had split.  So far it’s off to a rousing start.

Speaking of my part time pizza delivery job, it may be time to look for a new part time job.  There are a number of reasons why I would want to get out of it.  First and foremost, the job does come with its set of hazards.  Several weeks back, one of the drivers was robbed at gunpoint.  Fortunately nobody was hurt.  Second is the wear and tear on the automobile that comes with the extra driving.  Third is an incident that happened last weekend.

Saturday morning it began to snow.  At about 10:00 AM there was about an inch or two of snow on the ground.  I went out to run a couple errands.  I nearly had one accident and did a lot of sliding in general.  About 3:00 PM, we had about 5-6 inches in our complex and had yet to be plowed. I called the manager on duty to tell them I did not think I could make it in and was told that the roads were terrible and he didn’t blame me if I didn’t come in.

A couple hours later, I called to confirm that I would not be coming in to the night manager.  He told me that he was aware and that they had gotten somebody else to fill the shift.  He also dropped a bomb on me telling me that the district managers had said that they wanted anybody who did not show up for work that night to be fired.  I was told not to worry about it, that they would say I was not scheduled.

I am trying to figure out when pizza delivery drivers became essential workers during a snow emergency.  Doctors and nurses at hospitals, I understand.  They pay us $3 something an hour plus tips and they want us to put our lives and property (cars) in jeopardy during hazardous driving conditions?  I don’t think so!  It should be interesting to see if they are going to adhere to this policy this weekend.  In a few hours, we are expecting a major storm to come through the area.  They are calling for over 2 feet of snow.  I would like to think that we would be closed in that case.

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Thursday, February 4, 2010

Gentleman, Start Your Engines

I know sports fans are getting all geared up for the Super Bowl, and rightfully so.  It should be a good one.  I don't really care too much about who wins, though I am kind of pulling for the Saints to win.  There is just something about Peyton Manning that bugs me.  Maybe because you can't watch a game without seeing him in every other commercial.

Yes, the Super Bowl is a big deal, but I am also looking forward to the start of the NASCAR racing season which kicks off Saturday night with the Bud Shootout. Sure it isn't the official start of the racing season, which starts next week with the Daytona 500, but it is fun to watch.


Over the last couple of years, a lot of NASCAR fans have complained that the sport has become too corporate and too boring.  Officials have announced that they are going to relax some of the rules regarding aggressive driving and bump drafting.  They are also encouraging drivers to show a little more emotion and less corporate plugging.

Hopefully it will make for a more exciting brand of racing.  A lot of the races I watched last year were pretty BORING.  Today was the first day of practice for the Shootout on Saturday night.  If the first practice is any indication, it could be an interesting year.  Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin set off a 6-car accident about halfway through the first practice.  In the second practice, Juan Pablo Montoya wrecked Kurt Busch.  As Darryl Waltrip will say when the green flag drops, "Boogity, boogity, boogity.  Let's go racing boys!"

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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

This Is Why Companies Block Some Websites

Imagine you are sitting at your desk at work.  You are a little bored and decide to do a little internet browsing.  So you find some hot pictures of Australian model Miranda Kerr.  All is good, except one of your coworkers is doing a live television interview and the images on your computer screen are being broadcast out for all the world to see.  Then you turn around and look straight into the camera just as the interview is ending.  BUSTED!

Needless to say, the video has become a YouTube hit.  I have worked for a few different companies over the years.  Everywhere I have worked they have had some sort of filter to block some websites.  Granted, the pictures were on GQ, so I could see how that might escape the filter.  But look at the setting.  It isn't like he is in a private office.  He is in a cubicle farm and anybody could see what is on his screen.  I can't imagine sitting in an open office area looking at pictures like these.

The pictures are very sexy.  She is nude in some, but as Monty Python used to say, the "naughty bits" are covered more or less.  If you want to get a better view of what the banker was looking at on his computer screen, here is the link to the slide show on the GQ website.   Miranda Kerr: Photos Photos: GQ.com


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Monday, February 1, 2010

Music Monday-Keith Urban "Sweet Thing"

Since last night was Grammy night,I decided to choose one of the winners for my Music Monday choice. Keith Urban won the Best Male Country Performance for his song "Sweet Thing." Here is his performance of that song at the 2009 Country Music Television Awards Show.







Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

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