Another Rainy Night

Yes that is the title to one of Queensryche's best songs outside of Operation: Mindecrime and it is true. Last night was a very rainy night....with lots of lightning and thunder. Noisy thunder that made it difficult to sleep for longer than forty minutes at a time.

I'm tired.

Sleeping started off really good though! It was just sometime during the night that everything started to erupt outside. Yeah, I'm tired.

The junkies gorged on two more episodes of Lost last night before Ghost Hunters came on. It was a decent episode. I'm still skeptical as I've never encountered anything like that. I do enjoy the show very much though and might be a decent show to write about in one of my new favorite blogs http://twoguysagirlandatvset.wordpress.com

Baker writes it as Mr. Feeny, yes the nickname of a nickname...go figure. We enjoy our privacy around these parts. Anyway Baker and his two friends write about TV and how some early twentysomethings see it. Baker is a TVLand addict but unfortunately TVLand has started to drift away from classic TV and has gone towards more modern shows as of late. Eventually they will launch a Classic TVLand no doubt which will feature the older shows.

Do they have a classic mystery channel? I think they might....not sure. One that would feature shows like Barnaby Jones, Vega$, Mannix, Ironsides, and McCloud? I'll have to look into that...

Crackheads

So last night I decided to go and by a slim chance see if Hastings had Lost season 2 so The Date and Thing 2 could get their fix.

They actually DID! And for only $25 dollars as a previously viewed copy! I looked the DVDs over carefully after purchase and they all looked like they actually were viewed once.

So I handed it to Thing 2, whom I took with me, and we headed home. She carefully looked over the DVD fronts and cover art to glean any kind of information she could and as I was pulling into the driveway she triumphantly held it over her head as Perseus with Medusa's head to show The Date her prize.

All that is really missing is poverty, a trashy hotel room, and a crack pipe. They were like a couple of drug fiends with a new score as they arranged pillows, popped pop corn, and giggled as they frantically searched for the remote control.

"Only two and then we have to go to bed," they promised themselves.

I swear....I feel like a drug dealer.

Unwritten Rules Of Thunderstorms

Rule Number 1: Never start a thunderstorm until you are about ready to clock out at work, that way you get the maximum amount of rain on your clothes, shoes, and socks before getting into your dry vehicle.

Rule Number 2: Never have a thunderstorm during the slow parts of the day. Instead always have the loudest parts of any planned storm in the middle of the night so it can be enjoyed in bed whilst sleeping.

Rule Number 3: If you refuse to start your storm before clocking out in the afternoon then consider the alternative of starting it early in the morning so you get to wear rain soaked clothes, shoes, and socks all day long.

Create An Addict In One Easy Step

Friday night rolled around last week and The Date's leg wasn't doing so well. It ached and hurt. So before I left for Beer Summit 2 I instructed Thing 2 to not let The Date up from the couch and made sure she was comfortable.

Then I created two crack addicts.

I put in the first two DVDs of Lost's first season.

Over the course of the weekend including until three thirty AM Saturday night they were getting their fixes with Lost. It'll be two weeks until I can get the second season here so they can't watch anymore seasons right now but they finished S1 and craved more!

Exodus, the two part last episode came up and all of a sudden something would happen and they kept asking if that was the cliffhanger. Both of them. Thing 2 wanted to watch an episode by herself while The Date wasn't home and she said no....quite forcefully. It startled the dog.

DVD is the best way to watch season long TV. You go, you buy it, and enjoy it as you wish. You finish an entire season in a weekend! In hindsight I should have used 24 as I have every season of that up until the previous season. They could have been in 24 heaven for quite some time!

I chose Lost though....the one TV show I only had the first season of and S5 doesn't come out until December while 24 has seven seasons out plus the movie Redemption, it is true DVD crack!

So now I'm going to listen to questions for the next two weeks while payday rolls along and they will try to get me to tell them what happens. Believe me this is one show that you don't want spoiled at all. It is magical and mysterious and something you want to experience with no spoilers!

Elvis, Charlie, and Woodstock

Today The King died on August 16, 1977. I was seven and remember it clearly. We had three channels and PBS. It was a sad day and the babysitter said, "Well, that's the end of that." How wrong she was. Elvis actually boomed in popularity as Michael Jackson's death has done to his career.

Woodstock....the fortieth anniversary of hippie lovefest. The Baby Boomer's crowning achievement. Eh....who cares. Baby Boomers and hippies have done so much to screw this great country up over the past forty years...especially when they get elected to office.

The Charlies. Into The Woods won every award they were nominated for, I did lights. As Broadway Bound won best female cameo, I did lights. I don't believe that Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus won anything, I could be wrong but I just can't recall it, I did lights. 12 Angry Jurors won best ensemble and I did a video presentation for that. I loaned my camera to Dinner Theatre but really didn't have anything to do with that show, Arsenic and Old Lace, Greater Tuna, or Shakespeare.

My friends all won awards and I was very happy for all of them!

Beer Summit 2 Or Fantasy Football Q&A

Last night at the Beer Summit 2 we found quite a bit more things to talk about that were a lot more fun than politics and I love to follow politics. I understand them, I grasp the complexities, I grasp the context of what politicians want to do and why but last night WE WERE READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!!

We had four owners show up (Skate, The Baker, and Chianti's Beau) which was wonderful! We talked about how a live draft worked. We talked about how we are going to auction the first round picks. We talked about how the point system can be adjusted. We talked about the value of the Tight End position and whether it should be its own category or added to the receivers, we talked about how much fun it was all going to be! And it will be!

We talked for three hours and then moved over to BWW for some wings and trivia! I came in first one time and then Skate and I qualified for this sports trivia bonus round and it took us both by surprise!

Three of us answered some of the hardest sports questions known to mankind! At the end all three of us had over eight thousand points and were separated by less than five hundred. Thankfully it ended before I lost:)

Then Skate and I logged out as we were prepared to leave and this other trivia game came on so Skate and I helped Baker and Baker's Wife (not really but that's her name now since I can't think of a better one) through the first round thinking that it was one round and done.

We helped Baker to a commanding first round lead and figured out that it was the big five round trivia challenge Skate and I had once attempted! We liked that one! So we logged back in and took the challenge at a big disadvantage but we did it!

I won the next two rounds, lost the final two but came in fifth overall after being as high as third and down by over ten thousand points.

So I learned a few things at Beer Summit 2, don't schedule Beer Summit 3 during football season if we want to discuss politics, and its fun to make up nicknames for my friends for this blog:)

Fear And Its Uses

I'm recently dealing with new things as you long time readers will already know...like teens (well not exactly but long story) anyway back to the point. Thing 1 now has a boyfriend. By all accounts he is a very good kid from a good family.

No disagreement with me there. No problems. He is terrified of me, so much so that he actually called Thing 1 last night while I was in the yard with a cigotch and asked her what he should do. Whether he should come in or not and how to get past me.

That is the power of fear and something that will keep me from being a grandparent for a few more years.

Let me 'splain, she is fifteen he is sixteen. Now those of you who actually know me know I'm a easy going, affable, and a reasonable person, willing to help anyone in need at any time....unless you hurt someone I know and care for. I'll be a different person then and I don't like that. It makes me sick inside.

With every fiber of my being I'll take care of my loved ones well being as anyone who is a real man would. I'm not unique in this way or at least I'd hope I'm not if not below average in this department.

To a sixteen year old (reportedly a good kid) I hope I'm the most terrifying thing he has ever encountered.

One time I was called upon at one of my Northern Brother's wedding to give a message to my Northern Brother's sister's boyfriend (stick with me here) who seemed like a good kid. We shared a hotel room and I had brought my .357 with me...said good kid entered the room while I was cleaning my .357 Colt King Cobra. Magnificent weapon by the way. Stainless steel, six inch barrel, custom grips. I miss that weapon.

Anyway back to the point, good kid enters hotel room (I knew about when he was going to return and was waiting on him) he said he felt that Northern Sister didn't really think that Northern Parents liked him that much. Calmly I said, "I don't think they do. Might be a good idea to think about other people." To a twenty year old it might have seemed funny, to a young teen it was terrifying.

Turns out he had turned into a loser and would have been a horrible choice for Northern Sister. Northern Sister deserved much better and has since gone onto great things!

I doubt if this sixteen year old would turn into that but I do remember what I was like at sixteen, and fifteen. I wouldn't have gotten along with me now. I wasn't who I am now, immature, impulsive...well not such a stretch but I wouldn't have liked me now.

The Date informed me last night during my unwinding cigotch (which consisted of a Glenrothes 16 year old and a Oliva Serie V (my last one) that sixteen year old felt horrible that I didn't like him or talk to him. Honestly I want him to think I'm the Wrath of God and that the law itself might be his only relief if he should lay an unwanted hand on Thing 1. That kind of fear prevents bad situations later on.

Hi Ho

It's off to work I go. As you followers will know I was off Tuesday for a medical test. I had prepared a half day's of work in the shop for Tuesday on Monday. As you long time readers will also guess the work was awaiting me on Wednesday.

Such is the way of life at my work. Not complaining though, well maybe a little but but I'm still in the "just happy to be getting paid" thinking mode right now. That makes me complain a lot less when I put it into context.

I really don't mind then, my job isn't ditch digging after all. I get a fair compensation and my bosses are good to me. It is coming up on Fantasy Football season and that makes things much better as well!

We had a full league of twelve teams, one dropped out as Skate predicted but he predicted he would only play one season before dropping. That's alright, we are looking for number twelve. If we have to play with eleven we can and just draft a dummy team and find an owner next season to take the team over.

All is good though! Well The Date had a mishap with the pool last night, she tumbled over the side injuring her shin and scraped up her other knee. This morning it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It hit really hard but it doesn't appear to be as badly bruised as I thought. We kept it elevated and iced down last night. She can walk on it though it just hurts.

The Name Of The Rose

I finished it last night. Just a hair over six hundred pages but it was very difficult. The Name of the Rose, a fourteenth century mystery that takes place in an abbey. A medieval monk, William of Baskerville with his young apprentice Adso were brought in to solve an unexplained death. William is more or less the Sherlock Holmes of his day, a former inquisitor with an insatiable appetite for the truth and an intellect to match.

Over the next seven days several deaths occur while William and Adso hunt the killer. The book is steeped in arcane theological debates, Latin phrases with no interpretation, and a confusing cast of characters. Well maybe not confusing as it took me over six months to read this novel. I do admit to laying the book down for weeks at a time and not reading it.

Yes you'll likely recall a movie of the same title and premise however it was VERY dumbed down for viewers, the novel couldn't possibly translate into screen material easily and retain the complexity of the mystery.

Les Miserables was once the toughest book I'd tackled, the sheer size and layers of story made it a book where you really had to pay attention to what was happening, Rose was by far tougher and half the size.

It was just how tedious the context could be and how difficult it made it for you the reader to gain that context that made it hard to read. I'm fairly certain making it through this book raises your IQ points by about five. I'm glad I made it through but now it is onto easier reading for a while!

Loud Night

I drove home yesterday after work in what seemed to be hurricane like conditions. They lasted quite a while in fact. There was one point before I left work some coworkers and I looked out the big garage door in the front of our building and couldn't see across the street because of the swirling rain.

It was that bad. Normally you can see fairly well even in rain conditions but this time no. You could not see across the street. It was nuts.

Got home and it calmed down after about an hour. By nine o'clock it picked back up again and decided to stay all night. Well not the rain, that came and went but the lightning and thunder....yeah that stayed around.

It was noisy to say the least. I didn't get much sleep. I've got the day off because of a doctor's appointment today, just a check up to make sure the kidney stones are gone and my water drinking regime is working. No big deal. It'll likely be yearly from now on, it has been every six months.

Last night I obtained the twelfth fantasy football team for my dynasty league! Woohooo!
We will be holding the draft the day after my redraft league's draft. The first at Beersnob's house, the second at Skate's house. They were both kind enough to volunteer their domains for such an occasion! I can't wait until the twenty ninth and thirtieth of this month!

Pretty Good Weekend

The Date did a lot of house straightening, I did a lot of resting. The Things did what they do, one gardening things, the other going out with friends.

All in all it was good, not very productive for me but that is what a weekend is for for me. In my start up fantasy league I've got eleven teams so far, I will hear back today about the twelfth and last team if not then we will run with a dummy team.

I can't wait for this league! It will be a blast! This is going to be a keeper/dynasty league where you retain a certain amount of your players year after year. Sometimes you become attached to your players and want them the next season as you follow their career but in a redraft league you rarely get the same players.

This will be different and exciting! I'm shooting for the draft being on August 22 at noon!

Public Outrage

I keep reading stories about the outrage at town hall meetings towards members of Congress at the prospect of turning our health care system into one that resembles Canada or the UK.

The Dems are saying that the outrage isn't genuine and it is orchestrated, the people keep saying that no one contacted them and that the representatives won't listen to them and plan on pushing the plan ahead anyway.

Effects on Private Coverage and the Uninsured
• 48 percent of privately insured Americans would transition out of private insurance. Of the
estimated 172.5 million people with private health insurance, there would be a decline of
83.4 million people with private coverage.
• 56 percent of Americans with employer-based coverage would lose their current insurance.
Of the estimated 158.1 million Americans with employer-based coverage, 88.1 million
people would be shifted out of their current employer-based plan.
• 80 percent of Americans in a health insurance exchange would end up in the public plan. Of
the estimated 129.6 million people who would obtain coverage through an exchange, 103.4
million people would be covered by the public plan.
• 34 percent of the uninsured in America would still lack coverage. Of the estimated 49.1
million people without health insurance, the legislation would only reduce the uninsured
by 32.6 million people, leaving 16.5 million people without coverage.
Effects on Physicians and Hospitals
• Physicians would see their payment levels decline by $31.7 billion as a consequence of the
new public plan. While physician net income may increase under the bill primarily due to
other Medicare changes, a public plan with Medicare-based payments would lower
reimbursements. Today, Medicare physician payments are, on average, 81 percent of
private payments.
• Hospitals could see their net annual income fall by $61.9 billion, which roughly eliminates
hospital total margins. This significant loss in hospital income is also overwhelmingly
attributable to the public plan using Medicare-based payments. Today, Medicare hospital
payments are, on average, 68 percent of private payments.
###

This is from a report from the Lewin Group, a health care management consulting firm.
You can read the entire report here and see how the goal is to put EVERYONE into the public option no matter how much you like your insurance policy now, a direct contradiction to what Obama is saying publicly.

Here is the problem people are having and it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure it all out. There is a limited amount of money allocated to the public health care option. No matter what that limit is, there is an eventual limit that will be reached. When it is reached people will have to go without essential tests, essential procedures, and essential appointments with doctors.

Now who goes to the doctors more than anyone else? The Seniors of our country. Do you really believe that this won't effect them? Exactly, of course it will effect them and not in a good way.

Alright here is the coup de grace on the congressional health care bill about why it is a bad deal. You don't have to believe me, you don't have to believe the report I site, you don't have to believe your neighbor being angry about it. Listen to congress! The people themselves who have written this monstrosity of a bill! They have exempted themselves from the bill!

They will have coverage they want for themselves while forcing you, me, and Joe Bob into a public option by year three of the program. So if the bill is such a great deal why not be first in line to sign up for it?

There are reforms needed, NO ONE disputes that. A government run take over is not the solution though. It will only destroy our system and reduce health care for all. Now knowing all of this, aren't you a little bit outraged too?

Cigotch

Had a cigotch night with Beersnob and The Date last night. It was pretty nice as we sat around and talked about many things. From Obama collecting information on people who disagree with the Houses's health care bill to great movies.

Good night! I had a La Gloria Cubana Serie R Maduro Robusto paired with Laphroaig scotch.

Feeling pretty good this morning. Got to sleep pretty late, well late for me but I'm good! The cats are fed and are roaming, the dog has gone out and came in to get fed, now he is out for a while.

It's a bright, sunny morning and getting hot already. It's going to be a good day!

Pleasant Thursday Evening

We've got seven teams now for the Dynasty Fantasy Football League! Woohooo!!!!
I lowered the entry fee and weekly costs. They are approximately half of what my redraft league is. It's ok, picked up a big sports fan though and hopefully someone he knows! Beersnob has a friend that expressed some interest as well.

Ideally I want ten teams, twelve would be better but for now that is just really hard to find. Everyone is already in a league or they don't follow football. That's alright but I've played in four leagues at once before. I can follow multiple teams without a problem.

Yeah it is hard to have someone who has your player on one team and you are going against each other in another league, it is hard to know how to root for your player but you do it anyway. Winning is what you keep in mind as long as you accomplish that then everything is good!

I took Thing 2 up to her school last night for an open house so she could find her classes. Gave her a lock for her locker and taught her how to use it, she was pretty happy to learn that skill. Then we headed home for Shark Week goodness!

I had a CI Legends Purple label last night while sitting outside. Not a bad cigar. It was pleasant all the way but really hit its sweet spot about an inch in. Nothing remarkable about it other than it was alright. While smoking that I was listening to Metallica's masterpiece Master of Puppets!

It is easy to forget how great that album was if you haven't heard it in a few years. They were solid, every single song was dead on! Battery, Master of Puppets, The Things That Should Not Be, Sanitarium....all you can say is wow! Amazing! It culminates in Orion the late Cliff Burton's swan song masterpiece and of course Damage Inc. which is arguably the most thrashingly brutal song on the whole album!

Great night!

Rainy Night

Even though yesterday's heat was interrupted by a flash storm last night was thundery and rainy. As I type this the thunder is rolling over an orange, pink and purple daybreak. It is quite the amazing spectacle.

It is cool out as you would expect, feels really nice. I already put the dog out for a few minutes after his nightly crating. The cats are fed and have gone off to nap somewhere.

It's quiet now. Only the sounds of thunder and a fan can be heard. Being Friday light and trash day on top of that it signals a weekend is near, within reach. Watched Ghost Hunters International last night. I was watching Shark Week but it was the Mythbusters episode where they were doing their first Shark Week special on Jaws. Seen it like half a dozen times already. So I turned it to SyFy (shakes head...) what were they thinking?

It is still irritating but I guess I'll live.

Sometimes Life Is Good

So there I was sitting out in my yard with a cigar. It was hot out, well over ninety in the early evening.

I had ice water instead of scotch. Those of you who have known me for a long time know I was single for a long time and life was good then too. I was happy as I normally am but things are different now. This is a different kind of happy.

Maybe more of a complete happy? My skill for written description fails me at the moment to adequately describe it. I've got The Date and The Things around now...not to mention another kitteh and a goggie (those of you who know lolspeak will get it) there is constant noise of some kind. Talking, growling, hissing, laughing, lots of things.

I am pondering this as I'm watching Sid and Nancy on Ovation. They were happy, very unhealthy for each other but happy in a way only they would understand. Their drug fueled relationship is the stuff of punk legend. They were loud, abrasive, and somehow in constant pain that was only relieved when they were with each other and when they were with each other they caused each other more pain.

Such an odd dynamic, this movie intrigues me and the personal relationships it depicts. I've seen it maybe half a dozen times and can't turn it off. Its a two hour train wreck.

Fortunately The Date and The Things...and the pets are far healthier for me than Nancy was for Sid. Their relationship was destined from the start to end one way, everyone knew it, everyone around them knew it, I think everyone expected it to happen.

Even though they spiraled down to day to day living, looking for their next fix in between drinks they were together. In their own self induced chaos they found a bleak solace in each other.

Yeah sometimes life is good in its own incarnations of existence. In the immortal words of the philosopher John Anderson, "But I've got the mornin' sun, I've got the evenin' breeze. I got the woman that I love lyin' close to me. I've got a few good friends and all my bills are paid. I got the moon and stars above and I've got it made"

So I Should

Have spent the last evening searching for stories similar to Jorge Munoz however I didn't. It is Shark Week after all. I do believe I am going to attempt a similar project to Jorge Munoz's and cook meals for the hungry.

I believe that I can do this as a weekend project. Twenty to thirty meals per day, two days a week. Easy meals like grilled chicken breasts, rice, a vegetable. After seeing what that this man was essentially giving half of his life in dedication to the hungry it makes me want a few things a lot less. You might say frivolous things here and there that just don't matter.

Those things are my choice but sometimes people who wind up hungry don't have that choice to make. Yeah I know that there are a lot of people who have gotten by on the system and have made a lifestyle out of bad choices but being hungry is something we all have in common, some can just afford to fill our hunger with better food than others.

I am thinking that in about a month I can start this project, I'll keep everyone informed.

Shark Week Angel

Yesterday was spent watching Shark Week shows, fixing a weak breaker, washing uniforms, and eating:) Shark Week is a yearly ritual for me. Love the shows even though there are some repeats in there from year to year. A few years back it was really pathetic, there were about two new Shark Week shows and the rest were reruns.

Now Discovery has really put a lot more effort into the shows and it is much better! Last night's was a documentary about the 1916 shark attacks in New Jersey. Good story, great production. A nice kickoff to Shark Week!

Thing 2 is out of commission with a flu bug so we looked after her most of the day. She is doing better. The Date made some awesome cookies!

The weather was great, I had a CI legends black label cigar sitting outside with Zip. Mild, woodsy leather tastes with a hint of pepper and spice. Great first third, hit its stride in the second third, strong on the last third and a bit harsh. Overall a decent cigar but I doubt if I'd buy more.

There is better for the price out there. The CI legends yellow label is by far the best of the bunch. Its blended by Don Pepin Garcia, a very hot cigar maker now and has some quality and very sought after cigars. I'd buy any box of any of his cigars. They are that good!

Then in the evening I was just reading a few sites and came across Jorge Munoz. This man is an angel in the flesh. If I had one one thousandth of his drive I'd be a better person.
Here is the You Tube video I came across about this man among men.


This man deserves your support. In these tough times he is an inspiration that people are out there that can be good. People who will do things for their fellow man for no personal benefit and at great personal cost. I'm in awe of Mr. Munoz.

Bar Warming Party

Yesterday a lot of things got accomplished. In the morning by brother, his friend and I got most of dad's place cleaned up. That is a big relief and something that had to get done. It isn't completely done yet but it is mostly done. Still it was a lot accomplished.

While I was there I went by my mom's place and she was making fresh green beans and new potatoes in the crock pot. It smelled awesome so I decided to put a roast with that and so I went by the store and got some fresh green beans, new potatoes, and a nice roast.

Started cooking them last night after The Date and I got home from a bar warming party. A friend purchased a new home and it had a full bar downstairs. So everyone helped stock his bar. Great house! Almost all of the friends were there and that was a blast.

I found a rope with a clasp to be able to put Zip outside and let him stay outside. I used one of Ace's old ropes I had for him. Zip likes being able to stay out longer with no one to supervise him on a short leash.

All in all it was a great Saturday and looking forward to a better today! The roast is pretty much done and the house smells incredible, it is very nice outside, and best yet Shark Week starts on Discovery!!!! Woohoooo!!!!!!

Great Friday!

Had a wonderful time yesterday. Got a ton of stuff done and had our own beer summit to discuss politics at a club. I figured that if the President can invite a cop and a racist and a Harvard professor to the white house then I can invite a few liberals, moderates, and conservatives to a bar.

It was a great success and we had some very interesting and productive discussions despite the major liberals failing to show up which were the cause of the dispute in the first place. No matter, we had a great time, enjoyed ourselves and came to some common ground in a productive and adult manner.

After that we went to Bdubs for trivia and wings:) Very fun of course!

Today, well not so much fun. I've got to go help my brother clean out my dad's place. Most of it is done but there is still a lot that needs to be done. Should take a couple of hours. Then I've got to go get a dog harness and chain for him so he can stay outside a little bit longer than when we have him on a leash.

Should be a good day other than this morning.