Happy Anniversary

Today is the 3rd anniversary of Resist...

Three years I have been doing this, sometimes every day, sometimes missing a week or two, but always coming back. I hope you have enjoyed my rants even if you did not agree with them and I hope to keep them coming for another 3 years!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Get Smart

Don Adams passed away yesterday. For those not in the know he was Maxwell Smart, the nerdiest guy to ever land the hottest wife, Agent 99. I grew up watching these in syndication. He would drive up to that building and walk through what seemed like a million doors until a got in that phone booth and dropped out of sight. He was the Peter Sellers of the small screen and the show was a laugh a minute. I do not know one kid growing up who did not do the 'shoe phone' or during Dodgeball or baseball or just goofing around say "Missed it by that much" holding up thumb and forefinger millimeters apart. He later resurfaced as the voice of Inspector Gadget, basically an animated version of Maxwell Smart. Interesting note, he was the voice of the Reindeer Coach in the Christmas Classic Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.

In a time when most comedy is canned, off color, gay or the combination of the three I for one miss the funny shows of yester year and will miss this comedic genius.

The Aftermath

Not feeling up to the posting today. Just wrote a few sentences and blew them out because it was going nowhere. Some events over the weekend:

-Rita not as bad as thought, although there are many lives affected it could have been a lot worse.

-Gas stayed the same and for that I am grateful.

-Rain shut down our baseball games and had us in the house most of the weekend.

-My brother visited from Chicago, we hung out at home and played games and hung with the niece who will be 1 in a few weeks.

Stayed up very late last night and woke up later, so no workout today but I did eat well over the weekend and tomorrow is another chance to hit the gym.

Service With A Smile

Is it too much to ask employees at fast food joints to be polite?  I go to this one place (Wendy's) and they are usually very nice to you.  When I order I always say thank you when I am done and have a nice day when I get my order and generally the staff responds kindly.  The other day I went to a Subway and ordered a TOASTED Buffalo Chicken sandwich.  As the 2nod person started to wrap the sandwich the 1st person made I said, can I get that toasted please?  She looked at me like I was interrupting her meal with a telemarketing call:

 

She: You want this toasted?

 

Me: Yes, please.

 

She (to other guy): He ask for this toasted?

 

He: Mumble

 

Me: Yes I would like it toasted please.

 

She: harumph

 

Me: Well it is called a toasted buffalo chicken sandwich.

 

She (To the next in line guy, not with me): You want your toasted too?

 

Him: What? oh, no thank you.

 

When I got the sandwich she stuffed it in the bag and just put it on the counter, I said thank you but she was not even looking at me.  Then they wonder why they are stuck behind a counter...

 

PS:  Is it also too much to ask to get napkins and ketchup with your order?  Why do I have to ask for ketchup when I order a burger and fries?  Shouldn't ketchup, a napkin and straw with a drink be standard in the drive thru?  It used to be, now if I do not ask or forget have none when I get to work and look in the bag!!!  I understand overhead so maybe limit it to 3 packets, 1 for the burger and 2 for the fries, no burger then 2 only, getting a baked potato then just 1.  It's like ordering a sundae and not getting a spoon, what's up with that?!?!?!?!?!!

TGIF

Been a long week at work and I am tired. Hurt back, luckily today is my chiropractor appointment, but no workout today. Which is good as I have to clean and hit the bank and when I workout I have about 40 minutes to shower, pack lunch and get to work on time (20 minute commute).

News is talking about $4.00 a gallon for gas. WHY????? Half the Gulf refineries are already shut down and prices are coming down, I know that is simple but come on people, time for us to rise up and say NO MORE!!!!!

This weekend looks like it could be a rester; have to mow the lawn and work 2 hours of OT on Sunday but thankfully we have nothing else planned, oh baseball on Sunday but that is fun.

Tonight the boy is going over to the High School to hang out with the marching band. The 7th grade Band teacher is taking the band to see what it is like at a High School game. Should be a good time for them, pizza party before hand and hanging out on the field at halftime. I'll try to snap a pic.

Hope you all have a great weekend and thanks to the new visitors and comments, please take a look at the Blog Roll on the side, adding some new reads and asking you to visit some old ones as well!

Good Times

So far I have gotten all of my workouts in this week, only one more day to go and I get all 4. The wife broke her glasses the other day and is blind as a bat without them. She had to go to the docs and order a new pair, each eye is worse since her last eye exam 2 years ago, so the glasses will take longer.

The boy is driving me up a tree, his grades are OK but he misses the silliest stuff. He does fairly well on tests then FAILS a homework because he forgets to turn it in...drives us crazy. The good news is that he is doing well in all other aspects of school and only seems to have had a bad 3 days (when the wife is out of town) with his assignments. When I get on him the wife says I am too hard and when I ease up he ends up with bad grades?!?!?!?!??!!? On the Scouts front I have been made an Asst. Scoutmaster and the boy was elected Patrol Leader last month. He is enjoying it and really getting into it. While cleaning out some stuff from my parents we found my Eagle Scout books and letters, in that binder are letters from the President (Ronald Reagan), the Vice President (George HW Bush) and various New York State officials (Governor, Senators and Congressmen) and one from John Glenn...the great thing is that except for Reagan they look all signed in ink and not stamped. I also have a US Flag and certificate that says it flew over the US Capitol Building...pretty cool.

Some recommended TV viewing for the new season, I am very surprised at our total shows this year, way less then last...
1. My Name is Earl (FUNNY, FUNNY, FUNNY)
2. Threshold
3. Supernatural (Could be the next X-Files!)

That is all but pick up Earl and at least one of the SciFi dramas and you will not be sorry!

PS The Title reffers to the fact that the New York Yankees are in first in the AL East...and hope to hold it for 10 more games!!

Wake Up!!

You ever hear something on the radio or TV or in conversation and put together a great post in your head about it then when you get home you are busy and dinner is ready then some family time a little TV then early bed and when you wake up you cannot remember what it was that pissed you off so much that you rolled with the rant in your head and could not wait to post it on your site....Yea pisses me off too.

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Today is talk like a pirate Day, an official holiday which needs to be addressed. I started observing this day many years ago in New York. We had a hell of a time with it, so much so that we made it a monthly event. Eventaully we knocked it back to just once a year, I brought in me Jolly Roger flag and we had a great day. Last year it was on a Sunday and my new co-workers did not know about it. This year however we are going full bore....or I am and they will eventually sound silly NOT talking like a pirate today.....

So thar it tis matey, put on y'peg leg, grab a parrot and an eye patch and git out thar and speakth like a pirate!!!!

Thoughts On A Friday Afternoon

The weekend is upon us and as I look back on the week I saw good things. My cold is still with me and we were busy as all get out. I saw my wife and son a handful of times due to Scouts and meetings and such. Last night was the return of Survivor. A big event in our household, we go to Grandma's for dinner and the show on the big plasma upstairs for High Def!!! The President bumped the show back so we watched him speak. First thing I noticed was the fact that my brother was married in the church behind him and the boy and I spent a lot of time around that statue of Andrew Jackson. While listening to him I heard some good ideas and I do hope that New Orleans can rebuild in a way that makes it an example of the city of tomorrow. It has that potential and I pray they achieve it. Side note on unemployment, I foresee a great boon for those under the poverty level, get off your butts and when the time comes get back to the Gulf Coast, there is an area the size of Kansas that needs cleaning and rebuilding, if you cannot find a job there I think you are just too lazy. Not to be mean about it, I understand the shock they are going through but time to suck it up and if they will provide a place to live and help you survive while the rebuilding is going on then get in there and make a difference in rebuilding YOUR
community.

The Fall Season starts next week so I will be checking the listings carefully. This year I vow to watch less crap and more intelligent, well written television, which I think will lead to less TV over all (a good thing) and better watching habits for the family. I'll let you know how it goes.

Since I have not said it in awhile, I will do so now. I see a lot of new and returning unique visitors, so please drop a line in the comment box when you can. I like to see who is here and if you visit and have your own siteI would like to return the compliment and visit yours.

Till Next Time.

Get Me My Big Stick

So this ass had got some moron judge (lower case 'j') to rule our Pledge unconstitutional. I know I have touched on this before but he it is again. I cannot believe that this issue has made it this far, but then again with an organsization like the ACLU running things how can I be. This country was founded on the principle of a higher power. God was first and foremost in the minds of our Founding Fathers, PERIOD. The separation of Church and State was put in place so that no ONE religion was made the official one of our country because even then there were several different faiths and sects among the people that formed this country. It was not ment to keep men and women of faith (any faith) from serving this country and help form the laws that govern us. God is God whether he be Christian or Jewish or Muslim, and the many versions of Him in each of those faiths, Orthodox, Baptist, etc. If you do not believe or agree with what is being said during the pledge then leave that part out. Do NOT tell my children that they cannot say what they believe to be true, your child can stop speaking when the class says UNDER GOD then continue after that.

After all that my initial reaction was, this man needs a good beating as does the judge (lower case) because they need to have some sense knocked into them.

If you can ever find it, funny man Red Skelton used to do a speech about the pledge and the attemps to remove and change, UNDER GOD. I heard it some time ago and then again last year when this issue first came up, the man speaks better than I. And probably didn't want to beat these morons over the head either.

Get The Blankets

We did a report today that the average winter heating bills will be going up dramatically this winter. A person spending $160 a month (which we do) can expect to pay $306 a month to heat their home this winter. I am already spending $40 to fill my tank, now double my heating bill (and some months it hit over $200) and I would be better off taking unemployment and welfare!!This is getting NUTS! What is a working family to do?

I have neither answers or witty commentary

Monday, Monday

Yes! I finally worked out today. First time since Friday last, still sick though. Coughing and stuffy nose...blah! Weekend was great, Saturday we hung around the house a little slow due to sickness. Sunday was a different story, up early and out and about all day, double header of the first Sunday of Fall Baseball (1-1) from Noon till 5pm. Then out to dinner, home to homework, then couch for Colts game (1-0). Got major red neck suntan coaching 1st Base. The boy caught well, didn't get a hit and pitched 2 innings. Saw a few kids/parents from Summer ball and Fall ball last year.

Saturday night we had my folks and grandmother over for dinner (with 2 year old nephew) and had a great time. The wife, as always, cooked up a great meal and we topped it off with apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

Funny thing happened at dinner Sunday night. We just finished baseball and went home to shower when the parents call and say they are going to their usual spot for dinner and if we want to come. We say sure and show up. We are all talking and looking at the menu when we start to order. The order around the table goes like this, BLT, BLT, BLT no T but with Cheese, Grilled Cheese and Tomato, Grilled Cheese and Bacon, Cheeseburger with Mushrooms (me). No one said they wanted BLT's or Grilled Cheese, we were all talking about baseball and the Colts and the weekend, but that is the way it happened. As we were walking out we pass a table giving their order and the woman says "I'll have the BLT.", the man goes, "You know that sounds good, I'll have one too...."

True Story!

Never Forget

I am reading a book on the history of Saturday Night Live as told by it's cast, crew, writers and guests. A very good read. Mayor Guilianni was on the show several times. Last week I read the section where he talks about the first show after 9/11. I remember that show and it was tought to read those pages and I put it down more than once. I kind of forgot how much that day affected me and how it will for a long time to come.

Picture Taking

I have a digital camera and I have had it for several years. For some reason we are always ahead of the curve. Me and a co -worker were the first two to buy a real home computer at my old station. My brother bought Power Ranger stuff home from Japan 2 years before they hit the TV back in the early 90's and I got my first digital camera when 2 megapixels were $600.00. And I still have it. So I am thinking of upgrading to the Canon Digital Rebel (6.3mp) but that is a huge investment. Then I see I have taken my digital photography for granted and hardly take the darn thing out of its case any more. I was stumbling around the internet the other day and saw a site were the owner ran his own little photo project, Project 365. Basically he took a picture everyday for an entire year (being a leap year he had 366 pictures). I saw that and thought, I can do that, and I am going to try. But I think to get the full effect of the project I will start January 1st, 2006. What I will do in the meantime is take out that darn camera and start taking pictures again and maybe I can justify spending $600 on a new one. Wait and see.

PS: On the cold front it is in full roar. Everytime I spoke yesterday I thought I would puke and then woke up sounding like Barry White, which is cool unless you are sick and the wife will not come within 15 feet of you ;-(

The Blahs

Woke up to work out and puked out the door this morning. Still going to work and feeling OK, but man oh man I hate being sick. Joined NetFlix and we sure are loving it, I have about 80 movies in my Queue now and can't wait to see everyone!!! The thing I love about it is the TV series section, we can get the DVD's one at a time and enjoy an entire season in a few days!!!

Not much to talk about, being sick and all. I did spruce up the place with some of those button/banners on everyone else's blog, just go check them out over on the right there.....yep that's it, click on them and enjoy the links....

Until Next Time.

First Born and Left Arm Please

As you faithful readers know, I was under the weather yesterday, and still am today. So I run out of the house to Target before work to pick up Lost on DVD and NyQuil for the cold. I find my DVD then spend the next 5 minutes searching for NyQuil. Up and down the aisles I go finding Robtussin, Triamedic, Cloretts but no NyQuil. Now I am a little upset but know I am a little fuzzy and looking right at it so I do not grab a Target Employee yet. After 5 minutes I finally go to the counter and ask if they have NyQuil and they say, sure do it's back here behind the Pharmacy Counter. You see the Indiana Congress passed a law restricting the sale of certain over the counter drugs that have been used in making Meth. Since being passed Meth production in the state of Indiana has gone down 40%, which is good. However, now I have to present my drivers license and fill out a form to buy NyQuil, Sudafed and any other great drug to knock you out and cure what ails ya! To top it off you have to stand in the Pharmacy line to pick up cough medicine. While I appreciate the fact that we want Meth off the streets there has got to be a better way to buy my knock out drink!

In the end I took NyQuil last night and do not remember the last part of Rome (on HBO) or getting to bed, God I love that stuff!!! And I feel a bit better today!

PS: On Bush, Katrina, blame and fingers I believe I have said my peace, the most important part yesterday, today and tomorrow is to find homes, jobs, loved ones and resting places for all those people on the Gulf Coast. Stop the politics and get moving on the relief, PERIOD.

No Witty Title

Woke up this morning with a sore throat and clogged nose...tried to find NyQuil last night cause I felt it coming on but we have none in the house! So now I feel like shit AND didn't get to the gym today which bugs me even more than this slight cold.

Weekend was a good one, my nephews 2nd birthday ( a Thomas The Tank Engine birthday) and the whole family was there, so we had a great time.

Also watched a lot of Katrina coverage. While I still feel the same about my last post I do believe that balls were dropped, from the local level all the way up. I also believe that it is due in large part that a) this is a disaster on a HUGE SCALE never seen before, b) it covers an area roughly the size of Kansas (the state not the city) and c) the majority of the New Orleans damage came a full day and a half after Katrina ripped through. I just watched an interview on NBC were residents who are staying said they were out in the streets cleaning up from Katrina when the levee broke and the floods came. They were close to getting the street back in order when the 2nd disaster struck.

The system needs to be improved, people need to be held accountable but now is not the time or the place for finger pointing. Get the job done and get the people back on their feet. There will be plenty of time in the months and years ahead to finger point, right now it is interfering with a rescue and rebuild operation.

And a PS to Bush-haters: We get it, you hate him, he is the devil incarnate, a stumbling fool, alright already but he is 1) the President and 2) a lame duck one who cannot run again. Instead of being a hater why don't you find and support a person who is pro-country and pro-people instead of Anti-Bush and I might just vote for him/her.

It's The President's Fault!

No not really, I just wanted to be on the 'in crowd' since everyone is on the "It's Bush's Fault" bandwagon.

You are all right,
-it is Bush's fault that New Orleans is built 5 feet below sea level
-it is Bush's fault that the Atlantic Ocean creates hurricanes
-it is Bush's fault Katrina gained strength in the Gulf
-it is Bush's fault that the builders of the 100 year old levee built it to withstand a Category 3
-it is Bush's fault places of safety are now under water
-it is Bush's fault people are taking pot shots at rescue teams
-it is Bush's fault the media is centered on New Orleans when 90 miles of the coast has suffered
-it is Bush's fault New Orleans did not have a better evacuation plan
-it is Bush's fault neighbor did not help neighbor
-it is Bush's fault some parts of the area are still not reachable because of damage
-it is Bush's fault, it is Bush's fault, it is Bush's fault

Stop whining like a bitch and do something, donate time or money; get involved in your community to make sure you are ready for a disaster or able to respond to one. My mother went to the Red Cross to volunteer on the phone lines, we are building a rescue pack in case we ever have to leave home due to tornado, I vote for who represents me, not my party but who is best for the community, we are involved in Boy Scouts, learning First Aid, Emergency preparedness and doing Community Service.

Why is that important, because the finger pointing will start, or has started and every man, woman and child should first turn that hand around and point at themselves. It is a terrible tragedy and I understand that some people just could not leave their homes or unable to get all their loved ones out and had to stay and I truly, deeply feel for them. You also have to understand that the area is in shock. We sent a crew down there to Gulfport to cover the story, one truck, 3 men. They left on Sunday and by Wednesday they were out of food, water and fuel. Stuck in the middle of nowhere. It is no easy task to move thousands of people out of there, much less thousands of people in there to help. No one can ever be prepared for an event like this and better yet respond in a perfect manner. Mistakes I am sure were made and there is plenty of blame to go around but let us focus our efforts on saving the survivors not yelling at each other....

Day Four

Crazy day, got a splitting headache and puked at work so came home to rest...the boy had baseball practice and we took out the garbage. The dryer was emptied yesterday but my office remains a mess. The upstairs garbage pails were emptied (bathrooms and bedrooms) but the boy's room is a disaster area...2 out of 4 is not bad for two boys without a mom/wife. She on the other hand went to a Cleveland Indians game, bowling and out drinking...oh and spending 12 hours a day in seminars and classes...she comes home tomorrow and I could not be happier!!!!!!

Marching On

I have watched for the past day the footage and situation down on the Gulf. It is sad, heartbreaking and incredible what has occurred and is going on down there. I do not think we can fathom what it is like there and what they must be dealing with. We know people down there and they have lost EVERYTHING with no future. Everything is in limbo, when they can go home (if there is anything left to salvage), where they will go for there next meal, were they will sleep tonight or tomorrow, how they will make money to live for the next few months, if they will even get to return to their home (New Orleans) this year?!?!?

It will take at least ONE MONTH to drain the water out of New Orleans, once they fix the levee. Then the clean up, recovery of bodies, clearing of roads, destruction of unsafe bridges, roadways, buildings and homes, restoration of water, power, sewer, gas lines, repairing homes and buildings, rebuilding those lost, I cannot get my mind around it.

The history of that city, the French Quarter, the mighty Mississippi. What have we lost, will it every be the same? I am afraid of that answer. The pictures above are from my brother's wedding, almost 2 years ago.........