Back to the rants

I heard a story on NPR Monday night that really set me off. It has all the key elements of a story that should be a red flag to people that the bullshit is going to be thick. It had the police, a criminal, drugs, and the ACLU.

Apparently the ACLU and the left are pissed off because these crackheads who resist arrest are dying from over exertion while on drugs. The medical examiners have labeled this "excited delirium". The ACLU thinks this is a made up term. It seems that using this label places the responsibility for these deaths on the criminals not the police.


The title of the story is 'diagnosis or cover up' . The implication is that the police are somehow killing these fine citizens. Then the police cover their murderous tracks by getting the medical examiner to make up a fake diagnosis. The story waits a long time before mentioning that drugs are even involved. Nowhere in the story does it say how the police are doing this or how they could avoid it, just that it's wrong and the police are at fault.


So I guess the police are suppose to show up to a call and if the suspect appears to be on drugs and out of shape just leave them there? What about that people who called in the disturbance? What if this drugged up criminal hurts an innocent person? Then the polices really will be at fault for leaving a dangerous person on the street. But who cares about the innocent people right? Not the ACLU.


When are organizations like the ACLU going to accept that people are responsible for their own actions? That if you break the laws of society you will be dealt with public safety considered first and the criminals second. How are we suppose to attract qualified people to join the police force if they are always painted as the bad guy? Last time I checked calling 911 put you in touch with your local police department not the ACLU.

It's about to get mushy in here

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and comment on my blog. When I started this blog the idea was rant and rave about all the silly injustices in my world. I really never thought anyone else would bother to read it. Never in a million years did I think it would turn into what it is today.


I have learned so much from your comments and your blogs. You've given me a lot of laughs, a few tears and a lot to think about. I would have never believed that people from all over the world could come together and have such good hearted, interesting, caring and thought provoking discussions. The genuine concern you have shown for me and each other is touching.


So thanks to everyone for restoring a little bit of my faith in people. It came at a time when I needed it the most.


YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

For whom the bell tolls

I got some bad news this past week. My uncle became sick and had to go the hospital. Within a few days we found out he had cancer. He was given six months to one year to live. While they were waiting to find out what kind of treatment they would try he was readmitted Friday and the months turned into three weeks. Well it looks as though he won't even make that because as of now they expect him to die any hour. Very sad.


Although I saw him a few times a year, every year of my life, I can't say we were close. He was a private type person and never had much to say but he was always nice and very well liked. He raised a tremendous family that anyone would be proud to have. His daughter had his last grandchild just two weeks ago.


I don't mention this to get sympathy as I said I were not close but it does have me down. I have always felt lucky to have been blessed to have many aunts and uncles. Six aunts on my mom's side alone. This is the third uncle to die. I can't help but think in the next few years I will watch this process repeated many times. There is a part of me that's glade that I was never that close with many of them. I know that sounds bad but it doesn't sound so bad today.


I have an older brother and a younger sister. All day I kept thinking that one of us will be the first to die and one will be the last. One of us will go to the others funerals and one of us will not attend any. Worse than the thought is knowing this is a fact and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. Death is such a sad part of life, one I will never get use to or understand.


Now I have to be ready to put on my suite and go to my uncles funeral and wonder when is the next one going to happen.

Update on Jen

Copied from Jen's blog:

"The short version is that this doctor doesn't think that the brain lesion is what's making me ill. That means that he doesn't want to cut the back of my head off. Yet.
I have to go in at 6:45 in the morning on Sunday for more tests. He's casting his vote with MS. Many have traveled this road and failed but he thinks he'll be able to detect something the others haven't. I wish him the best of luck.
In the meantime he's treating me with a different nerve block (which is the first step in treating MS) with the hopes that it will control my tremors, headaches, seizures, and other assorted symptoms from hell."

Again I'll be praying for you Jen.

Many of you may not realize that Jen, who you have seen comment on my blog, has been very sick for the past year. Tomorrow she is going to the doctor to get a head scan to see if she will need a brain operation. I can't imagine the fear that must be involved in this process.


I'm not aware of everyones religious or spiritual affiliations but I ask and hope that everyone takes a moment to say a prayer for her. I don't believe a person can have to much support in a situation like this.


Jen my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Expectations

Expectations are a big part of every body's life. It seems to me that expectations are the cause of a lot of unhappiness in this world. Are they a good thing or a bad thing? What are they really based on? Usually I set my expectations for myself and my situations so high that the outcome can only be disappointing.


I seem to have high expectations for the people I know and love as well. They have to go above and beyond my expectations to impress me. Expectations they aren't even aware of sometimes. Strangers, on the other hand, can do the smallest of things and make me happy. Is this fair?


This scenario players out hundreds of times a day with the end result almost always disappointment. Everything from how I expect my wife to treat me down to how my food should taste is all weighed against my expectations. This can lead to hurt feelings when people aren't even aware that they have injured me. In fact, they may be thinking they did me a favor. When I am sick I expect my wife to take care of me but does her definition of care match my expectation. It better or I might just blame her for my unhappiness instead of the illness. Totally unfair on my part but it has happened.


Of course the few times my expectations are met euphoria should ensue but in most cases I just feel relief that I wasn't disappointed. Most of the time I find happiness when my bad expectations turn out to be false. A good day when I expected a bad one. No traffic when I expected rush hour grid lock. No waiting at my favorite restaurant to get a seat.


Why do I feel the right to place my expectations on everything and anyone? How do I keep from having these expectations? Where do they come from and how do I control them? I hope some of the answers I find are the ones I'm expecting to hear.

Per Harbinger

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

After reading Lindsay's comment about not having children I sat in disbelief that anyone would not want kids. Of course my opinion comes from my own experiences with my children and the fact that I have always wanted a family more than anything else. I will admit that children are not for everyone and everyone shouldn't have them because your life, as you know it, pretty much ends if you plan on doing it right.


Still I can't help but want people who have never experienced the joy of it to know what it's like. So here is a list of what I love about children and why I think people should have them;


You will never know unconditional love until you have a child


You will never know true pride until you have a child to be proud of


You will never understand your parents until you have a child


You will never understand the magic of being a child until you have a child


You will never understand concern until you have a sick child or you stop by their crib just to hear them breath (yeah, I still do it)


You will never truly under stand innocence until you spend time with a child


You will never know true Patience until you teach a child


You will never know trust until you have a child count on you for their life


You are almost guaranteed immortality through your child

I didn't know love - TRUE LOVE - until I had my first child.

A woman will have something to blame her saggy boobs and flabby stomach on after having a child. :)


There are probably hundreds more but these are the ones that quickly came to mind.


I'm sure people will say they have experienced some of the things on my list without having children but I never knew these things completely until I had my children. Just something to think about.

My middle name is "childish"

After accepting 20 Somethings challenge to do something childish this weekend I had to stop and think what I could do. The problem is I act childish all the time (no noise from the peanut gallery here). It really wasn't any problem for me to do something childish this weekend or any other day. The wife says I'm just a big kid anyway.

At work I'm in a position that nobody will say anything no matter what I do, so pulling a few pranks is kind of expected. It helps break up the day. We shout things, throw things, and hide each others stuff all the time.

In case there's any doubt that I did do something childish here a few things I did this weekend.

Played hide and seek

Rode a scooter

Rode a tricycle

Had a tea party

Played army

Played ring around the Rosy


Yep, I lead an exciting life.


The other day when Spiller told the story of him jumping to his car on one foot in the snow to freak out his neighbors it reminded me of another funny story. This seems like a good place to put it so I'll remember it.

A friend of mine in his fifties told me this story last year and it cracked me up. It seems his neighbor got a new Cadillac that he was very proud of. So every few nights my friend would sneak over to his house and pour a few gallons of gas into his new Cadillac. After about a week the neighbor came over and slapped my friend on the back and said "62 miles to the gallon." Every time the neighbor saw him he would run him down to brag about the car. After a month my friend started taking a little gas out of the car every few nights. In a few days his neighbor would come home and go straight in his house without saying a word. Eventually he took the car back to the dealership claiming it was broke because it wouldn't get 62 miles to the gallon anymore. They thought he was nuts. I think that's funny :)

Per harbinger

This Is My Life, Rated
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Mind:	6.4
Body:	7.7
Spirit:	8.4
Friends/Family:	4.8
Love:	7.3
Finance:	8.1
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Family Traditions

Traditions anyone?

After the wife and I had our first child we wanted to start some traditions that we could look back on with some happy memories. We struggled to find something unique until our neighbor gave us a garden elf for Christmas. We had no idea what to do with the thing so it sat on our counter for a month. One day I needed the space and moved it. My son noticed it had been moved and wanted to know who moved it. I told him maybe the elf was magic and moved itself. To my delight my son started checking the elf everyday to see if it had moved again. That was the day we began living with the a magic elf. Now when the elf moves my sons search the house from top to bottom until they find it. Evey year right before Christmas the elf disappears for good and returns in a wrapped gift to one of the children. They love it.

We have had a few accidents with the elf and are now on our third one. It seems when they break the magic goes to the north pole and creates a new one. The latest one is cast iron so I think we have a keeper. My hope is that one day my son will move the elf on me and the other children. When the kids grow up and move out we can magical pass the elf around through gift giving and remember the days of them screaming through the house in search of the magic elf.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYBODY!

Free Speech, Free Press, 5 Grammys

Can someone please tell me why the Dixie Chicks won 5 Grammys? While your at it fill me in on what political and diplomatic experience a entertainer has over the rest of mankind. Why don't we let football players start setting economic policies and actors advise us on medical issues?

I knew a few months ago this was where we were heading. I wrote this and had it published in our local news paper back in May of 2006.

" It would be hard not to notice that the Dixie Chicks have put out a new album. Not because their music has been played non stop for the past few years or because I'm a country music fan. It's because they have been featured on every publication and television show there is.
You would think the Beatles had gotten back together. They have been featured on the cover
of Time as well as 60 Minutes. You can't go anywhere without seeing this media blitz. Good
performers couldn't pay to get this kind of free publicity that the Chicks are getting.Why? Because they insulted the President and now the liberal press wants to make sure they get more chances to do it again. It's a shame the media isn't even trying to hide their bias anymore.
Oh yeah, by the way, that was nice picture of the Dixie Chicks on the front page of the paper, S Morning News."

After this media bliss the Chicks had to cancel some of their concert dates due to lack of ticket sales. The band broke up or almost broke up. It's hard to say because the media didn't seem to have much to say about it. It seems somethings aren't worth reporting. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against what they say or what they sing. I think they have every right to say whatever they want no matter how stupid or brilliant it may be. The fans can answer back by supporting them or turning them off. It's a fair system.

It's a fair system until the media and the Hollywood left get involved. I doubt any fair minded person couldn't help but think that the agenda pushed by the Dixie Chicks had something to do with their awards. Even if you like their music it's hard to deny that they have been rewarded for bashing the president and our country. What right does the music industry have to push a political agenda on the population? Mostly on the youth of our country that, largely, have no clue of what they're being fed or why? Would these same people show up if they were told they were going to a political rally with no music? I doubt it.

Let me make this clear. The Dixie Chicks have the right to say what ever they want. The press, who is suppose to be fair and fact based helping them push their agenda is obscene. The Grammy awards will be forever tainted and performers who want one have been sent a clear message the path they need to follow to get one and it has nothing to do with music. Maybe next year Justin Timberlake can spit on an American flag and get his.

Always say you're sorry

So I admitted to the wife that I had been a bit (ahem) of an asshole Thursday night. To my surprise not much was made of it until Sunday. That's when she arranged for me to spend the day with my oldest son and his best friends family.

I'll have to admit it was cool. Ok, it was very cool! My son's friends dad is a doctor who just, a week ago, got back from a tour in Afghanistan. So him, his three sons, my son and me went to a local museum. The male testosterone was aloud to flow and flow it did. The museum is full of real military aircraft and any other World War II artifacts you can imagine. My son is a nut about the military so he was in heaven.

I enjoyed talking with the other dad about his experiences in Afghanistan and got a chance to thank him for his service to our country. After the museum we went back to their house and played a great game of back yard football. It was awesome getting to see him enjoy time with his older boys, ages 12 and 14 after being gone for eight months. I was happy they let me be part of it. The only down side is I'm going to have to tell the wife I had another good time because of her, damn!

Per Lindsay

You Are 29% Selfish

In general, you are a very giving person who treats others very well. But at times, you insist on getting your way - when it matters most to you.

How Selfish Are You?

I was honest :)

I'm such an asshole!

Today I was the definition of an asshole!

My three year old son had a program at school called Daddy Desert Night. The wife thought it would be a good idea if I went. I really didn't want to for several reasons all of which were bullshit.

So how did I handle this situation? I acted like a big damn baby. I made sure she knew how miserable I was going to be. How pointless it was to go and how I didn't need to be preached to on how to be a good father. Of course you wouldn't know it by the way I acted. The wife even offered to go in my place which made me feel more like the jerk I was being.

Anyway, I went, I had a good time and my son seemed happy that I was there. The whole thing took all of forty five minutes. I'm such an asshole.

How Blogger Could Have Killed Me (an over dramatic tale and yes, another gym story)

One of my New Years goals was to get back in the gym and get back to the level I was at a few years ago. I've been doing pretty good and Finally got up the guts to try a lift I haven't done in about two years.


Let me set the scene:


I'm ready to do my lift. I have my mp3 player on so it's blaring in my ear "I've never had to knock on wood... " It takes me a minute to wrap my old knees. I'm ready "Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high... " I step into the rack and climb up under the bar, it rest across my shoulders. " has it ever come down to do or die... " I straighten up and step back. The weight feels like it is going to push me through the floor. I start to lower into a sitting position, nothing exists except the pull of gravity and the thought of pushing up. I do it, then again.


When I straighten up the second time all my senses flood back to me. I catch a glimpse of my partner in the mirror, he's not watching me. I can feel the pain in my legs and I realize my mp3 player isn't playing anymore. Maybe I pulled the wire loose, or hit a button, I don't care. I decide to push it and go for a third rep, I bend my knees to go down, my mp3 player makes a noise. A song is starting. I'm as far down as I want to go but I've lost my concentration. For some reason I'm trying to figure out what song is coming on. I can't place the music. I'm in trouble, the weight is not going up. I can't feel my partner behind me, no help is coming. Falling is becoming a real option. I push with all I have left, slowly I change direction and start to beak gravity's grip. I straighten up and rack the weight.


I bend over to catch my breath, hands on my knees. I'm seeing stars and I feel like my nose may start bleeding. My partners are congratulating me on a good set. For a split second I hate them. I hear the music again. I look at my mp3 player on my arm to see what song is playing. Yep, Journey "Sweet and Simple" from my 'smiling' blog post. I lean against the rack and slide to the floor, and start laughing. My gym partners think I'm crazy, again. I'm loving life, the unexpected, the thrill of it all. Of course I'm still not loving Journey, no not at all.

a tiny rant

Can someone please tell me what the deal is with TV show CSI Miami . Not the show but the character Horatio to be specific. This guy is suppose to be a Crime Scene Investigator and he shoots his weapon more than John Wayne. He's the only one on the show that can figure anything out. He suppose to be intimidating, he threatens all the tough bad guys. All the girls on the show fall in love with him. huh?


Is this suppose to be believable? First, I doubt crime scene investigators ever shoot their weapons. Let alone out shoot people with machine guns. Second, Is this guy hot? There's just no way, he's the definition of dork right? Third, He's tough? My three year old scares me more than him. I doubt a gang member drug dealing killer would think twice about snatching a knot in his head. The way he's so dramatic, tilting his head, hands on hips, sports jacket pushed back by his hands, it's just too much. Oh and they all drive around in new Hummers that they chase down bad guys in. I absolutely can't stand him.

Well it must be just me because the show is constantly in the top ten of shows viewed. How can that be? How can people watch him and not throw up? I don't get it! This show is a crime scene and should be investigated by WTF.

Excuse me, I've got to go put on my sports jacket, my sun glasses and go buy a new Humvee.

What defines me? What defines you?

A little while ago I had conversation with a friend about how work shouldn't define us. This conversation stuck with me and has given me a lot to think about. I really don't know what defines me. Really, how would you know?


I am certainly not my job, my dad is a workaholic and has not been able to retire because he has nothing else. That will never be me, work is just work not my life. I've been a weightlifter for over 20 years, won a few trophies but I bet you wouldn't find one person who knows me that would use weightlifter to describe me, I leave that at the gym. Looks, clothing and styles change according to the market and other peoples taste so they certainly can't define me. Being a good father? That remains to be seen, and that's the conclusion I've come to.


I will be truly defined when I die. When the people that know me, love me and even hate me get to evaluate my whole life. What will they say to describe me? What one line will they use to describe my life? Yep, one line is what most people get. That line will be based on how they saw me define myself through out my life.


Here are some lines I've heard and used;


He sure loved his work


She really knew how to live


What a nice guy


She was the kindest person I knew


What a pain in the ass he was


She sure knew how to pinch a penny


He would have given you the shirt off his back


What a bastard he was


She was the perfect mother


He was the kind of friend you could count on


What choices am I making today that will define me tomorrow? Am I defining myself or letting others do it for me? Am I living a life I can look back on and see some worth and value? Which one of these lines will I be? Which line do I want to be? What defines me? What defines you?

Still Smilin'

Just an update on the songs I've loaded on my MP3


Jen - Mad world - Gary Jules (kept the Other Version)

20 Something - Like a Star -Corrine Bailey Ray (Kept Blanket)

Daughter - One Step Closer - Linkin Park (Kept No More Tears)

Lindsay - You and Your Hand - Pink (Kept Grace Kelly)

Marianita - Ramble On - Led Zeppelin

Harbinger - Vasoline- Stone Temple Pilots

Spiller5 -Place your Hands -Reef

David - Name - Goo Goo Dolls

Superman - Five For Fighting

Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down

Let me know if I got yours right or somethings changed.

Happy Ground Hogs Day!

Happy Ground Hogs Day!

Another BS post to push the pictures down

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

Just a poem I like to push my mug down the page.

Just Me

Molly Ivins R.I.P.

Molly Ivins died today. I detested the womans writing and thought she was intellectually dishonest but never missed a chance to read her column. Her ridiculous positions helped me strengthen my arguments. While I hated what she had to say I did admire her courage for saying what she believed the way she wanted to say it. She carved her own path in the journalism world and for that I take my hat off. Good-bye Molly I will miss the opportunity to yell at the paper in the way only you could make me do.