As the smoke settles on the Virginia Tech campus, it is a safe bet that gun control advocates are hovered in their lonely writers garrets trying to figure out how they can further erode the Second Amendment in the alleged interest of public safety, ironically the very act many of them accuse the Bush Administration (rightly or wrongly is irrelevant to this blog) regarding the 1st, 4th, 5th and other various amendments. In the end, it is more certain than I'd like to admit that some states or ...
I live in a town not unlike a few small other towns across the nation. If it wasn't for WalMart, we'd have virtually no retail. But before you say anything, WalMart has, by and large, helped the town more than hurt it., Sales tax revenues have gone up substantially, as it gives us a place to buy things here that were unheard of before our SuperCenter moved in. But, I have a beef. Of course, I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have a blog. Anyway, it was about a year ago when our Payless Shoe...
In my quest to get a degree, I took a big gamble earlier in the year on being able to finish by December. The thing is, I have a Technical Writing course that is a core requirement, and English Comp is a prerequisite. I discovered all of this at the beginning of the semester when I *accidentally* discovered I had been basing my predictions on getting an AA in CIS, when the course track I was on was actually the course for an AAS in Computer Technology. The coursework is very different, and a clo...
As I perused the "Current Events" section of the forums, I noticed a proliferation of Imus articles. It made me think. When I started blogging, if it was current events, I nailed it. I didn't let a lot of headlines pass me by. But the truth is, I've been more than a little perturbed by the nature of the news lately. I am finding the Onion FAR more insightful and thought provoking than the New York Times. While that has pretty much always been the case, NOW I'm finding them more accurate as we...
This weekend, Major League Baseball has been celebrating the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in the majors (which, it must be noted, was the first time a black player played in the majors in the MODERN era, but let's save the history lessons for another day). Along with the celebration of Robinson's debut is the protest of the declining numbers of African American players, a protest that itself brings out the hypocrisy of many in the activist community. Before proceeding further, ...
A few weeks ago, the question was asked about our guilty music pleasures. I said I didn't have any, and honestly couldn't think of any at the moment. but thanks to the joy of YouTube, I have been reminded of one such pleasure a few of you might think silly. As a rule, I am not an ABBA fan. "Dancing Queen" does nothing for me. But two of their songs get excepted from the list: "Waterloo" and "Fernando". ABBA were, of course, relics from the disco era. And Waterloo certainly belongs in th...
I have decided that I now fully understand the meaning of trust.See, I opened up the fridge to scout around for leftovers. Because I am scarcely home for long stretches as of late, I can usually identify things that have migrated/been removed/been added since my last perusal. As I was scouting through the fridge, perched between the case of Miller Lite and the milk jug was an 8 by 8 pan of....something.I decided it merited a closer look.This something had hamburger in it, so hopefully we can rul...
Someone posted the question to another forum I frequent about whether or not homeschoolers should be allowed to participate on public school sports teams. In my mind, they are asking the wrong question. The question they SHOULD be asking is whether extracurricular sports belong in public schools at all. There is a school of thought that holds that a healthy body and a healthy mind are inextricably linked. And I cannot argue that, as indeed, it seems that many of the chemicals that aid learnin...
Link Missouri Rep. Talibdin El-Amin is a moron of the highest order. No wait, he's insulting to every intellectually challenged person on the planet. See, El-Amin, D-St. Louis (note the "D" in front of the name? Still think the GOP has the bonehead legislator monopoly) has now taken the war on drugs to a new front. The legislator has introduced HB 1189, a bill that calls for identification to be produced and a list kept for anyone who purchases baking soda. That's right, baking s...
Muaaaahhhaaaahhaaaa! My master plan is working so far to perfection. After a stellar performance by their first two starting pitchers left the Mariners above .500 despite a game 3 drubbing by the hated A's, they moved on to Cleveland, where the weather has treated them kindly. Friday's game was cancelled with one out left in the 5th, leaving the Mariners with an opportunity to turn what was a 4-0 loss into a win in the record books. Saturday's planned doubleheader was likewise cancelled. A...
Next Saturday, April 14, 2007, will mark the 72nd anniversary of "Black Sunday", the climax of the Dust Bowl and one of the most storied events of that era, memorialized both in film and in song. As Woody would write years later, "The churches was jammed and the churches was packed And that dusty old dust storm blowed so black That the preacher could not read a word of his text, So he folded his specs, took up the collection, said So Long, it's been good ta know yuh ...
The discussion of living together before marriage was broached on another thread. I didn't want to jump in there because, well, it's already gotten sticky. But it did bring up a relevant moment in my past that is worth mentioning. (Firing up the "way back" machine). I'll admit it. My wife and I lived together before we were married. I'll readily admit it was a less than perfect solution to issues at the time, but honestly, our options were rather limited. Her home life was NOT an ideal sit...
Today we made a trip to the library's used book sale. It is no secret that I am a bibliophile, and so I am drawn to these things like a moth to a flame. So, off we went. I knew today was going to pay off nicely the second I walked in the door. I immediately spied a book that I instantly recognized from one of my favorites before we left Wisconsin. It is a book called "The Volume Encyclopedia", and it just may qualify as one of the coolest books of all time. It is 2594 pages long and it covers...
I love strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Of all flavors, it is my favorite. So I was quite pleased when standing in front of the selection of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. There in front of me was that nectar of the gods, strawberry cheescake ice cream. It would have been wrong of me to resist. I bought a pint. All I could think of while eating it was "damn, them hippies make great ice cream". Big chunks of strawberries, a very definite and distinct cheesecake flavor (unlike so many brand w...
I wasn't going to take the call. Last week, a salesman called me four times in a row. As in called, when the voice mail picked up, called again. Four.Times. About a half hour later, he called again and I picked up. I didn't want to, but occasionally (ever so occasionally) it is important. This one wasn't. It was a deal for Dish Network. A pretty good one, actually, so I listened to his pitch (we've been considering getting television again). It was within our price range, but I needed to wait...