Ramblings of an Average White Guy

2003-12-04T22:46:00.000-07:00

Christmas Cards
Well, I received my first Christmas card in the mail today. What the fuck? It's the freakin 4th of December. Who is that organized or anal about cards to have them sent out this early. I haven't sent cards out in a couple of years. My wife was the one who did that. So, the last couple of years, I just haven't felt like sending cards. Maybe this year.

Home Decorating
Tomorrow, Rachel and I are going to start decorating the house for Christmas. I'm going to try and let her make most of the decisions about how to decorate. She loves putting things out, so I'm going to let her. Not planning on playing any carols while we do this, but, maybe I'll play some of the "cracked" carols such as "Grandma got run over by a reindeer".

Accounting Class
In class today, our instructor gave us all a status sheet letting us know what our current average was and our total points. It takes 450 points to get an A in the class. So far, I have 418. That means all I have to do is get a 32 or better on my final test to get an A. The problem is, I currently have an average of 104.8 (thanks to extra credit points). So, the egotistical part of me says I need to get a high 90 score on the test to keep my average about 100. I'm not going to bother figuring out what the lowest score I could get is. I'm just going to try and do the best I can.

How much is that doggie in the window?
Okay, I'm not buying a dog. But, I am in the process of trying to determine whether I need to purchase new bowling shoes (dog? bowling shoes? what?). The problem is, the pair that is being recommended to me as an equivalent or better than the worn out pair I have cost $157. For bowling shoes? Damn, that's a lot of money. Of course, what price does not having to rent shoes bring? I think I'm going to have to seriously consider just how bad I need new "quality" shoes before I even think of forking over that type of money.

2003-12-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

Thought of the Day
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines.

So much I'd like to do or accomplish, but I just can't find a starting point. It seems that I have the desire to do things, but don't know where to start. Each project I come up with seems to have a prerequisite. But, even those have things that have to be done before hand. Somehow, I need to learn how to pick one thing and start on that. Focus seems to be something I need to work on.

By the way! The first line of this post is a lyric from the song Time by Pink Floyd. So, if it seemed familiar, that's why.

Social Calendars
Once again, my 9 year old daughter has a more active social life than I do. I am having trouble keeping up with everything she has going on. From play days to birthday partys, from church to sleep-overs, she is just constantly going. Maybe that was the strangest thing that I felt while she was at my Dad's place, I wasn't driving her from one event to the next. Oh well, better she's active than a wall flower. Oh, one other thing, right now the personal phone usage is about 60/40 in my favor. I figure I have a year or two at best before that swings the other way.

Happy Birthday
Today is my son's (from a previous marriage) 21st birthday. I wish I had the chance to talk to him, but thanks to his mother and his medical condition, this is the closest I can come. One of these days I'll explain the whole situation. Suffice it to say for now that it's nowhere as close as the relationship with Rachel.

2003-12-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

I'm back among the living
Should anyone care, I'm back. Sorry about the absence, but I was hit with a mild case of flu that's been running around here in Colorado. I say mild since some people here have died from it. So, I feel lucky to have only been achy, feverish, chilled, sore, tired, etc... But, I finally feel like I'm almost back to normal. One more day or two and I should be rid of all the symptoms. At least I can finally do most of my normal activity without having to take a two hour break for every one hour I do something.

Thanksgiving and Christmas
My daughter Rachel spent Thanksgiving with the Oldcatman and other members of the family. I'm glad she was able to enjoy the holiday even when I didn't care about it (and later turned up sick that day). She had a good time with the animals, my aunt, cousin, and of course Grandpa. Course, I'm now hearing about all the chickens, cats, dog, and horses and their daily activities, but I'm just happy she had a good time.

Now, Christmas is coming up. I've always enjoyed Christmas. Guess it's the kid in me. Hey! I'm greedy, I'll admit it. I love getting presents. There is also a part of me that really likes the fact that for one brief period of time, people will think of others. Odd thing to make a conservative happy, but I do like hanging out at the mall and watching people scurry and run around. I love watching little kids talk to Santa and tell him their wants. I don't care for the Carols, but I can live through it.

Number one thing I enjoy the most is the look in Rachel's eye's when she thinks about presents, Santa, Christmas dinner, and all of that. The look of expectation and joy is just so wonderful, it can cheer even the gloomiest of days. She's the typical kid wanting anything and everything, but it's wonderful that she is happy with whatever she gets. Plus, she's getting old enough to want to make decisions about decorating the house and tree. To watch her decide what ornaments and decorations should be used this year is just heart warming.

Miscellaneous
On the housing front - We didn't get our offer accepted on the house we looked at. The sellers decided to go with the first offer. Oh well, at least now I've got my feet wet and have things prepared to move forward.

Accounting class - Just a week and a half left. If I've done my math right, all I have to do is get a 40 something or better on the final test (out of 100) to get an A. Makes me feel good to know that I'm doing well, must be my competitive nature.

Dating situation - Had to throw in something for a laugh. There is no dating going on here. Any one know a nice lady?

Bowling - Still plugging along. I've got a combined 195 plus average between the two leagues, tournaments, and subbing for other people. More than my concerns about my average, I am just really having fun this year. In both my leagues, I have people I enjoy talking, joking, and competing with. People actually seem to search me out to talk to and spend time with. It really makes me feel good to think that someone sees me and wants to spend a few moments with me. Reminds me that I may get down on myself, but that's my own emotion and is not shared by everyone. Makes me look inward and remember that even on a bad day, I still have a lot to offer.

As you can tell from some of my comments today, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. What I came up with is that I'm human. I have a lot of good qualities, I struggle with my emotions, I'm competitive, and I probably have as many people who like me as those who don't. The important thing is that I like myself. I would like to be a better person (who wouldn't), but as long as I'm okay with me and Rachel loves me, what else do I need? The answer is nothing. I simply have to remember to do things that help me (and Rachel) and not stress on what others think. Wish me luck!

2003-11-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

Oh, my aching back
Well, another tradition of winter here in Highlands Ranch. It's the annual day after the first day of shoveling snow back-ache. Nothing major, just enough discomfort to let me know my back is there. Every now and then I'll move just right and my back will tell me its tired. It's usually not bad, but this time we have sub twenties weather, so if I'm outside for any reason, my back muscles just can't warm up.

Good decision on my part
I made the right decision not to go to the Broncos game today. Heard on TV that it was the coldest temperature during a Bronco game in history. That, plus the fact that the Donkeys lost to the lowly Bears, and I really would have hated to spend the time and money to be at the game. At least the Chiefs won today, so, my tickets to the Broncos/Chiefs game should be good.

Sting Concert
One of the musicians I enjoy listening to is Sting. I liked the Police and I really like his solo stuff. He is going to give a concert here in Denver in February. I was tempted to buy tickets and go see him until I saw the prices. Standing room tickets are $62.50. Standing? You mean to tell me that they plan to sell SRO tickets before they've sold the first ticket? Oh well, guess I'll wait until the concert DVD comes out.

2003-11-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Oh, the weather outside is frightful
Yikes, who turned off the heat? The weather here in Highlands Ranch, Colorado is a brisk 14 degrees and we've received about 3 to 4 inches of snow. Had to shovel the driveway for the first time this season today. What a fun way to pass the time. The snow is supposed to taper off this evening but the temperature won't be climbing for a couple of days. At least we're supposed to get some sun tomorrow.

Not as big a Bronco fan as I thought
I was offered seats to tomorrow's Bronco game from my friend I'm splitting the season tickets with. Seems he and his daughter have come down with the virus that's been floating around here lately. The game is against the Chicago Bears. Hmm, let's see, stay home and watch the game from the comfort of my recliner or go to the game and sit outside on a cold plastic seat for better than three hours in sub twenty degree temperatures. Tough choice, but I think I'll have to stay indoors. I'd go if it was the Chiefs game, but the Bears? I don't think so.

Movies vs. Books
Not sure if I've mentioned that I read alot. Mostly read things by Stephen King, James Patterson (really like the Alex Cross books), books on finances, and golf. Right now, I'm also reading the fifth Harry Potter book. And yes, I've read the other four. The Harry Potter movies are pretty close to the books. There are some minor changes and omissions, but nothing too major. Now, the other book I'm reading right now, Along Came a Spider (Patterson) has also been made into a movie. Morgan Freeman plays the Alex Cross character which is a perfect casting move other than he's a little older than Alex in the books. Talk about differences! The movie basically has the Cross character, Jezzie Flanagan, Mike Devine, and Gary Sonjei. Where they came up with the opening scene in the movie is anybodys guess. The kidnapping is different such as while there is a Megan Rose that gets kidnapped, she's only part of the crime. There is another child who also gets abducted and he's not Russian like in the movie. There is a basic kidnapping, investigation, and the plot twist of the supposed good guys now having the missing child. But, the entire process of how you get from point A to B is totally different. In the movie, the character Sonjei dies, in the book, he's commits multiple crimes, is married, finally captured, goes to trial, goes to prison, and then escapes. He's more of a advesary of Cross in the book than in the movie. Also, in the books, Alex has two kids and a grandmother that he lives with. I really do enjoy the movie (and Kiss The Girls), but they are nothing like the books other than they're about a black cop named Alex Cross.

2003-11-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

What to write?
You'd think that with having taken some time off from writing that I'd have a small assortment of items to write about. Well, if you thought that, you'd be wrong. I'm sitting here struggling for something to write about. So, I apologize in advance if today's post is not that exciting.

House update
Nothing new on the house situation. Didn't expect anything today anyway. There is a relocation company involved in the deal and that will generally slow things down. Last we'd heard, the listing agent thought the sellers would be thrilled by my offer. Why you'd be thrilled about a back-up offer I do not know. Unless......the only thing I can think of is that the primary offer has some contingincies that are making the seller nervous.

World Tour
No, I'm not going to do any traveling. But, I have signed up to take a world tour of sorts. There is a restaurant around here called Old Chicago's. They stock and sell over 130 different types of beer. They also have what's called a Hall of Foam. The way that a person gets into the hall is to drink at least 110 of the 130 types of beer they sell. The restaurant now has a record on file for me listing the beers I've had so far. Each time I go in, I hand them my tour card and they'll keep track of my status and let me know which beers I still need to try. So far, I'm up to 2 (Coors Light and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale). For their own safety, they will only let you add six new beers a visit (to prevent someone coming in and trying to add, say 20 beers in one night). So, I figure if I visit the restaurant an average of once a week and have three beers each time, I'll be in the Hall of Foam somtime next August. In the meantime, I will get discounts on food after I've had 10 beers, a t-shirt after 50, a ball cap after 85. Wow, get free stuff (kind of free) for drinking beer. Damn, had I signed up earlier, I'd have a house by now.

2003-11-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

Oops
Okay, I goofed. I promised that I was going to write a proper post yesterday and then failed to do it. But, I had a very good reason.

After class on Tuesday, I drove around the neighborhood where I'm looking to buy a new home. Well, I came across one the had the "nice curb appeal" that I'd like. I stopped and picked up a brochure and then looked at the home on the internet. Really nice home. Nice enough in fact that I wanted to look at it yesterday which is way ahead of schedule, but the house is that nice. Unfortunately, the home is already under contract. But, they are excepting back-up offers in case the primary offer falls through. Without boring you with all the details, the short story is that I looked at the house and spent last night writing an offer on it. My real estate agents are a husband and wife team (who just happen to be my daughter's god-parents). Well, the husband was cautioning me about the remote chance of getting the home. But, the wife has talked to the agent selling the home and everything we're hearing leads her and I to believe that the first offer is a little suspect based on what the selling agent is telling us. Legally, she can't give us any details, but, she's just phrasing things and reacting to our offer like we're going to make things better. So, I'm just going to have to keep my fingers crossed. The nice thing is that I either get the house or I don't, there is no negative here.

Depressive funks
As I said in my last funk, I had a bad few days and was in a funk. When these things hit me, all my fears seem to come to the front of my mind and control my thoughts. I just get worried about taking care of my daughter, worry about money, worry about worrying so much. It's just had to shake. I don't know if you have ever been through these feelings, but man they suck. I know on a logical rational level that Rachel and I are fine. However, I just can't accept that emotionally. I guess this is my version of a female time of the month/PMS issue (not being derogatory, just kidding around). Then, I do something like look for a house and suddenly I feel better about getting something positive accomplished and all those thoughts move to the back of my mind. I simply need to realize that doing something towards a goal improves my mental state. When I feel a funk coming on, I need to work towards a goal to stave it off.

Back to Odd things
Okay, some body explain personal dress styles to me. Today at school, there was a large woman wearing a bright pinkish orange outfit. The pants were the light weight cotton variety. So, I could see every bit of cellulite and fat that was on this lady's thighs and butt. Why don't people think about this? Now, I firmly believe that everybody has a right to dress as they wish, but come on. If you are fat, it should be obvious that clingy clothing is not right for you. Similarly, if you are a well built woman, if you were a revealing shirt and short skirt, don't be surprised when guys notice you even if they stare/ogle a bit. Again, common sense. Now, no one deserves to have to take rude comments, but when you wear certain clothing, you are going to have people notice you. You have the right to wear a t-shirt saying religion sucks. But, if you wear said t-shirt to a church, don't be surprised if people react to it. Duh! I appreciate the fact that people dress as they wish and want to be comfortable. But, I just laugh when a lady, for example, wearing a short skirt gets upset because someone notices her legs. Gee, I wonder why? Lady, you are displaying 80 to 90 percent of you legs, do you not expect us guys to notice?

Mad at school
Well, I'm upset with the college I'm attending. Because I hope to be working next semester, I will have to take courses at night or on-line if I want to continue. I would like to take the second semester of Accounting next term. The only problem with that is with the textbook. We buy one book for both semesters of Accounting. So, I have used almost half of my textbook so far. Now, the idiots who run the on-line Accounting class have decided to use a different textbook. So, to continue my Accounting course, I'll have to buy another textbook that I will only use half of. I'll end up with two books (and not cheap ones at that) that I will only have used one portion of. Gee folks, thanks for thinking of the cost to the students.

2003-11-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

I'm Back
Okay, I've been gone a little while. I've been in what can best be described as a funk lately. A part of me hates to admit this, but I think I've just been depressed about the holidays coming up and other things. But, I think I'm coming out of the worst part of it and am getting back to functional. Still not totally okay with everything, but I'm getting there.

This is just a partial post
I'm planning on writing a proper post tomorrow sometime, but I just wanted to admit that this post was just for the purposes of getting something out there. There is only two things I really wanted to say this evening. They are as follows:

To my daughter Rachel - I love you more than anything in this world and thank God for you daily. Even in the worst funk, I feel blessed to have you in my life.
Dad - I love you more than ever in our lives, you constantly surprise me these days with your caring and understanding of my wacky life and feelings. Sometimes, I'm afraid to tell you how I'm feeling, but then I do and you understand. I can't express how wonderful that makes me feel

2003-11-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

Apology and Promise
I'm just too tired and semi-depressed to write anything tonight. I am promising myself that I will write a proper post tomorrow morning. Until then, I am just going to go to bed and try and get some energy back.

2003-11-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

One more Marine Corps comment
At school today (I was helping a classmate) they were having a job fair. Not much of one, but they tried. Anyway, while wandering around the tables, I came across a table with a few Marine Corps recruiters. I paused long enough to look at some of the brochures they had. Still the same shit. Newer pictures, but mostly the same text. The only real bad thing was they weren't giving away any Marine stickers or decals. All they had was pencils. Guess the budget just doesn't allow for much these days.

Speaking of school
Found out yesterday that I got a 98 on my last accounting test. That brings my average for tests to 97.6. We've got one more test in class plus a 100 point project due (which I've already completed). So, unless I truly tank the last test, I should get an A for the class.

My business math class is now over. I took my last test Tuesday and will find out how I did tomorrow. My average in that class in also 97 point something. So, all I had to do was get a 21 (out of 100) to maintain at least a 90 percent and an A.

Short Night
Been busy with school, homework, laundry, bowling, etc. so I really haven't done much lately. As such, I'm going to keep this really short tonight. But, tomorrow's another day and maybe something worth writing about will occur. Oh, the one big thing I've done lately is start the 5th Harry Potter book. It was kind of cute tonight, I was reading the 5th Potter book and sitting next to me was Rachel reading the 2nd. I love seeing Rachel reading books. She has a playstation, but spends so much more time reading than playing it. I like that.

2003-11-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

Veteran's Day
To all veterans and all current members of the military: Thank you for your service. Without you, the freedoms enjoyed by us all would not be present. You are my brethren and I am proud to have served with you.

More Marine Corps
I realized after reading yesterday's post that most of what I wrote about was the personal side of being in the Marines. As this is Veteran's Day, I thought I'd take the time today to write a little more about my actual military related duties.

The thing I was most proud about during my career was being a member of the Color Guard in Kansas City. I used to carry the Marine Corps flag whenever we were present at an event. Also, when the Kansas City Vietnam Memorial was dedicated, I was in charge of raising the American flag for the very first time. I took part in presenting the colors at two Kansas City Chief's football games. I also took part in a Royals playoff game. That was interesting becuase I carried the Canadian flag. And, since a Marine cannot carry a flag of a different country in uniform, I had to wear a suit to do it. I had to march a few steps in front of the American flag, so I was all by myself while my fellow Marines were carrying the Marine and American flag. Anyone who wishes to have a Marine Corps Color Guard at their event simply needs to request one. Now, I'm sure we wouldn't do a porno event or a KKK rally, but short of those, we pretty much went where requested. I did a Safeway (grocery store) convention, a Tai-Kwon-Do tournament, several parades, VFW celebrations, a Miss Teen Kansas pagent, a Coast Guard ceremony, and a Christmas in July production of Miracle on 34th street. One of the benefits of all these was we were usually invited to have a meal and drinks with the event hosts. Plus, if the event included a dance, the ladies all wanted to dance with a Marine in dress blues.

I was also a member of the Camp Smith Honor Guard. Basically, since Hawaii was the Pacific Fleet headquarters, we received a number of VIP's at our base. When someone arrived, it was up to the Honor Guard to show the respect and honor they recieved. So, I was part of the ceremony honoring such people as Ferdinand Marcos, the Prime Minister of Fiji, and then Vice-President George H. Bush (Not Dub-ya). Being part of this unit also earned me the priviledge of being a part smaller groups that would provide security and ceremonial duties at other military events. The neat thing about that was the comments and respect that tourists in Hawaii would give us when they saw us doing our thing. It's quite cool to have someone walk up to you and tell you that they admire the job that you do because you're a Marine.

While in the Marines, I was a COBOL programmer/analyst for the majority of the time. This was no different from the jobs I've held in the civilian world other than I wore a uniform (though you could argue a suit is a form of uniform). One of my other jobs was being the Mark IV Co-ordinator (another programming language) in Kansas City. This job basically involved working with whoever needed any information about one or more Marines to complete their job. So, it was a nice feeling to know that I was supporting others to do their job. The benefit of that position was that I basically did what ever was asked, so, if I needed something, someone usually owed me and was willing to do what I needed. Kind of a rush to have that type of power in your early twenties.

By the time I officially got out of the Marines, I had been promoted to the rank of Sargeant. Four days later, the promotion list to Staff Sargeant came out and my name was on it. So, had I stayed in, I would have been promoted during the next year and would have become a manager. Another weird feeling. When I was promoted from Corporal to Sargeant, I had the highest cutting score of any Corporal within my MOS. A cutting score is computed by taking your time in service, time in rank, proficiency and conduct marks, physical fitness scores and marksmanship scores into account. It was pathetic that I had to wait that long to be promoted, but that's just the way it was. At that time, the Marines were allowing Corporals from other MOS's to re-enlist, get a nice fat $16,000 bonus and a promotion to Sargeant if they became programmers. Well, that was fine and dandy for them, but for us programmers working our way up, we suddenly had a glut of Sargeants and very few promotion possibilities. Oh well, I finally got there.

The only problem I had being in my position in the Marines was that at each duty station, I managed to work myself into a position where I was quite valuable or at least handy. As such, I was pretty much allowed to do what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. That caused problems when I took my first civilian job because suddenly, I was just another worker. I lost all the status I had held in the Marines. But, again, because my first civilian job didn't work out, I ended taking another job at the company where I met my deceased wife. So, even a bad thing turned into a plus.

2003-11-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

November 10
Today is the 228th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The Marines were born on this date in 1775 at Tun Tavern.

I enlisted in the Marines officially the summer between my Junior and Senior year of high school a few days after I turned seventeen (in 1978). My dad wasn't too crazy about the idea but since I told him that I would sign up the moment I turned eighteen anyway, he went ahead and allowed me to enlist and signed my enlistment papers (since I was a minor). A little over a month after I graduated high school (in 1979) I headed to Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego for basic training.

The Marine Corps advertises that you can ask any Marine what they thought of boot camp and you'll receive the answer that they would never want to go through it again, but are proud of the fact that they had done it. And you know, it's true. Excluding the deaths of my mother and wife, I've never been through anything that mentally exhausting or challanging. And the physical part wasn't exactly easy either. When I started boot camp in July, I weighed 210 - 220 pounds. When I graduated at the end of September, I weighed 185 pounds. During the first week of boot camp, I struggled to run a mile in one of our first runs at a nine minute pace. My final physical fitness test, I ran three miles in just over 20 minutes in combat boots. I have never enjoyed running just to run. Except, when in boot camp, I learned to love our five mile runs. It meant that for the better part of an hour, I was alone. No drill instructors yelling at me, no rifle to carry, no drillling to do, just me running and helping out my platoon mates who were struggling. It was kind of a break actually.

After boot camp, I went to Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA for COBOL programming. My MOS (military occupational specialty) was 4063. The school started in mid October and if all went well, I'd be home for Christmas. However, all didn't go well. It wasn't that I struggled or had problems, just the opposite. I was doing really well and was ahead of schedule. So, my instuctor volunteered me for a brand new course that was starting (the first time ever offered). My other classmates were all people experienced in the language of the class and they wanted to use me as a test case to see if an in-experienced person could handle the class. Well, the instructor was pissed as he was sure no rookie programmer and/or private could handle the course. What really pissed him off was that I finished first in the class and completed it before everyone else.

From there, I was shipped to Camp Pendleton, CA. My instructors wanted to reward me for helping with the class by returning me to my home state, I wanted to go anywere else. Hey, I joined the Marines hoping to travel some. Anyway, off I went to the Marine Corps Tactictal Systems Support Activity or MCTSSA for short. Short that was except when I had to answer the phone. Here's how I had to answer a call, Good Morning, Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity, Automated Services Branch, Systems Programming Unit, PFC O'Brien (not the real name) speaking, how may I help you. I was so happy when people who knew me (like my co-workers spouses) would stop me early on. Other folks were always just amazed that I could rattle that all off. MCTSSA was an odd place, they really didn't need someone with my MOS, so they didn't really know what to do with me. So, the first thing they did do was throw me in more classes and force me to read manuals. I had to basically relearn the COBOL language on the machine we used. Then, after slightly over a year, just when I was starting to get comfortable, I got orders to Hawaii.

Off I went to Camp H. M. Smith, HI which is located in the town of Aiea (not a mistake, it's one of two towns in the US with a name that contains no constanants) on the island of Oahu. The thing I remember most about being stationed in HI is all the sports I participated in. I was stationed there almost three years. During that time, I played softball for my unit team, played on a civilian softball team, played football for various on-base teams, played volleyball on the base team, and bowled in a bowling league. The back of my car looked like a sporting goods store. At any given time, I could have equipment in there for between one and four sports.

There is two other things that are meaningful about my time in HI. One no longer is important to me, that would be meeting and marrying my first wife. She was also a Marine stationed there. For reasons I can now only attribute to stupidity and immaturity, I decided that she was the woman I loved and wanted to marry. That marriage lasted a little over 6 years if you include the time that we were separated. The other thing (and most important) was the birth of my son. I don't know that I've mentioned him before. The reason I haven't is that thanks primarily to his mother, although truthfully my stupidity is also to blame, I haven't been a part of his life for the last 15 years. In fact, in that time, I have only seen him once. My son has Fragile-X syndrome which is a condition that among other things, gives him characteristics and mannerisms of autism. So, my wife who thinks she's the only person who can deal with, help, or suport him has shoved me out of the picture. I should talk about this some other time.

After three years in Hawaii, I was off again. This time, I was sent to the Marine Corps Finance Center in Kansas City, MO. Now, I had complained about how bored I had become with Hawaii weather while I was there. Ship me some place with seasons I used to holler. Well, be careful what you ask for. My first winter in KC, I was driving to work one early morning and noticed that each thermometer that I passed dropped in temperature by two degrees. Big deal you say. Well, it was since the first one I passed read minus four degrees. I grew up in California, even in Sonora I don't think I'd ever had encounted a minus temperature. Man, that first time was a bitch. It was bitter, cold, and mean. Kansas City wasn't a bad place to be stationed other than it didn't have a base. We had to live out in town like normal folks. That's a big difference when you in your early twenties and haven't had to deal with rent, utilities, groceries, and the like before.

I had re-enlisted before I left Hawaii and so, while I was in KC, it was about time to re-enlist again. Well, I wanted to work it so that I would go to Japan a year and then return to KC (which everybody in KC did). This plan would allow me to leave my wife and son in our home and after a year in Japan, I would return and be assured of being there three years. After the three years, I would repeat the cycle each time I re-enlisted. Nice plan. Except, I had a Major in Headquarters in Washington DC whom I had been assigned to whenever he came for an audit in KC. Basically, I was his flunky and at his beck and call 24/7 while he was in KC. He liked the work I did for him so much, that he wouldn't let the career planner send me to Japan. He wanted me in HQ. I didn't want to go to HQ because I didn't want to move my son around. He was in a good special-ed school and I thought moving would do more harm than good. So, since my plan wasn't being allowed to happen, I got out of the Marines. A part of me was happy to be out, but I did and still do miss being in. It was a great time for learning, I had great friends, and generally, I fit in. I liked the black and whiteness, I liked the rules, I liked the structure. So, I was sorry to get out. But, if it helped my son, then it was worth it. The bitch of it was, a little after a year after getting out of the Marines, my wife and I separated. Therefore, the biggest reason for getting out (to assist my family) suddenly went out the window. Oh well, if I hadn't of gotten out of the Marines in KC and divorced, I would have never have had the job which allowed me to meet Kyla (my deceased wife), marry her, and then have my daughter Rachel. So, if after all this time, the thing I have left is memories of my Marine days and my little girl, then I am truly a lucky man.

2003-11-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

A few comedic thoughts on words
England and the US are two countries separated by a common language. For example, in the US, you say erb, England say H-erb, cause there's a fucking h in it. Eddie Izzard.

We wonder why kids and foreigners struggle with the English language. Consider this, One is pronounced W-un, why? There's no W in one. Two is pronounced to even though it has a W. Maybe one stole the W from two. Gallagher.

Still teasing
Only two (regardless of W sound or not) days until November 10th. Nobody has really ventured a guess yet as to why this day is special. Here's a hint - Tun Tavern.

What to do, what to do?
Rachel is going to spend the evening with her god-parents this evening. That means I have the night to myself. The problem is, I don't know what to do with myself. Whatever I end up doing, I'll just have to be safe and not do anything too stupid. Just have to figure out what sounds like fun.

Thanksgiving
My dad and aunt want Rachel and I to come out to their place for Thanksgiving. We're thinking about going. The biggest concern about heading that way is that it involves a 5 to 5 and a half hour drive over the Rocky Mountains to get there. I don't know about you, but I don't like driving in the mountains during winter weather. But, I don't know what the weather is going to be like that weekend at this time. So, it's hard to predict whether we'll head out or not.

Yes, it is a holiday, but I'm not that impressed by Thanksgiving. It's just a day to overeat and watch whoever the Lions and Cowboys are playing. Growing up, it used to be cool just because you got turkey. Back when I was little, turkey was only available during the holidays. Nowadays, it seems like you can eat turkey whenever you want. So, that part has lost it's appeal. I know the one thing I absolutely don't like about this holiday, cranberry sauce. Especially from a can. Uggh! And that's saying something from a person who lists liver and onions or chicken livers among their favorite meals.

Bowling Marathon
Well, not a marathon in the sense of bowling a lot of games in one day. But, starting a week ago Thursday, I'm in the middle of an odd streak of bowling times. I bowled on that Thursday, did a make-up on the following Sunday, bowled my normal nights last week on Tuesday and Thursday. Now, I will be subbing for a friend tomorrow night, will bowl normal Tuesday and Thursday next week, have the All-City tournament next Saturday, and have been asked to sub again on Sunday. Then, I'll have the Tuesday and Thursday normal routine again. If you're not counting, that's bowling 8 times in just over two weeks. No wonder my poor thumb is hurting. I keep jamming into my ball (no snide comments please) about every other night.

2003-11-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing to post
I actually have nothing to post today. I had a real quiet day around the house, picked up a little, did some laundry, and just hung out. The biggest thing I did today was some accounting homework/project and ran to the grocery store. Wow, exciting life I lead at times. Oh well, at least a quiet day is better than a bad day. Just thought I would at least post something saying I had nothing to post rather than not posting anything. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

3 Days
The countdown is down to three days until a special day. Any guesses?

2003-11-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

LIFO, or is it FIFO?
Well, another accounting test out of the way. Feel like I did pretty well on the test except that I missed one question (I know because I asked the teacher when I turned my test in) for sure. Other than that, I think I did well. I was stressing out over the one I knew I missed until I talked with my friends after the test was over. They were all commenting that they hoped to pass the test. Everyone was saying how tough the test was. What the f....? It wasn't that hard. We talked about the bank reconcilliation problem on the test and I'm now worried that they may be right. God help their checkbooks if they can't reconcile them.

Spelling 1A
In our local newspaper, they had one of those people on the street question/answer articles. Now, this is not that thrilling except for some spelling issues. As you know, last Tuesday was election day. So the question was, do mail-in ballots make you more likely to vote? Two people answered that they would have gone to the polls either way. Except, our brilliant newspaper said poles instead of polls. They did this twice. Another person said they would vote wether or not they had to go to a polling place or use a mail-in ballot. Guess what the paper said? You got it, instead of whether, they had weather. This has to be a case of where a spell-checker doesn't find a mistake, but the word is wrong. Great editing job at the paper.

New Year's Eve Party
My bowling partners Harry and Pat throw a wonderful party each year on New Year's Eve. They have a huge beautiful home and really know how to host a party. Well, they've been reminding me that the party is 3 months, then 2.5 months, and most recently 2 months away. The reason for these reminders is so that they let me know how much time I have to find a date for the evening. The funny thing is that every single woman that the three of us all know, Pat thinks is a pig and I shouldn't waste my time on. It's become the joke of two bowling leagues that I can't find a date that Pat approves of (hell, I can't find a date period). Harry told me that he would make sure that there was a single female (or two) at the party that I would instantly be smitten (his word, not mine) with the moment I saw her. I told Harry that if he would make that a promise, I'd show up with a bottle of Chivas Regal Scotch for him. Would be nice to owe Harry a bottle.

Teaser
Today is the 6th of November. Does anyone know what is significant about the date four days from now?

2003-11-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

Traditions
My daughter had a discussion in her class today concerning traditions. The teacher wanted to know if the kids had any family or personal traditions that they participated in. So, when my daughter came home, she asked me if we had any traditions. The only one I could think of that we currently have is eating seafood on Christmas Eve and having Champagne on Christmas Day. Not exactly monumental ones I realize, but it's what we've got. My wife used to spend the day after Thanksgiving decorating the house. She'd put on Christmas Carols, pour herself some Champagne, and spend the entire day decorating the house, putting up the tree, and such. But, thinking about this has me wondering, how many traditions do people have? And what makes something a tradition rather than a standard practice or habit? Kind of makes you wonder.

Christmas Carols
Speaking of Christmas Carols, my daughter and I were shopping last Sunday (November 2) and the store we were at had on Carols. Please folks, can we wait a couple of weeks? I'm not a big fan of Carols and haven't been for a long time. As I said, my wife played them all the time after Thanksgiving and it drove me nuts. I just don't care for the majority of them. I tend to like the comedic/parody ones like Grandma got runover by a reindeer, 12 Buds of Christmas, and Chipmunk Christmas. But as for the rest, with the exception of Little Drummer Boy, I just don't care for them. Here's an example of one that drives me nuts - the lyrics go - A child, a child, shivers in the cold, let us bring him silver and gold. Hey, excuse me, but if you have silver and gold, bring the kid a nice blanket or comforter. Silver and Gold ain't gonna warm up the kid. That song always makes me think of the Monty Python movie Life of Brian (Brian being a person constantly confused with being the Messiah). In the movie, the three wise men bring Brian's mother Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh (sp?). The mother asks what is Myrrh and is told it's a balm which she mis-hears as bomb. She goes nuts until the wise men correct her. She finally tells the wise men that she thought it was a bit daft to bring a baby a bomb, next time just bring more gold. I know I should worry about how God feels about things like this, but hey, any supreme being that created this world has to have a sense of humor.

Studying and Starbuck's
While not a tradition, I have a habit of going to Starbuck's and ordering a Latte to sip while studying for a test or doing homework. Well, I have a test tomorrow in accounting, so I thought I should head to my usual place. Except, this was later in the evening and my daughter was home. Guess what, she had homework to do also. So, I took her to Starbucks (she got hot chocolate) with me. So, we had a nice father/daughter outing at Starbuck's drinking our drinks, studying, doing homework, and chatting. Very nice way to spend time together. The one type of homework I wouldn't let her do is practice her Recorder. She just got her Recorder yesterday at school and now I'll have to listen to it on a daily basis.

2003-11-04T23:01:00.000-07:00

Broncos - 26, Patriots - 30
Oh man! For this I sat out in the cold for close to 4 hours? Oh well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might get. I was actually pretty comfortable sitting there rooting on the home team. Too bad the defense can't defend a pass. Or, that we have a quarterback (in name only) who can't seem to throw a ball anywhere near a place where someone could catch it. Plus, we were outcoached. At this point, even a wild card is going to be a tough task to acheive. I'm just glad I'm not a fanatic to the point that I base my own happiness on whether the home team wins or not.

The pain of parenting
Rachel had a bad day today. Seems some of her friends at school weren't very friendly today. She took a lot of ribbing and snide comments from people who she considers friends. It really gets to me to listen to her tell me about how some people sometimes treat her. Plus, she wasn't happy about the way she bowled today. Oh, had I mentioned before that she bowls in a fun intro league? At the end of the league, she gets a ball and bag. Anyway, I digress.

First, I told her that I was very proud of her and her bowling. She is out there trying her best and she is improving. I love the fact that she's trying to get better. I just don't want her to be too hard on herself (like her father) where her bowling score is concerned.

Secondly, I told her that the situation with her friends was not her fault. See, my daughter is a warm, wonderful, approachable, and caring friend. The problem is that she knows a bunch of kids who decide to be buddies with someone else on a given day knowing that Rachel will be there if things don't work with the other friend. So, poor Rachel is stuck with kids running off with someone else knowing that if they need her, Rachel will be there. I love that quality about her, but god it hurts to hear that people are treating her that way. My daughter has learned how to be a true friend from her mother and I. And, she's learned that lesson well. Unfortunately, some of her friends haven't learned the same thing.

Oh, but after feeling the pain of Rachel's bad day, I got a great present. After we talked things out, she was feeling better. Then, I put her to bed. After I thought she was laying down, she came out of her room and said she had something to tell me. She said "So what if I had a bad day, I have you and Buddy (her stuffed teddy bear) that love me, and that's all I need". Talk about an emotional pendulum. I went from hurting because she hurt, to feeling like a million dollars. I do so dearly and truly with all my heart love that kid and thank God daily for her.

Is Driving that tough?
What in the hell is wrong with people and their driving? Damn, it's getting to the point that I get nervous driving around my neighborhood. People can't seem to read speed limit signs. Can't obey traffic signals, stop or yield signs, or follow simple rules of the road. And, forget courtesy on the road. I can't tell you how many people go zipping by me giving me dirty looks (or a finger) just because I obey speed limits or stop when a light turns yellow. See, here in Colorado, if you are within two cars of an intersection when a turn signal turns red, people seem to think you still have the right to turn. I used to be one of these people who moved the instant a light turned green. But, I had to learn to delay because of the late turning fools around here. Gunning it at a green light here in Denver is sooner or later going to cause an accident. Well, all I can say is that I'd rather get somewhere ten minutes later and safe than to risk hurting Rachel, myself, or my car.

2003-11-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Writing Early
I am going to the Denver vs. New England football game this evening, so, I need to write this thing earlier today. Why am I going to a football game I could easily watch at home when the temperature is going to be at or near freezing? Because I bought the tickets when it was warm and didn't think about going to a night game in November is why. Oh well, I'll just bundle up and deal with it.

Apostrophes
I have an apostrophe in my last name. Normally, I have no problem with that fact. However, there are times when it's a royal pain in the ass. For the purpose of this post, let's say my last name is O'Brien.

The first annoying thing about an apostrophe is telling your name to people who are going to look something up on a computer. First they type in your name with the apostrophe. Oops, didn't find it. Let's try it without. Oh, there you are, there's your name. No folks, that's not my name. My name is O'Brien which is pronounced Oh-Bri-en. It's not Obrien which might be pronounce Ob-re-en. Would you like it if I omitted a letter from you name, especially if your name was Shmitt?

Now, I know the reason computers don't often have apostrophes in the names. It's due to programmers (like myself) who are lazy or unwilling (unlike myself) to code for the damn thing. You see, normally a programmer will take input from a screen and string it together with other information. Names are enclosed by single quotes which look alot like apostrophes (same thing in fact). Well, if you put O'Brien in single quotes, you get 'O'Brien' which the computer looks at as unbalanced quotes. What you'd have to do is put things in double quotes or put extra single quotes in. To save the whole programming lesson, it's a little extra work, but nothing major. It's just that if one program recognizes an apostrophe, then all of them do. That's what makes it a pain.

So, if you have an apostrophe in your name, companies will either remove the damn thing or will replace it with a space. If replaced with a space, my name becomes Robert O Brien. Now, is O my middle initial, or part of my last name. I was in the grocery store today and this store uses the space method. So, when the cashier looked at my name, she said "Have a nice day Mr. Brien". This doesn't really bother me, but it is a little annoying. What's amusing about this is that on the receipt where she was reading my name from, it shows Robert A O Brien. So, does the cashier think I have two middle names?

The second odd thing about having an apostrophe (and how a computer deals with it) is the interesting effect it has on my mail. Here is a list of how I get mail addressed to me:

Robert O'Brien
Robert A O'Brien
Robert A O Brien
Robert A Brien
Robert O Brien
Robert Brien
Obert Brien - Don't ask my why somebody dropped the R in Robert

At least you can then tell what companies share what mailing lists. But, I've often wondered if technically it's legal for me to open mail addressed to a name that isn't mine even if it's just a mistake. I don't think it would be, but hell, get a postal officer on a bad day and who knows what can happen.

2003-11-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Poker
Had a good time playing poker last night. Played nickel, dime, quarter stakes and ended the night up $11.40. Which looks even better when you consider that I only started with $10. Wish I could go to Vegas and do that with my money.

Bowling Make-up
Let's see, I was the one doing the most bitching about having to bowl on a Sunday morning. The lanes will suck, it's too early, I can't drink or smoke while we bowl, etc.. So, after all that, guess who bowled the best this morning? Your's truly bowled games of 242, 216, and 202 for a series of 660. The lanes were very dry so it took some time in practice to figure out the shot. But, managed to figure out what to do and was able to do it consistently during the games. Half way through the second game, I had had 12 strikes, 1 spare, and two opens. Strikes didn't come as easily the rest of the second and third game but I got enough to score well.

Clothes Shopping
Took Rachel shopping for some clothes today after bowling. Thankfully, Rachel doesn't want what I would consider really odd, trendy, or tacky clothes (now, shoes are a different subject). She usually picks out some nice clothes that I don't object to. I do wish she wear clothes that were a little more feminine, but she's still just a young kid. Besides, she'll start doing that soon enough and I'll be wishing she wore more boyish clothes at that time.

Poetry
Noticed while reading my Dad's blog today that he was posting poetry written by my aunt. As a person who never graduated beyond "Roses are red, Violets are blue" level poetry, I have a hard time reading modern poetry (yes, including my aunt's). I just don't get poetry or haiku's or things of that ilk. Shakespeare is about the closest to enjoying poetry that I get. Like most art forms, it takes skill, passion, and committment to truly be good at something. So, I admire those traits in the people who do attempt artwork. I just don't seem to be equipped with the wiring to truly appreciate certain art forms.

2003-10-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

Yippee! Blogger's working tonight
There I was, all set to write last night's post. Logged on to the Internet, no problems (thanks DSL service). Click on favorites to go to E-Blogger and suddenly get a damn error message. A problem has been encountered and has been reported. If the problem persists, please trying logging off and then back on. Well, after 30 to 40 minutes of trying, I said the hell with it and went to bed. Once again, I'm forced to think of an alternative to E-Blogger/Blogspot. I don't want nor need the hassle right now.

Happy Halloween
Went to Rachel's school today to assist with a class project called pumpkin math. This project used math to turn creating jack-o-lanterns into a learning experience. The kids had to estimate such things as the circumference, diameter, weight, thickness, and number of seeds of their pumpkins. Then, the did the actual measurements of those items to see how close they came. Finally, we carved the pumpkins (which is why the adults were there). The kids then took the measurements and as a group figured out the minimum, maximum, and average numbers of the pumpkins. As a way to learn, it was pretty cool. Sure beats some lame party where the kids just get hyped up on sugar.

Rachel went trick-or-treating with a friend this evening and had a blast. I sat with the parents of her friend while another friend took the girls out. This meant that I did not have to hop up and down to hand out candy. Of course, it also means that I had purchased candy for passing out at home that didn't get passed out. Rachel isn't too sad about that. More for her.

Who turned the heat off?
Damn, it is cold around here today. Wednesday, the temperature here was 82 degrees. Yesterday, it was in the low thirties and today the "high" temp was 30 degrees. Plus, it's been raining, drizzling, and snowing around here, so we have a nice amount of ice hanging around. I had to go spread salt around on my front porch before any kids came by tonight just so they wouldn't slip and hurt themselves. I think tomorrow we have a chance at hitting fifty. Will probably seem hot compared to the last couple of days. At least this weather has helped the two fires we had earlier this week.

Poker Night tomorrow
I have a poker game to go to tomorrow evening. This will be the first time I've played poker (other than PokerStars.com) in several years. Why is it that people (usually guys) don't play cards much anymore. I remember years ago that my dad used to play quite often at his apartment complex. I also recall screwing up a hand or two for him or his friends by commenting on their cards during a hand. I don't recall the stakes of the games my dad played, but I don't think that the money was the most important thing. When I play poker (usually nickel, dime, and quarter), I play more for the conversation, joking, drinking, smoking, and just general bull that occurs. I'm not going to this game looking to make a mint, I'm just looking to have a good time. Sure, winning a couple of bucks would be nice, but it's not my main reason for playing. I'm more interested in the play than the outcome. It's nice to think more about the enjoyment of just playing a game then to stress about the outcome.

The other reason I mention tomorrow's game is that I may not post before I leave for the game. So, if you don't see something here tomorrow, it's because I'm out being a guy and drinking, smoking, and gambling. Wow, sounds better every time I mention it. Now, if I could only hope for a stripper, I'd be set. Just kidding. No, I'm not.

2003-10-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Judi's House
My daughter Rachel (don't know that I've actually typed her name before) and I went to a place this afternoon called Judi's House. This place is basically a grief counseling place primarily for children (although the parent(s) have counseling available) who have lost someone close to them. The house is named after Judith Griese who was (former Bronco quarterback) Brian Griese's mom. He set up this house as a place where kids can go and learn about grief, how to handle it, how to deal with it, that they are not the only ones going through it, etc...

So anyway, while my daughter was touring the house, I had a chance to speak to one of the counselors. Well, to keep a long story short, she determined that I could use at least some group grief therapy, possibly some private therapy, and probably some meds to treat anxiety and/or depression. All of that is probably true to some extent. It's just weird to have someone you just met tell you that. The interesting thing is that I usually feel that I'm fine. However, the woman I was speaking with today asked me just a handful of questions that made me really emotional. I can't quite remember what the questions were, but they sure did strike a nerve. So, maybe I do need to talk with someone. I don't know. But, if talking to someone helps me and my daughter, it will be worth it.

Fire!
There is a fire about 30 miles (as the crow flies) from my home. The last report I heard, over 800 acres have burned to this point. When I went out today, I could see the cloud of smoke hanging over the sky. I could see the red/orange/yellow influence of the fire in the clouds. I can also smell the smoke from my house. This is nowhere near the size or intensity of the CA fires, but they still are big enough to be concerned about. Hopefully, we'll get the snow/rain they are predicting tomorrow or Friday. That will help the situation.

Short post tonight
Well, the counselor really got to me today. I don't feel bad, but I'm sitting here just thinking about "stuff". So, I'm going to keep it short tonight. I'll let you know what I learn concerning grief therapy. Could be interesting.

2003-10-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Ugh! No Bowling tonight
Damn, for the first time in several years, my team did not bowl tonight. Seems one teammate (Harry) is stuck in Arizona (possibly because of CA's fires) because his flight was canceled. His wife (Pat) doesn't bowl if Harry is out of town. Also, the other female on my team (Tracey) came up sick today. So, her husband (Dave) and I were the only ones who could bowl and 2 people is not enough for a legal line-up. Therefore, no bowling for us this evening. This means that we will have to go in on Sunday and make-up the games. I hate make-ups. One, you're bowling in the morning on lanes that are in whatever condition they were left in from the previous night. Two, you're bowling by yourselves, so it's difficult to pace yourself properly so you don't tire out from bowling too fast. Three, it's just different bowling early in the morning versus after a normal day, you aren't feeling the same physically, you can't drink (well, you could, but who wants to drink that early), and lastly, you have to put up with open bowlers who don't know the first thing about bowling etiquette. Oh well, still going to have to do it, so might as well just prepare myself to do the best I can.

The worst part about this is that I didn't know what to do with myself this evening. I am one of these people who when they sign up for a league (or class) commits to being there every week. This is the seventh year I have bowled with Harry and Pat (4 years with them, 3 just in the same league). In the three full years plus this season I have bowled with them, I have missed a grand total of zero weeks. We're talking 35 week leagues. So, we've bowled 8 weeks this year so far and have had 105 weeks in the preceding years. That's one reason Harry and Pat asked me to be on their team. They know I will show up each week. In fact, this past summer I actually missed a week of bowling due to a trip to Missouri. It was the first week of bowling I'd missed in 3 years. In those three years, I was in a league year-round and often bowled multiple times per week. I am one of only two or three people each year who haven't missed a week. It's something that I'm proud of.

Extended Unemployment
Found out today that I qualify for the Colorado Extended Unemployment Insurance benefits. This means that I will continue to receive unemployment benefits for the next 13 weeks. This also means that I will be able to complete my current classes at school without having to worry about an income. This means that I can now plan to start applying for a job in December (probably at a bank or other financial institution) and hopefully start working in January. I'll receive benefits until the beginning of February, so I should have plenty of time to find something. Wish me luck.

Colorado Schools
My father (aka Oldcatman) left a comment asking whether my daughters school district wasn't one surrounded by expensive homes. Well dad, actually no. See, Colorado has what is called, open enrollment. This means that a child can attend any school they desire as long as the school has room. My daughter and I currently do not live in the district for the school she attends. However, when we moved into this home, her current school was the closest elementary school with room for new students. The elementary school for the district we are in hadn't been completed when my daughter started school. So, she started at her current school which is where a lot of the kids in our neighborhood go. But, we also have an equal number in this neighborhood who now attend the new school. There is another elementary school a mile or so from our home, but it currently does not have room (and hasn't for awhile) for students outside it's boundaries.

One other thing about moving into my the correct district is that it will allow my daughter to attend the same middle and high school as her friends will. Right now, she would attend one middle school, her friends attend another, and the kids in the elementary school a mile away, will attend still another school. One thing we are not short of here in my neighborhood is schools. We just had our fourth middle and high schools open up here. That's in a sub-division (not a town) of less than 60,000 folks. And, we're not talking about small schools here. Each of these schools is classified as 5A schools which is the category in Colorado for large schools. At least it's nice to see my tax dollars doing something positive.

So, just to summarize dad, your granddaughters school district is in an area of older, less expensive, and smaller homes. But, they're good houses in a good neighborhood, so the kiddo will be safe.

2003-10-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Untitled
Well, I'm back to posting. Haven't written anything in three days for a couple of reasons. One was that Friday night, I was changing an electrical outlet for a friend (female) of mine and we then went out to dinner. I wish I could call this a date, but it was truly just two friends going out and spending some time together. Course, that kind of sounds like a date, but I tend to consider a get-together a date only if the possibility of intimacy is involved. Sexist, yes. But, when you go out with someone for lunch, it's not a date. So, this doesn't qualify either.

The second and main reason I haven't written anything is that I was trying to solve a problem I've been having lately. Basically, the problem is that I have allowed my computer (including this blog) and alcohol to turn me into a lazy bum. Time that I should have spent doing things around the house, I instead spent playing games, surfing the web, blogging, and generally wasting time on the computer. Add the fact that most days I was drinking way too much, and you don't get much done. The drinking was relaxing me to the point that the only thing I could get the energy to do was play poker on-line or to write my posts (which may explain a few of my poorer posts). Instead of spending time with my daughter, reading, relaxing, or whatever, I was too busy being lazy because I had had a few (or more) drinks.

So, this weekend, I decided enough was enough. I told myself that I wasn't going to go near my computer (other than to clean my office) for the weekend. Also, I was going to do any drinking. Success on both parts. I spent my time cleaning the house, playing with my daughter, doing laundry, reading, having breakfast with friends, and pumpkin shopping with my daughter. I made it through the entire weekend (and today) with having a single beer or glass of wine. Now, at bowling tomorrow, I'll have a couple of beers. I'm not trying to totally ban alcohol from my life, just trying to not let it be my life. Every now and then I have a problem where I'll let life's daily events get to me to the point that I drink more than I should. If I'm not careful, then it becomes an issue. Well, I have the power to control this situation, so thats what I'm going to do.

Words (revisited)
Here's an interesting happening here in Denver. A few days ago, a local reporter for the Denver Post reported (in an opinion column) that the Denver Police use transcribers to document the questioning/interviews the police conduct. It seems that the transcribers will phonetically spell out words that people say. Well, guess which group of people were the most offended by this news. Some of the local blacks were in a tizzy because most of the differences between an English vs. Phonetic word were transcribed in interviews with blacks. This practice makes fun of blacks and makes them sound stupid they said. It wasn't fair to point out the differences in speech patterns. Blah, Blah, and so on. The reporter was commenting on how awful this practice was. This was truly being insulting when it was obvious the transcriber knew what the right word was. Okay, I agree that maybe transcribing is not the best idea. Especially if it's not being done across the board to whites, latinos, asians, and blacks. But, the really funny part of this entire situation was that right next to this editorial spouting that writing words as they sound or in street lingo was demeaning to blacks was the following headline/article - Sistah Pride Conference (Empowering Sistah's to.......). Guess his rantings don't apply to his own paper. The humorous part of this is the number of letter writers who are expressing their opinions on the subject and commenting on the Sistah's headline.

Decision
I am currently 95% positive that I will be moving sometime after the first of the year. The remaining 5% is for the possibility that my home won't sell or that I won't be able to find a suitable place.

I talked with my daughter about this and she is fine with it. She should be, she'll be within walking distance of her friends and school. Her biggest question about moving is wheter she can get new bedroom furniture, a trampoline, a dog, and her latest desire, an ATV. Greedy little bugger I'm raising.

Between now and the new year, I am going to be spending time acquainting myself with the neighborhoods closer to my daughter's school. I'll be reading MLS (multi-listing service) reports to identify homes to go look at. Probably walk through a few homes to get an idea of what type of homes are in the area. Do the open house tour through some homes, typical stuff. This will be really interesting since the last place of my own that I picked out was my apartment after my divorce. Other than that, I've had a female do the majority of the house hunting. My biggest worry is that I'll not think of something like window coverings, appliances, etc... that I really should consider. Just what I would need is to buy a house and then realize that I don't have a stove or oven.

2003-10-23T22:22:00.000-06:00

Feeling Better
It's amazing what a good nights sleep can do for you. I slept fairly well last night, just woke up a couple of times. But, I got enough sleep so that when I woke up in the morning, I felt pretty good. Most of my cold is gone, and I actually feel like I have some energy.

School Days
Found out today that I got 100% on my last chapter test in Business Math. That makes my current average just a little over 97% in this class with two chapters remaining. I'll be taking the next test probably next Tuesday or Thursday. That will leave me with one chapter to go before finishing the class (self-paced, if you haven't guessed). Combine that with the fact that I've only missed out on 5 points out of 210 in my Accounting class, and I'd say I'm doing well this semester.

Decisions to be made
Well, I've reached a point that I feel I have to make some decisions in my life. I've come to the conclusion that my career as a mainframe computer programmer/analyst is probably over. Accepting this fact, I'm now exploring other possible employment possibilities. I'm leaning toward finding a job in the banking industry either as a teller or a personal banking representative. I would like to wait until I finish my current classes before I get to work, but that will depend on unemployment and whether something pops before then. Either way, the fact that I'm not going to sit around waiting anymore is making me feel pretty good. I'm just so tired of waiting for someone to approach me about a programming job. So, I'll move forward on my own.

Another decision that I am currently working on is selling my current home and buying a new one. My daughter and I live in a home that really is more than we need. So, I've been thinking that maybe I should sell this place and buy a smaller one. Thankfully, I own this place outright, so I should be able to buy a smaller (cheaper) home and come out ahead. My biggest requirement in a new home is that we still reside in my daughter's school district. This would in fact possibly get my daughter closer to more of her friends. If she doesn't have to change schools, that would make her happy.

I'm also considering trading my Lexus RX300 in on another car. Basically, I have quite a bit of equity in the car, and I'm making monthly payments. With any luck, I can find a smaller vehicle that would suit my needs and eliminate my car payments. This would help make a lower paying job doable. I could keep the car with no problems, but there is a part of me that is saying the more I can cut back, the better I'll be.

Financially, neither the move or car situation has to be done. The one benefit to being a widower, is that I have the financial resources to ride out a long dry spell. I'm just choosing not to ride that long. I want to get back to feeling that I'm moving ahead instead of just treading water. I am willing and able to do whatever I can to help my daughter and my situation. And guess what, I'm going to do it. I have reached the point where I am ready to take charge of things and make the best life for both me and my daughter.

2003-10-22T21:21:00.000-06:00

Sick and Tired
Bet that title makes one think that something has really upset me. But, the truth is that I am feeling sick and I'm really tired. I've been fighting a minor cold for a few days and now it's starting to win. A big part of the reason for that is that I haven't been sleeping well at all the last couple of nights. So, I'm literally, sick and tired. So, this will be a short posting.

Parent/Teacher Conference
Had a conference with my daughters teacher this evening. I am very proud to say that my daughter is doing quite well. She is doing great on the three R's (Reading, writing, and arithmetic - only one of which starts with an R, no wonder kids have problems at times). The teacher said my daughter is attentive, thoughtful, pushes herself, and a general joy to have in class. I can't tell you how proud I am of her. Especially since last year spelling was such a difficult item for her (it was the only thing she was below grade level on). And now, this year, she is doing great on her spelling tests. Way to go kiddo!

2003-10-20T21:48:00.000-06:00

Chiefs - ?, Raiders -?
Oh damn, I was going to watch the football game tonight, but haven't gotten around to it. My daughter and I we're watching a movie, she did her homework, and I've started a new book. The book is Violets are Blue by James Patterson. It's another of the Alex Cross stories. While reading this book, I can't get the image and voice of Morgan Freeman out of my head. But, he is the perfect person for this character. He also should have been the character Bagger Vance in the movie "Legend of Bagger Vance". But, they screwed that movie up totally by taking the religious/mystical aspect out. To do that is like taking the south of of Gone with the Wind.

Shakespeare
I wonder if, based on what I've previously written, it would surprise folks that I like to watch plays/movies based on the writings of the bard. My favorite story is Hamlet. I also like Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado about Nothing (which I watched today). During the summer between my Junior and Senior year in high school, I took a school trip to Ashford/Ashland Oregon to view a Shakespeare festival. I saw Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, and Tragedy of King Richard III. I really loved these plays even though I didn't understand Tempest. I've seen three different Hamlets. I've seen the Kenneth Branaugh version, the Mel Gibson version, and of course, Sir Laurence Olivier. It was fascinating to learn that many of our cliches come from these plays. For example, (and I'm paraphrasing here) Clothes make the man, Neither a lender nor borrowe be, give every man your ear, but few thy tongue. Plus, I just love the sound of the words, phrasing, and such.

World Series Status
After two games, the world series: Oh, that's right. I don't give a flip about it this year. Next topic.

My Moods
The last couple of posts, I written about my up and down emotions the last few days. And, I've mentioned how I was feeling in previous posts also. But, with all I've said, I don't think I've ever mentioned that basically, I am basically pretty happy with my life these days. Yes, I miss my wife, my mother, I wish I was closer (physically and emotionally) with my father, sister, and brother. Financially, my daughter and I are fine for quite awhile, so that's not a big issue. I'd like to have a steady income coming in just so I have the resources to treat my daughter to something special every now and then. And to allow me to continue bowling and golfing without worrying about the cost. I would like to have a job not only to provide that income, but for the challange of getting things done. I am happiest when I have a task/goal that I have to accomplish. While not working, most of my tasks have no deadline, so it's a case of who cares when they get done. That's what makes school nice, I have to do the reading and homework by a certain time. I really do wish I had closer friends, but if I did, would that impact my spending time with my daughter? So, it's a trade-off at times. As far as romance, I think I do miss the closeness, physical contact, emotional connection, but I honestly know that it will happen at some point. Some days, I just get impatient (wonder if it's a horniness issue?). I generally feel that I do a good job with my daughter and I love her so very much. I enjoy doing things with her or just having her around. The scary thing is that I only have a couple of years before she reaches the age where it will be un-cool for her to be with her father and not her friends. But, I think we are close enough that we won't totally stop doing things together. If I could change one thing about my personality, I think I'd want to work on the tendency I have a times to get lazy. I tend to put things off at times for no real reason. And, it's not like I'm putting off major stuff, I'm talking about minor things I just don't do at times. But, since I know that I want to change that, it's up to me to do it. If I don't, I have no one to blame but myself. That's another nice thing about this posting, it forces me out of my laziness and gives me a task that I want/need to accomplish.

2003-10-19T21:39:00.000-06:00

Emotion (part II)
On that great sea of emotion, my boat has found a little better water to travel in. Had a discussion with my daughter that went very well. We both figured out that we need to work together around here and be a little more respectful of each other. I knew all along that we'd work things out, but I still don't like going through things like that. Nothing else that was emotionally bothering me has turned around, but I seem to have a better attitude about it today. As long as things are good between my daughter and I, I seem to view the rest of my problems as annoyances rather than major issues. I'd better not let her know that, she doesn't need to be that aware of the power she holds over me.

Vikings - 28, Broncos - 20
Ouch, another notch in the loss column. Not only did the Broncos lose the game, they may have lost their back-up quarterback (Steve Beuerlein) definitely dislocated his pinkie finger and possibly broke it. With Jake Plummer out for a few weeks, it is now down to Steve Kanell to handle the job. Boy, I feel good about this ---- not. Guess we'll also have to go out and find another back-up. Problem is, the incoming guy would be someone who isn't good enough to even be a third string guy on any of the other 29 teams, so how good of a guy are you going to be able to get.

One of my favorite players on the team, Ed McCaffrey, didn't play today as he was de-activated. Man, that really sucks. Here's a guy who has busted his ass off for the team since he's got here, and suddenly this year, he is the odd man out. I don't know if he was hurt somewhat and couldn't go, or what. But, he's a quasi-starter (depending on the game plan) and he gets sit down instead of some of these other so called receivers on the team.

Local Voting
It's voting time of the year around here. We have a few state-wide issues (water, real estate taxes, and gambling) to vote on and the usual assortment of school board and county issues. This is a mail-in ballot only election. The county I live in has mailed out to all registered voters our ballots. We simply need to fill them out and send them back in. Now, here's the kicker. I have to provide the postage (estimated at 60 cents) to mail my ballot to the county offices. Great, now we have an election that will be decided not only by those willing to vote (which is less than it should be), but those also willing to cough up for the postage. Guess they wanted to eliminate the cheapskate vote. Oh, you can drop your ballot off at one of a few drop-off locations, but there isn't one of those within 15 miles from my home. So, it would cost me more to drive to the sight than to mail the damn thing. Plus, 60 cents postage means either having to go to the post office and get that exact amount, or use two 37 cent stamps and waste (value wise) a portion of the second stamp. Got to love this state and their cost cutting ways.

One of the issues that I get to vote on is an Amendment that will allow Video Lottery Terminals to be legal in certain places (primarily racetracks). Now, the difference between a VLT and a slot machine is that a VLT gives you a piece of paper that you then take to a cashier to get your winnings. Other than that, their the same things. What's funny about this is that the anti- vote seems to think that the towns where these machines will go in shouldn't be forced to have gambling. Hello! They're going in at racetracks. What do these idiots think is going on there now? The small casino's in the state are warning that these machines will create problems for people by addicting them to gambling. What, their machines and tables don't do that now? I still don't know how I'll vote on this, I need to find our web-site for the issues which lists what the true question is and the pro's/con's of it without going into all the political hype of the ads. What's sad is that so many people vote not on what they know, but what they've seen and heard. Whoever has the best commercials, wins. Sad.

2003-10-18T18:33:00.000-06:00

Emotion
I probably should not be creating my post right now because emotionally I'm a wreck right now. Basically, in the last couple of days, my daughter has made me feel like I'm little more than a hired hand around the house than a family member/father. I'm pissed off about my job situation (same tired song and dance). I'm lonelier than shit because I don't have any real true friends that I can sit down and talk with. I'm frustrated because I feel like doing something to change my home for the better but can't think of what to do. It's really aggravating to know you have the energy to do something, but can't for the life of you figure out what to do.

My daughter
Whenever I see a spoiled brat, I generally blame the parents. After all, if the kid didn't always get their way with the parents, they wouldn't be like that. So, if I believe that, then I'm failing as a parent. My daughter in the last few days has acted as if I'm here just to serve her. So, under my reasoning, I must have given her permission or not objected to her doing so in the past. Great parenting skill. I have tried to teach my daughter to treat people with respect, concern for their feelings, to listen to others, and to generally be a good person. Based on the comments I get back, that is the type of person she is around others. But, do I get the same treatment? I have tried everything I know to get my daughter to help me around the house. But, I cannot seem to get her to do simple things like put dishes in the dishwasher, bring laundry downstairs, say excuse me, say thank you, or things like that for me. In fact, last night, she informed me that I was treating her friend like she was my daughter and not being nice to her (the pain this comment caused was so great, I couldn't even think about doing a post last night). She was jealous of the way I was treating her friend. Now, I can't seem to get my daughter to tell me what it is that I did, but according to my daughter, I was wrong. Great, what the hell do I do about that? Today, she's spent the day telling me what she was going to do. Not asking, not saying excuse me, may I, or whatever. She came home from her friends house after playing and instead of telling me she was home, giving me a hug or kiss, she just told me she was going to be in the backyard. Well, I guess I reap what I sow. Since I obviously haven't taught her anything about treating me respectfully, I don't get respect. God I hope somehow I learn what I need to do before I raise her to treat me any worse.

Other negative shit
Well, my job situation is the same. Have no job, nothing in the works, can't even find a job to apply to on-line or in the newspaper. My damn initial unemployment runs out in the next week or two. I don't know if I'll be eligible for an extension, so I have no idea whats going to happen financially. If I don't qualify for an extension, then I'll have to quit school and find some sort of work no matter what. Problem is, that my entire adult working life, I've been a programmer. I don't have any other skills that easily move to another job (well, I think I do, but the hiring folks don't).

The on-line personal thing is moving way too slowly for my liking. The one lady I've been trying to set up a date with has disappeared. E-mails are going unanswered. So, once again, my social life is at a total standstill.

How many true friends do you have? I don't mean acquaintences and the like. I mean actual friends that you can call or visit anytime. People/persons who you can totally be yourself with. Someone who will listen to you talk and just let you talk, not try to solve everything. I know quite a few people, but I don't have anyone that I can trust to be open and totally honest with. I know these people are few and far between, but I damn sure do miss having someone like that around.

Okay, enough
Well, I've typed, whined, cried, bitched, whatever you want to call it long enough. Typing this has made me feel a little better, at least I feel like I've said some things that up to this writing I've only had in my head. I know that I will survive these things and that life will go on. But, damn it, I'm tired of having to deal with so much shit (I know, join the crowd). I have friends (not close ones) that tell me that God has a plan. Well, folks, so far, I'm not impressed with the details of the plan God has for me. And people wonder why I have such a hard time getting the energy to go to church.

2003-10-16T22:43:00.000-06:00

Thursday Bowling
Wow, I guess admitting I was in a slump helped me. I went to bowling tonight and decided just to go back to basics. Just concentrate on the fundamentals and go from there. So, that's what I did. My first game wasn't that hot, but I felt good about the way I was throwing the ball and felt that I was doing okay. Second game, got more consistent and had a better game. Last game, did great. Ten strikes and ended with a 246. So, I really feel good about the way I bowled. The fact that the scores were good was second. I really felt like I bowled well and only made a couple of poor shots. Can't wait to hit the lanes next Tuesday.

World Series - Yankees/Marlins
Okay, the series is set. I have two words concerning this years World Series - Who Cares? I'll tune in a week or so from now just to see who won. Other than that, I couldn't care less about the series.

Accounting
As strange as it may seem, I really loving my accounting class. I love working with numbers and logically working out the problems. I think I'm driving the instructor batty with all my questions and comments. But, she's a really good instructor who keeps me interested in the class and the work. In fact, she's one of the best teachers I've had. My only complaint is that she sometimes talks faster than I can take notes. But, when she talks, she really explains the material well.

Denver City Bowling Tournament
Well, I've decided to enter the city bowling tournament. I'm going to bowl in the singles and doubles (with a friend of mine) events. This will be the first tournament I've ever bowled in that was not connected to a league. So, I'll have to mentally prepare myself for this. I think my goals will be to just bowl the best I can. Hopefully, I'll bowl half my games over two hundred and half my series over six hundred. However I do, I'm just happy that I'm finally going to do this and see how I do. Just by signing up, I win.

2003-10-15T23:08:00.000-06:00

Video killed the radio star
I spent a good part of today doing chores around the house and accounting homework. While I was doing all this, I had my TV on and turned to the VH1 Classic station. It sometimes takes watching videos to remember that they have only been around since the early eighties. And since I was never a huge fan of 80's music in general, I really laugh at some of the videos. One, I can't remember or identify about half of the groups that appear on this station. Two, there are songs I never think I heard before. Now, to be honest, there are enough groups or songs I like being shown to keep me interested. Artists like Pink Floyd (okay, the two videos they made), Dire Straits, Police, Sting, Blondie, Journey, Queen, and Billy Joel. But, there is also a lot of one hit wonders on there. And some of these "hits", I just have to assume were hits because they say so.

Letters to the editor
In the Denver Post today, there was a letter to the editor that caught my eye. This letter was concerning our local Race for the Cure and fund-raising for Breast Cancer in general. The writer (a woman) was saying that it was all fine and good that so many people participated in the race and that a lot of money was being donated. But, she wondered why other cancers weren't being equally promoted. After all, she stated, Breast Cancer is 90% percent curable with early detection, so it's risk is not that big (tell that to my wife). Well, Ms. Letter Writer, the reason Breast Cancer gets so much attention and money is that a sister of Susan G. Komen decided to do something about the disease that claimed her sister. She decided that other women and families should not have to suffer as she did, so she formed this foundation. And, after many years, she has built the Komen Foundation into the wonderful organization that it is. So, if you have something you care about and want money to go for reasearch, get off your ass and start doing something.

A Possible Date
Well, last Thursday, I was wondering whether I should spend $20 dollars on a membership to a internet personal site. By the end of my post, I had decided the hell with it, I'm going for it. Guess what, I've been trading e-mails with a nice lady for a couple of days and we're trying to set up a day and time to have coffee, lunch, or drinks. I don't know what will happen here, but it's a very positive start. So, I'm excited. I'll keep you all posted, but as I said yesterday, should anything sexual occur, don't expect details.

Favorite Movies or Movie Lines
Was talking to a few classmates yesterday when the subject of movies and memorable lines came up. We were each coming up with some movies or comments that we just especially liked. Here's a list of some of my favorites listed by movie followed by a line (if applicable):

Blazing Saddles

What in the wide world of sports is going on here
Mongo only pawn in game of life

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Dirty Harry

I know what you're thinking, did he fire five shots or six? To tell you the truth, in all this excitement I forgot myself. So, you have to ask yourself, do you feel lucky punk?

Arthur

You're a hooker? I thought I was just doing great with you
Usually, one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your quality
This country is so small, Rhode Island could beat the crap out of it in a war, we're talking a small country

2003-10-14T22:52:00.000-06:00

Reaction to Yesterday's Post
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Jai, Tas, Anonymous Gurl, and of course Oldcatman (aka Dad) for the nice comments on yesterday's post. Believe it or not, everything you special folks said helped me feel better. I truly value your comments, insights, and even jokes about what I write. I still don't write for anyone in particular, but it's nice to know that what I do write touches someone else.

Tuesday Bowling
Well, I may have to consider the fact that I may be in a slump. Still averaged 190 for three games, but it was a wildly inconsistent night. Lots of bad frames lumped in with good frames. But, that describes my entire teams night. Man, I have never seen us as a team have such an off night. But, incredibly, we're still tied for first place. So, I guess I just need to lighten up and continue to do the best I can.

Cubs, Marlins game
Did anyone see tonight's game? I feel so sorry for the fan that interfered with Moises Alou catching the ball in the eighth inning. It looked like a teenager. Whatever his age, he's going to appear on ESPN, probably the Chicago papers, and on newscasts and be branded a reason for tonight's loss by the Cubs. I realize that other events caused the loss (the shortstop's error for example), but this poor guy is going to be blamed. Doesn't this guy know that when your team is trying to make a catch, you're supposed to back off?

Accounting Class
Just thought I'd write about my accounting test I took last Thursday. I received my grade today at class. I got a 99 on the test. Now, I should be happy about that, but I'm honestly bugged about the one question I missed. I really need to lighten up.

My Family
With no real purpose in mind, I want to write about my family. Now, by family I mean, Oldcatman, my sister, my brother, and myself. I am the middle child of the three kids. My sister is a little over 4 years older than me, she'll be 46 in less than two weeks. My brother is just under 3 years younger than I am. He is 39 and his birthday is a month before mine. I am fairly close to my sister and unfortunately am not close to my brother. He has chosen to ignore our father, sister, and I for most of his adult life. To be honest, I really don't know why. Also, he and I were never that close as brothers. He, like our father, is a very creative, free thinking type of person. I am the anal logical thinking member of our family. My sister is somewhere between those two poles. She's creative but also thinks a bit more logically than my brother (not much mind you). As you can probably tell from the preceeding, I was the odd person out considering creative/artistic thoughts and abilities. I can out-think them all in a linear fashion and can follow instructions better than any of them, but they can create so much better than I. My brother is the only one of the three of us who is biologically related to Oldcatman. Now, one might think this would make the two of them closer than the rest of us. But, to his credit, Oldcatman really seems to love and treat us all the same. Yes, growing up, Dad and my brother were always close. But, I never thought he loved me (or my sister) and less than his own son (hell, for most of my life, I didn't know we weren't all his kids). It really iritates me that my brother is being such an asshole where our family is concerned. I have had my problems with my father during my life, but I really believe he loves me and I know I love him. With the pain of loss that I and my family has felt, I just really wish that my brother would get over whatever petty shit is keeping him apart from us. We'll never be the Cleavers or Cunninghams family wise, but damn it, we have a chance to be a family and he's not taking it. It really pisses me off.

Oh, and just so you all have an idea of the sometimes warped sense of humor the Oldcatman has, I'll tell you about a joke he pulled on my sister and I. One night, when we were both very young, we were taking a bath together (I said we were young, so chill out). Now, the house we lived in had the slat type of windows in it. Basically, the type of windows that look and act like blinds. Well, while we were bathing, my father reached his hand through the slats and gave an evil laugh (he can create a laugh that sounds most evil and belongs in a horror film). Well, talk about two little kids who were scared to death. But, by the time we got out of the bathroom, he was already sitting in the family room acting like he knew nothing about this. Some people will think that this sounds cruel, but looking back, it was really a good joke. I didn't think so at the time, but I vaguely remember my mother yelling at Dad about scaring the children. This is one of the clearest things I remember about my childhood (please, Dad, don't tell me I'm mistaken) and in retrospect, I really look back fondly about the whole thing. Although to this day, I've never taken another bath with my sister (which is not a bad thing). But, seeing my sister scared has always made me laugh.

Well, I didn't say much about my family, but it's a start. I'll have to write about more odd things that have occured. I wouldn't want to repeat everything that's occurred in my life, but considering that they have made me the person I am, I can't complain.

2003-10-13T21:33:00.000-06:00

Emotional Weekend
Well, this was a weekend I was just happy to get through. I was frustrated last Thursday night at "things" plus I was nervous about the upcoming weekend, so I had decided on Friday to take the day off from posting.

Saturday, my daughter and I attended an event called "Cook For The Cure". Basically, this is a party where someone (or multiple someones) cook up a bit of food and then invite friends over. The invitees are expected to donate money to the Susan G. Komen foundation. These events usually have a sign/poster where people can write whether they were donating money in celebration or in memory of someone. Besides myself, four or five other individuals donated money that evening in memory of my wife. I can't express how touching that is while at the same time being very saddening. It still feels strange to see the words "In Memory Of" connected to my wife's name. The other odd thing is that I had one individual remark while I was talking that they had thought I was the one who lost his wife to Breast Cancer. Basically, this person let me know that many of the attendees had been informed that I would be attending. Now, the one thing I really dislike is being considered the poor widower. Yes, technically, I am a widower. But, that is not all that I am. There was a part of me that felt that a was a freak show at a circus. Hey, hey, step right up and see the poor widower.

On Sunday, my daughter and I attended the Denver Race For The Cure. Talk about an amazing sight. Denver had over 60,000 people participating. We are the second (and maybe the single) biggest Race in the country. It's just awesome to see that many people in one place supporting a cause (other than a sports team). It's also a little saddening to see all the survivors walk in their pink t-shirts. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for them and their families, but that damn Why Her/Me/Us question just keeps popping up. Plus, I met up with a couple of my neighbors who are both survivors and walked with them. One of their husbands said that he couldn't help but feel guilty about celebrating his wife's health when my wife died. I constantly have to remind people that their success did not cause our failure. I don't want people to feel bad about their survival. It's not like it was a coin flip and one person had to lose.

The hardest thing about attending the Race is the ceremony at the end of the walk. The first race I participated in was shortly after my wife was diagnosed. We watched the ceremony with our friends (the survivors). One of the ladies asked my wife if she was going to set a goal to walk in the next Race. My wife stated that her only goal was not to be a dove at the next ceremony. See, they release a bunch of white doves in memory of the ladies who died since the last race. Well, sure enough, by the time the next Race came along, she had died. When they released the doves, I totally lost it. Thankfully, if you're a guy, there is no more appropriate or acceptable place to break down and cry then at that ceremony. This year, I decided to do the smart thing and skip the ceremony all together.

Words and Death
If you noticed, I tend to say my wife died more than anything else. I don't like the term "passed away" because it sound to politically correct more than accurate. And I laugh when people say I "lost" my wife. No, I know exactly where she is. Lost implies that I mis-placed her and am now searching for her. The ashes of my wife's body are in an urn that is buried at our church. Her soul is in Heaven. She and my mother are probably up their having a cup of coffee (or two) and a smoke discussing where they went right/wrong with me and my daughter.

My own review
Wow, gloomy posting today. I read a bunch of blogs today. I stumbled on quite a few that belong in the sexual realm. I don't have a problem telling people my feelings, pains, joys, or whatever. But, tell everyone about my sex life (at least when I get one)? Man, don't know if I could do that. Okay, I might brag and tell when I get lucky. But don't be expecting a blow by blow (no pun intended) description of the action. Sorry to dissapoint. Hopefully, I will feel like writing about happier things tomorrow.

2003-10-09T21:58:00.000-06:00

Feeling Frustrated Tonight
Man, I don't know what I really feel tonight. I'm guessing that my primary emotion is frustration. Another damn struggling night at bowling tonight. Took my accounting test and now have to wait until Tuesday for the results (did I mention I sometimes am not the most patient person in the world). I'm trying an internet personal site and it looks like my profile is getting viewed alot, but not much is happening. I did have one lady e-mail me, but to respond, I have to join the service to the tune of $20 a month. I'm also feeling like I want to do things around the house, but, with my (lack of) job situation, not sure if spending money on decorations, minor improvements, and the like is a good thing.

Bowling
Well, one good game and two games that sucked. At least the team won three out of four points. We were two games out of first going into tonight, so we should be okay. We had to give 198 points in handicap to the team we were bowling. Man, I really despise having to give that much. All it takes is for one bowler on the other team to get lucky a couple of frames, and whammo, we're toast. That's exactly what happened in the third game tonight. One guy was 60 pins over his average, one gal 30 pins over, and we were doing good to get ours.

I miss conversation
I've known this for awhile, but I'm at the point where I really miss having converations with someone. My wife and I used to talk all the time. We'd talk about our days, jobs, schedules, something that made us happy that day, something sad or mad, etc.. It was just nice to be talking. I so truly miss that. In my day to day exsistence right now, I just don't have the chance to sit down and really talk with someone. Yes, school and bowling do provide some relief, but not enough (ok, I'm greedy also).

I think that's one of the things that I'm most looking forward to in getting into a relationship. Just the chance to talk to someone and listen to them. The verbal give and take. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to some physical intimacy also, but in your average relationship, what do you do more, talk or have sex. I just so enjoy talking with someone that I'm close to and bouncing things off each other. My dad and I talk on the phone quite a bit lately, it's amazing that the things we write bring up things to ask or discuss with each other. I have a few friends that I can chat with, but no one that I totally feel comfortable totally opening up to. Does that make sense? Don't you prefer talking with someone that you don't have to worry about what you say or how you say it? Isn't it nice just to be able to speak about what you're feeling without having to edit anything? That's what I'm missing.

Screw It, I'm going for it
While typing this post, I've decided a couple of things. I'm going to cough up a few bucks and join the personal service I'm using. Hell, I win the amount of money it will take at an average week of bowling. And, as decorating inept as I am, I'm going to go buy a few things to spruce up the house. My daughter and I deserve it.

2003-10-08T23:39:00.000-06:00

Cubbies and Red Sox win!
Well, I still wish the Giant's and A's were in the playoffs, but if they're not, I'm going to root for these two teams to meet in the World Series. It would be nice for one of the franchises to win a Series finally. If both teams make it to the Series, there is something pleasing about the idea of the games all being played in Fenway and Wrigley.

Pediatrician and Orthodontist
It was doctor day around here. Took my daughter to the Pediatrician for a routine check-up today. Kiddo is doing fine and is nice and healthy. Her doctor talked to her a little about the changes that will happen in the upcoming years (god help me) and about her diet, drinking milk, and riding in the back seat of the car. My so called little girl is 4' 7 1/4" tall and 86 pounds and is 3 months shy of her 10th birthday.

Next up was my visit to the Orthodontist. Another routine check on the braces and adjusting the wires a little. Right now the plan is that I'll have these things off sometime next summer. In the mean time, it's just a matter of getting things expanded a little and broadening my smile.

Accounting Test tomorrow
My evening has been spent reading through my Accounting textbook and assignments to prepare for a test tomorrow morning. Shouldn't be that difficult and I feel like I've prepared well. I've never been one to sweat out tests much. I figure that if I haven't learned the material in the weeks before the test, no amount of cramming is going to really help. So, usually I will just re-verify the items I haven't totally committed to memory and go with that. I figure that either I know it or I don't. Luckily, this method seems to work for me. The one subject this didn't work for was history. But, I'm one of these people who really doesn't care about history other than to learn not to repeat past mistakes. Just have to keep that little tid-bit from my daughter when she starts studying it.

2003-10-07T22:46:00.000-06:00

Governor Arnold
So, we now have the second actor from the film Predator (Jesse Ventura, the first) to become the governor of a state. What's next, the guy that played Apollo Creed (played a CIA agent in Predator) in the Rocky movies? I don't know the final vote tallies, but I hear that Gary Coleman came up a little short (sorry, couldn't resist). As for the porn star that was running, the idea of Sacramento or bust wasn't so hot. Who wouldn't rather see a porn stars bust rather than elect them to an office. The only thing that scares me about Arnold's election is that I keep thinking about the movie Demolition Man (starring Slyvestor Stallone and co-incidentally co-starring Jesse Ventura) where they talk about Arnold becoming president because he was so popular (they repealed the law that stated the president had to be American born).

My little girl is growing up
Okay, stop the world, I want to get off. While I was bowling tonight, my daughter went shopping with her god-mother. Okay, no big deal, right? Well, they went shopping for items that they felt were more appropriate for a god-mother/god-daughter to shop for rather than a father/daughter. They went shopping for sports bra's, panties (why is that plural?), leggings, and socks. You know, what the old-timers might call unmentionables. My daughter is only a couple of months shy of being 10, can we already have the female situations popping up? I want my little baby girl back. She already has reached the point of closing her bathroom door when she's getting ready for school in the morning. I don't think I have that long (relatively speaking) before I'm faced with puberty, periods, the birds and bees talk, and other female problems. God, please help me.

Tuesday Bowling
Well, for Tuesday, it was a night of struggles. I didn't bowl my 639 average, in fact I didn't get close to 600. But, all was not a loss. We won four points and I moderated (political speak for had a bad night thereby lowering) my average. We entered the night one point in first place. That means that next week we will still be in first and possibly ahead by more than one point. We had weird lane conditions tonight. No one in the league had any real good games. It was a case of who struggled the least. Also, part of my problem was that I forgot to eat anything today. Until I started munching on something while I typed this, I hadn't eaten any food today, just have had coffee and some de-caf tea. Not smart.

Ouch!
Watched the Red Sox, A's game last night. Pretty good game. I'm sorry the A's lost, but hey, it's nice to see the Red Sox advance. I also saw that collision between Damon and Jackson. Ouch and double ouch! Why did the network feel they had to show the impact umpteen times? Wasn't one or two replays enough? It really bugs me when TV does that. Hey, people getting hurt, news and replays at 11 (and 11:02, 11:04, 11:06, etc..). Just show it once and move on.

This is similar to the newscasts here in Denver (and I'm sure elsewhere). Some tragedy occurs somewhere. It's sad, but luckily, nobody from Colorado was involved. Many thousands die in Europe from the summer heat wave (what? no air conditioning over there?) but all's well, no Coloradans were among the dead. Why do the news people think that a tragedy is less so if no one from the state they're broadcasting from is involved?

2003-10-06T22:18:00.000-06:00

Why do I do this?
I'm not talking about why I write a blog, I'm talking about why do I tend to write a lot of personal stuff. I started thinking about this after reading Anonymous Gurl's blog a week or so ago. She was wondering how people (like me) can open up and write all sorts of personal stuff in their blog. Well, I can't speak for everyone (wouldn't that be tiring), but I do have my reasons.

A big part of the reason is that I enjoy sharing my life with someone. I got so used to talking with my wife about how our days went, what we were happy about, what was upsetting us, etc. Now that she is gone, I really miss having that person to tell my daily highs and lows. So, I'm using blogger as my listening ear. Blogger is basically a good listener, it never interupts, doesn't laugh at me, doesn't offer annoying opinions or stupid advice. On the other hand, it doesn't offer encouragement, good advice, or laugh at my jokes.

Another reason is that I find the process cathartic. It really is a relief at times to have a method of expressing my joys, sorrows, pain, anger, or whatever. And, it's a lot cheaper than seeing a shrink. Hell, except for asking me how I feel about something, it's exactly like the last shrink I saw. And, I don't have to pay extra for daily sessions. Course, I don't get any good drugs doing Blogs.

There is also the advantage that my father and I communicate a lot more this way. We probably learn more about our daily goings on through our respective blogs then we've known in years. Plus, this is cheaper than long distance phone calls.

Sports news for the day
Man, what a suck weekend for the teams I tend to root for. Out of the Broncos, 49er's, Chiefs, SF Giants, Oakland A's, Colorado Buffalos, and Colorado State University, the only teams to win were the Chiefs and Colorado State. And the Chiefs beat the Broncos, so it's a mixed blessing. Sure glad I didn't bet any money or anything on any of these games.

Win the Lottery, quit the Army
Okay, so we have a Soldier who wins the Lottery (to the tune of $159 million) while on leave, and now wants the Army to release him from his contract. What a fricken ingrate. The military has supported this guy (and his wife and family) for better than 8 years. It's fed him, clothed him, gave him a place to live, provided him with training and a job, and medical care, and now that he has money he has no use for the Army. Hey, GI, go fuck yourself. You signed the contract, you owe the time to your country. There is nothing in your contract that says either party can kick the other one out if one party gets lucky. Damn, I really despise people who do shit like this. If you sign a contract, you are giving your word that you will be a man and honor the terms. People like this soldier (and athletes included) who suddenly want to change the contract when things are going their way make me sick. An athlete has a good year and it's renegotiation time. But, if they have a bad year, they never seem to think the team can change the contract.

2003-10-05T23:01:00.000-06:00

Chiefs 24 - Broncos 23
Oh hell, there goes the perfect season. Overall, a pretty good game, but I think it came down to the team the made the fewest mistakes and one great play. As you would expect, the local media is harping about why Coach Mike (Shanahan) didn't have the punter kick the ball away from Dante Hall. How about asking why just over half your punt team can get within 2 feet of the guy and no one can tackle him. ESPN showed the highlight, and counted the players who Dante Hall eluded. The count was about seven or eight (although, a couple misses were by the same players). My biggest complaint about football is that too many players are more interested in making an ESPN highlite reel type hit than in making a simple tackle. What's wrong with wrapping your arms around a guy and putting him down. Players are just too big and strong these days to consistently go down just by being hit.

Tiger - The 6 Million Dollar Man
Tiger Woods won this weeks golf tournament (damn, I'm starting to sound like a sportscaster here) and pushed his yearly winnings to $6.5 million. That's for playing golf. Tiger only plays about half the tournaments in a year. I think this one brought his count to somewhere around 20 give or take. So, he's averaging 1 win every 4 tournaments (the fifth year in a row he's won 5 tournaments). If he's played 20 tournaments, he's averaging over $300,000 a tournament. Not bad work if you can get it. And that doesn't even count the $40 - $50 million a year he gets in endorsements. And before you ask, hell yes I'm jealous.

Guide Dogs for the Blind
Friends of mine assist in training guide dogs. They get the puppies (labradors) from the breeders and raise them until the puppy is somewhere between nine months and a year old. They then have to return the puppy to the foundation so it can receive the advanced training. If the dog passes the training (about 60% do), it is matched with a blind person for a final month of co-training.

Well, today was the day they had to return their latest puppy. Rayla (which was named by combing parts of my daughter's and wife's name) is heading to California for training. My daughter went with Rayla to the kennel truck with our friends. I can't imagine raising a puppy for a year and then letting go of it. Even my daughter was a little distraught over Rayla's departure. The good news is that our friends are baby-sitting a new puppy (Wilimena - another black lab) and my daughter got to hold and play with her. Our friends will probably get a new puppy for training in the next couple of months.

Word Definitions
Just a quick thought here - I'm tired of the over-used word irony (or ironic) when the correct word should be coincidence. Too many people (most of them on TV) seem to think that the two words are interchangable. Folks, they're not! Irony is the term for a condition that occurs that is directly opposite the expected result. It would be ironic if an ambulance coming to your rescue, ran over and further injured you.

2003-10-04T23:49:00.000-06:00

Dating
Man, what does it take these days to meet someone to date? I am really at the point where I would like to have a lady in my life. My problem is that I don't know where to meet said lady. Where does somone go to meet people? My biggest problem is that 95% of my friends are married. And the people they know are married. School isn't cutting it because the only single ladies are in their teens, and the ladies anywhere near my age are married. My church doesn't work, the only single ladies there are old enough to be my mother. So far, internet dating isn't doing much for me. I've had a grand total of one date that way. Bowling isn't working either, again, no single ladies. What's a poor horny white boy to do?

Colorado Gambling
Colorado has a referendum coming up for a vote in November. Basically, we are going to decide if we want to allow racetracks (primarily dogs) to have Video Lottery Terminals. Now, the only difference between a VLT and a slot machine is that the VLT just gives you a ticket to redeem at a cashier and doesn't allow you to cash out. So far, the biggest arguement against these things is the idea that it will promote gambling and will cause people to become addicted to gambling. Now, I'm sorry, but if someone wants to gamble, they are going to do so whether we have VLT's or not. We currently have limited stakes gambling here in Colorado. And these VLT's will be at racetracks. So, if you were susceptible to a gambling addiction, you'd already be visiting one of these places anyway. So why would these machines put you anymore at risk?

A spouse's death
Someone asked me recently whether I was upset that my wife had died. Now, what they were asking is whether I was upset with her. To tell the truth, I am not the least bit upset with my wife because she contracted breast cancer and passed away. Some days though, I am envious. See, if you have a spouse who dies, they have the easier part. No, I don't think dying is easy, but think about it. The person who dies does not have to deal with all the ramifications. As a surviving spouse, I have to deal with living day to day without her. I have to sleep in the bed we shared, alone. I have to raise my daughter by myself and deal with everything that that entails. I have to deal with phone calls, mail, e-mail, etc. addressed to my wife. I have to go on each day knowing that the person I most counted on, needed, and loved, is not going to be there that day. So, angry, no. I will admit to being envious at times, sometimes being a single person, parent, head-of-household just really sucks.

2003-10-03T23:25:00.000-06:00

Little Girls
Being a nice father today. My daughter has a friend over for a sleep-over. Why it's called that I do not know. The two girls are totally wound up and it's 11 pm. I didn't even stuff them (or allow them to stuff themselves) with sugar. I guess it's just the idea of playing together that winds them up. Hopefully, I'll get them to slow down a little and go to bed soon. Oh well, it's fun to see the smiles on their faces.

Movies
I've had the TV on today for background noise while I was working around the house. It is really amazing the amount of crappy movies that HBO and Cinemax show on a daily basis. The only good thing about that is that the movies are all different. I remember having HBO 20 years ago and they should maybe a dozen different movies all week. So, if you missed something during one showing, you could just watch it later that evening or the next day. Of course, you were screwed if you didn't like a couple of movies, because you were going to see them 10 times in a week. Thinking about that reminded that the first "Movie Channel" I ever saw was while my mom was still alive and we were in San Jose. Gill Cable showed The Posideon (sp?) Adventure un-cut and commercial free. Remember that movie? Started a whole slew of disaster movies. Next came movies like Airport (followed by II, III, etc..), and The Towering Inferno. Basically, we had movies that brought a bunch of mid-level or bigger stars together, put them in a life or death situation, kill some of them off, and then celebrate the ones who survived. That was the fun part of the movies. Betting on who would make it and who wouldn't.

As I type this, the future Governor of California (you know, Ah-nuld) is starring in Commando. Now, my biggest problem with this movie is trying to figure out how a single guy, weighed down by what looks to be over a hundred pounds of weaponry, can run through a courtyard and live. The bad guys are crouching behind walls, fences, statues, and here's our hero running out in the open. Bad guys can't hit shit, but our hero is picking them off one by one without even bothering to aim. Why can't the evil folks ever hire henchmen that have an IQ above 10 and can actually hit something when they fire a gun. Oh, another thing, I love when they show someone firing an M-16 (Rifle I used in the Marines) on full-automatic with a short magazine. Now, the magazines they show people using are 10 to 20 round clips. If you fired even a 20 round clip on full-automatic, you'd get a 5 - 10 second burst. But, in movies, these guys fire for minutes at a time, over and over.

Truisms in Movies or TV
Have you ever noticed that certain things occur in movies or TV shows over and over? Here's a short list of some things:

Star Trek - In a landing party, the guy wearing the different color shirt from everyone will be the first to die

War Movies - The first guy to pull out a picture of his girlfriend back home, is the first one to die, applies equally to the first person to talk about their girl (usually named Betty, Sue, or Mary Ann)

Horror Films - By the middle of the film, after half-a-dozen of their friends have been killed when they were alone, some idiot will still suggest they split up to find the killer

Still horror films - the only time you're at risk to be killed when you're not alone is when you're having sex. Why, in the middle of a killing spree some one would feel the urge to have sex, I don't know
Anyone have any more? I love lists like this.

2003-10-02T22:56:00.000-06:00

Thank You
To all the people who commented on my piece yesterday concerning Breast Cancer and my wife, I wish to thank you. Your comments mean a lot to me. Just to remind everyone, early detection is the key. I don't care if it makes you uncomfortable to do an exam, just do it. Hell, if you have to have your boyfriend, significant other, or spouse do it for you.

Denver Drivers
Okay, I don't know what's going on around here, but Damn! The drivers around here have gotten pathetic. In the last couple of days, I've had people move over two lanes in front of me to make right hand turns. Can't these idiots think ahead? I've seen a vehicle that rolled over and took out about thirty feet of fence. And this wasn't even at an intersection. What happened here? People are driving around like they have two minutes to get somewhere. Hey folks, leave the house a few minutes earlier. Geez, it's getting to the point that I'm almost afraid to leave my house because of these morons. Is driving that tough a skill? Hell, my nine year old daughter can drive a golf cart better than these "adults" can drive their car.

Thursday Bowling
Hey, I finally got my head out of my ass concerning bowling on Thursday. I bowled a 609 series tonight with two 200+ games. I decided to have a couple of beers before going bowling tonight, figuring that they would make me a little relaxed so I wouldn't think as much. Once I had the first 200, the second one was easier. I had an open frame, and my attitude didn't nose-dive. I just concentrated on the next frame. I knew the problem had to be mental, I just tend to overthink things at time.

Boobie Thon?
Well, it's a unique way to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation, but there is a Boobie Thon site that so far has raised over 13 hundred dollars. The only bad thing I can find about the site is that I don't get to see these in person. Being single with no girlfriend, this site really makes me wish I had a female in my life. I have to admit, even with my wife's illness, I do like a nice set of boobies, hooters, knockers, gazongas, or whatever you wish to call them.

Rush Limbaugh
Oh my god! Rush, who I've listened to a time or two (hey, it was on the channel my favorite sports talk radio program is on) has really stepped in it this time. Rush expressed the opinion that Donovan McNabb (the Eagles quarterback) is thought of highly solely because he is black. Now, I'm not a McNabb or Eagles fan enough to know whether this is true or not, but my god, you just can't get away with saying things like that. The problem I have with this whole situation is everyone is attacking Rush as a racist. Is anyone looking at the possibility that he may be right? Mr McNabb has a quarterback rating that is not even in the top 25. So, could the attention he receives be because of his color? Maybe, maybe not. So, why isn't anyone defending Rush? Maybe he's right about the situation or maybe he's wrong. But shouldn't we consider what he's saying without just labeling him a racist first? My official position on this is that I don't know if he's right or wrong (McNabb is not a Bronco, so he get's little coverage here). But, I do know that I dislike seeing someone labeled a racist simply because they raised a valid question.

2003-10-01T22:22:00.000-06:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
On June 7, 2001, I lost my wife due to Breast Cancer. It is my sincere hope that no one who reads this posting every has to go through the pain that my wife and I experienced in during her illness. My mother died on January 17, 1977. Until my wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I thought that was the most terrible thing that could or would happend to me. But, my mother's death was simple. She passed out on a Tuesday morning, on Wednesday morning, my father received a phone call and had the duty of informing myself and my brother that our mother had died. Yes, it hurt (and sometimes still does) but it was quick. Breast Cancer is not quick. It is a disease that kills you over time.

My wife was diagnosed a year prior to her death. She went to the doctor to have a bump in her neck of all places looked at. What it turned out to be was a malignant tumor in her lymph node that had spread from her breast. Over the next year, my wife had to put up with 3 different forms of chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and a stem cell replacement procedure. The last six months of her life were filled with almost daily visits to some doctor or clinic or visits from a home nurse. My wife was an intelligent, creative, funny, and sexy lady. Breast Cancer slowly ate away at everything that made her who she was. The last month and especially the last week or so, my wife ceased to be a person. Her mind had gone, but through her strength of will, her body refused to quit. At her funeral, I stated that though I have been a Marine and an athlete, I had never met a tougher, stronger fighter than my wife. I still believe that.

Okay, enough with the history. Here's where I get serious. Any lady who is reading this, please please do monthly self-exams. Go and visit your doctor, have whatever tests they have to detect Breast Cancer. Early detection is still the single best method of beating this disease. For you males out there. If you care about a female whether it be your wife, mother, sister, other relative, or just a friend. Please feel free to be a pain in their ass and make sure they are doing self-exams and yearly mammograms. No one reading this wants to go through what my wife and I went through. You don't want your family and friends to watch a loved one literally waste away because of a damn disease.

Also, please support your local chapter of the Komen Foundation. Whether you do it by participating in the Race, Drive, Cook for the Cure or simply support someone who does, your assistance helps. The year my wife died, 43 thousand other women also died. While that is still a horrendous number, it is a fraction of the number of women who died as recently as ten or fifteen years ago. Your assistance is making a difference. On behalf of anyone who survives this disease, I wish to express my deepest and most heartfelt thanks.

Other thoughts tonight
I had planned on writing a few other things tonight, but truthfully, writing that last item has just emotionally drained me. All I can think of to write at this point is the following.

To my beautiful daughter, curmudgeonly father, and good ole gal and boy mother and father-in-law, I love you all so very much. You all mean the world to me and I hope that you will always be here. I have lost so much in my life and to lose one of you would probably push me over the edge. Please all of you take care of yourselves and fight the good fight to live another day. I pray everyday for you, your health and your safety. I love you all.

To anyone who reads this, thank you for taking the time. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. I wish you all peace, health, and happiness.

2003-09-30T22:42:00.000-06:00

Cleaning Up
Well, Oldcatman made a reference in his blog today about how much he doesn't like to clean up. He also mentioned that you could ask me about it? Okay, before I'm asked, here's my response. As you can guess, he doesn't much care for it. In fact, when I lived with Oldcatman and my brother, it was my job to do the housework. Now, you might think that is a terrible thing for a teenage boy to have to do. But, since I like a clean house, I didn't mind. Plus, it got me out of going fishing. Okay, that requires an explanation. See, during the summer when my brother and I were out of school, Oldcatman used to love to go up to Pinecrest lake in the Sierra's and trout fish. Now, I was okay with this the first hundred times or so, but after that, I just couldn't take it anymore. So, Oldcatman and I argued about me not going fishing. Basically, Oldcatman refused to let me stay home and watch TV all day. So, I came up with the idea that I would stay home and clean up the house. This seemed to appease the Oldcatman, so I was allowed to do so. Well, when he and my brother came home, the common areas of the house were nice and clean. The only rooms I didn't clean we're Oldcatman's bedroom and bathroom and my brother's room. As the summer went on, I would sometimes be offered a couple of dollars to clean Oldcatman's bathroom. Since I had gotten pretty good at cleaning, I soon started to bake while he and my brother were gone. This started the trend of whenever we had a family birthday, I was responsible for baking cakes. I can also bake assorted candies and cookies. Turns out to be a useful skill these days. Back when I lived with Dad and my brother, it was a classic case of Felix (me) and Oscar (Dad and my brother). My wife used to admit that I was a better housekeeper than she was. To this day, I can clean a house better than most.

Tuesday Bowling
This is getting ridiculous! I had another good night this evening. I bowled a 244, 243, and a 200 for a 687 series. This makes my Tuesday night average an unbelievable 213 through 15 games. Amazingly enough, that only rates me as the third best average in my league. But, seeing as how we have 100 people (counting males and females) in the league, I'm pretty happy about that. One of the interesting things about my average is that I don't have one of the top three series whether scratch or handicap, and I only have a third place for best scratch game (not in the top three for handicap game). I look at those facts as a measure of consistentcy. My average is not based solely on one or two great games. Rather, it is based on a number of good games. I'd rather have 10 good games with a high average than an average solely dependent on one out of this world score.

Baseball Playoffs
The San Francisco Giants won their playoff game today. I am rooting for them to win the whole shooting match. I really respect the abilities of Barry Bonds (although, I do wish that he hadn't broken Mark McGwire's home run record). Sometime during the 2005 season, Barry will set the new career home run record. I look at career stats as a better indicator of a players greatness just because of the length of time someone has to work to achieve a goal. It's the same with Jerry Rice, individuals may better his single season marks, but his career totals are just awesome.

Visiible Underwear
This is a comment/question for any ladies who may read this. Do you intend to show me your underwear when you sit down? Twice today, I viewed a woman (don't know if lady is the right term here) who, while she was sitting down, I got a look at her choice of underwear. I'm not talking about an occassional peek at the very top of them, I'm saying I got a consistent look at the top 3 to 4 inches of the back of her underwear. One woman (at school) had on a white thong. The other woman (at the bowling alley) had on leopard skin bikini briefs. Don't women think about how much is revealed when they sit down in their jeans? Or, are they aware of what they're showing and don't care or what? Anyone got any ideas? Now, I will freely admit that one of the things that turn me on the most is a view of a stocking (not pantyhose) with or without a garter when a lady is wearing a slit skirt/dress. Somehow, visible panties showing above jeans or pants just doesn't do it for me though.

2003-09-29T23:10:00.000-06:00

Broncos - 20, Lions - 16
Okay, not the greatest game the boys in Orange/Blue/White have played this season, but an ugly win beats a pretty loss. The boys are now 4 and 0 and are heading into the first big game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. This promises to be a good game, but Denver needs Clinton Portis to be in the line-up if they are to have a chance to win. Two strong offenses and two defenses that have yet to be really tested. Should be fun to watch. Oh, and I found out something interesting. My seats face due south at the stadium. That means if I don't wear sun-screen (like I didn't), I turn into a lobster on the right side of my face and get little sun on the left. Thankfully, it disappears quickly.

Another Sunday Activity
I went to church Sunday morning with my daughter for the first time in many many months. Now, I'm not going to get "religous" on anyone, but I do have something to say. Everyone should be involved in something, be it church, social club, group therapy, bridge/poker group, or whatever. Having even a small circle of people that accept you as you are is very uplifting. My friends from church are like that. I expected people to look at me as if they were thinking, "Oh! Look who decided to show up". Instead, everyone was happy to see me and let me know that they were happy I was there and to let them know if there was anything they could do. I strongly suggest that each of you (what readers I have) get involved with a group of people who share a common interest, love, joy, or whatever. Just so that you have someone that supports you just because you're you.

Full Day Yesterday
Yesterday's schedule was church, football game, visit with friends, and dinner with said friends. I was busy from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed. This explains why I didn't post yesterday. But, I have to tell you. I had one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. I was out and about almost all weekend. I golfed, dined, worshipped, spent time with, and dined again with friends. Just about a perfect weekend. I won't go into details, but perfection this weekend would have involved not going to bed alone on one (or more) of the nights. Hey, a guy can hope.

I'm Not Kidding
Hey, I'm serious. I actually do read the articles in Playboy. And, yes, I do look at the pictures. But, I'm old enough to realize that the odds of me (at age 42) of meeting and becoming intimate with a Playmate are very slim. I enjoy the pictures for the beauty that is the female form. I love the curves, coloring, and softness that a pictorial of a nude woman offers. I'd much rather enjoy the real thing though (Geez, two sexual references in one night's posting - I've got to get a lady into my life).

2003-09-27T22:53:00.000-06:00

Golf Game
Well. this mornings golf game was nice. Nice means that I hit enough good shots to be happy and few enough bad shots not to piss myself off. I am definitely a better bowler than golfer. But, I honestly believe that if I could only do one, it would be golf. I just love the challange of the sport. It's just you against the course. I had a couple of pars, including a couple of realistic chances at birdies. I also had a few bad holes, but even on them, I managed to hit a good shot or two. Plus, the Colorado fall weather was just wonderful. Mid seventies and nary a cloud in the sky. Occassionally a bit of a breeze.

Dinner Out
My daughter and I went to dinner at a Country Club this evening with our former next-door neighbors. Very nice dinner and atmosphere. The best part of the evening was simply catching up with my friends. It was also fun to watch my daughter play with their daughter. The two of them have known each other from the day that the younger one (my friend's daughter) was born. We've already made a date to do dinner again in the next couple of weeks.

Playboy Magazine
Received my next issue of Playboy magazine today. I must be getting old. I actually read the interview (Quentin Tarintino) and an article or two before looking at the first pictorial. I have come to the conclusion that some of them pictures need to be a little less revealing. I miss the days when the ladies posed in lingerie (garter belt, stockings, and heels are my ultimate turn-on) more. Now, it seems most of the pictures are of young blonde things who will end up being Hef's future girlfriend.

Broncos game tomorrow
I'm going to make a prediction here. I predict that the Broncos will win by at least two touchdowns tomorrow. My daughter and I will be at the game rooting the home team on. I'm trying to decide if I want to buy a Bronco jersey and if so, which player. I'm thinking that if I do buy a jersey, it will be a linebacker or Ed McCaffery. My daugher already has an Elway jersey so will be trying to get some other souvenier out of me tomorrow.

Bland Stuff
I apolgize for the bland nature of the postings today. I just had a nice day and evening and am both tired and feeling very comfortable about things tonight. The combination causes me to view the world with rose-colored glasses. I can't really think of anything weird in the way of questions to list. Oh well, ya gotta enjoy these days when you get them.

2003-09-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

Season Premiere of CSI
Wow! I love it. Gil can hear now and Kat looks as hot as ever (Thanks for the picture Dad). You know you've enjoyed an episode when it ends and you're sorry it did. I wish I didn't have to tape the show and watch it later, but I can live with it. I spent part of the day today watching some of year two's shows. I simply love this show. It's intelligent, witty, entertaining, and I learn a lot.

Music
As part of my free evening tonight, I went to Barnes & Noble and just looked around. I ended up in the music section and ended up buying a few CD's. One of them, I am listening while I type this post. It's an older CD, but it's the Steve Miller Band. It's call the Encore Collection, Extended Versions. Basically, it's a CD of live performances of several songs including The Joker, Fly Like An Eagle, and Living In the USA (playing right now, I'm typing to the beat). Nice rocking versions of some of their greatest hits. Just the thing for a Friday night. Oh, the other CD's I purchased were Harry Connick Jr's - Other Hours (Jazz), The Rippingtons - Let It Ripp (also Jazz), and Blondie - Greatest Hits (Rock). The reason I bought the last one, other than I like the music, was that their song "The Tide is High" has been done by a currently popular all-girl group that my daughter is familiar with. So, I thought it was important to introduce my daughter to the original.

Shaving?
While shaving last night before I went bowling (I'll explain later) I suddenly wondered who came up with the idea of shaving. Now, I assume during the early days of cavemen and for many years that shaving was not even known. So, when did someone suddenly think of the idea of scraping their chin/neck with a sharp object to remove hair? And, how did people feel when they saw the first guy with a clean-shaven face. That had to be a big difference for everyone. I would really like to know who was sitting around and suddenly thought; Hey, if I dragged this knife across my face, I could get rid of this beard (if that's what it was called then). And, why'd they stop at the face? Why not shave their eyebrows, chest, arms, or legs? Who was the first person to sport a goatee, a soul patch, a fu manchu mustache? And what did people think?

Which brings us to Fads
How do fads start? And I don't necessarily mean things like bell bottom jeans. Think about the first person who ever decided to sport a soul patch. Now, everyone up to that point either stopped at a goatee or went clean-shaven. Suddenly someone decides just to leave that little square/rectangle on the mid-point of their chin. And somebody decided it was cool and copied them, and so it spread. But, how fast could that happen? Think about slang. The first time a brother (sorry, not being racist, just realistic about who uses this term) spoke the phrase "Word" to another brother, what did the second one think? And, just how did it spread to be a commonly used phrase? Is there someone who is in charge of spreading what is now the popular slang? I can never figure out how fads spread. I understand clothing fads/trends, a designer presents something at a show, people see it and copy it. Okay, makes sense. But a new phrase? How does that spread? God, I spend a hell of a lot of time worrying about weird shit.

Currently Playing
Your Cash Ain't nothing But Trash - I believe it's an old fifties song. The only other version of this song I've heard was done by Huey Lewis. Anyway - it's a cool song, I recommend either version.

Still more things to ponder

Why do crash course and collision course mean different things? Isn't a crash or a collision the same thing?

Why do we call almost crashing or colliding with something a near miss? We've avoided hitting something, so shouldn't it be a near hit? Shouldn't a near miss be when we almost avoided hitting something but still managed to hit it?

2003-09-25T17:00:00.000-06:00

Hey, I actually have weekend plans!
Being unemployed, I usually don't care about or really notice weekends. The only difference usually is that my daughter is home during the day. The last three weeks though she's been off-track (vacation), so that difference disappeared. So, the fact that it was the weekend had no special meaning for me.

But, lo and behold, I actually have plans for this weekend. Friday night, my daughter is having a sleep-over at a friends house. This means that I can go out and do something. Have no idea what I'll do, but the chance is there. Saturday morning, I'm going golfing with a friend of mine. Saturday night, my daughter and I are going to dinner with some friends of ours who used to be our next-door neighbors. Sunday afternoon, we're going to the Broncos game. I can't believe I actually have a social calendar this weekend.

Funny Dilbert Cartoon
Saw a Dilbert cartoon a day or two ago that I found humorous. In it, Alice (the main female character) was talking to a secretary about a three page e-mail the secretary wrote and sent out. Alice was holding her hands slightly apart and was telling the secretary about using this gift of "blank space" to separate long, rambling, unrelated sentences. Finally, Alice told the secretary that next week she'd introduce her to a little curly thing she likes to call a comma. I've read a number of blogs that could use Alice's gifts and introduction.

New Season of CSI
Tonight's the first episode of the new season of CSI. Unfortunately, I will be at bowling while it's on. But, thanks to the fact that I can actually program my VCR, I'll have a tape of it to watch when I get home. The episode title is Assume Nothing and it's supposedly part one of a two-parter. Yippee.

Okay, I said I knew how to program my VCR. Well, technically that's true, but I do have my limits. One is that since I have a VCR, DVD, and Digital Cable, I have a hell of a time getting things set up properly. Even though CSI is on channel 4 for me, I have to have the VCR record channel 3 and have the cable set to channel 4 and turn off the DVD player. Once I tested my programming, I decided not to mess with things and possibly mess them up. This means that I left my TV on and turned to channel 4 and I'm not touching it until I get home. This also means that I got to listen to the Dr. Phil show. Who is this moron and who made him an authority? God, I heard only part of the show and I wanted to reach through the TV and kick his ass. In the part of the show I heard, I think this fool mentioned the phrase "own and live with your decision for a week" about a half dozen times. He kept saying things like "I hear you saying this, but I don't hear you saying -----", and "Are you making a decision for your benefit, or for -----". How much pyscho-babble can this guy spew in a hour? I never once heard the guy actually offer advice, only ask questions that were intended to make the guests (another bunch of losers) or embarrass them. No wonder I don't watch much daytime television.

Questions to Ponder

Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways

Some music used to be called Rock-n-Roll, now it's just Rock. Where'd the Roll go?

Speaking of things disappearing, what happened to Roebuck's (as in Sear's and Roebuck's)?

If all the world's a stage, and mankind merely the actor's, who's in the freakin audience?

Why do golfers (me included) still call it a 3 Wood when the head is some sort of metal and the shaft is graphite?

And finally, why do people always claim someone is so unpopular, they couldn't get elected as a dog-catcher? Have you ever voted for a dog-catcher? I haven't.

2003-09-24T23:56:00.000-06:00

Is size that difficult an issue?
My daughter and I ordered pizza for dinner tonight from Pizza Hut. While I was ordering, I asked the kid on the line "What's your smallest size pizza?". Now, I was expecting the answer Personal Pan or Small. The answer I got was "Medium". How the fuck can your smallest item be called medium? Isn't the definition of medium something akin to a size between something small and something big?

This is similar to the adventures of ordering a cup of coffee at Starbucks (which I do quite often, I recommend the coffee latte). Starbucks has three sizes: Tall, Grande, and Venti. Okay, so their smallest size is called Tall. The one in the middle is Grande, which I thought meant something big. And the largest size is Venti which I have no freakin idea what that means. What's wrong with small, medium, and large? Are they afraid we won't think the coffee is hip or chic enough if we call it a large coffee?

The bowling alley where I bowl now has three sizes of soft drinks you can order. The smallest drink you can order is called a large. Okay, granted the cup may be larger than some, but if it's the smallest drink you serve, so call it a small, damn it.

Another Bowling Note
I was thinking about my posting yesterday concerning my bowling scores from last night. Something I haven't mentioned is that I participate in something called "Brackets". This is a bet where 8 people contribute money (in this particular one, $10). Each person selects a number between 1 and 8. Then we use an Ace through Eight out of a deck of cards to determine who bowls who. We have someone randomly select cards. Whoever has the number that matches the drawn card gets put in the first spot, the next matching number in the second spot, and so on until all 8 spots are determined. So, whoever got the first spot is competing against the person in the second spot, third against fourth, fifth against sixth, seventh against eigthth. Whatever score you bowl in your first game gets used for your bracket score. If you beat your opponent, you advance to the next round and compete against one of the other winners (example, 1 beats 2, 4 beats 3, so 1 now is competing with 4). Again, you bowl your next game and use your score. If you beat your opponent, you move to the finals, if you lost the second game, you go to the consolation round. If you win the third game, you're the winner and receive $50, if you lose the third game, you get $20. The winner of the consolation gets $10.

Okay, back to my main point. I compete in two brackets each week. I have been doing this for 3 or 4 years now. When I first started doing the brackets, I was always worried about who I was competing with. My first year or two, I was always the lowest average bowler in the brackets. I just had to hope I had a good game or my opponent had a bad one (or at least not as good as mine). Well, it suddenly occurred to me last night, that I'm now the second or third highest average in the brackets. It made me wonder if anyone else now was worried because they were against me.

I'm by no means trying to brag here, but I have to face the fact that based on a 209 average in my Tuesday night league, I am a damn good bowler. When people previously asked me if I was any good, I'd always say it depended on their definition of good was and that I had an "x" average. But, I think most people who know anything about bowling would say that a 200+ average was a good bowler. I've just struggled with calling myself good or being comfortable with my average. For so many years, I thought that people wouldn't like me if I didn't bowl well. But, I finally met some folks who liked me, not my bowling score. When I stopped equating score to likability, I started bowling much better. Some people just don't learn fast some times.

2003-09-23T23:15:00.000-06:00

Broncos- 31, Raiders - 10
Sorry Dad, but the Broncos put a whoopin' on the Raiders last night. The boys thoroughly outplayed the Raiders here in Denver. I hated to see Romo (Raiders #53 - love the intensity he brings to a game) or Jerry Rice (the greatest receiver of all time) get beat like that. But, at least it was to the Broncos. Now, we just need to not over celebrate the victory so that we can do the same to the Detroit Lions this Sunday. My daughter and I will be attending our first regular season game that day.

Tuesday Bowling's the best
Well, another good night at bowling this evening. Bowled a 646 series. That brings my average up to 209 in this league. Overall, even with struggling on Thursday nights, I have a 195 average in the two leagues combined. My team, in our new sharp bowling shirts, won 4 points tonight (1 point for each game one and 1 point for series). That should put us close to first although it's really too early to worry about that. We kicked some serious butt tonight. The least amount of pins we won a game by tonight was 74 and we won series by over 300 pins. All three of the guys on the team had over 600 series.

Okay, I missed this past weekend
Had a couple of comments/e-mails yesterday welcoming me back to blogdom. It wasn't that I didn't want to post something, it was just that I was drop dead tired and wasn't feeling very well. I had a few late nights, a few days of eating poorly, and a mild cold combining to zap any creative energy I might have had. I'm working on taking better care of myself. Hopefully, I won't have any unplanned days missed again.

College life
I'm really enjoying my college courses. I've met some great people in my Accounting class and we really seem to get along. Add that to having some good instructors and it just comes out to a very enjoyable experience. Plus, I seem to be doing well in both classes so it's easy to see why I'm having a good time.

Halloween
Are your grocery stores selling Halloween stuff already? My local Safeway has had candy, cauldron's, decorations, and other assorted goodies out for a little over a week now. Plus, this week they started selling pumpkins. Now, who expects pumpkin purchased in late September to be any good come Halloween? The longest a pumpkin (carved or not) has ever lasted for me is two weeks. So, who is buying these things? I guess you can make pumpkin pie out of them. But, come on, that's why they sell the cans of pumpkin, so you don't have to work so hard. By the way, how do you turn a real pumpkin into a pie? Shows you how sheltered a life I've led.

Suggestions
I'm looking for suggestions on what to write about. Specifically, I'm interested in knowing if anyone wants to read more about me, my life, my griping, things I find odd, or what. Let me know, I have my own ideas, but I'm curious if anyone has any preferences.

2003-09-22T17:34:00.000-06:00

Are you ready for some football?
Today is the home opener for the Denver Broncos. The game will be on Monday Night Football this evening against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are the Broncos biggest rivalry. No other games on the schedule (including the season opener) get the intensity that Broncos/Raiders games get. While I was out today, it seemed that half the people (myself included) had some sort of Bronco gear on. If you watch the game tonight, notice how much orange is worn. The mayor of Denver has declared today to be Orange Monday and the papers are running ads trying to get everyone to wear orange tonight.

Why do you eat?
Sounds like a dumb question, but I'm heading somewhere with this. As strange as it sounds, I am basically bored with food and the process of eating. I eat when I'm hungry or my body tells me I need to. I'm not married to the idea of eating an early morning meal, a midday meal, and then an evening meal. If I'm not hungry, I just don't eat. And often times when I'm eating just because my body is shaky and telling me I need food, I'm at a total loss for what to eat. All I'm trying to do at that point is to stop the hunger pains, shakiness, or weakness that I'm experiencing. At those times, I don't care about what I'm eating, just that I get something into my system. Now, when I'm occassionally hungry for something, like mexican or italian food, it's a different story. Then, I feel like I'm supporting a desire even it the desire is just for an enchillada or plate of spaghetti. It becomes a more mental fulfillment than a physical one. The only thing I really like about eating is when you share a meal with friends or family. Then, it's not the food that makes it enjoyable, but the company and conversation. I'm definitely one of those people who would be happy if they would invent pills that filled you up and provided the nutrients you needed. Then, I could forget about the hassle of thinking up what to make, cooking it, eating, and then clean-up. I could just pop my pill and get on with life. I imagine they've already come up with the nutrient part of that equation, it's the feeling of not being hungry that they have to work on.

Monty Python, the musical?
Read an short blurb in the paper recently that Eric Idle is working on turning the Python movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" into a musical. Is this neccesary? I know it worked for Mel Brooks and "The Producers", but come on. I'm just not a big musical fan. I've liked a few - Phantom of the Opera, Cats, and Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but generally don't care for the format. It's the West Side Story bias I guess. I mean really, how tough can a gang be if it's doing a dance number in the middle of the street. That brings up a question. How is it that one of the characters in the movie can run down a street in Spanish Harlem in the middle of the night screaming the name Maria and only one girl responds?

Were our toys annoying to our parents?
My daughter bought a doll with her allowance this past weekend. Part of the package that the doll came with included a working microphone and amplifier. Now, as you can imagine, you don't get the highest quality electrical equipment when you buy a doll. So, what I end up hearing a lot of is static, fuzzy words, and feedback. Makes me wonder if I had noise making toys that upset my parents?

2003-09-19T22:23:00.000-06:00

The shirts are here! The shirts are here!
First, my apologies to Steve Martin and the film The Jerk (you know, the phone book scene). But, my Tuesday night bowling team shirts arrived today. Our team shirts are red and black polo's with our names on front and our team name (Noi Cattivo - Italian for We Bad) on back. To give you an idea of how dense I can sometimes be; at some point while I have this shirt on, someone will call me Bob. And, I will wonder, how did this person know my name? Only later will I realize that my name is on the damn shirt. Don't laugh (well, okay, laugh all you want), I know this will happen because I used to own a belt buckle that said Bob and wondered how people knew my name. I can program a million dollar plus computer, but sometimes can be as dense as a rock.

The joy of Microsoft
I had an experience today with the Microsoft help line that reminded me of an old joke we mainframers used to tell. The joke went like this:

A helicopter pilot and a traffic reporter were flying around one afternoon in Seattle. Suddenly the fog became very thick and the pilot was having trouble determining his location. He could barely make out a tall building and headed toward it. He wrote a sign stating "Where are we" and held it so the building occupants could read it. A few minutes later, he and the reporter saw someone holding a sign reading "You're in a helicpoter". The pilot waved and immediately flew off to the left until reaching the airport. "That's amazing" said the reporter, "how did you know where to go when we saw that sign?". "Well" said the pilot", "the information we were given, while technically accurate was of absolutely no value, so, I knew we were at the Microsoft building"

Anyway, I called Microsoft today to try to figure out why some of my software wouldn't let me do what I wanted to do. Well, after 10 minutes of phone prompts, advertising, and being on hold, I finally got a human being. And, it turned out to be a help desk in India with people who barely speak English and have no comprehension of what you are asking. I swear that these folks must have a list of questions and answers in front of them. If you ask a question on their list, they can help you. But, they have no comprehension of how the average American speaks (meaning phrasing, slang, and cliches). Trust me folks, I've worked with these people, it's not easy. You have to be very thorough in your explanations, use no slang or buzzwords, and not be sarcastic, funny, or anything not to the point. And to make matters worse, I still have to call them again tomorrow.

Timing is everything
Was watching a show I enjoy this evening (Real Time with Bill Maher). Mr. Maher and the panel were discussing all the activity that is going on concerning people still trying to discuss whether we should have acted against Iraq. Look, I know it's important at a later date to believe that we can trust our government when they say we need to act. But, right now, it's not that important. What is important is getting a plan together for us (meaning the soldiers) to get the fuck out of dodge. Have your silly should we or shouldn't we arguement later. Soldier's lives are in danger. Find a way to get them out of there. Nothing is more important that supporting our troops right now. Some damn politician arguing that we should not have gone right now is a self-serving vane asshole. They are trying to make themselves look good at the risk of our soldiers. I don't agree with everything my father says about President Bush, but I do agree that he needs to stop worrying about how he looks, how his daddy has been avenged, and re-election and start worrying about the men and women in our armed forces who are facing danger every day. As Pink Floyd sings on the Wall album - Bring The Boys Back Home!

2003-09-18T22:19:00.000-06:00

Isabel and Colorado
Living here in Colorado, all I know about Isabel is that it is a big hurricane/tropical storm hitting the east coast. It was a bit windy here yesterday, but I'm sure that Isabel had nothing to do with it. I have trouble understanding people who live in an area that is constantly hit by these storms. I'm sure the Carolina's and Virginia are beautiful areas, but geez, it seems these folks are getting slammed yearly by these storms. At what point does someone just say fuck it and move inland? I feel the same way with people who live in Tornado alleys. Certain towns in Oklahoma get hit every friggin year, and yet people still live there. Wow, they must be tougher than I am.

Thursday bowling struggles continue
Well, I failed to match my bowling average of Tuesday night's again this evening. I did do better than last week, so I'm improving. I also learned that we have a different person running the lane prep machine (the machine that applies oil to the lanes) than on Tuesdays. So, now that I know that, I've just go to go in on Thursdays knowing the lane conditions are going to be spotty and plan/prepare for that. Knowledge of the lane conditions is vital to doing well. Now that I know what's going on, I'll be able to adapt more easily. The good thing is that my team (I'm the captain) won all four points tonight. We're bowling the team that was in first place going into tonight next week. So, even though we're struggling, we're still in good shape.

What's going on with the news?
Nothing has been happening here in the Denver metro area lately that's generating much of a reaction out of me lately. Things are just going pretty well for the area even considering the economy and such. Damn, I need something to happen so that I can get riled and really have something to rant about.

License Plates
I saw a personalized plate today on a car I was following. It made me think of the fact that Colorado has somewhere near 100 different plate designs. You can get a plate for being a generic veteran, a Marine, soldier, air force, fire fighter, alumni of Colorado University, Colorado State University, or a 5th generation Coloradoan. Why do people get these plates? I mean, it costs you an additional $25 a year to have a personalized or specialized plate. My problem is that I can't think of a cute 6 or 7 letter slogan, abbreviation, or comment that I'm willing to pay the money for. It's the same with bumper stickers, some are fairly funny when you see them the first time. But, funny enough to have constantly on your vehicle? I don't think so. Plus, I'm a bit of a snob in that I don't think a bumper sticker belongs on a Lexus (I own/drive a Lexus RX 300). Oh well, I'm at least thankful for the people who do have bumper stickers on their car for my reading amusement.

10 Days and Counting
Well, there are ten days to the Denver Broncos versus the Detroit Lions game. This will be my first ever regular season Bronco game I've attended. The crowd and excitement level was great at the exhibition game I attended. I can't wait to see what it's like during a regular season game.

Spell Checking
I just did a spell check on my post to this point. The spell checker did not like the word Coloradoan. What the hell? Coloradoan, a person who lives in Colorado. Who set this spell check up? Damn, I hate when you use private spell checkers and their list of words is incomplete.

2003-09-17T22:58:00.000-06:00

Someday's Life is Good
Did you ever have one of those days where everything with a person in your life just went so well? I've had one of those days with my daughter. It just seems like everything today went so well. We laughed, danced, rough-housed, and just had a lot of fun. We watched her Lizzie McGuire movie and just had fun doing it together. It was also funny that while watching the movie, she was drinking a Coke, and after doing so let loose some hellacious burps. I know that sounds gross, but when something like that comes out of a sweet little nine year old, it's totally funny. She's now decided that she's going to be a pop star when she grows up. She made this decision because in the movie they mention that the record company buys anything the stars want. So, she is going to be a pop star and have them buy her a car (Ford Mustang Convertible) and lots of shoes and clothes. Keep dreaming, kiddo! Oh, and if you want to see a picture (well, part of one) of my daughter and the Oldcatman, click here

Where am I from?
Yesterday, I listed all the various schools I've attended. That got me thinking about where I've lived during my life. People always ask, where are you from? Well, after looking at this list, you'll see why that question perplexes me.

Los Gatos, CA - Born - no idea where I lived
San Jose, CA - White Road, first memory of the Oldcatman
Eureka, CA - Either 6th or N street, at least that was the intersection we lived on. My brother was born here.
Santa Rosa, CA - can't recall the street
San Jose, CA - not far from the White Road house
San Jose, CA - Concord Avenue after my mom and Oldcatman divorced
San Jose, CA - Via de Adrianna Street after my mother remarried
San Jose, CA - After my mother died, it wasn't far from the previous house, but now it was my brother, dad and I.
Sonora, CA - Salamandar Road (at least I think that was the name)
San Diego, CA - United States Marine Corp Recruit Depot - Marine Boot Camp
Quantico, VA - USMC Computer Sciences School
Camp Pendleton, CA - Just north of Oceanside, CA - my first official duty station
Camp Smith, HI - Up the hill from Pearl Harbor on Oahu
Aiea, HI - Off-base housing that I moved into after marrying my first wife
Belton, MO - Lived on the Richards Gebaur Air Force base which was the only military housing in the area
Kansas City, MO - The first house I owned, with my first wife
Blue Springs, MO - An apartment on the west side of town after divorcing my first wife
Blue Springs, MO - Southgate Ave - Moved into my girlfriend's/fiancees/wife's house
Denver, CO - Harvard Ave - An apartment in the southern part of Denver
Englewood, CO - S Spruce Circle - My wife and I purchased our first home together. Also, the first home of my daughter
Highlands Ranch, CO - My current home

As you can see, I've had a lot of experience packing/unpacking and moving around. So, where would you say I'm from. Out of all the places I've lived, Denver (and it's surrounding suburbs) is the longest I've lived in any one place followed by San Jose and then Kansas City. The first home here in Denver is the longest period that I had the same address. We're coming close here at our current address, but still have a little ways to go.

Comment I Read Today
Saw a comment in the Highlands Ranch Herald (our local paper) that I liked and wanted to share. The comment was "Attack the message, not the messenger". I like that. It's true that if someone says something we disagree with, we should argue with the message first, not the person stating it. If you don't like what someone says, tell them why and what you believe. Don't attack or insult them instead of presenting your view. People will listen to an opposing position as long as they don't feel that you are insulting them personally. Good advice!

2003-09-16T22:11:00.000-06:00

How do you sleep?
Found an article on MSN.com today about sleep positions. According to this article, I have a brash and gregarious personality based on the fact that I sleep on my stomach. Now, my first reaction to this is amazement. I'm simply amazed that some scientist is studying the relationship between how one sleeps and personality types. People dying of diseases all over the world and this yahoo is trying to figure out what personality type has to do with sleep positions. Thankfully, there is no mention of any federal (read - tax dollars) assistance for this "study".

Bowling
Well, the Tuesday/Thursday mis-match continues. I bowled a 636 tonight with a high game of 269. I'll save you the math and let you know I had one game in the 190's and one in the 170's to go with the good game. Any body have any ideas on how to regain arm strength between these two days?

Apologies to fellow Bloggers
I realized today that I read a few Blogs regularly that I haven't add to my link list. So, I want to take this opportunity to apologize to those that I read but don't publicize.

Another Denver Odd Law
Did you know that in Denver, it is illegal to park a car on a public street for the primary purpose of selling the car? Basically, if you park a car on the street with a for sale sign in it, you run the risk of being ticketed. Now, the police freely admit that this is not strongly enforced, but come on! How desperate can the city be to collect funds that they need to go find cars for sale. Hell, the local Safeway lot alone should be good for the city's office supply budget.

A little background
Thought I'd give you a little more background on me and my life. For some reason, I was thinking about my history in various schools today. So, I thought I'd give you a list of where I went to school. Now, I know this is not that exciting, but it is interesting when you consider that my wife attended four schools her entire life including college. So, here goes:

Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 1st half of 2nd Grade - In Eureka, CA
2nd half of 2nd Grade and 1st half of 3rd Grade - In Santa Rosa, CA
2nd half of 3rd Grade and 1st half of 4th Grade - White Oak Elementary School in San Jose, CA
2nd half of 4th Grade, 5th Grade, and 6th Grade - Sherman Oaks Elementary Schook in San Jose
7th Grade and 1st half of 8th Grade - Blackford Junior High in San Jose
2nd half of 8th Grade - Bret Harte Junior High in San Jose
9th Grade - Castillero Junior High in San Jose
10th Grade - Leland High in San Jose
11th Grade and 12th Grade - Sonora Union High in Sonora, CA

As you can imagine, I have quite the assortment of yearbooks. I have a yearbook from a different school for every year between 7th Grade and 11th Grade. Now, I should mention that the change in school between 6th and 7th was normal. It's just the change in school between elementary and junior high. Same with the change between 9th and 10th, it was the normal jump from junior high to senior high (at least in my district). The rest of the changes occurred due to (in order) my father's job change (twice), my parent's divorce, my mother remarrying, and finally, my mother's death. It's no wonder that I survived the duty station changes in the Marines, hell, I'd been doing it most of my life.

2003-09-15T18:33:00.000-06:00

Words....Part II
Reaction to yesterday's posting about certain words and their usages by people has been interesting. Most people seem to agree that it's okay for blacks to use the term nigger amongst themselves. Folks seem to think that it's not okay for other races (basically whites) to use the term since it is generally considered an offensive and inflammatory racial slur. Okay, I see their point and agree with them. But......

One of my points was that I objected to the biased or prejudicial thinking that occurs when someone uses the word. If you don't know me, how do decide whether I'm using the term as a slur or one of endearment (for lack of a better term)? If you heard me say "Hey nigger, what's happening" to a black person, what do you think? Your reaction indicates whether you are prejudiced or not. How do you know whether I know the individual or not? And even if you knew that, do you know the level of our relationship?

This particular term carries so much baggage that I would never use it. I have some very good friends who happen to be black and I would not put them through having to explain to anyone why they'd allow me to use the term. Similarly, I would never call anyone a Wop, Kike, Mick, or Spick. That is my own personal feeling that I don't classify people that way. Again, a big part of my point was the objection that because I'm white, the use of one of these terms is automatically deemed to be offensive.

RIAA and Lawsuits
There has been a lot of strong opinions concerning the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) filing lawsuits against people who are swapping files on the net. I guess I feel like adding my two cents worth.

Basically, I feel that suing kids as young as 12 is a bit on the heavy handed side. However, I do support what the RIAA is trying to do.

Folks, we're talking about the rights of the owner's of these copyrighted items to profit from their work. If instead of purchasing a song, you copy it from some website, you have acquired something that someone owns without paying them for it. That is the definition of stealing. These artists have created an item (in this case, a song or album) that they intend to produce and profit from. The swapping of music deprives them from that opportunity. If you want to have a copy of a song, you have to purchase the album or single thereby paying the artist for his creation.

The arguments that CD's are a rip-off when looked at based on cost to produce vs. selling price holds no water in this discussion. It doesn't matter if the record company is trying to make a 10% profit or 200% profit. They have that right as the producers of the CD. You, as a consumer, have the right not to buy the album. If enough people stop buying CD's because of cost, the companies sooner or later will have to reduce the price to stay in business. But, when millions are willing to provide a company with a 200% profit on an item, why would the company be willing to reduce their price?

And, you can't compare swapping music on the net to a book in a library or movie at Blockbuster's. A library makes available copyrighted items for your reading pleasure. Libraries will do their best to remind you that the books are copyrighted and any violation of the copyright laws can have legal ramifications. It's the same with a movie. Blockbuster will warn you (and so will the tapes) that you are not to copy the movie in violation of the copyright laws. It's not the listening or viewing that's the issue, it's the copying. Copyright laws define what constitutes unauthorized duplication of an intellectual property. And, whether you agree or not, swapping music on the web is currently unauthorized.

Just because you can copy something, doesn't make it right. This is an issue that's going to have to be worked out somehow. But, until it is resolved, swapping music on the net is a violation of a law. So, if you are violating this law, don't complain to me when the authorities come after you.

Positive Effects of Blogging
Reading the Oldcatman's post today reminded me of one of the positive effects of Blogging. Specifically, that it has provided my father and I another item which we now have in common. If you read both of our sites, you've no doubt noticed we feel differently on any number of items. My father is a person who is very creative, free-thinking (however you define the term), adventerous, and artistic. I, on the other hand, tend to be more linear thinking, guarded, and willing to adhere to rules. An example of a difference is that my dad can take a blank canvas and create a picture, I can take a piece of graph paper and design a plan. My dad is more willing to look at something as okay if it doesn't bother someone else where I'd look at whether that something was legal or not first (see the RIAA comments as an example, not that I know how he feels about that issue). These differences over the years have caused us any number of problems. But, we're trying to look past our differences and concentrate on the things we do have in common. Obviously, we're father and son, we both love my daughter, we're both sports fans, and now, we both Blog. So, I thank the creator of Blogging (whoever he, she, or they may be) for that.

2003-09-14T22:39:00.000-06:00

Ben and Jenniger have split?
On my way to Blogger to write today's post, I noticed a MSN article concerning the possible break-up of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. My first reaction was shock, but then I realized I'd just had a bit of static electricity. Who freakin cares if these people get married or not? I would prefer to be unemployed than to have to be a reporter assigned to covering this "news" story. My god, are there actually people who really care about this? Are they nervous about if and when the wedding will be? Why? I simply cannot understand people who worry or care about some actor or actresses personal life. Unless of course if they were actually involved somehow. Now, liking a personality because of how they look, or you like their movies, books, or TV show is one thing. If you are sad because John Ritter died because you liked his TV show, okay, that is logical. But, if you are sitting around worrying whether Ben and Jennifer's nuptials go okay, then you need a hobby.

Words
I was reading the newspaper this morning and came across a couple letters to the editor concerning a recent Doonesbury comic. The strip in question concerned masturbation. Evidently, a large number of papers chose not to run the comic (including the Denver Post) because of the possibly offensive theme of the strip. One of the letters stated that they (the letter writer) were offended because the paper cowardly refused to use the M-word in the comics. The M-word? It's called masturbation folks. If the word offends you, you need to grow up. Using M-word in place of the actual word makes one look a little weak. If you read an article that said that someone used the N-word, would you know what they meant? If you did, what's the difference between the actual word (nigger) and the cutesy phrase? If you don't know what N-word stands for, then the use of the term is meaningless. I also read an opinion last week where the writer used W-word when writing about someone being called a wetback. Let's take a step back here folks, these are all just words. The word itself may have a definition in the dictionary, but overall, it's how you interprept the meaning that gives them any weight. Want an example? Okay, let's say one black man walks up to another and asks; Are you my nigga?. No problem, right? Okay, let's say I walk up to the same black man and ask the same question. Am I racist and according to who? Maybe I asked the question because the first black man received a favorable response and that's what I wanted. So, just because I'm white, I can't use the word nigger (or nigga) but a black person can? Why? I'm a racist if I use the term but a it's okay for a black person to use it. Hmmm, seems were pre-judging what I mean if I use the term. Isn't that the meaning of prejudice? Now, I don't go around calling black people niggers. But, if I did, why is it okay to assume it's because I am a racist/bigot or whatever? If it's not okay for me to use the term because it's demeaning to blacks, then it still should be demeaning if a black person uses it. If it's not, then you've proved my point. If you are a black person and think it's okay for a fellow black person to use the word but not a white person, you are as prejudiced and bigoted as those who use the word to be offensive.

2003-09-13T23:00:00.000-06:00

Scheduling My Writing
Well, for those of you who noticed, yes I did miss my posting yesterday. Normally, I sit down at my computer at night to compose my daily posting. Well, yesterday was no different except that by the time evening rolled around, I was just too tired to sit down and think about or type my post. Add that to the fact that I needed to get up early this morning and viola, no post. Now, I felt bad about not writing anything for a little bit, but later thought of an important question. The question is, why do I write posts, and for whom? The answer is that I write these for my own personal enjoyment and basically only for me. Yes, I do enjoy the fact that people read these and comment on them. But, when I sit down and write, I write things I feel strongly about, things I wish to gripe or rant about, goofy shit that just happens to cross my mind. I don't sit down and type something simply to get comments from people. I would like to think that if I don't post something on a given day that someone would be dissappointed because there's nothing new to read (okay, it's hoping for alot). But, I'm doing this for fun. I don't want to feel that I am obligated to type something everyday. If I don't feel like posting, am sick, or have an evening engagement, I may not post. I'm okay with that idea. I've read a few blogs lately where it seems like someone wrote something not because they cared about the subject, just they felt they had to post something. I don't want to do that. I want what I write to be about something I care about, not an obligation.

Colorado has a new mass murderer
The newspaper the last couple of days has had a story about a male here in Colorado who, while being questioned as a suspect for one murder, confessed to the police to committing five other murders. So far, the police have found two of the victims that this person said he killed and buried.

Okay, so now my issues with the news media. The term "alleged murderer" is one of my favorties. If someone confesses to killing someone and tells you where they buried the body, I think we can drop alleged from the vocabulary. Yes, I know we're all innocent until proven guilty. But, come on. You don't suddenly become a murderer after a court finds you guilty of murder. At that point you are a convicted murderer. Before then, you are an untried murderer. Either way, you still are a murderer. A jury verdict does not make you a rapist, burglar, con-man, or murderer. They simply convict you of the crime that (usually) you've already committed (with my apologies to those who are convicted yet actually innocent).

Secondly, and this is a popular theme in crimes like this, there have been all sorts of interviews with friends, family, and neighbors spouting the usual comments. You know the ones, "he's such a quiet person", "he's a loner and kept to himself" (which is always funny to me because how could you be a loner without keeping to yourself?), "I can't believe he is capable of something like this" (you never hear someone say "I always knew he would be a mass murderer"). People always say that it's always the quiet ones who cause problems. But, to quote George Carlin, if a guy is quietly sitting at a bar reading a book, and another is waving a machette and yelling that he's going to kill the next person who walks in the bar, which one are you going to keep on an eye on?

Golfing
Went golfing this morning. It was a fine late summer day here in Colorado...Not. It was just below fifty degrees, little windy, and threatening to rain when I teed off. Hey, check the calendar Colorado, fall isn't for a little over a week. Oh well, I can't be too upset about the weather since I was the nut-ball that was outside hitting a little ball around. We golfers must be a demented bunch. I say that not only because of the frustrations the game presents, but the fact that I wasn't alone on the course. There were plenty of other golfing nut-cases outside in the cold (sounds weird saying outside in) hitting our little white balls while our other balls are so cold they're turning blue.

College Football
I was watching a little football on TV today. Would someone please tell me why 111 thousand people will go to a college football game? While I enjoy the games, I don't understand the fanaticism of college fans. Of course, the same number of people will go to a NASCAR race and root their favorite redneck around the track. So, at least the football fans at least have an attachment to the school they attended. Like I said, I just don't understand the huge crowds at these games.

2003-09-11T22:50:00.000-06:00

Heroes
What makes someone a hero? After 9/11/2003, it seems that everyone considers all fire fighters heroes. And, I've already spoken about how I feel about Jessica Lynch being deemed a hero. According to Merriam-Webster, a hero is one that shows great courage or an object of extreme admiration and devotion. Now, the fire-fighters that lost their life in efforts to save those that were in the twin towers certainly qualify for hero status. But, not all fire-fighters are heroes. Just because you have a job that may require you to act heroically, doesn't mean anything. It isn't until you actually put the life of someone else before yours that you qualify. I was an active duty Marine. I felt at the time that I was willing to give up my life for my country. But, I never actually faced that. What if I was faced with that situation and instead of fighting I ran? Not very heroic is it? A hero is someone who has done something, not just a person in a job likely to face that situation. So, to the true heroes of 9/11, I salute you and pray that God takes care of you. To the psuedo-heroes since then, do not expect my respect until you prove worthy of it. Heroes are created by action and deed, not by job title.

Thursday Bowling
Okay, after that last post, it seems odd to switch to something minor like bowling (in the grand scheme or life). But, I don't dwell in the past, so I must move on. Anyway, my bowling tonight was semi-okay. I think right now my problem is two-fold. One, is I need to learn to concentrate more in this league. It's not as tough as my Tuesday league, and I think right now I'm guilty of slacking off a bit. Secondly, I think I am still adjusting to bowling twice a week. I seem to be suffering from a little tired arm syndrome and I need to work on that. But, I feel good that I have recognized the problems and I guarantee you that I will solve them shortly.

Colorado Colleges
Oh, you'll love this. Seems that our Republican leaders here in Colorado are now up in arms over the fact that an overwhelming majority of the professors in this state are liberal. They are calling for a more balanced representation in the teaching positions. Now, I'm a registered Republican and consider myself a moderate to conservative thinker. But come on folks. If you don't like the teachers at a college because they're too liberal, don't go to that school. It's that easy. It's the same with a TV program, a radio station, or a book. Nobody is forcing you to watch, listen, or read. Take a little personal responsibility and do things that you enjoy. Just because you don't enjoy a book doesn't mean that the book should be banned. You have the choice between buying/reading the book or not. I so wish that more people knew how to say or the meaning of the phrase, "it's my fault".

Hate
If you've noticed, I don't use the word hate often. Merriam-Webster defines hate as intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury. I tend to think that you can only hate something you are passionate about. I don't like hearing people just toss the word around. Hate is an intense emotion. I don't hate many things in this world. I hate that my mother and wife died too early. But, I am passionate about my feelings toward them so I feel hate is an appropriate emotion in this respect. I hate when I bowl poorly because I so love to bowl and do well. But, I don't hate a TV show. If I don't like the show, fine. But why say hate when I have no concern about something. When people say they hate something, I always wonder whether they are truly passionate about that item or just lazy. I know it's a word, and you can take it based on what it means to you. But, I don't like the de-valuing of words like hate or hero. It lessens their meaning to use them indiscriminately.

2003-09-10T22:57:00.000-06:00

Second Season of CSI
I purchased the second season of CSI on DVD today. One of the neat things about this set is that I never saw the original broadcasts on TV. I bowl on Thursdays and CSI is on before I get home. So, the first three episodes I've seen so far have been basically brand new for me. If you are a fan of this show at all, you have to get these discs. The show is wonderful. I wish it had been on while I was in school. If it had, it would have provided me with an understanding of why science is or can be important. PS - My daughter wants me to let you know that the show can be scary for little kids.

Highlands Ranch Happenings
Remember a week or so ago I mentioned that in Highlands Ranch it was illegal for kids to play in the street? Well, the feud I referred to in that posting has prompted the county commissioners to consider turning the street in question into a play area. Yep, it is possible for the county to designate a street as a play area in which all street activities would be legal. So, the county is going to investigate whether this particular cul-de-sac deserves this designation. If they so decide, the one family that has been reporting to the police will be out of luck. They'll either have to accept the kids in the street (and knowing the other parents won the feud) or move. Ouch! This will continue to get ugly.

Male Stereotypes
My daughter went over to a friend's house today to play. When I picked her up, her friend's mother was all apologetic about her house being clean. She mentioned that considering that I was a single male, she was amazed how nice my house always looked. Now folks, I hate to break this to you, but I am a good housekeeper. I'm not Martha Stewart good, but I do keep a pretty good home. I can't blame it on the Marines, because I was like this before I enlisted. In fact, I first started really working at keeping a house clean when Oldcatman gave me a choice between going fishing and cleaning around the house. After that first time, I would trade cleaning up for any number of things. And, I found I was pretty good at it and found I liked the look, feel, and smell or a clean room. Maybe I have a gay streak (another stereotype) in me. Nah!

Pro-Choice or Pro-Life
How do you feel about abortion? For the record, I feel that a woman should have the choice about terminating or continuing a pregnancy. Now, I also think that the man should have some say. But, ultimately, I think the majority of the decision is with the female. I call that position, pro-choice. Notice I said pro-choice, not pro-abortion. I would prefer that every conceived child be born into a loving family. But, even I am not that naive. A lot of the pro-life side would claim I am pro-abortion or the opposite of pro-life which would be pro-death/anti-life. None of those identifications is true. I am simply pro-choice. The only thing that implys is that I am not pro-no-choice. It doesn't mean that I want abortions to continue, or grow in frequency. It simply refers to my feeling that a woman controls all functions of her body. My biggest problem with pro-lifers (and this is a generalization) is that they don't seem to care about the child after they are born. I've never met a pro-lifer who also worked with needy mothers and their newborn children. So, what great benefit is there to forcing a child to be born to a drug-addict of a mother. Sure, the kid is born, but what type of life does it have. Forcing a child to be born just so you feel good is an extremely selfish act if the child is doomed to a miserable life with an absent or abusive parent.

September 11
Okay, I'm not a big Bush fan. But please, everyone, take the time tomorrow to remeber (or not) the events of two years ago in your own personal fashion.

2003-09-09T23:03:00.000-06:00

Redemption
Okay, so Thursday was just a fluke after all. Tonight at bowling, I had a 597 with two 200+ games. I was really nervous about tonight wondering if Thursday was the begining of a trend or truly an off night. Well, I've got my confidence back. My only problem tonight was the fourth frame. In each of the three games, I had a 3-10 baby split. And, I couldn't manage to pick up a single one. Damn! Oh well, at least now have a shot I know I need to practice.

Feeling Stronger Every Day
With apologies to Chicago (and their song of the same name), I'm feeling better these last couple of days. I have got to learn that I can't sit at home alone all day. Something about it makes me feel isolated and lonely. The last couple of days, I've been busy doing errands, school, bowling, etc. and I feel fine. It's the feeling that I'm in control of my day that helps me feel better. I just have to remember that. Sometimes, I feel trapped in my own home and I really detest that feeling. Home is where you should feel safe and loved, not confined.

How would you take this statement?
Yesterday, at my orthodontist appointment (had I mentioned that I have braces?) my technician (a cute female) told me, while she was working on my bottom braces, that my tongue seemed happy to be playing with her. Now, I ask you, how would you take that? I started laughing. She said that I was wrong because my mind was in the gutter. I told her that I wasn't the one who just made such a loaded statement. I need your vote, was I rude or was she guilty of baiting me?

Problem with Tues./Thurs.
The only thing I don't like about going to school is that I don't get a chance to read my newspaper. Now, ever since I was in Boot Camp, I've viewed reading newspapers as a break. I just enjoy finding out what's happening in the world, my state, and community. But, on the days I have school, I don't get that opportunity. I really miss it. To me, there is no better way to start the day than with a newspaper, cup of coffee, and a cigarette. Okay, if my wife was here, I can think of one better way. But she's not, so I have to stick with my original statement.

Young Frankenstein
My daughter and I watched one of my all-time favorite movies yesterday. No matter how many times I see Young Frankenstein, I still laugh. I love the "put the candle back" and "give him a seda-give" bits. That and Frau Bluecher. Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder were definitely "on" when they wrote that movie. One of my other favorites is Blazing Saddles. I love the Mongo bits including "Mongo only pawn in game of life". Still another one of my favorite movies is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I love the scene where "Naughty Zeus" has lit the grail beacon and the punishment for the convent must be spanking and oral sex. God, I have a warped sense of humor.

2003-09-08T22:26:00.000-06:00

Rest In Peace Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon, singer of songs such as Werewolves of London, Excitable Boy, and Johnny Strikes Up the Band died in his sleep last night. Speaking for fans such as myself, I say thank you for the music and may you rest in peace.

Sorry about yesterday
Well, I apologize for missing my posting yesterday. I'd like to tell you Blogger/Blog*spot was down, I had computer problems, or an emergency occurred requiring my attention. But, that would be a lie. The truth was that I mentally was not up to doing a posting. I spent a great deal of this past weekend in what I usually call a low bio-rythym day or blue funk. Basically, during these times, I tend to fall into a trap of thinking of everything I don't have. I don't have my wife anymore, I don't have a girlfriend/female companion, I don't have a great deal of friends, I don't have a job, etc. And, the more I dwell on those things, the sadder, lonlier, and more frustrated I get. None of those emotions are great inspiration for my writing. I'm glad to say that my mood has improved. Basically, my daughter and I did some cooking together, watched a little TV, and played some games. I can't tell you what a positive effect that little girl has on my disposition. Whenever I think that my life is meaningless and not worth a whole lot, I just need to make my daughter smile or laugh and I snap out of it. I still think at times that my daughter would be better had her mother been the sole parent, or if she lived with someone else (and had the inheiritance from me). But, thankfully, I'm too damn selfish to give up spending the rest of my life with my daughter. (Note - please don't worry that I'm planning on doing anything foolish to myself. It's just that I want the best for my daughter and I sometimes doubt that either I'm the best for her or that I can always do the best thing for her.)

Lighter Side of Life
Geez, it was depressing just typing that last item. Need to shift gears a little. So, here's a few odd thoughts and questions.

Why do people say someone lost their spouse when the spouse dies? Not to be disrespectful, but I didn't lose my wife. I know exactly where she is. I like to think of it as passing away.

What were the items before CD's or Cassette's called? Do you believe that 75% of my accounting class had no familiarity with a vinyl record album? Even less than that had heard of a 45 single. Ouch, I feel old.

What exactly is pre-boarding an airplane? When we're at the gate waiting to board, isn't that pre-boarding? And why do they tell us to get on the plane? Shouldn't we get in the plane?

Why do women put on a pair of panties or pants, but only a bra?

Why when you order a large coffee at Starbuck's do you get the smallest size they offer? In Starbuck's lingo, large = small, tall = medium, and venti = large.

Speaking of Starbucks
Say what you will about the number of, location of, or anything else about Starbuck's Coffee Shops. But, I spent a couple of hours at one today. I was sitting outside enjoying the most pleasant weather, drinking a Venti Latte, having a cigarette (or two, three) and doing my homework. Another pleasant way to spend my time. (My daughter is volunteering as a library aide (at age 9) at her school, so she had to go work).

Broncos 30, Bengals 10
Broncos in an unimpressive fashion beat the hapless Jon Kitna led Bengals yesterday. I feel sorry for Kitna because with every mistake he makes, the chants for Carson Palmer will get louder. Broncos record 1 - 0.

2003-09-06T16:20:00.000-06:00

Alternatives to Blogger
Okay, looking for suggestions here. Blogger and all Blog*spot sites were down most of today. This is the third time I've noticed a prolonged period of not being able to get here. So, I'm now researching alternatives. Anyone have any ideas? If need be, I'll go the web-site route and buy a domain name and use some commercially available software to support this blog. Anyone have any experience with Microsoft FrontPage 2002?

And I wonder why I'm a Republican at times
Story this morning in the Rocky Mountain News concerning a woman who was supposed to be considered a welfare success story. This is a woman who has five children and was on welfare. She now has a job that pays more than she got on welfare. She still gets food stamps, rent subsidies, and healthcare from the government. Okay, congratulations ma'am, I applaud you're willingness to get out there and do your best for your family. Here's where I get upset though. This woman had her first child at age 16. She went on welfare a couple of months after that (after dropping out of school). Then, while on welfare, she had four more children. She has never been married to anyone of the three males who are the sperm donors (to call them fathers insults fathers). None of the fathers (of course) pay any regular child support. In fact, two of them are in prison and the third just dissapeared. She even had an abortion while she was on welfare. Okay, I'll give any welfare recipient one "grace pregnancy". I figure that, save abstinence, no birth control is 100 percent effective. But, after that, don't expect me, the state, or federal government to support your stupidity. Just because you can't shut your legs does not mean I have to have my tax dollars supporting you.

Major Award for me
I want you all to know that I have received an award for best overall Blog site. Yep, the Society of Estonian Bloggers in Highlands Ranch (SEBHR) has given me this award. It's not a big group yet (In fact, I just created it an hour ago) but keep your eyes open. It's going to be a player in Blogdom. Hey, if we can have the Latin Grammy's and the like, I can create my own organizaition.

Opinion, anybody?
Was speaking with the Oldcatman this morning. I told him that the only disappointing thing about blogging (at least for me so far) has been the lack of any real non-agreeable comments. Now, I don't want people to insult, trash, belittle me or the like. But, don't you ever wish someone would write a comment in opposition to something you say. Isn't the idea of a debate about a subject you feel strongly about appealling? Oldcatman and I agreed that we both love meeting and discussing things with others. I love reading Maizzy, Mookie, and Tasberry (see links at left above) and finding out about them. I've written a couple of times to them. That's the neat part. I would never have met these ladies if not for Blogging. But, I'd still like to meet people who disagree with me. Why do we disagree? Where do we disagree? Can either of us sway the other person towards our point of view? I want the back and forth that a debate can offer.

2003-09-05T22:27:00.000-06:00

Be nice Oldcatman
Geez, my own father ragging on my two main sporting interests. First, he doesn't care enough about golf to actually spend time criticizing it. Then, he actually does write about bowling. And yes Dad, smoking is still allowed in bowling alleys. Although, they usually do have certain smoke-free times for open bowling. You are right, bowling balls (even the house ones) aren't just black anymore. The one I use most often (I own four) is a purple, blue, green, and brown mix. When I purchased it, it had a grape smell to it (why, I don't know). You can buy clear bowling balls that have a beer bottle, skull, or rose imbedded in them. Or, they come with designs of football teams, NASCAR cars, or Disney characters on them. It's just not your parents sport anymore. Come on Dad, one day after I express dismay over a bad night and you're going to put my sport down? Be nice!

Who buys/wears this stuff?
Received a catalog from the Playboy store in the mail today. I open the cover and there are some very sexy ladies wearing these different lingerie items. Now, some of these look like you could wear them during the day. But others, like a fishnet dress, you really have to wonder about. Okay, if a lady came over to the house wearing that outfit, I wouldn't turn her away. But come on folks, the only time a lady walks up to a house in a fishnet dress is in a teenage boy's fantasy or a porno movie. I would bet that over 90 percent of these dresses are sold to guys who then have to beg and plead with their lady to wear the thing. Wouldn't it be funny if some senior citizen male bought it for Ethel down at the home. And Ethel, being the wild woman puts it on and her geriatric boobs slip through the fishnet? (God is going to punish me for that comment).

Latin Grammy's
There was an editorial today in the Denver Post stating how great it was that the Latin Grammy's were on a national network recently. It talked about the progress society as a whole and Hispanics were making. Now, I'm not a racist, but I really dislike things like the Latin Grammy's or NAACP awards. It's not that I don't want any of these musicians, actors, or whatever to be recognized for their work. It's just that I object to limiting the awards to one group. If they tried to have a White Persons award show (other than the Country Music Awards), there would be a terrible outrage. How dare they exclude minorities. Well folks, the Latin Grammy's excluded blacks and whites, where's the uproar. Oh, it's okay for a minority to exclude because they've been excluded for so long, bull honking shit. Exclusion is exclusion.

Random Thoughts
September 25, 2003 - Griss, Cat, Nicky, Warrick, and Sarah resume solving cases as the new season of C.S.I begins. It's the best show that TV has to offer.

Pink Floyd is still the greatest band of all time. Please, oh please David or Roger, release some new material.

Why is it still call the NAACP? Shouldn't (in this PC world) it now be called the NAAAA (National Association for the Advancement of African Americans?

I detest the word "arguably" as in Joe Blow was arguably the best quarterback in the history of the NFL. Hey, either Joe is or isn't the best. Get off the friggin fence and take a stand. Or are you afraid someone might disagree with you?

2003-09-04T22:52:00.000-06:00

Marital woes for the Colorado Governor
Well, it seems that being Governor of Colorado has put a strain on Mr. and Mrs. Bill Owens. It was announced that they are going to separate. Now, ordinarily, this wouldn't be that big of a deal. Marriages end all the time. The problem is, is that our Governor has come out against same-sex marriages because he feels the would weaken the sanctity of heterosexual marriages. And, of course, now we're seeing all sorts of letters to the editor rubbing it in that his marriage is having problems. Well, I hope the things work out for the Owens', not for political motives, just because I know that a divorce can be an ugly life event. And to all those who are pro same-sex marriage, lay off or be willing to put up with the trash that occurs when a few of those civil unions / marriages fail.

Same-sex Marriages / Civil Unions
Okay, I brought it up. Now, I guess I have to take a stand. I am totally against civil unions and am not sure (yet) how I feel about same-sex marriages. How can I distinguish between the two? Well, most people who have campaigned for civil unions have always stated that it would provide them with the benefits that a heterosexual marriage provides the partners. Benefits such as health care decisions, beneficiary rights, and survivor benefits. I have not heard one advocate say anything about the responsibilities that go along with it. These would be obligations such as loans, credit, and taxes. When someone states they will accept those responsibilities, then I consider how I feel about civil unions. As far as marriages, I don't know. One of the arguements against same-sex marriage is the inability to naturally reproduce which exists in most marriages. Well, I've had a vasectomy. So, if I ever re-marry, I can't reproduce. Therefore, that arguement holds no water. Oh, I'll just admit something. I don't consider myself to be homophobic. But, I just don't feel comfortable with the idea of two men getting married. So, that's what I'm fighting while thinking about this topic.

Bowling
Oh jeez. I guess even the world's greatest bowlers have off nights. Well, I certainly had one tonight. I won't admit to the final total, but I bowled my first sub 500 series in more than a year tonight. Guess I was due for an off night. Oh well, I had a great time with my team-mates and opponents and that's more important than my series total (Keep repeating that and I may believe it). Hey, one bad night does not mean much anymore than one great night means everything. You know, the more I think about it, the more I'm not worried about it. I know I can do better. So I had a bad night. Oh well, as my opponents stated tonight, watch out next week when I bowl like I can and have a nice fat handicap.

Family History
Couple of things I want to say about this topic. Thank you to all for understanding that my real father is Oldcatman even if he's not my biological father. I said it yesterday and I mean it, Oldcatman has always been the one I've known and loved. So, who I am is attributable to him and I happen to think I'm okay, so he did a great job. Secondly, I wanted to clear up one thing I may have confused folks about. My sister is the result of my mother's first marriage. Next, I was the result of an affair my (then single) mother had with an Irish police officer (Oh, it that doesn't bring up stereotypical thoughts). I also supposedly have a sister that has the same father as I do and obviously the same mother. But, I've never met her and didn't even know she existed until I was thirty-one. My brother is Oldcatman's and my mother's child. (Hey, I don't have a family tree, it's a friggin' bush). I say all this because I don't want you to think to poorly of my mother. Perfect, she wasn't. But I loved her with all my heart (She passed away when I was 15).

Speaking of Stereotypes
Saw a comic in the paper today (Mallard Fillmore). In it, the main character Mallard was stating that it's a good thing that the people in "Queer eye for the straight guy" (or whatever it's called) are participating in a reality TV show. If any of these guys were in a movie, the movie would be blasted for blatant gay stereotypes. And you know, that's right. So, I guess stereotypes aren't always wrong or bad. Gee, when it's popular with a minority, I guess those things don't matter. What does that say when they do complain?

2003-09-03T23:02:00.000-06:00

Another Blogging question
Okay, it's September. Now how do I get my August posts into the archive? Can anyone help me with this?

Writer's block
Geez, nothing happened worth mentioning today. Nothing too exciting in the news. Colorado Rockies out of the pennant race (not that that is news). What do I write about today?

Life, as I know it
That may sound like a weird way to head a post concerning my life. But, as you will read in future posts, not all of my life has occurred as I remembered it. Strange? Yes, but I'll hopefully clear that up soon.

First of all, I need to tell you something about my father and I. As those of you who have read this site and Oldcatman's Brain Farts know, I am the "Denverite son" of Oldcatman. Technically speaking, this is not one hundred percent accurate. Oldcatman is my adoptive father. I have never known my biological father. Notice that I said "biological" and not "real". Oldcatman is my real father. He is the one who loved, raised, instructed, punished, and stood by me. The fact that I did not come from a sperm donation of his is immaterial. I do know that my biological father was Irish, a cop, and was having an affair with my mother. Oh, and he still lives in the San Francisco Bay area. One other thing that I know is that I have five half-brothers and sisters that I have never met.

When I stated "as I remember it" above, I was referring to the fact that I'm not sure of my own family history. Hell, I didn't find out about Oldcatman being my adoptive father until I was thirty-one. I grew up thinking I was half Italian. My other half is Estonian. My mother came to America when she was a teen-ager. Anyway, here I was, a red-haired, freckle faced, light-skinned kid. Not exactly the typical description of an Italian. So, finding out I was part Irish was a huge relief. It explained a lot about how I looked. So, for the better part of thirty-one years, I kept getting the same "you don't look Italian" line thrown at me. Naively, I told folks that, yes, I am a good Italian boy. Oh well, to all of you I corrected, I'm sorry, you were right.

So, in the upcoming days (weeks) when I right about my history, please keep in mind that I'm writing based on what I know. Oldcatman may correct something, but I'll be stating things from my recollection.

Here's one thing I'm pretty sure about. I was born in Los Gatos, Ca which is a town south/southwest of San Jose and the bay area. Now, I've never been told where I lived there, or for how long. I have one minor recollection of living a couple of doors down from my grandfather (Oldcatman's dad) when I was very little. The next thing I can recall is living in Eureka, Ca which is a town way up north in CA. Eureka is where my brother (technically, half) was born in 1964. I also have a sister (again, half) that was born in 1957 in San Jose, CA. I believe my mother was born in either Tartu or Parnu Estonia.

Okay, well, now you know the cast of characters that make up my family. In the upcoming days or weeks, I'll fill you in about my life. It's not the greatest story ever told, but I hope you'll find it interesting.

2003-09-02T15:36:00.000-06:00

I'm not alone
A little while back, I wrote a rant against people who use their cell phones in ways that I considered rude or inappropriate. Well, it looks like I'm not the only one who feels this way. Check out this article I found on the web concerning cell phone usage.

What makes a hero?
Saw an article today that said that Kelly Lynch (the Army private) had signed a book deal worth one million dollars. Most everything that has been written about this woman calls her a hero. Why? What heroic act has she ever done. Being captured by the enemy and then rescued by fellow soldiers does not make one a hero. All of this is because she is a female. Doubt it? Quick, name just one of the guys that was captured when she was. Just because she is one of (if not the first) a few women who have ever been captured during a war, does not make her a hero. A hero is someone who risks life and or limb to save another. We have gone so overboard about calling people hero's that the term is becoming worth less and less. And, I say this not as strictly a male, but as a former active-duty Marine.

Favorite bowling league begins
Well, tonight was the first night of my favorite bowling league. Of all the leagues I've been in over the last 10 years, this just has to be my favorite and the best. Why? For one, I love my team. I am part of a team with two couples who have to be some of the greatest people I know. Secondly, there are a lot of people in the league that I just enjoy being around. Lastly, there a number of really good bowlers who I love to face. It's just fun to have the head to head challange against these folks. Win or lose, it's always a pleasure to face them and try and beat them. I consider losing and being out-bowled two different things. If I'm out-bowled, congratulations to you. You have beaten me while I was giving it my best effort. Losing to me is when I don't bowl the way I can. Sure, some nights the pins aren't going to fall your way. But, losing is when you consistently miss one or two pin easy spares. I absolutely detest that.

Anyway, my team tonight won four points. We get one point for each game won and one point if we have the high series. Individually, I did okay. I bowled a 636. Now, a lot of people would call that better than okay, but I'm not ready to do so. I feel like I could have done so much better. I had a good line tonight. It was just a case that if I didn't strike, I didn't leave myself many makeable spares. Oh well, at least I didn't set my average too high.

My team is going to get matching bowling shirts this year. Hopefully, we will have them prior to next week's bowling. We've also decided that my daughter needs a shirt. Instead of her name, we're going to put "Mascot" on the front of her shirt. My daughter has decided that she has a magical finger that can help us get strikes or pick up spares. So, since she's doing that for us and is always rooting for us, we're making her a part of the team.

Oldcatman is writing family history again
My father (at my urging) is writing about our family history again. I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading those posts. You see, we had a major communication problem (I don't say issue) in my family. Looking back, it seems nobody talked about anything of any importance. It has only been in the last 10 years that I have learned anything of substance about my own family. So, reading my father's postings about my own family has been as informative to me as it has to everyone else. There are things that I need to explain (and I will) about my family (from my perspective), but I'm not quite ready to do so. I need to be able to express what I have to say in a way that does not insult, offend, or injure my family members. God help us, my family and personal history is not anything like "Ward, June, Wally, and Beaver Cleaver" (Speaking of which, can you imagine the shit that a boy with the nickname "Beaver" would take these days?). But, it is my family and history and it is something I cherish and hold very dearly.

2003-09-01T22:31:00.000-06:00

Sept. 11th is coming
As we all are aware, the two year anniversary of Sept. 11th is less than two weeks away. This fact has been the focal point of many articles and blogs that I've read lately. One of the best blogs I've read on this subject was written by Rachel Lucas (See 8/26/03 Damn the Media).

Ms. Lucas reminds us that the networks are not planning any special programming that day to commemorate the events of that day. She speaks very eloquently about what that day meant to her, how it made her feel, and how it has changed her. Ms. Lucas makes many fine points and I agree with a lot of what she has to say. However, I don't agree with everything she wrote and the rest of this posting is my reaction to those items where Ms. Lucas and I disagree.

First (this comment is speaking as a widower) if I lost someone that day, I wouldn't want a national news report reminding me of it every year. Now, I know the events of that day impacted more than just those who were injured or lost a friend or relative. But, I feel it's more important to respect their wishes and feelings about having a TV show bringing that day back in to their face. Two years is not that long of a grieving period. Especially when you are constantly reminded of the loss as these people were in the first few months after 9/11.

Now, while I agree whole heartedly with Ms. Lucas about the ridiculous choices the media makes concerning what to constantly report on (Laci Petterson, Kobe Bryant, and in Colorado - Jon Benet Ramsey), I still don't understand what she wants the media to do. Do we need to see the planes crash again? I don't know about you, but I can vividly picture that image as I sit here and type. I don't need to see it again. Do I need to be reminded about how people came together? No, I don't. I know they did and it saddens me to see some of that unity slipping away as time passes. Many fine things happened in the months that followed that day, but I don't need that anniversary to remind me of those things. In fact, I'm not sure that speaking of and praising all the wonderful events, help, and support that occurred after 9/11 is an appropriate subject on the anniversary day. I would totally support a national moment of silence, but to celebrate anything would seem disrespectful.

The events of 9/11 happened less than two months after my wife passed away. So, maybe that clouds my opinions about everything that was done following that day. One thing that I have had a tremendous problem dealing with about 9/11 is all the money that was donated to the families. Now, on the surface, that sounds terribly cold. But look at it from my point of view (at the time). 3,000 families lost a husband, wife, mother, father, brother, or sister. Countless more people lost a friend or co-worker. My daughter and I lost our wife/mother. So, where's the donations for us? Why are the lives lost on 9/11 worth money and my wife's life not worth anything? Is it the sheer number of people who died? More than 43 thousand women lose their life to breast cancer (which is what claimed my wife) every year. Where is the financial support for the families of those women? Yes, the victims of 9/11 were murdered and my wife died of a disease. But, does that make the loss any different? Not to me. No matter whether you lose a spouse through murder, disease, accident, suicide, or whatever, the fact remains that they are gone. Why does one form of loss merit financial assistance when another doesn't. What do I tell my daughter when she asks why money is donated to those families but not to us? Do you want to tell her that her mother just didn't die the right way? I certainly don't.

I will close this post with the following: I will always remember 9/11 for what happened, how it affected me personally, how it affected America, and the world. I respect the rights of others to commemorate that day as they see fit, however, I don't want a TV show, magazine, or newspaper telling me how I should feel or react to that day. I also respect and appreciate comments such as those by Ms. Lucas. I think that communication about that day is an important thing. Loss is one of the most personal emotions a human can experience. No one experiences it the same way. We each deal with and feel about it in our unique ways. Each and every one of us needs to remember 9/11 as we see fit. However you feel and whatever you do on the anniversary of that day is up to you. I only hope that you choose to remember the day as you see fit not how others think you should.

Climbing off my soapbox
After that last post, I don't feel that it would be proper to talk about trivial subjects or make jokes. Therefore, I am going to end this day's postings by stating that I hope each and every one of you takes at least a moment on 9/11 to reflect on what that day means to you. Thanks for letting me speak my piece and for reading my comments.

2003-08-31T22:51:00.000-06:00

Different rules for different folks
Well, I went out to do a few errands today. While I was out, I noticed a few things happen that make me believe that in life, there are different rules for different people. Here are some of the things that I noticed:

In my rule book, those funny red octagon signs that say STOP mean that I should cease all forward movement and then proceed when it is my turn to do so. For others, the damn sign seems to mean slow down a little before plowing ahead.
In my rule book, signs that say "No more than 5 items may be taken into dressing room" mean that I can only take 5 or less items in at a time. For others, it means nothing. One lady sends her daughter in the room with eight items, then grandma comes and brings a few more things. Mom decides to bring in a few things. And guess where all those items ended up when they were done? You got it, the floor of the dressing room.
In my rule book, a red stop light means the same as a stop sign (see above). For others, it just means nothing if they're only making a right hand turn.
In my rule book, signs stating "please return carts here" is a request to the consumer to return their cart to a safe area where the cart won't be rolling around and possibly doing damage to vehicles. For others, the hell with the sign, that cart return area is 10 feet away, and I'm too important and busy to go that far.

In case you're wondering, other than dealing with several idiots, I managed to survive and complete my errands. My daughter now has some clothes that don't look like I shrunk them in the washer/dryer.

Denver Grand Prix
Today was the second running of the Denver Grand Prix. This is a formula one race that takes place downtown on city streets. I can't tell you who won the race for two reasons. One, I don't know. Two, I don't care. Auto racing just does not have much appeal to me. Watching Europeans (formula one) or Rednecks (NASCAR) run around in circles is just not that impressive. At least formula one drivers do have to make the occassional right turn. The last thing I need to do is watch for several hours so some hick can drive 500 miles and end up exactly where he started.

Personal Request
Hey, Oldcatman, when are you going to get back to the personal/family history. I really like reading about your history and learn a lot by reading those notes. Considering the fact that I'm your son, you'd think I'd know most of it, but I don't. Make you a deal, I'll look at your template and you get back to the historical writings. Oops, I meant to say, If you could please, sir.

Request for help
I have a request I'd like to ask all you fellow bloggers out there. I have a template change or posting I'm planning that I'd like to have a picture or image to go along with it. I use Blogger to write these postings and (obviously) use Blog*spot as my host. Anyone know what I have to do to get an image added?

2003-08-30T16:00:00.000-06:00

Broncos 20, Seahawks 3
Not a very impressive game for either team. But, it was my first visit to Invesco Field and my daughters first live football game. I knew going in that my seats were up in the "nosebleed" section, but whoa! We were only three rows from the top of the stadium. From these seats, the field doesn't look that big. Hell, ten yards only looks like a couple of inches. The nice thing is you don't have to look up to follow a punt.

Speaking as a male, the Cheerleaders are very nice. They do seem to all fall into the young, skinny, buxom category with a bias towards blondes. But, that's to be expected I guess. Who wants to watch some 300 pound, flat-chested, stringy haired lady dance in those outfits. Not me!

I did notice a difference between watching a live game and seeing one on TV. One is that you forget you're watching it live until you realize that you don't see any instant replays. One advantage of seeing a game live, especially from an end-zone seat is that you can see a play develop better. You see the different receivers running their routes, the blocking on a run setting up, etc.. It also took me a moment or two to realize that some gaps between plays weren't due to problems, it was a TV time-out. In the stands, you just have to wait for the game to resume (but, at least you don't see dumb commercials). I also hadn't realized how much I came to accept and appreciate that yellow first-down line that TV shows during games. I kept missing it last night. Maybe they can give the fans some sort of special glasses that would be able to see a beam shooting between the first-down chains.

Ah, a change in the weather
I don't know about you, but I love seasonal changes. It doesn't matter what season is changing to what. Today is a cool rainy day in Denver. It looks and feels like a fall day. After many hot days, it's nice to have a day that is different and pointing to what's ahead. When I was in the Marines and stationed in Hawaii, I couldn't wait to get back to the continental U.S. so that I could have seasons again. Unfortunately, this fell into the "be careful what you ask for, you may get it" category as I went from Hawaii to Kansas City, Missouri. The seasonal change I so desired turned into winter days with -8 degree daily highs.

A bit of personal history
As I mentioned above, I am a former active duty Marine (you're never a former Marine). I officially enlisted in the Marines between my junior and senior year of high school back in 1978. I went active duty on July 7, 1979. I went through Boot Camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA. The Marines have some advertising that claims that you can ask any Marine about boot camp and he (or she) will say that it was the toughest thing they ever did and while they wouldn't want to repeat it, they are proud to have done it. Finally, some truth in advertising. Graduating boot camp is one of the things in my life I am most proud of. It's not something everyone can, could, or would do. But, I did it and nobody can take the feeling of pride and accomplishment away from me. Anyway, after boot camp, I went to Computer Sciences School (for programming training) in Quantico, VA. When my schooling was done, I was sent back to California for assignment to (get this name) Marine Corps Tactical Systems and Support Activity at Camp Pendleton. From there, I was given orders to Fleet Marine Force, Pacific at Camp Smith, HI. My final duty station was at the Marine Corp Finance Center in Kansas City, MO. KC was the only place that was not a military base. We had a large building on 95th street that we worked in. To be honest, it's one of the reasons I got out of the military. I enjoyed being part of the Marines, I loved the structure, rules, and community of it all. In KC, we didn't have that. The only differences between being a Marine programmer and a civilian programmer in KC were that the Marines wore a uniform and got paid less. I really missed being on a base and the feeling of unity that it provides.

2003-08-29T13:47:00.000-06:00

Dumb Things People Say
Well, I was looking for something earlier today and thought of this statement that someone always says when you're looking for something. Someone will always tell you that the item you're looking for will be in the last place you look. Well, no shit! I may have misplaced something, but that doesn't make me an idiot that would find what I'm looking for and still keep looking for it.

Broncos vs. Seahawks
Going to my first Bronco football game tonight. I'm looking forward to it, but realize that it's only a pre-season game. I read in the newspaper that the Broncos are going to rest all the starters to prevent any injuries to an important player. So, basically, I'll get to see a lot of back-ups play tonight. Heck, for some of the players tonight, this will be the last pro game they ever play. The roster cuts happen Sunday, so some of these guys will be unemployed like me on Monday. Kind of funny that their first day of unemployment will be Labor Day.

Speaking of Which
Why do we celebrate a holiday - Labor Day - a day to honor the workers of America by taking the day off? And, if you're like me and unemployed, can you rightfully celebrate the holiday? Here in the Denver area, we have the Broncos game tonight, University of Colorado vs. Colorado State tomorrow, The Taste of Colorado (food fair), and the Denver Grand Prix all going on this weekend. What better thing to do for a holiday/day off then to plan all sorts of events that cause a great deal of people to have to work extra.

Readership
Well, it seems that the number of people reading this site continues to slowly increase. I'm doing this primarily for fun. It's been nice to express some of my comments just to get them off my chest. I like the fact that others read this, but it's not my sole reason for doing it. That said however; I'm wondering how one goes about getting more people to read this. Besides getting listed in search engines, what do you feel is the best way to publicize a site? How do you make others aware of your site?

Hope you have a safe and happy holiday

2003-08-28T22:09:00.000-06:00

What to write?
Well, it was a pretty quiet day and I'm sitting here trying to figure out what to write about. I've got one topic, but it falls under the grievance category and I did that yesterday with cell phones/guns. I'll probably go ahead and do it, but I don't want to develop a negative tone to this thing.

Another Bowling League
Tonight I started one (out of two) fall bowling leagues. Managed to set a 207 average to start. My 50% 200 game and 600 series goals are off to a good start as I had two 200's and a 623 series. I've been part of this league either as a full time bowler or substitute for 8 years now. In that time, it's shrunk down to only ten teams. Where are all the bowlers at these days? Overall, south Denver doesn't seem to be a hot bed for bowling. Hopefully things will pick up.

Another Pet Peeve
Okay, I'm resorting to my greivance topic. The topic is hate crimes. I saw a pamphlet at school today about this subject. Basically, I have a problem with an act being labeled a hate crime. Now, I will freely admit that some violence is done simply because the victim is a member of a given group. But, there are two things that really bother me about something being labeled a hate crime. One, is the assumption that just because a white male (for example) commits a crime against a black male, that it is a hate crime. What if the black guy just happened to be the next person the white guy saw. So, that's who he robbed, assaulted, or murdered. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say violence is acceptable. I'm just saying that just because a member of one race acts against another race does not make it a hate crime. The second objection I have is the whole idea that because a minority is assaulted by a white person (as an example) that it makes the crime worse than than if another white person is the victim. Violence should be punished equally, no matter the race of the perpetrator or victim. Besides, I do have the white male bias that if a black man assaulted a white male, you never see that described as a hate crime. The only white males who are victims of a hate crime are a Jewish male or a homosexual. Damn, I'm neither, so I guess it's open season on me.

Answer to my Question
Well, the only response to my favorite question (see below) was from Mookie Riffic. Mookie knew the question was from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, however, she didn't answer the question. Actually, the response (in the movie) is African or European. It's a semi-trick question, since there really is no true answer.

2003-08-27T22:37:00.000-06:00

What is up with Blogger?
Damn, I tried a few new things with my template and all hell broke loose. Suddenly, I was having paging problems again, my comments dissappeared, and my Blogsite reference went away. Well, I went away for awhile and now (with no changes), I've got my comments back and the paging problem is gone. What is with this editor?

Pet Peeve - Cell phones
First, I will admit that I own and carry a cell phone. However, my purpose for carrying said phone is that if anything should happen concerning my daughter, I want to be accessable. The only time I wear my cell phone is when I'm away from home and my daughter and I are apart.

Now, other than that emergency contact reason, I generally despise cell phones. Okay, maybe not the phone, but the mental defectives that carry them. I was at school today doing some homework. At the table next to me was this female who was constantly talking on her phone. Why do I have to listen to half of a conversation? Why do people constantly talk loud enough for everyone to hear them? I can't stand the disrespect that so many people display when using their phones. I know it's a public place, but come on, have some respect for those around you. Who are you that you have to have this loud inane conversation that I can't help but hear part of. The worst part of it is that if you laugh, snort, or otherwise comment on what you hear, you're deemed to be rude for listening. Hey folks, you talk that loud, I can't help but listen.

Now, if you are using you're phone for an emergency contact, fine. That's a great use of the technology. But why, oh why do you need to use the phone just to tell someone else you saw a bad movie last night? And I don't even want to get started about the idiots that I have to sit behind at a green light that aren't moving because they're to wrapped up on their call. And the next idiot that leaves their cell phone on in a movie is going to get their phone smashed. In my opinion, there is nothing ruder than being disturbed by a cell phone, whether it is in a movie, a bowling alley, a golf course, or during a conversation. Unless you're a doctor, why do you need to be reachable 24/7?

Language
You may not have realized it up to now, but today's post is the first time I've used swear words in my postings. Well, the reason is that in my normal day to day speaking, I occassionally will swear (okay, maybe a little more than occassionally). I basically decided to be a little bit more honest in my conversational tone on here. So, if it bothers you to read a swear word, I understand. I'm not going to apologize, just recommend that if it bothers you a great deal, don't bitch at me, just don't read this Blog anymore.

A little bit about my views
The comments about cell phones have made me think about expressing one of my opinions about something else. I firmly believe in the saying guns don't kill people, people do. Example, lay a fully loaded gun on the counter and don't touch it. What harm will the gun do? It is at that point, an inanimate object no different than a speck of dust. It isn't until someone picks up the gun and handles it inappropriately that the problem occurs. If picked up and not pointed or discharged at something, the gun basically is still harmless. It isn't until an individual, including a child, fails to treat the gun respectfully or safely that a problem exists. Folks, it's not the gun killing anyone. It's the individual using it.

Bowling Results
Well, team wise, we finished in 7th place (out of 12) in our league. What's aggravating about that is that we were in the top three as far as scratch pin total. We just kept losing to folks with higher handicaps. Oh well, shit happens. Individually, I finished with a 202 average. I met my goals for the season which was 50% 600 series and 50% games over 200. This is the first full league (as opposed to just being a sub for a team) that I was able to meet that goal and maintain a 200+ average. Tomorrow, I start one of my two fall leagues. The other one starts next Tuesday. My goals for these leagues (both 30+ weeks) will again be a minimum of 50% 200 games and 600 series. Wish me luck.

2003-08-26T22:46:00.000-06:00

This is a College level course?
Well, day one of my classes is come and gone. The Accounting course seems like it's going to be good. The instructor is one who has been in the business, seems to really know the subject, seems to enjoy teaching, and has a sense of humor. What is going to be funny is the Business Math class. This class has five different time periods. I just happen to be the only one taking this course on Tues./Thurs. This means, I'm the head of my class (course, I'm also the worst one in class too). Anyway, I was doing my first assignment reading and work. The first question basically was this - The number 23 has ___ digits: they are a ___ and a ___. Now, is this really college level? My nine year old thought that question would be easy for a Kindergartener. The first couple of chapters are all basic (and I mean basic) math refresher. Oh well, should help the old GPA.

Musical Tastes
I mentioned yesterday that I was able to identify a Pink Floyd song based on a lyric. The reason for this is that I am a big Floyd fan. Like most Floyd fans, I like the Gilmour/Waters/Wright/Mason line-up the best. But, I also like the Barrett songs and have enjoyed the two albums which did not have Waters in the line-up. If you like Roger Waters, I highly recommend the "In the Flesh" DVD. Doyle Bramhall II and Snowy White are great guitar players, but I still prefer Gilmour's playing. My father (the Oldcatman) used to listen to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Pink Floyd when I was little. Of those three, Pink Floyd is the one that really got to me.

My mother (who passed away when I was 15) used to listen to Neil Diamond, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, and that sort. My older sister was a brand-new teenager when Bobby Sherman, The Osmonds, The Jackson Five were popular. Later, she listened to Chicago, War and Tower of Power. My younger brother (who also was a Floyd fan) liked the Beatles and the Who. So, you can see where I get my eclectic taste in music. Right now, in my car CD player, I have cd's from Chicago, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Train, Tom Petty, and Aerosmith. Rather interesting mix. My taste runs from Van Halen, Billy Joel, Harry Connick Jr., the Police/Sting, Huey Lewis, Styx, and Diana Krall. In fact, the only music that someone around me enjoyed that I didn't also enjoy was my late wife's like of ABBA and the BeeGees. Well, at least we know Rock and Roll hasn't rotted my brain.

Anyone have any questions?
As usual on the first day of a class, the instructor asked if anyone had any questions. I am proud to announce that I bit my tongue and did not ask my all time favorite question - What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?. Anyone know where that comes from and what the answer is? I should think of some prize of some sort and bestow it upon the one who answers the question first. Who knows, maybe I'll think of something.

2003-08-25T22:09:00.000-06:00

Back to School
I start my next couple of classes tomorrow. I'm taking Accounting 1 and Business Math using Electronic Calculators. I keep laughing to the Math class name. Specifically, the "using Electronic Calculators" makes me chuckle. What's the alternative, an Abacus? The only thing that bothers me about these classes is the Accounting textbook. This thing weighs a ton. I'm taking two courses and the backpack that I have my texts in weighs almost as much as my golf bag does with 14 clubs in it.

Monday's and Unemployment
I'm getting to the point of not liking Monday mornings anymore. As part of my receiving Unemployment Insurance, I'm required to make three job contacts a week. Most weeks, these contacts are made via a submittal of my resume using one of the on-line job search sites. So, on Monday mornings, I search the sites for Cobol Programmer/Analyst positions in Colorado or Missouri. The Monday blues hit me when I find out that there aren't many jobs out there to apply for. Each Monday it's the same thing, I sit and hope for a new job posting and then get depressed/worried/scared when I don't find one. It usually takes me a couple of hours to run through my mental pick-me-up checklist to remind myself that I am lucky in the sense that financially I'm okay, sooner or later I'll find something, and the most important thing, my daughter is still healthy, happy, and loves me.

Musically I'm Getting Old
I was reading Mookie Riffic's Blog yesterday and came across a Q/A session she had with someone (I forgot who). One of the questions listed the song lyric "Would you trade a walk-on role in a war for a lead role in a cage?" and labeled it as an esoteric Pink Floyd reference. The scary thing was that Mookie couldn't answer the question because she didn't understand the reference. I felt old at this point so I sat down and wondered why. Here's what I figured out:

The lyric is actually "Did you exchange" not "Would you trade"
I knew instantly that the song the lyric was from was Wish You Were Here from the album of the same name
The song was published in 1975. Mookie says she's in High School right now so that means the song has to pre-date her birth by at least a decade
Lastly, I don't think us Pink Floyd fans are an esoteric bunch

Question/Comment of the Day
Think about this, the song "Hokey-Pokey" says "Do the Hokey-Pokey, that's what it's all about". Really? A few centuries of mankind exploring, discovering, creating, etc and it's all about putting your right foot in and shakin' it about? Poor Einstein, thought he really had it made with the theory of relativity. He get's to heaven and finds out that the true answer is the Hokey-Pokey.

Still Learning
Well, I've been reading a lot of Blogs lately. It's kind of fun to read the different writing methods that exist. Sees people treat a Blog as a diary, a running commentary, a political soapbox, or just a place to write about whatever is on their mind. While I'm reading the various Blogs, I'm also keeping an eye out for formatting techniques or designs that appeal to me. I use Blogger to create this site and I'm wondering if that will allow me to use some of the coding I've seen. I guess the best way to find out would be to try. What have I got to lose. If it doesn't work, I can just remove the offending code. Right now, my aim is to find out how I can format my sidebar a little nicer/fancier. If you have any tips, feel free to write me.

2003-08-24T16:16:00.000-06:00

Thanks to fellow Bloggers
Just wanted to say thank you to my fellow bloggers who have read this Blog and have been kind enough to send me an e-mail. I really appreciate all the programming tips, critiques, and reviews that I've received. Please feel free to keep sending me a note to comment on this site.

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who can assist me with how to set up a comments section, guestbook, or other neat features.

One of the folks who sent me an e-mail (Mookie Riffic) included a link to her father's Blog (RocketJones). I mention this only because RocketJones had some nice remembrances of Bobby Bonds. He also mentioned having been to see a number of San Jose Bees (minor league team) games. That is the part that really got my attention. The Oldcatman used to take my brother and I to the Bees games all the time. I really enjoyed going to games when it was Helmet Day, Bat Day, or other give-away deals. And, like RocketJones, my first visit to a major league game was at Candlestick Park (against the Cubs as I remember). It's weird sometimes to find out just how small the world can be at times. But, as Steven Wright says - It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.

Sometimes I think of the dumbest things
1. What was the greatest thing before sliced bread? And why haven't we been able to top sliced bread as the greatest thing?
2. Why do people say "I've got to use the ATM machine"? Doesn't the M in ATM stand for machine?
3. Why do people say something is very unique? If unique means one of a kind, does very unique imply that it's very much one of a kind?
4. And lastly (at least for today), do you realize that no matter how dumb or inane a TV commercial may be; somebody thought it up, wrote it down, and somebody else judged it the best of the submitted ideas?

Parenting and being Single
As a single father of a little girl, I find parenting a lot harder than when my wife was here. I think the biggest difference is the lack of a break. When my wife was here, if I was busy or tired, she was always there to help with our daughter. Or, if one of us needed a break, we could always run to the store alone to complete an errand. Do you realize how much easier it is to run to the drugstore to pick up laundry soap without a child wanting to look at toys? Or how much faster in general you can shop without a child? I find myself now planning my weekdays with trips to stores that I know my daughter likes because of the toys, books, movies they sell. I'm not trying to be mean to her, it's just that I only need one or two items and don't want to have to go through the "can we look at ....." discussions.

One of the other problems with being a widower (which is also not helped by being unemployed) is the lack of an adult opinion on things or conversation. I read things in the newspaper or see things on TV and miss being able to discuss them with someone. My daughter, as intelligent as she may be, simply does not care to discuss the current news or events. Now, if I want to talk about Spongebob Squarepant or Lizzie McGuire, then she's the one to which I'd run. Can't say that happens alot though.

I still haven't gotten comfortable in respect to referring to myself as single. I usually refer to myself as widowed when asked about my marital status. I don't know why that is other than I tend to think of "singles" as people without kids. It's that single means one thing I guess. I know it's weird, but heaven help me that's the way my mind thinks. And I'll have to write sometime about the fun world of dating (or trying to in my case). Let me ask you this. What ever happened to babysitter's? When I was growing up or a younger adult, it seemed that every 13 - 16 year old girl babysat. Now, I can't find a single one. Where'd they go?

Closing comments
Do other bloggers plan their writings? I'm just wondering because I'm finding myself thinking of topics to write about during the day. So, I thought I'd ask if others do the same and if so, what do you do about it? Do you make notes about what you're going to say? I've read some Blogs that look like they are simply random thoughts that come about while typing. Some look like diaries of the day's events. And then there are some that look as though the person was writing an article with all the associated research involved. I suppose there is no right or wrong way to do this.

I do think that to assist my own writing, I'm going to write down topics that I have an opinion about, find amusing, or that bother me. In no particular order, here are some of the things I'll be writing about soon:
1. Dating and being 40+
2. My favorite movies or books
3. My childhood
4. Famous people and their legal issues
5. My daughter and her school
6. Looking at dumb things people do.

2003-08-23T16:42:00.000-06:00

Differences between me and Oldcatman
As I've mentioned before, I am the so-called Denver-ite son of Oldcatman. For those of you who have read (whether once or regularly) my father's Brain Farts, you will notice that there are quite a few similarities between he and I and a lot more differences. As my father has mentioned, he is quite the Hippie. I, on the other hand am quite the average suburban white male. People who know both of us have stated that usually it is the child who rebels from the parent. Well, if your parent is a hippie, the only way to rebel is to be a straight laced conservative. I've spent the last thirty years of my life trying to understand my father's choices. Truth be told, I still don't understand or agree with a lot of them. But, I have learned that they have been and are his choices and that he has to live his life the way that makes him happy. So, Oldcatman, I may not agree with everything you say or do, but I love you all the same and always will. (Gee, one male expressing love for another male. Hope they don't run me out of Colorado for that)

The morning newspaper
I enjoy reading the newspaper first thing in the morning. I sit down with a cup of coffee (my first of many in a day) and peruse the happenings of this world we live in. As a Denver area resident, I have two choices for a subscription. One is the Denver Post and the other is the Rocky Mountain News. Some people in town pick one paper over the other because one is more liberal or conservative than the other. Some choose the News because it comes in a tabloid/magazine format. The Post comes in the traditional newspaper format. I subscribe to the Post not for either of these reasons. My two main reasons are columnist Woody Paige and the other is the comic strip Dilbert. I used to subscribe to the News, but dropped it when Calvin and Hobbes ceased to be published. Great reasons for selecting a paper, don't you think?

Anyway, seems now that the Colorado kids are not going to have a mandatory recital of the Pledge of Allegiance each morning before school. The judicial system here seems to think that forcing a student to recite the Pledge (even though they can request permission not to do so) violates the students first amendment rights, specifically the freedom of speech and freedom of religion portions. Requiring a kid to state "one nation under God" is being equated to forcing a kid to be Christian or Jew. Folks, the word God (or god if you will) is simply that. It's a word that only has meaning if you have a belief in it (or Him). If you believe that God is the supreme being that oversees all, than that's what the word means. If you don't believe in God, then the word can simply be the dsylexic version of dog. Asking that a child say "under God" is no worse than asking the kid to buy a candy bar with a bill that includes the term "In God we trust".

And, since we're on the topic of religion, where does the constitution say that you have a freedom from religion. I will admit, I have a belief in God. What I'm currently struggling with is a belief in an organized religion. Yes, you can seperate God and religion. I just don't understand why some people think that every reference to God is tatamount to a city, state, or the U.S. establishing a religion. That's what the constitution prohibits, an establishment of an official religion. We are free to worship Jesus Christ, Yahweh, Budda, or any other deity or none at all. Why all the fuss over the word God. Which religion is this trying to promote anyway? The word God (according to Merriam-Webster's) means "the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe". So, it would seem that the "Being" to you may not be the same "Being" to me. So, why should either of us be offended.

Off the soapbox
Okay, getting a little mouthy here. Time to get on to something more interesting (to me, at least). Next week is a big week for me. One, I finish my first semeter and start my second semester (in a row) of college courses. When I graduated from high school I went straight into the United States Marine Corps. I've occassionally taken an odd course or two, but this is the first time I've taken coursed two semesters in a row. Next, the week marks the end of my summer bowling league and the beginning of one (out of two) or my fall bowling leagues. i have been bowling in at least one league a year for over twenty years now. And before you ask, my average is a little over 200 and yes, I have bowled a perfect game (seems to be what everyone asks). And I am in agreement with George Carlin that Bowling is an activity more than a sport. At least at the average bowling league level.

Monday night, I am going to my first Bronco's game (okay, it's pre-season). In the twelve years that I've lived in Denver, I've never been to a game either at Mile High or Invesco. Notice I said Mile High or Invesco. I'm one of these folks who never believed in calling the new stadium Mile High. Come on! We tore down Mile High Stadium. Calling the new field the same name would be a joke. You wouldn't name a pet dog after one that died and expect it to be the same as the old one would you? Everyone was screaming about high Mile High Stadium was so much of Denver's identity and losing the name would be awful. Hey, if the damn stadium made the city great, why'd you tear it down?

2003-08-22T11:19:00.000-06:00

A Personal Moment
Just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Birthday to my late wife. Sweetheart, I miss you and still love you with all my heart.

Learning as I go
As I said yesterday, I am entirely new to this whole "blogging" thing. I usually program the big IBM mainframe computers. So, the programming of a blog is an entirely new world for me. As my knowledge grows, I'll keep incoporating new things into this page. I'd like to think it'll all be from learning new things, but in true programmer fashion, a lot of it will be stealing code from other bloggers. As such, to all that I steal code from, I thank you and promise that if I take anything other than a link, mail capabilities, counters, etc.. that I will give credit where it is due.

Hang in there Oldcatman
Just wanted to let you know that if you are a regular reader of Oldcatman, that he is alive and well. He is suffering through some hardware problems and will return once his he is able. I've been a "techie" for over twenty years and now Oldcatman is teaching me how to blog. Well, one never knows who is going to teach you life's next lesson.

Today's Ramblings
When you were young, did you ever play football, baseball, frisbee, whatever in the street in front of your house? I remember playing touch football with the gutters being out of bounds and whatever car was parked nearby being the goal line. The reason I ask is that I have just learned that in my community, my football games would have been illegal. That's right, kids in my area are not allowed by law to play in the street. Supposedly, it's a safety issue. We have a real Hatfield/McCoy feud going on here on one street because one family (the Hatfields maybe?) has been calling the local sheriff whenever kids are playing street hockey. Wow, what a crime that is. I think we're going overboard on safety issues when playing in the street is a crime.

Went shopping yesterday looking for some jeans. The store I was at (Kohl's) was having a "sale". Why do stores constantly say something is "on sale" when you can buy it at the same price every freakin day. Hey folks, your sale price is your normal selling price so stop trying to convince me that I'm getting a bargain that day. I laugh when I see the "Regular vs. Sale" price tags. When do these stores ever sell these things at the regular price. I've never seen it.

Along the same lines is the bargains offered by regular commercials or info-mercials (yes, I've watched a few) on TV. I love the part where they say you can get a $200 (for example) value for only $50 today. Oh really? Wow, lucky me! Oh, by the way, has anyone ever paid $200 for this stuff? No? Then, how can you claim it's a $200 value. It's value is only what someone will pay for it. And just what did you pay for this stuff or how much did it cost you to produce? It's obviously less than what you're charging me unless you're the world's stupidest businessman. So, take your 200% bargain mark-up item and leave me alone. Where's my remote, surely there's a Gilligan's Island rerun I could be watching instead of you and your can slicing knives.

Well, enough early morning ramblings. I think that if I feel like writing more later, then I will. I wanted to yesterday, but didn't know if multiple daily postings were kosher. After reading other blogs, I guess it's just fine. So, if the muse strikes, I'll be back later. If not, I'll wait until tomorrow to post again.

2003-08-21T11:23:00.000-06:00

A New Blog/Blogger
What's this? Another Blog? Yes friends, one more person has thought that they had something to say important enough to warrant creating a public site. Are my thoughts that vital to the American people? I don't know. But, I do know that I'm at least as intelligent as the next blogger. So, a new journey begins.

So, what will I be writing about?
I don't know. Probably whatever I am feeling on a given day. Somedays I'll write about the trials and tribulations of being a widower. Some days the ups and downs of being a single parent. Or, possibly about the struggles of being un-employed. I also reserve the right to add my commentary, for what it's worth, about general subjects or events happening around Denver, Colorado, and the U.S. I am not a writer nor an excellent grammarian. So, don't expect to be reading the unpublished work of the next great American Writer.

Who am I
I am a 42 year old white male who lives in a southern suburb of Denver, CO called Highlands Ranch. Hence, the title of this blog - AverageWhiteGuy. I am a widower and a single parent of one very sweet little 9 year old girl. Oh, and thanks to this wonderful economy we're enjoying, I am an unemployed COBOL Programmer/Analyst.

As far as political leanings, I'm a registered Republican. But, I'm not the type of person who believes that all Republicans are good and all Democrats are bad. For example, I still think the whole Clinton/Lewinsky deal was a Republican witch hunt. And, biased by my job situation, I'm not finacially supporting the Republican Party until George stops trying to make up for his father's mistake and does something about the economy.

I also consider myself one of the most politically incorrect people around. I can't stand it when someone is described as a "-American". Let's see, you were born in America, that makes you an American. Now, you may be an American of Italian, Irish, or whatever descent, but you are an American. I have no idea of what to call a person born in Mexico. Are they a Mexican-American, a Hispanic, a Latino, or what? And now, the people we used to call blacks are African-Americans. Why? Doesn't a person born in Jamaica have the same (approximate) skin color? So, we're using a nationality to describe skin color. But wait, if golfer Ernie Els (who has white skin and is from South Africa) becomes an American citizen, would he be an African-American? What about someone from Egypt? Isn't Egypt still on the African continent?

I am also big on personal responsibility. Why is everything that happens someone elses fault these days? Spill hot coffee on yourself or make yourself fat by eating a hamburger everyday - not your fault, sue McDonalds. Your kid can't spell cat without a headstart, don't blame yourself, it's the school's fault or your kid has ADD (Attention Deficit, in case you're wondering). Face it folks, a great many folks are running around with the notion that the world is out to get them or their shortcomings are due to having the latest and hippest syndrome.

Okay - that's enough for my first post. I hope someone reads this thing everynow and then. Maybe somebody will respond to what I have to say. Hopefully soon, I'll have an e-mail link set up in case you care to comment.