Congress Needs Our Help Thursday, Mar 18 2010

For well over 200 years Congress has followed a simple procedure outlined in the Constitution. It mandates a vote on all bills by each house for a bill to be enacted as law. It reads, “But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.” United States Constitution Article 1, Section 7.

Now, I know many of you may not be Congressmen (and I thank God on your behalf that you are not!!), but we did grow up watching Saturday morning TV. And we learned more than Congress doing that! SchoolHouse Rock was one of my favorite things. I think each of us should send Congress the “I’m Just A Bill” one for their review. Here’s the link! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ

Help Educate Your Congressman!

Leave a Response »

 

Facebook Thursday, Mar 18 2010

I finally broke down and joined Facebook today. Looking forward to networking in a different way. A lot of people that I know that blog gave it up when they joined Facebook. Both certainly have their place. Time will tell how my time gets alloted.

Leave a Response »

 

Cutting The Cord Monday, Feb 22 2010

Today, we disconnected our home phone line.  I know this may not be earth-shattering news to many, but it marks the first time in my life that I have ever been without an old fashioned phone line.  Right now, we have three cell phones for our four family members (and I am sure that number four will be coming soon!).  We had a few qualms about “cutting the chord” but decided in the long run that it would be best for us.  We were paying about $50/month to have a phone with an extended area and an unlisted number.

In any event, our two main concerns were our security system and 911 coverage.  As I studied the issue, I found that most security companies offer a digital device that connects through the cellular network.  For much less than we were paying for our corded phone, we could add the digital cellular backup and pay for the increased monitoring fee.  On installation day, I spoke to the technician who indicated that more and more people are pulling the plug every day.  He assured me that the system was every bit as reliable as the corded telephone.

Regarding the 911 question, I discovered two important facts.  One, if you use the keypad on the security system (most have a “panic” button that allows you to press a single button to contact police, fire, or medical emergency services).  Since this would utilize the security monitoring service, they would have your address on file and could notify the proper authorities on your behalf.  Second, most localities have the ability to locate many cell phones within a small proximity.  For the most part, I do not feel that making a 911 call from a cell phone is any different than doing so with a landline.

When all is said and done, I do not believe that we will miss the landline.  However, it just seems odd to me!

One Response »

 

Veteran’s Day Wednesday, Nov 11 2009

On Veteran’s Day we should make an effort to remember the sacrifices of those who have served our country by serving in the military. Although we should always keep them in mind, I feel that modern society fails to adequately acknowledge them.

This year Veteran’s Day comes right after a Muslim madman killed thirteen people a t Ft. Hood. It is hard to believe that someone who attained the rank of major and was trained as a psychiatrist could do such a thing. However, it does show that even our most highly trained soldiers are not safe from the violent actions of extremists. Today, there are many families who have been devastated by these horrific actions. Sadly, the most that we are able to do is pray for them in their moment of need. However, we should strive to be ever mindful of the risks they face and try to minimize those risks as much as possible.

We should never allow our leaders to be lax or lazy when it comes to protecting our troops. If we protect and honor them, they will be there to protect and serve us in our time of need. Thomas Jefferson said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Hopefully if their blood must be shed, the patriots will be fighting to protect our freedoms and not while they are victims of someone who is unworthy of being called a soldier, a veteran, or a patriot.

Leave a Response »

 

A View From My Window Friday, Sep 18 2009

When I came back from lunch today, I sat down and looked out my window toward the Old State Capitol and the Mississippi River. It was cloudy with one large, dark cloud to the west of me. There was a small, wispy part that hung off the side of the cloud a bit that had the appearance of a curled pig tail. I watched it for a second and thought it has some rotational movement to it. I called my secretary to verify that I was not crazy or seeing things. It took her a minute or two to come. By the time she walked in, the funnel was much more pronounced. She screamed, “Oh my God, it’s a tornado!!” Everyone within hearing distance ran to the window and started taking pictures with their cell phones. One of my co-workers a couple of floors below me got a great shot that made the local news. Of course, we emailed out pics to everyone we knew. It was quite exciting. Ultimately, the funnel cloud withdrew into the bigger cloud and the rain came. We were informed on the news that technically it was not a tornado. To be a tornado, the funnel cloud must touch the ground. Whatever you call it, it was totally fascinating and scary at the same time.

Picture by co-worker Brad.

I have always been a huge weather fanatic. I even report rainfall for the local TV station. I have been outside on several occasions in bad weather when I thought tornadoes may form. Once I was released from school for bad weather. I had to walk home and the wind whipped up very quickly. That was quite scary. You could feel the temperature drop and the wind was wild. But, I did not see a tornado.

Another time, I went to an outdoor concert downtown. Before the show started, a very strong wind blew across the river and blew part of the stage down. Some people were injured when stage lights fell on them. People were running everywhere, just like on 9/11, even though this was 10 years earlier. The weather people determined that it was a straight line wind in an ordinary thunderstorm. Again, no tornado.

While you are always hopeful that you will not witness an actual tornado, some part of you would still want to see one in real life. Today, I feel that I saw the real deal (even if it was just a funnel cloud and not a real tornado!!

One Response »

 

Time Heals All Wounds Saturday, Jul 25 2009

My mother died 30 years ago today. I still miss her.

One Response »

 

Father’s Day and Beyond Thursday, Jun 25 2009

Things have been kinda crazy lately. The summer is here, kids are taking beginner band for 9 weeks, VBS is this week, two of my uncles are ill, Father’s Day has come, and Joshua’s birthday is tomorrow.

For Father’s Day, I got a new electric guitar. After studying the issue for several weeks and looking for deals, I settled on a Fender Stratocaster that looks just like the one pictured here. It was Made in Mexico (MIM) and plays great. I know this because I got a couple of guys in the store to play it. It does not sound near that good when I play it!! However, I am getting better (take my word for it!!). Now I have to find an amp and some time to practice.

The kid’s band instructor likes to take field trips on certain days when they are not in band. This past week, we went to the Old State Capitol, the Shaw Center Museum, and the Arsensal. I tagged along for a couple of hours of fun. We had a great time of fellowship and exploration.

Leave a Response »

 

I’ve Been Tagged Tuesday, Jun 16 2009

I’ve been tagged!

June 16, 2009

I’ve been tagged by Jowanna!

A “get-to-know-you” game.

The Rules:
* List Six Unimportant Things That Make You Happy
* Mention and link to the person who tagged you
* Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along (which I failed to do – I always have to buck the rules!)

1. dogs

2. babies

3. ice cream

4. the smell of rain just beginning to fall

5. fall

6. bucking the rules!!

Leave a Response »

 

The New Burger King Monday, May 25 2009

Here is Joshua’s account of our recent trip to the new Burger King. He is thirteen:

On May 14th, me and my dad went down to a recently opened Burger King in our area.

Now, we have always known that Burger King wasn’t that fastest fast food. But THIS was ridiculous. Yes, there was a somewhat long line wrapped around the building, but we were third in line, and it took us fifteen minutes to get to the place where we order. That is okay, but it got worse when we went to order:

Lady: Welcome to Burger King, may I take your order?

Dad: Yeah, uh. I will have a ********* with a small Dr. Pepper.

Lady: Hold on a second sir…. *a minute later* What type of drink was that, a Coke?

Dad: No, Dr. Pepper. I-

Lady: Will that be all?

Dad: No…… *continues order* And three Whoppers.

Lady: What was that last thing?

Dad: *nothing*

Lady: Hello? *annoyed* What was that last thing?

Dad: WHOPPER.

Lady? *super annoyed* You don’t have to need to talk to me like I am stupid, sweet heart. I just didn’t HEAR YOU.

Well, we finally finished our order, and it took us about 20-30 minutes from that point to get the food. It was even worse because I could see a McDonalds across the street. When we finally made it to the window, it was like watching a bunch of Donkey Kongs trying to run a restaurant.. Don’t ask how I know. After waiting for them to figure out what they did wrong with our drink order, we FINALLY got to leave.

The fries weren’t all that warm, might I add.

Well, I better stop talking about this now… I am getting hungry.

2 Responses »

 

The Way of the Samurai Thursday, May 7 2009

Recently, our new front loading washing machine stopped spinning during the final spin cycle. It would turn at other times, so I knew the number of things that could be wrong were limited. Based on past experience, I went to the best appliance repair resource in the world.

http://fixitnow.com

This is a very unique site where the guru of appliance repair is called the Samurai. Many of the posters in the forums are known as apprentice appliantologists, senior apprentices, master appliantologist, and someone identified as a Fellow in the Academy of Sublime Masters of Appliantology. I think you get the idea.

On the site, you can find FAQs, online manuals, diagrams, and directions for fixing virtually every appliance. If you can’t find the answer, even lowly grasshoppers can post questions. But be careful, not just anyone can be considered a grasshopper. There are some minor requirements to being a grasshopper, such as the ability to use a multi-meter (ok – in my case I know what it is and can utilize some of its functions, but hardly all of them).

When all was said and done, I managed to fix my problem and save a good deal of money. I mentioned my experience to a couple of co-workers. To my delight, they said that their husbands were also aware of the Way of the Samurai.

In exchange for utilizing a great public service website, many people contribute to United Samurai Beer Fund. What else would you expect? Pay virtual money for virtual beer in exchange for some real-life advice that is very valuable. If you have ever have the need to fix a home appliance, consider the Way of the Samurai!

And be prepared to contribute to the Fund.

Leave a Response »