Just Another Day

Monday is Memorial Day -- a day set aside for the purpose of remembering the sacrifice of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Or is it just another Hallmark Holiday?

In among all the picnics, movies, trips to the lake, and maybe an occasional parade (do they do that anymore?), how many people will remember what the day is supposed to be about.

Too few anymore.

Even among those who do, not very many will get it right. (Let me pull a pre-emptive strike before anyone can resurrect the old canard about the song "Taps". It isn't true. You can read about it here and here.)

I wish I could find the author of this quote: "It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

I always had a "rear-echelon" job during my long and checkered career, but even I had to make a few small sacrifices. What made those little sacrifices easy was the knowledge that there were others who made much gteater sacrifices than I. I know a guy in Albuquerque who's a survivor of the Bataan Death March. Knowing what he went thru gets me really riled when I hear people whining about the little inconveniences of life.

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My Kind Of Guy?

Thanks to Stacer for pointing me to this quiz. There's another one for the ladies.

John Wayne
You scored 54% Tough, 9% Roguish, 28% Friendly, and 9% Charming!
You, my friend, are a man's man, the original true grit, one tough-talking, swaggering SOB. You're not a bad guy; on the contrary, you're the ultimate good guy, but you're one tough character, rough and tumble, ready for anything. You call the shots and go your own way, and if some screwy dame is willing to accept your terms, that's just fine by you. Otherwise, you'll just hit the open trail and stay true to yourself. You stand up for what you believe and can handle any situation, usually by rushing into the thick of the action. You're not polished and you're not overly warm, but you're a straight shooter and a real stand-up guy. Co-stars include Lauren Bacall and Maureen O'Hara, tough broads who can take care of themselves.


My test tracked 4 variables. How you compared to other people your age and gender:


You scored higher than 86% on Tough

You scored higher than 19% on Roguish

You scored higher than 55% on Friendly

You scored higher than 8% on Charming

Given these results and Stacer's score of 19% class, there's gotta be a fatal flaw in there somewhere.

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Best Bands Ever

Last evening, my housemate taps on my door to let me know that one of the satellite channels was carrying a concert by one of my favorite bands -- The Eagles (or, as they're known in Texas, The Iggles). I tuned in partway thru, but unfortunately didn't catch all of it. Too bad. I hope they run it again.

That got me to thinking of what bands stand out as being the best. In no particular order (except the first), I'd have to say:

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
The Eagles
Credence Clearwater Revival
ABBA (even though I otherwise despise Disco)
The Moody Blues

There are probably a lot of others that I really enjoy, but they're the only ones I'd even consider going to see in concert. And the only one I have seen in the TJB (March 1968 in the Baltimore Civic Center).

Sigh... They just don't make music like that anymore.

My New Girlfriend

Somehow, I seem to have a weakness for redheads. I wonder why that is?

Anyway, this one's a real sweetheart. I love it when she sits on my lap and gets all kissy-face with me. She's also really playful, which I like. And she likes my music, especially Enya. I think it's important to have similar tastss in music.

I'm definitely a better cook than she is, which is OK with me. Especially since she seems to like the way I fix chicken. I'll definitely have to try out some of my recipes on her.

Another good thing is that we communicate well. Neither one of us says much, or needs to. I think a lot of communication is unspoken anyway.

She is a bit shy, though. So I doubt she'll be signing up here on LinkUp. And I haven't met her parents yet, so I don't know much about them. Although I'd bet that at least one of them is an Orange Tabby, just like her.

Happy Birthday, Dad

It's been on my mind all week that if my Dad were still alive, he'd be 100 years old today.

Someone once said that any man can be a father, but it takes someone pretty special to be a Dad. How true that is.

Fitness Update -- May 2006

02 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: Unknown
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 187

03 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked: 3+ miles
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: moderate
This morning's weight: 186

04 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: moderate
This morning's weight: 186

05 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 186

06 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 185

09 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight:185

11 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 184

12 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 184

13 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 184

16 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 183!

18 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 182!

19 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 183 :-( This is what I get for eating pizza.

20 May
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 183

23 May 2006
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: low
This morning's weight: 183

24 May 2006
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: moderate
This morning's weight: 183

25 May 2006
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: moderate
This morning's weight: 183

26 May 2006
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: moderate
This morning's weight: 183

27 May 2006
Yesterday's work-out:
Distance walked:
Leg weights: no
Push-ups: 200
Sit-ups: 200
No isometrics
Activity level: moderate
This morning's weight: 183
.

Natural Laws of the Universe

Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.

Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of probability:
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of the Telephone:
When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi:
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law:
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Bath Theorem:
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters:
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result:
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will. If you try to prove that it does work, it won't.

Law of Biomechanics:
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Theatre Rule:
At any event, the people whose seats are farthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Coffee:
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers:
If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Dirty Rugs/Carpets:
The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering... are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Location:
No matter where you go... there you are.

Law of Logical Argument:
Anything is possible... if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law:
If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Oliver's Law:
A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson's Law:
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

Earthquake in Mexico!

A big earthquake with the strength of 8.1 on the Richter scale hits Mexico . Two million Mexicans have died and over a million are injured. The country is totally ruined and the government doesn't know where to start with asking for help to rebuild. The rest of the world is in shock.

Canada is sending troopers to help the Mexican army control the riots.

Saudi Arabia is sending oil.

Other Latin American countries are sending supplies.

The European community (except France) is sending food and money.

Not to be outdone, the United States is sending two million replacement Mexicans.

Poetic Injustice

It's a long read, but this story is just too stinkin' funny.

WARNING: rough language involved.

Land Of The Free?

With Memorial Day just around the corner and Independence Day (yeah, Independence Day; don't give me any of that "Fourth of July" crap) not too far behind, I'm in danger of going postal on the next person who starts spouting off about this being "the land of the free". We haven't been free in a lot of years.

Our long slide toward Socialism began during the reign of FDR and was slowed only slightly during the Eisenhower and Reagan years. For all the talk of them being "ultra-conservative", both Nixon and Bush Junior continued the march.

Thanks to such misbegotten ideas as "civil rights", "affirmative action", the War On (Some) Drugs, the Gun Control Act of 1968, McCain-Feingold Campaign "Reform", the Patriot Act, and the federal takeover of education, you've got a whole helluva lot less freedom that you like to think you have.

Of course, all of these things were so very "necessary". Some of them were even "for the children".

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human rights. It is the motto of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves."

-- William Pitt

And don't even get me started on that "home of the brave" nonsense.

Another Service Project

Am I the last person left in America who does not suffer from ADD?

What's the deal with everyone waiting until the last possible second to do anything?

This morning, we got three phone calls from a friend of my housemate. He's house-bound and can't get out. He had run out of medicaiton and called the local Walgreen's for a refill. Now he just needed someone to pick it up and deliver it. (Doesn't Walgreen's deliver?) Apparently, he took his last dose yesterday. So why does he wait until now to make arrangements for delivery? What if I had been out and about and unavailable?

I really don't mind doing favors for people. Really, I don't. I'm out $1200 because of helping a guy. but is it too much to ask that people think a little bit ahead and do something for themselves?

Maybe tomorrow I won't even answer the phone.

/rant

Raising Boys

For those with no children - this is totally hysterical!

For those who already have children past this age, this is hilarious.

For those who have children this age, this is not funny.

For those who have children nearing this age, this is a warning.

For those who have not yet had children, this is birth control.

The following came from an anonymous mother in Austin, Texas:

1. A king-size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2,000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year-old boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42-pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year-old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year-old man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year-old boy.

11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool, you still can't walk on water.

14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15. VCRs do not eject "PB&J" sandwiches, even though TV commercials show they do.

16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24. 80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

25. Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.