Good Evening

I am off to bed.. I really wish parts of my life were different. I will manage though. I am reaping what I sowed.

Am I pathetic or what?

I am sitting home on a Friday night playing computer games and posting on blogs. I pretty much suck.

Current Earworm

"Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?
Do you love me!?
Will you love me forever!?
Do you need me!?
Will you never leave me!?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life!?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife!?
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further
Do you love me!!!?
Will you love me forever!!!?

Just sayin'

I tend to like cop shows. I tend to like cops. I like military guys too. But, I have to say, the TV show Monk is really irriating. I like Tony Shaloub but he just bugs the shit out of me on Monk.

Trust issues

I don't think I will ever get married again. I have some pretty serious trust issues. That doesn't mean I don't like men or that I am a man hater or that I can't love someone. It means I have trouble believing someone loves me. I think it could happen but at this point am pretty skeptical. I know I am worthy of love but that isn't the point. How do you know when some really loves you or just tells you that for their own personal gain? I would love to have someone that I could see casually for a long time before I was asked to trust.

Something to offend everyone

These are old bad jokes but still kinda funny

What is a Yankee?

The same as a quickie, but a guy can do it alone.

What is the difference between a Harley and a Hoover?

The position of the dirt bag.

Why is divorce so expensive?

Because it's worth it.

What's the fluid capacity of Monica Lewinsky's mouth?

One US leader.

What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?

Doughnuts.

Why is air a lot like sex?

Because it's no big deal unless you're not getting any

What do you call a smart blonde?

A golden retriever.

What do attorneys use for birth control?

Their personalities.

What's the difference between a girlfriend and wife?

45 lbs.

What's the difference between a boyfriend and husband?

45 minutes.

What's the fastest way to a man's heart?

Through his chest with a sharp knife.

Why do men want to marry virgins?

They can't stand criticism.

Why is it so hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring, and good-looking?

Because those men already have boyfriends.

What's the difference between a new husband and a new dog?

After a year, the dog is still excited to see you.

What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying?

The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of driving.

A brunette, a blonde, and a redhead are all in third grade. Who has the biggest boobs?

The blonde, because she's 18.

What did the blonde say when she found out she was pregnant?

"Are you sure it's mine?"

Why does Mike Tyson cry during sex?

Mace will do that to you

Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?

Breasts don't have eyes.

Why do drivers' education classes in Redneck schools use the car only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?

Because on Tuesday and Thursday, the Sex Ed class uses it.

What's the Cuban National Anthem?

"Row, Row, Row Your Boat"

Where does an Irish family go on vacation?

A different bar

What would you call it when an Italian has one arm shorter than the other?

A speech impediment.

What does it mean when the flag at the Post Office is flying at half-mast?

They're hiring.

What's the difference between a southern zoo and a northern zoo?

A southern zoo has a description of the animal on the front of the cage along with... "a recipe."

What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale?

A Northern fairytale begins "Once upon a time..." A southern fairytale begins "Y'all ain't gonna believe this shit..."

Why is there no Disneyland in China?

No one's tall enough to go on the good rides

The 90 Year Old Father

Swiped from an email I got today.

A 90-year old man said to his doctor, "I've never felt better ... I have an 18-year old bride who is pregnant with my child. What do you think of that?" The doctor replied, "I have an elderly friend who is a hunter and never misses a season. One day he was in a hurry and picked up his umbrella by mistake. When he got to the creek, he saw a beaver. He raised his umbrella and went "bang, bang, bang", and the beaver fell dead. What do you think of that?" The 90-year old said, "I'd say somebody else shot the beaver." The doctor said, "My point exactly."

I got this in email today and thought it was kinda funny.

I think I recognize some of those guys and that is a little scary.

Parenting

I think all parents live with guilt. No matter how terrific a parent you are, you always feel like you should have done better by your children. I personally have a lot of guilt about every little thing that challenges them from health issues to moral and financial issues. My parents say the guilt never stops.

County Fair

My guess is that this fair was better than the Texas State Fair. The Midwest seems to have the best fairs. I think because it is farm country and all the kids raise livestock. I miss it alot.

Serpent Mound

I grew up near this. It is cool as hell. The Adena Indians built a mound that when you look at it aerially it shows a snake with an egg in it's mouth. This picture is not bad, but not the best I have seen of it. When I was a kid we have school field trips to it. Every kid should go.
It makes you wonder how this did this and make it so perfect when it was done back in 800 AD. How did they do it withou being able to see it from above?

Piggy Personality Test

This is kinda cool. You draw a pig and then you answer questions about how you drew it and it give you a personality profile.

Click below to

Draw a Pig

Google has a blog search

You can try it here. It is kinda cool.

http://www.google.com/blogsearch

50 Indonesia bird flu cases suspected

I swiped this from MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9526690/

The article says that one of the strains will kill 50% of everyone it infects. That is scary stuff. It reminds me of the Stephen King book The Stand.

Judge's unorthodox rulings raise eyebrows

Swiped from the Dallas Morning News. I thought it was interesting.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/092905dnmetnewjudge.167116db.html

Ever wake up pissed off and not really know why?

I woke up this morning that way, not furious just irritated.

I don't remember having a bad dream or anything. It might be that about 2 minutes after I woke up my son got a bad nosebleed. I am 99% sure that it was caused by the new asthma medicine the doc prescribed last week. This is after I fought with the doctor on Monday about taking my son off of the ADD medicine.

We went for a followup visit on it last week and the doctor found a heart arrythmia. I scares the crap outta me and when I read the patient inserts that come with the ADD meds I see that is one of the side effects. I called the doc and we agreed to stop the ADD meds this until he sees the cardiologist. We are seeing the pediatric cardiologist next week to find out what is going on. I am pissed because I never wanted to put my son on the stupid drug in the first place. The school and the doctor insisted so I went along with it. I was fine with it until the heart thing but now am pretty mad about the whole thing.

I have been seeing this doctor for about 15 years and I really like him. He is a good man and I believe a good doctor. I think the problem is that my son is just very sensitive to drugs and if there is a side effect with one, he will have it.

More Earworms

This morning I had several it is like someone keeps switching radio stations in my head. It changes between Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown you better take care if I find you been creeping round my back stair" then goes to "He can't even run his own life I'll be damned if he'll run mine" "Sunshine go away today, don't feel much like dancin'" I guess my thoughts are alll over the place this morning and my earworms are reflecting it.

In case you didn't know, songs stuck in your head are called earworms after that old Twillight Zone episode where someone is going to kill someone else and they want to find a way to do it without being detected so they go to to this guy that gives them this worm that you put in the persons ear and it eats it's way thru the brain.

Movie Review

Just watched Matchstick Men. It was better than I thought it would be. I love Nicholas Cage no matter how weird he gets. He has a hotness about him. I love Owen Wilson but no matter how many times I watch him and I want him to be really sexy he just seems awkward. I guess I have to wait for Nicolas to get divorced to propose to me. In the meantime, Owen I am sorry you just don't have it.

Dog the Bounty Hunter

Who watches this? I can't believe it is still on.

Plano Police Car Stolen by Handcuffed Suspect

I am sure the cop that let that happen is gonna get teased mercilessly. She only weighed 110 lbs! She was HANDCUFFED. That is a riot.

From the Dallas Morning News this afternoon

Suspect flees in Plano police cruiser
04:35 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 28, 2005
By LEE POWELL / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO - A still-handcuffed suspect has Plano police scouring a neighborhood near Spring Creek Parkway and U.S. 75.
Around 1 p.m., a woman in her 30s managed to commandeer a police cruiser while being taken into custody outside a tire store. She abandoned the vehicle a short distance later, then fled on foot into a neighborhood, police say.
Plano police threw up a perimeter and began a street-by-street, alley-by-alley search. The area is roughly bounded by Spring Creek Parkway to the north, Premier Drive to the east, Alma Drive to the west and Parker Road to the south.
Police officers stopped vehicles leaving the area, looking in windows and asking about hitchhikers. Two schools in the area, including Clark High School, went to lock-down status.
The suspect is described as a white female in her 30s, about 5-foot-2, weighing 110 pounds. She is wearing tan pants and a white shirt.
She is likely still handcuffed - or at least has one cuff still dangling from an arm.
Authorities say residents should not approach the suspect, but instead call 911.
Shortly after taking the police car, the suspect tried to strike a second officer who showed up at the scene. The officer was not injured.

Today's Earworm

Just take those old records off the shelf
I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself.

Today's music ain't got the same soul
I like that old time rock 'n roll.

Don't try to take me to a disco
You'll never even get me out on the floor
In ten minutes I'll be late for the door
I like that old time rock 'n roll
Still like that old time rock n' roll

Only bad part about is that I wanna get up and dance. Guess I must be in a good mood. Shame to be inside on a day like today.

I was not aware of that!

I mentioned earlier that I have to deal with people in all different countries at work. One of the countries I have to deal with a lot is China. My contact for a company in China that I buy from and I have gotten kinda chummy and today she tells me that she is a Christian. I didn't know that there were Christians in China. I guess I never really thought about it but it was still a surprise to hear that 4 people out of 9 in her department are Christian. I just would never have guessed.

ADD medicine

I have no problem with ADD medicine except that it can kill your kid. It is tough to take a kid off and suffer the agony of fighting with the school system. But, I will be damned if I give my kid a drug that affect his heart and multiple other things.

Just sayin'!

One of the most miserable things about being a single parent is that you never get time to yourself. I really would love to have dinner or go to an R rated movie.

Outsourcing

One of the weird effects of outsourcing is that I now have to deal with people in India to get my vendors paid and people in China to sell me stuff and people in Mexico to do the labor. What I am finding is that I really really like most of these people. I think ultimately it will contribute to world peace. You deal with these people daily and while initially you resent that they took American jobs and lowered salaries here in the US, you get to know them and eventually develop a fondness for them. It will probably end up making the world a better place.

Fridge Raid

Marie Callendars frozen Chocolate Silk Pie is to die for.

Incompetent People

I was once told on a job appraisal that I had a lack of patience with incompetent people. I had to agree. I just didn't and still don't understand why that is a bad thing.

Running buddy

I really wish I had a running buddy. I always liked running better when I had a buddy.

My fastest mile was 6:23
My fastest 2 mile was 14:15
My fastest 5K was 20:15
My fastest 10K was 40:08
My fastest 10 mile was 80 minutes
My half marathon time was about 1 hour 40 minutes
My marathon time sucked. I did it in under 5 hours. My excuse (read that whine) was that I had a stress fracture in my right uppper leg. After the marathon, my left knee locked straight for about 3 days. I iced it constantly during that time.

My goal for the next marathon is 3 hours 30 minutes. I am going to train less hard and work on staying injury free. I am shooting for the Cowtown but may not make it. I am having trouble getting enough miles in right now. Between work and my son, it is hard to find time. I know that is a lame excuse but until I find a good work around so I can put in more miles I am kinda stuck. I think my son is gonna get to learn to do some running. His big brothers could do 2 miles in 14 minutes when they where his age. I am SUCH a slacker with him.

Lynndie England

She got three years. That is probably pretty fair. Gotta tell you though of all the prisons in the US the LAST one I would have to go to is Leavenworth.

Doonesbury

I usually find Doonesbury a little irritating. However, I adore the character of Duke. The strip today where he is leaving Iraq to go to New Orleans was genius. I LMAO.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

I am making my 7 year old read that out loud to me when I get on my elliptical trainer. I only worked out for about 20 minutes tonight so I have to get back on. He went to bed though so I guess I am at the mercy of TV

Conan O' Brien

For some reason, he bugs the crap outta me. He can be funny but mostly he is just reeeealllly irritating.

Ohio Ramblings

I grew up in Ohio. Ohio is very different than Texas. You don't really get Spring there good until May.

I was born in the house I grew up in. My parents still live there. I lived out in the country off a gravel road (it did get blacktop sometime between when I left home and when I visited last year.) On the other side of the gravel road was a field. The neighbors down the street owned it and farmed it. Some years it would be corn, other years soy beans and less frequently tobacco. I will always remember the revenuers coming and cutting down some of the tobacco when the farmers planted more than their tobacco base allowed. I will also remember the smell of the tobacco when they would cut it and the smell that was everywhere when they hung it in the barns to dry before selling it. Most of all I remember the giant green tobacco worms that would end up in the yard at some point. They were about as big as my finger and bright green. When you squished them the guts where yellow and you always squish them if you live in tobacco country.

On the other side of the field, there was a creek (or a crick for you folks from Ohio.) I used to go down there in the spring and hunt for wildflowers on the banks and dig them up and drag them home to transplant into our yard for my mother. I found dogtooth violets and virginia bluebells and spring beauties and buttercups along with trillium, mayapples and a whole bunch more I don't remember now .

I was never allowed to swim in the creek because my mother was afraid I would drown. Even after I was 16 years old and a lifeguard she wouldn't let me get into that creek. I was allowed to go wading from about the age of 8 (with my old sneakers on of course so my feet didn't get cut on broken glass.) In the creek you could always find tadpoles and minnows in the spring and crawdad's. I used to sneak and take my shoes off when I was pretty sure my mother wouldn't catch me and I remember hating the feeling of the crawdad's scurrying across my bare feet. It was almost enough to make me put shoes back on.

One time, I found a wounded bird. It was a starling. I, of course brought it home. I wanted to be Ellie Mae Clampett when I grew up back then. My mother let me keep the bird for a while and we named it George of the Jungle because it would always try to fly and would end up flying directly into the trunk of a tree. The day it quit doing that is the day it flew alway. We had it for about 2 weeks. I would feed it canned catfood for lack of something better. (I remember trying to dig up worms for it but wasn't getting very many.) At any rate, it would follow me around the yard chirping to be fed that catfood. It must have been a pretty funny site.

Son in Iraq

I heard from my son in Iraq today. It was pretty much the highlight of my day. He didn't say much in the email just that he was going to try to come home and visit me over my 7 year old's Spring Break. He wasn't sure though because he thought he was going to get promoted by his return and he thought he would have to stay and get settled into his new job.

Not sure where the older son is at this point. He may well be back in Korea. Neither son is great about keeping in touch but both manage to find me when they need money or advice or moral support.

Ear Worm

I have had an ear worm all day. The song changed a couple of times but mostly it was Steve Miller Band's Keep On Rocking Me Baby. The day started with The Joker though. Not sure why I got these songs in my head. My car radio isn't working so it isn't like I even heard them.

Dogs

I love my dogs. My ex took my Keeshond he got me for Christmas (Bastard). I replaced her with a Minpin my son wanted. I love them both. I wish I had time and money to breed and show dogs.

Lynndie England

She was found guilty. I am not surprised. She is guilty. I don't think she is deliberately criminal. I think she is an idiot. She is also a female that got sucked in by a man. It happens all the time. She ended up taking the fall for the boyfriend. It is a shame. She is definitely not the shiniest apple on the tree. We should never have put her in a position of that responsibility. She made her choices though and they were bad ones. She will have a LONG time to think about them.

I am not a man hater, I really love men, ( some more than others, I too have been a fool for a man I loved or thought I did or more accurately, one I thought loved me and I consider myself one of the shinier apples on the tree. But, I fully admit, I could be wrong.)

Election 2008

I am betting that 2008 Election will be McCain against Hillary. It will be a tough choice. I genuinely like McCain but am afraid he would end up like Carter. An honest man that was a lousy President. Hillary on the other hand is a Bitch on Wheels. I don't like her but I respect her and I sure might vote for her. Let's see if my prediction holds true.

Why oh why oh why?

Why did David Duchovney ever leave X-Files? What the hell was he thinking? It was undoubtedly the best gig he ever had and he was HOT AND FAMOUS. Now, he does voiceovers for pet commercials.

Joy of Sweat

I did 50 minutes on the elliptical trainer. I feel like a slacker. I would do more but it is 11 PM and I have to get to bed. I need to try to work in at least an hour a night. As soon as it cools off, I am gonna run outside. I just can't take the heat right now. It hard to find time to do that too with my son. Maybe here in a couple of weeks he can run with me. When my older boys were his age they had been running with me for about 2 years. I never made them, they just wanted to go with me. I want to think it helped make them who they are today. I think it taught them self discipline and self confidence. I hope I can give that to this one.

Flower

This is my favorite daylily. It is out of my garden and I took the picture summer before last. The colors are just beautiful to me. I have about 5000 daylilies. I am a perennial gardener because you plant them once and they bloom over and over for years. This one makes me happy when I look at it.

Free Love Field

I am an advocate for appealing the Wright Amendment. I think DFW has had most airlines by the shorthairs and indirectly forces our ticket prices up. I know for a fact that the Airport makes a huge profit every year and does so my charging an inordinate amount to drive across the airport and/or park at the airport. They also charge the airlines a huge amount to use their gates. Repealing the Wright Amendment would cause them to loosen their grip and would result in lower airfares and increased travel to and from Dallas, there for buoying up the economy.

I said as much in a letter to Kay Bailey Hutchison and her stand was that we needed to carefully evaluate how this would impact DFW. Malarky! They are making potloads and potloads of money every year. Let's give them a little competition. Kay Bailey you are not getting my vote next time

look here for info

http://www.setlovefree.com/

Crossing Jordan

I watched the Season Premier last night. I was dying for it to start and I have to admit, I am really disappointed. I wanted Jordan and Woody to hook up and it looks like it is over. Story of my life.

Rant follow up

Once again, I was proved right by a medical test. Nuff said

Vanilla Sky is a just plain weird movie

I am not sure I really get it. Even now when I think about it, I am not sure if I understand exactly what happened.

Stealth

Watched most of it last night. Not bad at all. Should have done better in the box office.

Unsolved mysteries chapter 1

I have a Pug. She is ten years old. Everyday I feed her the same brand of premium dog food. Occassionally she will have gas so vile that even she leaves the room with watery eyes and her paw over her nose. Now, having had the same food everyday with no variations how does this occur? I will really like to know.

Late night rant

I have had a really long hard week. Part of my week, which I won't go into detail about involved dealing with several doctors. I generally like and respect doctors. My older sister is a doctor and while that actually serves to put me off them rather than make me admire them, I still genuinely like most doctors. However, my most common problem with doctors is that they don't want to be told what the problem is. They want to figure it out on their own. I have gone to doctors many times and indicated that I had a problem and spelled out what I believed the problem to be only to have them tell me I could not possibly be right only later to have it proven to them I was right by them doing a series of tests (some quite painful and ultimately unnecessary after determining the accurate diagnosis). Now, I have thought this phenomena over carefully. I, for the life of me, could not understand why this was happening. I should have known though. Doctors think they are smarter than us and if someone that has not had their extensive experience and training identifies a problem then it could not possibly be right therefore they must rule that out immediately and start looking for a different diagnosis. I think this somehow must validate their existence and prove to them that they are smarter than the average bear. At any rate, this pisses me off more than you could know. I don't see a workable solution to the problem though so I will suck it up and move on. Just had to get it out of my system.

Choices from the $ Movies

I didn't hit the $ movies today. Instead I did laundry and dishes and walked the dogs and took my son to Cici's with the neighbors. Cici's sure is popular with the kids. The pizza used to be better but the quality has really dropped off again.

Back to the movies though, of all the stuff at the $ movies there are several I would go see.

Stealth bombed in the box office but I will probably go see it for a buck or maybe on $.50 Tuesdays.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is there now too. I have seen it 3 times but will probably see it a million more times before I die. It is really sad but I think the entire series is brilliant.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is there. I have seen it once and enjoyed it. Brad Pitt is hot, Angelina Jolie is hot (very weird, but hot nonetheless) I think I understand on some level why Brad would leave Jennifer for Angelina. Jennifer is just too wholesome. Angelina is more relaxed and free and I think comfortable in her own skin. Brad seems happier and even if I really disliked Angelina before, she seems to have made him really happy. I really think they are a better fit.

Batman Begins is also showing and I don't know a lot about it but I do want to see it.

The Island is a definite see for me. I think Ewan McGregor is immensely talented and I like Scarlett Johannsen. The premise of the movie is plausible and while it kinda seems like a variation of Blade Runner I think it will be good.

Deuce Bigelow European gigolo I will have to see at some point but may way for it to come out on DVD. The first one was very funny and even though this one was panned I think it will be fun to watch.

Fantastic Four is showing too and I have seen it once. I may or may not go see this one again. Julian McMahon is totally hot and while I can't bring myself to watch Nip Tuck, I loved him as the villain/love interest on Charmed. I have to admit that Oded Fehr also makes a wonderful villain on Charmed also.

At the movie theater in McKinney, I would love to see Lord of War with Nicholas Cage. I usually like him and I like action testosterone movies like Die Hard and this looks like it might be kind of along that line.

SNL

I thought it was going to be the start of the new season tonight. I was really looking forward to it but it was a rerun. It is still very funny. Will Ferrell has a lot of talent but sure can be very irritating. Vince Vaughn, I think probably has more talent and is way hunkier.

I really do miss the Spartan Squad though. I also miss Opera Man.

The bit they do with The Artist Formerly Known as Prince is pretty hysterical.

My Goldfish

This is a pic of my goldfish I took a while back. I think it is kinda cool. I have mixed fruit tetra sort of hiding down in the right lower corner.

TREO 650 Update

Okay the new phone Palm is coming out with will only work with Verizon (at least at first)

Read the article about it here

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050924/D8CQI6EO0.html

They are teaming with Microsoft. I think that pretty much sews up the market for them. I am not sure how the others will be able to compete against that.

Rita and other ramblings of a gray Saturday Morning

I left the TV on all night on one of the all news channels to listen to the hurricane coverage. I never cease to be amazed at how they can stretch a few updates into hours and hours and hours of coverage. It kinda beats you down.

I had a hard week. No specifics, but suffice it to say I hope next week is better. I don't really expect things to get better for at least a month and maybe not for 4 months. No choice but to dig in and suck it up. I sure am physically and mentally exhausted and feeling depressed about just about everything at this point. I should probably go for a run or get some exercise, that always helps.

Well, it is clear to me I need to get off the computer and go DO somthing. If I sit here and think about my week and the hurricanes and the middle east and world hunger and why I am not thinner or younger or richer and everything else that seems to be wrong right now I can work up a real good dark depression. But, that won't solve anything or make any difference so I better get to doing laundry and housecleaning and maybe go to the movies later. The $ movies have some pretty good stuff showing that I would like to see but wasn't willing to pay full movie ticket price for. I just have to stay away from the popcorn.

TV shows

I love Charmed. It is cheesy, sacreligious, kinda trashy and all together poorly done but I just love it. I think it is kind of a modern day Bewitched.

I also am a total Law and Order addict. When Jerry Orbach died it was a sad day.

I like Medium too.

I have NO idea why anyone would watch Mindfreak. It just looks upsetting.

I am not hot on the reality TV. What happened to sitcoms? About the only ones out there that I can think of are "That 70"s Show" which is totally hilarious and "King of the Hill" which is also hilarious.

I hate the new cartoons too. Ed, Edd and Eddy just escapes me. Courage the Cowardly Dog is no better. We should bring back Jonny Quest and more Scooby Doo. I used to love Mighty Mouse too.

Life is not fair

I just realized that a single Oreo cookie has 75 calories. A Hershey's kiss without almonds is only 25. There is something very wrong here. I guess I have to stick to the chocolate.

Exercise and Sweat

When I was in the Army, I learned to run. The Army didn't teach me to run. I learned that from an Exercise Physiologist I dated who was also in the Army with me. Most people don't know you need to learn how to run. I don't mean the kind of running you do from your car to the office when it is raining. I mean the kind of running where you sustain it for more than 20 minutes. Most people also don't know there is peace involved in running. Maybe I should call it grace rather than peace. It is a time when you are forced to be with yourself.

I quit running for a long time. Marriage, babies, work, and etc all got in the way and some of those things still do but I am making a concerted effort to do it again. I like me better when I run. I like the way I feel after I take a shower and get the gritty salt off. I like the way my body feels when I run and run well. I never had a spouse that would run with me and it is a shame. That may have been a primary reason why my marriages failed. It isn't that I expected them to and they refused. It was that they didn't and because they didn't, I changed to accomodate them. It was a mistake. One I won't make again.

Marathon Kids

This year my son's Elementary School participated in Marathon Kids. It is a program where kids from all over Texas sign up to run a marathon but in 1 mile segments over a period of 6 months. I think it is a great idea and we went and ran the kick off this morning. There were about 6000 kids there with their parents. They brought busloads of people in from DISD. It was awesome and very well run. You can visit the website at www.marathonkids.com

Maybe we need to get those girls that went to the hospital after the run at Decatur Middle School to participate in something like this to get them shaped up a little physically.

On an EVEN different note

I discovered the game Bedazzled today. It is a bad addictive thing I can't quit playing.

On a Totally Different Note

The company that I work for does all the repairs for the Blackberry and Palm Smart Phones. As a gesture of Goodwill, the division I happen to work for gave us each a Palm TREO 650. I have to tell you, at first I wasn't keen on that puppy. I felt like it was an extravagant gadget that I would ultimately be unhappy with because it would be so hard to use and generally more than I needed. However, I have to tell you. I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT IT ANYMORE!! I love the damn thing. It will take 20 minutes of streaming video with sound. It is a very good phone, a very good digital camera. The PDA functions are fantastic and I have no idea how I lived without it for so long. Now, understand, I got this for free. I have compared it to the Blackberry and while the Blackberry is very good. It simply can't touch the Treo 650. The ultimate question - would I pay my money for one of these things. Honestly, I can say yes. I can get the web on it for $10 a month and that is cheaper than most ISP's. It is my primary phone and it is my calendar, datebook, holds my grocery list and just about everything else I do. If you are looking for something like this try the T650 because it is in a word outstanding.

Please note: I know a new version will come out and it will be even better. If you can't wait, get the T650.

The highlight of my week

I am easy to please generally. Today my boss told me I could telecommute over Fall Break so I could stay home with my son rather than put him in Daycare for the week. I am in hog heaven.

GET TO KNOW ME!

Jon Lovitz used to do a character on SNL that would say that all the time and it still cracks me up.

Seriously though, I thought I might let everyone know a bit about me. I am ex-Army officer (MSC) I have been a civilian for nearly 14 years now I resigned my commission as a Major. I have 3 sons. One in the Army, he is a linguist and speaks Korean (Hangul). The next one is a Marine and is currently in Iraq. He is an aircraft mechanic. I am extremely proud of both of them and am very proud that my Marine son volunteered to go to Iraq. My youngest son is 7 and wants to be a Navy Pilot. He is an adorable red head that is smart and funny about the kindest child I know.

I have several claims to fame but the thing that I am most proud of in my life besides my sons is the fact that I have run a marathon. I am fat and out of shape but am still shooting for doing the Cowtown Marathon in February. I run pretty fast for a fat girl.

I have 3 dogs and 2 cats and assorted fish. I have too many pets but may get a few more. My house is cluttered and fuzzy from pet fur but it is happy and cozy.

I hate cooking only because when I get home at night I am too tired to do it. Consequently, I love McDonalds and the Colonel. Anything more expensive is few and far between due to budgetary reasons.

I love movies but stick to the theater in McKinney where first runs are only $2.50 before 6PM and the $ movies behind my house. Blockbuster Online Rental has proved to be more than worth the money.

I come from a military family and have a sister that retired from the Army as a Colonel. She is a Radiologist and works at a Childrens Medical Center not in Texas.

My older brother was an FBI Agent and he worked on the first WTC bombing and testifed before the Senate concerning it. He was still an Agent during the second WTC attack and witnessed it and was involved in trying to evacuate people before the towers fell. He watched countless people hold hands and jump from the towers and still cries when he talks about it. In the days after the attack he was in charge of the body part count. I can't think of anything more depressing.

My younger brother is the least conservative of the family and lives on what I feel to be the fringes of society. I love him to death though and he has a heart of gold. He had drug problems when he was younger but has been clean and sober for years.

My parents are old and very conservative. Their views often seem racist and bigoted to me but I understand they are a product of their times and the times changed and they didn't. They aren't mean and don't mean to be unkind or unfair it is just the way they were raised. The good news is even though I was raised that way I didn't turn out that way.

I don't have a problem with gays. I don't think anyone choses to be gay. It is a hard way to live at best and no one would deliberately choose to be that way. I am glad my children aren't gay though and not just because I think it is a hard life but because I do think it is wrong. I think there are far worse sins though and many people that feel they are "good Christians" are guilty of them. I do try not to judge people.

I am not very patient with lazy whiny people and I think to some extent you make your own luck. Sometimes shit happens for no explainable reason but many times we created the situations we are in and should take responsibilty for them.

Thoughts on 9/11

It is interesting that so many people are so willing or able to forget or minimize the pain and anger and anguish that most of us felt that day. While I don't think it is healthy to relive it or dwell on it, I do think we need to remember that there are people out there that hate us because we are Americans. They don't care if we are Republican or Democrat or Libertarian, Christian or Druid or Wiccan, or white or black or green or yellow or whatever. They hate us for the simple fact that we are Americans and they want to hurt us. They have hurt us, and they will again if they get a chance. They have even told us that they are actively planning it. I wonder what it is going to take to make us really understand that.

And now the blame game starts

Looks like all the policitians have started the finger pointing. I wonder if anyone will openly accept any of the blame or if everyone will try to put if off on someone else. I don't think the blame lies with a since person or agency but most likely with everyone all along the line from the people that chose to stay or didn't say enough in the beginning about why they didn't have an evacuation option if they were too poor to the government. I am already tired of the whining and finger pointing. I wish they would all grow up and accept some responsibility for their own actions.

And now the Exodus

I just saw on FOX where they had brought in Chinook's and other military helicopters to aid in the evacuation. They had about 100 buses too and were putting armed escorts on them. I am now wondering where they are all going to go. The Astrodome was full to bursting yesterday. They had opened the Reliant Center to augment the space. They are bringing 25K to Dallas and another 25K to San Antonio. I have no idea where they are going to put them all and the long term impact this will have on our lives. These people aren't going to have a place to go for a long time and I can't imagine where they will go beyond the initial stay in the Sports Arena's and military bases. The Dallas Mayor is mad because the suburbs don't want to take any. I understand and while I want to help these people, I don't want looters and rapists and drug dealers moving into my neighborhood and sending their kids to school with mine.

Bill O'Reilly

Okay he pisses me off too but not nearly so much as Geraldo.

Nancy Grace

She bugs the hell out of me. I am not sure why but man does she grate.

Katrina and the Aftermath

I am obsessed with watching the coverage. I don't think this is just a blip on the radar and things will be back to normal before we know it. I think the displaced people are going to have problems for a long time. No jobs, no homes, no possessions. I wonder how they are going to affect the places the are going to for refuge.

Wedding Crashers

This had to be the funniest movie I have seen in a LONG TIME. Owen Wilson is a pure hottie but Vince Vaughn stole the movie.

Oh yeah and those vets that got mad over the purple heart thing should lighten up! It is a joke but we all know that there is a ring of truth.

Pat Robertson

How did Barry Green manage to miss blogging about his "fatwah" against Chavez? That would have been a GREAT TOPIC.

Al Qaeda and Katrina

Anyone surprised that they haven't somehow claimed responsibility. I did hear that they thought it was Allah's retribution. What did they think when the Tsunami hit then?

Have Smart Mouth Will Post

I wanna be a comedian and figure I can get some great ideas here. I think most humor comes from real life. That is why Seinfeld and Jeff Foxworthy are so funny. It is because they are right about so many things.