Roast duck with Mango salsa

Nothing for me, I don’t have much of an appetite.

Yeah, big boo-boo sleeping with George. I kind of lost a lot of respect for both of them. He should have known she just needed the comfort love, and she should have not been so easy. Regardless, still the best show on TV right now. We will see what this week brings.

Ok, I pay taxes like everyone else. Even though the Federal government doesn’t take much out of my paycheck, I pay Social Security and since I live paycheck to pay check for the most part, a full 9.5% of my pay goes the way of the Dodo due to sales taxes. Not to mention property taxes. So imagine my disgust when I heard that Medicare was going to start paying for its subscribers to get Gastric Bypass, on the program, for free.

The last time I checked, there was only one thing that caused someone to be in the position to need gastric bypass surgery… over eating. We are a nation that lives in abundance. Most Americans have never known hunger, much less starvation.

We are a society of gluttons which is why we are the most obese society on the planet. So instead of spending the money on activities that would possibly prevent the situation that might cause the need for surgery anyway, which everyone could enjoy, we are just going to spend tax dollars to unfatten them with no effort on there part. What a crock of shit.

On average gastric bypass costs around $20,000 per case. There are 6.2 million people enrolled in Medicare. If they same percentage of those are morbidly obese as the general population, then 291,400 enrollees are morbidly obese. This, of course, is a low estimate as Medicare covers the disabled. Regardless, if all of those 291,400 people have the bypass surgery, it would cost the government, that is us taxpayers, $5,828,000,000. That is nearly 6 billion dollars. I would rather see that money go to recreational funding and Social Security. Wouldn’t you?

Lefty Land

I have to admit, I am a bit disappointed. I tend to like to browse eBay. I especially like to thumb through the old cares, more to see what they look like than to actually purchase them. Then I saw what I hoped would be my newest acquisition. A 1966 Lincoln Continental. A whiter/bluer not as nice version of the car they took Neo to his meeting with Morpheus in. But still damn cool. The problem is I am being out bid and I am at the top of my price range already. I undoubtedly will lose the auction and the car, and I am suprisingly disappointed. Normally when I look at buying old cars, I am looking at real junk. This one does need some TLC but it is the 2nd best old car I would have owned. Definitely the coolest. Alas, I suppose it was not meant to be. Bummer.

Anyway, can the Olympic coverage get any worse? Ok, can it get more sparce? I think not.

Springtime is upon us and it is almost mowing season. I guess I will spend the money I would have spent on the car to fix my mower. How responsibly boring (yawn!).

I get the Jones sometimes. I have found, the hard way, that when I do get the urge to get another car, it is way more financially responsible to buy a clunker than to go trade for something new. A couple hundred bucks once as opposed to a couple hundred bucks a month for a couple years. Even if I spent a ton of money on a car over the course of fixing it up, it would still be cheaped than trading for a new one. See, rationalization... ain't it grand?

I had planned to go to class early to try and catch up on a drawing that I just couldn't get under my belt. However, I forgot the old bastard doesn't unlock the door until 10 till. So here I sit, writing this drivel that you will not comment on in more than a grunt. Still, I will blog away.

Let's talk about Dirk Pitt. I like Matthew McCon.....y as much as the next person, but he was all wrong for the part. Even worse casting was that of Al Giordino. The actor did a good job, but it was still all wrong. If you haven't, pick up a Clive Cussler book and buckle up...

Sahara wasn't the worst book adaptation, but it was changed unnecessarily. It goes into a catergory I call the Whys?. Like the Borne Identity. Movies that are good in thier own right, but bare only passing similarities to the books they are "based" on.

The worst one of all time is Starship Troopers. If you like Science Fiction at all, you MUST read this book. In fact, I challenge you all to read it. It is nothing like the book except the names of the a few characters. It rocks man. It is short but it is good, should be an afternoon read for those that read this. Read it an comment here about it. It has a neat little social commentary in it.

Till then... Hasta LaBagel

A parody of a parody is a farce, right?

I am going to take a cue from my mom, who took a cue from us, and sink the nine ball. No, really. The lists must continue.

But first I would like to say that during our paintball game today, my dear friend Richard broke his leg. We will be undergoing surgery tomorrow to install a Titanium plate bridging the break and speeding his recovery. I think he just wanted to have metal covered bones like mine of Admantium (Kelly will understand). Still, good luck and God bless Richard who took what must have been excrusiating with bravado and grit, quite the boy-o. Well done, if that can be said for breaking a limb.

Ok the list... I like the annoying list so here is mine.

Top 10 most annoying celebrities.
1. Tom Cruise... no 1 for a reason. I understand annoying, Brooke doesn't. Ever heard of L. Ron Hubbard? Give me a break. Perfect example of someone so stupid that when they finally grasp something they feel they have to shove it down everyone's throat.
2. Elisabeth Hasselbeck... watch the View, you will understand before the first commercial.
3. George W. Bush... Too bad he wasn't hunting with Cheney.
4. Charlie Sheen... Ok buddy, if Denise Richards isn't enough you must seek the life of a monk or unic or something.
5. Paris Hilton... And she is a celebrity why?
6. Mariah Carey... 36 going on 46 wanting to be 26... very sad.
7. Jennifer Anniston... I like her, and Vince, but get over yourself and Brad already. As if you are so good that you are above your old man running of with another, much hotter I might note, woman that is should outrage everyone.
8. Brad Pitt... for snagging Angelina and being such a pratt about how he did it.
9. The UN... not a person but equally annoying. Why are they making movie stars ambassadors? No training in diplomacy. No training in Economics or Sociology, so all they are doing is making ill informed statements of opinion that may or may not affect the situation. Even then it may affect it negatively. Not to mention you are putting a face on your organization that the entire 2nd and 3rd world hates, Capitalist, Materialist and Fake.
10. NBC... another not a person, but you have 7 network at your disposal... run something Olympic related on at least one of them 24 hours a day.

Top 5 best Winter Olympic events.
1. Men's Downhill
2. Speed Skating
3. Curling... Bocce with 42 pound balls
4. Trialthon... what? It involves shooting a gun, that alone increases the cool factor.
5. Ski Jumping... crazy buggers

Top 5 worst Winter olympic events
1. Any containing the word "Figure"
2. Any containing the word "Snowboard"
3. Luge.. maniacs in skin tight spandex feet first
4. Skeleton.. maniacs in skin tight spandex head first
5. Bobsleding... maniacs in skin tight spandex sitting 2 to 5 in a row.

Sports Coverage (actual event)... best to worst.
Fox... Joe Buck is the best. That and you always get the crowd noise so that you feel like you are in the crowd.
ESPN... They should be good, this is all they do. They have some of the worst color guys in the business (Joe Morgan to name one), but the presentation is so professional that, try as they might, they can not bring it down.
TBS/TNT... They do mostly basketball but they do it well.

NBC... They do ok, even if they are screwing up the Olympics... and for my sister. Bob Costas.

CBS... They really suck. They carry the Titans games. Forget Sominex, get CBS.

ABC... Mainly for the horrible, yes horrible Monday Night Football. MNF moves to ESPN next year and gets at least one color man worth tuning in for (Kornheiser) but the old crew on ABC was so bad, it will take decades of broadcasting no sports to catch up. Dennis Miller? Really, what were they thinking?

5 kids shows you should watch and why.
1. SpongeBob Squarepants... funny stuff, and something for everyone like Bugs was in his day.
2. Jimmy Neutron... same depth of humor but also has really smooth CA.
3. The Wiggles... I dare you to watch at least 2 episodes and not catch yourself humming or singing a tune from it.
4. Seasame Street... A standard and still quality. I have a 27 year old Grover int he attic to prove it.
5. Barney... Annoying, maybe, but teaches some good old wholesome values and you will be singing these tunes as well.

My peeve for the day is the Tennessee license plates enboldened with "Sons of Confederate Veterans" including a stars and bars. The civil war was fought over slavery. The enslavement of an entire race on this continent and we are allowing a state issued document to celebrate this? I bet you don;t see "Son of a Nazi Veteran" on any German tags. The Georgia state courthouse was flying the conferate flag and had to remove it's stars and bars. So why are we putting it on license plates? These people drive all other the country, it is no wonder people think we are backwards. Why not "Son of Revolutionary Veteran"? If a son of a confederate veteran were to actually be kicking around, I would give him the plate. Lets do some math here. Say a Joe entered the confederate army at 14, live through the war and did not have kids until he was 80. That would make his eldest offspring around 75. Not a big cross-section of the population... Did I mention these are available in several states? What a joke.

In Short

Apparently, you have to be in the medical profession for your time to have value. I was scheduled for a CT scan this morning. I was told to arrive at 7am having had nothing to eat or drink since midnight. I dutifully complied and sat in the waiting room for a full hours, save a 3 minute registration, to be called back for my scan. Once in the room, I hung up my coat, laid down on the table, was shoved in the machine and 3 minutes later I was on my way. I spent an hour waiting for a 3 minute procedure. I should send them a bill. If George Costanza was here we would have the "delicate genius" conversation.

Anyway, I really got made at Wal-Mart the other day. I was waiting in line at Wal-Mart behind a family who were all dress nicely in name brands clothes, leather and suede jackets and $50 kicks. They ran their stuff down the belt and when it came time to pay, they wipped out a food stamps card. I saw them leaving the parking lot in a car newer than mine. Ok, this really torques me. If you can afford nice clothes and a nice car, you can afford to buy your own damn food. Getting help buying formula and such when you have infants is one thing, but at some point in time you have to say enough. If you truly can not make ends meet, please feel free to go get assistance. That is why it is there and why were are the greatest country on Earth. But if you are on public assistance just to line your pockets or becuase you can, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Lets talk about driving for a moment. If you are on a two lane highway, that is a highway with two lanes of traffic heading in each direction, 4 lanes total, you should learn some common driving courtesies.
1. Slower traffic drives in the right lane.
2. Doing 56 compared to the slower lanes 55 does not warrant a tenure in the fast lane while it takes 20 minutes to pass someone all the while blocking both lanes.
3. When entering the highway, enter into the right lane. Do not shoot all the way across to the left lane because you might go fast at some point.
4. If entering from the left, stay in the left lane until it is safe to merge into the right lane, then do so with all possible haste.
5. If you can not accomplish 4 and 5, do not enter the highway
6. If turning right, get in the right lane before turning right. Do not turn right out of the left lane.
7. Use you damned crusie control. There is nothing more aggravating than someone in the slow lane who matches the speed of an oncoming fast lane traveler, only to roll up on another car in the slow lane, merge left to pass, then merge right to catch up.
8. Get off the damn phone.

Finally, in response to my sister's blog, here are my selections...

5 places I've lived.
Wayne, Michigan
Tullahoma
Winchester
Manchester
McMinnville
Denial

5 places I've visited
Hawaii: Went in 1991 for the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor with the high school band. I have been aboard the Arizona.
London: I went on a business trip in 1998. I was January, and cold... and wet. But cool. I stayed in a hotel that was like 400 years old.
Montreal: Again on business, in December of 2004. Really cold and snowy. Damn Cold.
Orlando: DisneyLand
Anaheim: Disney World
Chicago/Cincinnatti/Detroit/Atlanta: For baseball games.
Washington DC; Baltimore; Atlanta again....

5 places I want to visit
Edinburgh
Krakow
Beunos Aires
Wyomig
Paris

5 jobs I've had.
Hay hauler
Dishwasher
Pizza delivery guy.. with my sis
Machinist
Carpenter
What I do now

5 movies I could watch over and over
The Matrix
Sense and Sensibility
Mr and Mrs. Smith
last 20 minutes of Field of Dreams
Shawshank Redemption

5 TV shows I watch
Boston Legal
House
Grey's Anatomy
American Idol
As much as I hate to admit it.... All my Children

5 bad habits
Eating to much
swearing
messy truck
throwing my clothes on the floor wherever I disrobe
watching AMC

What I was doing 10 years ago
Framing houses in McMinnvile

What was I doing 1 year ago?
This

The Crud

In the last week, a digestive bug has sweep through our household. 4 vomiters and 2... well, you get the picture. Still, I was interesting to see how everyone handles there illness in different ways. I, much like Delaney, Kendall and Haley sleep it off. There is no illness being unconsciense can't fix I guess. While Becca and Emily trudge along valiantly through thier day. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring a full household recovery.

Monday is my day at the Urologist to have my kidneys gandered at. Tepedino is a good doctor however he has one unnerving quality. When you stand on the little place on the exam table where you rest your feet for your inevitable exam... well, he is barely 5' tall... so he is... well.. at eye level with what he is examining, if you catch my drift... A bit unnerving for me.

It snowed here today. We got a good cover but it mostly melted this afternoon, though they are calling for more snow tomorrow.

Haley had some dental work done this week. I actually paid to have a root canal and a crown put on a baby tooth. She is now an honorary member of the pirate society. They sad the tooth could be pulled but it was holding the place for an adult tooth that wouldn't show up for about another year. Too long to let the cavity progress. Such is life.

I am feeling the urge to finally pursue a creative outlet. As my job at work has taken a turn to a more administrative roll, I have taken less and less enjoyment in doing it. It is a more challenging job than it should be, but the ability to go out and create something is a task that i will increasingly have to delegate. Too bad.

Here is an odd thing. Very few people are actually in the occupation that they dreamed of being in when they were children. Few people are even in the line of work they went to school to be. Lots of us, I feel, just fall into a line of work and stay in it because it pays the bills. If you are good at it, it really starts to pay the bills and before you know it, you make to much to quit. Stuck in a career you never intended to have, though thankful for the bounty it provides. Nice little Catch-22.

Anyway, this should be enough to satisfy my sisters daily dose. Until next time...

Why do Rhinoceruses have so many rinkles? (I am aware that my spelling sucks. It is late, I am tired, and my computer doesn't like pop-ups so spell checker is a bitch.)

Oh, great quote I saw in the quacks office....

The use of the exclamation point should be banned. Using one is like laughing at your own joke.

F. Scott Fitzgerald......

Or one Kel will understand.... Denny Crane

One more question... have you noticed the Derrick and Addison Shepard seem to be played by two people. Sometimes they are georgeous and sometimes they leave you scrambling for the remote to fast-forward. Like Dr. Jekyl and Dr. Hyde. Last weeks shower scene was nice though.

ok... enough is enough.

My monthly blog

As has become apparent custom, I have sat down to update my blog for the first time in a month or so. Lots to type about so settle in for a lot of babble.

I was watching one of my favorite movies the other day, The Shawshank Redemption. In that movie Clancy Brown plays a sadistic prison guard by the name of Byron Hadley. I couldn't help but look at him and marvel at how truly versitile he is. My little one is a huge SpongeBob Squarepants fan. In this show, Clancy Brown provides the voice for Mr. Krabs. If you haven't watched SpongeBob, or BaaBaa as Bem would say, you should watch just to here Clancy.

In another fine family tradition, my urinary tract started acting up about a month ago. To make matters worse pain has found it's way to a region where pain can and should not be ignored. However, when I finally got around to going to the doctor I called for an appoitment just in time to discover that it was my doctors last day at the office. Apparently, she is moving to greener pastures. Regardless, this left me to fine a new doctor... again. When I needed a Chiropractor, I just went to our medical insurance's web-site and picked the first one on the list within a reasonable proximity to the office. I hit the gold mine as the office they sent me to is filled with wonderful professionals who have helped me tremendously. So I took it on fate that the doctor that was on the top of the list for an internest would also be good. Not to mention that his name was Yang, and we all know that the best medical drama on TV (Grey's Anatomy) has a Dr. Yang on it and she just won a golden globe, so it had to be fate. Besides, I truly feel that asian doctors have a better understanding on average than american doctors when it comes to healing... not just treating.

I was wrong. I went to the office in the basement of a business in Manchester... who even knew there were basements in Manchester? It looked like a cross between a 70's vets office and a porn palace. Paneled walls decorated with starving artists oil paintings. 2x6 furniture with worn cushions, and the receptionist/scheduling/medical records/accounts payable desk was just hanging out there in the middle of the waiting room. To boot, the phone was one of those old rotary dials with the real honest to god bells in it. The visit went much like you would expect, 45 minutes of waiting and 3 minutes of doctor interaction. He did not tell me what he thought the problem was, but did give me some samples, which he did not tell me what they were or what they did, and told me to come back in a week. No urine was taken, no blood drawn. Medicate and release.

I have to admit a medical prejudice. I like a sleek looking office with all the bells an whistles. I like seeing a nurse who will take my vitals then a doctor who will actually spend a few minutes and try and figure out what the hell is wrong with me. This joker had none of these qualities. Tomorrow will begin with the quest for another doctor.

It is tax time, and for those of you out there who have easy taxes, I would be glad to do them for a small nominal fee. I did mine yesterday in about an hour. It would have been quicker, but the old man with the telegraph took a long time downloading some new software. I got a good return this year, too. Funny thing... I paid $911 in tuition last year, and since I did not get reimbursed until this year I got a credit of $184 for that, which is cool. But I paid $8,400 in interest on my mortgage and guess how much of a credit I got for that? $0... Don't get me wrong, I am pleased and thankful for my return, but the tax system is screwed up. If you make next to nothing and proliferate prolifically you can actually get a return larger than your income. I paid in roughly 8% of my income and got roughly 10% back... it's not right. No wonder we have a budget deficit.

My sister moved to California a couple weeks ago. She had spent most of last year out there and had come back long enough to run out her lease, pack here things and drive back. While she was here she had hoped to see some of the afternoon rain showers that Tennessee often has and California rarely does. While it threatened a few times, I do not think it ever came through.

Tennessee is our adopted home. We, as a family, moved here in 1980. Kelly, most of all, never really seemed to take too much to Tennessee, until she left. I think the same can be said for Tennessee. After she departed, it rained everyday until today. You may say it is coincidence, but I think that the state was weaping. Expressing the sorrow we all feel to see here go.

Good luck and God Bless, Kel...