Thursday, April 29, 2010

One Vacation To Go Please....



Just a quick post to say we're leaving late today on a vacation so my blog will be inactive for a couple of weeks, unless I get some free time and run across free Wi-Fi.

Kim and I are running up to the cabin for a few days the first week and will meet Jimmie, Michelle and Aunt Audrey there this weekend.


Jimmie is giving us a hand at fixing a plumbing problem. 



Then we'll be going to Northern Kentucky to visit with family there. 




The following Saturday we'll leave with April and Danny and the four of us will drive to Niagra Falls, on the Canadian side. 


We'll spend a couple of days there then work our way back to Kentucky where we'll finish visiting with family and friends.



Near the end of the second week we'll make our way home and back to the grind. 



Maybe we'll see you on our trip!



Tuesday, April 27, 2010

A Borrowed Tale To Share With All

I ran across a post in one of the blogs that I follow and thought I'd pass it along. It's one of those stories that you know is true but you wonder why isn't there a huge outcry over it and why isn't it all over the mainstream media? I concerns Earth Day this past weekend but the point is the "Do as I say, not as I do" story that gets unfolded. 
The story is from the blog,   The Gregarious Loner.
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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Saturday morning relaxing... just watching the irony train go past. Obama steps on his own schlong again.



.
So..like... it's EARTH day again man... like.... and we should all do things that are... you know..... 'vironmentlee' good for Gai... you know man?

So what does President big ears do? Why.... he schedules himself to make a speech in New York city, within a few miles of where vice president foot-in-mouth is doing a Tee Wee appearance at the same time.

Yup... you guessed it.... The twinky twins are flying in separate jet liners to New York, snarling up air traffic for hours, traveling in seperate motorcades with seperate support and security teams as they idle the cities street traffic for hours. The general estimate is between the two of them, they will directly use 9000 gallons of fuel traveling on earth day, and nobody can estimate how much they will cause to be wasted while other people circle in passenger jets or sit in stalled traffic.

Just to add sugar to this pile of steaming irony, the NYPD is busy stealing all the bicycles outside peoples homes along the big O's travel route. You know.... just in case they are really hidden pipe bombs... you know.... sort of like the pipe bike racks they were locked to... or the pipe barricades the police installed.

Sure... lets gather all these potential pipe bombs into a big truck, and go store them at the police station. Yup... that makes sense.... and I'm sure all the ex-Obama-voter bike owners will understand that logic just fine.

You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.

If 'mother earth' truly was sentient, she'd form a volcanic vent under those two morons and spit them off the face of the planet. Maybe towards Mars, who is a cold hearted bastard anyway....

Monday, April 26, 2010

Kwam Down People...


Do you remember in 2008 when former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pled guilty to obstruction of justice after sexually explicit text messages became public, showing he had lied under oath about an affair with a staff member in a whistle blowers' lawsuit


He resigned as mayor, served 99 days in jail, agreed to give up his law license, repay the city $1 million, and stay out of politics for five years. Some people can never learn.

A judge ruled on April 20, 2010 that Kilpatrick violated terms of his probation by failing to report assets and turn over tax refunds, suggesting that he may send him to jail when he's sentenced next month.

Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner said Kilpatrick could remain free on bail pending his sentencing on May 25.   


Prosecutors say Kilpatrick hasn't paid enough toward the $1 million. He has been making monthly payments of $3,000, but they learned that Kilpatrick has other money, including $240,000 in loans, lives in a rented Texas mansion and drives fancy SUVs.


The prosecutor said there's "no question" she will argue for "significant time" in jail. Defense lawyer Michael Schwartz said jail time would be extreme. 
"What's more important - punishing the guy or getting money for the city?" he said.


Well, I'll go out on limb here and say... jail time! Why do we put up with a convicted politician seeming to always come out ahead once they have been proven guilty? They lie like a dog when first confronted with charges. They force agencies to go to the expense of a trial or, at the least, drag it out until tons of money and man-hours have been spent collecting evidence. Then, when they can no longer lie because the proof is so over-whelming, they are plead guilty. 


They receive their punishment after making a plea bargain, usually a fine or a suspended jail sentence, and a few actually go to prison. But regardless, they all seem to come out OK at a later date. They make money by selling their story or writing a book. They go on TV interview shows. Some even are voted back into the same office they were in when they committed the crime!  (Check out former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry's crime history!) 


So I say that the best way to show politicians that we will not put up with their criminal hi-jinks is to show them that we will always put them in prison when they are convicted. Sure, take a bunch of money from them also, but put them in the slammer with one of their constituents that murdered their entire family. That would make a whole new meaning to "fill-a-buster".



That should be one of the first steps in taking back our country from crooked politicians. Quit being nice to them. Quit making plea bargains. Quit re-electing them! Let's get a whole new group of people wanting public offices to do good for the country and not to see how much money, fame and power they can get, or how many mistresses they can gather! 

And how would we make sure that they are sincere in their campaign speeches and their motives? By making examples of the crooked ones by sending them straight to jail if they ever commit a crime in office. Period.




Saturday, April 24, 2010

I Long For Pong...

Right up front, I'm not very "tech savvy". I remember when it was just pencil and paper and the most popular way to write something very fast, the typewriter. You could even make a couple of copies of what you were typing by using carbon paper. Go ask your 13 year old child if he or she knows what carbon paper is, or if they can use it in a sentence. Then, ask the same child to program your new cell phone or set up your new Facebook account. You get the point.
The only way for kids to entertain themselves when I was young was to go outside and play with other kids. Unheard of today. If you can get your kids to leave their rooms long enough to pick up a sandwich from the kitchen you're doing good.

They have a computer loaded with gaming software or they can play directly online against other kids anywhere in the country. And if they do leave their room they might make it as far as the living room sofa where they will whip out their portable video game and resume play, in between bites of pizza rolls. Those portable game machines all have their own coded names that to us old-timers reminds us of the original Star Wars movie; PVP, PSP,PMP, PS2, MP3, or what I thought was a place for kids to go outside and play together, the Playstation.

On the days they are forced to leave the sanctuary of their room and forced to go to school, they will throw their portable video game into their backpack and sneak it into school or they'll fall back on the most primitive tool they own, their game-laden cell phone.

We now have so many games and other electronic gadgets that it's like another language has been invented and only people under 40 can understand it. Not saying that if you are over 40 you wouldn't know these terms, but you probably had to go to night school to learn it.

There's the game called "Wii", pronounced "we" and I had a terrible time figuring out what a couple of my neices were talking about when they asked me to play. It was like we were acting out "Who's On First" by Abbott and Costello. 
-"You want to play wii with us"?, they asked. 
-"We?", I responded. 
-"Yes, Wii", they chimed. 
-"Oh, 'Oui, Oui'", I playfully said using my best French accent. 
-"No, just Wii" they said slowly as they looked at each other like I was now the crazy uncle in the family. You get the point.

Then there's the iPhone, the iPod, and the iPad (which I believe is a new electronic feminine product. Not sure I want to know about that).

I admit that I'm not in the loop and far behind the new technology but I can use a computer a little. I pretend it's actually a typewriter without the little "ding" sound when you return to a new line. I can send and receive simple emails but none with all that fancy backgrounds and smiley thingys floating all around. I have even managed to play regular solitaire on it but I still haven't come close to figuring out "Minesweeper".

But I am OK with my lack of knowledge of this electronic-aged language and my lack of ability to understand how to play any of the games. I'm still content with remembering how we played "Cowboys and Indians" or "Army" outside or how we made giant pretend highways in the dirt with our Tonka trucks. On rainy days we played in our rooms and simply made our roads across carpet instead of dirt. Our sisters had their dolls and played dress-up. We would even kidnap a doll on occasion using out Army men and tie it up as if it was an Amazon Woman from another planet.

And our most eagerly awaited event of all was Saturday morning cartoons! We would wait all week to watch Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Of course nowadays kids can watch cartoons 7 days a week and at any time of day on cable. If you can pull them away from their video games.

But I can understand to some degree the video addiction that kids have today. I can remember when the very FIRST video game came out. In 1972, Atari introduced America to "Pong". 
Pong quickly became a success and is the first commercially successful video game, which led to the start of the video game industry. Soon after its release, several companies began producing games that copied Pong's gameplay, and eventually released new types of games.

The game was initially 6 feet tall and was only found in arcades or bars. I was in my early twenties and I spent a lot of quarters on that game. I'll let you figure out where I found one to play... 

During the 1975 Christmas season, Atari released a home version of Pong exclusively through Sears retail stores. It was also a commercial success and led to numerous copies.

So I can sort of feel the excitement of today's kids when they discover a new game, gadget or "App". I had a similar feeling when I first played Pong and then later playing that worse than herion-addicting game, Pac Man.

I only wish they spent a little more time trying to get good grades in school or spending more time with their friends getting real dirt on their clothes while playing outside instead of juice-box stains on their shirts and the carpet.

 And so I will finish my post (a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position especially as a stay or support) and my blog ( a web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections and comments provided by the writer) will be finished for the day.

Hang in there you other old-timers and remember..these video-junkie kids will someday grow up and have kids of their own. And when they can't get their kids to come back from playing ZumBall XR9 from the12th dimension and eat dinner, who'll be laughing then?

Friday, April 23, 2010

You Can't Burn In Hell If You Have Allergies??

Just a real quick post. I saw this small article buried in my local paper and couldn't pass up sharing it with you.

Darryl Durr, 46, is a serial rapist, convicted of raping and strangling a 16-year-old girl in 1988. (Yes, 22 years ago!)

He was scheduled to be executed earlier this week in Ohio. He argued through his lawyer that he might be violently allergic to the state's execution drug. (Go ahead, take a minute to let that sink in...)


Darryl will not turn 47. He was put to death at 10:36am Tuesday, at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. 

Oh, there were no apparent complications from the drugs.... other than they killed him. I have to admit, I'd be allergic to that!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Another American Business Is Canned...


Lela Anderson's steady hands move quickly as she sits in her kitchen, demonstrating the motions made instinctive by 54 years of working in a sardine cannery. Armed with scissors, she makes two fast cuts on a phantom herring and packs it into an imaginary can as it zips by on an unseen conveyor belt. Anderson's speed belies her 78 years; she estimates she's packed more than one million sardine cans in her lifetime. Anderson has worked at a sardine processing plant for 54 years.

 The Stinson Seafood plant in Prospect Harbor, Maine is shutting down the nation's last sardine cannery putting nearly 130 employees out of work. Stinson is owned by Bumble Bee Foods LLC and the company says it is close to a deal to sell the plant to a seafood-processing company which intends to process lobsters and other types of seafood. But say goodbye to the sardine.  

According to a St Petersburg Times article, the closing of the plant marks the end of 135 years of sardine processing in the United States. 
At one time, there were dozens of canneries in Maine putting out more than 300 million cans a year at their peak.

But the number of canneries tumbled as U.S. consumption fell and foreign consumption increased. Bumble Bee said it was forced to close the plant because sharp cuts in the amount of herring that fishermen are allowed to catch in New England waters made it difficult to get enough fish to pack as sardines.
The economic effect will be severe on the rural Schoodic Peninsula, an area of raw, natural Maine beauty that, unfortunately, has little to offer in the way of jobs.

The peninsula has two main towns, Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor, and a number of tiny villages -- Prospect Harbor, Corea, Birch Harbor and others. There are few businesses in those communities, about 45 minutes east of Ellsworth.

Prospect Harbor, with about 450 residents, has a delicatessen, a few lobster dealers, a couple of bed-and-breakfasts and the cannery -- an outsized operation in this tiny village, 117,000 square feet of buildings on 11 acres.
About half of the 130-person work force comes from the peninsula. The others come from even more remote areas, some chasing cannery work as other plants have closed.

Now the chase has ended, and the effect will extend well beyond the 130 jobs lost at the plant.

Lobsterman Hollis Smith and Dave Whalen, his sternman, pulled away from the plant early Thursday morning, the back of their pickup filled with 20 bushels of herring. Lobstermen from the area buy herring for bait directly from the plant, paying only $11 a bushel -- a good price.
When the cannery closes, bait prices will increase -- squeezing an industry already pressured by low lobster prices, increasing regulations and rising costs.

"It's gonna be less money in our pockets," said Whalen. "It's going to be the trickle-down effect. It's going to affect everybody."

At the plant, it's mostly women on the packing floor, doing work considered hot, smelly and messy, said Diana Young, the first selectwoman in Winter Harbor and an office worker at the cannery for more than 40 years.
While some looked down on the packing work, others saw it as good money and good work in a tight-knit community.

"It was a way of life. It was what your mother did. It was what your grandmother did. People were not afraid of hard work. That's what brought them together," Young said. "The bell sounded and the whole town came. Right now, the community is in shock".

To Bumble Bee's credit, the company is going beyond state requirements for severance pay. In addition to one week's pay for every year of employment, Bumble Bee is giving workers an additional half-week's pay per year. So someone with 20 years would get 30 weeks of pay.
 
"Bumble Bee has to be given credit," said Young. "They have done a class act in a situation nobody wants to have happen."

Lela Anderson, at 78, said she was a bit surprised she outlived her industry. Her son remarked that the factory closing was the only way she'd actually retire, she said. She'll keep busy, helping people in the community who need a hand, Anderson said. She isn't worried about herself, but rather for those who have just started out in life. "It's going to hurt the younger people," she said. "You can't get jobs today. There's just no jobs to have."

A sign in front of the Prospect Harbor United Methodist Church said "God bless the Stinson employees"

And so it goes, not only another American company gone but an entire industry is gone. I ate a few sardines in my time but not many. Too many other things I liked more. And you probably didn't eat many either or none at all. But lots of other people did and it was a huge part of our country's workforce for over a century. 

You may never use certain products or eat certain foods but you should still feel sorry that we have lost another part of our history.

I will miss it and it is sad to see it go.


To read more about Stinson's Beach Cliff sardines click on this link: Beach Cliff Story.


Friday, April 9, 2010

Pay Ball!

Speaking of losing our America, I have long ago lost an American tradition that used to stand along hot dogs and apple pie. Professional baseball. It lost me years ago and I don't see it ever gaining me back. You could say I have struck out. I don't mind. 

It all came down to money as it seems to do with everything. The players want more, the owners want more, the agents want more, and the advertisers want more. The only way to accomplish this is to simply raise ticket prices, concession prices, and advertising fees. 


All the fans want is to be able to go to a game and enjoy themselves and use that time to escape their everyday problems and just relax and root for their favorite team. 


This post isn't meant to argue one way or the other or to change anyone's view, but just a reminder to myself why I gave up giving in. Not a penny will be spent by me that would go into the pockets of any owner or player. 


Just a few facts: Since 1972 each time a baseball labor contract has expired there has been a work stoppage, either a player's strike or an owner's lockout. The following years had a player strike: 1972- 14 days; 1980- 8 days; 1981- 50 days; 1985- 2 days; 1994- 232 days. Owner lockouts occurred in 1973, 1976, and 1990. 

The 1994-95 season strike was the fourth in-season stoppage in 23 years. It caused the cancellation of the '94 World Series which was the first series cancellation since 1904! 


Baseball has the dishonor to be the only professional sport to lose it's entire postseason due to a labor dispute. Bet they're proud of that!


So that is what drove me away from the game. I still love the sport and enjoy playing the game as well as watching kids play in school and college as well as all softball games. I'm am just finished with MLB,  and all of it's greed, in person and on TV.


As a kid I knew every player on my favorite team and most of the stars on all other teams. I would collect baseball cards, watch it on TV and would die to go to a game with anyone that would take me. I miss those days. I miss those feelings. But I don't miss the game the way it operates today.


I was reminded about all of this today after reading a story by reporter Tom Jones in my local paper, The St. Petersburg Times. As I scanned the sports section, one sentence caught my eye. "The Yankees' payroll this season is $206,333,389." The next sentence said it all for me. "That's obscene". Yes. If that is their payroll what do you think their other expenditures could total? Add it all together and it has to be a staggering figure.


They have the highest payroll in the majors, it's $43.5 million more than the next-closest team, the Red Sox.  

Jones goes on to warn the Yankee players to stop arrogantly acting like they're so great. They're "not the smartest guys in the world, just the richest".


The Yankees' philosophy is simple: Buy a guy. And if he doesn't work out, pay him to go away and buy a better guy. 




But I don't think of it like that. I wonder if that is their expenses, what in the world can their income be? Gazillions? Where does that come from? High ticket prices, $5 hot dogs and $10 beers. 

America's past time used to be the sport of everyman. But today, virtually no working man with a family can afford to go to a game at the big ticket stadiums. Unless he has an extra $150-$200 that he doesn't need to go toward a bill. 

So that's my feelings about why I gave up the game. You make up your own mind. You have the money to give to the players and owners? Then buy a ticket or two, or three, or four. You can even give them an extra $20 bill and get you a dog and a beer, but sorry, you won't have enough change back for those nachos.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

There's Still Pride In Buying American

I thought I'd remind people that there are still a lot of products made 100% in America and we have workers who take pride in making those products. I know most people don't think about that very much when they are shopping but there are still some of us that do search for that "Made in America" tag on the product.


Of course in this day and age you can never buy every thing you need from an American manufacturer. We are forced to buy certain products made in another country because we have forced a lot of businesses to move their factories out of the country, whether it's for tax reasons or cheaper labor.

But it's always nice to come across a company that was started here and is still producing their products. I'll be listing a few every so often. You can make your own mind up about what you buy and where it is made.

The first product is really an "All-American" product since it is made for "America's pastime" since 1884. The Louisville Slugger baseball bat made in Louisville, Kentucky by the Hillerich & Bradsby Co. They produce over 2,000 bats a day, all from American grown trees!

They provide all of the bats for every major league baseball team as well as most minor league team. Go to any high school or college ball game and you're likely see mostly Louisville slugger bats, whether they are wooden or aluminum.


Do some research and read about the company history and you'll be impressed. The company even did their part when our country went to war years ago by turning out rifle stocks to be used by our soldiers.

As American as apple pie, cracker jack and baseball bats!


The next company has been around since 1903. Crayola crayons made by the Binney & Smith Company located in Easton, Pa. 

The first box of crayons contained eight crayons. The crayons were sold for a nickel and the colors were black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow, and green.


The word Crayola was created by Alice Stead Binney (wife of Edwin Binney) who took the French words for chalk (craie) and oily (oleaginous) and combined them. Today, there over one hundred different types of crayons being made by Crayola.


Since they started making crayons they have produced over 150-billion! I sure used up my share of those throughout the years. And have you ever gone to buy crayons for your kids and picked up another brand? I know I haven't. I have been a loyal Crayola consumer all my life!

The third company I'm adding today is located in in Shelton, CT. The Pratt-Read tool company was founded in 1798 and is the second oldest manufacturing business in America!


They started out making beads, buttons and of all things, billiard balls. They later produced piano actions and keyboards before making screwdrivers and other hand tools.


I know most all tools are no longer made in America and it's rare to find some that are still being made here. Most people think of Craftsman tools produced for Sears which were also made in America. But lately there has been a question about how much of the tool is actually produced in this country and if its marked Craftsman and isn't a hand tool it likely is not made in the U.S.


All I know is that from now on I will only be buying Pratt-Read screwdrivers and related items!


And the last one for today is one of my personal favorites. Tabasco pepper sauce made by the McIlhenny company in Avery Island, LA. Founded in 1868 it has a fascinating history and you will enjoy using this link to read about it. Tabasco History. 

 I can guarantee you that I always have a bottle of Tabasco in my home. My wife can attest that I have even carried my own with me if I knew I was going to eat somewhere and they didn't carry that brand. Clam chowder without Tabasco sauce? Not gonna happen!


To a die-hard Tabasco fan it is not called a "hot sauce". It's a pepper sauce. It has it's own unique flavor unlike any other brand made. Blindfold me and I can pick it out.
Have you had your shot of Tabasco today? I had mine on a sausage burrito for breakfast and a couple of White Castles for lunch!


That will be it for today. I'll be adding more companies soon. Be sure to drop me a note if you have a favorite American made product of your own.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

A One And A Two.....

This doesn't have much to do with my losing our America theme, other than a possible debate for gun control. But I don't want to get into all that. If you have your mind made up one way or the other then I'm not going to make you change your mind.

But I came across this on Youtube and thought it was just a happy go lucky sounding song and I agree with the words. Yes, I'm pro-gun but I don't go around preaching it to people. I just put a sign up in my yard saying I was for gun ownership and my neighbor was not.... you decide which house to try and rob .......... "I Like Guns". <---- click the link.