Other blog. It's about simple synergy.

It's simple and quick, check it out here.

Late night rambling.

It's been a long day.  I'm going to type for a bit and then I'm going to bed.

Living in the country has been less confusing than I thought it would be.  Ten days so far.  There are these lights in the sky, my wife calls them stars.  Never saw them in the city.

Getting from the highway to our house was fun tonight.  There are no street lights, I'm checking my rearview mirror and I see nothing.  I don't know how many times I looked back and then tried to adjust it because I thought some kid moved it.

All in all it's like living in the city with fewer options; here there are two grocery stores and in Arlington we passed I don't know how many going to the one we liked because we didn't like them.  Pretty much the same really and then today we're driving and someone has a bison in his yard.  If it wasn't a one lane country road I would have stopped and took a picture of this bison.  A bison, not a bull with long hair but a real bison.

Yepper, I'm in the country.  And there is a bison just a few miles away.

On volunteering and professionalism.

Recently a local celebrity died.  His name was Kidd Kraddick, a radio dj.  He had been on the air for twenty something years.

I wasn't really a fan of his because he was just a little too clean and good for my tastes.  Years ago he did a "Second Chance Prom", just another nail in the coffin to me.  I didn't go to my first prom and I've tried to forget and repress most of high school anyway.  I will give him credit for his charity, Kidd's Kids.  

I'll get back to that.

Another dj was on the air today and gave an..."eulogy" about Kidd.  This other dj is named Russ Martin and they were not friends, business acquaintances would be the best phrase.  Russ says he's an alcoholic and a dick.  True or not he sounds like both.  This monologue was done with humor and respect.  Very professional.  

Then he and his guys talked about how Kidd would actually spend time with the kids in his charity.  These kids are not the "dad lost his overtime hours" kind of kids. "Children selected for the Kidd’s Kids trip are between the ages of 5 and 12, suffer from a chronic or terminal illness, and/or are physically challenged or have a catastrophic impairment due to an accident/birth defect. The child must also reside in one of the Kidd Kraddick In The Morning radio show listening areas and demonstrate a financial need."  That is a direct quote from their website.  If you've never done any volunteer or charity work then keep in mind that it takes a special kind of person to spend that much time with a kid that might not be alive for your next trip.  Russ is the main person with his foundation (support the families of cops/firefighters/emts that have fallen in the line of duty) and he doesn't spend time with these families, in his own words:  "I drop the check off and split".  They mentioned Jim Carrey who supposedly worked with the "Make a Wish" foundation and stopped because it's hard being around a kid that's going to die soon.

Every year Kidd would go to Disney in Florida with these kids and their families for a week.  Kidd died of heart problems, he sure as hell had a lot of heart.

Had to go to the other side for awhile.

I've been writing brain candy lately.  I wanted to do something a little more meaty, check it out here, it's about dreams.

Living in a small town. Part 1.

We went to a grocery store yesterday.  In this town there are two, we didn't go to Wal-Mart.  The one we went to had prices just a little higher than we were used to seeing.  Nothing much, a quarter here two quarters there.  No sweat that's going to happen with no competition.

I say no sweat but that actually means that some items were on the average 37.5% higher...hmm.  That can add up real quick.

Good selection of non mainstream beers.  Not as much fruit as I would like but enough so there was a good variety.  They actually had more yogurt than the Kroger or Target that we normally went to.  That nasty ass Greek yogurt has made huge inroads everywhere, even here in the country.

Then the weird part...it was almost Stepford in essence.  The employees wanted to take our groceries to our car.  We're good, we'll do it.  The lady gave us a look of...fear, condescension, worry, something.  Taking our cart to the car we were followed by the bag filler.  Another person outside asked him why we were taking our own groceries out.  He said we wanted to do it on our own.

I'm just wondering if, as we drove off, did they take note of us and prepare to make us submit to their will?

I'm a stay at home dad, BRING IT ON!

We have internet!

I'm back and I'm so fucking tired. No internet, intermittent ac, pain in my knee, pain in my elbow, plus moving problems. This week pretty much sucked. I say pretty much sucked because my special needs brother is an Eagle Scout. That's awesome; you don't know how proud we are of him. The recent posts were on my smart phone and that's a major hassle. I did them but I made sure they were short. What have I learned during this move? Don't sweat the internet, the problems moving will be figured out and fixed. The "worst" part was the lack of ac, the first day of the move it was 90 something in the house. One kid seemed really badly affected by the heat so we stopped trying to tough it out and get a hotel room. That was finally fixed and the kids are good. Life goes on. Case in point. A family member came by to see the new house and we ended up offering her a place to stay with her son so she can get back on her feet. She was worried about her soon to be ex-husband, we knew him and were not worried about him, we really don't believe he would come by once he knew she was living with us. Will she do it? I don't think so. Would it be in her best interest? I think so. All of this is inconsequential though, it's not my choice. The ball is in her court.

still deadlocked.

still no internet. i should vomit forth real typing manana.

eagle

my special needs brother is an eagle scout. he's been in scouting for 36 years and he's the first eagle for his troop. you don't know how happy i am for him. still no internet.

moving part the next.

still no internet. phone blogging sucks.

Moving. Part 2.

still moving. still sucks. no internet. majorly sucks.

Moving.

We're moving today.  Finally, we're moving.  And the electric isn't turned on yet.  We're telling the kids that it's like camping.  They're young enough to believe us.  Suckers!

Weasel.

Since we're moving in about a dozen hours this and manana will be quick.  Years ago a company I worked for took us to Biloxi for a managers "meeting".  We split up into two teams and competed against each other in order to build up camaraderie.  The winning team won $100 in chips.

Each contest went the same way, the people that worked at the hotel would tell us the rules and then we would weasel our way into making it easier.  We had to stand behind the line and throw the rings on the pole.  Can we lean over the line?  Blank look on the lady's face:  "Sure".  There's our in.  Two of the biggest guys on our team would form an anchor so the person throwing the rings could lean way over.  The thrower would turn sideways to the ring put his weak hand into the grip of the first anchor and lean way over.  Instead of throwing the ring six feet you ended up just tossing it about two or less if you were tall.  The other team did a similar weasel trick.  For each of the contests we asked questions about what did the rules mean and then figured out a way to weasel.

My idea is for a game show.  Call it "Weasel".  Simple premise, two or three teams of three or four people have not so simple tasks to perform.  The teams are given the rules and whoever can figure out the weasel trick that's the quickest and/or most efficient wins.  Of course some teams may over think it and lose because the winning team just did it without weaseling.

As usual, I'm not worried about money if you use this idea.  I would like credit though.  I might even have other ideas.

A business idea, part 2.

I'm doing a lot of moving chores.  Yesterday was a short post and today will be the same.  I'm still doing one post a day, I'm rather proud of that.

My other idea was given to me by B*** from the topless bars.  B*** told me that he found a place that had ample parking, it looked like it used to be a bar (less remodeling to be done), just off a main thoroughfare, and about five minutes from a highway.  Best of all...it was on Gay Street.  Gave him the name also, The Gay Street Saloon.  Arlington has a few gay bars and in nearby areas are some gay and lesbian bars, every single one of them is a dive.  If you want a casual or upscale gay bar you need to drive about 30 minutes into Dallas or Fort Worth.  

I was thinking that it's a bar so you need to do bar food, I'm a little disgusted with working with fryers so I was in a quandary.  I'm talking to a brother of mine about this idea and he just cuts to the heart of the situation:  don't have a fryer.  He suggested serving tapas.  I had no clue what tapas were so he gave me a simple explanation of them.  He also suggested having a white wall with a continuous tape playing, Wizard of Oz, The Wiz or some other "gay culture" classic.  I did research on tapas, they fit into my idea for bar food, something small to nibble on, if you're going to eat dinner there you can order more.  The price point of the tapas would be small, if someone wanted to order a variety it wouldn't break the bank.  I think sushi would go over just as well, unfortunately a sushi chef isn't cheap.  The heaviest item on the menu would be a burger without fries, maybe some chips or vegetables.  The biggest would be a salad; nothing fancy, just a basic caesar with steak, chicken or maybe some kind of fish or shrimp.  A selection of deserts like strawberries with an amaretto cream sauce or cheesecake, nothing really difficult to make.  It is a bar idea so alcohol would be a major part.  That would be the easy part actually.  Stock the basics and take a chance with the oddballs, look into the laws for infusions and possibly do some in the bar.  Stick with the basic Red Bull for an energy drink with the addition of Bawls, all gay bars should sell Bawls just for the name alone.

I think that the main draw would be having a small stage to do contests (banana swallowing etc.), drag shows, possibly even live music, karaoke, or just a dj.  Room for dancing, of course.  A big unisex restroom. Quite possibly nonsmoking.  Off duty police officers for parking lot security.  You don't have much of a problem with gay bashers when someone with a badge is watching.  I do believe that all businesses should "adopt" a cause, but they need to be savvy about it.  Everyone would expect a gay bar to support gay rights, that doesn't get any notice though; I'm thinking that the the gay club should support COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors) or join up with BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse).  No one will bitch about supporting those two groups and the juxtaposition should almost guarantee extra news reporting.  

Again, the reason why I didn't follow through with this:  money.  If someone wants to do it, go for it.  I'm not going to ask for money but I would like acknowledgement.  Or you could hire my consulting company.  Either way and I would be happy.

A business idea.

As you know, my family and I are moving soon.  Soon as in less than 72 hours.  Therefore I don't mind saying that we currently live in Arlington.  Look it up; over 367,000 people here and we're moving to a town with less than 15,000 people.  I'm looking forward to it but I'm still in a little shock over the whole situation.

Today's post will be a blast from my past, another one of my business ideas.  Years ago I was having lunch with one of the top guys from the topless bars.  I had an idea that I thought the company should do, a bar supply company.  I presented this idea to B*** as a money saving venture.  I thought if the company created a not-for-profit business they could have this small subdivision supply the clubs at near cost.  It would save money for the clubs and as long as we charged the clubs enough to pay the supply side bills there would be major tax savings for the supply side.  I was managing a smaller club at the time and was spending $500-600 a week on supplies, I contacted our largest club and asked them what they were spending a week, the answer was $2800-3000.

What were we getting?  Those little sundries that all businesses need like toilet paper, paper towels, glassware, soap, chemicals, and just about anything else that isn't edible.  They delivered and charged out the wazoo.  I was thinking to save the company money.  And if it happened to make a name for myself...bonus.

B*** said that the owner wants to stay with just "tits and ass".  He told me that he knew this because that was his response when B*** presented an idea for a gay bar.  He told me his idea which I let percolate in the back of my mind for a few years.  As for the supply business I still think it would do well; two of the clubs went fully nude since then and if the distributors could only deliver to one location, and a larger quantity, a better price could be realized.  Those odd things that are a little different in a nude club could be handled by the supply company.  Best of all, B*** told me that at a GM meeting many of the GM's were wondering why we used the supply company we did.  The main complaint was the price.

A tribute to a brother.

Way back when my special needs brother saved my life.  Not in actuality but in effect.  Shortly before I graduated high school I was looking for a career.  I was a bit limited because I couldn't afford college and I wasn't really thrilled with the F&B industry (I still stayed in it for over 20 plus years).

I started really looking around for inspiration.  I saw two opportunities:  lingerie and drugs.  At the time lingerie in this town was only available at department stores (JC Penny, Dillards, Foleys, and Sears), nowadays you can go to Victoria's Secret or Frederick's of Hollywood or some smaller local places.  I was 17 and didn't know a thing about finance so I contacted some wholesalers and got their catalogs.  I checked into rent on properties, utilities, taxes and then I did the math and realized that I couldn't beg, borrow, or steal that kind of cash.  A few years later Victoria's Secret and Frederick's of Hollywood opened up.  I still think I was right in the opportunity part.

The other option was drugs.  At the time I didn't know much about drugs because I've never done any illegal drugs.  If you saw a picture of me back then you would have thought I was a major drug junkie; nope, I couldn't justify doing mind altering drugs when I had an older brother who was mentally retarded.  This is the mid to late '80's and drugs were very popular.  On the street that I grew up on we had three guys growing marijuana plants (roof and two closets); they figured to make a little profit and to save a little cash by growing their own.  Various drugs other than pot were being bought in my neighborhood and high school but from my research pot was the easiest to produce.

I did the research about pot.  I learned a lot from the dealers that I grew up with.  Did I tell them that I was thinking about being a manufacturer?  Hell, no.  Some of the things I learned from them I've transferred to the normal business world with success.  I had numerous ideas to make money, fairly safely, and not get shot or arrested (no, I'm not going to tell you how to break the law and make a profit on it).  Then I realized something that my first martial arts instructor told my class:  "There is always someone better than you", he meant than in regards to fighting so don't go looking for a fight.  I carried that thought farther out, no matter how smart and cautious I was I would eventually get caught.

My mother would bring my special needs brother to the prison to visit me.  I couldn't let him see me in jail.  That's how he saved me.  I went on with the F&B industry.

My brother's practice obituary.

As ya'll know, I don't expect my special needs brother to live long.  In preparation of this event I've worked on an eulogy for him already.  Now I'm going to try and do an obituary.

B... passed away after too short of a life.  B... drew his last breath on ****.  He was born to K... and V... **** on ****.  He attended Veda Knox school and after that he worked.

Anyone that worked with him knew that he would joke around but he would get his job done.  Woe to anyone that slacked off too much around him.  He would let you know in fact that you needed to get your job done.  Before his health forced him to retire he worked at *** in Arlington.

B... has competed in the Special Olympics for decades and has won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals.  He would compete in skiing, volleyball, running, shot put, and bowling.  He would compete to the best of his ability and let you know that you're "going down".  He took that drive and energy to the martial arts also; he was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, which he used on two attackers that we know of.  That same drive also helped him become an Eagle Scout with Troop ***, you can see his Eagle Scout project on ****.  B... had varied interests; he was an alter boy at his church, St. Matthew's Catholic Church and he loved wrestling and all of the drama to go with it.

It's hard to say who is luckier, the people who didn't know him and don't have the heartache of losing him or those of us that did have the pleasure of knowing him and now do have the heartache of losing him.

B... is survived by his sister S... brothers S..., J..., J..., sister in law N... and numerous cousins, nieces and more friends than you can count.  Services will be held at ***.

Just like a celebrity, he made people smile.

That's it for now.  It's raw and rough but I need a break to let me adjust.

Other blog about Simplicity.

Check out the other blog, read it here.

My definition of friend.

When I was younger we would joke that a friend would bail you out of jail and a good friend would be there right next to you saying "Man, that was fun!".

I've matured in the past however many years.  Now, friends and good friends are great but a true friend will slap you upside the head and tell you you're a dumbass for even thinking about doing something so stupid that you'll need to be bailed out of jail.

Short and sweet.

Other blog. About unsung positions.

I'm tired, read it here.

Our political future.

I read some "news" reporting today.  I say "news" because it was on a political site and was slanting so far to one side of the political spectrum that I couldn't get any real news out of it.

Something I've been thinking about lately is the rudeness of posters on sites.  Most of it is political name calling on articles that are basically preaching to the choir.  It seems like we are polarizing to the point that we can't have a dialogue with each other.  If we can't talk to each other then we won't live, thrive and survive.

Communication is vital for all endeavors.  Marriage, business, military, politics; without communications they will all fail.  We're not talking; hell, we're not even trying.  Spousal abusers communicate more than the idealists for the various political parties.  Spouse abusers communicate on the level of a non-talking toddler; they yell and if you don't do what they want they yell louder and hit.  Yet people don't even want to do that.

How bad off are we if we can't even communicate as well as a two year old?

Other blog about banks.

It's been awhile since I posted a more serious post, read it here.

A romantic story.

Dear Abby and Ann Landers would print stories about how people met and got married.  Some people complained some thought they were sweet.  My wife and I have a pretty basic story, two people meet and one flirts with the other, they date and then they marry.  As I said, pretty basic.  So of course, this is a story from a different couple.

Years ago I did volunteer work with a local group that practiced for the Special Olympics.  Bowling is very big in the Special Olympics because bowling can be done all skill levels and physical capabilities.  Now that I'm older I also appreciate that bowling is air conditioned (this is Texas) and they normally have full bars.  We would practice bowling at a local bowling alley every Saturday morning.  This place was open 24 hours and apparently we went in a little after shift change.

One of the guys, let's call him Chris, that worked the overnight shift was later telling me that he and a buddy see this group of mentally retarded people come in and were wondering what the hell is going on.  He decided to go on home then and not hang out anymore that day.  Skip to next week, Chris is there again when we go in.  Only this time he sees "Joan" (Joan is a beautiful brunette volunteer of ours) and says to one of his buddies "I'm going to marry that woman".  His buddies mock him and joke around at his expense, of course.

Chris stays late, do remember that he's already worked an overnight shift and has already clocked out, to enter the kids into the bowling computer to help us volunteers out.  Whenever there is a problem he's right there taking care of it so we don't have to wait for the people on the clock to fix it.  He saved so much time for us.  All of us volunteers were talking about how much help he was.  And he didn't hit on Joan, that day.

He kept up the same pattern for awhile, work overnight, clock out, help us, and talk to Joan.  How do I know it's a romantic story?  I went to the wedding.  Quarter of a century later and they are still married.

Karma.

My wife and I have a friend who has some of the worst luck I've seen in a person that wasn't fictional.  In the past month she or her husband have been in two car wrecks, lost or had stolen two cell phones, and had a car need enough repairs that it was worthwhile to trade it in for something else.  Luckily, no one was hurt.  Hurt or not, would you want to go through all of that in a matter of weeks?  I don't think so.

Thinking about all of this bad luck made me think about the concept of karma.  I don't believe in karma, it smacks too much of a higher power and my bread is not buttered that way.  I do believe it's an intriguing and seductive idea though.

Seductive because if something bad happens you can assuage that guilt you have from something else entirely,  Is bad karma self-inflicted subconsciously?  There is a slightly famous quote about how "There are no accidents".  Implying that we don't do accidents, these so called accidents are caused by our subconscious.  I don't agree with that.  Some incidents are happenstance some are not.

If karma is created by a higher power does that mean that if you do something bad to someone else it's not your fault?  You're just an agent of karma.  I don't think so.  That doesn't give you license to screw people over, so please don't.

If their is some big karma bank does that mean whenever you do something good a deposit is put in?  Is this deposit in your name or does it just go into some big slush fund?  If it's into a slush fund that makes sense for some peoples' luck.  They take the bad karma for the other people.  I guess we all owe them a thank you for taking our karmic debt.

Nostalgia.

I don't really understand nostalgia.  I understand the concept but I don't understand the fascination with it.

Companies and individuals are making hordes of cash off of it.  Why?

A company I used to work for had a great year so they took all of the managers to Ixtapa, Mexico.  Beautiful city if you've never been.  At various locations were old VW bugs for rent.  One of the managers wanted to rent one because she had one when she was younger.

I've had a few rides in bugs.  They were uncomfortable to sit in, bouncy, and noisy.  Why would anyone want to relive that?  First time to have sex and you did it in a bug?  That I would understand.  Other seminal moments in your life would also make sense to me.  But just because you used to drive one?

Still don't understand it.

Short and sweet today.

Westboro Baptist Church. Part .

This will be a short and sour rant because I'm tired and I think a little sick.  What the hell is going on with Westboro Baptist Church (WBC)?

I know some people say that they have the right to free speech, which they do, and they are free to worship their version of their religion, again true, but are they really doing the right thing?  Screw them.

Are they really a "church", i.e. do they still qualify for their tax exempt status?  Rumor has it that they protest something and then when the police come to prevent a riot they find a reason to sue the police or city or someone with cash.  I assume that's legal, although I bet that their god wouldn't be too thrilled.  I'm an atheist so maybe I'm wrong about that.

With a church, what percentage of the money that they bring in must go to helping others to still be considered a church?  I guess you could say that about any non-profit.  When a non-profit uses their money to make a commercial then it could be considered advertising, but would it still be considered advertising if they spent way more than the norm in order to hire some big name actors and directors?  Or would it be considered just a way for the non-profit people to meet some celebrities?

As I said earlier, I'm tired.  I need to think about this some more.

Other blog time again.

A bit of a rough night.  That's why this is a simple and rough post, check it out here.

Birth.

I was raised pretty poor.  When we got sick my parents told us to play outside.  That was the only medicine we could afford.  Additionally, I know a little bit about quite a lot.  Except medical stuff.  That's a major blind spot of mine.  Which is why when my wife wanted to do a home birth I thought she was insane.

Our first two children were born in a hospital (same hospital and same ob/gyn) and then my wife started hanging out with some crunchy * (I tried to find a decent definition online but all the ones I found were not us) moms.  These moms talked about the benefits of homebirth and my wife already knew what she didn't like about hospital births.  She did more research and liked what she read.  She talked to her ob/gyn (who had a midwife as a mentor) and got some very favorable reviews for the whole process.

*Our definition of "crunchy" is someone that tries to not use the tv as the "big blue babysitter", doesn't go to the doctor when the kid has the sniffles, isn't a helicopter parent (always hovering around), we will spank, we will tell the kids "no", we try to eat at home as much as possible, we grow some stuff (some chickens, ducks and plants), try to use chemical free stuff to clean with, and some other "odd to other people" things.  I know that some crunchy people are extreme.  If they want to do an unassisted homebirth; more power to them, we'll stick with the midwife.

My wife tells me what she found out on her research and I did my own.  She looked at the more traditional websites and talked to her ob/gyn.  I looked at the websites that complained about midwifes and homebirthing.  Most of the complaints dealt with bad choices or bad luck.  If you use a midwife and you don't like her then your experience will probably not be very fun.  Some children are just born unlucky, if your child is born with a birth defect having a midwife or an ob/gyn will not change that.  "Our" (her) history with childbirth is pretty basic, she has no medical complications and the child didn't show any medical problems with the various tests given so "we" were good candidates for the homebirth.

We interviewed various midwifes and the first two we talked to we just didn't click with.  One we didn't like and the other probably would have gotten our business until we spoke to our third candidate.  She rocked.  We just clicked with her.  The right midwife can make the whole process go so much smoother, the fact that she used to be an RN in a hospital nursery ward just made me more comfortable.

In some ways a midwife is just like a doctor.  They are both trying to get a healthy baby out and into the world.  In other ways they are so different, a doctor can prescribe medication if the morning sickness is horrendous (my wife had a net loss of seven pounds with her first pregnancy) a midwife can't.  The doctor must follow the hospital rules; my wife is a rather independent lady and she doesn't take well to being treated like an invalid.  The midwife didn't do that.

The child was born in a bathtub without medication; no epidural, no anything.  My wife doesn't really remember the contractions but I do.  They were more intense but much less time.  Her recovery time was a fraction of the time compared to the hospital births.  We went into the birthing center around nine in the morning and had the child a matter of hours later.  We went home with a new baby a few hours after the birth.  We were tired enough that we thought about going out to eat that night, then we realized just how tired we were and ordered pizza instead.  The water birth is supposed to be less traumatic to the child and mother.  Is it?  The theory seems sound and the water helps take some of the pressure off of the mother.

At the birth we had a massage therapist who is in training to be a doula (he's a family friend).  Just for your information, having a massage therapist there to massage your wife's sore back is awesome.  We had a cd playing in the background (rennie faire music) that the child was born to.  If we play this cd now (two years later) the kid will instantly quiet down.

After doing both types of delivery would my wife do the birthing center again?  Her actual response to that question was "Hell, yes!".  Would I try to influence her away from it?  No.  My wife doesn't have any of the birth complications that would preclude being in a hospital for birth, so what is the benefit to having a hospital birth?  Watching her hobble around after giving birth in a hospital for two days because she doesn't recover quickly or the day after the homebirth and she's ready to go out.

Is it for everyone?  Of course not.  I can tell you my opinion on it but what you do doesn't have an impact on me so does my opinion really matter?  Do the research, talk to midwives and be open minded.  Keep in mind that a hospital delivery bed is designed to make it easier for the doctor to do their job, not for the mother to be more comfortable.  A midwifes job (other than delivering the baby) is to make the mother more comfortable so the birth is less traumatic.  Ours rocked, I hope your search is as fruitful.

Independence Day.

I hope everyone enjoyed their barbecue, hot dogs, and fireworks.  Today is the birthday of our nation.  Whilst enjoying the birthday repast did you remember what our founding fathers risked for our current freedoms?

Our founding fathers risked their life in protest of their tyrant.  He was a tyrant, he might have been pretty decent to his British subjects but his New World subjects had a different view of him.  If they were caught they would have been punished in a variety of ways; imprisonment, flogging, death, and various other forms of torture.  Back then this was perfectly normal, nowadays in prison you get better benefits than if you live in a retirement home.  The fear of flogging and sundry other forms of torture are illegal because of the 8th amendment.  They put that in our Constitution because of the potential for abuse.

When we protest and try to make our country better we don't have to worry about flogging.  What we have to worry about is ennui.  I worry that we won't be able to lose this lethargy we have plaguing us.

I hope you enjoyed your fireworks and freedom.  I hope you don't think about the freedoms you have as nothing because they've always been around and you didn't have to work for them.  I used to think nothing of them.  Then I grew up.  How about you?

Our future.

I've been thinking about what I should write for the Independence Day.  I'm somewhat stuck because I'm rather annoyed with what I see in this country.  Tonight I will only talk about one thing on my list of annoyances.

We have become a nation of whiners.  Our founding fathers would be ticked off with how "wimpified" our entire nation has become.  They all were educated and professional men.  They all had a wife standing behind them (power behind the throne or moral support, I'll let the historians argue) and they were NOT punk ass bitches.

Do you remember the Boston Tea Party?  The British raised the taxes on tea, the colonists were ticked off.  Some people risked all to give a message to the British that they weren't taking it without a fight.  What would have been the consequences if they were caught?  They didn't whine, they committed a crime.  I'm not saying we need to commit more crimes, we need to stop whining and complain more.  What the hell, let's hold ourselves and our politicians accountable.

If anything happens bad we whine to someone in authority.  If that doesn't work we whine to someone that will listen.  Then we whine to someone that tells someone else.  The end result of this whining is our politically  correct culture.

Bullying is wrong, but is it in the victims best interest to go as extreme as we do on the bully?  I know there is a philosophical difference between a "hate" crime and a crime but doesn't all crime really qualify as "hate"?  I know that kids getting shot is serious but does a kid need to be expelled or suspended for bringing a small toy gun to school?  For biting a piece of bread into the shape of a gun?  Same punishment for that "crime".

Don't whine and show off your hoplophobia (fear of weapons) and punish kids for playing with toys.  Bring the kid to a gun range and teach them about guns (while you're at it teach them about knives as well), who knows; maybe the kid and you will both have fun.

If someone works their butt off and has more money than you (or even if they just picked the right parents) don't whine about how they are so lucky.  Make your own luck.

If Ethan Allen saw us now I think he would be angry.  He would probably get drunk, start a fight and be surprised that most people would whine to someone else instead of fighting back.

If Mr. Allen was alive now...I would buy him a drink.  I wouldn't whine when he got me involved in a bar fight, I would bitch like you wouldn't believe, but I would stand by him.  Most people wouldn't do that now, they would just whine about the hassle and want someone else to step in and help them.  Be someone that Ethan Allen would be proud of standing with in a bar fight.

Other blog time again.

A little birdie told me to do a quick and simple post today, read it here.

Idiot loan companies.

It's been a bad day today, dealing with loan weasels, read more here.  Luckily, I calmed down before I started typing, don't think the keyboard could handle it.

Sahd competition or reality show.

A month or two ago I heard about a reality show based on stay at home dads (sahd).  They were looking for sahds to be in it so I threw my name in the ring.  I haven't heard anything after the phone interview so I assume they cancelled the show or chose someone else.

I have mixed feelings about not getting the chance to be in it.  The interviewer was amazed that a topless bar manager married a cop and she was amazed that I'm a guy that doesn't care about sports.  The fact that I don't go out to a bar and watch the game and shoot the shit with other guys amazed her also.  I was getting the impression that the "playdates" the show was going to arrange involved quite a few sports.  Not my thing.

If it was a competitive show would the contests be who could change the kid the fastest?  "For this contest whoever can unload the dishwasher, put away the dishes and load it again is the winner!  Your prize?  A NEW DISHWASHER!"

If it wasn't the competition type would it just be watching the trials and tribulations of these sahds?  The drama of potty training.  The controversy of home schooling.  The joy of watching children learn.  Sounds boring?  Imagine Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, Christopher Walken, or James Earl Jones doing the narration and you know you would be intrigued.  Hell, I know some women that would consider it porn:  a guy cleaning and taking care of kids when those guys are speaking.

Or would they provide alcohol?  And then guys would be guys.  We would sit in a circle and talk about the day before.  The first guy would brag about a load of dishes, a load of laundry, swept floor, making three meals, playing with the kids, and teaching the kids something.  Guy #2 would brag about two loads of dishes, two loads of laundry, scrubbed floors, making three homemade meals, took the kids to the pool, and taught them to swim.  Guy #3 steps it up with "I did the dishes and laundry the day before, scrubbed the floors and baseboards, in the past I took some Cordon Bleu classes so I whipped up a little French inspired menu for the day, played with the kids and taught them some French.  Guy #4 has some royalties coming in from a children's book he wrote so he uses that money to pay for a maid so he has more time with the children, he does an all day block party and cooks up some barbecue while teaching his kids about philosophy and economics.  Guy #5 says that's nothing.  My youngest is a child prodigy so I have to spend my time making sure that MIT guys are polite, I must say that they do put out a nice spread though.  My eldest is the latest reincarnation of the Dalai Lama so those Buddhists do a lot of cleaning.  All I have to do is play with my kids.  I would be #6, I would say "Screw ya'll".  Then I would lie like a rug.

I've noticed that most reality shows have that one person who is the token jerk or bitch.  What are the odds it would be me?