The Red Mosquito

True

2012-02-25T16:24:00.000-05:00

I know I have been lazy on posting and commenting here but wanted to share this piece of hypocrisy

This is the best the GOP has to offer?

2012-02-09T16:43:00.001-05:00

Manning wins in Indy

2012-02-06T10:58:00.001-05:00

With that 38 yard pass to Mario Manningham, and a 6 yard TD run by Ahmad Bradshaw the Giants once again took it to the New England Patriots. Eli was brilliant (30-40 296 yards 1 TD). Not only did he get NY their 4th Super Bowl title but he has locked in his fate as a Hall of Famer (and Coughlin's) and the greatest QB in Giants history. Hard to believe five years ago we were saying that Eli can never lead this team to glory and just seven weeks ago we were calling for Coughlin to be fired.
Redemption, his name is Eli.

Maybe I'm wrong here...

2012-01-31T15:01:00.001-05:00

So, I've seen this picture all over FB posted by at least 20 people. It appears that all people (those who claim to be Dems or Repubs) are for passing a drug test to collect welfare. The argument most people have is, if I have to pass one to earn a check so should you. How many people actually have to pass a drug test to get paid that posted this? I'm guessing, almost none.

Now, I have done no research on this, I'm just going by my basic understanding of the Constitution to formulate an opinion, and I could have facts wrong so feel free to correct me here.

It is my understanding that your bodily fluids are your own and without legal action you cannot be forced to give them to someone else. Now, let's say you are a mechanic and you need a job. You go on down to Smith Toyota and they say "we're only high on life here, you must pass a drug test" well, really, they can't force you, you can say 'no thanks' and apply somewhere else. Next you go on down to Bochagaloop Motors and apply for a job, they do not require a drug test and pay just as well as Smith Toyota. Razah! You have beat the system.

Now, let's say you don't have a job or a very low paying or part time job because it is all you could get. Or you are between jobs and need unemployment or food stamps, whatever. The person behind the counter hands you a cup and says you must pass a drug test. Well, at this point you have no other option, you really need the money and if you fail (let's say you had a joint at a friends house the day before) you won't get your Government Assistance. There is no Bochagaloop Motors this time, you can't turn to another Government for a check, but wait! The Constitution is on your side, the 4th Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure therefore the Government cannot force you to hand over your hair/blood/urine in order to receive Government Assistance.
I have even heard before that a place of work cannot fire you for refusal to a drug test. I don't know if that is true but I assume it is.
Anything I missed here? Is there a reason I'm wrong? I just don't understand how both sides can be for this and it hasn't happened other than that pesky Constitution messing everything up.

Oops

2012-01-30T15:06:00.001-05:00

Ignore last question, I was mistaken there was only one it was Ken Norton Jr. Won in 93 for Dallas and 94 for San Fran. There was not two.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Super Bowl Trivia

2012-01-30T11:31:00.001-05:00

Fell behind here, I've been posting the questions on FB and forgot to put them here too.

Two players have won back to back Super Bowls with two different teams, who are they?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Super Bowl trivia

2012-01-26T11:18:00.001-05:00

Ok, maybe people know me too well and knew I'd start with a Giants question. The answer yesterday was indeed, Tom Coughlin, who was a HB for Syracuse and set a record for receiving yards in a season (I don't think that record still stands).

Here's a tougher one, well some brain work and the answer is attainable.

Name the five coaches who have brought two different teams to the Super Bowl, you don't have to name the teams but if you want to show off feel free to.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Super Bowl Trivia

2012-01-25T13:14:00.001-05:00

I decided to do this here because more people see it this blog than the NFL one. I'll try to post a question every few days. Some will be easy, some will be hard.

What Super Bowl winning Head Coach played in the same backfield with Floyd Little and Larry Csonka at Syracuse?

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Manning is ready to win in Indianapolis

2012-01-23T09:22:00.001-05:00

I was going to put this in my NFL Blog, but I decided not to.

After a long hard season, the city of Indianapolis will finally get Manning on the field, and it will not be Peyton but Eli.

Eli will try to keep big brother's biggest rival from winning a ring in the House That Peyton Built. The Giants and Patriots, once again. This time the Pats aren't 18-0 and the Giants aren't a 14 point underdog, these teams are coming in rather even.
Who will win? Well, to keep my anti-jinx going you know who I will officially pick but I feel very confident in the Giants. They are playing great defense and are on a 5 game win streak. The Pats are also playing better defense and are on a 10 game win streak, last time they lost? In Foxborough Stadium, to the New York Giants.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Pope Benedict

2012-01-19T10:55:00.001-05:00

I'm just saying this, the Catholic Church has paid over $1,000,000 in damages and lawsuits to victims of Catholic Priests and the Catholic Church. Maybe gay marriage is the last thing he should call the downfall of humanity.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Number 1 song

2012-01-10T11:23:00.001-05:00

I saw this thing on FB where people have been looking up and posting what the #1 song was when they were born. I guess this is to show how old or young you are.

I just googled "number one song Feb 7 1980" and it said "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson.

I've been told I was a big Jackson fan in the early 80's, I suppose I was, I don't recall too much prior to 1985. Even the events from 85-2011 are fuzzy for that matter. I do like a few of his songs, I'm not really a pop kinda guy but a few Top 40 songs have made it onto my Ipod. My favorite song (by him) is probably Billie Jean, I also like Man in the Mirror, Thriller, Beat It, Bad..I think that's it. Rock With You is an okay song too.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

A ridiculous question because it will never happen

2012-01-07T09:34:00.001-05:00

I was thinking about how nuts people get about the President's religion. Romney is a Mormon, so is Huntsman. Obama is Christian but everyone calls him a Muslim and Santorum must be Southern Baptist because he does act like a member of the KKK.

Anyway, my question is this...what will we get first? A Jewish President, an Agnostic/Atheist President or a gay President. Now, obviously none of these would ever happen but let's all pretend we don't have a country full of small minded ignorants for just a few minutes.

I say Jewish President. No one will elect anyone that does not believe in God, nor will they let there be a Mr. President and the First Husband, that would show weakness.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sometimes

2011-12-21T08:37:00.001-05:00

Sometimes by Pearl Jam

Large fingers pushin' paint
You're God and you got big hands
The colors blend
The challenges you give man

Seek my part
Devote myself, my small self
Like a book amongst the many on a shelf

Sometimes I know
Sometimes I rise
Sometimes I fall
Sometimes I don't
Sometimes I cringe
Sometimes I live
Sometimes I walk
Sometimes I kneel
Sometimes I speak of nothing at all
Sometimes I reach to myself, dear God
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

What if?

2011-12-09T09:59:00.001-05:00

I have a question for all my Democrat readers, and swing voters I suppose too. If the Republicans put forward a serious candidate (stop laughing) would you vote for them?
Now, I am hard pressed to think of a current high profile Republican that isn't insane, but say we could get an old school Repub. one who is for the people, like Ike.
I know in my lifetime, there have been 3 Republican Presidents, although I have only been old enough to follow politics for one of them. I don't know first hand what the old Republican Party was like pre- Reagan but I heard it was nice. Would a candidate like that be able to survive the Limbaugh's of the world? Could they actually get on the GOP ticket and run successfully against President Obama? Or is the right too far gone? Have they gotten too conservative? Too greedy?
What say you?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Feeling like crap while at work means...

2011-12-08T05:36:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T11:16:00.001-05:00

Facebook

2011-11-28T06:23:00.001-05:00

It seems there is a lot of old Blogstreamers on Facebook and they have started a private group. I know I haven't been on here a lot but I don't get on the computer as often lately. I did join the group but haven't really posted anything on it and don't read it too much either.
Has everyone given up on Blogger? I know Whit has been posting on FB but my timeline on here only shows Sarge and Squatlo have been posting lately. I have fallen way behind and need to make up some slack. I will dedicate some time later tonight on getting caught up on Blogger and maybe do a posting on FB as well.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Penn State

2011-11-08T11:16:00.001-05:00

I'm sure the whole country has heard about what is going on at Penn State right now. Former Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been charged with child molestation and rape. Last I heard they have 8 counts against him, but they are looking for more victims.
I am sickened by these developments, not only as a fan of Penn State or as a father, but as a human.
What we know now is there was an accusation against Sandusky back in 1998, he was seen by a janitor sodomizing a boy in the showers. It was then reported to Paterno, who reported it to the Athletic Director, from there......nothing.
Joe let Sandusky go, which at the time seemed very strange from the outside. Paterno and Sandusky were a power duo in college football, they were known for coming up with huge defensive plans with great linebackers.
Sandusky was allowed to still work at the college in a role I'm not sure of. But, he was investigated by campus police and they gave Penn State a 30 page report of what they have found. Supposedly, Paterno never knew about such a report.
If you don't know a lot about Penn State or Joe Pa, just know that he has been there over 60 years and lives on campus. They have a statue in his honor, Penn State is a very small college and without Paterno would never have become a college powerhouse. He is to Penn what Jordan was to the Bulls.
There were more accusations against Sandusky in 2002, again, happening at Penn State.
The school decided to keep its clean image and covered up the scandal.
Could the guy who basically runs the school have no idea what was going on? Is Paterno lying about being shocked?
I think so. How could he not know?
I respected Paterno as a coach and a man, but now?
There will forever be a black mark on Penn State because the man who worked so hard to make it a reputable place, and they have lost this fan.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday Services

2011-11-06T08:23:00.001-05:00

From the mouth of one of their own

Coming out of the dark...

2011-11-05T10:13:00.000-04:00

At about 6:35 on Friday night the power finally came back on. We were at karate class and I received a text message from a neighbor that we were finally lit up. At this time I would like to send this message....

FUCK YOU CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER

They have fucked this whole situation up. There are still about 200,000 people who don't have power a week after the storm. I went six days, which is ridiculous.

Connecticut has two major electrical companies, CL&P and United Illuminating (UI). CL&P runs about 3/4 of the state, the rest is UI or independent companies. UI had their area complete in about 3 days then started sending crews to help CL&P, we also had contractors from all over the country. The company working on our road was from Florida. I've seen trucks from Alabama, Indiana, Florida, Montana and South Carolina (I guess to work here your state has to end in an 'a'). Most of the time you saw these trucks they were idle. Why? Because CL&P didn't give them any direction for almost 2 days! The pole that fell near my house laid in the road for 3 days, then a crew came and tipped it the other way so it was laying on the grass in front of Southington High instead of across Flanders Road. It took another two days for a crew to put the pole back up and fix any wire issues. In that time, we saw at least six trucks from Florida just sitting in the High School parking lot.
News stations were reporting that CL&P had called the trucks up but gave them no direction as to where to begin or what to do.
In Meriden a giant tree fell on Colony Rd (a main road) and tore down two power poles with it. The road was closed for five days before work even began to fix it. I still don't think it is complete.
The northwest corner of CT is all rural and has small towns and villages with populations under 5,000 people, it remained 100% dark for four days. Four days before work even began to fix anything! No food, no heat, no gas. Nothing up there for 4 days.
Wallingford has it's own electrical plant, therefore they could fix their own repairs very quickly, they had no one to worry about but Wallingford's few outages. Therefore, guess what happened in Wallingford? A complete state bottleneck.
Gas stations were running out of gas daily, the lines at Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds were 45-60 mins long. Lines of cars down main roads to get into a gas station, people coming from all over the state for any shot at getting some food and gas. Towns that had partial outage were even worse, parts of the Berlin Turnpike (a major commercial boulevard running from Meriden to Wethersfield) did have power and became flooded with people worse than Wallingford. I should really post a picture of a map here, for out of staters to understand where people were traveling.

That's better.

I know it is a small state but it was hectic. A major town like West Hartford was 90% dark for five days. While at karate class on Wednesday a parent from Cheshire was telling us he saw 3 CLP trucks on his street and he watched them while they took an hour and a half lunch break. Just hanging out, sitting around, no problem, like nothing that important was really going on.

Well, that's my rant. I'm glad to be back to business and am looking forward to actually cooking food in my house for the first time this week! That was the worst part, we have an electric stove so every meal we ate had to be out, that costs a lot of money. I guess you can put in a claim with FEMA for money spent on replacing all the food in the refrigerator that was ruined. I haven't seen any info on how to do this but I will look into it.

Still dark....

2011-11-02T14:43:00.001-04:00

We lost power at 11:40 Saturday night and are still in the dark as of 2:42pm Wednesday. There were over 800,000 customers without power after this freak October snow, about 450,000 still remain in the dark. It has been a warm 55-60 degrees during the day but low 30's overnight.
Schools are closed for the whole week in most towns and Connecticut Light and Power says they will have 100% restored by midnight on Sunday.
I can't miss Giants/Patriots this week, so I may be searching for a spot to go to.
We're hanging in there....
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

No power

2011-10-30T11:06:00.000-04:00

I guess heavy snow and trees with leaves don't mix. I have no power and have to charge my cell phone in the car to have any link with the outside world.
My town, Southington, is in central CT and is color coded purple (70-80% dark). All the black area is 81-100% dark, the numbers go down as the colors get lighter. Its a bit chilly in the house but we'll head out of here soon. Hopefully power is restored for when we get home.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

After a winter of record breaking snow totals.....

2011-10-29T13:56:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Denver!!! Oh, wait, I mean Connecticut. We are expecting 6-12" of the stuff for a rare White Halloween. Last time we had snow in October was 1987, last time we got 8+ inches in October?? Unknown.
I love it, bring it on!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Cheshire,CT home invasion trial update

2011-10-28T10:43:00.001-04:00

In a statement yesterday, the parents of Joshua Komisarjevsky (the mastermind of the Cheshire home invasion) said they knew he was troubled from the time he was a child. In fact, Komisarjevsky has admitted in a letter that he has killed 17 other women, he may have been just bragging though.
His parents were asked why, if they saw signs of a future serial killer, did they not get Joshua into therapy? Are you ready for this answer? Its a doosie.
It is against their religious beliefs. Yup.
They are Evangelists and feel that mental therapy and medications are a crutch for the unfaithful. They put all of their trust in Christ to guide and heal young Joshua.

Atheism- 1 Christianity- 0.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Thanks

2011-10-25T18:36:00.000-04:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Monday review

2011-10-24T15:05:00.001-04:00

Another good week, hard to believe it is almost halfway over. We did learn a few things, but one fact rises above all others....

The Indianapolis Colts fucking suck. They are the worst team in the NFL, they will draft Andrew Luck and keep Peyton for one season to train his replacement. Manning will then be traded to a team like Seattle and Luck will bring the Colts back to the promise land.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday Services

2011-10-16T09:38:00.005-04:00

Another one of my life influences sits with Charlie Rose and talks about personal success, standing by your family and finding faith in nature. Here is Mr. Neil Young.

Neil on addiction to oil

part 2

Interesting Billboard

2011-10-15T10:17:00.000-04:00

Billboard's with religious messages or quotes are nothing new, and they aren't only in the south or mid west but right here in Connecticut too. I saw one in Hartford the other day that really hit me, really made me think, and I have done some research on the group that rented the space for this message...

"I am an Atheist, and that is it"- Katherine Hepburn, brought to you by Freedom From Religion ffrf.org

A group of freethinkers who believe in the separation of church and state. Here is the header on their main page.

"The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion. In modern times the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of capital punishment, for women's right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers, just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery. The Foundation works as an umbrella for those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle of separation of state and church."

Here is the page for anyone else who wants to check it out: Freedom from Religion

Hank Williams Jr

2011-10-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

In case you have not heard, Hank Williams Jr has been fired by Monday Night Football and they will no longer use his "Are you ready for some football" song. He made remarks in an interview comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler.
Really? Is this really a fire-able offense? I don't know. I have been a huge supporter of Freedom of Speech and although his remarks may have been stupid, do they require him to be fired?
Did he threaten the President? No
Does anyone care what a country singer thinks? No
Will Hank being on MNF cost ESPN/Disney their image? Maybe.

I understand that Hank is an employee of the Disney Corporation and therefore must meet their standards of conduct, but is comparing the President to Hitler poor conduct?
People already don't like the Disney machine, so what's the big deal? I don't think Liberals will ban MNF because they don't like what Williams said, we all love football way too much. There are members of the Tea Party who now want to ban MNF for firing Williams, and they will do it, they are a passionate bunch.

In closing, Hank Williams said something stupid but MNF may have over reacted, and they better have a very good new song for this week because Sunday Night Football has become the premier game (and song).
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Been damn busy

2011-10-03T09:30:00.001-04:00

I realized the other day I have hardly been on Blogger lately. I've gone on, done my picks and gone on to other things. I have been reading other blogs quickly but haven't had time to sit and comment. Life gets busy with a newborn in the house.

Abby is starting to settle into a routine, which is good. The other two have been adapting very well, this is old news for Alyssa but it is Devin's first time being an older sibling. He has shown some attention seeking behavior, but being a 4 year old boy that is normal anyway. He did come up with this, "I'm the big brother, its my job to make sure the boys don't try to kiss Abby". I have no idea where he got that from, but he's right.
More later....
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The newest addition

2011-09-19T22:03:00.000-04:00

Abby, born 9/19/2011 at 4:08pm. 8lbs. 7oz.

Hoping the Giants pull out a win for my little girl's birthday!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday Services

2011-09-18T09:14:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try something different on Sunday, I am opening my own church and will post clips of some guest pastors that have guided me in my life. You can attend in your bathrobe and fuzzy slippers if you'd like, or go ahead, dress up, and have a seat at the computer

I think the only way to kick this off is with the legendary George Carlin.

This was the best comment I saw after this video, this person could speak in my church anytime

"RELIGION IS LIKE A PENIS.
It's fine to have one.
it's fine to be proud of it.
but please don't pull it out in public and start waving it around,
and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my childrens throats."

Baby Update

2011-09-17T10:08:00.001-04:00

It seems like just a few posts ago that I announced my wife was pregnant again. Well, on Monday the 19th we will be heading to the hospital bright and early for Abby to be induced.
My other children were also induced, Alyssa because it was near her due date and she made no attempts at leaving her warm home, and Devin because of his size. Alyssa was born at 7lbs. 10 oz and had to be pulled with forceps to get out, so when Devin was estimated at being over 8 lbs if he went to due date (Dec. 7) they decided to induce him out two weeks early. He was born on Nov. 27th at 7lbs. 14oz, but did come easier than his older sister.
Abby's due date is Sept.24th but she is already over 8lbs. A week ago they measured her to be 8lbs. 3oz, and at this stage they put on about 8oz a week, so she's probably around 8lbs 11oz by now. Hoping all goes well, and yes, the change of a C-Section is high. I will have updates on Monday.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Pat Robertson has Alzheimer's

2011-09-15T14:29:00.001-04:00

Pat Robertson has declared that divorce is okay if your spouse is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Wow. Will the Christians ever live up to their values? I guess not.
I, personally, don't think that marriage has anything to do with God. Frankly, it's none of his damn business. Yet, many millions of couples have sworn to God to care and cherish their spouse in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. Just shows once again that that is all bullshit and even a devout Christian leader really doesn't believe in promises to God.
Red Mosquito- 1 Christians- 0

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

I'm almost too embarrassed to post this

2011-09-12T12:14:00.001-04:00

The good thing about social networks like Facebook, Twitter, My Space, etc. is you get to learn which of your friends are morons and must be deleted from your life. If you know any of these folks, I feel bad for you. They almost make me ashamed of being American.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-25-most-un-american-reactions-to-the-911-anni
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Not a regular Sunday

2011-09-11T08:14:00.001-04:00

There will be no Sunday Music today, the Red Mosquito is taking a morning of silence in memory of the victims of 9/11.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday Morning Music

2011-09-04T10:21:00.000-04:00

Posting more than one video on Blogger is a pain in the ass. On Blogstream you just copied the embed code and pasted it to your page and viola! That doesn't work on Blogspot for some reason, and there is a button to share to blogspot but you can only use one video per post. My solution was to do this post on Blogstream and link it here.

Sunday Morning Music (and the return of Blogstream)

I'll just leave this here...

2011-08-31T06:45:00.000-04:00

Idiotic Reactions to Hurricane Irene

Survived Irene

2011-08-29T18:31:00.000-04:00

Well, Irene has come and gone. Some parts of CT got nailed pretty bad. The shoreline town of East Haven lost a home that washed away into Long Island Sound, another home in Fairfield, CT slid away down a mudslide.
A major flood in Bristol, CT washed away part of a main road and will be closed for a month, making travel in that area near impossible. Over 500,000 homes lost power (not mine), and only about 200,000 have been fixed as of 5pm Monday.
The Connecticut River is out of it's banks, even at the top in Brattleboro,VT the river has flooded the entire downtown section. When that water recedes back down to CT we'll have more trouble in the CT river valley area.
I had no problems at all here in Southington, but the rest of the state took quite a blow. Traveling was near impossible today at work, with roads closed due to down wires and traffic lights out on main roads.
I was only 5 the last time a hurricane landed in CT (1985 Gloria) so I don't remember much other than staying at a hotel for a day or two. I can't compare the carnage from what that storm produced, but this one was pretty mild as far as Hurricanes go.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday Morning Music (hurricane edition)

2011-08-28T09:16:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Irene is in Connecticut, the eye is still over NYC as of now (9:03 am EST) but will be hitting the shores of Fairfield County soon. Not too bad up in Southington, the winds have only hit a high of about 35mph so far, just a lot of rain. The front yard is flooded and I'm sure the bottom of my street is too (we have a pond on one side a stream on the other).

There seems to be a pattern of getting rained on every damn Sunday, and autumn is coming so that means lots more rain. This August has already been very wet, which is not the norm in CT, not counting this storm, we have gotten over 6" of rain already and that is more than the month average for August.

We still have power here, but Connecticut Light and Power and United Illuminating have reported over 200,000 homes without power combined. Luckily, because I live in a complex, all of our power lines are underground.

This song isn't about a real hurricane obviously, but I still think it fits.

Bob Dylan "Hurricane"

Irene is full of hot air

2011-08-27T18:59:00.000-04:00

There is a hurricane coming up the East Coast that will hit the shores of CT tomorrow morning. They are now saying it will arrive about noon, which is bad news because we will be in high tide. Irene is losing gas though, she hung out on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for too long, maybe to get in 9 holes before she moved on to Jersey.
Irene was supposed to hit CT as a CAT 1 Hurricane, but now may be downgraded to a Tropical Storm once she hits Long Island/NYC. In order to be a cane the wind gusts have to be at or above 78mph. A Tropical Storm can still cause a bit of damage with wind gusts at 50-75mph and there will be coastal flooding, and flooding in small bodies of water.
I'm not too worried, but the first day of school in town has been pushed from Monday to Tuesday to allow for storm clean up. We shall see, but it will be the first time since 1985's Gloria that a Hurricane's Eye has passed over CT.

You have been warned...

2011-08-24T08:52:00.000-04:00

So, I guess you got the message yesterday? You know, the one God sent to Washington to say he isn't pleased that he is not allowed in schools.

The nuts came out on Facebook yesterday, there were people actually blaming President Obama for the earthquake that struck 80 miles outside of D.C and was felt all the way up to parts of Vermont. I was in Branford, CT at the time and didn't feel anything but my wife was in Wallingford and said she felt a slight tremor that she initially thought was just the car idling funny.

Here's a link to some good FB reactions. Some are funny and some are just stupid.

Facebook Reacts to Today's East Coast Earthquake

The news stations here in CT have blown this up way out of proportion, which is the media's number one goal. They are also going on and on about Hurricane Irene hitting us, which I'm also not worried about. We haven't had a real hurricane here since 1985, that was Gloria. There have been near misses of course, we had Hurricane Hugo in 89, I believe, but that was just a grazing. Gloria is the only one that hit us dead on and actually caused a lot of damage.

Despite warnings from media and the Holy Ghost, I still remain unconcerned.

No sunday music

2011-08-21T09:44:00.001-04:00

I have to do my blogging today via email from my phone. My monitor fizzled out yesterday so I have to get a replacement later. Luckily, I know someone who has an extra monitor so I will have my computer back soon.
Had a late night again last night, went to a Bachelor Party for my wife's cousin, got home around 11:30 not too late.
So, I can't link a youtube video to my blog from my phone so pick out whatever moves you this Sunday. I'm in a bit of a Motown mood myself this morning, so I would pick some Temptations or Marvin Gaye for this morning.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Looking back at Blogstream

2011-08-19T17:14:00.001-04:00

I was looking at my old posts from my Blogstream days to see if I had anything good up there to share while I deal with some writers block. I came across this little nugget, which wasn't a classic because of the post, mostly because of the comments. The post is from September 22, 2008 and at this point I had very few readers and the ones I had didn't like me. There was bush4u and the famous Conservative Pundit. Here's the post with their comments and mine. Looking back, I guess I did have some anger issues towards Palin, but I knew even back in 2008 that she would become a force that could potentially bring down this country, and I fear she still may.

I was telling my mother this story on Saturday and thought I'd share it with all of you. One thing that I cannot stand is that John McCain assumed that all women are retarded and will blindly follow Sarah Palin just because she is a woman (kinda). Well I came across such a retard the other day at Stop n' Shop.

I was walking behind these two women when one asked the other "So what do you think of Sarah Palin?"

Retard #2- 'Oh my God, I just love her!!!, I was going to vote for Obama but with an everyday woman running how can we not vote for her, we've wanted equality for so long'

Retard #1- 'Oh I know'

Retard #2- 'This is our chance to get a woman in power...we can't let it go'

I swear I almost lost it, I wanted to throw a jar of peanut butter at this lady's head, there's obviously nothing in her head being used anyway. I'm not big on celebs getting all political but Matt Damon said it best..'it's like a bad Disney movie'

I HATE Palin, almost as much as I hate Bush. She hasn't ruined the country yet, but I'm afraid she may get the chance. Then to top it off the other night I tortured myself by pulling up YouTube and watching her with Hannity. Why do I do this? I almost cracked my computer as I was yelling at it and almost threw it. He tossed her lob after lob, would you expect him to throw her a curveball? Of course not. I don't know why I do these things that just piss me off.
I can't wait to see Biden crush her, my only wish is that Obama took Clinton now, she would have torn Palin's head off and shoved it up her ass, grabbed her by the legs and used her as a wheel barrel.
Just picturing that makes me happy

Comments:

Are you a little angry? Just remember it is the congress that passes the laws not the president. Lets see who runs the congress THE DEMOCRATS YOU AIRHEAD!!!!!
by bush4u (PM , CC ) on Wednesday September 24, 2008 @ 7:24 AM

Who isn't angry at the situation that our country is in. And maybe if you paid attention to what goes on in the world you would know that the Dems just took majority two years ago, and laws that they have tried to pass to undo all the crap the GOP has done have been vetoed. George W. Bush 1. July 19, 2006: Vetoed H.R. 810, Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, a bill to ease restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Override attempt failed in House, 235-193 (286 needed). 2. May 1, 2007: Vetoed H.R. 1591, U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007. Override attempt failed in House, 222-203 (284 needed). A later version of the bill that excluded certain aspects of the initial legislation that the President disapproved of, H.R. 2206, was enacted as Pub.L. 110-28 with the President's approval. 3. June 20, 2007: Vetoed S. 5, Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007. 4. October 3, 2007: Vetoed H.R. 976, Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 ("SCHIP"). Override attempt failed in House, 273-156 (286 votes needed). 5. November 2, 2007: Vetoed H.R. 1495, Water Resources Development Act of 2007. Overridden by House, 361-54 (277 votes needed). Overridden by Senate, 79-14 (62 needed), and enacted as Pub.L. 110-114 over President's veto. 6. November 13, 2007: Vetoed H.R. 3043, Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008. Override attempt failed in House, 277-141 (279 votes needed). 7. December 12, 2007: Vetoed H.R. 3963, Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007.[18] Override attempt failed in House, 260-152 (275 votes needed). 8. December 28, 2007: Pocket Vetoed H.R. 1585, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008[19]. A later version of the bill that changed a minor provision of which the President disapproved was quickly passed by Congress (H.R. 4986) and was enacted with the President's approval as Pub.L. 110-181 on 28 January 2008. 9. March 8, 2008: Vetoed H.R. 2082, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.[20][21] Override attempt failed in House, 225-188. 10. May 21, 2008: Vetoed H.R. 2419, 2007 U.S. Farm Bill.[22][23] Overridden by House, 316-108 (283 votes needed). Overridden by Senate, 82-13 (64 votes needed). Enacted as Pub.L. 110-234 over the President's veto. Due to a clerical error, this act was repealed by Pub.L. 110-246. 11. 18 June 2008: Vetoed H.R. 6421, 2007 U.S. Farm Bill, re-passed by Congress to correct a clerical error in HR 2419.[24] Overridden by House, 317-109 (284 votes required). Overridden by Senate, 80-14 (63 votes needed). Enacted as Pub.L. 110-246 over the President's veto. 12. July 15, 2008: Vetoed H.R. 6331, Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act.[25] Overriden by House, 383-41 (283 votes required.) Overriden by Senate, 70-26 (64 votes required). Enacted as Pub.L. 110-275 over the President's veto.		\|< << >> >\|
by BMCohen (PM , CC ) on Wednesday September 24, 2008 @ 8:06 PM

hey dunb ass why dont you go on to FOX news.com and see the racist comments made by your buddy Alcee Hastings made

by Conservative Pundit (PM , CC ) on Thursday September 25, 2008 @ 7:59 PM

Um, he's not my buddy. In fact, I have no idea who you are talking about but I will look into what you're trying to say. Secondly if you're going to call someone a dumb ass, try to spell it correctly.
by BMCohen (PM , CC ) on Thursday September 25, 2008 @ 10:53 PM

Who am I?

2011-08-16T08:48:00.001-04:00

I can start the day without caffeine.

I can get going without pep pills.

I can always be cheerful ignoring aches and pains.

I can resist complaining and boring people with my troubles.

I can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it.

I can understand when loved ones are too busy to give me any time.

I can overlook it when those I love take it out on me when through no fault of mine something goes wrong.

I can take criticism and blame without resentment.

I can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him.

I can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend.

I can face the world without lies and deceit.

I can conquer tension without medical help.

I can relax without liquor.

I can sleep without the aid of drugs.

Who am I?

The family dog
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Said simply...

2011-08-15T19:48:00.001-04:00

Michele Bachmann makes me feel like we've wandered into an alternate universe where Sarah Palin has focus and purpose. I don't like it.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday Morning Music

2011-08-14T12:17:00.000-04:00

Since my Sunday Morning music is a bit late today (it's noon here) figured I'd put something a little more lively up. I slept in until about 10:30, we were out late last night at a bar with some friends and got home about 1:30 am, a couple of beers and some Jack n' Coke did me good, it's been a while. Now I'm sitting here with my Earle Gray Tea and a bowl of raisin oatmeal and I'm in the mood for some Eric Clapton, how bout you?

Cocaine

Hold On, I'm Coming

Hoochie Coochie Man

Have a good Sunday

This was my Horoscope

2011-08-13T08:13:00.001-04:00

"You could inspire the most regressive, conservative fear monger to embrace change on a day like today, so go for it! Your energy is perfect for shaking things up in the most positive way...."

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The times they are a changin

2011-08-10T05:40:00.000-04:00

Evolution (continued)

2011-08-10T05:33:00.000-04:00

I realized I should have used this in my last post after it was mentioned by Kevin. There has been a serious lack of PJ on here lately, so here you go. Do the Evolution, what I think is one of the best videos I have ever seen, really gets the point across.

The only thing I trust is...

2011-08-09T15:06:00.000-04:00

Can you trust the media? Nope.

Can you trust the Government? Nope

Writers? Absolutely not

Aunt Bea? Maybe

God? Yeah right

The one thing I always trust are my eyes. I know what I see, and that is all I know.

Here is what my eyes have seen in regards to the economy with Obama and the economy with Bush.

They both suck, but who sucks less? Is Obama getting a bad deal from what Bush has left him? I think in part, yes, he has.
Every Conservative goes on and on about how Obama has ruined the economy and jobs are lost and production down and yadda yadda. I do know that in 2007/2008 times were bad and even though the right denied it we were in a recession. I work in a field of construction, we install signs for major customers like AT&T, Radio Shack, Kohls and so on. During the economic crunch in 2008 work came to a halt. We had 0 installs for what seemed to be a month and survived almost purely on service calls. Even then we had weeks where start time was moved back from about 6:30 am to around 9 am and we were out at 3 instead of 5. This has not happened under Obama, and in fact work has been steady.
I have always thought that you voted based on how your situation has been under the current Government. Under Bush I had no work and under Obama I have had steady work. So, why would I not vote for him again? Do I trust him? Nope, he has given me no reason to. Do I trust any Republican candidate? Nope, there is not one good choice out of all of them.
If the Republicans came out with a can't miss candidate (can't even think of one) I may vote for them, but for now I just have to go with what I see. I see that my tax percentage has dropped and construction is still going. Good enough for me.

Sunday Morning Music

2011-08-07T09:43:00.000-04:00

It's a rainy, rainy morning here. I've found some good music to sit back and drink your morning coffee to (or tea, in my case). People didn't seem to like the Moody Blues too much, but here's some Jack Johnson for this laid back rainy Sunday.

Banana Pancakes

Good People

If I Had Eyes

one more for the kids...they both love his Curious George Soundtrack album (I do too)

Upside Down

Hope everyone has an easy Sunday Morning.

Evolution

2011-08-06T20:08:00.001-04:00

I'm watching Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs with the kids and I'm wondering if humans are slowly still evolving.

How about our bodies can handle bulk better now? Or develop better. Look at one of the greatest NBA stars of all time, Jerry West, then look at the build of an equal great like Michael Jordan. Jordan was a sculpted athlete but Jerry just looked like a skinny white boy playing amazing ball. Was it just because athletes these days hit the weights more than they did in the 70's? Might be a bad example. How about intelligence...

Are humans getting dumber? Are the kids graduating high school right now really less intelligent or do they just seem that way? There are exceptions obviously, but I see too many unmotivated, lazy, helpless, youth these days. Or is it just because parents these days just don't seems to care? Is it because parents don't want their kids to be raised in the same conservative, old school fashion that they were? If you spank your kids now, prepare for a visit from DCF.
So is it that we are evolving to a lazier form or that kids have too many rights?

Maybe our evolution is self created. As we ignore the warnings and contribute to Global Warming are we going to slowly change? Will we slowly develop more sweat glands? Will we start to have less hair? I know I already have less hair on my head but I've gained more on my ears.

One day we may have the same climate as Venus as the ozone layer breaks down, and future Earthlings will have to study what life was like before the Heat Age. I really hope my bones don't end up on display in a museum.

Sunday Morning Music

2011-07-31T11:27:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today and am going back to my childhood for this edition of Sunday Morning Music. When I was young, and especially during the summer, my brother and I would go with our mother while she ran errands. One band I remember more than any other was The Moody Blues, and I still listen to them.

Story in Your Eyes

Question

How about one more, it's hard to choose but I'll go with....

In your wildest dreams

Enjoy a relaxing Sunday Morning

Seen on FB

2011-07-28T18:25:00.001-04:00

A few people have used this as their status today on Facebook.

Dear Congress,
Last year I mismanaged my funds and this year my family and I cannot decide on a budget. Until we have come to a unified decision that fits all of our needs and interests we will have to shut down our checkbook and will no longer be able to pay our taxes. I'm sure you'll understand . Thank you very much for setting an example we can follow.

Signed, America

Too much

2011-07-27T09:49:00.001-04:00

I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to track all the NFL deals this week on my other blog http://bryanonnfl.blogspot.com

I update this blog by email from my phone, so it's easy to put up news fast. Here's what's going on so far....

Seattle Seahawks- Have let QB Matt Hasselbeck go and have signed former Vikings QB Tavarris Jackson. Also, rumor has it they are talking to former USC/Arizona QB Matt Leinhart. He'd love to play for Coach Carrol again, I'm sure.

Tennessee Titans- Have signed QB Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle).

San Diego Chargers- Have signed LB Takeo Spikes (San Francisco) and put a Franchise Tag on WR Vincent Jackson

Washington Redskins- Have signed DT Barry Cofield (NYG) and have are finalizing a trade to send QB Donovan McNabb to Minnesota.

Green Bay Packers- Have released LB Nick Barnett.

New York Giants- Have released C Shaun O'Hara and G Rich Seubert.

I'll set up an easy blog method for the NFL blog later today, and I'm sure there will be more moves as the day goes on.

Sunday Morning Music (and a rare endorsement)

2011-07-24T09:21:00.000-04:00

I used to post some easy going music for Sunday morning but have somehow gotten out of the habit. I am restarting that and I'm going to post something very different for me...country music. Normally, I can't stand country music. It's too goody-goody for me, I don't know, just something about it makes me nuts but I have found a country group that I really enjoy. They are the Zac Brown Band, and it's not too surprising that I like them because they mix a country/rock style similar to Neil Young's Harvest and Harvest Moon (which are two of my favorite Neil Young albums).

As She's Walking Away (w/Alan Jackson)

Colder Weather

Chicken Fried

How about we throw in a Neil Young song also, since I brought him up

Bob's Nightmare

2011-07-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

This is Bob (well, not really but for this story Michael Douglas will play the role of Bob). Bob loves America, and baseball, and apple pie. Bob is a staunch Republican who lives in a nice New Jersey suburb and commutes to New York City. Bob has a high credit rating and pays his taxes, he has a great investment portfolio, excellent insurance benefits, and an amazing retirement plan. Bob is doing pretty well for himself, good for Bob, he is an American success story.

One thing Bob doesn't comprehend though is why he needs to pay higher taxes so people who don't have life as good as him can have insurance for their families. He boasts to his friends " I worked hard, and got a good job, is it my fault these people don't have insurance? They didn't work hard and don't have good jobs, that's not my fault".

One afternoon he is talking with his coworkers about this at the Corner Deli, the girl behind the counter over hears his gripes about insurance and says to him "I beg to differ, I work 50 hours a week, on my feet all day. Cutting meat, making salads, unloading trucks and the owner of this deli doesn't offer insurance, I work just as hard as you do sir, but I got pregnant at 16 and had to drop out of high school, this is the best job I can get, so yes, I need insurance that is provided by the taxpayers". Bob replies " well, it is not my fault or anyone else's fault that your life is messed up, you should have put the kid up for adoption and gone to college and gotten a better job". The woman now very upset says, "we can't ALL have good jobs, sir, and a hex on you for your attitude".

By the next morning Bob had forgotten all about the ordeal, he headed out in the morning and stopped at his favorite coffee spot, but something was wrong. There were no employees. On the counter was now a coffee machine, coffee and mugs, with a sign next to it that read 'make your coffee, clean your cup and move on'. Bob was puzzled, where were the workers? He backed out of the cafe and took his train to the city. When he got off the train he noticed hundreds of cabs lined up with nobody in the driver seats, when he walked up to a cab there were keys on the seat and a note 'drive yourself to work'. Bob checked his watch, he was running late and the world was going crazy. He walked the 10 blocks to work and when he arrived he noticed that the floors hadn't been mopped and the trash wasn't taken out. He ran into the bathroom in a cold sweat and found his boss, the CEO, scrubbing the toilets. "What in the name of God are you doing!?" exclaimed Bob, the puzzled boss looked and him and said "well, there are no more jobs that don't offer insurance, so we must do all the work ourselves from now on.". Bob ran from the building looking around, everywhere he looked people were doing menial jobs. People in business suits unloading trucks, washing toilets at McDonalds, and the deli? Quickly, Bob ran to the deli and found the woman who had hexed him yesterday. "What's going on? what have you done?" "Well, you see Bob, everyone has to do things for themselves now, any job that doesn't offer insurance or where it costs too much for the employee to afford has been eliminated. See, there are jobs that do offer insurance, but they charge the employee so much for it, that they need state assistance, but that is gone now and now everyone goes to college and gets good jobs like you, the only problem is now there is no one to do the little things that make your day easier".

Bob runs from the deli screaming, and a man in a business suit driving a taxi hits and kills him.

Bob wakes up in a sweat, gets dressed and goes right to the corner deli. He walks up to the lady who is checking inventory coming off of a truck and says "I'm an proud American and I'm proud to be able to help another American like you, thank you for what you do."

The End

Wouldn't it be nice...

2011-07-12T11:35:00.000-04:00

If priests actually acted like priests. Here's the story unfolding now in Berlin, CT. We get one or two of these a year.

Berlin police have formally charged Father Michael Miller of St. Paul's Church with having inappropriate contact with a minor.

Police said they served an arrest warrant for Miller, 41, on Tuesday, after an investigation that began on June 30. He is charged with five counts of risk of injury to a minor and impairing the morals of a minor, and one count of criminal attempt to obscenity.

Police said Miller was processed and released after posting a $150,000 court set bond. He is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on July 26.

In a recent statement delivered to parishioners at the church, Father Robert Schlageter said "the Archdiocese of Hartford and the Franciscan Friars are cooperating fully with this investigation. We are trying to be as open as possible and we will provide additional information when we are able."

Miller was taken by Lifestar on the morning July 4 to a local hospital. It is unknown what medical condition he suffered.

Again, as long as he's a good Christian and confesses his sins its not a big deal. God must be extremely liberal because if he were a conservative he'd be for the death penalty and wouldn't forgive these molesters so easily.

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

2011-07-10T09:29:00.000-04:00

Today my daughter is 9 years old. I can't believe how big she has gotten. Yesterday we went to an orchard to pick blueberries, which she looks forward to doing every July. Tonight, she's going to her first concert, she loves country music and we're going to the Mohegan Sun to see Keith Urban. On top of going to Yankee Stadium two weeks ago, I'd say she's had a pretty good birthday so far. She's having her party with her friends at a mini golf up in Farmington next weekend, its going to be hard to top all of this next year when she's 10.
Happy Birthday, Lyssie Bear

Benjamin Franklin

2011-07-06T12:47:00.000-04:00

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."

Does that mean Palin is the hardest working woman in politics?

Karma

2011-07-05T15:41:00.000-04:00

Let us all hope that karma grabs Casey Anthony by the neck and pulls her down. I honestly think Florida has now moved past Kansas for craziest state (congrats, Fringe). The local government interfered when a man wanted to let his vegetable wife go in peace and with some dignity but they fuck up an election or let a woman get away with killing her daughter and they throw their hands in the air. I guess the system we have is the only one we've got, and we have to put this matter into hands bigger than ours.

I don't believe God will punish her but I do believe in karma and at some point in her life she will be punished....well, after she makes millions as a big reality television star!!
The only good news I have is that we don't have to watch Oprah exploit this for all its worth, I know she must be foaming to get back on TV now.

Kids will be kids

2011-07-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

Summer vacation is here and with it are long days of playing outside until it gets dark for Alyssa anyway. We live in a very quiet condo complex that is surrounded by pine trees, weeping willows, flowering pears, and boulders, a very nice place for kids to play. Three days ago Alyssa went out to play with the boy on the first floor, he's a few years older than Alyssa and his father is a retired Southington cop.
I was on my way home from work and my wife called me and said to drive around the complex and tell Alyssa to come home for dinner. So, I drive around once, then twice (the complex is horseshoe shaped and we live right in the middle) and don't see her anywhere but found her scooter is a neighbors parking spot (that gets me mad, she's been told before not to do that). Figuring that they went to the boys house to play Wii I texted his father, who informed me that they were not there. He then called his son and asked where they were and said they were on the street behind the dumpsters.
Let me explain that, there is a line of trees about 15' deep behind the dumpsters and then a cul-de-sac with houses. They cut through and were playing with kids in that neighborhood. But, to drive there is a much longer way, so, I set off in the car getting mad that she left the complex without informing anyone. Her playing there was no issue but we didn't know where to find her if we needed her. So, I did yell at her a little when I pulled up and found her but then realized something. We were never where my mother thought we were and if she actually ever came looking for us, she would probably never find us either (no cell phones in late 80's). Sometimes we'd be at a friends house or at the pond, but sometimes we'd walk to the Middle School and play at Falcon Field or walk down to the flood plains and play on abandoned train tracks or cut through the trees at the end of our dead end road and go to Stonycrest or one time walked all the way down to Amity (a good distance if you drive but close if you walk and cut through yards).
So, I guess I couldn't get that mad and now I have the phone number of the kid she plays with and she'll be getting her own pre-paid cell phone so we can call her to come home or to see where she is. Not a real phone to text and stuff on, it has just about $20 dollars on it and has her emergency numbers stored in it and she'll only have it when she goes out.
Kids like to explore and you're not gonna stop them but at least now you can keep tabs on them.

25 turns, no skipping

2011-06-27T15:26:00.001-04:00

Every now and then this thread comes around on Facebook where they want you to put your IPod or MP3 player (handheld or on computer) on shuffle and jot down the first 25 songs you get. I guess it's just to see what embarrassing song comes up or see what kind of variety people have. I'll do it on here but I already know at least 10 of the 25 will be Pearl Jam but there are 1121 songs currently on my Ipod so let's see..

1. Pity for a Dime- Creed
2. Again- Alice in Chains
3. Walk on Down- Aerosmith
4. Prison Sex- Tool (that looks funny lol)
5. Still the Same- Bob Segar
6. Angry Chair (unplugged)- Alice in Chains
7. Deep- Pearl Jam (all the way to 7, wow)
8. Voices in the Sky- Moody Blues
9. Brother (instrumental)- Pearl Jam (2)
10. Flood- Jars of Clay
11. Johnny Guitar- Pearl Jam (3)
12. Sparks- Coldplay
13. Limo Wreck- Soundgarden
14. Born w/ a Broken Heart- Kenny Wayne
15. More than you know- Eddie Vedder
16. Enter Sandman- Metallica
17. Cold and Ugly- Tool
18. Give it away- Red Hot Chili Peppers
19. Thumbing my Way- Pearl Jam (4)
20. Jesus or a Gun- Fuel
21. Swim- Bush
22. Green Disease- Pearl Jam (5)
23. Crazy- Aerosmith
24. Yellow Ledbetter (live)- Pearl Jam (6)
25. Change your mind- Neil Young

Only six Pearl Jam songs and one Eddie Vedder, kind of surprised. Still rather high percentage, although Tool and Aerosmith came up twice. Little surprised only one Neil Young too since I have 5 albums of his, I may do this again another day.

I hate when this happens

2011-06-24T06:50:00.001-04:00

There is one downfall to reading a really good book, the next book you read never lives up to expectations.

I just read "The Divide" by Nicholas Evans and it was great. It's not my usual genre but I was really into it. It starts with two skiers finding the body of a young woman buried in snow. Turns out she's Abbie Cooper, a person wanted by the FBI for questioning in a murder and vandalism case. The story then goes into the life of the Coopers, and how this upper class family from Long Island ended up torn apart and with a promising daughter as a fugitive. It jumps around a bit, but I loved it.

Anyway, so I then decided I'd read the highly suggested "Requiem of a Dream". I can't deal with the format in which its written. The story looks so good but there is little punctuation and there is no identification in the dialogue. I've seen reviews where people say to stick with it and you'll eventually get sucked in but I don't know.

So now, I'm looking around my house for something good that I haven't read yet. Sheesh, maybe I'll just reread The Deathly Hallows in anticipation of the last Potter movie.

Any suggestions? I'm usually a thriller/horror kind of guy but I do love a good story. Especially something with a struggle, I did like Kite Runner, A child called It and stuff like that. Oh, I just remembered I do have Angela's Ashes here somewhere. The search begins!

Forgot this...

2011-06-22T17:59:00.001-04:00

Here's the worst reaction (name removed to protect the mentally challenged)

"Dear MRS.Palin I want to vote for you ,I hope you save us all god willing ,please put god back in charge"

I am dead serious. Notice how "Mrs" gets capitalized but God doesn't. Even I know better than that, thank God.

Best reaction

2011-06-22T17:55:00.001-04:00

I was reading on Sarah Palin's FB page that her daughter has a book out, here is the best comment I saw in regards to that..

"Congratulations! Your family has now written more books than it has read."

Ralph Marston

2011-06-22T13:56:00.001-04:00

"Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment." ~Ralph Marston

Credit to my Aunt for finding this quote, I took it from her FB page.

God for President??

2011-06-21T22:33:00.000-04:00

It could happen, if we let the radical right have their way. We now have the first Black President but we could have the first ghost President soon.

How will this happen? Well it's what the right wants. See, here's how they think...Iran is wrong and evil because they force you to live by religion. They have laws based on religion, but, the moronic and closed minded fools on the right want the same for America. It's the basic hypocrisy that the right swears too, they love to be hypocrites.

This is why I rally so hard for gay marriage and against the fools who keep trying to block it. I was set off by David Tyree, the former Giants WR who made the great head catch in Super Bowl 42. He recently said that he would trade that catch for the abolishment of gay marriage. He says he knows its wrong because God says so and should not be legal. Many people believe this and, if we, the thinkers in this country, allow even one law to be turned down because "God" says it is wrong then that will open the floodgates. The Reichwings will start making all kinds of laws based on The Bible (which I will say for the 5,000th time was not written by God).

New York is considering the issue of gay marriage right now, and as Americans who embrace freedom we cannot allow this to be banned. Next will be abortion. Although I'm sure the death penalty will remain, because that is the Hypocrite way! Oh, I mean the Conservative way.

Top Ten

2011-06-21T06:54:00.000-04:00

The following comes from ThinkProgress, a pretty good Top Ten of the dangers of Michele Bachmann

ThinkProgress has assembled 10 of the nuttiest things Bachmann has ever said:

(1) BACHMANN WARNED ‘THE LION KING’ WAS GAY PROPAGANDA: At the November 2004 EdWatch National Education Conference, Bachmann said the “normalization” of homosexuality would lead to “desensitization”: “Very effective way to do this with a bunch of second graders, is take a picture of ‘The Lion King’ for instance, and a teacher might say, ‘Do you know that the music for this movie was written by a gay man?’ The message is: I’m better at what I do, because I’m gay.”
(2) BACHMANN CLAIMED ABOLISHING THE MINIMUM WAGE WOULD CREATE JOBS: While testifying in front of the Minnesota Senate in 2005, Bachmann said, “Literally, if we took away the minimum wage — if conceivably it was gone — we could potentially virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level.” This isn’t remotely true. Even simply reducing the minimum wage would, as Paul Krugman noted, “at best do nothing for employment; more likely it would actually be contractionary.”
(3) BACHMANN CLAIMED THAT SCIENTISTS ARE SUPPORTERS OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN: During a 2006 debate, Bachmann said, “There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design.” This was, and is, not true.
(4) BACHMANN CLAIMED TERRI SCHIAVO WAS ‘HEALTHY’: Not long after Terri Schiavo died, Bachmann said she would have voted for the Palm Sunday Compromise because Schiavo “was healthy. She had brain damage — there was brain damage, there was no question. But from a health point of view, she was not terminally ill.” An autopsy found that Schiavo had suffered irreversible brain damage and her brain, said the medical examiner, was “profoundly atrophied.”
(5) BACHMANN LIKENED VISITING IRAQ TO VISITING MALL OF AMERICA: In 2007, Bachmann returned from a junket to Iraq and told her colleagues, “[T]here’s a commonality with the Mall of America, in that it’s on that proportion. There’s marble everywhere. The other thing I remarked about was there is water everywhere.” As ThinkProgress documented at the time, the comparison was preposterous.
(6) BACHMANN CLAIMED THAT CARBON DIOXIDE IS ‘HARMLESS’: In 2008, a Stanford scientist revealed “direct links” between increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and “increases in human mortality” — globally, he found that as many as “20,000 air-pollution-related deaths per year per degree Celsius may be due to this greenhouse gas.” The next year, Bachmann, who is not a scientist, said that “carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.”
(7) BACHMANN CALLED FOR A CONGRESSIONAL WITCH HUNT: Pivoting off the news of Barack Obama’s alleged relationship to former Weather Underground member William Ayers, and his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Bachmann accused the candidate of having “anti-American views.” She then suggested that Congressional liberals — including Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid — ought to be subject to “an exposé” by the media because of their views. “I think people would love to see like that,” she told a stunned Chris Matthews.
(8) BACHMANN SUGGESTED GAY SINGER SHOULD REPENT AFTER GETTING CANCER: Bachmann saw Melissa Etheridge’s cancer as a teachable moment: “Unfortunately she is now suffering from breast cancer, so keep her in your prayers,” she said in November 2004. “This may be an opportunity for her now to be open to some spiritual things, now that she is suffering with that physical disease. She is a lesbian.”
(9) BACHMANN BOASTED ABOUT BREAKING THE LAW: In advance of the 2010 national Census, Bachmann told The Washington Times that she would break the law by not completing the forms. “I know for my family, the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home,” she said. “We won’t be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn’t require any information beyond that.”
(10) BACHMANN CLAIMED THAT GLENN BECK COULD SOLVE THE DEBT CRISIS: During a February trip to South Carolina, Bachmann told a South Carolina audience, “I think if we give Glenn Beck the numbers, he can solve this [the national debt].”

Bartolo Colon

2011-06-11T16:50:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I read the news, I will put things aside in my head to talk about on my blog later, often I forget about these many stories until something jogs my sluggish memory. Watching the Yankees 2nd best pitcher shut down the Indians this afternoon I was reminded of how Bartolo has re-emerged from a broken down ace back to a Cy Young candidate ( well, maybe not).

It's all about stem cells.

Colon won the Cy Young in 2005 while with the L.A. Angels, he won 21 games while striking out 157 and keeping a 3.48 ERA. Then in a playoff series against the Yankees, Colon suffered a partially torn rotator cuff and hadn't pitched a full (or adequate) season since then. Before signing with the Angels in 2004, Colon was a feared pitcher for the Indians and Expos. In his last stint with the White Sox in 2009 he was 3-6 with an ERA over 4 in another injury shortened season. So, what did Bartolo do? Stem cell treatment.

Dr. Joseph Purita, saw Bartolo in April 2010 and took bone marrow stem cells from his (Colon's) hip and injected them into his ailing shoulder. The result so far? 5-3 (should be 7-3 but bull pen fell apart) with a 3.10 ERA and 72 strike outs, he's even had a complete game where he was still throwing in the mid 90's in the 9th inning. He is averaging 8 K's per 9 innings, not bad for an overweight 38 year old, washed up ace.

Why does one have to go to the Dominican Republic for such a treatment? Isn't America supposed to be the leader in medical science and treatment? . While Colon’s was a journey home, many Americans seeking stem cell treatment journey to countries that are completely strange to them.China is one popular destination, though there are stem cell clinics soliciting American patients in countries such as Panama, Mexico, Germany and Malaysia.

Baseball is looking into this because Dr. Purita has been wrapped up in using Human Growth Hormone therapy also, which is banned by baseball. Did Colon receive this treatment also? No one knows and no one can prove otherwise. The stem cell transplant therapy has many side affects and is not proven to always work, so did it this time? Or will Bartolo soon be diagnosed with cancer (a possible side affect). I hope he did heal from this stem cell therapy. Think of what it could mean to millions of ailing patients who cannot afford to travel to China or The Dominican for treatment.

Is Colon a pioneer or just a fat fraud who's pumped up on HGH?

We may never know...

Shmoke a little shmoke...

2011-06-07T18:50:00.000-04:00

My home state of Connecticut has passed legislation to decriminalize possesion of marijuana.
Kinda...
Less than a half ounce used to be a misdemeanor charge, but now it will simply be a $150 fine and go up with each possession.
Personally, it doesn't matter to me, never touched the stuff, and I don't see how having a joint is different than having a couple beers.
Once Gov. Malloy signs the bill (and he will) it shall be law.
Smoke em if ya got em.

I am Mine

2011-06-06T10:32:00.001-04:00

The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

The North is to South what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine

And the feeling, it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide...
We're safe tonight

The ocean is full 'cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at high tide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine

And the meaning, it gets left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide...
We're safe tonight

And the feelings that get left behind
All the innocents broken with lies
Significance, between the lines
(We may need to hide)

And the meanings that get left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
We're all different behind the eyes
There's no need to hide

"I am Mine"- Pearl Jam

Call me a nerd

2011-06-04T22:40:00.000-04:00

I can't wait until July 15. I know how Harry Potter ends already from reading the books but I am beyond ready for the last movie to come out...

Stop me if you've heard this one...

2011-06-02T21:13:00.000-04:00

A man is called to his girlfriend's sisters' house to fix something. He walks in and the sister is standing in lingerie and says "I want you". The man stares at her and runs out to his car. He finds his girlfriend standing by the car, she hugs him and says "oh, now I know I can trust you!"
Moral of the story: always leave your condoms in the car.

A mother is in the kitchen making dinner for her family when her daughter walks in.

"Mother, where do babies come from?"

The mother thinks for a few seconds and says, "Well dear, Mommy and Daddy fall in love and get married. One night they go into their bedroom, they kiss and hug and have sex."

The daughter looks puzzled so the mother continues, "That means the daddy puts his penis in the mommy's vagina. That's how you get a baby, honey." The child seems to comprehend.

"Oh, I see, but the other night when I came into your room you had daddy's penis in your mouth. What do you get when you do that?"

"Jewelry, my dear. Jewelry."

A completely inebriated man walked into a bar and, after staring for some time at the only woman seated at the bar, walked over to her, placed his hand up
her skirt and began fondling her.

She jumped up and slapped him silly.

He immediately apologized and explained, "I'm sorry. I thought you were my wife. You look exactly like her."

"Why you drunken, worthless, insufferable son of a BITCH!" she screamed.

"Funny," he muttered, "you even sound exactly like her."

Two redneck guys go on a fishing trip.

They rent all the equipment: the reels, the rods, the wading suits, the rowboat, the car, and even a cabin in the woods.

They spend a fortune.

The first day they go fishing, but they don't catch anything.

The same thing happens on the second day, and on the third day.

It goes on like this until finally, on the last day of their vacation, one of the men catches a fish.

As they're driving home they're really depressed. One guy turns to the other and says, "Do you realize that this one lousy fish we caught cost us fifteen hundred dollars?"

The other guy says, "Wow! It's a good thing we didn't catch any more!

A few days after Christmas, a mother was working in the kitchen listening to her young son playing with his new electric train in the living room. She heard the train stop and her son said, "All of you sons of bitches who want off, get the hell off now, cause this is the last stop! And all of you sons of bitches who are getting on, get your asses in the train, cause we're going down the tracks."

The mother went nuts and told her son, "We don't use that kind of language in this house. Now I want you to go to your room and you are to stay there for TWO HOURS. When you come out, you may play with your train, but I want you to use nice language."

Two hours later, the son comes out of the bedroom and resumes playing with his train. Soon the train stopped and the mother heard her son say, "All passengers who are disembarking from the train, please remember to take all of your belongings with you. We thank you for riding with us today and hope your trip was a pleasant one. We hope you will ride with us again soon." She hears the little boy continue, "For those of you just boarding, we ask you to stow all of your hand luggage under your seat. Remember, there is no smoking on the train. We hope you will have a pleasant and relaxing journey with us today."

As the mother began to smile, the child added, "For those of you who are pissed off about the TWO HOUR delay, please see the bitch in the kitchen."

A camping we will go....

2011-05-27T08:02:00.001-04:00

Heading out for a long weekend and camping. It's a lot earlier in the year than we went last time but looking forward to some good weather, finally. We're going to the Rudd Pond section of the Taconic State Park in Millerton, New York. The town borders CT so shouldn't be too far, looks about an hour away from home.
Be back to Blogger on Tuesday...

Trying this......

2011-05-26T09:56:00.001-04:00

For two days now I have not been able to log into Blogger. I can't see comments and when I do attempt to log in it just kicks me back to the log in page. I'm hoping this will still post, I'm not logged in but send posts via e-mail usually so it may work.
Has anyone else been having this issue?
I checked the Blogger "known issues" in the Help section and it seems they are working on a solution.
Back to Blogstream....

It's coming

2011-05-20T12:50:00.001-04:00

So, I guess the Rapture is coming tomorrow? Sweet. Does that mean we're all gonna die or something? Or is that Jesus coming back to Earth? If he's coming back I've got a bone to pick with that guy.

Thousands of years ago, the Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians and God brought his wrath right into Cairo and kicked some ass, there were floods, famine, locusts, and death. Then, in the 1940's, Jews were rounded up by Nazi's and burned alive and turned into lamp shades. Where the fuck was he then? Sitting on his hands?
Oh yeah, he sent America to fix it because we're exceptional. I bet we didn't seem so great when we were slaughtering Native Americans and taking people from Africa and selling them. He didn't do anything then either. So what gives? Now that bin Laden is dead he's gonna come down here and get praise? For what? Everyone in this world has one phrase "what have you done for me lately?".
I don't mean to come across as some cynical asshole, but seriously, you let all these people suffer for thousands of years and we're supposed to be grateful?
Yeah, I'm going to hell...whatever lol.

Rain

2011-05-18T10:29:00.000-04:00

We are up to our fourth straight day of rain, ugh. It started on Saturday night/ Sunday morning and will be going until Friday. I wanted to put up a good rain song, and I was just recently inspired by a blog I found which is written by a fellow Pearl Jam fan. Of course, anytime PJ is mentioned I must listen to them! Here they are covering The Who, with a rain song....kinda

Open letter

2011-05-17T12:35:00.001-04:00

Dear New York Yankees,

You piss me off. I feel like I'm watching the Mets! No, that's insulting the Mets too much...I feel like I'm watching the Astros.

Bryan

Is it just me?

2011-05-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

Has everyone heard about James Tate in Shelton, Connecticut? I guess it's getting national attention.
Is it just me or is this getting out of hand?
Here's what happened; a senior at Shelton High named James Tate wanted to ask his girl to prom in a special way so he cut out 12 inch cardboard letters and taped them to the side of his school. They read "Sonali Rodrigues, will you go to prom with me? HMU (hit me up) Tate".
The school headmaster gave Tate and his friends who helped, In-School-Suspension and banned them from the prom.
Now, the whole country is coming down on the school's administration. There are facebook pages dedicated to allowing him to go and his story has been told on Jimmy Kimmel and with Matt Lauer this morning.

Does this teach kids that they can pull whatever idiot stunt they want and can use the power of social media to help them in the end?

James says it wasn't dangerous, he had friends hold the ladder for him and he even wore a helmet. He knew he would get reprimanded but did not think it would be this severe. In fact, he thinks he should be able to pick his punishment, "I feel like it would have been more appropriate to make me clean up the letters or spend a weekend there cleaning up trash outside the school, mopping the floors … maybe a week of detention, just so I don't miss my prom," James said.

The school so far is not backing down and they can't. The rule is that kids serving suspension (in school or out) cannot attend prom. If they change the rules for him then why have rules at all?

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I think he needs to learn there is a penalty for your actions, and the millions of youths out there watching this unfold need to learn that too.

What do you think?

Sean Avery

2011-05-10T11:56:00.001-04:00

This is kinda a non-story but shows a good side to Sean Avery

NEW YORK (WFAN) – Rangers agitator Sean Avery got tough on opponents of same-sex marriage last week in a video released by the Human Rights Campaign.

"I'm Sean Avery and I'm a New Yorker for marriage equality. I treat everyone the way I expect to be treated and that applies to marriage," Avery says in the 30-second clip. "Committed couples should be able to marry the person they love. Join me in supporting marriage equality."

But not everyone is throwing their support toward Avery and the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign.

"Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender 'marriage'. Legal or not, it will always be wrong," hockey agent Todd Reynolds of Uptown Sports Management tweeted on Monday.

NHL stars Chris Neil, Cody McCormick and Mike Fisher are among those represented by Uptown Sports.

"To clarify. This is not hatred or bigotry towards gays. It is not intolerance in any way shape or form. I believe we are all equal," Reynolds later tweeted. "But I believe in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. This is my personal viewpoint. I Do not hate anyone."

Reynolds then took his criticism to the airwaves, telling TSN radio, "I believe in voicing your opinion and not being part of the silent majority. … If Sean Avery or any other player can comment on one side of the discussion then — I work in hockey, I'm in hockey 24-7 — why can I not comment on it as well?"

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bill Clinton, New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Sam Waterston and Julianne Moore have also filmed for the marriage equality campaign.

Baby Update

2011-05-09T19:43:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post titled "Something you're looking forward to" and I announced that we were expecting our third child. Well, we had the big ultrasound and at 20 weeks the baby is a healthy 13oz with a good heartbeat of 145/bpm (beats per minute). Also we found out the gender and it is a..............girl. My daughter, Alyssa, is thrilled..Devin, not so much, he wanted a brother.
The baby's name will be Abigail Rose, but we are using the nickname, Abby. Anyone who calls her Gail will be shot on the spot without remorse.
She's a tricky one already. The tech had a hell of a time getting the pictures she needed and we almost didn't find out the gender today. The baby was turning and moving her head, would not allow pictures to be taken. The tech finally got pictures and measurements needed and we got a clear shot of two legs with nothing in between.
I think three is my limit...

Cross promotion

2011-05-07T08:58:00.001-04:00

http://bryanonnfl.blogspot.com/2011/05/little-bit-of-luck.html

something to ponder while we wait for the NFL to get it together, will teams lose games on purpose to land Andrew Luck?

Bin Laden

2011-05-03T06:36:00.000-04:00

Obviously we all know now that Osama bin Laden has been killed. The question is, are you happy about it?
There are many different views all over Facebook. I've seen quotes from Martin Luther King Jr about hate breeding hate, Gandhi about an eye for an eye, Bible verses and some people just ranting.
Are we going too far by celebrating? Dancing in the streets like the Taliban did when the towers came down. Should we have just captured him and put him on trial in New York?
The cover of The Daily News in New York simply put "Burn in Hell" on their cover yesterday, a simple statement of anger. Don't the people of New York City have a right to be angry?
There were people on FB who were mad that President Obama was getting credit for killing Bin Laden. Although, I remember when he took office he vowed to make capturing him his priority. He beefed up efforts by removing troops from Iraq and putting them into Afghanistan. As Commander in Chief I think he does get the credit. If Bush had been in power I'd give him the credit too.
I think everyone has the right to rejoice in the death of Osama bin Laden. I know another whack job will just take his place, but it shows the Taliban that they cannot hide, that America will find all terrorists and kill them.
Personally, I want to see the body. Where are the pictures of him dead? I'd like a little bit of proof, but that's just me. I would have also liked to see the body strung up and burned. I really don't care about traditions of burial at sea, but I suppose that was an attempt to keep the peace.
Last night on the local news they were interviewing a Connecticut man who lost his son in the attacks and he said "I can only hope that in his final minutes he (Bin Laden) felt the terror and fear that those people in the towers felt".
I hope so too.

Back to business

2011-04-30T10:15:00.000-04:00

I have decided to stop with the 30 blogs prompts, there is too much stuff going on in the world right now.

How about President Trump? Honestly, I don't dislike Trump as a person, I find him an entertaining character. He's arrogant, narcissistic, rude and an icon in business. I find crazy people fascinating. I could watch him all day if he had a reality show.
Trump was a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show and I always made sure I never missed him, his interviews were always great and he tells the best stories. That said, I do not want this guy as our President and find his search for President Obama's place of birth to be a sham. Trump fully supported Obama during his running for President saying he had the potential to be a great President.
Will Trump really run for office? Will another character emerge in the GOP's parade of fools? First they send out the clowns with Palin and Trump, who's next the bearded lady? It seems they have an endless supply of joke candidates. My biggest fear is that we have too many comedy loving voters.

NFL??

2011-04-28T10:37:00.001-04:00

I was going to do this on my NFL blog, but what the hell...

The NFL draft starts tonight and the one big difference this year is there was no free agency. There are still lots of good players available but can't be signed due to the end of the collective bargaining agreement. Should a team draft a WR or see if Santanio Holmes will be available? The future rookies can't even be signed by the teams who draft them. Its going to be a strange draft.

Rumor has it the Panthers will take Cam Newton with the first pick. He's a future bust QB, they are better off going with D. My question is who do you think is the biggest bust QB ever? Has it affected your team? I know Whit the Chargers fan should have a definite answer for this as most people think Ryan Leaf is the absolute worst ever. How about Tim Couch? Jamarcus Russell? Heath Shuler?

Comedy Break

2011-04-23T11:42:00.000-04:00

This is Louis C.K, very funny, even if you aren't a parent. I guess nothing is sacred with this guy

Something you regret

2011-04-22T13:00:00.001-04:00

I don't regret anything. Whatever I have chosen or done in my past has made me what I am today. Everything happens for a reason.
Looking back I'm glad I was a quiet kid who got picked on, that made me go to Lyman Hall. I'm glad I failed Biology in 10th grade because when I took it again in 11th grade I met my future wife. Everything I've done so far has led up to today, and I'm happy so why regret anything?

Bookmark this page!!

2011-04-21T09:54:00.001-04:00

http://bryanonnfl.blogspot.com

The NFL Schedule has been released!

Something you're looking forward to

2011-04-20T17:32:00.001-04:00

It should be "something to which you're looking forward" but we can let that slide.
Anyway, my family knows this already as well as FB friends like Nota, but we are expecting a third child this September.
My wife is due on September 24th, although she has yet to make it to a due date.
Alyssa was due on July 12th but came on the 10th and Devin was due December 7th (I think) and was born on November 27th.
We don't know the gender yet but will find out on May 9th. We have some names chosen but those we are holding back until we have the gender.
I am NOT looking forward to the special surgery I will be getting after this one is born...you know what I mean.

Break from 30 days of blogging

2011-04-19T10:13:00.001-04:00

The following came to me in an e-mail, none of it is my writing or opinion. When I find the source to credit, I will. Some of you may have already gotten this, but I found it very informative and true. Dems and Repubs alike have allowed this to go on for too long

There is nothing political about this email. It simply points out very probable changes that are in our future. And, to me, some of these, are indeed a big worry!! Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come
1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.
2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.
3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.
4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.
5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.
8. The "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.
9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.

10 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind
The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing.
It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II. But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America . Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little.

Do you know what our biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world. If the deindustrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are we going to be leaving to our children? Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things. So if the United States continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a staggering pace how in the world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to be a great nation? We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world in an effort to maintain a very high standard of living, but the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable. Every single month America goes into more debt and every single month America gets poorer. So what happens when the debt bubble pops? The deindustrialization of the United States should be a top concern for every man, woman and child in the country. But sadly, most Americans do not have any idea what is going on around them . For people like that, take this article and print it out and hand it to them. Perhaps what they will read below will shock them badly enough to awaken them from their slumber.
The following are 20 facts about the deindustrialization of America that will blow your mind....
#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.
#2 Dell Inc., one of America s largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.
#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem , North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.
#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States ? Zero.
#5 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.
#6 As of the end of July , the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.
#7 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.
#8 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million . During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.
#9 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.
#10 Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul , Minnesota . Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford's new "global" manufacturing strategy.
#11 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
#12 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.
#13 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#14 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
#15 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#16 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.
#17 In March 2011 GE who already has 13,000 employes in India announced that they are going to spend $200 million there to add 3000 more.
#18 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States .
#19 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
#20 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.
So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do something about it? How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands? How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy? How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national economic suicide? The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis. It needs to be treated like one.

Favorite Books

2011-04-17T20:49:00.000-04:00

Today's topic is supposed to be dream house, but I think that's a silly topic. I'll take and house with four walls and a roof.

I'm going to change it to something more like me and talk about favorite books. I'm actually going through some that I really enjoyed and re-reading them. Now, I read for pleasure when I have time (which isn't often) so I only read something if it is entertaining enough to be worthy of my time. I don't read literature, I read novels. I'm sure I could get through something like "A Tale of Two Cities" but I'm not going to read anything that I have to think about, when I read it is to unwind not to stimulate my sluggish mind. I like horror,thrillers and good stories by good story tellers. One of my favorite storytellers is Dean Koontz. Here I will take you through a few favorites.

The Good Guy by Dean Koontz- I am actually re-reading this right now. Imagine sitting at a bar and a man mistakes you for a hitman. He gives you an envelope with a picture, address and 10k. After the buyer leaves the real hitman shows up and mistakes you for the buyer, do you just hand him the envelope and go on with your life? That's what happens to Timothy Carrier, and he tells the hitman he has had a change of heart and goes to find the woman and warn her of the potential hit. The hitman, Krait, has a job to do and he will complete his task whether Tim is in his way or not. A great Koontz story with lots of twists and turns, he always has a good surprise or two.

Pressure by Jeffery Strand- I am looking to re-read this one soon. I got a little carried away on Paperback Swap and dealt this book out but am now regretting it, I have requested it again and hope to have it soon. I'm going with the synopsis they give in the book because it is very intriguing..
Alex stared at the red pocketknife shown to him by his daughter. A pocketknife owned by somebody he hadn’t seen in years...
-Children-
They met first in boarding school at age twelve. Alex Fletcher, shy and scared. Darren Rust, always furiously scribbling away in a private journal. It was not an immediate friendship, but then one night Darren convinced his roommate to sneak off school grounds to see something glorious. There was a sleazy strip club, you see, and every once in a while the back door opened just long enough to maybe catch a quick glimpse... Though a bond was formed from their pre-pubescent interest in naked women, Darren had another interest. A morbid curiosity about death. A curiosity that turned into something much more sinister.
-Friends-
They crossed paths again in college and became the best of friends. But Darren wasn’t just looking for a friend. He had dark, ghastly urges squirming around in his head, and he believed he saw the same things — the urge to hurt, the urge to kill — in Alex. He was looking for somebody who understood. A partner. But Alex could never become a monster. Not even when Darren tried to bring out his friend’s most deeply buried feelings of rage. Not even when Darren tried to show him the euphoria of having that much power over another human being. It just couldn’t happen...right?
-Enemies-
Now Alex has a wife and a daughter. And Darren is back. He’s hiding. He’s patient. His mind is twisted in the worst possible way.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen- This was a great story about a young boy named Jacob growing up during the Great Depression and his work at a traveling circus. It was so well written you felt you were right there with Jacob experiencing all of his experiences. It is actually a bit of a love story and I was surprised myself that I got so into it, but I did. It's one of those books that are just hard to put down.

Night by Elie Wiesel- I think everyone knows this story. I read this one fairly quickly, the horrors of the Nazi party always interest me. I don't think it is because of my Jewish heritage, just the thought process of people interests me highly. I always wonder what people are thinking when they do what they do, and this tells you exactly what death camp survivors go through. Obviously, it is not a easy or fun read but I found it very interesting.

Blaze by Richard Bachman aka Steven King- I just read this for the third time. It is a modern day (well late 70's) version of "Of Mice and Men" (which I also loved). I keep trying to get my wife to read it but so far no luck. This is the story of Clayton Blaisdell Jr (Blaze), as a boy he was beaten by his father badly and ended up with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). He had no other family and was made a ward of the state of Maine. The book goes back into his childhood and his current life in which he is a small time con man, well he isn't himself because he isn't bright enough to run a scam but he is a tool used by his friend George Rackey.
He talks to George who died 3 months before the story starts in his head, and George answers back. They had a plan before George died of one big hit then retiring. That hit was to kidnap a baby of a nearby wealthy family. Blaze decides to pull it off himself, with the whispers of George helping him along the way. But, being a 6'7" 300lb mentally challenged man makes this difficult. What I really like about this story is how King tells the story of Blaze's childhood in between the story of the kidnapping. You really start to feel bad for Blaze, and as the story of his childhood gets worse and worse, the other chapters of current day show Blaze falling in love with the baby, Joe. He really starts to believe that Joe would be best with him, and he decides he's going to take the ransom money and run. The story of young Blaze is amazing, the story of current Blaze is even better. King makes you root for Blaze to succeed, to finally have the happiness in his life that was taken away in so many scenes of his childhood. I wanted Blaze to get away with baby Joe, and I don't know why.
This is by far my favorite book and I ask everyone to read it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling- The conclusion to Harry Potters is the best of the series. I don't know how she got all of the little details from book 1 to make sense and explained in book 7. Pure genius. I think she must have had the entire series written in one shot, I have read each book and have found no plot hole. Deathly Hallows is the perfect ending to the saga of Harry Potter, just a perfect book. The writing and detail is just enough without being too much, even following the Battle of Hogwarts is easy. She really saved the best for last.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- Anyone like me who is into Nirvana and teen angst must enjoy this book. Holden is such an angry,cynical character not usually how you picture people from that time. Everyone is phony, everyone lies, everyone makes themselves out to be greater than they are. I guess Holden never saw these qualities on himself. I loved this book tho, I think we all sometimes get into a mood that's a bit Holden-esque. I know I do.

I'm gonna stop at those 7 because I'm tired, and because I can so ha.

Day 15- Bible Verse

2011-04-16T09:46:00.000-04:00

Um, I couldn't tell you any Bible Verse let alone a favorite.
I've been thinking of what to do with this one for a few days. I was just going to replace it with favorite books, but I'll do that tomorrow in replace of Dream House, because that's a silly one.
Then I realized that it doesn't say The Bible verse just bible verse. Who's to say that it has to be from the Christian Bible? Couldn't it be the bible I use? Quotes that I use to guide me through life? So, I present the Bible of Bryan! Some excellent tid-bits I have picked up in my 31 years....

I have already told of when I was young and got picked on a lot. Most of this was due to not dressing correctly or having the newest Air Jordan Nikes. I didn't have a Nintendo and wore generic clothes therefore I couldn't be cool. Then, in the 90's something changed...a guy like me became an icon. A guy who hated the popular kids, despised the cliques of jocks and sought individuality. His name was Kurt Cobain.
One lyric of his always stuck with me, from the song 'Stay Away', and He said..."Monkey see, monkey do. I'd rather be dead than cool". This is when I started to despise people who looked down on others for not being 'cool' and I started to care less what people thought of me. It has always stuck with me, and is my favorite line from Nirvana.
There you have it, favorite verse from the Bible of Bryan.
Some other good lines include: "Step one is get the job done"- I think my grandfather used to say this but I heard it from my father.
"What is easy isn't always right, what is right isn't always easy"- That's an old saying no idea where it came from
"Mess with my family and I will fuck you up"- that's from me, a good one too.
"I'm not a violent person, but I can be driven to it"- kinda goes with the line above.
I need to write an actual Bible of Bryan, why not? Maybe I'll start my own religion...

A picture you love

2011-04-15T13:07:00.000-04:00

Well, this is easy. This is my favorite picture of the kids, I use it as the background on my phone.

Goals...

2011-04-14T15:12:00.001-04:00

Todays topic is goals. I've been thinking of this while I was driving today and I don't think I have any. I'm 31 and still not sure what my 'end game' is. I'm kind of a take it as it comes kinda guy.
I know eventually I'd like to settle down in North Carolina, but I have no real plan on how that's going to happen.
I guess my main goal right now is to raise my kids to be good people. If they grow up knowing right from wrong, and are led towards a good future I will be happy.
Okay, there is my goal. Bam.

What you believe

2011-04-13T20:17:00.001-04:00

This is something I talk about often. My whole Life of Bryan blog was about what I believe, but I'll put it simply....

I believe everyone has the right to be happy. If marrying a person of the same sex makes you happy then go for it. If you like to protest gays in the military then do that. Live and let live. I don't care, I have enough shit to worry about on a daily basis.
Now, I think that Tea Baggers are retarded but I won't stop them from assembling in a peaceful fashion, I leave it up to the hypocrite Republicans who try to stop liberals from assembling.
I believe that organized religion is a crock of shit. I think religion should be a personal thing, without rules. The Bible was written by a man, just like me. That's a fact, deal with it.
I believe in death to criminals. There is a bill to repeal the death penalty here in CT and I think its a mistake, kill em! If a career felon gets gunned down in the street, I smile. That's a good kill as far as I'm concerned. I don't believe in reform, I know too many lifetime scum bags who don't get changed from jail, they just end up right back there.
They are a drain on society, if only we could send them to a remote island like England did with Australia...
I believe in a woman's right to choose. I believe the welfare system will work if we can weed out the cheats. Lock the cheats up, at least they'll get three meals a day then.
I believe illegals should be deported. Let them get a green card and learn the language!
I believe American jobs should be here in America! I don't want to call a help line and talk to Habib 6,000 miles away, I want to talk to Bob from Iowa.
I believe oil should be a thing of the past. I'm tired of the Middle East holding this over our heads.
Well, I'm getting tired and Criminal Minds is on soon so I will leave it at that.

Favorite TV shows

2011-04-12T12:18:00.000-04:00

I am going to attempt to use YouTube to help me here. I think I'm going to do a top ten, but in no particular order. I haven't used YouTube on here yet so hopefully I can figure this out.

So, my all time favorite television shows in no particular order....

Criminal Minds- This show is amazing. If you like getting into the mind of serial killers this is for you, obviously not 100% accurate with how profilers work but I never miss this show.

Another current show which I love but usually miss is House M.D., I can never remember when it's on, but I catch the reruns usually.

A few childhood favorites....

I catch new episodes of Simpsons occasionally, but the new ones are not as good as the classics.

This was my favorite cartoon as a kid and I watch them with Devin now....Thundercats!

I watched a lot of sitcoms when I was a kid because we had a television in our room. I watched a lot of TV, probably more than I should have. It was the main reason I didn't get much of my homework done. This was my favorite show during the week, and yes, I probably wasn't supposed to watch it as a 10 year old but I did so ha...

On Friday nights we watched T.G.I.F, the best show to come from there was a family favorite. I have gotten the first two seasons of DVD and my kids love it...Dinosaurs!

Okay, back to present times.....I don't watch a lot of sitcoms anymore, but this one is pretty funny. I catch the reruns of Fox usually...Two and a Half Men

This next show is on Tuesday night at 10 right after Criminal Minds, and after all these years still entertains. Law and Order:Special Victims Unit

The one comedy drama I always love to watch is Monk. This show is so well written and so smart, I even picked up one of the books recently. It is written by one of the writers from the show and I was really sitting on the couch laughing. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. This is the original theme, they changed it later to Randy Newman "It's a Jungle Out There" but I like the original

Now, the best show of all time. The best for last. The greatest sitcom in the history of everything! The show about nothing....Seinfeld. I love this show and know some episodes and scenes by heart. Almost anything that happens to me during the day I can refer to a Seinfeld episode. Best show ever, no debate. This isn't my top ten but I found it on YouTube and went with it.

Well, there ya go.

Something you're afraid of

2011-04-11T20:38:00.001-04:00

When I was a kid I was scared of everything. Everything. The strange thing is that now I don't really have any fears. Except for losing people.
In 31 years I have not lost anyone in my life I was close to. Well, kinda. A few years ago one of my former work partners died, his name was Rob. It was strange when he died because altho he hadn't worked with me in about 8 months he was my partner everyday for 2 years. About two years later another former partner of mine died.
I have had relatives die but none that I really knew.
I've always had a fear of someone breaking in at night and doing harm to my family. I think it came from watching too much America's Most Wanted as a kid.
I don't like being afraid, I think that may be my biggest fear, fear itself. A fear that if something does happen that I will be too frozen in fear to react.
Hmm.....

That didn't work....

2011-04-11T14:14:00.001-04:00

Okay trying again since only one picture uploaded...then I can move on from the pictures of friends to whatever todays subject is.