U.S. Army vs Family; You Lose.

Hey, everybody.

An A.P. story from Davidson, NC tells of a woman, honorably discharged from the Army who is being called back to active duty. She is in the I.R.R. (Inactive Ready Reserve) so she still has time left on her contract with the service. You don't get paid in the I.R.R.; it's more of a way to keep track of you in case the Army needs you.

Now this isn't unusual.
All soldiers know their time commitment when they enlist. And all soldiers know that, even after discharge, they may be recalled to active duty while they are in I.R.R.

The problem: she has children and if deployed, there is no one to care for them. Her husband is required to travel and she has no family that is capable of taking the children. She has appealed to the Army for a release but has been denied and is being required to report.

I was in the Army. I signed on for a 6 year commitment, served 3 active and 3 inactive. I'm proud of my service and understand the obligation required and the sacrifices involved.

But this makes no sense to me.
I know the Army has service requirements. Manpower needs and such.
But how does this serve the good of the Nation? How does breaking up a family help the community, the people, the state, or the Federal Government?
How does this promote or advance National security?

I'm sure there are those who say, a commitment is a commitment. When I was in I used to hear,"if the Army wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one".

But times have changed.
More and more soldiers are married. Sometimes family is what makes military life bearable.

The military is a tough job.

Don't make it harder.

Airline Idea Raising Stink!

Hello, friends.

Let's plop right into this one, shall we?

According to BBC.com:
Ryanair, a low cost Irish airline, is considering charging passengers to use the toilet onboard it's planes.

All righty then!

First a little background.
I used to work for the airlines as an aircraft mechanic and inspector. I am well aware of the financial difficulties involved in day to day operations. And I realize in this economy, sacrifices have to be made in order to maintain profitability.

But, come on! Really!

This just sounds like a shitty idea to me.

Help, I've got a burger emergency!

Mornin' folks!

I tell ya, I'm beginning to think the American people are getting dumber and dumber.
Check this:

A man in West Palm Beach, FL called 911 because the Burger King was out of lemonade.





My God!

Call out the SWAT team, I'm thirsty!

Have we completely lost all touch with reality?
Is "NO LEMONADE" really worth this?

If this were an isolated instance, I could write it off as just a fluke. But when you see the video on YouTube it links to other instances of this same thing!
So it's not just this idiot, it's a pack of them.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Washed Up

Morning, peeps!

I don't have to tell you readers that times are tough.
Jobs are scarce and money is tight.

But, really?

According to TBO.com:
A Bradenton, FL women was arrested Tuesday and charged with breaking and entering a vacant home to use the washer and dryer. Police caught her, hiding in a closet, wet clothes in the washer.


Damn!


Wonder if she brought her own detergent?

Bad Day?

It must be a REALLY crappy day if even your cat's depressed.

Charlie

Hey, guys!

One of my favorite TV shows is Two and a Half Men. It's on reruns here in Norfolk on WTVZ at 7:00pm and it's must viewing for me. I watch the new episodes on CBS on Mondays but the older ones still make me laugh.

I was trying to figure out what it was about the show that I find so appealing and the one on Saturday brought it home.

Charlie's been working out and drinking bourbon as his work-out drink. Next scene shows him on the sofa, reading Men's Health magazine, smoking a cigar, and drinking bourbon from his water bottle.

And that when it hit me.

He thinks like I do!

Do what ever you want, just read healthy.

My kind of guy.


Photo Courtesy:
cbs.com

Smile

Hey, readers.

I'm sitting here in my apartment watching the rain. It's a typical winter day here in Norfolk; cold, wet and cloudy.

But, I've got my coffee and my cat so it's cool.

Could be worse.

It could be raining giant ducks.

Sports Center

Hey, everybody!

Happy Saturday!



I was watching Sports Center this morning and thought these guys are amazing.
They know exactly how to grab the attention of their audience with bright colors, silly humor, and quick stories.
It's the ultimate TV for the ADD generation.

It's got everything a guy could want.
Sports.
Sports highlights.
Sports news.
Weird sports.
And the occasional swimsuit model.

It's the American Dream (with cool commercials).

DTV

Gooood Morning!

Miss me?
Didn't think so.

Anyway, lets get this rolling: According to ksdk.com, a 70 year old Joplin, Missouri man shot his TV when he lost cable and could not get his converter box to work.

Some people do NOT want to miss the Thursday night line up.
I mean the return of Noah Wyle to E.R. !
And what about CSI?

Now, I must make a disclaimer here.

My wife works for a TV station and has been the point person for their DTV conversion. They have tried to assist the public in understanding the move. They have had tests and trials and how-to shows.

It appears, however, they missed one important element.

Correct ammo sizing.

Don't want the wrong caliber.

Might miss the box.


Cartoon courtesy:
www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/mfl0405l.jpg

To Your Health

Mornin'.

I have a confession:
My name is Dave and I'm a coffee addict.

It happened slowly enough.
A casual sip of a friends; a cup on a road trip.
I didn't think it was a problem. It's not like I was stopping at 7-11 everyday.

Then we went to Florida. (cue dramatic music!!!)

We were house sitting for a friend. Really nice place with a pool out back and a palm tree garden. Paradise.
I didn't know they were coffee pushers!

The people that owned the house had an automatic coffee maker. You know, one with a built in timer.
It was so easy.

Fill with water, measure the coffee, and in the morning that tantalizing aroma filled the house.

IT WAS A TRAP!

Easy. Get up, pour a cup and wander the garden.

Everyday.

So easy.

How bad could it be?

We were there seven days. Seven Days!
That's all it took.

First purchase when we got home was a timer for my coffee pot.
Make coffee every morning.
12 cup pot makes 3 cups for me!

HaHaHaHa( hysterical laughter.) (work with me here,ok?)

Then that little shop of horrors from Seattle came to town. You know the one. Where drinking coffee is a social activity.
I was doomed.

So, I've come to confess my addiction. I'm not proud of it but I thought I should tell.


Kind of helps to explain some of my rambling posts, doesn't it?



Photo courtesy:
www.clipartguide.com/_named_clipart_images/05.

Gomez, Morticia, or Uncle Fester?

Hey, everybody.

UPI.com reports:
A Wingerworth, England man was sentenced to 20 weeks in jail for whistling the Addams Family TV show theme song every time his neighbors left the house.

I am constantly amazed at the creativity of people when it comes to finding ways to piss somebody off.
I would never have thought of whistling a tune to aggravate anyone.

I have been annoyed by those who think they can whistle but couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.

And the whistlers who do it subconsciously and constantly.

But you gotta give this guy props for creativity.

Photo courtesy:
www.ideofact.com/archives/Addams%20Family.jpg

DUI; is there a cure?

Good Morning, readers.

I saw a commercial this morning for a law firm that handles DUI cases. It was full of anger toward the drunk drivers and compassion toward the victims. Sounding the bell for a noble cause.
And I started thinking.

Are we really trying to stop drunk drivers or are we merely trying to punish someone for our loss?

We keep lowering the level of blood alcohol used to charge people for DUI but does that work?

Are we treating the people who are the greatest threat or is it just easier to expand the net?

Two news stories illustrate my point.
According to MSNBC: an Akron, Ohio school teacher was arrested for her 4th DUI in 6 years. She was stopped for driving erratically.

The nypost.com reports: a Long Island man rents a car to avoid using the court-ordered breathalyzer that was installed in his own vehicle and proceeds to crash into a pole.

Get the idea?

It would appear to me that the greatest problem with the DUI laws is that they don't fully address the chronic abuser. It's easier and cheaper to lower the blood alcohol level than it is to send people with an alcohol problem to rehab. We send these people to classes about the dangers of drunk driving but we don't make them seek help for their problem. We don't address the root causes for their continued abuse of alcohol and their problems with authority.

Now, we can continue to lower the levels to where anyone who has a single drink and drives can be arrested; or we can reevaluate the issue, remove the emotion, and work toward developing real solutions for a very serious issue.

I think we need to stop seeking revenge and start looking for an answer.

Before more people suffer.


Photo courtesy:
www.fotosearch.com/lifeart/emergency-1/LIF128/

Common Sense Rules?

Hey, everybody.

Missed yesterday's blog due to technical difficulties...duh..I forgot!


So let's try today:
Austin, TX news station KXAN.com reports that a high school in Texas forgot to evacuate two classrooms of special education students during a bomb scare. 8 students were kept inside during the evacuation because according to the principal of the school, "it was a chilly day, 47 degrees outside, and that if anything I erred on the side of compassion".

How true. I mean, we wouldn't want these children to catch a cold.
Better to have them BLOWN TO BITS.

Where in the bloody hell is common sense these days?

Has our society become such drones that we are incapable of making judgments that are not written in stone or prescribed by laws. Wouldn't it have made sense to evacuate ALL the students during a bomb scare.

I am bewildered and amazed.

The Gift of Art

Good Morning, everybody.

As I've noted in this blog I am looking for work. I was furloughed in 2004 and seeing that my job prospects were limited, I returned to school. I wanted a job that would allow me to work inside and something that had long-term potential. I picked computer graphics purely by chance; it sounded like fun and it was technology oriented.

Economics forced me to choose TCC's Visual Arts Center in Portsmouth as my school. I had no background in art but assumed that my degree would be more technical than artistic. I was very, very wrong.

My first semester was filled with basic art classes. Art history, fundamentals of drawing and painting, and art analysis were required courses. I was in a place I had never been. I mean, I had been to museums and looked at the pretty pictures and sculptures. But actually drawing and painting: never. I was lost and terrified. Most of my fellow students had been involved in some form of art all their lives.

And I struggled. I was using a part of my brain that had laid dormant for a long time. Regular classes were easy. I have taken a lot of standard courses in my life. But art draws on a unique part of your brain. It requires a skill set that I had not previously acquired.

And I was hating it.

But then, something clicked. (Cliche'. But true.)

I think my drawing class was the thing that helped me start to find my way. I had a great teacher who had enormous patience and a sense of humor and who took the time to show me that, even as I struggled, I was learning something.

Then art history grabbed me. I have always been a history buff so learning about the great artists and their works felt natural to me.

Now the work began to make sense. I could see how learning about this art stuff fit into my new profession. I could see how color theory and perspective worked in computer design and how seeing the master works developed my eye for good layout.

But the side benefit, perhaps the greatest benefit, was opening my eyes to art. Helping me to develop a greater understanding of the work and effort that goes into creating those things I had seen in the museum but had taken for granted.

So, to all who taught me, tolerated my struggles, and pushed me to understand;
Thank You!
I will never be able to repay you for what you did but I will be eternally grateful.

And I hope my work will someday do you proud.


Drawing study for the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci c.1495

OOPS,AGAIN?

Hey, everybody!

Buying a car in today's economy takes a lot of courage. With financing hard to obtain and the stability of the car industry in question, making a substantial purchase like a automobile takes nerve. A buyer should be treated with kid gloves.

Or not.

According to times-herald.com of Cowety County,GA a potential car buyer was run over in a used car lot by the salesperson he was working with.
As the car was being examined, the sales person started the vehicle, which proceeded to leap into gear running down the buyer.

Now I know that car salespeople get frustrated when a potential buyer comes in , takes up their time and then leaves.

But don't ya think there might be a better way to get the buyer to stay?

Maybe coffee; a bagel?

Of course the buyer DID get a good view of the engine and transmission.

Though most dealers use a jack.


Photo courtesy times-herald.com

OOPS!

Hey,guys and gals.

According to pennlive.com;

A Williamsport, PA police officer shot himself after completing firearms qualifying and training class. The officer was cleaning his weapon when it went off, shooting him in the left hand.

Now, I'm not an expert, but it would seem to me that the best way to clean a firearm would be to UNLOAD IT first. I would think those pesty bullets would get in the way of a good cleaning.

Unless you were polishing them, too.
Even then, it might be easier to shine them up outside the pistol.

But hey, he is a TRAINED police officer.

Wonder if he passed?

Does Forgiveness Exist?

Hi, readers.

Recent news stories have me wondering if people know how to forgive mistakes anymore. We've got the A-Rod issue with steroids and the Michael Phelps marijuana debate and no one seems willing to forgive these people for making an error in judgment. I mean, really, we've all done dumb things whether from peer pressure or stupidity. I don't think there are too many saints out there. So why is it so hard to forgive these people?

Both Phelps and Rodriguez have admitted they screwed up, have accepted responsibility, and show remorse. Both have tried to explain the circumstances as best they can. But they continue to be vilified in the media and punished by the organizations they represent.

Does the punishment fit the crime or have we become such a vengeful society that no amount of contrition is enough?

When do we forgive?



Photos courtesy: Huffingtonpost, radaronline

Worthy Cause

Mornin'

Here's something a little different for me.
Check this out:--------------->


Please sign up and come. It's a great time for a great cause.

I'll be working at Plaza Del Sol on 22nd and Colonial so come by. I've done three of these and they are a blast!
(And we raised good money for the charities!)

Looking for ya there!

Rituals

Hey, folks.

First, thanks for reading. I don't have a lot of followers but I want everyone to know I appreciate your taking time to check me out.

That said; lets talk!

A lot of my friends are deep into technology. Many are early adopters of new gadgets and toys. They warn me of the demise of newspapers and books; how cds are passe and IPod's and other MP3 players will take over all our music needs. They tell me to stop my archaic habits and leap into the new world of one gadget does all.

I say to them...phtttttt!

I think that all this tech is wonderful but nothing can replace the need for tactile interaction with your entertainment.
People like to be involved with their fun.

It's great to be able to access thousands of news sources on the web. My readers know that I use all the resources I can to get ideas for my stories. And I have an ITunes account and love to find new stuff to download to my IPod.

But there is something richly rewarding about being able to sit and leisurely enjoy a book or newspaper. It forces you to perform a slow ritual; find a comfortable place, gather your materials (glasses, coffee, whatever), and settle in to read. Your mind shifts from frenetic processing of information to a calmer state. It allows the individual to move to a more personal place, free of outside pressure and demands.
Most people will leave you alone if they see you are engrossed in reading.

In music, it's great to have thousands of songs and artist available for immediate download. I find new groups and styles of music constantly.

But after a while, music becomes just so much background noise in our lives. The isolationism of the personal music player separates us from our environment and our companions. In some cases, that's a good thing (we all have that ass of a neighbor who we don't want to talk to). But then music becomes just a barrier, a wall; not fun anymore.

I think this explains the return of vinyl records. People want to get re-involved with music. They want to be forced to slow down the process of listening. They want to make playing songs a ritual; find a spot, set up the record player,immerse themselves in the music.

Just like reading.

People need to slow down.
They need to have a quiet place to focus on themselves.

We all need to be involved with ourselves.

B

Hello, everybody!

It's a beautiful, glorious Saturday, sunny and fairly warm (about mid 50's). So I'm gonna make this quick and get the hell out of dodge.

First; are all animals crazy?

I have a cat with a strange affinity to closets. If you open a closet door, he's in. And he won't get out until he's ready. He's been closed in too many times to count but he keeps at it. He's actually spent an entire day closed away. (That created quite a clean-up issue.)
You'd think he'd catch on eventually but no, he keeps going in.

Bizarre.

Then there's the eating issue. He likes to have company when he eats.
His food bowls are in our office so when we feed him he wants us to sit and wait. Otherwise, he wanders and doesn't eat.
So, food goes down and we catch up on Facebook.

We've talked to a lot of friends on Facebook.

So, I'm gonna feed the cat, close all the closet doors ( crap, too late; he's in the hall closet), and go enjoy the sun.

I'll see you guys on Facebook at dinner.

Maybe, he'll be out then.

Good morning, peeps!

It's FRIDAY!
Whoo Hoo!!!!

First, of course, the important stuff: Today is World Nude Day.
Started in Australia but rapidly spreading around the globe, World Nude Day celebrates the right to get neked and do silly stuff in public. (see www.worldnudeday.com for further details)
So have at it.

Now onward and upward.

My friends and family ask me why I write this blog and is it hard to do.
YES IT IS!
I'm trying to keep the general tone lighthearted and bring out stories that are fun and unusual. But in these times, humor is often missing in the world news. I look at a load of sources and try to cull something that makes me smile and that I think the reader will enjoy. Sometimes I get on my soapbox and rant but I'm trying to keep that to a minimum.

So bare (double entendre reference to world nude day) with me as I stumble and fumble my way through this.

By the way, I'm writing this fresh out of the shower, neked!

If that doesn't make you laugh, you obviously haven't met me.



Photo courtesy of animalswearingpants.com

Hire me or I'll bleed on ya

Mornin'.

My readers know about my job quest and what a pain it's been, but this goes above and beyond!

The Toronto Star reports; 16yr old student stabbed on the way to job interview; goes to interview, THEN to hospital.

This is a dedicate job seeker.

I'm not sure how I would have handled this. I mean, I need a job, but damn....
The student show up, interviews well but the staff notices blood on his leg and calls police. The guy doesn't even say anything.

Sure hope he gets the job.

He needs the insurance.

BBC NEWS?

Hey,folks.

As you can tell by my post, I'm a BIG fan of the BBC web site. I love to see the world news from a different perspective. And there are always stories covered that the U.S. papers seem to miss.

Example: A 23yr old man, traveling from Dubai to Melbourne, Australia, was arrested for attempting to smuggle two pigeons into the country in his pants.

I, uhhh, don't know what to say.

Pigeons; In his pants!

Ya gotta love it!

Good Morning, folks.

Here's a thought:
according to the BBC web site yesterday, the Chinese Prime Minister was giving a speech at Cambridge University when a protester threw a shoe at him.

WHAT'S UP WITH THIS SHOE STUFF!!

Remember the good old days. People would just lie down in the street or chain themselves together if they were protesting someone or something. Now, all protests require clothing. It used to be the only time clothes were thrown was at a Tom Jones concert. Now every Tom,Dick, or Mary has to lob a shoe. And the throwers aren't even good at it. They never HIT anybody. I say; to the practice mound for all you people!

But, it did give me an idea for a business.

To all the shoe stores out there- send me your display shoes.

I will gladly sell them(at a low,low price, of course) to all you protesters. You'll save wear and tear on your OWN clothes plus you can keep your shoes on to aid in a speedy escape. I mean, one shoe on has got to slow you down. I'll even give group discounts (for you poor anarchists). Plus, with every ten shoes; free pitching lessons!!

It's the least I can do.


Photo courtesy upgradetravelbetter.com

Hey there, peoples.

First let me say that that was a super Super Bowl yesterday! Congratulations to the Steelers for a great win and kudos to Arizona for playing so hard. That game kept everybody on the edge of their seats (at least Pittsburgh and Arizona fans).
Had a blast!

Moving on:
Punxsutawney Phil says 6 more weeks of winter. So, we got THAT to look forward to.

I still looking for work. Slim pickens out there. Everybody has such a great selection of available people, it's tough for us new guys. I keep hoping someone will look past the resume and evaluate the whole but I think HR people are under too much pressure to fix the short term issues and not think strategically for the future. I'll keep trying and hoping.

Meanwhile....

It's Monday.

It's beautiful outside.
(60 and sunny!)

No props to you, Phil!

It"s good.





Photo courtesy Livescience.com

Mornin', everybody.

Just a quick note today.

In case you didn't know, today is Super Bowl Sunday!

So..... stop reading and go .

Spend time with friends, family, or anybody else you choose.
Root for somebody.
Boo somebody.
Eat too much.

ENJOY!!!

I'll see ya Monday.