Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Trying to survive watching the Cowboys
Is it just me or can we question a few of Coach Garrett's play calls inside the red zone? First and goal from the two and you run a draw. Just run it Coach.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Fall
Fall is caught between being the best season and being the forbearer of bad news. For most in the North Fall is short lived before Winter really hits, for the South it is a welcome relief from 4-5 months of 95+ days and for the past summer even more brutal.
Fall for the South is three months of beautiful weather, but with one big draw back.You finally get to go outside again,but the days are getting shorter too quick. You go outside, but by the time you start enjoying the day it is dark. For the North it must just suck. Only a few weeks of absolute gorgeous days before you fight off 4-5 months of being locked inside avoiding the elements. Well winter does have some good moments, but now it is fall.
Fall is when baseball finally gets interesting and not being able to go outside without a football in your hand. And this goes for males of all ages.
Fall is the season of holidays: state fairs,.Halloween, fall festivals, Thanksgiving, and of course preparing for Christmas and Hanukkah the Festival of Lights. It is a crime that retail starts putting Christmas before everything else and short changes the rest of fall. Christmas has its own season and preparation and it is a shame we have forgotten to keep that perspective.
Fall is a time for poets and I feel inadequate in trying to find words to describe this wonderful season. So where ever you are I hope that the next few weeks bring you outdoors to enjoy some moderate temperatures, beautiful colors, friends, outdoor cooking, harvest moons, fall festivals, baseball playoffs, football (especially if you are playing it yourself),and of course all the holidays. So sit back, pour yourself a nice Crown Royal or other bourbon, sit outside late in the evening and turn up Van Morrison's "Moondance".
Fall for the South is three months of beautiful weather, but with one big draw back.You finally get to go outside again,but the days are getting shorter too quick. You go outside, but by the time you start enjoying the day it is dark. For the North it must just suck. Only a few weeks of absolute gorgeous days before you fight off 4-5 months of being locked inside avoiding the elements. Well winter does have some good moments, but now it is fall.
Fall is when baseball finally gets interesting and not being able to go outside without a football in your hand. And this goes for males of all ages.
Fall is the season of holidays: state fairs,.Halloween, fall festivals, Thanksgiving, and of course preparing for Christmas and Hanukkah the Festival of Lights. It is a crime that retail starts putting Christmas before everything else and short changes the rest of fall. Christmas has its own season and preparation and it is a shame we have forgotten to keep that perspective.
Fall is a time for poets and I feel inadequate in trying to find words to describe this wonderful season. So where ever you are I hope that the next few weeks bring you outdoors to enjoy some moderate temperatures, beautiful colors, friends, outdoor cooking, harvest moons, fall festivals, baseball playoffs, football (especially if you are playing it yourself),and of course all the holidays. So sit back, pour yourself a nice Crown Royal or other bourbon, sit outside late in the evening and turn up Van Morrison's "Moondance".
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
time for Oct excitement
Yes, The Rangers are getting close to another post season bid. It still amazes me to see them play so well nowadays even after last year. Way too many years of the season being over by August. Can we get to second best record in the AL and wait to play the Yankees? It may not matter, the road to the World Series is probably going through New York. Rather have them second round though.
Awhile back I mentioned the Lakewood area as a cool place to check out if you visit, sorry to say it is getting a bit commercial and losing its uniqueness some now. Try to go by before it totally loses its luster.
Awhile back I mentioned the Lakewood area as a cool place to check out if you visit, sorry to say it is getting a bit commercial and losing its uniqueness some now. Try to go by before it totally loses its luster.
Friday, September 16, 2011
The Jobs Program,another Democrat band aid
The problem with band aids is they eventually get old and fall off.So for a short time they can heal a small cut or scratch, but a seriously deep wound like the economic crisis we have had for the past three years band aids are useless.
Over and over again we hear old outdated ideas used to solve this crisis. The situation requires some new creative thinking.
Spending public money right now to create jobs isn't the best idea, we have way too much of a deficit and the results are too short term. Yes having people employed helps, but there is no sustainability to these jobs.
And what is ironic is the jobs program wants to rebuild our schools as part of the project. What we really need to do is rebuild the whole education system. Big difference between the building and what goes on in the inside.
What we need is some public policy that forces wall street to invest money in creating new jobs, jobs built on new industries and products we can export to create some sustainability to the jobs and decent incomes.
I heard the other day on the radio that one company was going to spend $600 billion to buy another company.I don't know if I heard the amount correctly, but whatever it was it was staggering. This doesn't do anything to help the economy.What we need is taxation policy that encourages companies to spend this money on new business development and discourage companies buying and selling themselves. Nothing new is developed and usually some job losses occur with the consolidation. This is a counter productive move for our economy.
And with creating a new tax policy we need to be flexible. We institutionalize way too many laws. We need policy that is adaptive to the situation. In a few years we may need a policy to encourage consolidation to protect struggling companies, but for now we need corporate America to become creative. So policy should reflect what the times demand and right now the times demand policies that reward companies that create new jobs and sustainable new businesses.
Will we get some creative thinking from Washington, I doubt it. The President and the Republican leadership are constantly at odds. The President wants to talk compromise, but really this wouldn't do any good, no matter how much compromise you have if either sides ideas are useless then the compromise is useless. And with both sides spouting out the same ole same ole then we get compromised same ole same ole.
So until our leadership wakes up and realizes they are clueless or the people of this country wake up and elect truly new leadership this economic crisis will continue to plague us.
And lets sing praises to the Supreme Court for allowing Super PACs,,,,Long live the Constitution, the Constitution is dying.
Over and over again we hear old outdated ideas used to solve this crisis. The situation requires some new creative thinking.
Spending public money right now to create jobs isn't the best idea, we have way too much of a deficit and the results are too short term. Yes having people employed helps, but there is no sustainability to these jobs.
And what is ironic is the jobs program wants to rebuild our schools as part of the project. What we really need to do is rebuild the whole education system. Big difference between the building and what goes on in the inside.
What we need is some public policy that forces wall street to invest money in creating new jobs, jobs built on new industries and products we can export to create some sustainability to the jobs and decent incomes.
I heard the other day on the radio that one company was going to spend $600 billion to buy another company.I don't know if I heard the amount correctly, but whatever it was it was staggering. This doesn't do anything to help the economy.What we need is taxation policy that encourages companies to spend this money on new business development and discourage companies buying and selling themselves. Nothing new is developed and usually some job losses occur with the consolidation. This is a counter productive move for our economy.
And with creating a new tax policy we need to be flexible. We institutionalize way too many laws. We need policy that is adaptive to the situation. In a few years we may need a policy to encourage consolidation to protect struggling companies, but for now we need corporate America to become creative. So policy should reflect what the times demand and right now the times demand policies that reward companies that create new jobs and sustainable new businesses.
Will we get some creative thinking from Washington, I doubt it. The President and the Republican leadership are constantly at odds. The President wants to talk compromise, but really this wouldn't do any good, no matter how much compromise you have if either sides ideas are useless then the compromise is useless. And with both sides spouting out the same ole same ole then we get compromised same ole same ole.
So until our leadership wakes up and realizes they are clueless or the people of this country wake up and elect truly new leadership this economic crisis will continue to plague us.
And lets sing praises to the Supreme Court for allowing Super PACs,,,,Long live the Constitution, the Constitution is dying.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Driving, Irene, gas prices,and God
Well it has been awhile, trouble with the internet has taken the blog offline for awhile,but now back up.
Before our line was cut off (literally, the line did break and it took awhile to get it fixed) we drove to the northeast and spent a wonderful weekend with Irene. Now this was an interesting drive with a total of over 3500 hundred miles put on a vehicle. Overall a good drive and we did enjoy some of the trip. Irene did put a crimp in some of the trip, but not too much.
A couple of observations about the drive. Driving through Arkansas both ways and for some reason there is more tire debris on I 40 than anywhere else on the trip. If there was a market for shreaded rubber you could make some money here. The highway was covered with torn up tires from the big rigs. I don't know how much of I 40 across the country is covered, but in Arkansas it was pretty bad. The drive through the state is easy, just a complete mess.
People always talk about the people in New Jersey and the reality show doesn't help their image, however, after spending time there, I can say the people are really good people. The problem with New Jersey is getting from point A to point B.The Turnpike is wonderful, very easy straight shot across the state, but try to do something local, well forget about it. There is no rhyme or reason at all. Turns and directions do not make sense unless a local I guess.We did stop and ask directions, and people were helpful,but it took 2-3 tries to make sense of what they said. Identifying signs were virtually non existent, hidden, or so small you would drive right past them with the glance knowing I needed to know what that sign just said. Really really crazy and maddening. Having to drive in New Jersey right after Irene was also a nightmare. I do have to say you have to acknowledge the struggle Irene caused for much of the Northeast.The flooding that occurred in New Jersey and Vermont was absolutely a disaster for those people and prayers go out for all the people suffering in the aftermath and trying to get their lives back together. Driving in New Jersey though was crazy the next couple of days.Example: we get up to leave the hotel for the day after Irene hit and unknown to us right past the first curve the road was completely flooded. There were cars in the road with water up to their windshield. So now we were caught in trying to find away around through some side streets. I made more u turns in the next hour than the past year and much of this wasn't because of the flood, the flood only caused the detour. Anyway someone needs to redo the entire street system in that state.
The flooding there and the long drive got me to thinking about the issues facing our country with extreme droughts in some areas of our country and the flooding in other areas.I briefly touched on this in an earlier blog, but had no answers, I think I have a proposal, but will save it for another entry.
Now we know that anytime a summer holiday comes up gas prices go up. The last couple of weeks before labor day really proved to me there might be something going on. Two weeks before labor day we drove to the northeast and we were watching gas prices the whole way since on a tight budget. So I had a pretty good idea of what I thought gas prices were going to be on the way back.Well that was the week before labor day and even though the price of oil had not really gone up, gas prices averaged 15-30 cents higher the whole trip back.Gas prices do vary from state to state and the northeast is a bit higher than other parts we drove through, but where we were seeing 3.33 -3.39 on the way up, it was 3.45-3.69 on the way back. And I moderately watch oil prices so I know oil did not go up significantly the week before. Just plain crazy and unnecessary, oh by the way gas prices are now back to the 3.30's with oil still about the same price.
And finally for this post, a bit on God. I usually don't like to talk about God in a general sense, but a billboard on the way back got my attention.It read WARNING YOU ARE ABOUT TO MEET GOD. Now I get the gist that we should always be prepared because you never know what is going to happen,but really. In fact if I meet God I am breathing one hell of a sigh of relief. I really don't believe in the beat the bible over the head of people to get them to believe.I have always thought that was just the worst way to convince someone they should get to know God. I am not much of a stand up and sing praises kind of person, but shouldn't we be happy to meet God. God created us so I don't think God is out to get us. The above is the kind of mindset that drove me away from God when I was young for a very long time.
Again overall a good trip,no it wasn't fear and loathing in the northeast, but rather, hard driving, missed sight seeing in New York, delayed endeavors, and finally some spelunking, wine tasting, and a bit of luck in Tunica on the roll back.
Before our line was cut off (literally, the line did break and it took awhile to get it fixed) we drove to the northeast and spent a wonderful weekend with Irene. Now this was an interesting drive with a total of over 3500 hundred miles put on a vehicle. Overall a good drive and we did enjoy some of the trip. Irene did put a crimp in some of the trip, but not too much.
A couple of observations about the drive. Driving through Arkansas both ways and for some reason there is more tire debris on I 40 than anywhere else on the trip. If there was a market for shreaded rubber you could make some money here. The highway was covered with torn up tires from the big rigs. I don't know how much of I 40 across the country is covered, but in Arkansas it was pretty bad. The drive through the state is easy, just a complete mess.
People always talk about the people in New Jersey and the reality show doesn't help their image, however, after spending time there, I can say the people are really good people. The problem with New Jersey is getting from point A to point B.The Turnpike is wonderful, very easy straight shot across the state, but try to do something local, well forget about it. There is no rhyme or reason at all. Turns and directions do not make sense unless a local I guess.We did stop and ask directions, and people were helpful,but it took 2-3 tries to make sense of what they said. Identifying signs were virtually non existent, hidden, or so small you would drive right past them with the glance knowing I needed to know what that sign just said. Really really crazy and maddening. Having to drive in New Jersey right after Irene was also a nightmare. I do have to say you have to acknowledge the struggle Irene caused for much of the Northeast.The flooding that occurred in New Jersey and Vermont was absolutely a disaster for those people and prayers go out for all the people suffering in the aftermath and trying to get their lives back together. Driving in New Jersey though was crazy the next couple of days.Example: we get up to leave the hotel for the day after Irene hit and unknown to us right past the first curve the road was completely flooded. There were cars in the road with water up to their windshield. So now we were caught in trying to find away around through some side streets. I made more u turns in the next hour than the past year and much of this wasn't because of the flood, the flood only caused the detour. Anyway someone needs to redo the entire street system in that state.
The flooding there and the long drive got me to thinking about the issues facing our country with extreme droughts in some areas of our country and the flooding in other areas.I briefly touched on this in an earlier blog, but had no answers, I think I have a proposal, but will save it for another entry.
Now we know that anytime a summer holiday comes up gas prices go up. The last couple of weeks before labor day really proved to me there might be something going on. Two weeks before labor day we drove to the northeast and we were watching gas prices the whole way since on a tight budget. So I had a pretty good idea of what I thought gas prices were going to be on the way back.Well that was the week before labor day and even though the price of oil had not really gone up, gas prices averaged 15-30 cents higher the whole trip back.Gas prices do vary from state to state and the northeast is a bit higher than other parts we drove through, but where we were seeing 3.33 -3.39 on the way up, it was 3.45-3.69 on the way back. And I moderately watch oil prices so I know oil did not go up significantly the week before. Just plain crazy and unnecessary, oh by the way gas prices are now back to the 3.30's with oil still about the same price.
And finally for this post, a bit on God. I usually don't like to talk about God in a general sense, but a billboard on the way back got my attention.It read WARNING YOU ARE ABOUT TO MEET GOD. Now I get the gist that we should always be prepared because you never know what is going to happen,but really. In fact if I meet God I am breathing one hell of a sigh of relief. I really don't believe in the beat the bible over the head of people to get them to believe.I have always thought that was just the worst way to convince someone they should get to know God. I am not much of a stand up and sing praises kind of person, but shouldn't we be happy to meet God. God created us so I don't think God is out to get us. The above is the kind of mindset that drove me away from God when I was young for a very long time.
Again overall a good trip,no it wasn't fear and loathing in the northeast, but rather, hard driving, missed sight seeing in New York, delayed endeavors, and finally some spelunking, wine tasting, and a bit of luck in Tunica on the roll back.
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