On getting older and "wiser?"

You know, as you get older your priorities change.  When you're younger you tend to not think too much of the future.  Sure when you're a child you think about becoming a fireman, a nurse, astronaut, princess (you noticed I've mixed boys and girls there, I'm not implying that boys want to be princesses), cowboy or whatever.  Normally we don't turn out to be what we wanted to be as a child.  Oh there are occassions where the child who dreamt of becoming a fireman or policeman or astronaut, actually grew up to be just that.  It happens.  Those children seem to know at an early age what they are supposed to do when they get older.  I believe for the vast majority of us, our views and ideas change and so do our desires and what we feel we want to do with our lives.

I personally don't remember what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't to be a computer programmer or even anything to do with computers.  After all when I was a child, computers pretty much had to have a room all to themselves including its own cooling and power conditioner. 

A few years ago, if asked about what I'd do with a lot of money, I'd have said I would buy cars, houses and live in a place I want to live in, like Hawaii or something like that.  Now I think I'd pay off my bills first, anonymously give money to various charities, set up a trust fund for my grandkids, help my kids and buy cars and houses and live in a place I want to live in, like Hawaii or something like that.  Though truthfully the cars and houses and living in Hawaii are not as important as the other things.  Also I'm thinking I'd buy an island and be my own government, but then I'd wind up bribing myself and becoming a corrupt government official and have to impeach myself.  :-)  In case you wondered, that last part was a bit of a joke.  I would never EVER impeach myself and throw myself out of office.

As I said, as you get older, your priorities change.  Sometimes, even though your priorities have changed, you are in a situation where you can do nothing about it.  You have to stay as you are because there is no wiggle room to change.  Your heart may change, your ideals may change, but if you're in a situation where you're just boxed in and cannot move in the direction you wish to move in, then it's just tough to take.  Lots of people are in that situation.  Cannot make the changes they need to get out of the situation they're in.  They do what little they can and maybe, just maybe it will create enough wiggle room to bust out of their situation and blossom into the person they really are and wish to be.

Thanks for reading.

Maybe I can write Horriblescopes...

I'm practicing my horoscope writing.  See if these apply.

This is a different day for you and the word Jail comes up in conversation.  Maybe it's a good day to stay close to home.

Something you've been looking forward to is at the doorstep.  Today is a good day to check off items on your to do list.

You may feel like it's raining in your heart today, but the sunshine will be peeking through soon.  Keep your head up.

Do you feel like monkeys are flying out your a** and around the Eiffel Tower?  Be patient the thing you're searching for is near.  And don't forget to duck.

Well there's a few.  What do you think?  Could I write horoscopes for a living?

Enjoy the day.

That giant sucking sound...

That giant sucking sound is government sucking our liberties and freedoms away.

Vote this year.  Use your right to vote and let's change some of what government is doing.  If you're not registered, register now.

I think the United States Constitution is the best thing since sliced bread.  Too bad many of our representatives don't agree or agree in principle but not in practice.  Our rights are not given to us by our government buy by our Creator what ever our religious beliefs are.  We may give up our rights in order to be governed, but we should never EVER let the government take them away.  The Declaration of Independence states that "we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among those are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" 

I know we need government.  Without it there would be anarchy.  But the government should be of the people for the people and by the people.

One more thing.  A few weeks ago, President Obama came to Arizona and was met by Governor Brewer.  A now famous picture was published of her wagging her finger at the President.  She was rebuked by nearly everybody for doing it.  For not showing proper respect to the President.  Where was the rebuke when our Governor Napolitano refused to meet then President Bush on his visit here?  She said she was on vacation and didn't want to cut it short.  I think that showed just as much disrespect for the President as Governor Brewer did.  Hypocrisy in politics knows no bounds.  Or is it hypocrisy in the media knows no bounds? 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I had a big rant ready and typed out, but I erased it.  Maybe I'll publish it later after I've taken the time to organize it better.

The 10th Amendment

The 10th Amendment to the constitution states:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
the States respectively, or to the people.
 
I've always been one to say that the government of the United States should not do anything the Constitution does not give it authority to do.  As I read the 10th Amendment, that's what I see the writers of the Constitution had in mind.  On the other hand I can also see where the States could give certain powers to the centralized Government.  I wonder what powers the States have given the Federal Government.  There seems to be all sorts of things the government does that are not delegated to it by the constitution.  It must be those powers must have been given to it by the states.  Now the sticky question comes to mind, how do you take BACK those powers to decrease the size of the government?  I think it's extremely difficult to do if not impossible.  Like the saying about the camel and the tent.  Maybe that's not the right analogy.
 
What do you all think?

I wonder...

I watch a television show called "Last Man Standing", it's to Tim Allen in it and it's a funny show.  Tim's character runs the marketing department at a sportsman's store (well I guess he runs it for the entire company, not just one store).  Anyway, he has a video blog and I've thought, gee that might be an interesting way of doing blogs.  Then I think, with my huge number of regular viewers (2 maybe 3 counting me) I would lose viewers, heck I'd probably stop looking at my blog if I had to look at my face and hear nails on a blackboard.  Plus I have no idea where I would go to set it up and do it. 

So, among all you who are reading this, how many of you would even consider doing one yourself and would you frequent one where I do it (video blog).

Yeah it's a survey thing, kinda, a view without a comment is viewed as a view without a comment. 

A ghost story...

I was sitting here minding my own business.  I was playing with the toys in the house.  I was minding my own business.   Then, you came and brought others with you.  When you came in it disturbed me.  At first you left me alone, but after a while you became more and more boisterous whenever I played with my toys.  After a while I got tired of your noise and I tried to tell you to stop but you wouldn’t listen to me.  In fact, things got worse.  Oh, it was okay during the day when you left, but you always came back.  One time you were gone for a week, and I began to think you had left for good, though I don’t know why I thought that, you had left all your things and I should have known you were going to be back, but I had hope that I’d be left alone again.

I began to take the offensive.  I started playing at night.  I would run around up stairs making noise.  I’d open doors then slam them shut hard and loud.  It didn’t make me happy to have you cry or cower in fear, but you wouldn’t leave and my heart was growing cold and hard.

I didn’t ask for you to come here.  I couldn’t leave.  I had no place to go.  I could only live as I have for hundreds of years.

Last week you had some people come over with their strange tools and toys.  They seemed friendly enough.  They spoke to me with quiet voices, asking me questions and actually waiting for an answer.  I would accommodate them.  They would ask me to knock and I would knock.  They asked me my name and I told them.  They stayed one night, asking me questions and looking for me with their strange tools.  Then they were gone and you came back.

But things were different.  They had told me that I was scaring you.  I thought that was good, because that’s what I was trying to do.  They also told me that you didn’t want to bother me, just to understand me.  So, I changed my behavior.  I started only playing when you weren’t here.  I would sleep when you would.  I even ventured in when you were watching those images on your box and sit quietly beside you.  At first you were still disturbed, but I told you I only wanted the company.  I realized that I had been lonely and the sudden appearance of others scared me and I thought I’d be driven from the only home I had known.  That night with the strange people with the strange tools convinced me that it was okay that I was there and you were too.

Now, the only times I allow myself to be scary is on All Hallow’s Eve when you have your parties.  You always invite me and I feel honored that you do and I really do enjoy those parties.

I died in 1774 in the winter.  I had been walking from town to my house and I determined to take a short cut across the frozen river.  I had misjudged the thickness of the ice and fell through.  The water was horribly cold and I couldn’t swim.  I drowned, but I finally made my way home.  When I walked in through the front door, nobody could see me or hear me.  I realized then that I was dead, but I also had no place to go, so I stayed home.  I watched my family grow old and die.  I saw new people come and go until finally nobody came for many years.  Sometimes people would come in and look over the house and in a couple cases people moved in and fixed the house up, but they would always leave.  Then you came and it seemed you fell in love with my house.  You fixed things up again but I thought you’d leave and it made me bitter.  That’s why I did what I did.

You still can’t see me or hear me but you know I’m here.  You sometimes hear me walking around and you don’t panic.

Thank you for letting me stay and I’m sorry for scaring you so much.  Now I must leave.  A door opened up to me and I’m going to go through it.  Farewell family, though you’re not my blood relatives, your hospitality and your love has made me feel like I haven’t for a very long time.  I go on now to my new home and it looks like it’s going to be a loving home like this one has become.  Next time you hear footsteps upstairs or doors closing on their own, remember me, but realize it’s not me any longer.

James Hill.

A word (well more than a word) about Ghost Hunters

In case you didn't know, there's a show on the Syfy (formally sci-fi) channel called Ghost Hunters.  I have it set to record new episodes and I've always found it to be interesting.  I do realize that it's a taped show and that with creative editing anything is possible.  I have no idea how much editing goes into the show, but I noticed something on a recent episode where they went to New Castle, PA.  In one scene, Brit and Adam (2 investigators for TAPS - The Atlantic Paranormal Society) had placed 2 k2 meters at the end of a hall and they were standing at the other end bye a pair of doors (the doors were on their right).  At one point one of the k2 meters flashed red and you could see that Brit was standing nearest the doors.  They showed what was going on down the hall and came back to Brit and Adam who had switched places.  Now Adam was closest to the doors.  The other k2 meter went off and when they switched back Brit was closest to the door.  Were the switching places or were they retaping the events?  Usually when you see something a bit off, you know they were re-taping a scene and not everything got put back in the proper places.  Usually those things don't happen or they get re-taped again with everything in it's place and you never know.

I like the show, but now I do wonder how much rehearsing and retaping they do.

Any of my loyal readers have any ideas?

My head hurts...

A couple days ago I wrote about Sasquatch and UFOs.  It made my head hurt. 

Now my head hurts again because I just had another thought.

Fundamental Christianity believes that God is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  These three are individual aspects of God, yet they all make up God.  To some people this is difficult to accept and understand.  How can God be 3 beings and yet be One being?  For some people just taking this in faith is enough.  For others they can't wrap their brains around it.  It came to me a simple way to explain this and it would easy to understand in this context. 

The United States government is composed of 3 separate branches.  They are distinct in their duties and responsibilities and yet all 3 are needed to compose the Government.  We have the legislative branch which is responsible for passing laws and the spending of the money (regardless of how bad or good we think they do their job).  The executive branch is the branch responsible for enforcing the laws and the judicial branch which is the branch responsible for interpreting the laws to make sure they do not violate the Constitution of the United States.  Now if we didn't have one of those branches, the government would not work.

So that's a simple way of explaining the Trinity of God.  We have a trinity Government.   Granted that is a simplification of both God and the United States Government, but in my mind, it works.

Isn't it funny?

Isn't it funny, you can say something to somebody and that something is innocuous, yet because that person to whom the words were said was in a bad mood, or depressed or hurting in some way, takes it personally and is even more hurt by those perfectly harmless words.

I know it happens.  It's happend to me before and I'm sure it will happen again.  I'll be in a bad mood or depressed or in pain or something and somebody will say something that, ordinarily would be funny or mean nothing yet I'll take it personally.  I'll feel hurt by the comment and think about doing something rash (note: for me "rash" is closing my facebook account without warning or without saying a word about it).  The hard part is to let it slide off my back and realize what kind of mood I'm in and by realizing the mood I'm in, maybe I can maintain enough civility and grace to ignore the comments knowing it was not meant to hurt but meant as a joke or at least in a light-hearted way.

I want to take this moment to apologize to anybody to whom I've done that to.  Perhaps I've spoken a word or two that you took offense to even though I meant no offense by it. 

Now by saying all that, I don't mean that you have to watch your step.  Just realize that if you say something harmless and you get your head snapped off because of it, it could mean the person was in a bad mood or something.  So don't take WHAT THEY say personal.  Let it go.  Maybe in a day or two things will be different and they will look back at it and laugh.

Sorry, that was my way of dealing with something.  Thanks for taking the time to "listen".

Sasquatch and UFOs

I'm pretty sure you all know my thinking on UFOs.  Sasquatch is still something I'm not sure about.  Oh by the way, UFO stands for UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT.  Now, it stands to reason that any object flying through the air, if it is not identified is therefore, UNIDENTIFIED.  It doesn't matter if it's a product of man, nature or extra-terrestrials (sp?). 

On with my observations.

It seems that every picture or video of Sasquatch (Big foot but not to be confused with the big truck called "Big Foot") he (she?) is blurry and out of focus.  Why is that?  I understand that at times you have to focus your video (film camera) but a lot of the older cameras has a setting of infinity (which is where I would venture to say most of us leave the setting).  But Sasquatch is always out of focus and blurry. 

That leads me to this conclusion. Sasquatch has the ability to make himself (herself) blurry and out of focus for short periods of time.


I have also noticed that all credible photos of UFOs seem to be blurry as well, plus I've NEVER seen a clear video of a UFO.  Even the UFO that flew over Phoenix back in 1997 (March 13, 1997 Phoenix lights).  Now if it was visible for 5 minutes, wouldn't you have gotten a camera out and placed it on a stable surface, set the camera for infinity and take a picture?  Or better yet, a video camera on a tripod?  Does nobody own a tripod AND a video camera?  I'm sure there are people out there that have both and have taken pictures and videos of UFOs, but have found that they are blurry or wiggly so you couldn't really tell what you're looking at if you didn't know already. 

I also draw this conclusion from the evidence I've seen.  UFOs also have the ability to make themselves blurry and out of focus for short periods of time.

Now, if UFOs and Sasquatch can do that, is it possible that both are related?   And if UFOs have travelled her in ancient history and were acknowledged as gods, then Sasquatch is also an Ancient Alien!

Now, if somebody can come up with clear images of authentic UFOs or Sasquatch (well for the Loch Ness Monster as well), then I'll revise my belief of all that.  Maybe somebody can catch them with their obscuring cloak off. 

I hope this has been entertaining to somebody.

What the President said...

I actually listened to the President this morning, talking about the budget battle he is engaged in with Congress.  Okay not Congress, but the Republican leadership in Congress.  He (the President) said a couple things that made my jaw drop. 

One of the things he said was that he's going to be 50 soon and is starting to look at how Medicare is going to affect him.  He said something about getting his AARP card and the discounts he'll be getting with it. 

The problem I have with that is HE IS NOT GOING ON MEDICARE WHEN HE GETS TO BE THAT AGE.  And he will not be going on Social Security when he retires.  Government employees have a different system that IS NOT IN TROUBLE like Medicare and Social Security is.  DON'T BE FOOLED!  Research it.  Congress is not required to pay Social Security taxes in or contribute to Medicare.  If they were, THEY'D FIX  THEM.  Unfortunatly most of the American People don't know this.  I also know that just me putting it here is not going to educate very many (if any) people at all.

Another thing that the President said was that we (meaning the government) need to treat the budget like a family deals with their budget.  If you're maxed out on your credit cards you don't stop making payments to your bills and such. 

What do you do?  I know what I do, I CUT MY EXPENSES.  I don't go out searching for more income.  I've found that if I make more money, I spend more money and I don't get better off.  Obviously if I need a raise, I'd ask for one, but during rough economic times, I wouldn't expect to get one especially if the business I'm working for has been cutting expenses and been having a rough time (the typical American worker), he won't raise his expenses by giving me a raise.  That'd be bad for him.   So I cut out the unnecessary expenses or the ones I can do with out.  Raising taxes at this time would be a bad idea.  It discourages growth.

Another thing he said was the phrase "job killing tax cuts".  Tell me something.  If you were running a business and your taxes went down, would you lay off employees or would you reinvest the money to get your business growing, which would include hiring more employees and putting more money in your pockets?  As for me, I would be reinvesting the money and growing my business so I can make more money.  If that involved hiring more people, then I would do it.  If my taxes were raised, that means more money leaving my pockets and it may require me to cut more expenses which may include laying off employees. 

Is this not just common sense?   Am I missing something?  I remember the economic years of the Carter administration and the recovery and BOOM from the Reagan years.  Reagan got Congress to cut taxes and it put more money in pockets, that money was spent which meant that businesses had to produce more and they made more and hired more people.  That was the result of JOB KILLING TAX CUTS. 

Well, that's all I had to say for now.  If I'm wrong on those things, don't hesitate to point it out. 

Thanks for listening to my ranting.  I will modify this or add to it if I find I'm wrong or missquoted.  I'm going to see if I can find a transcript of the President's remarks today.  If I can find them, I'll post the actual quotes from that in this post or in a comment to this post.

By the way, here is the link to the transcript of today's press conference:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/07/15/press-conference-president

Go ahead go there, look at what he said and form your own opinions.

NetFlix and money

Well, Netflix is raising their rates as of Sept 1 by 60%.  The current pricing plan of $9.99/month for unlimited streaming of movies etc and unlimited DVDs (one at a time) per month will be split and charged separately at the rate of $7.99 for unlimited streaming and $7.99 for unlimited DVDs.  This makes your new bill to be 15.98 an increase of $5.99 per month.  Personally I don't like the idea and will be cancelling my subscription with netflix before Sept 1.  In doing so I also understand them doing it.  The only thing a company is in business for is to make money and a company will do what is necessary to make that money.  They will raise their rates for their products and/or services to the point they believe the market will handle.  If they guess wrong, they lose too many customers and lose money.  I can't fault netflix for this decision, they are in business to make money after all.  I'm not going to complain about it, I'm just going to quit using them because the new pricing prices me out of what I feel is reasonable and affordable to me.  Yeah I'm saying $5.99/month increase is too much.  I have read numerous comments to Netflix on their facebook page and on their blog.  Lots of people are seriously ticked off.  I say this is nothing to get torqued about.  Relax, lower your blood pressure and just deal with it.  In the grand scheme of things, a $5.99/month increase to view movies online AND get unlimited DVDs per month (one DVD at a time) is not, or should not, be significant enough to raise your blood pressure.  Save some of that hostility for things that matter.  Just cancel your subscription and move on.

Well that said, I hope that Netflix either decides not to go through with it or to grandfather the current subscriptions in at no change.

The day after...

Well, it's the day after the 4th. I hope everybody had a good time. I know we did. We got to see some fireworks from where we were and the weather held up until it was all over. By 10 last night the wind had picked up, there was some cloud lightning and the possibility of a storm seemed pretty real. I think it was just playing with us though because when I got up this morning nothing looked wet and everything looked in order.

We watched the Cake Boss marathon yesterday (well part of yesterday) and I kept thinking how he made that stuff look easy. Made me think I'd like to do some of that stuff, on a much smaller scale mind you. Of course you have to have a creative and artistic mind. My mind is sort of half-way creative as for artistic? Well, I can draw stick figures and flys. I can see my first cake now. It's chocolate with white buttercream frosting with stick figures and flys all over it. I'd call it my "Stick with me" theme.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Here's something else I've been "working" on...

Okay, here's a part of a story I started a couple years ago. I got stuck around page 52 with no idea where to take it. If you want more of it, let me know, if you like it, let me know. If you don't like it then be nice.

He awoke suddenly. Sitting up and looking around, he did not realize where he was. Nothing was recognizable to him. He put his head in his hands, straining to remember what happened the day before. Slowly images started coming. There was an accident, yet he noted his surroundings did not appear to be those of a hospital. Was he dead and in some kind of spiritual limbo like the priests have always said was there for those who did not receive their last rites? He had no references to compare it to, so he set that aside in his mind. Back to the accident, he thought. He searched his memory to what was going on before the accident. Then he saw HER in his mind. She was a woman of average height, but was built. Boy was she built he thought. Busty, slim waist, nice hips and an ass you just want to squeeze. She was blonde and when he had seen her she was in that very skimpy bikini. The type that barely concealed the nipples on the breasts, and a thong that was just barely legal. She was the cause of the accident. Well she didn’t know she was, but her attire and beauty had distracted him enough that he lost control of his car and rammed the car in front of him. “Damn these hormones!” he thought.
“Wait, if that was the accident, then why am I here and where the hell am I?” Taking a more careful look around he noted that he was on a bed. At first it appeared to be an average bed, a bit more comfortable than what he was used to, and he made a mental note to inquire as to what type of mattress it was. He wanted one. He looked at the wall on his left. It was bare and painted white. Well that was a normal color. Looking right, the wall on that side also appeared white. No windows on either side, so he looked behind him and the view was the same, just a white featureless wall, like the other two. The wall in front of him, however was a bit different. It had a mirror and sink off to his left near where the wall on the left met the wall in front. Also, there appeared to be a slight difference in the color and texture of the wall. He got up and approached the wall, running his hand along it, feeling its slightly bumpy texture, suddenly turn smooth as glass, then, after about 4 feet, it resumed its former texture. Pausing, he looked up then down. Looking at that smooth spot, wondering what it could mean. Then it came to him in a flash, it’s a door. But how does it open? He pressed on it. Nothing happened. He pushed harder. Nothing again. He hit it with his fist, then something happened. His fist hurt, it is a pretty solid door after all.
“Now what?” he thought. It was at that point, that he realized he was naked. Looking around he noted 2 things. One was that the clothes he was wearing the day before were nowhere to be found. The second thing was that there were no blankets, sheets or even a pillow on the bed. Nothing with which to hide his nudity. “Humph” he thought, “well it’s warm enough”, also noting his lack of shrinkage.
He walked over to the sink, and wondered how the water worked, since there appeared to be no faucet handles. He put his hands under the spout, and water came out. It was warm, not hot, not cold but just right. “Damn, I wish this was cold water, I’m thirsty”, as he cupped his hands to drink, the water suddenly cooled to his desired coolness. Bending down and lifting his hands to his mouth, he drank until he was satisfied. Then wondering the extent of his verbal control, he said, “I would like some hot water for tea”. Still holding his hands under the running water, the temperature started increasing until he could stand it no more, then he noticed that the water coming from the spout was not clear, it was brown. It appeared to be the color of tea. He lifted his fingers to his mouth and tasted. It tasted like tea.
“whoa, what’s going on?”

Here's something that might be entertaining

Here's something that might be entertaining. If you like it or don't, let me know (post a comment). But be somewhat nice, please. :)

A boy's story...

He heard a noise and turned. To his left was his friend William. To his left was Robbie. William was smart and quiet. Well he was usually quiet; the noise Jim had heard had come from William. William had brown hair and was not especially athletic, but if he was on your side, you stood a good chance of coming out on top because with his intelligence came a good dose of cunning. He could sneak up on you without you hearing him until it was too late and he tagged you.
Robbie was not as smart as William, but he was stronger and faster. In tag, when Robbie tagged you, you felt it. He didn’t hurt you and even if he did, he didn’t mean it, he was just stronger than he can control sometimes. Robbie had black hair and was a bit bigger, but he was a true and loyal friend. Jim had met both of them soon after he arrived. They had stepped in and stopped some of the others from bullying him. Since that day the have been inseparable.
Playing tag was one of their more favorite games. It allowed them to run around laughing and playing, as kids were wont to do. Sometimes, like this time, the elders allowed them to go hunting with the adults, thus the need for quiet. Of course the boys wouldn’t be in on the kill, but they knew what was going to happen. Their biggest hope at this point was that there was enough time to play after the hunt was over.
They stopped. Not just the three boys, but everybody stopped. Jim could feel the tension in the air and it excited him. Then with much noise, the kill was done. It was a large deer and would provide enough food for the whole group. After they ate their fill, they rolled around in the grass. Jim looked up and realized it was time to go home. He turned toward his friends, then toward his own home and started walking that way. Looking back he saw his friends following him. The sky was starting to brighten with a new day as Jim neared the gate. He turned again and in his human form held out his hands. His friends approached him and licked him. He knelt down and rubbed their heads and hugged them. It saddened him to have to leave his friends and not be with them until the next full moon. He wished that the curse he had been inflicted with had left him a wolf all the time instead of just once a month. He longed to run and play with his friends everyday. He sighed and turned and went through the gate. William and Robbie trotted off toward the woods where they would be safe from the humans.

2 years 4 days

Well, it's been 2 years 4 days since I posted on this blog. I know you all have been quivering in anticipation to read my new posts. I can see you there sitting with your fingers poised impatiently over the keyboard, just itching to refresh the screen to see what other nuggets of wisdom I put forth on here.

Like I said, it's been 2 years and 4 days since I've posted. Since then, mom passed (July 2009), Dad collapsed and had to have a pacemaker installed. He's doing okay now. I appreciate Dee keeping us all informed with her texts and Chris doing the same on Facebook.

I turned 52 last July. I went to Idaho in June or was it May? Went to Utah in December (2010) to see family (Jennifer, Kevin, Dee, Larry, Dad, Mom, James and his wife Jen and their 2 kids). I drove up and dragged Holly with me. We had a great time and due to inclement weather, Holly got to spend a couple days more with them. At both times I had a great time visiting. I've realized again what a great family I have. My siblings and parents are great and I feel blessed to have such a family. Especially my wife. I love her very much and don't know how or why she puts up with me when I'm crabby, depressed or just plain moody, even when I don't know why I am.

I went to visit Lee and Rhonda and their children this past week. It was a great visit. Becca (their 4 yr old daughter) let me stay in her room and I got to see the twins Evan and Carley. Such cute kids and a lively full house :).

Well this post has been about family, not politics, religion, or my views on things. I hope it wasn't too boring.

Face book

Well, I just started an account on facebook. Cathy has been on there for a spell and I figured it was about time I dragged myself online. It's turned out to be interesting. I've gotten in touch with some people I haven't been in touch with in a long time (since high school even). I'm not sure what I expected when I joined facebook, but I was pretty sure I'd wind up with 2 friends at most. Well I'm up to 3 now!! Okay actually I'm at lucky 13 right now. My philosophy about yahoo and such has been that if you don't contact me, I don't contact you just because I don't want to bother you. Now that's probably a silly philosophy and I'm sure I've missed out on some things because of it, but how many times have you been online and you didn't want to talk to anybody, or a specific person, and here they come messaging you? I don't want to be that person.

Any how, you all can find me on facebook now. I know you're excited about it, I can see you shaking just waiting until you're done reading this to jump onto facebook and add me as your friend.

Photo enforcement

The Phoenix metro area has had speed cameras and red light cameras installed for quite some time now. The company that maintains them is not making the money expected. Apparently, people are taking care not to get caught speeding or running red lights as much. Well, I kind of think that's great. I have noticed however that it doesn't stop the driver who drives faster than the flow of traffic and swerves in and out of lanes. These people are more dangerous than your common every day speeder. The cameras also don't get those especially wicked law breakers, those who drive with cracked windshields or broken tail lights. What is wrong with technology?? Why can't we get these law breakers off the streets?

Well there is good news about it. The company maintaining the cameras are planning on catching those criminals.

Personally, I think the cameras are nothing more than a revenue generator for the county, state and city. They do have an affect on traffic. People do slow down when they come to those enforcement zones. Those zones have to be plainly marked ahead so you're given about 300 feet notice of speed cameras on the highways, ample time to take your foot off the gas and slow down long enough to get by the cameras. Of course once past the enforcement zone, those drivers speed back up. Plus these cameras don't get everybody. I wonder how they handle it if, on one of our 5 lane highway through the city has 5 people speeding through the zone at the same time? I realize the cameras can get 2 at once (there are 2 sets of cameras, one set on the right shoulder and one set in the area medium) but can they get all 5? I already mentioned those who swerve in and out of traffic recklessly. About 1/3 of those people captured by the speed cameras actually get the tickets because the driver is not recognizable or for some other reason.

The solution for the city, county and state is to let the cameras also capture those who have cracked windshields or broken tail lights, probably those not wearing their seat belts as well and send them a ticket in the mail.

Does anybody else feel like somebody is going just a bit far?

Well, it's been a while since I actually started this blog. Two years have passed by. We have a new president, a new governor (in Arizona) and we have 2 new grandchildren. Sean was born on October 12, 2006 and Ashley was born on October 3, 2007. We have been to Arkansas to visit mom (last November). I spent 2 weeks there and got to meet my niece Becca and celebrate Thanksgiving with mom, Ben, Bernie, Lee, Rhonda (did I spell your name right?), Rob, Janie, and the kids. It was a good time.

It's already been over 100 here in Phoenix and at the time I'm writing this, it's still quite warm, about 97 and it's 8:00 p.m.

I plan on being in Arkansas in mid June for a week. I hope to see Dee, Jenny, Bernie, Ben, Rob and his family and of course Lee and his family. I KNOW I'll have to bring a sweater or sweatshirt because it should be over 110 when I leave here and though it will be warm and humid there, I'll freeze my rear in the evenings.

I'll try to keep up with this and hope that y'all keep interested.

A few thoughts

The following are just my thoughts about the things going on in this country and in the state I live in (currently Arizona).

On May 1st, the community of migrant workers (these included legal and illegal migrants), was supposed to boycott everything and everybody. They were to stay home, not go to work or school and they were not to spend their money. This was to show the impact they have on the economy of the United States. As of this posting (9:47 p.m. Arizona time), I had not heard what that impact was or even if there was an impact.

It is my opinion that one day was not going to make an impact at all. I could be wrong, after all I do get it wrong at times. I also think that part of the problem lies with those who employ illegal immigrants. Typically the wages are lower than they would be if they were legal immigrants or U. S. citizens. After all why pay $7.00/hour when you can pay $5.50 or less?