Tuesday, January 31, 2006

OCD is a terrible thing to have.....

Playing around with yet another new template....my first 3 Column.

Opinions?

Coretta Scott King



Rest In Peace

The Battle House Hotel

Downtown Mobile Hotels & Alabama Accommodations The Battle House, a Renaissance Hotel

As long as I can remember, this hotel has stood boarded up and forgotten. I am looking forward to seeing it restored. A true jewel.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Oops!

CNN.com - Museum visitor trips, breaks Chinese vases - Jan 30, 2006

I mean, put yourself in this guys shoes. What would you say??

"ummm...I am sorry but, ummmmm...you shouldn't leave old stuff like that just lying around."

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Sunday Evening

I just wanted to sit down this evening and update some things that have been going on.......

Nothing new with my father. I just got off the phone with him. He appears to not have had a good day. My wife and I visited him yesterday afternoon and he seemed to be stronger and in good spirits. Nothing new on him being admitted to the Veterans home but I am sure we will hear something new about that this week. It has still baffled me that although they have concluded Dad has brain tumors, they still have not made a exact diagnosis on what type of cancer it is and how to treat it. We are hoping that a lot of loose ends are tied up this week on that. I am also thankful that this Friday I do not have any other things that will keep me from visiting all day. Two weeks ago it was my breaks needing repaired and last Friday it was the house getting roofed.

My wife and I visited the Moorer Branch of the Mobile Public Library yesterday afternoon and while she picked some things for her work, I used the time to peruse the audiobook section and checked out four to add to my growing iTunes library. They are....

"Rise to Rebellion" by Jeff Shaara
"Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" by Walter Isaacson
"The President's House" by Margaret Truman
"There and Back Again" by Sean Astin

I have already read Sean Astins book but I am looking forward to hearing it again on audiotape.

If anyone cares or hasn't noticed, I have tinkered around with the template for my blog Friday while I was waiting for my roofers to come. I like it better because it adds a dash of color to the page. However, I sent a letter to Pixeldigger and let him know what I want in a three column blog. With everything going on with my Dad and being tied up on the past few Fridays have put a kink in with me getting with him.

Lastly, I am thinking of starting a bowling team at work. Egad.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

"Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?"

Paul Bettany on the Joker Rumors - ComingSoon.net

Interesting choice. I am sure Bettany's stock will go up after The DaVinci Code comes out.

My choice?

Adrian Brody...He wants the role bad from what I have read and his body type fits the Joker more.

Oui!!




Well, it looks like we might.....might be planning a trip to France next spring. My mother-in-law made the annoucement last Tuesday night when we were over for dinner. My wife's family is from France and she wanted to go and visit them and see some of the sights. She is going to try and talk to her brothers and see who would like to go with her. This is just in the very early planning stages but so far the plan is to fly into Paris and stay there for a few days then Normandy then visit relatives in Lundifay, France. My wife and I are considering possibly taking the Chunnel over to London while we are there. I have always wanted to go to England and it would be the perfect opportunity. Like I said, this is still in the very early planning stages. I want to go and take my mother in law to visit a travel agent if anything to get more basic infomation. Stay Tuned!!

Friday, January 27, 2006

My Spammer Name

My spammer name is Microjoule E. Pacifist.
Enter your name to get yours:


This is what you do all day when your house is getting reroofed.

Let the Roofing Begin!!



Time Started: 1:30pm

Doh!!

I'm just like Homer!
I'm Homer, who are you? by NoHomers.net

As you see, I am still waiting on my roofers....ugh.

Hurricane Katrina Video


Share Video at DropShots.com


I have finally found a site where I can upload videos to my blog.

This is one of my clips taken thru Hurricane Katrina. We are in West Mobile so we were on the edge of the storm.

My Pirate Name



My pirate name is:


Dirty Roger Rackham



You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.



This is what happens when you waiting for the roofers to come!

Thursday, January 26, 2006

"I was going to ride it until I found out it went backwards!"

Expedition EVEREST - Animal Kingdom

I heard that its fun YETI intense!!!

Get it? ummmm...ok it was rather bad.

For Your Consideration

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Scotty!

  1. There are six towns named Scotty in the United States.
  2. During the reign of Peter the Great, any Russian nobleman who chose to wear Scotty had to pay a special Scotty tax.
  3. Three seagulls flying overhead are a warning that Scotty is near!
  4. If you lace Scotty from the inside to the outside, the fit will be snugger around your big toe.
  5. Plato believed that the souls of melancholy people would be reincarnated into Scotty.
  6. Humans have 46 chromosomes, peas have 14, and Scotty has 7.
  7. The Scotty-fighting market in the Philippines is huge - several thousand Scotty-fights take place there every day.
  8. Scotty is born white; his pink feathers are caused by pigments in his typical diet of shrimp.
  9. Scotty can last longer without water than a camel can!
  10. The word 'samba' means 'to rub Scotty'.
I am interested in - do tell me about

Thursday Evening

Its funny how things work out. Its almost like a plan is being worked out somewhere.

I had a friend at work call me and was asking questions concerning my blog. She came upon a website that I had listed that she saw and was asking questions about. It was a website concerning HNT. I must admit I really didnt think anything about it until she mentioned it and to make a long story short, it got me to thinking about somethings.

Well, for one thing. This is not a knock on anyone doing HNT. I would never dare tell anyone how to run their blog because I do not want anyone to tell me how to run mine. However, sometimes it takes something like this to make you realize that you have to adhere to your basic self beliefs. Also, I felt kinda silly doing it when my father is ill. Maybe by making my last post being of me when I was a baby, it was something even he could be proud of if he visited my blog.

I am very careful about what I post on my site due to the fact of my job. I do not want to bring embarrassment to them as well as myself. Also, I always try to uphold my personal intergity as well. I think that I may have gotten away from that thinking lately and I am here to bring it back on track so to speak. When I started HNT, I did so only to help bring people to my blog to read it. After all, HNT is only one day and I do want to have people come back because they enjoy what is written as well as other things.

I have always felt uncomfortable with that aspect of it even as I tried to fit in so to speak. Even when I was making the pictures of shoes and what not... I didn't feel like me. However, when I talked to my friend this evening.....well it only kind of drove home the fact that I was starting to do things that I personally was not happy with. So being that as it may...I have adopted a new mantra on here.....or went back to my original mantra so to speak. I am wanting to write about comics. I am wanting to write about current affairs both local and national. I am wanting to have fun using wit and humor.

I want to thank everyone who visited thru the way of HNT. Osbasso has a great thing going and he is to be commended for having so many people following it. I have met a lot of friendly people on here and I hope that you guys continue what you do best and have all the fun doing it. As I said, this is nothing about you. Its more about me. Ok...enough on that. I am planning to joining another little webring sort of thing that is a lot more fitting of me. I hope to have my first post on that Monday. Also, I am starting something tomorrow that I hope that will be fun to do as well as entertaining.

Moving on to other things......

The latest on my father is that he is about the same. They were able to do his spinal tap today to find out what type of cancer has spread to his brain. They should have that infomation tomorrow. He is still taking radiation treatments to shrink the tumors in his brain. Hopefully tomorrow we can get some news on everything to see more about long term prognosis. My father also fell a couple of days ago and it was thought that he fractured his hip. Thank goodness that it was found out that his hip was ok. His spirits are good and he has his good and bad days. However, all the doctors agree that he is probably as healthy and as strong as he is going to get. It is doubtful that he will ever regain movement in his left hand side. My mother met with the hospital social worker yesterday. They are hopeful about getting my Dad into the Veterans Hospice in our hometown. The facility is about 3 minutes away from my parents home and would be perfect for the care and rehabilitation of my dad. I am hoping that tomorrow will bring news on all fronts.

I will be going to bed soon. Tomorrow my new roof will be put on. I am dreading the sound of hammering now. Ugh.

All Chuck Norris, All the Time!

Saturday Night Live - Young Chuck Norris - Break.com

Stop by here tomorrow for something new, something borrowed and something Chuck Norris....really!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Wave of the Future??

Podcasting people

This is a great little article that was in The Mobile Register today.

"Since we are on the topic of Chuck Norris..."

Monday, January 23, 2006

"I wonder if he has ever met Angelina Jolie?"

Chuck Norris Facts

For all the guys at work!( Warning...Strong Language)

"I wonder if she ever met Chuck Norris?"

Davezilla: Angelina Jolie Facts

These are great!! LOL

Sunday, January 22, 2006

The DaVinci Code





Its been like forever, but I finally finished The DaVinci Code audiobook today. It was a great listen and I really enjoyed it. It really made me excited to see the movie coming out in May. Without giving away or discussing too much of it, I found it to be an "intellectual" Indiana Jones movie. I do not consider myself a "smart or bright" person by any means, however even I was able to figure out some of what was to come. The end of the book was both unforseen and delightful. I am not sure that I follow or understand all the details that were presented in the book, however, I enjoyed it very much.

Now I step in to my TARDIS to head to David McCullough's 1776. I am afraid this book will take awhile.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

~She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah~

I went to bed last night at 7pm! My back is killing me...ugh.

Well, yesterday in my self imposed exile due to my brakes being worked on, I finally was able to finish watching the Beatles Anthology on DVD. My humble review is as follows.....

To any hardcore Beatles fan, as I was back in the early 1990's, the story of the Beatles is nothing new. This is just the actual band now telling it. Sometimes their memories are a little unclear about things but its the official version so to speak. I am sure there are things that happened they decided to forget on purpose and over the course of time has been lost from history. Since its their lives, they certainly have the right to tell it. As far as their history is concerned....its all old hat. A lot of detailed things were left out....wives, divorces, relationships with certain people in their history. I would think this was a way of keeping Yoko Ono out of the project entirely because she was never interviewed once during the DVD, even though her relationship with John was briefly mentioned. A lot of things were talked about in depth I thought wouldn't be....drug use for one. Neil Aspinall, the "Fifth Beatle" who now is over Apple, the Beatles archive so to speak, was given a place along with the others in the story telling process. This is only right since he was right there for it all. Two things stuck out in my mind during this DVD. Many of their performances were shown. I am talking about entire film sequences of their songs performed at concerts and other appearances shown in their entireity. This was great. A lot of footage I am sure that hasn't been shown in over 30 years. However, the most remarkable part of the whole DVD was the interviews with the Beatles themselves. These interviews were great. They showed the surviving members talking about events that happened. A great dig from George Harrison on Paul McCartney was when Harrison was saying that Paul was 9 months older than him and that he always reminded him in a roundabout way that he will "always be 9 months older". There were sequences that showed the Paul, George, and Ringo together talking both at a kitchen table and sitting on a blanket in a grassy area that I believe was at George's estate. Those interviews were the best. You could still tell that Paul, true to his personality. was leading the conversation and it was sometimes painful to see the others trying to get a word in edgewise. The best part of the whole DVD to me was the special features section. It showed more of the three of them together talking including a great story from George about meeting Elvis again in the early 1970's in New York. He said he stared at him...again in awe....but noticed that he was almost a cartoon version of himself. George said he just wanted to tell Elvis to get out of that jumpsuit, throw a pair of jeans on and grab a guitar and a stool and walk on stage and just perform his songs without the singers and the orchestra. Ringo said he met Elvis several times in Vegas and Paul said he only met him the one time when the Beatles met Elvis in '65. Some of their chats seemed strained at times like they were trying to find things to talk about. One great sequence on the special features was taken in the studio that showed George, Paul and Ringo talking with George Martin, their old producer. (Doesn't this man ever age?". Another great sequence showed the three jamming. Again this seemed a little strained at times. George even made one remark to Paul when Paul wanted to play a certain song. George remarked "ok, but only one verse ok...." or words to that effect. It just seemed that George and Paul were uncomfortable being around each other at times. Ringo remarked about when they were in the studio together making the newest song, Free as a Bird,that it was so weird for John not being there. It almost kept them from playing until they had to say to themselves that he was just gone to the bathroom or to the kitchen or something. That was the only way they were able to make it through the sessions.

All in all, a great DVD and one I am glad I got for my collection. Its definately a keeper.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Happy Birthday Mom!


...with everything that has been going on I totally forgot my mothers birthday today...... =/ ( where did I put that florists number?? )

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Meme

This Meme brought to you courtesy of Latin Lover's Little Corner of Cyberspace.
(..and from whom I graciously admit I take a lot of creative energy from....)

Four jobs I have had in my life: Stock Clerk at Kmart, Aircraft Mechanic, Correction Officer and ?????

Four Movies that I could watch over and over: Ken Burn's The Civil War, The Lord of the Rings, Thirteen Days, Love Actually.

Four Places I have lived: Only two so far....Bay Minette, Alabama and Mobile, Alabama.

Four places I have been on vacation: Cancun, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Hershey, Pa (shakes fist at Ray Nagin!)

Four Websites I visit daily: My blog, Outpost Gallifrey, MSNBC.com, Newsarama.com

Four of my favorite foods: Steak, Seafood, anything for breakfast, and a great Grilled Chicken Wrap with honey mustard that I get at work for lunch everyday.
BTW, I have cracked the secret code of making that honey mustard dressing and have a large container of it in my fridge!!

Four places I would rather be: 1) In the suite my wife and I had at the Wilderness Lodge at Disney World for our honeymoon with two weeks off and everything paid for 2)Las Vegas..for a weekend with friends to party! 3) In a beautiful home on a quiet tree lined street in a Norman Rockwell inspired town, sitting on the front porch enjoying the cool breeze in the late afternoon watching kids ride bikes on the sidewalk and waving to neighbors. 4) Throwing the baseball in the front yard with my Dad once again.

How did I do??

Ray Nagin strikes again!

Nagin apologizes for chocolate remark - Hurricanes' Aftermath - MSNBC.com

This is outrageous!

This is unbelievable!

This is totally and completely insane!

Everybody knows that Hershey, Pa is the chocolate capital of the world and the sweetiest place on Earth!

Just when will Ray Nagin learn?

Monday, January 16, 2006

The 30 Year Shingles

My first estimate for my new roof was done today and I was pleasantly pleased. Even with the addition of a new ridge vent, the repair of the holes through my front porch, and upgraded 30 year shingles (now that sounds like a painful problem!), I will still be WAY under budget for my roof. I am still going to get one more estimate from another company, but I am pleased that I will not have to spend any addtional money and/or contact my insurance company for another look at my claim. The estimator also said that we shouldn't have to wait but maybe a week to slap this new roof on. I thought we would have to wait at least another month for someone to get to us. Roofing companies are making HUGE bucks right now.

I just hope that this summer isn't a repeat of the last two.

From the Office of The Grand Poobah



President Bush called his advisors in this morning and asked them what could he do to help prevent any public relations snafus in the future.

The advisors were stumped but suggested they needed to find someone who was an expert in making a bad situation worse. At that moment, they all realized who they needed. The President, realizing that tough situations needed tough solutions, demanded of his men.

"Call in the Grand Poobah!"

The Grand Poobah, who was currently filming this seasons episodes of The Real World: Grand Bay, answered the call immediately.

"I will be right there!"

We will give you more infomation on the meeting between the President and Poobah as it becomes available.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Sunday Evening

I am about to head to bed so I thought I would jot down some things that went on today.....

*I finally got the kinks worked out with my iPod Shuffle and started listening to The DaVinci Code. I had planned on listening to The Secret Man first but things just worked out that I downloaded DaVinci first. I am about 10% into the book now not having much time due to things going on. I want to try and listen to more this week. I will post an audioblog review for the three or four people who haven't heard about it.

*Speaking of audiobooks, I have downloaded all but the Beatles biography onto iTunes. Funny, but I am not in a big hurry to listen to it. My wife got me
The Beatles Anthology set on DVD for Christmas. As good as they are, John, Paul, George and Ringo can get a little old. I have read most of the books on them out today and they all offer different variations of the same story.

*My wife and I crashed after I came home from work today. She is off work tomorrow due to the holiday, but however I have to work.

*This from the BRUSH WITH GREATNESS file. I bumped into actor/comedian Sinbad today. I looked up and boom....there he was. Although I didn't talk to him, he appeared to be very approachable and nice. However, he is one tall mofo.

*I want to give a shout out to Mrs. Ender, who is having a wee bit of surgery tomorrow. I want to wish her a quick and speedy recovery and I can't wait to hear her mocking laugh at me when I stumble.

*The Grand Poobah has sent me a new photograph of his travels. I will get that up in a day or so. He is truly a International Man of Mystery.

*We watched The 40 Year Old Virgin last night. It was a real funny movie and I was going to write a review of it before I watched it. However, strangely the movie kinda hit a little close to home for me. I have comics. I have action figures. I have even MORE superhero magnets on my refrigerator. However, one thing I did NOT have in common with the character of the 40 Year Old Virgin......you guessed it! I do have a car!! (evil laff)

*The man who was supposed to come and give me an estimate on replacing my roof forgot me....twice. I called his boss yesterday and gave him the fifth degree. The boss is supposed to come by tomorrow and do the estimate. Hopefully, I can get that finished with as little drama as possible.

*On a serious note, I talked to my mother today and my Dad did not have a good afternoon. My aunt and uncle came down to visit him and he mostly slept. My wife and I spent sometime with him yesterday and he seemed to be in good spirits but did not stay up for very long. I am taking most of next week off to help my Mom with some legal aspects of my father's condition. I plan on getting their finanical affairs together and consolidated more. Thank Goodness that my best friends wife works for an attorney so at least I have connections there...... I find myself staring at the phone a lot, like I am waiting for THE phone call. Its hard not to be optimistic but I as much as I love and cherish my father, I just hate to see him lying there. I think part of me has been in denial about it, thinking if I just roll with things maybe he will get better. I pray that he does. He may outlive me. I have so many mixed emotions about it that its hard to describe. I just want to thank everyone for the kind words and their support.

Well, time to shut this thing down and hit the sack. I am tired. I do not look forward to next week.

The Best Blonde Joke Ever Told!

The Blonde Joke

OMG! Freakin' Hilarious!!

..but you have to read to the very end!!!

Friday, January 13, 2006

Friday Evening

The topic of this evening is my father. I am afraid to say that he is not doing well at all. The rehab center has told us that my father doesnt seem to be responding to the program the nurses has been running him through. In fact, they have called the doctor in to see him in the morning. They have not scheduled any more sessions for my dad until the doctor visits him. My father suffered a stroke or a series of them over the past few weeks. His brain seems at times to be sharp but other times he doesnt know where he is at. His left side of his body seems paralyzed. He does have some movement in them but not very much.

Tonight I had a heart to heart chat with my Mom. She told me that although she is hoping for the best, she is preparing herself for the worse and for me to do the same. To be honest, I have for some time. My father has not been the same for some time. Even before the lymphoma was diagnosed, something was definately wrong.

I spoke also tonight with my mother in law. My mother in law works in the medical field and is well versed in the legal aspect of what we are going thru. She works with death...literally...every day. She gave me some advice that I later discussed with my mom. My mother is holding up pretty good thru this but she is tired. I told her that as macabre as it sounds, we have certain things to do from a legal standpoint before the worse happens. I told my mother in law that this doesn't seem right to do all of this. She said she understands since she went through the same thing with her mother. However, it is smart to hope for the best, but prepare for the worse. I am going to try to take next week off so we can get some of this started since it will take a while to do.

I love my father very much and I hope and pray that he is with us for a long time to come. However, this is something my mother and myself have to do to protect everything he has worked long and hard for. I have never done anything that feels so wrong and right at the same time.

The Last Full Measure

From IMDB.com - Studio Briefings

Turner's Third Civil War Film Dead on Field of Battle


Ted Turner's plan to produce a feature-film trilogy about the civil war has apparently been shelved after the completion of two money-losing films, Gettysburg and Gods and Generals. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the third film in the trilogy, The Last Full Measure, has been indefinitely postponed as a result of Turner's decision not to finance it. Meanwhile, the wire service said, Washington County, MD commissioners plan to ask Ronald Maxwell, director of the original films, to repay a $300,000 loan that the county had given him for preproduction costs. Gods and Generals, released in 2003, reportedly cost Turner $70 million of his personal fortune and made only $12.9 million at the box office.

This is a shame actually. Gettysburg was one of the most historically accurate films that has ever been made, IMHO. Gods and Generals could ... and should have been better than it was. It would have been nice to have completed the trilogy.

Maybe one day.....

Thursday, January 12, 2006

My overworked iPod Shuffle

I made a quick visit to the Moorer Branch of the Mobile Public Library today and picked up 4 audiobooks to add to my collection that is growing in my iTunes library.

Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts
The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz
Ulysses S. Grant by Josiah Bunting III
Plan of Attack by Bob Woodward

They join the books I have already on there....

1776 by David McCullough
The Broker by John Grisham
The Secret Man by Bob Woodward
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

I love historical, biographical and current affairs CD audiobooks.....

Any recommendations??

The Carnival of Hurricane Relief

I would like to speak on a serious topic right now.....

I spoke last week that my blog was asked to participate in a blog for continued support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I posted some pictures of the Mississippi coast that my wife and I took about 2 weeks ago. I was contacted by them and asked to provide a picture for the front page of their website. I submitted a picture that I took of the Treasure Bay Casino.

After visiting the coast, I was shocked to learn that there are untold millions of dollars of damage just along the coast that have not been cleaned up as of yet. My wife and I only live about an hour from where these pictures were taken. Even after this long of a time period, it is still hard to believe that areas that we visited often are no longer there. The Treasure Bay, the Grand, and the President Casinos were basically barges that were tied to other structures comprising the entire casino complex. Hurricane Katrina utterly destroyed these. No one experience was harder to see than that of The Grand Casino Biloxi.

My parents and my wifes parents loved to visit here often. It was very easily accessible near Point Cadet and Hwy 90. My wife and I have spent many evenings there dining and enjoying the casino. This structure was huge. I still cannot believe that it was BLOWN across the highway and landed where it did. The sight was almost surreal.

The Carnival of Hurricane Relief wants the public and private sector as well as our goverment, not to forget about the people of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. According to demographers interviewed by MSNBC, barely a quarter of the 400,000 people displaced in New Orleans have returned to the city. The Mississippi coast was given such a blow it will take years if not decades to recover.

Please visit the Carnival of Hurricane Relief at http://www.cehwiedel.com/cohr/.

My original post for the pictures can be found at http://earthsmightiestblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/no-words-can-describe.html#comments.

NOTE: The Treasure Bay pic has been having problems loading on the site. This happened last week and eventually cleared up. Please visit when you can.

What will they think of next?

CNN.com - Levi Strauss debuts iPod-ready jeans

I can hear the voices of women across the land.

(wait for it)

"Is that an iPod in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?"

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

The Mother of the Mystics

Mobile, Alabama - Mardi Gras

It may be larger in New Orleans, but do not ever doubt...Mardi Gras BEGAN in Mobile!

Monday, January 09, 2006

Thumbs Up!

Early Monday Morning

...well its 310am and its hump day for me. Its my Wednesday and I am beat. I haven't been able to catch up with my rest for some reason. At least, I do sleep very well at night. Due to my schedule I have to come in and nap for a bit just to take the edge off but the drawback to that is that sometimes I really fall into a deep sleep that makes that night kinda tough to get a good nights rest that evening. Anyway....on to my news...

*I got a new cellphone Saturday. I got off early from work to go and spend some time with my Dad. However, he was taking rehab so we had a little time to kill before we went over. My mom needed a new cellphone so the plan was to give her my old one...well old meaning I have had it since November. This freed me up to get a kick butt phone. I got a new LG phone with bluetooth, camera, AND MP3 player. Now this is a interesting situation. I sat down yesterday afternoon to set the phone up and the accessories I got for the phone I believe are wrong. It takes a 1 GB memory card and a reader to sync the MP3's on it. Well, my reader I believe is the wrong type so back to Best Buy I go. If this works I may take my iPod Shuffle back since it would be crazy to have 2 players. Stay tuned.....

*Our April vacation may be in trouble of being delayed due to work. I don't think that I will be denied leave but I will have to stay on top of it. Where I work at sometimes you feel you have to get a Washington lobbyist to work for you.

*I have heard that some people have already gotten their tax refunds back. Has anyone else heard that??

*I got a call from a old friend yesterday. Its nice to talk to him and it was the phone call I like....just one to call to see how you are calls.

*An update on my Dad. He has started his rehab and seems to be doing ok. He has his good and bad days it seems. When my wife and I visited him Saturday, he seemed to be in good spirits and was very talkative. However, he had a very nasty cut on his right arm from where he fell at the hospital. It was very ugly to look at. I am going to get back over there Wednesday. I just wish I was a little closer. He goes back to the Doctor Friday so I will be there for that. It bothers me that no one seems to have addressed the light stroke he had. I want to ask the Doctor about that.

Well, thats all for now. Word.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Simplicity and an update on my Dad




I was just about to head to bed when I felt like one more tale of my noneventful day.
I went out this morning for my early morning walk with my brand spanking new iPod Nano in hand and John Grisham's The Broker all keyed up and ready to go. I bounced out of my Ford SUV and slapped the earphones on, hit the appropriate buttons and off I went.....for about 10 steps. I stopped to turn the volume up and....nothing. I began to press more on the Nano. Nothing. The whole iPod had frozen. After I got home and showered and dressed, I proceeded to Best Buy and got a refund. I almost bought an iRiver but I didnt want to spend the extra money. I have for some reason wanted the iPod Shuffle. I just seems so....simple. So I bought it. Lets say tomorrow morning I will be strutting around Langan Park listening to our Patriots kicking some limey butt in David McCullough's 1776. John Grisham is going to have to wait! So the point is....for me.....simplicity won out over complication.

I want to update the condition of my father. My mother told me that it would be ok for me to stay home today. She was expecting my Dad to take some tests that would keep him out of the room for a while. Later in the day, she called to tell me that he was being moved to a rehab facility on the Eastern Shore tomorrow. I called my Dad tonight and spoke with him and he told me just to stay home until they work out his rehab schedule. I feel guilty for not being there but he seems ok right now. My Dad and I aren't into big emotional talks or anything like that. We usually keep our conversations quick and to the point. My wife and I will visit him this weekend. It just seems like his body is giving up on him little by little. However, I have found to never count him out. He may be the one to turn the lights out after everything is said and done.

Tale of Another Hurricane

Flat Earth - Hurricane Ivan

I have been looking for this blog for sometime and last night finally came across it. Its the story of the professors and students who rode Hurricane Ivan out at the University of South Alabama's Coastal Weather Research Center.

I can vouch for everything said in the blog. My family and I were about a half mile away hunkered down in the Department of Medicine at USA.

A night I will never forget.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

From the Office of the Grand Poobah



A new contributor debuts tonight on the Earth's Mightiest. The Grand Poobah hails from an unknown section of south Alabama. He tirelessly searches the Internet for the offbeat, the strange, and the weird. Much like himself.

Tonight, the Grand Poobah sends us promotional images from the new Dukes of Hazzard sequel. The producers could not get any of the former stars to agree to return, however, two new names will step into the General Lee.

Say Hello to Chuck Norris and Frank Stallone.

Don't laugh too hard. This could happen.

Wednesday Evening

Well, I made it through another work week and I just wanted to get everyone caught up with whats going on as of 732pm CST.

*Today was such a sad day in West Virginia. You cannot help to feel for the families of the coal mine disaster. It was a very bad situation and to have the survivor infomation wrong just made it that much worse. I can certainly understand their feelings.....just what can you say now that would mean anything. To me, the big story is that the mine has been wrote up for safety violations in the past and I do not know if they could have led to the disaster but I am sure the lawyers will be working this one out for a long time. Our prayers go with them.

*The weather here has been gorgeous! Can our luck hold out with these warm temps? Maybe winter will just skip the gulf coast this year. However, what does this mean for hurricane season? I mean, we have a tropical storm lingering in the Atlantic....will these above average temps come back to haunt us this summer? All I know is that I am getting my "C" batteries early this year. I should have put them on my Christmas list.



*Feast your eyes on this glorious picture. It is the Absolute Edition of one of comics greatest stories. Crisis on Infinite Earths came out in the 80's and is a must have for any serious comic collector. I bought this off of Amazon.com and arrived today. There are two books with the set. One is the story itself with a new cover by the Master, George Perez. Perez also does the cover for the Compendium, which breaks down the story itself and what it took to bring it to fruition. The art for the slip cover itself is done by the artist Alex Ross. He is a painter in the respect how he draws and inks and his detail is amazing. He done the official poster for the Academy Awards a couple of years ago. His work is so clear you can almost feel the texture of the costumes the heroes wear. I am very much looking forward to sitting down and really reading this monumental tale. I had a friend who had the original maxi series when it came out. The sequel, Infinite Crisis , is currently being produced by DC comics and out right now. For the abbreivated version on Crisis on Infinite Earths go to right here. Crisis on Infinite Earths - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia or this link that really breaks this complex story down. WPage / The Annotated Crisis on Infinite Earths

*Lastly, some news on my Dad. I talked to him earlier tonight and didn't get to talk to him very long because he was sleepy. My mother said today that he will undergo some more tests tomorrow. My mother says he will have to go thru extensive rehab to be able to walk again. Dad thought that meant putting him in a nursing home and was upset by it. They have a wonderful rehab facility in Daphne on the Eastern Shore that I hope he can go too. I made a comment to my mother that Dad's body just seems to be slowly shutting down and she said that my uncle said the same thing. He still suffers from dementia but his cognitive functions do not seem to degraded further. All we can do is to make him as comfortable as possible and take one day at a time. I want to thank everyone who has passed along their prayers and good wishes to me. I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Great News for the Port City!

"I will have what he is having!"

I just got through reading a entry on Latin Lover's blog "My Little Corner of Cyberspace" (see link below) and it just reminded me of a joke I heard at work.

"What is Hugh Hefner's favorite pick-up line?"

"Hello, I am Hugh Hefner!"

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

The Earth's Mightiest Players Present, "It's that time of the month already?"

I am in the mood for a little humor......let me relate to you a conversation that actually occured between my wife and myself.

The Scene: Our SUV on the way to Walmart to buy groceries.

My Darling Wife: "Periods suck!"

(Laugh track)

Me: "I know they do."

(Silence)

Me: "I have never been fond of commas and question marks, too."

(Hilarious Laughter and Applause)

and now for a word from our sponsor....... =)

Update on my Dad

I went this morning to visit him and he was in good spirits. The doctor was speaking with him when I came in the room and told him that he would be put on a PT schedule as soon as he completes his tests. My dad was still the same as when I last saw him but he just does not ANY strength in his legs.

The last time I saw my father is when my parents came over for Christmas, I could tell that he was there but nobody was home. He just seemed out of it and was having trouble walking then. My mom already had a appointment scheduled for him until he fell last night.

The doctor said if everything goes well he should be released tomorrow.

Thank you for everyone who has written words of support. It is really appreciated.

My Father

I probably will be in and out for the next few days. My father, who beat lymphoma earlier in the year, was admitted in the hospital late last night after a fall. After tests, the doctor said that one side of his brain is slightly swollen. He may have had a light stroke but they are running more tests to be sure.

I feel guilty even posting but he is resting now and there is really nothing I can do until I go over to the hospital. I will be going early this morning.

I will post his condition when I can.