Phillips 66 -- For Your Own Protection

How's this for service?

I filled up at Phillips 66 and charged it on my credit card. Fine and dandy. Like always.

Then later on I wasn't yet half a tank down but went to a Phillips 66 station, because I was about to venture across the frozen tundra of Iowa, and they always say you should have a full tank of gas in case you go in the ditch and need to stay warm. At the station, the credit card was rejected. The cashier said it was "for your own protection," because I was a "frequent user."

So we tried to pay cash, then the pumps wouldn't work.

We went to the next Phillips 66 station and the card was still rejected. But this time the nice attendant used it inside (anyway), and we were able to get on our way.

That's a crazy policy. People are on the interstate, traveling from one state to another. Of course they're going to need gas more frequently than if they're in their hometown buying it once a week.

Phillips 66 has been in the gas business a long time. They ought to figure out that people do travel, and that in the winter (especially) you want to keep a good supply in the tank.

I was not happy.

Who Knew?

At my hometown, before I was born, they had public swimming in the pond at the park. Then some kid drowned. And immediately swimming was now prohibited. So by the time I was a kid, we took it for granted that no one could swim there ... because that kid had drowned there. Back then, I guess we have to conclude, they didn't know someone might ever drown, so swimming was allowed.

Then at another place I lived, they didn't have stop signs or anything at the railroad tracks. It was like the Wild West. And everyone was happy enough with that arrangement. I was actually saying it was dangerous and wondering why no one seemed concerned about it. Then something happened. A guy in a truck got hit by a train and killed. And immediately they put up stop signs. Because, of course, no one knew before that such a thing could happen. It was just a mystery that such things could happen.

Now we have another bomber on a plane. This time not a shoe bomber but an underwear bomber. And the Republicans are all up in arms that such a thing could happen. After all, who knew such things could happen? According to them, it's a larger failure on the part of President Obama for not doing complete strip searches of everyone on a plane to, from, or within the United States. He ought to personally be doing complete exams of all body cavities to ensure that nothing bad ever happens to anyone. (I'm wondering why they were so silent in the Bush years.)

Naturally we need to examine our procedures. And do as good as we can. But if you can't imagine scenarios right now, before they happen, then you're not doing as good as you can. We're never going to be so safe that nothing bad happens. But a little imagination would go a long way. But you can imagine this, that if the Obama Administration had done any clamping down in advance, they would've been opposed to that too. Because the Republicans are opposed to anything and everything. Then when something happens, they say "Why didn't you do X, Y, and Z?"

Remember the Republicans' mantra in the Bush years? Here it is: It's not a matter of IF it will happen, it's a matter of WHEN. That is what they literally said about terrorism. They could imagine it happening at the time. Now that they're out of power and seeing every partisan advantage -- every partisan advantage -- they act like they shocked when something does happen. But you know, the Republicans are so scurrilous, you know they're actually glad when something bad happens. You'll never convince me that this underwear bombing attempt isn't something the Republicans are happy about.

Every Snowflake Different?

Come on, there's hundreds of trillions of them -- trillions of trillions of trillions of them -- how are we supposed to believe there's no two snowflakes alike when no one has checked them that closely?

We need a massive FBI-like database, with each snowflake carefully scanned. Then we'll run them all through one of those Google Picasa face recognition programs -- retooled to make it a snowflake recognition program -- and find out once and for all what the truth is about snowflakes and their supposed inherent dissimilarity.

Because I for one don't believe it. And I'm calling them out on it! Put up or shut up.

A Few More Hours Of Christmas

I always think Dec. 26 is about the most depressing day of the year. After the build-up to Christmas, then it's over, just like that.

So enjoy it while you can. Just a few more hours to go. And let's say I go to bed a couple hours before midnight, I'm cheating myself out of two hours of Christmas.

I'm not visiting with family this year (on Christmas). So it's a little lonely. Right now it's just me, the dog, and two cats. And the cats are someplace.

It was fun watching the dog check out her stocking. We got her, let me amend that, SANTA got her a few items, mostly edibles, of course. And she dug right in to one of the chewy ones. It was cute how she was sniffing the stocking, because she knew it was hers!

The Red Book Came

I ordered C.G. Jung's "The Red Book" from Amazon maybe a month ago. I don't know if it was that long.

For some reason it's one where there's a delay in sending it out. At first they thought it'd be January, then mid December, then January again. Then I suddenly got an email saying it was shipped and would be here, estimated date Dec. 29.

I was thinking, Oh no, because I plan on being out of town on the 29th. Don't tell anyone.

Then I was walking by the hallway and there was a big box setting there today. I thought What is this? when it suddenly occurred to me: It already came! So it won't be setting in the snow on the 29th. That's a relief.

I opened it and it's huge, gigantic. I'm going to have a hard time reading a book that's so huge. But I looked at the first page of C.G.'s quotations from Bible verses, a nice page, in Latin. Then I turned back and read through the translation of that page in English. It pertains to the coming of the Savior. Very deep stuff.

I'm going to enjoy looking through this book, and maybe studying it closely. I hope so. It's a great looking book!

I Got Five Free Downloads

When we bought a movie today, there was a bonus in it of five free downloads, MP3s, from some place I'd never heard of: amplified.com.

It's kind of strange in a way, that a place can be out there like that and no one's mentioned it to you.

It's also strange to have five free downloads, because suddenly nothing sounds good enough to download. Like "Why would I want that?" It's not enough for a whole album, so you have to pick and choose things that you don't have ... but what should I get?

I ended up getting a few oldies. It worked OK. Their prices are based on "credits," and I didn't explore it that much, since I get my downloads elsewhere. But maybe you pay a monthly fee or make an account.

One of the ones I wanted was "The Boys Are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy. I searched and they didn't have it. Nothing showed up on the search, anyway. Then I was going to get "All The Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople, but it wasn't on any of Mott's albums, just a track on the "Juno" soundtrack, that you couldn't download singly because it only came with the album.

So who knows about a service like that? I see Amazon.com has the Thin Lizzy track. And "All The Young Dudes," but for some reason the "Dudes" song is $1.29. I thought the $1.29 pricing was only for new, really in-demand tracks, not oldies.

Gauging Happiness In A Few Quick Sounds

I have family members who call me. I always want them to be happy, but sometimes they're not. Something's got them down.

I just had a call, and in this case ... she was happy! Yea! That makes my night, because, often, it's those sad ones that also get me down. Then I'm laying in bed hoping for the best. Even though "This too shall pass," we still have the journey from Point A to Point B that is painful.

So when I get one of these family calls, the first thing I must do is quickly gauge whether we're happy or sad.

The lilt in the voice is always a good sign. A despondent "Hello" followed by a tense pause is bad. Cheerfulness about accomplishments ... always good. Pessimism and apathy, self doubt and hopelessness ... not as much. Looking forward to seeing me, love you, goodbye; these are things I like. Anger and hanging up without saying goodbye; these are detestable. I've heard it all!

I answer every call. The good, bad, and indifferent. But I very much prefer the good.

The First Day Of Winter

Today is the first day of Winter. Boo, hiss!

I knew it was about now, so I looked it up, and, yes, it started today. I could step outside -- I was just outside -- and it definitely feels like Winter.

It's hard to believe Fall is over with already. It doesn't seem that long ago that I took my dog out -- it was the first day of Fall -- and we went romping up by a river somewhere. I took a bunch of pictures and it was a lovely day.

Now, just a few months later, already, it's Winter and I'm not going out to take pictures. Although today would've been a nice one to do it, since the trees were all white with sparkles. It was pretty. But I was way too busy to worry about taking pictures.

I went and got some extra groceries, because you never know what might happen. And I went and bought some gas for the snow blower, because I don't want to be at the mercy of the snow removal guys like I was last time. If I'm snowed in, I at least want a decent path to the road. Last time I had to shovel some of it out. Bad thing to do!

It's all pretty -- when Winter happens -- but it's deadly and unpleasant. There's one interesting and nice thing, and that's when you're walking after a fresh snow. Everything is so quiet and hushed.

Christmas Candy

I'm usually a cheapskate when it comes to buying candy. I have fairly good discipline in not buying it, unless I can get a good deal on it. I'm cheap!

But at Christmas, when you're putting it on the table for guests, it's nice to splurge. And buy the stuff that I wouldn't ordinarily buy, the premo stuff, like, Ghirardelli -- I had to go get a piece just to know how to spell it.

It's beautiful stuff. The various Hershey Kisses, which I also will not buy through the rest of the year. One, I don't like having to unwrap the little things just to have a tiny piece of chocolate. I prefer the bigger, more economical gigantic candy bars they put out.

I didn't get any of the hard, traditional candy yet this year. One year I got some and froze it and was eating it in July. Even then, though, it got sticky when it thawed out.

I had some cherry chocolates yesterday. It's nice to have a few of them at Christmas. Then I can't find them the rest of the year.

Of course none of it's good for you ... but it's Christmas!

We used to leave cherry chocolates out for Santa when I was a kid. And I don't remember him ever leaving any behind. So if they're good enough for Santa ... they're good enough for me!

Milknog

I had some "milknog" today, I believe for the first time ever. I don't remember hearing about it before, so it might be a new development in the conjuring up of different drinks for the consumer market.

But it's good, being nothing more than a mixture of milk and eggnog, probably half of one and half of the other. So it's milky with an eggnog taste to it.

I also had some straight eggnog, a great drink of the season. Why it's restricted to the Christmas season, I don't know, since it seems like it'd be delicious anytime. But who am I to question tradition?

It seems like I didn't drink eggnog until maybe in the last 10 years sometime. For whatever reason. I guess I figured I wouldn't like it. Maybe it's been in the last 15 years. The exact dates escape me.

It turned out that eggnog was also delicious. Although sometimes it seems to go straight to my head. I haven't had that happen this year, but last year I remember feeling dizzy, slightly overwhelmed by it. Like it was too rich for my sensibilities at the time.

I Found My Gigabeat

In cleaning my room I found down beside my bed on a dusty and generally unseen shelf, the bottom of a bookshelf, my old Gigabeat, from the S series. This was (is) an MP3 player from a few years ago.

It's amazing how fast everything moves, that this would go from a great item to a piece of crap just like that. Within three or four years.

The truth turned out to be it was a piece of crap all along. One of the typical criticisms of the Gigabeat was that it periodically erased everything on it. That was a shocker when it first happened, and it never got better with subsequent experiences.

I was just searching around and it looks like, maybe, they might still sell some variation of the thing. Or maybe the ads are just old and not removed from the internet. They ought to hook up a Gigabeat to the internet. I'm sure it would gladly remove all the files!

We had two of these, three for a while. But I only had the third because the place I bought it from accidentally sent me two instead of one. Real competent. Then they wanted it back. I delayed for a while but they actually called me on the phone, I believe, yes they did, so I mailed it back. Too bad I didn't send them all back, or, better yet, not have ordered the crap in the first place.

I remember one time, I hadn't had it for long, I was playing volleyball and it fell out of my pocket and got all scratched up in the sand. Plus I had to dig a few pieces of sand out of the controls. That's a drag ... because the scratches never went away. So that's another thing. It was terribly scratchable.

The power cord was still with it. I thought about plugging it in and charging it up and maybe seeing if I could use it for a portable, tiny hard drive (it had 60 gig!) for my laptop computer. But I don't really have any big reason to do so, of course, because the laptop has plenty of storage space. And, to tell the truth, I wouldn't trust a Gigabeat as a scratch pad.

After having my iPod Touch for the last couple years, the Gigabeat feels big and clunky. I really thought the name Gigabeat was a cool one at the time, but now it's just a word that means undependable and failure to me. I wouldn't buy anything made by Toshiba, they did such a bad job with this thing.

Wow, looking at the ad, they have an iPod Touch now with 64 GB, the newest model as of this writing. Mine, like I said above, is a couple years old, and it is only 16 GB. So I really have to pick and choose what I'm going to put on it. But it doesn't make too much difference. I put stuff on, I take it off. It gives me something more to do with my time, to keep shifting things around. It's like living in a small apartment. But 64 GB, that'd be a mansion.

I Cleaned My Bedroom Today

It's one of those things, once in a while it needs to be done.

I thought (hoped) it might take an hour or two tops, but it took a lot longer. Nasty process, to clean!

There's all the little crap that accumulates, enough to fill a couple garbage sacks. Plus the dust. Oh, the dust! Where does all the dust come from? It's coating the place.

I got it done but it's definitely no fun to do.

I keep thinking I'll keep it clean but it never works out that way.

I Haven't Been Reading Like I Should

There for a while I was a voracious reader. I read a few books in my spare time, marching right along.

The big problem -- if that's what I want to call it -- is that I got a new computer. And the novelty hasn't worn off yet. So I'm spending lots of time on it, more time than I should.

I started a book a few weeks ago, and I got pretty far in it, but since I got the new computer, I've just been letting the book go. But one of these days, maybe very soon, I'll get back to it.

It's funny how something can sideline me. I'm so gung ho to do something, like reading, as I was there for a while. But then a new toy comes into my life, I'm suddenly gung ho for it. Still, I want to finish that book. There's virtue in getting something done that you started.

Could Grunting Be A Better Language?

Mankind has been talking for hundreds of years, and all that time we've been at each other's throats.

It's so easy to say the wrong thing, to just blurt it out and not be able to take it back, then to accompany it with dismissive body language, we're naturally in trouble.

Could grunting be a better way to communicate? It usually gets its point across, and when it doesn't, it's ambiguous enough that no one knows your intentions so they're OK with it.

Grunting has served the animal world well. You hardly ever hear of any conflicts between animals. Of course they hunt prey, some are predators and some are prey. But that doesn't have anything to do with miscommunication problems. They're just hungry.

Both in effectiveness (even with ambiguity you can convey some powerful thoughts) and efficiency (if you can do pitches you've got the language down), grunting is a better language. Let me qualify that with a "perhaps" it is. Or just grunt, "uhhh," and let you figure it out.

Grunting has helped the animal world maintain their balance, their equilibrium. They haven't advanced like we have, but look at the advantages, they have that balance.

They sleep outside in the winter, I know. Which we don't want to do, but that's another topic.

UPDATE: An understanding student says, "It's not so much what he says, but how he says it."

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The idea for this posting was found in an old notebook in my desk.

My Dog Gets Cold Feet

I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.

I'm walking my dog and she suddenly appears to get cold feet and can't walk. She's lifting her legs and just hobbling there. So I run over and pick her up and carry her in the house.

I wonder if this comes with age, because I don't remember it from years ago. It's weird.

It's equally weird, unfortunate, that her nature is such that she can't just go to the bathroom. She has to walk around, sniffing everywhere, etc., like dogs do. But I have a human mind. So I know the clock's ticking ... if you don't go pretty soon, your feet are going to get cold and that will be it.

Use your opportunities now. Don't delay. Go while your feet are still warm!

Norton Goes Frantic On Cue

When I first got this computer a couple weeks ago, it had a very temporary Norton subscription, that would expire in a month or so. It came with a 15 month subscription but I still had to type that in and hadn't done so yet.

In that time, Norton was going crazy, popping up several times an hour with one notification or another. It was going so crazy I had to turn it off for a while just to get things done.

Then I typed in the 15 month subscription number and I've barely heard from them since.

Leading me to believe they have it set to go frantic when your subscription is about to expire, so you'll be sure to know you definitely need it. I want it, don't get me wrong. But I want it to do its job in the background and not keep me updated with its every move.

Like it's doing now, now that I have a 15 month subscription ahead of me.

I Cleaned Up A Room

Woo hoo, I just cleaned up a room. A reading room type of place that became a place of the worst clutter and squalor.

I've been sitting in the midst of that filth, stacked up stuff, stuff tipped over and sliding all over the floor, bemoaning it.

This morning I was sitting there and had to abandon it all, it was so depressing. Then I returned and sat there, stewing in the misery.

I mean it was bad.

But now, I've got it all straightened out, shelves dusted. Everything's pretty much in order. The only disaster now is inside the closet.

I came across some notes that one of my Grandmas sent me in the '60s, so that was nice to sit and read. I read one and half. Slowly, sentimentally.

It's easier to do things slower and with more meaning in a clean room.

It's nice to be able to go in that room now and not feel automatically 10 times worse.

Christmas Shopping Is Finished

It's a good feeling to be done for another year. It's kind of like getting done with your income tax forms in April, the feeling that it's done for a whole 'nother year.

I finished up today, getting a few stocking stuffers for a loved one. Others of the family, we ordered their stuff online and everything came, the last things today.

One of the postmen came over after hours to tell me that a package belonging to me had fallen down behind some stuff and he wanted to make sure I got it today. That was great. He'd already had a busy day, but to think that he took the time to do that for me, it touched me. What a nice gesture.

The benefit of him doing that meant that the very last presents purchased were in place. They could be wrapped and put under the tree.

It's quite a holiday. Too bad we didn't settle on a $5 gift exchange. It's a lot more lavish than that. I'll pay for it in January.

Like Bob Cratchit, we're making rather merry!

About Time For The Year's Best And Worst

We'll be hearing about the biggest story of the year, the biggest movie, CD, etc., very soon.

I saw on TV today that Taylor Swift's "Fearless" CD is the biggest seller of the year. I haven't got it. I've seen her on TV and she seems very pleasant. I wouldn't mind having it, but, really, I have to cut back somewhere.

A couple days ago I saw what the biggest one-hit wonder song of the decade is. It's "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. Somehow he didn't come up with a follow-up. And I heard that CD a few times and thought it was pretty good. He would have the talent to write a couple more hits, I'd guess. But that was a big one, "Bad Day." A good one too.

(It's more hits than I've ever had, so he can be proud of it.)

What was the biggest news story of the year? I can't think of what it might be. Obama's inauguration? Balloon boy?

Sarah Palin Might Debate Al Gore

That'd be good. She's such a halfwit.

Of course she's begging off the suggestion that they debate. So she apparently does have at least one lick of sense somewhere in that thick skull of hers.

It's easier just making potshots from the sidelines. That way you don't have to answer for your ignorance. We all know that.

I'm Still Snowed In

Our snow removal guy hasn't come. This after a full day and night of snow yesterday. So there's massive drifts where we drive our car to get out.

I called and got the wife (or secretary) and she said they were out working. So what can you say? Nothing. OK.

I hope he's here tomorrow. It's stupid to be snowed in when all the neighbors are already dug out.

Another Stain To Go With My Old Book

The other day I wrote about an old book I have, "The Soul of Lilith," which is over 100 years old. The copy I have has a name and 1906 written inside the front cover. The book also has some very old stains, maybe coffee stains at the page edges.

Well, unfortunately, today it got a brand new stain. One of my cats puked on it. What are the odds out of all the books I own? I've worried about the cats doing something like this, and I even worried about this book in particular, something happening to it thanks to the cats. And today it happened.

I was in a different room and heard a cat retching. It seems like they do a lot of it. I went running because sometimes I can catch them in time and get a paper under them. But this time no such luck. I got there and it was already done.

I noticed that first, and second I noticed a spot on the book at the top front cover, spilling over on to the top page edges. Right where a major part of the century old coffee stain also is. I immediately wiped it off with something but it's still stained. Although not as bad as if I would've come home an hour later and discovered it.

It was also on a few other books but not as bad. Bad enough! So I wiped everything up.

I said the stains gave the book character. Now, unfortunately, it has a little more.

Walking My Dog In The Snow

It's hard to believe we used to have dogs who lived outdoors. In the winter and everything. Except we brought them in if it was bitterly cold, and they stayed in the basement. That was over 40 years ago.

Now we have an inside dog, and I have to take her out, and she gets cold when it's around 20 degrees. She starts moving her feet like they're uncomfortable, and I suppose they are. Well, do your business and we can get in faster.

The last few years I've been carrying her quite a bit of the time. Then we find a spot and I set her down. Still, she doesn't exactly hurry to get it out. She still takes her time sometimes, meaning she's going to get cold.

But I love my dog. I want to keep her as comfortable as possible. So I usually carry her home afterward.

I've tried dog booties. They don't work with my dog. One pair we had was too little. One pair was too stiff. We tried baby socks with Velcro fasteners, but it takes too long to get them on, then they tend to fall off in the snow and it's a mess.

I need to take her out for a quickie before getting ready for bed. I'd love to be in bed in a half hour.

Rearranging My Room

Since I got a new computer a couple days ago, that meant everything had to shift. In the room.

My old computer, I'm still going to need for various things. But it needed to go somewhere besides on this one desk, because this particular desk is more the right height for the new computer. Since it's a laptop, the keyboard is clear up here somewhere, with this big section at the bottom. To type on it with any quickness I need to hit it at a particular angle, and even then it's kind of annoying.

But already I've doubled my typing speed just by changing the height of the keyboard.

To get to this position means shifting, as I said. But shifting of computers that have been in place for years is not an easy task. Plus there was lots of other junk stacked up all over the desk, including old candy papers, and even some candy! There was one piece of melted candy stuck to my desk, and about an inch of dust all over everything. What a mess. Lots of scraps of paper, crap from ages ago.

Then there's the whole matter of cords, tangled up, hooked up around other things, like spaghetti. To do this is an enormous commitment. But it won't do it by itself. So I got it going, scooping off everything into a big basket. I found a couple CDs I hadn't seen for a couple years. I wondered where they went!

The very last thing, the desk is a little uneven, apparently, because I had to put a quarter under one corner of the computer to keep it stable. I'll have to come up with a more permanent thing there. A piece of cardboard taped down probably. Or part of a CD case. I don't know.

Facebook And The Looming Death Of Friends

It's been a long time since I was in high school. Most of the time since then, of course, we didn't have the computers, the internet -- and certainly we didn't have the current social media sites. The one I'm thinking of is Facebook.

So, being there, we've been touching base again with old high school friends, and some who weren't exactly friends, but the times are different decades later. There they are, a bunch of old folks. I check the yearbook once in a while to see who I'm dealing with, because, to a certain extent, they look like that still in my mind.

There's been a bunch of classmates die. Not ones I've known on Facebook though. But at the class reunion, the last one, we had a moment of silence for a whole list of people.

Now I know someone on Facebook from my class who could very well die. She's got enough wrong with her, serious cancer issues. The thing here, though, is that I'm not friends with her personally on Facebook, but I know a couple of people who are friends, who say what's going on.

It's weird on lots of levels. Maybe the weirdest is that I know anything about it at all. Let's say technology had been different. No Facebook. And she dies. She would've been just like the others on the list at the reunion. I didn't know any of them were sick and dying till I got to the reunion. And I wouldn't have known about this woman.

So we're all getting in touch with each other just in time to watch each other die.

Serious Question About Congress

Can President Obama do or suggest anything and have the Democratic Congress automatically on board?

It doesn't seem like is to me. Where did they get all this fight, after years of rolling over for George Bush?

A Fan Of Verizon

I saw at Facebook someone is a "fan" of Verizon.

LOL. Why?

I Won't Be Sneaking In

The couple who sneaked into the White House dinner and got away with it probably wishes they hadn't. Their lives have been turned upside down. On the other hand, I've read enough articles that suggest if there's a buck to be made off it, they'll make it.

I'd hate to be famous. That's true. But I'd hate to be infamous even more. And this is what they're known for now -- for now and all eternity. When they die, that's the first thing that will be mentioned about them. The picture of the woman in her red dress. Yuck. I'd rather be unknown for nothing and just die.

I've always thought I'd have a good knack for sneaking in places. But it's hard. Because they have state of the art (and good state of the art) surveillance equipment these days. Everything you do is on tape or digitally recorded. Even the Mission Impossible guys would have a tough time with things these days.

But believe me, when it comes to any kind of presidential function, I won't be sneaking in. Not after what these idiotic people are getting thrown at them. Plus, you'd have to think it'd be bad. It's not like sneaking into the state fair, which is probably also bad if you get caught. This is something very very major.

Moisture Stains Never Forget

I'm reading a hardback book that is over 100 years old.

It was once owned by Verna Stecher, who wrote her name inside on the front flyleaf with the date 1906. So, a shout out to Verna up in Heaven! I'm taking good care of your book! It's an enjoyable one. I'm wondering if you liked it. "The Soul of Lilith," by Marie Corelli.

It looks, though, like Verna must've had an accident with a cup of coffee or a puddle of something else. Because there's some moisture stains around most of the pages, the edges of the cover. There's also some of the loss of pliability that comes from the pages having been touched by moisture, some stiffening.

In 1906 I might've tossed the book, since it would've been wet and messy. But of course in 100+ years it has plenty of time to dry, unless it gets moldy and persists in its misery. This one doesn't have any mold -- dead or alive. And the smell is just the smell of an old book. I was hoping it'd smell like 100 year old coffee.

In 2009 I'm looking at the moisture stains and I don't really mind them. It gives it character. I'm thinking of a woman 100 years ago spilling coffee on her book, I'm reading the same book, Verna is dead and in Heaven, and it's all very charming.

Afghanistan

I'm torn about what to support or oppose when it comes to the Afghanistan war.

One, I don't want Al Qaeda and the Taliban to win anything. If we're out of there, which we eventually have to be anyway, it'll give them an open field for whatever they want to do. The Taliban will definitely be back in full force, oppressing the people. But I don't know what's going on now. Maybe they already are.

Two, once we're gone, we're gone. It'll be too late to get anything accomplished for good. It's just too bad it seems like we haven't accomplished much. Maybe we have. What do I know? It seems like if we're there from 2001 to 2009 we ought to have accomplished a lot. That's longer than World War II.

It's hard for me to believe that we can't win if we set our mind to it, whatever "winning" actually means. Yes, it's a tough country, they say. But what about the other side? They're not Superman, are they? If we can't beat a few (however many) rebels in one little country, how in the world would we ever be able to handle the Nazis again?

President Obama's going to have a plan, which sounds like more troops. It's not a popular thing for those on the left. But it's a popular thing for those on the right. That right there, the fact that the Republicans are for it, might automatically mean it's the wrong thing to do. So that's a point against it. Leaving me in a quandary.

I guess at this point I'm going to trust that the president has weighed the options and is making the best decision based on the information he has. He has it, not me. He's in charge, not me. So, go for whatever he feels is best. That's where I'm going to end up.

Get a definite plan, a definite goal, do what we can to accomplish it, then get out. Just don't get us in so deep that we can never get out.

My Dalliance With Sports

I famously said to someone the other day -- in reply to the question "What's your favorite sport?" -- that I hate all sports.

Hate might be too strong a word. I can't get into it that much might be better. It has its good side.

Sports might be more interesting if there weren't so many games. Like if we had 10 games the entire year, then it'd be something that wasn't constant. When something's on all the time, what do you really care?

But that's not the solution. Because they'd be sneaking more games on than 10 and next thing you'd know we'd be back to what we have now.

But I don't begrudge people their sports. Just leave me out of it. I don't want to get swept up in the whole thing.

I was at the exercise place today and they had on a soccer game from England. What an extremely dull game soccer is. It's hard to believe the people over there like it so much that they kill each other over it. I cannot get interested in that crummy game.

Now, about my dalliance with sports. I watched part of a game last night, football. And I watched part of one today. It was great. I even went and took about an hour nap and came back and they were still going at it. I never saw the end.

The game today was Clemson vs. South Carolina. It's amazing how much knowledge the announcers have about everything to do with it, including games they had 10 years ago, trivia about them. I'm thinking, Wow, these guys make big bucks and their whole life is nothing but sports. What a waste.

Adam's Album Ratings

Adam Lambert got 4 out of 5 stars at All Music. And 3 out of 5 at Rolling Stone.

All Music thinks he has the best immediately post-Idol of any, being one who knows the whole music scene and what's cool, etc.

Rolling Stone thinks the album is over thought.

It's definitely not a loose album. It's calculated and exact. But the songs are fine, catchy, intense.

20 On 20 XM

I haven't been listening to my XM radio very much. It's just been setting there unused. Because it's been in a place that I'm not spending much time in. Since it has an antenna that has to be strung outside, it's not the most convenient thing to be moving around.

But today I decided to move it to a different room, where I've been sitting and reading a lot. I did the whole antenna thing and got it so it could focus on a signal.

So I have it on "20 on 20," usually my favorite channel, although since I haven't been listening, I've got to get used to a lot of new stuff. Some of it I've heard in the air around town, but most not.

I heard Adam Lambert on there. I was wondering if they had him. They played the song "For Your Entertainment."

Maybe now I can get some good out of my subscription.

Turkey Day Tomorrow

I see the annual turkey got pardoned at the White House.

I haven't heard word of the Republicans protesting this yet, but I did see several jokes about it. If they don't protest, it'll be the first thing President Obama's done right, according to their skewed way of looking at things.

The turkey in our fridge didn't get pardoned. I don't know how long ago it was killed, but it's been in the fridge since Sunday or Monday. So it didn't get its pardon application in early enough.

I'm looking forward to having it. But as to the leftovers, I don't like turkey leftovers. Too dry.

Exercise Is Beckoning Me

Unfortunately but true. I haven't been for a while. And I'm getting my gut back.

So very soon, true to my word, I need to hit the gym. I hate to go out on a cold night. Much like the summer when I hate to go out on a hot night.

I Bought A New Computer Last Night

But it was one that I ordered so it won't be here for quite a while. They have to build it.

I think I've seen glimpses of that process on TV. It seems like they used to show it on Dell commercials. The computers are coming down an assembly line and people are hooking things on them, whatever.

This isn't a Dell, but I'm sure that would've been a good enough brand.

I'm looking forward to it for numerous reasons. My current computers are as slow as can be, more or less. I won't be waiting around like I do now. Plus it's a laptop, which I've never had, so I can be various places with it and not just sitting at this desk ... or my other desk.

Two Christmas Trees

We already have two Christmas trees up and decorated.

Two!

One is the old tree, now retired to a secondary room but decorated just as beautifully as it usually is.

The other is a new tree, which has now taken the place of the old tree (which was so faithful but now is relegated to a secondary room).

It's weird to have decorated Christmas trees before it's even been Thanksgiving. But that's the way it goes around here. These are not 100% my decisions.

A Foggy Morning

It was a foggy morning this morning. I love walking outside and seeing fog. But I hate driving in fog.

When you step outside, though, and see fog, it's like in the old movies. Everything is semi-obscured and more mysterious looking. You can't see buses coming until they're right on you.

When people walk by in the fog they look like they're emerging out of nowhere, then they walk by and back into the oblivion.

I really could take a long walk on a foggy morning, if that's what I did. But as it is I'm so busy that I can't just go for a walk. I'm very much on a schedule.

By the time the day wore on and the fog was gone, I forgot about it, until another guy reminded me how foggy it was. Oh yeah! I forgot.

Getting Plenty Of Sleep

I've tilted the balance back the way it should be as to getting sleep.

For a while I was getting 6 or 6½ hours approximately and not feeling the greatest. It's generally OK if I can get a nap midday but that hasn't always been possible.

So for the last couple nights I've made it 8 to 8½ hours and that's a lot better. Of course it gives me less time to actually live, but sleeping is also sort of like living. Who knows what good dreams really do for you? I think they do me good.

I love waking up through the night, glancing at the clock, then dosing right back off. Last night I woke up at 10 something, 12 something, and one other one I'll mention in a sec, 4 something, then at 5:30 when I got up. The other one to mention was around 1:46. And it seems like I woke up twice. So maybe I saw 1:46, then fell asleep, then woke up at 1:46 again. I don't know. I might be imagining it, but I remember wondering if the clock was working right.

Bought Cat Food And Dog Food

It's expensive having pets. I'm always reminded of this when it's time to go buy their new food.

We have various grocery stores and they have various prices. The cat food seems like it took a spike in prices a year ago or so, whenever it was that everything went up. But it's cheapest at one particular place with the initials W--M----. One of the other stores, it's around 25 cents more for a 4 can pack. And one of the other stores, I don't know what it is there, but I know it's more.

The dog food price went up whenever that was a year or so ago. It was around $5.00 a box. Now it's in the $7.50 range and hasn't gone up or come down. It stays right at the same level, knock on wood.

Then there's the cat litter, which I needed to get tonight. That adds to the cost of keeping pets. It's all a fortune. But we love them (sort of) and wish them many more years of sucking us dry as far as our money goes. Yes, we love them.

Cuckoos On A Choo Choo

Last night I saw the Three Stooges film, "Cuckoos On A Choo Choo," I believe for the first time. I don't remember ever seeing it before. And it seems like one I'd remember.

It was such an odd film, I immediately looked it up in The Three Stooges Scrapbook to see how many stars they gave it. And they didn't give it any! I don't know how many other films don't any stars in the book.

In the description it said it's considered the worst of the Three Stooges comedies. And I believe someone wrote that at Wikipedia as well. I saw a quote on Wiki from a guy on the comedy of the Stooges, that when they're cast as independent characters, not a team, they lose their whole comedy dynamic. That's definitely true. But in this particular episode, even though it started out that way, it seemed like they were acting a team about half the time.

I would guess it's considered bad because the story is just odd, there's certain inexplicable things about it, etc.

I was actually liking it in a weird way, because it was so absurd. The little music that plays when someone takes a drink out of the liquor bottle, the big canary, the relationship of the Stooges to the two female cast members, etc. It's just freaky.

The book also said the business of Larry on the train was supposed to be a parody of "A Streetcar Named Desire," with him doing some kind of Brando thing. I regret to say I've never seen that movie so I don't know about it. And that the canary was supposed to be a take-off of "Harvey." I don't know about that either, even though I've seen "Harvey." Shemp was drunk when he saw the canary. It seems like James Stewart was not drunk, but I could be mistaken. It didn't seem like much of a take-off.

It was strange. But I actually liked it, again because it was so absurd and not so plot driven. It was just weird. I was thinking, this would be a good one to watch over and over, to get yourself in a very strange mood. It might be good if you were getting ready to do some creative brainstorming.

Also in the book it said that Larry used to have a film of this one and he would show other people at the home he lived in, some kind of convalescent place. And that he fell asleep. The book meanly suggested that others would fall asleep too because the film is so bad. I don't think it's a snoozer. It's odd but also oddly compelling.

A Late Nap

I took a nap just before it's almost time for bed. I was starting to feel overly tired, so I lay down on the bed and had that confused bit of sleep.

Somehow my thoughts were sort of at the surface and sort of not. I never really got comfortable. Then woke up not quite rested but definitely needing to get up. I have things that need to be done before going to bed in earnest.

It was a busy day so there was no way to get a nap earlier. And that's what I felt like I really needed yesterday but didn't get.

The science of napping. It's not that great to have a late nap.

More Three Stooges In 3D

I read a paragraph in The Three Stooges Scrapbook about their two shorts in 3D, that Columbia didn't think they were that great.

But critics were less than enthusiastic about these new Stooges offerings, as was Columbia, and it abandoned the idea of producing additional 3-D shorts. [p. 83]

I must go back in time and change their minds. And if I can't succeed at that I will simply register a vain protest in the present moment. There's nothing wrong with the 3D shorts. I think it's quite cool to see the actual Three Stooges in 3D, since I never had seen them that way before. It's very cool, in my opinion, to see that extra depth, even if the Stooges were just standing around.

Now, do I think there needed to be quite as many gags of thrusting things at the audience? Like they were trying to accentuate the 3D thrills? Not really, but it's understandable, with the novelty of it. And it's not a complaint I have because even that I thought was OK.

Columbia doesn't appear to have appreciated the Three Stooges. But times have changed, all the principals are dead, and I'm willing to move on if they are!

A Big Meal

I did the "big meal" thing at a nice restaurant tonight.

Nice big steak, all that. Then I had to go out on a cold evening afterward. And thanks to the whole thing about digestion and blood -- it's always colder after a meal than before. So I got cold.

This has happened before where I've started shaking, shivering like crazy, which about wracks me out. Fortunately it wasn't that cold tonight, just uncomfortably cold.

In the winter, that's when it's the worst. It's not worth it to go out to eat in the winter. Because afterward I'm too cold to even go home. I hate that feeling of getting into a cold car and having to creak all the way home shivering.

I'll probably sleep well tonight. But I definitely need to hit the exercise place.

Bette Davis Has Bette Davis Eyes

I got a VHS movie yesterday starring Bette Davis, "Jezebel," from 1938.

It looks good. It says she won an Academy Award for her memorable performance, and that it is a true classic of the cinema.

One of these days I'll get around to watching it.

I got three other VHS tapes. I was avoiding buying these because of DVDs, but since they're so cheap now, $1.00 each, it's obviously a good value and cheap entertainment. Three of the movies weren't even opened yet. Those were "Alexander the Great," starring Richard Burton; "Notorious," one of the great Hitchcock movies I've never seen, and "The Charge of the Light Brigade," starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, which I've never seen either.

I've never seen any of these four movies. So I'm glad to have them.

The Cat Ruined My Bagels

The other day I bought a bag of bagels and accidentally forgot to put in the fridge.

I got up in the morning and there they were on the counter. But I didn't notice anything else at that time.

Yesterday, then, I got up and went to have a bagel and I noticed the bag as all chewed up, and when I took a bagel out it had been inflicted upon with teeth marks and was gnarly.

That darn cat!

Anyway, I cut off the worst bit and had the rest. But now I still have the rest of the whole bag and they don't look that great.

The Three Stooges In 3D

I watched one of the two Three Stooges films that were shot in 3D. I didn't even know there were any shot in 3D till yesterday, so how's that for a surprise?

I had time this morning to watch one of them, which is called "Spooks," if I'm not mistaken.

It was great. The 3D is really good in places. Maybe my eyes aren't good, I don't know. In places it was hard for me to focus. But the arrangement of things and the gags, coming at the audience with a syringe, throwing pies, etc., all was very good.

Great job.

The New Three Stooges Is Here!

Today's the day, Nov. 10, for the new volume of the Three Stooges collected short films.

I rushed out and got it. Actually I went at a leisurely pace, but I got there on the first day. I haven't opened it yet but it says it comes with 3D glasses. I didn't know the Stooges filmed a couple of their shorts in 3D, but obviously they did.

I guess I don't know much about 3D. I didn't think there was any such thing as 3D with black and white movies. Showing what I know!

I don't think I'll get to them tonight.

Under The Yum Yum Tree

I'm watching an old lascivious movie, "Under The Yum Yum Tree," starring Jack Lemmon. I got a VHS of it at a thrift store a week or two ago.

It started out very cute, if somewhat (somewhat??) dated. As I progress it's still cute but Jack is being a bit over the top with poking his nose into the people's business.

There's a couple who want to live together "without sleeping together," to find out if they're compatible for marriage. Jack is the landlord of an apartment complex that typically only rents to women, because he's a lech and has a thing going with as many of them as possible.

He's surprised that this young lady has her boyfriend living with her with this arrangement. And he wants to do what he can, I guess, to get the guy out of the way.

It's like going back in a time capsule. It's so dated it's hilarious. Plus, it's kind of funny in its own way. I like seeing Paul Lynde, who was present for the first 20 minutes or so.

Dennis Kucinich Sucks

What else can you say? We came this far on health care reform and this clown voted no. He really sucks.

As he spoke, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) walked by, handing reporters a statement explaining why he'd been the only liberal to oppose the bill.

Would you have changed your vote if yours was the deciding tally?

"No," said Kucinich.

Fort Hood

It's sad that this guy went on a rampage. Too bad they couldn't spot him before he did it. It sounds like there might've been some clues.

It's weird that he himself was a psychiatrist. But anyone can have mental problems, and he obviously had them aplenty.

I'm hoping that the right wing crazies don't generalize this into a religious war, as though all folks of his religion (Muslim) are somehow responsible. That's ridiculous and I hope we're smarter than that.

It's extremely unfortunate, the whole stinking thing.

That Extra Hour Of Sleep

I've been getting up faithfully at 5:30 every morning. So much so that it has become a habit.

Just then we turned the clocks back and now I'm waking up at 4:30, like the last few days in a row. A couple of days I got up, then found I was dead tired as the day wore on.

Today was the same thing. I woke up around 4:30 and thought I could get up, but it was going to be another long day, so I forced myself to fall back to sleep. And I think that extra hour, getting up at the new 5:30, was very valuable.

Last night was all run down. Taking the garbage out. Feeling like someone on the verge of falling over, etc. Naturally I got right to sleep at night.

Tonight I still have a few things to do. Then I'll go to bed. And hope I wake up at 5:30 instead of 4:30. The biggest blessing about waking up is that I'm generally successful at falling back to sleep.

NY 23

I'm glad the Democrat won in the NY 23 Congressional race. Ha ha for Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and the other crazies.

It was unfortunate that Republicans won a couple of governor races. But from the sound of it, the Dem in one of the races (Virginia) was trying to run as a conservative, leaving our Democratic principles behind. So it'd be hard to get excited about him.

NJ, I don't know much about. Corzine has been around for a long time. The people there must just not have liked him anymore.

I myself voted yesterday. I came THAT close to not voting, since there wasn't much on the ballot. City Council, Mayor, etc. And I didn't really know much about the candidates. But I read in the paper what comments they made in an interview from the last few days and based my decision on that.

Incredibly, one candidate "did not wish to comment" on the issues, according to the article. I was thinking he was kind of flaky anyway. But I can't imagine that kind of tact at the last minute of a campaign would get him many votes! That's where we the basically uninformed are getting our information, and if you "do not wish to comment," well, we're not voting for you, stupid.

Ha ha.

Growing Old Together

I was watching one of my cats going down the stairs the other day, not quite as spry as she used to be. It looked like she was taking very deliberate, almost painful steps. There wasn't anything to indicate pain, but going so slowly it made it look like that to me.

The other cat, a couple years ago or 1½ years ago, was having a hard time climbing. I saw him trying to jump up on something (on their cat box) and he wasn't making it, or making it with difficulty.

But in a gradual recovery, he doesn't seem to have any trouble doing it now. So I don't know. Maybe he had a temporary problem back then.

Both the cats will be 15 in the middle of 2010.

The dog is officially 10 years old and a few months. But she doesn't appear to be slowing down any. But it's all just a matter of time.

Then there's me, us people. We're way older than them, but it's OK to be as old as we are and be human beings. We age Fahrenheit and they're Celsius, so we have lots of extra leeway.

It's interesting to age together. Any other pet, something happens to them. Hit by a car. Strangled somehow. Dies of worms. These three animals look like they're not going to pass on till old age tells them to.

Getting Up Early

I've been getting up early lately, giving me time to spend some alone time with myself and my thoughts.

I wasn't especially in a big mood for it today and tried to work on that, my mood. It's hard to overcome a mood, but a little willpower and sticktoittiveness, I stayed there the whole time I allotted for it.

I was reading several different things, trying to use the time for good spiritual profit. By and large it's a success.

Getting up early, though, means I'm tired now, and it's not late yet.

Happy November

We've got Halloween behind us. Next stop Thanksgiving!

Which is November's biggest thing. November's upon us.

Where I am it's off to a great start. It was so nice I went for an extra long walk with the dog at the park. Not exactly spring. But not as cold as it's been.

Keep up the good work, November!

Halloween's A Bust

Halloween is kind of a bust where I live. We bought a couple bags of candy and have only had one kid so far. That's one, as in less than two. Ha ha!

There's an official time for trick or treating, meaning they have around a half hour to go.

But we never get very many for some unknown reason. So I end up eating most of the candy myself. I see there's some "Three Musketeers" in the bowl, which aren't my favorites but I will eat them.

I Wrote About Gravy

I also lost somewhere around 5-7 followers at Twitter. Maybe just a coincidence, since they're the ones no one wants anyway, those trying to sell things or whatever. I don't even know which ones they were. Not ones I was following back. Kay surah surah.

Anyway, my theme today was "Gravy." This is at Grandma Slump. The original idea was "Going Beyond The Same Old Grind," which is still a good idea I'll probably do sometime soon. But then I jotted down "from guts to glory to gravy," with this "teaching," that You want the gravy and glory, you need the guts ... No guts, no glory, no gravy.

Not extremely funny but weird sounding when you go on about it all day. So it was an initial post in the morning about gravy, then four bursts of tweets through the day on the theme of "Guts to glory to gravy."

I was a little amused by it myself. And that's what counts. Because no one else is here! I know that. And you'd know it too, if you were here.

80 Years Since Wall St. Crash

It's hard to believe it's only been 80 years since the Wall St. crash, the whole thing at the beginning of the Great Depression.

I'm not 80 years old, of course, but I go back a long time. And I used to hear my grandparents talking about the Depression and how terrible it all was. My grandpa wouldn't vote for a Republican no matter who he was, thanks to the Depression. I honor his memory for lots of things, but that's probably the biggest. He had the right idea. The Republicans are skunks. No offense to actual skunks.

But doesn't it seem like those days, the '20s are an infinity ago, plus one? To me it seems like it. 80 little years is all it's been. The ink's barely dry on the papers.

If you look at papers from 1929, it was a different world in many respects. They did the same things, of course, but we've come a long way since then.

I Hit 100 Followers

On one of my Twitter accounts. I only have one that I put my efforts into, since I have limited efforts.

It's been slow going, but today my thing cracked 100, like 101 at one point I think. I might lose 20 overnight, because, frankly, I have a lot of followers who I'm not going to follow back. They're mostly there, it would appear, for some business thing. Very few of them are what I'd call interested in what I have to say. So it's all vain and worthless, but hey ... you get your strokes where you can!

Ha ha. It is worthless, no doubt about that. I see that with the clearest eyes man can have.

There was one guy who started following me, though, who looks suitably strange enough for my tastes. I mean that as a compliment. His bio says: "Historical evidence suggests the existence of at least one immortal living among us. We're looking for the proof." And he has Rasputin all over his background. He's seeking information about someone named Sam Bailey. And says at his blog, "Those who know me personally recognize the ridiculousness of me interacting with strangers - even on the internet. Whether or not you've guessed from the blog, I'm not much of a socialite."

Joe Lieberman -- Putting Up With Him

It's hard to believe the entire party supported this guy for VP in 2000. After all we've been through with him in the meantime.

It's impossible to forget that this clown appeared at the Republican National Convention last year. And that he supported John McCain for President. That's bad enough, but that also means he supported Sarah Palin for VP. And potentially for president at any given moment, depending on McCain's ticker.

Isn't that something? If Joe Lieberman had his way, Sarah Palin would be that close to the presidency. And the Republicans, who gave us eight years of irresponsibility, would still be in control.

Personally, if I had my way, we would've kicked this lousy turncoat to the curb as soon as the '08 election was over. He could've had a nice time over at his new home, the Republican caucus.

Now, here he comes again. Threatening the health-care reform bill. After all the work they've put into it. After all the hope that we've built up that something decent might finally happen for a change. We've got the insurance companies with a knife to our throat all the time. And what's Joe Lieberman's take on that? He won't lift a finger to help.

I renounce half of my vote in 2000. Al Gore, you should've picked someone better.

I Forgot To Write Something Yesterday

I don't know what happened. I have a goal to write a little something every single day. Only missing a day here or there just to break up the streak if it's giving me fits.

But yesterday wasn't one of those days, either for breaking the streak. I just noticed, nothing happened and I'm trying to think back why.

I had plenty of time. But I guess it must've been when we went to our reading room to read, we were down there close to two hours, probably. I was reading away, with my reading glasses.

Speaking of reading, I see Barnes & Noble has a new electronic reading device, which looks cool. It's called the Nook. We have a Kindle in the family but it's not mine. If I think about it in the next few months -- let's say Christmas isn't too much of a budget killer [it will be] -- I might get one.

Then I can read more to my heart's content and forget all about "Boy Leg." Nah, I wouldn't do that.

My big problem with getting one of these electronic reading things is that I have hundreds of books that I haven't read. If I want to read, I could be reading everyday for nothing till I'm 70 years old.

Then my eyes will have fallen out and I won't need one anymore. Except I might, because at least on the Kindle it reads to you. By the time I'm 70 they'll probably have robots to read to me.

From Elvis In Memphis

I got the CD recently out, "Elvis In Memphis."

These are songs I already have, on the '60s box set as well as on the original records. They also put the "Back In Memphis" album together with it, since they're all the recordings Elvis made at American Recordings in Memphis in 1969.

The "Back In Memphis" album was originally together with a live record of Elvis at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.

At the time when these came out, I wasn't buying that many Elvis records, although I've had them now for decades. I was definitely noticing them somehow. I must've seen them in record stores. I was actually confused by it all. "Back in Memphis," "In Memphis," "From Vegas to Memphis," "From Memphis to Vegas," etc. I don't know if there were any other variations.

I couldn't really see the difference it made as to where he was and why they were making such a big deal about it. Just so they don't lose him. Since I never personally ran into him, whether he was in Memphis, Vegas, or Nashville didn't make any difference.

I can see the point now, that he was in a rut, then went back to his hometown to this legendary studio (at the time very successful) and put down some great tracks. Even so, I wasn't tuned in, so I didn't really realize how great the tracks were till a few years ago when I got the '60s box set. Now I love the songs.

And I'm very happy that Elvis had this high point -- some stuff to be really proud of.

This set is nice. The songs are in the order they were released on the LPs, plus there's bonus tracks, to give at least one take of each of the songs he recorded. It seems, though, that something's missing. Like the stereo versions of some of the songs, like "Suspicious Minds," "Kentucky Rain," etc. These are represented only by the mono versions. I'm no expert in these things, but I believe the versions on the '60s box set would be stereo. And I'm also thinking the versions on the "Elvis #1 Singles" box set are also the stereo versions. Don't hold me to that.

The pictures are nice in the "Memphis" CD set (2 CDs), the booklet has some good notes, there's a nice plastic slip case to put the cardboard set in. I like it. It was $13.88 at Walmart.

Dare We Hope?

The health-care debate is getting crazy, with multiple voices claiming various things. The public option's in, it's out, they support it, they don't, Obama supports it, Obama doesn't. Sheesh.

Just wake me up when we get something done. I'm so sick of it.

I think it'd be helpful if we knew 100% that President Obama wanted X, Y, and Z. Then all the competing voices -- all the king's horses and all the king's men -- wouldn't make any difference.

A lot of the craziness I suppose we can chalk up to the Republican mischief makers, the scoundrels, our national cancer. They're no doubt behind the scenes trying to gin up as much mischief as they can.

Yes, the Republican party is a cancer in our country. They're a scourge and it'd pay if we could somehow find the cure.

Commander Cody

Just this morning I started watching the serial "Radar Men from the Moon" (or something like that), introducing the character Commander Cody.

I guess I never knew who Commander Cody was. I just remember the name of the singing group that had Commander Cody in the name.

But he was on old serials, as an adventure character. Anyway, I'm still in the first episode, which features some guys shooting a ray gun at trains, electrical towers, etc.

Commander Cody has a flying suit, which when he gets it all adjusted, he's able to fly and get there just before they blow up another train.

The Commander is an ordinary looking guy, but looks extraordinary with the big bullet helmet.

We'll see how this goes. I've seen several serials, and they tend to be monotonous, a lot of getting the secret thing, then losing it, then getting it, then losing it, etc. I hope this one is better.

Defragging My Computer

I have two computers that I use. And both of them are slow as molasses.

They're old and don't have enough memory, etc., but at times they've worked along fairly well. Nothing like what I've seen lately in decreased performance. Like sludge.

One of them says it doesn't need to be defragged but the other did. So I'm letting it go doing that now. It's taking forever, and the hard drive is a really small one.

I also deleted all the TEMP files, which was a challenge in and of itself, since the disk cleanup function didn't work properly till I looked it up and made a registry change. Crazy crap.

The other computer -- which is very sluggish -- I ran a spyware thing. It came up with 48 minor, really nothing sorts of things. I don't know if any were serious, but I haven't seen anything especially wrong on that front.

Tomorrow I'll see if it's any faster.

I seriously need two brand new computers. The time is practically here, now with the new Windows 7 being released.

Pussyfooting Around

Keith Olbermann used a word for the Democratic leadership on the health care issue, that they're "pussyfooting" around.

That is so true. You would think they have major media people saying it, that they would get their butts in gear and get this thing done the way the people want it.

It's hard to believe that once upon a time they were trying to get this done before August!

The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce

I saw the video where The Yes Men punk'd the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, by posing as Chamber officials to say the Chamber was reversing their positions on global warming and doing something about it.

It was hilarious. Then it ends with this actual Chamber official showing up to stop the whole thing.

It's thought provoking though. Why in the world would the Chamber of Commerce be against doing something about global warming and climate change? Do they have some other planet they're planning on settling to carry on their work? Or is this planet -- Planet Earth -- the only one they have in mind?

It's astounding to me that anyone -- left, right, conservative, liberal -- would be against doing something to make the world a better place for us and our children to live.

But the Chamber of Commerce -- aren't they usually thought of as responsible citizens? I thought so.

Messing With The Kindle

There's a Kindle in the family, not mine. But I've had a little time to mess with it.

I downloaded a book today, nothing I especially wanted, but I searched and searched and found one I thought I could possibly enjoy. So it's OK.

As to reading on the Kindle, I'm definitely not used to it yet. But so far I'm not overly impressed. It might be a while before I get one for myself.

I like the idea of being able to get various places in a book with some speed and not having to dink around with menus, up and down, all that to get to a place.

As for the highlighting feature, it's not easy enough. I came to a few places in the book I wanted to highlight, which is possible to do. You push MENU, then scroll the five-way button down six or seven steps (that gets monotonous), go to the beginning of the place, click, then to the end of the passage, click. That's all there is to it. But then next time you want to highlight, you hit MENU and the thing is back at the top, meaning you have to scroll down six or seven steps each time! OMG! That's their system?

As far as I'm concerned, everything is tough to get to, tough to navigate, etc. The keypad isn't that great, etc., etc.

One definite thing it can do is get the book you bought fast!

By the way, if the passage you want to highlight is on this page and continued on the next page, that's the same process two times.

Out To Eat

We were out to eat tonight, at a local steak place. It hasn't been in business too long and apparently didn't have as much business as it did tonight, for whatever reason.

The waitress was very apologetic for various things and said they hadn't had a crowd like this before. She might've heard someone talking about it, one of the bosses, because she didn't seem like she'd been there that long.

They were very anxious. She said the cooks were stressed. I could picture them back there trying to cook meals over a candle or something, as long as it seemed to take. But in the end it wasn't really all that long and we weren't mad or anything.

It made me feel a little anxious, though, to know they were all anxious.

Up, Up and Away

I was looking for a beautiful balloon, something I could puff up and fly away in. But all we have is a rubber raft and it doesn't fly.

It was weird watching the coverage of the balloon boy yesterday. The swirling of the helicopter made the balloon look like it was going a hundred miles an hour.

It would've been nice to see it from a stationary camera to see how fast it was actually going.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. It was nice that the kid wasn't actually in the thing. But now they have a few questions to get settled, probably, and it'll be done.

I hope it wasn't a hoax.

Vietnam Moratorium Anniversary

I didn't march personally, but I do recall the whole thing happening, 40 years ago...

It's when I first learned the word "moratorium." I used the word moratorium the other day in a different context and some (older) guy didn't know what it meant. So I guess not everyone's heard of it.

Anyway -- it was widely felt that "Vietnam Bleeds On," and we finally extricated ourselves from the whole thing. It seemed like it took forever. But I understand the Afghanistan war is now a longer war.

It must have been something about being young, but Vietnam seemed like forever. And the last eight years -- while agonizingly slow because of George W. Bush -- doesn't feel like it compared.

What Takes Congress So Long?

Headline: House Expects Health Care Vote By Christmas.

By Christmas? What's the big hold up?! Get it done!

Do we or do we not have the majority in the Senate and the House in addition to the presidency?

I am fuming mad at Congress. This is ridiculous. (Weren't they trying to get to it before September?)

The Great Escape - Movie

The present movie I'm watching while doing my exercises (20 minutes a day) is 1963's "The Great Escape," starring Steve McQueen.

How many shows were there anyway about Nazi prisoner of war camps? "Stalag 13," "Hogan's Heroes," and this one are the ones I can think of. "Hogan's Heroes" of course is a heck of a concept for a sitcom. But somehow they made it work.

So far, I'm probably still in the first hour, I haven't seen any swastikas. So there must have been a reason for that. Wonder why. They're not saying Nazis all that often either. They use a couple words over and over for the Nazis: goons and ferrets.

The big thing about the movie is how they're constantly trying to escape, and the culmination of their efforts will be a "Great Escape," based on a true story.

Just watching the first 40 minutes or so, the goons don't seem very smart. They fall for every diversion and they don't seem to recognize all the dirt showing up in the prison yard (from digging a tunnel).

It might just be me, but if I'm in charge or a guard in a prison camp, and the prisoners we have are known for escapes, I'm going to be extra suspicious about everything. I'm going to be periodically emptying out the barracks and checking the floors, including under the stove (duh). And any kind of apparent diversionary tactics would be addressed as well.

If someone is able to dig a 335 foot tunnel, that means someone else wasn't paying very good attention up here.

Los Lonely Boys -- 1969

I got this EP at Amazon, MP3 downloads. It was only 99 cents today, which sounds cheap enough, eh?

Of course it only has five songs on it, but it's a good one. I'm old. I like the songs, especially "Polk Salad Annie."

I've never had anything by "Los Lonely Boys" before. In part, just because that's the way it is. And in part, because they played a song by them at a funeral for a friend of mine one time. So it's hard (impossible) for me to hear their name and not think of this guy's funeral. There's a lesson in that. Don't ever play a song at a funeral that you ever want to hear again!

Songs are: Evil Ways, Well Alright, She Came In Through the Bathroom Window, Polk Salad Annie, and Roadhouse Blues.

I'm Your New Commander, You Now Are My Prisoner

The other day I got the soundtrack of "Rocky Horror" from the Roxy Theater. 1974, I believe.

I like hearing it. Since I've heard the movie soundtrack so many times that there's nothing left to hear (and I still love it.)

The Roxy one is of course different. And I haven't heard it enough to know all the differences. It's all nice as far as I'm concerned. I don't care for the Brad song in the middle, which I don't even remember the title to, the one that didn't make the movie. So I keep skipping it -- whether it's the movie soundtrack album or this one.

An interesting snippet I heard tonight while at the exercise place -- well, I heard the whole "Rose Tints My World" song. The interesting snippet of this is where Riff Raff says, "Frank N. Furter, it's all over, your mission is a failure," etc. He almost sounds like Little Richard on one part. It's very boisterous and soulful, as compared to the movie's more metallic, driving version.

The Scenery Away From Home

We needed to go to a funeral out of town today, 60 miles in a direction and place we don't ordinarily go. I've been there before but it's very rare.

We noticed the scenery seemed so much more wonderful than what we're used to seeing. The river, the lake, the trees, the quaint buildings (there weren't too many quaint buildings, I just threw that in.)

It made me think how ordinary everything around home seems, which must be the way it always is.

It reminds me of the contentment you can have by staying at home. It doesn't matter to me if I see great scenery in other places. I'm happy enough at home.

It's like in the Beatles' song "The Inner Light," which is quoting from the Tao Te Ching, "Without going out of your door, you can know the ways of heaven." I have a version of the Tao Te Ching, the Stephen Mitchell one, that says, (and I can't quote it), the people live next to a great country, but they never go there. Because they're content with their own place.

I Finished Watching Doctor Zhivago

This is a big day. I finally got through the whole movie, Doctor Zhivago!

As I've said before, I watch movies while doing my morning and evening exercises. I have a particular regimen that takes around 10 minutes each morning and evening. So to watch a movie means to watch it around 20 minutes a day. And this is a longer film.

Add to that the fact that I was depressed by it at first and could've quit at any point. But I got a little more engrossed, and insisted on the discipline of seeing it through to the end. As I became more engrossed, it was an easier task.

I liked it quite a lot, as it turns out. And I watched most of the documentary afterward on the making of it. I have a little more to go.

The Making Of It documentary really drives home the point how hard it'd be to make a movie like that. Wow!

Another 9/11 Would Perk The Republicans Up

We know the Republicans won't be happy with anything good that happens for America while Barack Obama is president.

They're against any positive legislation, against the Olympics, against the Nobel Peace Prize. We'll surely be hearing from them soon that Thanksgiving and Christmas should be canceled.

So what's it going to take to bring a rosy hue back to their cheeks? I think it would take something massive. Perhaps a terrorist strike. I'm sure they'd love that! The worse the better.

Then we'd be able to see Dick Cheney make one of his glorious appearances. Saying in his best Penguin voice, "Wah, wah, I told you so."

Another full blown, all out 9/11 attack would definitely pluck their heart strings -- we have to think -- and put a bounce back in their step.

Anything that is bad for America, that's what the Republicans want. You know they're rooting for worse unemployment numbers. They really are.

They'd love to see the stock market crash. The Black Plague would be good.

If somehow butterflies might be killed off just before spring and the swallows didn't return to Capistrano, that would be a plus.

My Doctor Zhivago Update

I must be about finished with Doctor Zhivago, watching it. I'm on the second tape and it seems like it's getting close to the end.

I also got the soundtrack record today at a thrift store. Honestly, I suppose I have the record already in the basement, but I was at the thrift store, there was a very nice copy for 50 cents, so I got it.

I've never heard the soundtrack record before today ... even though I've known I had it over the years. The front cover never appealed to me, but that was all before I ever saw the movie and really zeroed in on it. I would always glance at the picture of Geraldine Chaplin on the left side and it never appealed to me. Looks like a guy about to kiss a baby seal.

It's funny, I never really looked at the cover at all .... really looked at it. The thing is I'm never interested in soundtrack albums of movies I haven't seen. So I can look at them a million times in thrift stores and recognize them without ever really zeroing in on them. The same thing was true of the "Music Man" soundtracks -- Broadway and film. Now that I've seen the movie, I look at them carefully.

As to the movie, I like it OK. But I don't think anyone could trudge across that frozen tundra and not freeze to death, but hey, I got severely chilled tonight just taking my dog out. And it's not below freezing.

Conservatives Don't Love Mary's Baby

I thought conservatives liked babies. Bundles of joy. Gifts from God. A miracle, each one. Five toes each foot. Fingers, also five each hand. And so forth.

Everything's good about a baby, except the stuff that's not good. Like the 3 a.m. feedings and all the diaper changes. Crying isn't that great. Bilirubin. Heat lamps.

But now they're criticizing Dick Cheney's daughter Mary for being pregnant. So it's not quite as good a miracle when the mother is a lesbian. One wrote:

I respect Dick Cheney, but I don't understand why he is allowing his daughter to take innocent children into her lesbianic home. Can anyone claim that these kids won't be scarred for life? So sad.

That makes it sound like she's adopting. But I checked around and I hadn't read it wrong. There's places that says she's adopting.

And as to Dick "allowing" his daughter to do anything, I believe she's an adult.

A Very Disturbing Photo

Wow, Tom DeLay is one creepy looking guy. A snake in red stripes? Not a good look.

Watching Doctor Zhivago

I'm watching Doctor Zhivago while doing my morning and evening exercises. I've probably seen over an hour of it so far. I believe it's a long movie because there's two tapes.

It seems like a great movie. Except it also is very depressing, and it looks like it's going to get more so. They've had the revolution and the Russians are a cheerless bunch.

This one guy -- the Doctor's brothers -- only speaks as narration in hindsight. He's in the scenes with his brother and he stands there like a post, not saying anything.

The rabble has taken over their house. They haven't got any freedom. The thought police are everywhere. Was that the way it was? It looks like they didn't get off to a good start in Russia! I guess I thought it took a while, but what do I know? (Nothing).

I'm up to the part there Zhivago and his wife and this one old guy who hangs out with them have clambered into a freight car on a train. That's depressing!

Will I make it all the way through this great ... yet bloody cheerless movie?

The Masons

Here's an article -- this is from New Jersey -- on the Masons (Freemasons) hoping that Dan Brown's new book, "The Lost Symbol," will revive some interest in their organization.

I read the book and definitely think the Masons sound pretty cool, as far as their history goes and their various pursuits. I don't know a lot about them, except some members of my family have history (positive) with them.

I have a Masonic Bible, and it has some interesting bits. They're very interested in the temples and the various order of temple worship.

And of course I've heard various slams against the Masons over the years too. Which, who knows? It's probably a lot of hogwash on those people's part, since the Masons can do what they want. Get together, memorize a bunch of stuff, and share brotherhood bonding (there's a women's organization too, and a boy's, and a girl's.)

I say they sound cool ... but still, for me, it wouldn't be the thing to do.

The article says they started "demystifying" themselves in the '80s. That might be a mistake. I prefer things that are mystifying to things that are plainly ordinary.

Getting Cold. No More Swimming.

I went by the municipal pool, now with Fall in full force. It's cold.

Strangely, there were plenty of parking places. 100% empty lot ... except for me.

No water in the pool. No lifeguards to tell me, "Hey! You!"

Records I Heard Today

I got a box of 45s at a garage sale last Saturday. For the most part, they didn't have sleeves. Yet they weren't in uniformly terrible condition (some were). Some buffed up pretty nice.

The best record in the box, in my opinion, was a Buddy Holly and the Crickets one (Brunswick, "Oh Boy"). But there were other good ones, some country ones (for the most part), and a few rock ones that were good.

I got a Slim Whitman Imperial 45 ("Indian Love Call"), and that record is very noisy. Not that it's beat, but it seems to be a pressing issue. Like they did a really poor job making it.

I wanted to just mention the ones I heard today, which I also made MP3s of.

Bobby Bare - Detroit City; Ernest Tubb - Another Story; Jim Reeves - This Is It; Jody Reynolds - Endless Sleep. I had never heard this record, even though it made it to #5 in the '50s. I see he has lots of songs at Amazon, so it's kind of weird that I'm not familiar with him. I believe I've seen the name a time or two over the years. But that's it. It's a cool song, and the flip, "Tight Carpis" is cool too. In the box there were two copies of this record, the U.S. Demon Records issue as well as an English pressing on London Records. I recorded the London one. The "Endless Sleep" has an interesting story, with the guy's girlfriend in the sea, apparently dead, and he seems to get the call to come join her in her endless sleep. But then he finds her and things turn out OK.

Some miscellaneous country 45s, including artists, Johnny and Jack, Johnny and Jonie Mosby, Kitty Wells; a cool Nat Stuckey record "Sweet Thang/Paralyze My Mind." I really like "Paralyze My Mind"; a Red Sovine 45 "I Didn't Jump the Fence" (this one is slightly off center so I never could get a perfect recording of it.); Stonewall Jackson "B.J. the D.J." (in bad shape, a fairly crappy song. I heard it just once, but the story seems to be a kid who goes to be a disk jockey, he never gets enough sleep, and he ends up in a fatal accident. Ha ha.)

Tab Hunter "Young Love/Red Sails in the Sunset." The word "turgid" comes to mind. What a horrible record. Lifeless; Tammy Wynette "Soakin' Wet,"(this is the B side, which I like better than the A side. Her tears are always dry, but her heart is soakin' wet. What a wild idea!); "Back In School Again" by Timmie "Oh Yeah" Rogers (this one is badly warped but playable. Again, I like the flip side better, "I've Got a Dog Who Loves Me." That's a wild one. His dog loves him but his woman don't. He thinks about feeding her dog food instead of steak.)

Minnie Pearl "Giddyup Go-Answer." This is an "answer" song to another record I got in the box, Red Sovine's "Giddyup Go." I believe it was written by the same guy, at least half the writing team, Tom T. Hall. "Giddyup Go" is a ridiculous song (to me), about an idiot who's so devoted to truck driving that he's on the road for six years at a time (LOL). He has a wife and kid at home. The kid named dad's truck "Giddyup Go." The man shows up after six years and his wife and kid are gone. The next time he sees his kid, it's a surprise, because he's all grown up with a truck of his own, called "Giddyup Go."

Minnie Pearl's answer song tells the story from the other angle. The Mom was sick, that's why she left their home, to go to a drier climate. She didn't leave a trace, for whatever reason, then settled in Phoenix. Years passed. Then the son was to be a truck driver, so he left town. The narrator is there "just now" as the glad reunion of father and son from "Giddyup Go" is described from her perspective.

Our Democratic Super Majority ... Sucks

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democratic Super Majority
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Jon Stewart has some great things to say about our "Democratic Super Majority" in the Senate.

Basically, they suck.

My Red Sovine Autographed Record

Hey, I got part of my Red Sovine wish. One day we were heading into a thrift store and I honestly said I wished I could find some Red Sovine records. But I didn't find any.

Then just the other day, Saturday, I was at a garage sale and bought a box of 45s, approximately 10 inches worth, just records in a box without sleeves (mostly). I made a mad dash through them later and stuck paper towels between them to minimize any damage. I picked a few out and just left the others in the box to examine later.

Today I was picking out a few and this was one of them. Red Sovine - "Giddyup Go" and "Kiss and the Keys," Starday 737.

The strangest thing to realize was that it was actually signed by Red Sovine. So I checked on the internet for a couple examples of Red Sovine autographs and they more or less matched this one. Real close. Which was a cool thing.

I've only listened to it once, each side. "Giddyup Go" is the strange story of a truck driver, whose kid names his dad's truck "Giddyup Go." But one time the dad comes home and the mom and kid aren't there anymore. He must not be too curious about what happened to them, because he's back on the road. Then years later he sees another truck that says "Giddyup Go" on the back of it. And it turns out to be his son as a truck driver. (I think that's what happens. I heard it once.)

If I'm the kid I might say, "Dad, all this time between the time I was a kid and a truck driver, couldn't you have been at least curious enough to look for me?" Twerp.

The other side, "Kiss and the Keys," is peppy and singing. ("Giddyup" is kind of a narration thing, like Red Sovine did with "Teddy Bear.") I can't remember much about "Kiss" except it ends up with a woman jailer falling for a prisoner, who seeks a "Kiss and the Keys."

I'm happy to have this record.