Thankfully today is Friday and that means the work is so close to finally being over.  This week has been pretty busy, like it always is after a two week break.  Thankfully this time it hasn't been quite as bad as the other one this year.

I really could go for a vacation, even though we had one something like 5 months ago, it feels like ages ago.  I need to talk to Amanda and figure out her vacation days or paid time off days schedule so we can start planning.  I guess that is one of the pleasures of a new job, trying to figure out what your spouse has for vacation.  I know that I have three weeks this year to use before June, so I need to take some soon.  Then after June, I begin 4 weeks of vacation a year.  That really rocks, since 4 weeks seems like a long time!  Add that to two weeks of military leave a year and it's over a month and a half of time away from the daily grind a year.

Nothing exciting yesterday.  I went to the grocery store for the first time in nearly a month yesterday and picked up things for dinner.  Amanda suggest fried rice and a stir-fry.  I grabbed the necessary ingredients along with a case of beer.  When I got home I started cooking my rice right away since the stickier the rice the better the fried rice. 

I let the rice cook and played some Madden.  Then I cooked dinner.  The stir-fry was ok but the teriyaki sauce that I've been using is too thin.  It has about the consistency of soy sauce and adds flavor but it doesn't coat like it should.  I really need to just grab a new bottle. 

After dinner we watched a couple episodes of House.  We are probably about a third of the way done with the fourth season and have yet to watch any of the current season.  Amanda started to get sick of watching House when we started blowing through a season a week, hopefully now she can tollerate the last few episodes and then be relegated to an episode a week like most tv shows.

So far the episodes of the new tv season have been ok, but nothing has been earth shattering.  It appears that the writers have lost their touch after their little strike last year.  Hopefully they get their mojo back sooner than later.  Truth is, that I noticed the same thing last year following the strike.  They just never hit their stride again in the last few episodes of the season.  Hopefully the couple great shows that have yet to have their season premiere can really rock...

Did anyone watch the debate?  I did it was bleh.  Same old rhetoric, same old talking points, can we please get candidates to actually debate with each other.  I want to see heated words.  I don't want an elected official to sound like a robot, I want an elected official that can look across the table at _____________(insert country leader here) and verbally kick ass.  I want an elected official that is not afraid to take a decissive stand and tell their opposotion to suck it.  I want a debate to be a debate, not just little 2 minute speeches.  Was Biden sincere towards the end talking about the death of his family?  Yeah, I think so.  Was Palin shooting straight when she said that she was middle class?  Yeah, I think so.  Regardless of what you think of her, she is the only person running on the presidential ticket since perhaps Eisenhowser that was not filthy rich, and is upper middle class. 

Anyone else's investments taken a beating?  Yeah, everyone probably has, but damn, my return the last year is something like -25%.  I guess that is what I get for following everyone's advice to be agressive when you are young.  I'm not that disturbed though, since I still own shares in these funds, and historically it will rebound.  I guess the one saving point is that with a 401k, the market has to go to complete hell before you really lose 'your' money.  I just tell myself that I'm losing my match and profit sharing, not any of my hard earned money.

Ok, I have more to right, including my trip to the UK post, but it's about time for me to leave and meet Amanda for lunch.  She has the day off of work.  Take it easy....

I have a meeting in about 20 minutes, but I want to do just a real quick update before then. 

Yesterday after work I met D&A H at a local bar/pub for drinks.  Amanda was working until 6 so I was there about an hour before she was.  We spent the evening playing Texas Hold 'Em, eating, and drinking.  I had a pretty good time.  After dinner I stopped by Dippin' Dots to get some dessert for Amanda and I.  Amanda wasn't in the dessert mood and she committed a Dippin' Dots sin by throwing away the remaining amount of hers, oh the horror!

We watched the season premiere of Chuck when we got home.  The episode was ok, but not as good as the season that wrapped up.  Hopefully it was just a one episode sophomore slump. 

That was my evening since I crashed on the couch until like midnight.  Nothing too exciting....

It looks like the senate passed the $700,000,000,000.00 bailout bill late yesterday.  Now it's on to the House for their vote.  It sounds like this bill has been porked up quite nicely and is thicker than most novels to a length of 451 pages. 

I'll admit, I'm a bit mystified about how this bill is going to help the economy and prevent the 'Great Recession'.  I think that our problems lie so much deeper than just the oil crisis, mortgage crisis, bank crisis, food crisis, etc.  Our problems are on a level with what we saw in the 20's.  We have all heard stories of what it was like living in the Great Depression.  Our grandparents are still deeply affected by what they experienced.  They don't waste food, the value everything they have, and they save what they can.  Will the Great Recession be something that our children and grandchildren study in school?

I really should devote a couple hours the next few days to increase my knowledge of exactly what is going on, but it will probably do nothing but depress me more about our current state.

On the bright side our gas prices are finally slipping down to around $3.25.  I hate to rub salt in the wounds of everyone in the Southeast, since their gas is up in price and there is a huge shortage.  I also haven't been in a supermarket in like 3 or 4 weeks, so I'm not sure what has happened with food prices lately.  Hopefully everything starts to stabilize before we start to see widespread inflation. 

I was alive when there was wide spread inflation but I was just an itty bitty lad, and I don't remember any of it.  The though of seeing inflation up 10-20% while only getting a 3-5% pay raise scares me.  That is like a 7-15% pay deduction.  How long does it take to make up your purchasing power and your wages after a hit like that?

Ok, it's about time for my meeting....I promise that I'll have an upbeat post sometime soon for fear that this will turn into an emo-blog or something.

 When deadly force is justified | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

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Uggg, that story just pisses me off to no end.  I'll give you a brief synopsis of what happened.  A convicted sex offender broke into a house and was found in the 17 year old daughters room wearing NOTHING but a mask and latex gloves.  He also had a rope and condoms.  The dad heard his daughters scream and proceeded to kill the intruder (possibly unintentionally).  Then the Star writes this stupid ass anti-gun article when a gun wasn't even in play.

If you know me you know that I like guns.  I own guns, I have a license to carry, and I feel that the 2nd Amendment is the cornerstone that sets us apart from the rest of the world.  This is even more evident following my two weeks in the United Kingdom. 

I'm also a big supporter of something called 'Castle Doctrine' which is the self-defense laws in question in the article.  Castle Doctrine states that your home is your castle and you can use deadly force to protect it.  Don't think that for one second that if someone is in my home that I would blink an eye about using deadly force.  Sadly, since the economy has went to shit, it *appears* that there has been an increase in home invasions and car-jackings.  Whether or not this is a true correlation or an anomoly it doesn't matter.  The economy is scary, crime is and will increase, the liberals want to restrict my access to guns and then they begin to question their use in protection of the home.  Seriously could we have any more contridictions here?

So now you know that I'm the big bad gun guy.  I'm a lifetime member of the NRA.  I think most politicians suck and I vote 75+% of the time purely on the 2nd Amendment. 

Regardless of where your politics lie, what your opinion is on gun ownership, do you serioiusly not feel that you should be able to defend your family without question or fear of prosecution?  I know that any person that illegally enters my home is not there to award me my Publisher Clearing House check, they are there for no good.

Ok, rant over.  Just one more thing....

Hello Xangaland.  I'm back from the United Kingdom. I'll probably update some about my little two week visit later but dealing with two weeks of work backlog is making my Monday a Monday from hell!

I haven't even begun to check what everyone has been up to, but I'm hoping that I'll start going through all my subs the next day or so! 

Hopefully everyone had a good weekend.  Mine wasn't anything too exciting but it wasn't bad.  I don't really remember what happened on each day, if you really care to read about all the exciting details you'll have to read Amanda's post.  I did manage to get the bulk of the garage cleaned out.  It is so much better in there.  I still have the spare stall, that has all the bulky stuff in there...trash cans, bikes, mowers, wheel barrow, etc. I really just need to organize that.  I need to get some shelving and some pegboard type stuff to hang some tools on.  Once that is done the garage should be about done. 

It amazes me how much stuff was in there.  I tried to organize as much as I could.  I started a garage sale pile to put all the stuff that we need to get rid of.  I also generated a large amount of just trash.  Not to mention I also put together the tool box thingy that my parents got me for Christmas.  I was waiting to clean out the garage before I put it together, and I guess it was finally time to do it.  It's nice to get the majority of my tools in one location.  It should make it a helluva easier to find something when I need it.  Before the tools were in drawers, tool boxes, and other assorted cabinets.  I do need to get some assorted things to complete my full tool collection, but for the most part when it comes to regular old hand tools I am about set. 

I still need to buy some additional power tools, but that will all come with time.  I just can't bring myself to buy say a jigsaw until I need one.  I think that the purchase when I need it plan will probably work pretty good.  I guess unless I see one that is on clearance or deeply discounted, in that case it probably makes sense to pick one up.

I try to keep politics out of my little Xanga page but I might let loose with a political rant sometime soon.  I do have a degree in Poly Sci and my professors would have a fit with me just sitting by idle while election '08 is moving right on by. 

I've been so thirsty today, like the whole day I've been non-stop thirsty.  Once I finish this post I'm going to go get something to drink.  Ok, I'm going to get that drink now.  Take it easy.

MOUTHOLOGY

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Ranch

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. Chick-fil-a

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. Peterson's or St. Elmos

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 15-20%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick off of?
A. Pizza or tacos

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A. butter

Q. What is your favorite type of gum?
A. Orbit, usually any flavor.

TECHNOLOGY

Q. Number of contacts in your cell phone?
A. 107

Q. Number of contacts in your email address book?
A. 107

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. The Earth from space

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. 4

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. right

Q. What’s your best feature?
A. Height?

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. A couple of teeth

Q. Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
A. smell

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. 3 or 4 years

Q. What is the heaviest item you lifted last?
A. This big ass safe that I bought for backup tapes for work

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. no

BULLCRAPOLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. no

Q. Is love for real?
A. yes

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A. I'm too old to change my name

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. I like blue

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Nothing big enough to really matter

Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
A. no

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. no

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
A. yes

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. no

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. no

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. no

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
A. yep

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
A. yes

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. If the person deserved it (murderer, rapist, child molester) I would, if it was just some random person then no.

Q. Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
A. Yes, that's like $500 a week.

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket?
A: Keys, Burts Bees, USB memory stick

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A: Yes

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A: Tile in the bathrooms, entry, and kitchen. Carpet in the rest.

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A: stand

Q: Could you live with roommates?
A: yes

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
A: 5?

Q: Where were you born?
A: South Bend, IN

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A: Maybe a year and a half ago when I got pulled over going 70 in a 55. Didn't get a ticket.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: In the military.

LASTOLOGY

Q: Friend you talked to?
A: Danny

Q: Last person you called?
A: Someone at work.

Q: Person you hugged?
A: Amanda

FAVORITOLOGY

Q: Number?
A: None

Q: Color?
A: green

Q: Season?
A: Fall

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone?
A: yes, my old friends

Q: Mood?
A: tired

Q: Listening to?
A: Prison Break

Q: Watching?
A: Prison Break

Q: Worrying about?
A: Nothing

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning?
A: bathroom

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: start the weekend

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
A: Pineapple Express

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Yes

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: Yes

Q: Now that the surveys done what are you going to do?
A: Work

Today was such a crappy day at work.  It was non-stop the entire day and when I finally decided to leave I felt like I had to sneak out all ninja style.  The day(s) before and after a holiday always suck, and they sucked extra hard for this holiday.

I didn't get a chance to eat lunch until 12:40 and then all that I had time for was one of those tuna salad meal kits.  Heck, I didn't get my morning coffee until like 10:30.

Then to top it all off it was a terrible trip home.  I typically take this back way home that is consistently about 25 minutes but today it was like 45 minutes.  UGGGG

I came home from work and started the sprinklers outside, changed into shorts and went to the porch with my laptop.  I'm sitting out there now while I smoke some cherry Cavendish in a pipe.  I've kind of picked up my pipe again after a two year absence.  I started it while I was in Georgia at Signal School.  I stopped when I got home but a couple of weeks I got a hankering for it and have done it a couple times a week since.  The only mistake that I made was buying too large a bag of tobacco, which means that it will be a long time until I can get a different flavor.

Ok, that is about it, time to grill some food!

After days of preparations and evacuations, Gustav finally is minutes away from making landfall.  It looks like it has slowed down to a Category 2, and it hit west of New Orleans.  So far the storm surge in New Orleans has only been about 4 feet, so it looks like the Big Easy may make it through this.

The storm though, is coming ashore on one of the major oil hubs of the country, where 56 percent of all the oil entering the country goes through.

Holy crap!  Have I gone 12 days without updating?  Yep, I think that I have. 

Things have been pretty busy at work lately which means that I can't sneak a post.  At home things have been busy as well which means that I haven't taken time to get on the computer at home let alone sneak a post out.

So, what to update....

On Saturday Amanda treated us to a couples massage.  It was the first 'professional' massage that I've had.  It was enjoyable but I think that Amanda got shorted on her therapist. 

It's about time that the fall TV shows are starting.  I'm pretty excited especially since we all got hosed last year with the strike.  Speaking of TV, we haven't really been watching much lately.  We have been watching 'House' on DVD though.  We just finished the second season.  I think that we both like the show but it is somewhat predictable.  The main catch is House himself since he is one bad ass mofo. 

I'm so excited for Labor day weekend.  Amanda is not working this weekend thanks to the new job.  It seems like at CVS she was hosed every holiday and we were no longer able to do the holiday stuff that we loved doing.  I don't really know what we are going to do but we'll probably visit some family and relax.  I also wouldn't mind doing some of the household stuff but we'll see when the time comes.

I've been sleeping funny lately or something because my neck has been hurting me in the morning.  It's better today than yesterday but it sucks still.  Speaking of my neck, I'm going to go find some Advil.

World's tallest woman, Sandy Allen, dies | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

Another story

I was going to write this yesterday, but didn't get a chance. 

It's sad that Sandy Allen has died.  Over the years our local story would run a story here or there about her.  The last few years of her life seemed extremely difficult.  She had to be moved to a nursing home and was wheel chair bound.  Then she couldn't leave the nursing home because there wasn't any way to transport her.  The community rallied and purchased a van that could transport her.

I walked by Sandy once at a Pacer's game, but didn't say hello.  I should have though, she seemed to really have a quite the impact on everyone that she met.  Her height was what made her different but it was also her curse, like all of the other people that suffered from a similar illness. 

From everything that I read Sandy's heart was the only thing larger than her.  She loved children and would speak to them at schools.  She loved the pro sports teams in Indy.  She also loved life and was thankful for every day since she didn't expect to live past 30. 

Coincidentally, she was in the nursing home with another world record holder, the oldest living woman.

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Nothing else exciting going on.  I made some kick ass fried rice last night.  I need to make it more often since it's hella easy and darn good.  It's not really like the fried rice at a Chinese restaurant, but more like the fried rice you get at a hibachi place.

I also ran again yesterday.  That was three days in a row.  I may take tonight off but I'm not sure. 

I am working at a festival this weekend for the military.  We are in the parade on Saturday so that should be fun.

I picked up tickets for the Counting Crows and Maroon 5 concert on August 28th.  It should be pretty good.  Not to mention that I've like Counting Crows since the 7th grade when they first released 'Mr. Jones'.

I also want to play cards again this weekend.  Any takers?

Ok, that's it...work beckons.