PS – Your Cats are in the Freezer

The week before last I took off on vacation and headed up to Bozeman, MT to see some friends and get some runs in with my g/f. We both worked like dogs the week before going up there…all the way until the last minute and then we caught our flight and took off.

It was a bit late, local time and really late “our time” by the time we got there. We stayed at my friend and co-workers house. He and his wife had left to go to Cancun, so we had the place while they were gone. All we had to do was take care of their cats, Cisco and Sadie. Little did I know Saidie was short for “Sadistic.”

I had a surprise of chocolate and champagne waiting for us when we got there since it was Valentine’s day so we stayed up late drinking champagne and nibbling on chocolate. I’d say it was about 2:30am according to my body, even though it was only 1:30am local time. We finally crashed out and then at about 3:58am I woke up by hearing a faint, but distinctive chrip!. WTF? I start to drift back off and, chirp! there it is again! One eye open, mind barely functioning…Chirp! OK, now I am awake but not quite thinking straight and again....chirp! ARRGGHH!! It's a freaking smoke detector! You know when the batteries die they emit a chirp about every minute to let you know the battery is dead. Why does this always happen at night??

So, here I am in a strange house searching for batteries at 4:00am. No luck, and I was about to go to the store but then I realized the one that was chirping was the one over the staircase, about 2 stories up, which I couldn't easily get to anyway. I used a pillow to cover my ears and got some rest, but not much. The next day we got a battery the next day and I fixed that bastard!!

But little did I know I was still not to enjoy a good nights sleep. Sadie is a fat little furball of a cat. She must weigh a zillion pounds and while she isn’t very agile and can’t move very fast she knows exactly where her cat treats are. My friend warned us ahead of time that Sadie would wake us up if there wasn’t plenty of food and water so I made sure she and Cisco had plenty of both before crashing out.

As it turns out Sadie will wake you up....even if there is plenty of food. At about 4:00am she started batting on the door. I got up to see what was going on and she looked at me and then ran off for a cat treat!! I double-checked their food and water, yup....plenty there. So she wanted a cat treat, but I didn’t' give her one as I didn't want to reinforce negative behavior. She did this about two or three more times during the morning.

She also woke me up the next morning doing the same thing at about the same time. This time, though, I opened the door and told her to knock it off and when she ran for a cat treat I didn't follow her out. The following day she waited until about 5:00am but did the same thing. My g/f and I took turns opening the door and screaming at the cat, but not giving her any cat treats. By the time we left she stopped batting on the door, or if she did do it she wouldn't be there when we opened the door. She was learning.

Cisco, the other cat was pretty cautious. We didn’t even see him for about three days and then he finally would come about ½ way down the stairs and watch us. By the next night he finally came up to us and once he realized we’d pet and scratch him it was game over. He wouldn’t leave us alone after that.

We wanted to do something nice for my friends since they let us have their house and we put a little care package together with some wine, cigars, flowers, etc. We also did all the laundry and cleaned up so that they could come home to a clean house and not have to deal with anything. Because Sadie was driving us crazy, we had this thought of signing the card and adding:

" PS, your cats are in the freezer. "

I Need Four Jobs

And so do you to cover the spread.

Pelosi recently was quoted as saying "every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs." But it isn’t the first time she said it! She also said it during a Jan. 18th interview on Fox News Sunday. She was corrected then, but obviously didn’t figure it out.

Of course the press didn’t rake her over the coals or point out how stupid she is. They'd better do something quick! At this rate, my grandchildren will be unemployed 10 years before they're born!

And this no doubt takes into consideration job loss in all 57 states.

The “Stimulus” Passed

You know, when I started writing in here I really didn’t want this to be a political blog in particular. Lately, though, I am so disappointed in our government that I find myself writing more and more topics about politics.

I saw last night that the stimulus bill passed. We all knew it would. The democrats are determined to turn us into a socialist country and I think we are seeing the tip of the iceberg. Let’s face it, they didn’t need any Republican votes for it to pass. When you have a single party controlling the house, senate and presidents office you can pretty much do what you want.

The one thing I question is how constitutional this is….nobody seems to mind. I’ve only heard a few other people argue that perhaps we shouldn’t be doing this at all. That’s kind of the way I feel about it.

Now we have to deal with….and so do our great-great-great grandkids.

Finally On Vacation!

Last week was rough. I probably had a 90-hour work week in and the most stressful start to a vacation that I can remember in a long, long time. I was wrapping up some reports and designs for a new project that we are trying to land. It’s one of these multi-million dollar projects that will have me on the road and tied up for a good three to six months. I hope we get it, though.

But now I am in Bozeman….back to the land of ice and snow. It’s 29 here, and actually feels like winter as opposed to back home where my azaleas are blooming because it’s been so warm. They are obviously confused as to what season it is.

I plan on getting some snowboarding in as well as spending time with my homies and having some beverages.

Bodily Fluid Spill Kit

I saw one of these while in PA. No kidding.

Um…ewwww?

And Even More Holes at the 2nd Amendment….

Here is one from my dad’s blog. Another anti-gun movement bill that they are probably going to pass.

Shooting More Holes at the 2nd Amendment

It's starting..... or continuing, however you want to say it. BTW, this bill is retroactive. So, as opposed to having to register all new firearms, you must register ALL of your firearms (even antiques, etc.) within two years after this bill goes active, should it pass.

Why do we care? Because the govt. has NO RIGHT to know what I own or don't own in the privacy of my home and it's a small step in banning firearms. They can't take them away from you if they don't know where they are.


H.R.45 Title: To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (None) Latest Major Action: 1/6/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

SUMMARY AS OF: 1/6/2009--Introduced.

Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.

Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.

Prohibits: (1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions; (2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act; (3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours; (4) failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.

Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act.
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse; (2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and (3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.

Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.

Credit Card Crunch!

I have a Citi Aadvantage card that I use for business. I only put my business purchases on it. I like it because I get the miles / points for using the card. Recently, I was going over my statement and noticed a little flier that came with my statement. Even though I have been using this card for seven years and have never missed a payment my rate was suddenly going to be changed to prime-rate plus 10.99% - roughly 19.99% as of today.

WTF? Are you kidding me? Apparently they are doing this to everyone. So I called them. I was calm and courteous, and they dropped my rate all the way down to 10%, which is even lower than my existing rate.

I’ve heard a lot of credit cards are doing this, so you might want to check your statements and all the extra junk they put in your statement. Give ‘em a ring, be nice and see what happens!

Obama’s Empty Promises

Or maybe not promises. Maybe it’s just the usual shuck and jive from a politician. There has been a lot of talk about the proposed stimulus package. You may or may not be aware that in the House of Representatives the Republicans voted unanimously against it. Didn’t matter too much because the Democrats passed it anyway. In case you haven’t been keeping up, they control both the house and the senate and can do just about whatever they want. It will, however, be harder for them to pass it in the senate.

Republicans are generally against the package because it gives a lot of money to private enterprises and the tax cuts primarily benefit the poor – pretty much the people that don’t pay any taxes anyway. Here is Obama “spreading it around” for you. This is your money being taken away and given to the poor.

I’m not surprised at what is proposed in the package. The DNC has had a long history of supporting proposals and spending for socialist programs. These aren’t always a bad thing. The Republicans have a long history of voting against this type of thing. So what is the rub?

The rub is this – Obama promised to bring people together. He promised to work for bipartisanship. But he’s not really trying. Why do I say that? Because this bill isn’t even close to something Republicans would be willing to vote for. Did that matter? No. The DNC pushed it through the house, and they will try to do the same thing in the senate. Obama is well aware of this, yet he proposed no changes to the plan that might appease the Republican party.

Yesterday while at the gym there were several DNC politicians that accused primary party leaders of abusing their power and influence. These folks chose to remain anonymous (I don’t blame them) but basically said “…the house leader and other democratic party leaders told us to not read it and just vote for it.”

This bill is about as partisan as it gets. And I don’t see Obama doing squat to change it.

I also noticed that Obama is looking to pass the bill that would basically provide federally funded insurance to all children. This is an interesting bill. There are numerous reasons to pass it and there are numerous reasons to not pass it.

Part of the stimulus package is to provide insurance to people that are out of work. He claims its so that people who lost their jobs can still have insurance.

Both plans are great ideas in theory but they both give me pause for different reasons. How long does the insurance last? And, did the people have to have a job in the first place? Can someone not have had a job and still get the insurance?

Socialized plans to take care of people that fall through the cracks is not a bad idea. Plans to take care of children because their parents haven’t provided for them, or unable to provide for them, is not a bad idea. But unilaterally providing health insurance to anyone who chooses not to work is bullshit.

Obama said something to the effect that we are not a nation that leaves its people behind. That’s a good thought, but we aren’t the same country we were even just 30 years ago, much less 100 or 200 years ago. We aren’t the same country where people work hard to better themselves, and through that process better our country. We are now a country that expects to be taken care of, a country that wants what is coming to them because they are owed something, and a country that has a vast majority of people that simply to not want to work to better themselves or their country. Those are old ideals. They exist, but it’s blatantly obvious to anyone that these ideals are not shared amongst the majority of the population. And for those people, the ones that do not share these ideals, I don’t have empathy for them if they get left behind.

Folks – we must be careful here. Obama is ramming nationalized health-care down our throat. The DNC is taking “baby” steps to move us closer to socialism. And while it sounds like a grandiose plan….it…does….NOT…work.

More on Bonuses and Executives

I think I’ve posted several articles on this, but you keep hearing about it over and over again. The American public is enraged that executives on Wall Street are still getting bonuses. My initial reaction is to be upset, too. But I also put it in some perspective. We have to keep in mind that some of theses people only get a bonus. No bonus = no pay. You certainly can’t expect someone to work for free and that is no different than any other industry.

But, before you get mad that I am defending *them* please keep in mind that I said it’s all about perspective. The average Wall Street executive still pulls a 6 or 7 figure salary. While it may cost more to live in NYC, it doesn’t cost that much more. So while I don’t think it’s right to say “no bonuses” I do think it’s right to cut them back and bring these people down to earth some.

Where I really get bent is the executives that make millions of dollars while driving the companies into the ground. I absolutely reject the argument that big companies need to keep paying them big salaries to retain the talent. Bullshit. Scrap the million dollar bonuses and let them walk if they don’t like it. Where are they going to go? Nobody is hiring and nobody is hiring you if you come from a company that you ran into the ground. What do they think? Someone is going to look at their resume and compare them to another failed executive that ruined a company, but not by as much? Is that how it’s supposed to work? Fuck them. Let them walk. Let them go work at some shit-hole job for minimum wage. They can sell their porches and leave their Manhattan apartments. Hello? Welcome to earth.

And something that really pisses me off? While all of these layoffs are going on. While millions of Americans are losing their jobs because the banks won’t continue to extend lines of credit? The same morons that got us into this mess, the executives, have kept their jobs. That’s right. 90% of the executives at the top banks and businesses getting bailed out have kept their jobs while laying off their employees. What the hell is wrong with us?

Oh, and I’m sorry – but President Obama jumping on his high horse at this point is ridiculous and hypocritical. First off, he is part of the reason we are in this mess. Before becoming President he and his buddies were part of the Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac bust. Secondly, the government missed its opportunity to enforce any type of control of how the money was spent when they gave it over to these guys without any provisions. Sorry Barack, but it’s too late, now. You can’t just step in and tell them how to run their companies.

Too Smart?

I met up with my good friend Stan and his wife Karla for drinks. We were all sitting around talking and Stan told me that he had asked his son(s) if they wanted to come along. They were on the fence about it until Stan said I would be there. Apparently they didn’t want to come, then.

That kind of bothered me so I asked why. Apparently, their youngest son (who is about 22) said that I was too smart. I guess it bothered him. As much as that is a compliment it bothered me that he didn’t want to be around me. I have never though that I make an effort to intimidate people in this fashion – at least not consciously.

I Should Be a Breeder

I was out to dinner with Youngblood and his g/f Jess. We were trying to have a nice dinner but there was a family of breeders with a screaming kid. I get really irritated at that. I understand that kids aren’t always going to behave perfectly and there are legitimate reasons as to why they act they way they do. I’m much more appreciative if the parent makes an effort to quiet the kid down. But by either ignoring the kid or failing in being able to quiet them down you need to understand that you are ruining MY dinner….along with everyone else’s. Nobody wants to hear that shit.

I was commenting to YB (Young Blood) and Jess that I don’t appreciate that. It’s one of the reasons I don’t have kids. I can go out to eat when I want for a quiet meal because I don’t have a rug rat running around. YB made some comment and Jess said …”but he should breed. He’s got good genes.” I think that me having good genes is debatable, but I appreciated the comment.

Shoping on Superbowl Sunday

Last night was Superbowl XLIII. Until yesterday morning I didn’t even know who was playing for sure. I knew the Steelers were going to play since my brother-in-law is a huge Steelers fan. As it turns out, they won so I am sure he is happy today!

I took the opportunity to go out to dinner with a few friends and then hit the grocery store. Good timing. I think I saw about six people total in the entire store (not counting the staff). I used to shop at about 2:00am after band practice and it was the same way. It’s nice when you don’t have to dodge people and put up with screaming kids or long lines.

I may have to make this a regular event. There was only one problem – the chips and beer isles were destroyed. Imagine that.