Wednesday, March 08, 2006
International Women's Day
Today is the United Nation's International Women's Day, so I would like to wish all female visitor's to my blog a Happy International Women's Day.
Posted at 05:36 pm by RWO
Wow, I wonder what I can blog about today? I really don't have much on my mind today. I slept in a few extra minutes today leaving a little less time for coffee and chat this morning, but the extra few minutes really made a difference. I had a little extra energy for work today and that made me feel good. Anyhow the class was in lab today so I had to do a lot of running around signing stuff off and checking their procedures. But things were going pretty well, and this is a small class so it was kind of a fun workday. They only have one more set of performance tests to do before the final test on the transceiver and then I will be able to start my favorite area to teach, antennas and couplers.
I did do one dumb thing today. One of the guys was looking to see if anyone had change for a $5 bill. I did so I gave it to him and then later realized that I didn't have any change to buy a soda or anything. Anyway I was able to survive the day so it was just an inconvenience. It's funny; when I have a pocket full of change I usually don't drink sodas. I only want them when I don't have any change on me. Anyway one of the nice things about being in lab is that we are able to listen to music on the radio. We have been listening to classic rock on KGB 101 FM. It is amazing how all the stuff I listened to in high school is now classified as classic rock now. It makes me feel young in a way listening to a lot of it. I have heard stuff that I haven't heard in years like Alice Cooper "Schools Out" and Yes "Roundabout". Brings out the old school days when I was young and not worrying about having to make a living and all. Ah if we could just have the ability to go back in time and change some things in our life. Well as some of you have noticed, I have been trying to move some things around on my blog and trying to make things a little better looking. In the process I have been finding stuff to make my life a little easier. There are some things that I could really kick myself for like posting links. When I first started the blog one of the things I wanted to do was post links to things. I knew nothing of HTML codes and here on blogdrive they have a help forum. I started reading the help files and learned enough code to be able to post links, but it was a long drawn out process and I kept making mistakes and all. Anyway while messing around with my preferences trying to enable my blog's search function I changed something from plain text to WYSIWYG and all of a sudden I got a new window to make my entries in. I started playing around with some of the controls on this new entry page and low and behold, it had an enter link function. All I had to do is just enter the web page or address of my link and give it a title and there it was. It was so easy and I feel like such and idiot. Now to post links I no longer have to copy, paste, and change links from past entries. So in the future you can expect me to start linking to more stuff. The one thing I don't like is that I haven't quite figured how to paste my entries from word yet. I like writing my entries on word and then I can spell check them. I hate looking at my entries a week or so down the line and seeing a typing mistake. I still make mistakes but spell check finds most of them. I wish blogdrive allowed for the spell checking of entries before posting them. I have gotten around that by changing my preferences back to plain text, paste, and then go back to WYSIWYG mode and paste the links and all. I don't know why it will not allow me to paste in that mode but I will continue to experiment with it until I get it figured out. And hey you computer savvy people, I hope I didn't make you laugh too hard. Just remember back to the days when you first started using something new, and were too shy to ask for help. Anyway I am now off to explore new things to improve the ease with which I blog with. If the blog disappears then I probably had an experiment go south. I am being careful to back it up before I do anything wild.
Posted at 03:39 pm by RWO
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I have a few different topics to blog about today. I have had one of those days when quite a few things have gone through this head of mine.
First I would like to express my condolences to the Reeve family for the loss of Dana Reeve from lung cancer. Her charity work and her devotion to Christopher Reeve after his fall were inspiring to all. She will be missed, and now she will be back together with Chris.
So many famous people are dying these past couple of weeks. I might just start a celebrity obituary page. What worries me is that some have been younger than me. I have been eating better and taking better care of myself lately, but it is uncomfortable seeing all these people younger than me passing on.
Next is this idiot high school teacher that was taped accusing the U.S. of trying to dominate the world. Now that he has been fired, he has already started his speaking tour by showing up on the Today show this morning. By creating a controversy he will now become a very rich gentleman, by putting down the country that allows him to be free to do it. I believe hat everyone has the right to free speech, however there are places where that is not appropriate. One of those places is in public schools. College yes, but not high school and below. Our kids are too impressionable at those ages and when I hear of this stuff going on it makes me wonder what else is happening in our schools. If this guy hates the United States so much, I am sure he has the money to go to France, Spain, or some other Socialist country.
The next thing that has been bugging me is the whole hurricane Katrina debacle. I have several problems with everything involved with that. First the blame game has just about everyone at fault. Ok, I agree, everyone but maybe the Coast Guard blew it. Rather than point fingers everywhere, find out what went wrong and come up with a list of lessons learned.
Next, either find a way that is going to have the levees handle a category 5 hurricane without bankrupting the county or abandon it. Before all of this happened, I remember seeing some reports in the news that New Orleans was sinking. Perhaps if while most of the housing has to be destroyed anyway they should just come in and build it up so it is above sea level.
Next with all the money these people have been given and the hospitality shown by other cities in the country, I am so tired of hearing these people whine. They have been given a lot of federal aid and charities have given tons of support. I guess since many of them were on the welfare rolls to start with they are either to lazy to settle elsewhere or are addicted to substances as was indicated by the ATM expenditures from the cards passed out right after the disaster. I don't know what is with all this. I know I am a charitable man but I hate to see the money I donate being wasted. I feel that is what is happening with most of these people, not all of course.
I am kind of interested in South Dakota outlawing abortions and how this is going to eventually wind up in the Supreme Court. I am personally against abortion, but I feel a woman should have a right to choose. This will be interesting to watch develop in the news.
Tonight is going to be awesome as it is my favorite night of TV and they will not be ruining it by replacing House with American Idol, or dumb stuff like that. I have blogged about this lately, how they have been taking off my favorite shows and replacing them with the younger generation type shows. So tonight I will be able to settle in at 7PM and watch "The Closer", followed by "NCIS", "House", and "Law and Order, Special Victim's Unit". This is going to be fun as I will set up my web cam and skype so my special woman can watch them with me and we can snack and comment on the shows. She speaks English extremely well but when the talking is fast I have to intervene and explain what is going on. Thank God for broadband DSL, Yahoo Internet Messaging with super cam mode, and skype. It is almost as good as being there.
I guess lastly, I am really happy to see the Supreme Court rule on the military recruiter issue. I firmly believe that recruiters should have access to schools receiving federal money. I wonder how this is going over in these schools that want to keep the recruiters off campus, and if they can really lose the federal grant money. This is again going to be something interesting to watch in the press.
Well it is about time to post this so I can get all set up for this evenings date. I hope the camera is clear and skype is as reliable as it was last night. Skype didn't drop out for about a five our period last night and so it was quit awesome. I am going to start posting in a referral section some of the great free stuff we have found on the web. All of it is upgradeable if you like the service, but it all starts out for free. Look for my referral section shortly on the left hand side of my blog.
Posted at 04:28 pm by RWO
Monday, March 06, 2006
It is with great sadness I am blogging this tonight. Kirby Puckett was one of those rare players who played his entire major league career with the Minnesota Twins. That is very rare these days where players change teams for the big bucks they can get.
Besides that Kirby Puckett was a nice guy in the game. He was kind and down to earth. He was always happy in his interviews.
I was sad to see him have to retire from baseball at an early age due to glaucoma, but glad to see him make the Hall of Fame.
Tonight I send my condolences to his family.
Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett Dies
Posted at 06:13 pm by RWO
First of all I would like to welcome Laila's son, Jun Jun, home from a job abroad in Saudi Arabia. I hope the family has a great reunion.
Yesterday even though I wasn't going to watch, I turned on the Academy Awards show and watched it with my new woman. It was kind of neat to watch and comment on the awards with her, and it gave me a sense of closeness, even though 7000 miles of ocean separate us.
I was glad to see politics left out, though I was not impressed with the movies that were nominated. I just don't get the whole gay agenda thing and while I have nothing against gays, I do not appreciate their lifestyle being shoved in my face all the time. Sexual orientation is a private thing. I always feel pressured when I see Hollywood portray the gay agenda. It is like they want me to fully accept it, which I will never do, as it is against my religious beliefs. I will respect a persons right to do what they want in life, but I do not want nor need it in my face all the time.
The fact that a movie had to be about gays or other dark and sinister subjects to be nominated, might just explain why Hollywood is losing money and why the awards show has such low ratings. I fully expect over the next few years to see the Academy Awards passed off the some entertainment channel like E or maybe USA. Main stream America does not care about the egos of the stars, and when you get some jerk like George Clooney saying that drivel he spread about Hollywood bringing up the issues, it just has a tendency to cause people like me to tune out. Even my woman seemed to kind of get bored with the whole thing as she started playing games online about halfway through it. Note to Hollywood, you are losing more and more of your audience.
And what was it with the original song award going to "It's Hard out there for a Pimp"? Sorry, that whole thing there disgusted me. The music industry along with Hollywood just doesn't seem to get things either. I am glad when I see this stuff go on as it just strengthens the will of the right.
I thought Jon Stewart did an all right job hosting, though I think people like Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal have done a better job in the past. At least they put it on early enough so it did not affect my prime time viewing on the other networks.
All in all, while I felt good watching it because I was doing something with my woman, I could have been happier watching reruns on A and E, or TNT. Oh and I forgot to comment on what idiots these folks look like when they have to come up with their own acceptance speech. Some couldn't seem to get their words straight when acting as presenters. Maybe the teleprompter was too far away. Sure is good that people that make movies have lots of extra film, so they can shoot all the scenes 75 times until the stars get the lines right.
Anyhow that is my take on the annual Hollywood's "Pat themselves on the back" night. I just wish they could get back to making movies that are worth watching.
Posted at 04:11 pm by RWO
Sunday, March 05, 2006
This morning after chatting a bit I decided to attend the 11 AM mass vice the 9:30 mass. I went ahead and signed off chat and took a nap. I woke up at 10:20 and was on my way to the bathroom to shower when the doorbell rang. After taking care of my visitor, I took a quick shower, got dressed and off to church I sped, arriving about 5 minutes late. There was no room in the pews so I stood in the back and one of the ushers said I could go upstairs as there was some seating up there. It was pretty crowded there too, but there was room. There were alot of little ones around and they were distracting at times.
Today's first reading was Genesis 9:8-15 (23B) which was when God made the covenent with Noah about the ark. The second reading was I Peter 3:18-22 which again talked about Noah, but related it to baptism and the cleansing of sin.
The Gospel was Mark 1:12-15 where Jesus went out to the desert for forty days and was amongst the beasts. Father Ron went on to tell us the the beasts represented bad things in our lives, such as people who get us in trouble, or temptations that cause us to do bad things. He told us to look at the good people and things in our lives and weigh that against the bad. In that way you honor the lord.
It was a pretty good message, and though in the past I have not really followed it the way I should, since I have started going back to the church, I have tried to get rid of some of those bad temptations, and things from the past. While I know I will never be perfect, at least I am giving it a good try. I guess time will tell.
Anyway, now I am back home trying to get caught up on a few things. I have been trying to clean a few small areas each day, so that things overall stay clean. It is a little hard where the dogs camp out, but when I do a little each day, it isn't that bad.
Now if I could just get my son to keep his cooking in the pans and not all over the stove top everything would be good. Anyway, back to the chores at hand. I hope everyone had a good weekend.
Posted at 01:43 pm by RWO
Saturday, March 04, 2006
The state of Arizona has the right idea concerning illegal immigration. They are treating it as a felony under state law since the feds can't seem to get anything done about it.
Now I would like to see the same thing happen in other states. Just the other day on my way home from work I watched a car with Baja plates run a stop sign, weave all over the road and then make an illegal turn into the parking lot of Paradise Valley Hospital. Just getting their free healthcare I guess.
Anyway I would like to see California do something similar as I see that this will move the problem out of Arizona and into the rest of the border states. Anyway here is the story.
Arizona crackdown charges illegals as 'felony conspirators'
Posted at 03:42 pm by RWO
Friday, March 03, 2006
Yesterday was the 1st class petty officers examination and most of the people I work with took the test. It kind of made things a little lonely in the lab but since I have a small class things went very well.
Anyway when they came back the old discussion of the questions began, and it was entertaining for all as they figured out what they got right, wrong, or even some that nobody had a clue on.
Anyway in celebration they all decided to take off early and have a party at Joe's Crab Shack in Mission Valley.
I was going to go, but since it is the first Friday of Lent I am trying to do what the church has asked and fast. I have been to Joe's before and the food is excellent and inexpensive, so it was a little hard to bow out. Anyway I guess I will have to wait until the next instructors day out to go with the boys.
Posted at 03:45 pm by RWO
I haven't blogged about this yet but today Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham was sentenced to 100 months in prison for taking about 2 million dollars in bribes. I think he should have got the full 120 months, as this was such a blatant case of bribery.
Many folks believe that since he was a former navy pilot, Vietnam War hero, and a Top Gun Pilot he should have been granted a lite sentence. I do not agree with that, as this was such an obvious breach of law and ethics.
Lets face it, he was a crook, complete with what he expected for his support to the companies he steered the contracts to. His military service was basically a non-factor other than it gave him some credibility and contacts to help his contracts for sale program go ahead.
This man is a disgrace to all that have worn the uniform. I am also embarrassed that he was a republican. His defense team was asking for leniency, as he is so old. I just say he should have thought about that before he sold out his country and his constituents for a rich lavish life style.
What really gets my goat I that this man will still get his retirement checks, both from the military and from the Congress. I figure all that should be taken away from him after what he pulled. Anyway may he have fun now paying for his crimes.
Posted at 03:16 pm by RWO
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Last night I had the opportunity to attend church for Ash Wednesday. This is the first time in years that I have done that and I have to tell you, it was a good feeling to attend.
I was really surprised at how many people attended as all the pews were full and all the walls were lined with people. There were even people standing by all the doors. The priest I think gave an abbreviated service as he only did the first reading and the gospel message.
The message he gave was very good, as he stressed honesty with God. He said that many people make a big deal about charity work by bragging about it, and the same with praying. What you give and when you give should be between you and God and not just for bragging rights to make you feel better.
He also said the same thing about praying. That while it is great to attend church frequently and all, that you must also pray at home in quiet, when it is just you and God. I do that each day as I have developed a routine where each day when I get home from work, I go right to my bedroom and recite rosary after saying a few prayers. I have found that is the best place to do it, because I am away from the phone, TV, and computer.
He also talked of the fact that when we give something up for Lent, that it be something meaningful that causes us some inconvenience and makes us think. That also should be done in private as that is between you and God. Also if you give something up for Lent, that means at home as well as in public.
Anyway, I am glad I went and this year I will try and attend all the services leading up to Easter. I purposely arranged this trip to visit my woman during these holidays so that we can both grow more attached to the church, as we are both returning after long absences.
I was really surprised as after fasting all day yesterday I really felt like I was starving to death all the way up until the mass started. After mass I went home and took my time preparing food as I had lost some of that hungry feeling while at mass.
Anyhow, I have been reading the church calendar to see what is coming up and will to take an active part in all the special masses and services available here, and then when I go overseas to visit my woman I will do the same there.
Posted at 04:16 pm by RWO
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