Powerless over Christmas....
One of the first things we learn when we are trying to overcome addictive substances or behaviors, is to delare that we do in fact have a problem and that we are powerless over that problem. Having recognized the problem, we then turn our troubles over to a "higher power" for help.

I hereby declare that, apparently, I have a problem functioning normally at Christmas. Not with the holiday idea, or getting in the mood, but rather with the simple act of choosing, purchasing, and sending gifts to my loved ones. It's not about the money, or worrying about the size/price of the gift....it's just simple brain lock-up over deciding to "get into action" and get something, anything done. This is the same feeling I had when I was paralyzed by alcohol many years ago. It's the idea that makes AA work. You can recognize the problem, have all the best intentions and want to change, but until you "get into action" you are making no progress.

For years, well maybe decades now, I have sworn to myself that come September, or maybe October I would start buying gifts for my relatives and actually get said gifts to said relatives by November. And here again I sit mere days from Christmas a total wreck, agonizing over what to get, how to get it there in a timely fashion, and with a general malaise that I am totally lacking as a Christmas person and a human being.

But...I am making progress. This year I have turned my Christmas will and life over to a higher power. JULIE. She has gotten me into some form of action, and where my actions are lacking, she has stepped in with actions of her own. She has already ordered and sent gifts for my out of town brother and sister, looked in catalogues for gifts for my nieces, loaded me in the car for a trip to the dreaded mall to get these gifts and to find one for my nephew. She has personally surpervised me while I wrapped some of the gifts, and knowing that I am not yet ready for this next big step, is at the post office this very moment mailing the gifts.

I'm feeling much better about myself now, and I have the luxury of having three [3] more whole days to finish shopping for the local folks on my list. I have so much time on my hands, that possibly I can relax now, and wait until Tuesday to finish. I love having a higher power, and a beautiful, kind and sexy one at that.

Hasta la vista Al....
It was completely unexpected last Sunday evening as I tried to catch a moment of "60 Minutes". There was Al Gore abdicating his throne as the Democratic Presidential Candidate. Al acted sincere, saying that he had talked it over with his family and just plain decided not to run..adding that he thought he could be of more service to his country in other ways. I think that all of maybe 3 people will believe this. Here's a guy who got 50% of the vote and would have sued the Pope to become President the last time around, and now he says, "what the heck, I think I'll be of more service elsewhere." It's obvious that the Democratic Party powers to be decided that Al was just not the man they needed this time. Perhaps the light has dawned that he forever will be linked with Billy Clinton and the old liberal wing of the party...and they want to change that image. Who knows.

Now I will be cruxified by certain people I know, and some readers, for saying this, but on a purely personal level I have always liked Al somehow. And at one time, before she bulked up, Tipper was kind of a hot babe, as far as hot babes go in the political world. Al is interested in some of the issues I am, like the environment and the Internet. Al wants clean water, air, coastlines and to preserve somethings in their natural state. So do I. Al invented the Internet, and I am a big user of the Internet. We would have things to chat about. And he has had the guts to make fun of himself in public, something that is lacking in most politicians of all persuasions.

Having said that, I'll tell you why, besides possibly being a nice guy outside of politics, Al is still a political schmuck. In his short interview on 60 Minutes Sunday, the one political point of negativity he made about our beloved President Dubya Bush was this: "Bush is using the threat of war with Iraq as a means of deflecting the attention of the American people from the real number one problem today, his [Bush's] inability to fix our downtrodden economy".

Oh Al paaleeease! Thank God you are not President and will not run again. I will state here for the record that under the US system of government, the President really has nothing to do with the economy in the short term....as in the four years he's in office. The last [and perhaps only] President who had real power over the economy was FDR, and only because he had the government virtually take over the economy lock, stock, and bank. Policies that the President may initiate take years to effect change in the economy. In case Al hasn't been much of a reader on economics...businesses and therefore the economy runs in cycles of their own making based on an infinite number of variables. We are currently in a down cycle..get used to it and run up your credit card debt. And would I want a President who thinks that the soft economy is a bigger problem than the war on terrorism? Thank you hanging chads, no!!

And to actually and publically comment that a US President is drumming up a war, with all it's hell, just so the American people will forget about a bad economy [and really not all that bad, if you tally up SUV and home sales] is at best naive and more probably inexcusable. Al might be a good guy to go fishing with for a day, but I'm afraid his brain has been corrupted by his mentor and king of sleazy politics, Billy Boy Clinton. Go fishing Al.

On Ye Bulldogs...
My high school, the Midland High, "Fightin' Bulldogs", have had the longest non-playoff drought in the large school division of high school football in the State of Texas. 51 years. That's 51 years of not being quite good enough to be playing after the regular season. We've had some good teams mind you....just not quite good enough. Our cross town rivals the Lee Rebels have gone to the playoff's almost every year for decades and have the distinction of being the only HS to win the State Championship three years in a row. And this was recently. In our district this year, two of the teams were ranked in the state top 10 all season.

Well after 51 years the Fightin' Bulldogs finally got a playoff spot this year. Most of us thought that if they won one post season game, that would be great and we would all be proud and call it a great season. No one, I suppose, except the players, thought that they would be playing in the State Championship. But that is exactly what happened today. And I'm drained! Their opponents from San Antonio, Converse Judson, are a periennial playoff favorite and have won 5 state championships.

Oh, what a hell of a game. I think it has to be ranked right up there among the top championship games ever played, a sentiment echoed elsewhere. In Texas the game is televised statewide, so we got to see every play. MHS went up easily and early 13-0. Then Judson game back strong to take the lead 24-13. But MHS has always been a second half team and they came back late in the 4th quarter to trail only 27-25. But with only 55 seconds left, we had to expect a miracle......and the miracle came in a long pass and a TD to Zach Sledge, who lives down the street from me. Midland leading 32-25 with 17 seconds on the clock. Dare we hope?

We had endured emotional agony in the 4th quarter to get to this final 17 seconds. But more was to come. Judson threw a bomb of their own and scored the final points......I don't know when I've been this drained. Losing by one point in the final seconds is a gut wrenching experience. But what, other than winning, is the alternative? To lose by a wide margin, and have people say that you shouldn't have been there in the first place. No, this game could have gone either way, been won by either team. But it was one hell of a year for these kids who were not supposed to be in the playoffs at all. Someday soon I hope that they will realize this.

Final score:
Converse Judson: 33
Midland High: 32

Blow it out your #$*^@#....
The more I think about the failure of the posterior regions of my pants yesterday, the more mortified I get. No, and not about having 68% of my butt showing to the viewing public. Actually I rather get a charge out of that, and I have been told that I still have nice posterior features. No, I'm mortified, as in angry, that one can pay $20 for a pair of slacks and have them last only 10 or so wearings. I hadn't even had time to send them to the cleaners so that they could have a shot at ruining them. And, I had not damaged the pants, this was just a complete cloth failure.

I took the photo above to send to my insurance carrier to try and recover some of the cost of the slacks. Of course, I "fudged" a little in my description. To wit: "these slacks are Armani de la Gucci custom made slacks of the finest virgin lambs wool..etc" but I think that this is very close to the truth. That they are actually "Greg Peters, on sale at Steinmart, last years model and made of genuine petrochemical polymers." You know insurance companies, I asked for $895 so I could collect $18.95. Before doing so I reviewed my homeowners insurance policy, and although I didn't see anything about "catastrophic posterior pants failure", I do have extra coverage for my art collection and I think that Armani de la Gucci slacks of genuine virgin lambswool would classify as works of art. If, however, they bounce that one back, my next submission would be that slacks made of petrochemical polymers would classify as "yard equipment". I will leave no stone unturned in being reimbursed.

And while I'm thinking about it, I'm gonna' sue that Greg Peters character. My delicate nature has been damaged, not to mention my good name. I've been having bad dreams about slovenly attire and nakedness. How would you feel walking around in public 68% butt naked? Mortified I bet. Me too. Now if I can only find the scoundrel. I wonder how many Greg Peters there are in China? Well his factory is probably located next to their source of textile supply, a petrochemical plant..that should make it easier.

Addendum:
In attempt to find Mr. Greg Peters, I conducted an exhaustive Google Search coming up with this incriminating evidence linking Peters to insurance fraud, nakedness and another sales scam he is involved with.

---Suspect Device | Greg Peters
... myself, burn all the evidence, and just smile and shuffle my feet if I happen to
pass my insurance agent as I'm going into the dollar store to buy baby clothes

---Virtuality (2 of 2)
... Greg Peters. You know him, the guy from psychology class?" asked Elisa. "Of course" she said nodding. Elisa pulled off her clothes down to her latex underwear.

---Classifieds
... January 27th, Monday. Greg Peters, Auctioneer/Owner. ... Computer table, welders, iron
sawhorses, candy machine, dishwasher, antiques, collectables, clothes, misc.

The butt of a joke...
This is an Official Consumer Warning© to the male readers in the audience. DO NOT buy Greg Peters brand slacks. This is warning based on actual experience, and the experience I had today is that the butt-end of the things will smooth disintegrate on ya'. I had liked these slacks and had in fact only had them for no more than a month when the ass end of the things went south on me.

As I walked out of our office building, Lupe our maintenance supervisor was walking behind me as were several female office workers. Lupe, being a man of discretion, waited until the ladies were within ear range, and then with much tact said, "are you going home now?" I replied that "yes, I was". "Good", he said, "'cause you ain't got no butt in those pants". And you know he was right. Although "no butt" was not entirely correct. I had about 32% butt left. However the other 68% was just plain gone....vanished to wherever cloth goes when it's not there anymore.

The slacks were made in China, so I suppose I'm not to surprised at the vanishing cloth. I've always heard that the Chinese don't mind going around bare assed. And it's not as bad as it could have been. I could have been in a meeting with my friends and partners who are a very loving and caring lot, who would have said that they understood, but then would have never let me forget this. And I'm glad I wore underwear today...! It's one of those times that you hear your Mother's voice telling you about the reasons for having clean underwear on.

Minutia...
I'm only stating fact here, not complaining. I hate the minutia of life. The little things that one must do every day just to keep one's head above water. Things like updating insurance policies, going to the bank and going to the city zoning office to check on the new construction monstrosity the neighbors are planning. OK, so that's not an every day event, but it's typical, and one I actually had to do today. Much of my minutia is received by mail, from people I don't know who don't care if they are creating work for me or not.

Like the zoning letter. The city announces by mail that the neighbors want to defy the current zoning ordinance and build something. I'm not told in the letter what it is. It could be a nuclear waste facility, a Haitian refugee center or a home for thousands of wayward cats. I envision the worst. So, I have to trundle down to the zoning office, wasting my valuable time, to review plans for the cat motel or whatever. It turns out to be a new two story garage on the East side of their property which fortunately I cannot see from my rear windows so it's my next door neighbors problem. I dodged another one, although I may go to the zoning meeting and complain, just for leverage in having these neighbors remove some offensive lighting. More time wasted.

Or take the insurance update as another example of minutia. The mega-conglomerate who holds the note on my car writes desiring that I waste my time and send them copies of my insurance forms telling them that if I totally wreck the vehicle they get all the money from my insurance. Fair enough, but it took me 45 minutes of down time to accomplish this. And it would have been more if my insurance carrier USAA [advertisement..hope they see this and lower my rates] wasn't so efficient and helped my relatively quickly. OK, 10 minutes of downtime. The rest of the time was spent telling the agent about our* trip to Fredericksburg and the movie We Were Soldiers and I sent her some pictures as she said she loved the movie. But this is still time I am pulled away from important oil and energy business matters, whatever those are.

These are just two examples of minutia, and I am not even mentioning going to the store for food, buying gasoline and other of life's time wasters. After I make my 2nd or 3rd million, I'm going to hire a minutia assistant so I can concentrate on the important things in life...like sitting in a chair and thinking.

* By our, I mean Julie and me. I would like to mention Julie, who says that she is not getting enough mention in this column. I love Julie, she is the most beautiful woman I know, and she is far too kind to me. And she loves my dog. And she helps me with minutia. Like tonight, she's going to help me wrap the thousands of pennies, nickles and dimes that I have. Please don't tell her this, as she doesn't know it yet and I want it to be a wonderful surprise.

Pearl Harbor Day...
We journeyed to Fredericksburg on Friday to meet with my good friend Joe Galloway who was the featured speaker at the Admiral Nimitz Museum. He was speaking at the Pearl Harbor Day Memorial there. What a great time, such a good time in fact, that we ditched our plans to stay only one evening in favor of an all weekend affair. You can read the details in the Sunday entry of my travel partners website The Yellow Bug News. I hadn't seen Joe since March at the movie premier of We Were Soldiers but this time we really had some time together to catch up, relax, eat and tell stories. And Julie got to meet the fabled, "Famous Author".

Joe's remarks in front of the large crowd, including many Pearl Harbor survivors, were to the point. We owe the WWII generation so much, we owe them almost everything that America is today. And we need to show that honor, so many are leaving us every day. Joe told us what it was like to be a kid in the war years with almost every single male family member being gone to some strange spot on the globe. Not knowing whether they were alive or dead on a daily basis. And he reminded us of what they accomplished when they came back...mostly without much talk about what they had done while the were gone. Unlike today when every little deed qualifies one for hero status. These men and women, knew that they had done a job that needed to be done for our freedom. They came home, and went about doing the next job, building the America that we know today.

My dad was like that. Gone for three years of hell and heartbreak, and then not talking much about it for the next 50 years. Only in the past several years has he filled in some of the details of his life in combat in Italy. The agony of seeing his one and only good friend killed the very first day in combat, and of the misery of fighting in freezing weather in the Italian Alps with German artillery falling through the trees for days. We need to remember these people and to thank them. We need to remember that they went through some very hard times and made America better for it.

Civilization....partially redeemed
After yesterday's sermonette concerning the state of service today, and lest the readership think that I am some old passé naysayer, negative, misanthropic and living in the past, let me state this. You're right, I am. But let me also outline some things that are good about the modern age and some things that, thanks to computers and new ways of service, do make life more convenient.

Fresh in my mind is Amazon.Com. They've never disappointed me. They send out emails telling me my order is received. Emails telling me my order has been shipped, and emails asking me if I got the order. We are going to Fredericksburg Texas this weekend to see my friend, author Joe Galloway and Julie didn't have a hardbound copy of his book, We Were Soldiers, for he and others to sign. Well, no problem, get on Amazon Monday afternoon, order the book, pay a little something extra for fast shipment and guess what happens. Amazon tells me within three minutes that they have the order, they tell me Tuesday that they've shipped it and Amazon gets it to me safe and sound at noon today. This is one reason they are a Dot.Com that has survived. The other two that come to mind are Ebay.com [though I've never used them] and PayPal.com [I use them a lot]. They provide a useful convenient service, are accesible, and they do what they say they will...and they keep you informed.

Now to my much maligned bank. Their personal service still eats bad things, but I have to give credit [or rather debit] where credit [debit] is due to certain aspects of modern convenience that they handle very well. Because of the "debit" card, I have no use for "credit" cards..don't own one. With the debit card I can pay for anything anywhere in the country, and because of the computer age I can keep track of all outgo/income to the account on the computer. This is very good for me...an MBA who never got in the practice of recording his checks in the checkbook, and God forbid ever balanced it. With the computer and debit card, I can anytime, anywhere check to see how much is sitting on the bottom line.

And even though I fix my telephone equipment with a leaf blower, I am a person hooked to life by computers. I have met some very good friends through websites and email, Joe Galloway, one of my great personal friends being one of them. I keep up with old friends thru email and almost instantaneous photos of our goings on. I have two websites on which I've made some money selling maps and photos and the oil business is a natural for sending or acquiring data via the Internet.

So now, I'm off to the chic Targét store to exchange some jeans. Perhaps the teenagers there will be thrilled to see me, call me by my first name, and flutter around me waiting to answer my every question. And then perhaps when I get home, there will be a very apologetic email from the young saps in Santa Fe, begging my forgiveness for not being more intune with my Bed and Breakfast needs. These would be nice, but frankly between you and me, I'm not counting on it.

Phone repairs and the decline of civilizaton....
The first bit of good news is that I have, alone and without the assistance of the phone company, repaired my phone system. I did this with a 120 mph Black&Decker yard leaf blower. Balderdash you say. No, just good use of my native logic and American genius. Correctly reasoning that excessive moisture had caused a short in the outside line somewhere, I meticulously searched for water on the line. I found it under the patio, where water had been leaking all day. Thus the use of the Black&Decker 120 mph leaf blower which quickly dried the offending area. Within minutes of my second application of 120 mph. air I picked up the receiver and surprised even myself to find a dial tone. And I'm glad to see that 100's of fans read my previous post and did not call. But come to think of it, no one ever calls anyway.

Now to the decline of civilization as we know it, or more specifically customer service in that civilization. If you are over 40 you will know what I'm talking about, those under 40 probably think service is just fine these days. This topic entered my thoughts after calling SW Bell TelCo yesterday during the phone crisis. After enduring the call to the Haitian phone tree several times and talking to computers and disinterested Haitians, I reflected back on how the old SW Bell used to be. Looking back, it was wonderful. Number one, they had a big local office, staffed by actual English speaking people [choice #1 on the phone tree]. They also had a actual phone number in the yellow pages, to get to the English speaker. All one had to do, was dial the local number, tell Agnes what the problem was and she would have someone out within hours. If you had to wait for a moment while Agnes located LeRoy the repairman, you could talk to her about how well the high school football team is doing.
No more.

We recently visited Santa Fe and stayed at a B&B where I have loyally stayed the last several trips. The previous owner was a more mature woman, i.e. slightly older than me. But the B&B has recently been purchased by a "young" couple, who I found out went to the same small university I did. Since the owners were away during our visit, I left my name and email address along with a nice note with "what a coincidence we both went to Trinity U". When I got home I sent them an email about our pleasant stay and included some pictures taken at the inn. Well, do you think I've heard a word from these young saps. NoSireeBob. Not a word. Don't these ignorazzi know that although they own a B&B, they are really in the service business, the people business. Apparently not. I suppose they think that they have the finest B&B in Santa Fe and people flock to them for that reason. Well it's not the finest and there are 100's of places to stay in Santa Fe. The former owner used to stay in touch, send specials by email and just generally making you think she liked you and wanted you to come back. Which is the reason I did. I don't know now.

The list of the sorry excuses for customer care in the new service ethic is inexhausable. Neither my phone, electric, nor gas companies have local offices anymore and it takes forever to talk to a real person in Dallas or Haiti, if you can at all. I opened an account at Bank One years ago based on their personal service record [they actually used to advertise this]. Now there is one actual human teller at the bank and every week I get flyers in the mail advertising computerized banking and bill paying....at $5 a transaction. Screw you multi-national conglomerate, I'm getting ready to move my account to a local State Bank where I know an actual person. Probably the worst offenders are the retail establishments that utilize mostly very young workers. Used because they can run much faster to get away from you if you need to ask a question.

Now I am not against young workers, computerized systems where they speed up transactions or any other form of modern improvement. Improvement being the operative word. Apathy in service towards the paying customer is not an improvement. The first saying I heard as a young Army officer was, "take care of your troops". Well the paying customers are industry's troops, and they're not being taken care of. Could be why so many businesses fail these days. Especially the Dot.Com's run by smarmy 20 year olds who stangely know more than people who have been around twice as long as they.
Again, if you are over 40 you know what I'm talking about, if you are under 40 you should have been there.

The case of the bad electricity...
If you try and send any urgent and important information via email tonight, thanks, but I won't get it. It's been raining for 20 hours and this has apparently knocked my phone service out. No phone=no dial-up modem=no Internet. I called SW Bell this morning at some 800 number phone tree in Haiti or somewhere close. There they give you a state of the art computerized automated systems analysis [TelcoSysAn] of your phone status, which in this case generated the very helpful...."an equipment problem..good bye". So I called back on the phone tree and punched #1 to get an English speaking human. Had I punched #2 I would have gotten a Spanish speaking human. Having tried to use the phone in Mexico once, I have a hunch that English speakers know more about phone electricity than Spanish speakers. I related the problem and told her I thought it had to do with the rain. She say's no she thought that I had some bad electricity or something.

I have been chided already [see below] for believing this, but we have had electrical problems in the neighborhood, with service lapses several times a month so with the hope of the naive, I wanted to believe it was so. But to continue, when you have bad electricity apparently the proceedure is to go home and unplug all phones and the computer....to let them rest and get the bad electricity out. Which is what I did at lunch. You will not be surprised to learn that this did absolutely nothing except create a lot of unplugging and replugging for me. Not to mention the fact that I was very worried about the environmental impact. Just where does all this bad electricity go when it escapes from communication equipment?

So back to the office I went where I waded thru the whole stinkin' phone tree procedure again....finally talk to another humanoid, explaining that I got the bad electricity out...and the service was still a NO GO. "Oh" she says, "it's probably the rain, we'll have someone out...tomorrow, at the exact time of between 8 AM and 5 PM..so stand by". And so I wasted a whole half day today and a half whole day tomorrow on some bogus bad electricity theory!! But hey, it could have been true, those people in Haiti know alot about electricity....and Voodoo.

Can you hear me now?

Here is the comment on the bad electricity theory by best selling author Joe Galloway, in which, with metaphorical literary skill, he alludes to the fact that I might be a moron:

"....Bad electricity?? Unplug all yer equipment and let it rest????? Next thing they will be tellin ya to put your phone handset in the wastebasket cause they are about to blow out the line and you doan want all that dust in yore house. We usta pull that one on old ladies. ......."

Old Friends......
Old friends, Bruce and Arlene Crandall are in town for the weekend. Actually, they are "new" old friends. I met Bruce two years ago when he came out to help with a seminar I put together on the Vietnam War. He was introduced to me by my good friend Joe Galloway who wrote We Were Soldiers Once, and Young, which became the film We Were Soldiers. Bruce and Arlene now stop in several times a year on their RV ramblings across America.

Bruce is one of the leading characters in the real life action in Vietnam in 1965 on which the book and the movie are based. Bruce was portrayed by Greg Kinnear in the film. His actions are one of the reasons that the 1/7th Cavalry survived those three hellish days in November '65. When no one else would fly, he and his good friend Ed Freeman volunteered to fly their helicopters into an intensely hostile landing zone to deliver ammunition, food, and water to the trapped soldiers. And to fly the dead and wounded out. Ed Freeman later received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions.....he was recommended by his commanding officer, Bruce. Joe Galloway's father-in-law, Capt. Tom Metsker, was killed on Bruce's helicopter as he was helping the wounded on. Bruce watched a North Vietnamese soldier shoot his co-pilot thru the neck. He had to abandon several Huey's that were shot up too badly to fly another trip. Bruce went on to fly 900+ missions in two tours in Vietnam and is one of only seven modern army aviators to be inducted into The Eagle Flight, the aviaton Hall of Fame.

I've heard all these stories first hand from Bruce, but like most veteran's....after we tell our stories we move on to life today. We talk about what his kids are doing, baseball, football......how we're going to fix his RV which seems to get banged up everytime he visits us. This trip Bruce and Arlene got to know Julie, Jack and Amanda and Bruce took to son Jack immediately, they are both sports fans. And we look at Arlene's Hollywood photos. Bruce was the aviation consultant on the film, and Arlene was the only person allowed to take photographs during production. She has hundreds with Mel Gibson, producer Randy Wallace, Sam Elliott, Barry Pepper, Madeleine Stowe, and of the filming. And copies of the scripts, photos of the costumes, and the sets along with notes from the actors and behind the screen staff. It's a real treat and one that my friends and neighbors like to come over and enjoy.

But mostly we, Bruce and Arlene, Julie, Jack and I, just like to "hang around" together. With the assembled group last evening, I asked if anyone wanted to watch clips from We Were Soldiers on DVD. Bruce was the first to speak up, "No thanks, I've seen it".

Here's to The Band of Brothers.

It Snot Right
First, in the spirit of the holiday, Thanksgiving, let me state that it was a very good day spent with family and dog. A visit to my folks with Julie, and then dinner with Julie's folks, her kids and her brother and sister-in-law. Very pleasant and low keyed, the way I prefer. And I am one for giving thanks, or more as I term it "an attitude of gratitude" for all that I am privelaged to have and enjoy. I truly try and practice this every day, for I have for more in my life than I deserve.

And I have gratitude that one day soon I will feel better. Future gratitude for things to come if you will, for I have felt lousy for the last several days thanks to the Common Cold. Uncommon for me, however, and I have to admit I'm a weinie about colds because I have them so rarely. I would rather be really sick, with gut wrenching puking and bedridden with nausea than to have a cold like this one. With gut wrenching puking, at least it's over for awhile until the next attack. This cold is unrelenting. My nose is 95% ineffective in sucking in air, and thanks be to God that he gave us an alternative for obtaining air with our mouths or else I would be suffocated and dead. It has given me panic attacks as it reminds me of the time I almost drowned...not a good experience.

I've had so much "snot" [scientific name: mucouso malignantitis] that when I blow it all out in a gigantic glob, within 3 minutes, tops, my nose is completely full of it again. This is not a pretty picture I grant you, but it is true, and is added, hopefully, to generate some sympathy for my plight. I do feel that it is breaking slightly, as I have moments now when my nose is approximately 45% effective in sucking in air, and Julie has given me Mentholatum, which eases the snot factor. So if I wake up suffocated it's not her fault.

The Visit..
The Dulin family from Richmond, Texas is visiting for the holidays...more later.
It is now later...or later now, whatever. After meeting Julie's brother Don at my office [computer talk], he and his lovely bride Leslie, Julie and I went to lunch at Julie's absolutely most favorite cafe, Johnny's Bar-b-Que. Julie's most encouraging comment about Johnny's is.....I hate it, it's disgusting, they drop cigarette ashes in the food!!. Well what do you want, "clean food", it's a West Texas Bar-b-que joint for gosh sakes. It's not the best in the world, but it is an institution in our town, having been in operation since the 1950's and many of the patron's there are one's who were there when I first graced it's doors in 19 and 61. But that's part of the charm....seeing old geezers whom you've known for 40+ years, since when they were young geezers. But the smoke was not too bad, and we had a lovely time.
PS: Interesting advantage of downloading Explorer 6.1: my old browser, with unending regularity used to "freeze" and give me an alert pop up warning KERNEL 32 ERROR with an annoying BOING sound. Fine, except that when you'd hit the "close" button, it would BOING again, hit it BOING, BOING, but do nothing. To get rid of the ERROR pop up, the computer would have to be restarted.
Well I just had the KERNEL 32 ERROR once again.....and lo and behold when I hit the "close" button....well it closed. Whoopee.

Exploring......6.1
Well I finally got around to downloading Explorer 6.1 today. I'd been meaning to do it for a long time.....mainly because I like the colored scroll bars it allows. I have it on my office machine, and have been designing for it in my web work almost since I started using CSS. I have been delaying it on the home machine because I feared the long download time on a dialup modem. But, like most things in life, the dread didn't live up to the reality. It only took 45 minutes or so, and installed easily. Perhaps because I did the custom download, instead of the full install. Of course, I'm missing things like the Vietnamese and Korean language capabililties, but I did get VBS scripting and a new Media Player.
Excuse me while I go and check on some new color scroll bar possibilities......

Me and..Me

They say it's your Birthday....
In all modesty, I announce that it is my birthday today. Modestly because I wouldn't have made it this far without the help and love of many people...too many to recite here. But you know who you are.....and I am grateful for your assistance. The picture above is me today....and me some &*^@#$ years ago, when I was one. The photos new and old were merged, the common point being the chair, which my family had then, and sits in my dining room still today.

Seems like yesterday....
It was 39 years ago today, but I still recall it like it happened yesterday. I was in Coach Nixon's home room class, ninth grade, Midland High School. Bonnie Craddick, as she did for four years, was sitting in front of me in the row next to the wall. The old loud speaker came on with the special announcement.....President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas and was dead. Eveyone was silent, too silent. How, at 13 years of age do you react to this news. We didn't know, nor did the teachers. We went on for another half hour in this neverland of silence with some small talk, till school was dismissed for the day. It was the 22nd of November, which happened to be the day before my birthday. I will always relate the two for the rest of my life.

It was start of my teen years, and the end of my real innocence about life. I remember it was the time that Yo-Yo's were the "fad". I spent my birthday with my best friend, Ronnie [now Ron] Hunt, who by coincidence was born several hours apart from me. I remember he and I spent some time with our new birthday Duncan Yo-Yo's, but mostly I remember watching events, and the funeral, unfold on our old black and white TV. Days of it, wondering just how and why these things could happen. What a birthday.

Home again....
It was sad to leave Santa Fe, it being one of the best places on earth to be. It must do my karma well being there. From the golden light, to the smell of piñon pine smoke in the air, to the feeling of just being somewhere where people appreciate the finer things in life...like piñon smoke and golden light. And oh yes, the art. Santa Fe is truly one of the art capitals of the world. Not so much in museums [though there are those], but rather in just plain art for sale. There are 100's if not in the 1000's of art galleries and shops. And I dare say more photo galleries per capita than any other city. Great photos too. Ansel Adams, Steiglitz, Weston, Curtiss to name a few.

We had a great time, highlighted by our train trip from Santa Fe to Lamy, a nice leisurely jaunt riding in our choice of a 1950's Domeliner, a 1928 mahogany encased coach, or my personnal favorite, the flatcar. It was a might cool riding outside in 40° weather but worth every minute to get some great photos of my own.

But it is good to get back home, especially to see the Big Gold Dog. I have to be honest, the Dog is one reason I don't travel more. It's easier to leave a child at home than a Dog. Children understand that you'll be back, Dog's don't have that concept. And the Dog is more than grateful to be back in his familiar surroundings. So glad that he is back to sleeping in the bed, something that he hasn't done for a year.
A glimpse of the trip can be viewed at: The Santa Fe trip.

Hey from Santa Fe
This is being written from the exclusive Kinko's in Santa Fe. Having a great time, just got back from an exciting trainride to Lamy NM, and tonite dinner at the Pink Adobe. Wish you were here. Well, no I don't.

Missing Persons.....
The management and staff of Streams will be on a corporate retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico from Nov. 15-17th. Please talk among yourselves while we are away.

Tranquility....
Well there certainly is much to be spleenful and angrily vociferous about in the world. After all it's occupied by a great big boat load full of too many morons and idiots. But I really couldn't pick one particular topic to be angrily vociferous about today so I decided to do a Seinfeld blog and write about really nothing. Except tranquility. I read too many BLogs on the web, half of them are really good, because they agree with my viewpoints. The other half are written by lame-brained half wits, no actually more like quarter wit dumbwads....these don't agree with my viewpoint.
I get really upset with these, putting me in a bad mood. I don't want to be in a bad mood, so I'm going to lay off them for awhile and meditate.

OOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM
OOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM

There I feel better. So now I can think better thoughts. Today is my good friend, Famous Author, Joe Galloway's birthday. After winding down from the big yearlong We Were Soldiers movie experience, Joe was looking for something meaningful to do, but not looking too hard. Like so often when we're not looking for anything, too hard, something finds us. Joe is now heading up the "in case of war" news desk for Knight-Ridder Newspapers. Right up his War Correspondant alley. And he doesn't have to actually go this time. Which is good, because his wife told him that if he went to another war, if the bad guys didn't kill him......she would.

Joe is heading down next week to interview our hometown Midland, Texas boy, Gen. Tommy Franks. Then in December he's going to South America with one of my other best long time friends Gen. Tom Hill, who commands all forces in that hemisphere. I wish I were going. Life is full of coincidence and this is one of them. I know Joe and Tom from completely different times in my life, then they meet n Iraq in 1991 and become friendly and find out from each other that they both know me. So how come I'm not invited to South America? Oh well, I'm going to Santa Fe with a young blonde babe Friday, and they're not. It equals out.....I'm tranquil.

Veteran's Day
Didn't I make you proud,
go and lay my life down,
when they called my name.

I thought I stood for something,
thought I was doing the right thing,
when I went away.

Why do folks sit in judgement,
when they ain't seen the things I've seen,
ain't done the things I've done.

Didn't I burn,
didn't I bleed enough for you,
I faced your fears, I felt your pain,
so you wouldn't have to,
Didn't I do my best

-Montgomery Gentry-
-We Were Soldiers-

Veteran's Day is, unfortunately for many, just another chance to get a day off from work. It shouldn't be. If you are thankful for your freedom thank a Veteran. Whether the Vet saw combat or not, he gave up part of his life so that we can live in freedom. He stood tall to protect all the things that we hold dear. I have been blessed to know Veteran's stretching from World War I to the new War on Terrorism. I served with soldiers in the Vietnam era, they are still among my closest friends. They are America's best.

I attend occasional reunions of Army Veteran's, including the reunion of the survivors of one of the most vicious battles in American history, the Ia Drang in Vietnam, upon which the recent film We Were Soldiers was based. Mainly just ordinary guys who performed extraordinary deeds. As would be expected there is some "war talk" about how tough it was and, of course, about the friends lost. But, frankly, much of the conversation is about families, jobs, and how good life is today, which is the way it should be....that's what we were fighting and giving our lives for. Whenever he meets a Veteran, a man who I am proud to call a friend, General Hal Moore who was played by Mel Gibson in the film, always has one thing he say's without fail. "Thank you for your service". A good idea for all Americans. Freedom is not free!

You might like to watch this Tribute to our service personnel.

The Sick O'Clock News..
As age, gravity, and abuse take it's toll on my mortal body, I'm forced to think more about the healthcare mess in the US of A. It's hard to avoid if you watch the evening news with Walter Cronkite. Er, well that dates me.....I guess it's Peter Jennings now. Each evening there is a piece on healthcare, usually involving the increasing cost thereof. It is a mess. My parents are requiring a few more medications these days, for various ills, which they can afford but, while at the pharmacy yesterday my Mother reported that the bill for the lady ahead of her came to a staggering $1500. For one month's worth of prescriptions. And that the lady looked like she could barely afford to buy a new pair of socks, much less pay this sum.
The real dichotomy of the evening news, the lunacy, if you have noticed, is that the evening news is brought to you almost entirely by the drug industry.
Peter Jennings: "it's shocking to most Americans, the cost of prescription drugs! While a recent report by Cornell University says Americans visit doctors far too often and take many medications they don't need. And when we come back...prices are going higher and Doctors are quitting."
TeeVee Ad: "Have you heard about the Purple Pill?"
I'm going to need medication if I hear anymore about the Purple Pill, or Claritin or Allegra, or Mrs. Smith's Bowel Cleaner and Breath Freshener. In the main I have to believe that the drug industry and TeeVee have talked too many people into being sick. When I was a child, we had Aspirin and Mentholatum. If you had allergies and your head hurt, you took an aspirin and then went out back and blew snot out of your nose. That took care of that. Now, you have your choice of a plethora of prescriptions for allergies. I have allergies, I know how much these TeeVee drugs costs. The cheapest is around $50 per prescription..which might last a month. Back in the good ol' days, if you had the first signs of arthiritis, you smeared the joint with mentholatum, took aspirin and you moaned alot. Now..well some of the arthritis drugs cost hundreds of dollars a month...and you still have to moan at your own expense.

I bring this subject up because it's important, but not because it applies to me. Me, I go to the Veteran's Administration and get any prescription for $7 bucks. A benefit of military service. And I deserve it, I contracted Jungle Rot under my toenails, while in unclean foreign lands. My self worth has suffered all these years, I drank too much because of it. Now, with a $7 Jungle Rot prescription, I can feel much better about myself and I am clean and sober. I learned that I was a worthless wretch after seeing a Jungle Rot medication ad on TeeVee.

{Editors Note: If the Armed Services are smart, they'll stop advertising things like the educational and training benefits offered by military service and hit the $7 per prescription benefit really hard. If you are a forward thinking young person with allergies, toe nail rot, arthritis or a bad stomach this could be worth millions to you in the future.}

Help me......Please!
I am used to the kids in my neighborhood stopping by and asking me to buy something to help their school activities. I have purchased raffle tickets, five dollar chocolate bars, and chances to win boom boxes. I have only turned down one kid, which I did with remorse, as he was in Boy Scouts and I [he says proudly] was an Eagle Scout. However I really didn't want $20 popcorn. I hope the Scouts come back again with something more economical that I like.

So, when the door bell ring late Tuesday afternoon I wasn't surprised to see a young man of about 14 standing there. In fact, when I looked at him I remembered I had bought school grapefruit from him last year. No sooner had I opened the door than, with a look of great disgust and some anger he said, "I'm from St. Ann's Catholic School, would you like to buy Christmas Poinsettia's they're making me sell them." I said, "What do you mean making you"? "Yes" he said, almost tearily, "we were ordered to sell 20 each." I asked him what would happen if he didn't sell his quota. He said that knowing the school big trouble would brew.

This was starting to sound serious. I wondered, whether I should I take him in and declare asylum? Would he be excommunicated? Was there a nun outside with a ruler ready to smack us both? Well, not wanting to delve into clergical affairs, I did the only thing I could do. I ordered poinsettias. As I filled out the form I noticed that almost to a home every single one of my neighbors are getting poinsettias too. As he truned to go, with more of a sly smile, I started to wonder, is this the greatest sales pitch ever? Have I been snookered? Have I played into the hands of guilt? Well, I can always use the poinsettias.

Before he left the porch I asked him, "When can I expect these?" "Well" he said, "I can't guarantee the date, but we'll try to have them here this winter". Gee Thanks.......

Senator Elect Cornyn and Pancho

Senator [elect] Cornyn
The Democrats were crowing that things would change in this election, that the mandate for George W. Bush was over. Things did indeed change, the swing to more moderate right values stunned even the Republicans themselves. I think that the election results confirm that the American people want the war on terrorism prosecuted swiftly and vigourously. It shows that the American people, despite the loss of confidence in the business sector, still trust Republican capitalist values to lead the way to a better economy. More than anything I believe it shows that despite the ever growing plethora of "talking heads", media experts and analysts, that the American public can make up it's own mind about the course of their country.

And I'm proud to say that my old college acquaintance John Cornyn will help to lead the way. John doesn't come from a rich family of political lineage. He comes from a modest military family, who taught him that with hard work and honest straight forward values you can become a United States Senator. Congratulations John!

Afternoon Blurb update
The afternoon CNN poll on the question "Who will win the senate?" is:
Republicans: 53%
Democrats: 42%
No One: 6%
Thank you CNN, and there we have it, 101% of the American people have spoken.

Morning News Blurbs....
The current CNN online poll asks, "Who will win control of the Senate". The morning results are:
Republicans: 54%
Democrats: 41%
No One: 6%
I'm rooting for the No Ones. I like their platform.

Yesterday's CNN poll, in response to the robot warrior blowing hell out of Al Queda members, asks: "Is it correct to assasinate "suspected" terrorists without due process?"
I missed the results, but the question shows some people [the press and morons...oh yeah, one and the same] still don't get it. We have declared war on terrorism. Apparently the info on the deceased was excellent, so if it looks like a duck*, quacks like a duck and drives a dune buggy thru the back roads of Yemen like a duck, we blow hell out of the duck. Where ever the duck happens to be. And the dead duck was confirmed as the suspected duck by Yemeni intelligence, using his dog tags. Or rather by the scar on his leg which was the only thing left.

*[the reference to ducks is a literary device. I like ducks, I like ducks a lot, please do not send duck hater mail].

Protest ideas...
A possible war with Iraq, of course, is a very debatable subject in the Web Blog world. This is good, we need debate. But the one point I see repeated which still confounds me is that any action against Iraq is the work of, or in the interest of "Big Oil". I recently made a point on
The Weblog Action Center about Europe, Oil, and the Mid East. Shortly anon and sure enough, here comes replies about "Big Oil".....Evil "Big Oil". I wonder if this person has missed the news for say, the last two years. How many bombings and deaths do we have to have before someone understands that we are under attack and that the best defense is a good offense.

Well, I do admire people of conviction. So if anyone who reads this really thinks "Big Oil" is behind our intentions with Iraq, I have an idea about protesting "Big Oil". Stop using petroleum products. Here's how: stop driving, don't use your heater or air conditioning, don't buy or use any plastic products, don't buy refrigerated foods [coolants come from petroleum you know], and finally stop using your damn computer to spew out moronic ideas about "Big Oil".

Never too late to vote.....

DURHAM, North Carolina (AP) -- Funeral homes in Durham are giving voters no excuse to be deadbeats on election day: They're offering free rides to the polls in limousines.
The Durham Voter Coalition has enlisted Ellis D. Jones Funeral Home and Burthey Funeral Services to ferry voters between homes and balloting stations on November 5.

This story does not surprise me and I think it seems only natural. Dead people have been voting in much of the South since reconstruction. President Lyndon B. Johnson was very popular with dead people and spent much of his early career cultivating their vote. It does seem, though, that this tactic in North Carolina is purely Republican with the use of limousines. In Texas most dead voters, who tend to be Democrats, travel to the polls in pickup trucks. And in Minnesota where a large percentage of voters appear to have brain damage, psychiatric hospitals are offering rides.

Spicey News.......
This just in from "the continent". A plot to kidnap Posh Spice, of The Spice Girls, has been foiled by Scotland Yard. The would be kidnappers reportedly were going to ask for a seven figure ransom. The criminals were apparently delusional as most people would pay that much for them to keep her.

Give 'em a head lock....
Having once undertaken matrimonial vows in Minnesota and spending some good amount of time there in the dim past, I find the state an interesting dichotomy. For the most part, they are typical Mid-Western folks, conservative by nature, and still tending very much toward the old world Germanic wholesomeness. It's just about the cleanest state I've ever been to, and Minneapolis is a gem, with lakes, parks, art and again.....just plain really clean.

The other side of this wonderfulness is that the state has become, along with it's neighbor Wisconsin, a hotbed of old fashion liberalism. Wisconsin has been like that forever. As I have written elsewhere, there is a reason for this gung-ho liberalism. It's easy to be a tree-hugging, kissy kissy liberal if you live in areas that don't have the problems that other states do....such as run-a-way illegal immigration as an example. If the problem is elsewhere it's quite easy to give advice on the solution........what do you care, you won't have to live with it.

Of course, I got started thinking about Minnesota after the Sen. Wellstone Memorial[?]. Walt Mondale has been on the appology trail, saying that some of the people just got a "little carried away". OK. There is another name for this. Just plain rude crude bad taste. I was proud to see Gov. Jesse "Jack Slap 'em" Ventura on the TeeVee this morning. As you may know he walked out of the affair and his comment was, "I was disgusted, I ought to unscrew their heads like burnt out lightbulbs" [or something to that effect]. Way to go Jesse.
Gov. Ventura, now there is a real dichotomy that we may discuss in more detail later. On one hand I really like the guy, he was a Navy SEAL, he speaks plainly without worrying about his re-election possiblities. Then he wears slacks and a polo shirt to the memorial service and sounds about half loony sometimes.

Inane Rambling......
Tired of the crush of sniper's, politicians, terrorists and other stressful thoughts of the modern Globilized life, I turn to thoughts in a more mundane vane. There are things I hate about modern life [from the way it was when I was a kid] like the things just mentioned, and that people in a neighborhood don't sit on their front porches anymore to talk about them. Hell, most people don't have front porches and if they did would be afraid the neighbors might steal something if they did visit. I'm blessed in that I know and like most of my neighbors, but, and this is crazy, but......I email the people across the street as much as I do talk to them in the front yard. I email all the folks up and down the street to tell them I'm going out of town, I send them pictures of my daily life in JPG format, instead of walking over and showing them in KodaChrome. There are more things, many more that I detest about modern life [traffic, the increase in morons, the increase in TeeVee idiot talking heads] but I won't dwell on these. I'll tell you something I do like.
I like Plastic Tar. I discovered Plastic Tar today, at McCoy's Home Repair Center. I have a fireplace that has been leaking more now that the monsoon season has hit, and I tried last week to patch it with Silicon Caulk. Silicon Caulk is outmoded kid stuff. Plastic Tar is in. It comes in a paint can size bucket for only $3.95US and is the consistancy of Betty Crocker Vanilla canned icing. It slathers into the cracks very nicely, and I'm told that it dries much as would real tar, only stronger since it has genuine plastic molecules in it. I also like that the Plastic Tar was sold to me by a friend who I haven't seen in 5 years. And who happens to look exactly like The Big White Guy in Hong Kong. Plastic Tar, try it, you'll like it. It's like liquid Duck Tape.

The Right Stuff....
The term "Hero" is used loosely in this day and age. But one man that personifies and deserves that appellation is Gen. Chuck Yeager. Not for just breaking the sound barrier all those years ago, but for a lifetime of services much above and beyond the call of duty. And doing it mostly out of the eye of the media. He will be the first to tell you that he doesn't like being called a hero. He will say that he was just a guy doing his duty and what he loved to do. In a personal setting he gets noticeably peeved when all people want to do is talk about breaking the sound barrier. He will tell you that it was the luck of the draw that got him in Glamorous Glyniss that day, that it could have been any number of other well qualified pilots. He would really rather talk about his days as a P-51 fighter jock....and ace. To talk about what it meant to defeat Nazi Germany and about all his friends who weren't as lucky as he, and who didn't come home.

I was lucky enough this year to meet Gen. Yeager and hear him say these things. So it was with relish that I read today that he once again, probably for the last time got to break the sound barrier. Sorry Gen. Yeager, I know you wouldn't want to hear it, but you are a hero.....and a genuine legend.

On the Sauce....
Apparently sauce stories are hot news on the International scene. After yesterdays tragic fish sauce story from Vietnam, alert reader Lisa in England found this important news item courtesy of the BBC. The Brown Sauce story is a classic tale of intrigue involving a Bozo not believing that the chef had created his own recipe but instead had used a popular generic, off the shelf, sauce common in Britain. Typically British, the bozo in question admits that he used bad form in coming back after hours and trying to bash the pub's door down in a drunken fit of sauce inquiry. Good show old man!

Now I can't really blame the guy. Back in my days of drunken sauce confusion I might have done the same thing. I love sauces of all types and I if someone says the sauce is original, by God, it had better be. I will admit here in public that I love Worchestershire Sauce so much that occasionally I chug it right out of the bottle, sometimes with a mouthful of Bac-O's.
[no mail saying how disgusting this is please......I know it]

Something's Fishy
With all the "big" stories occupying the news on TeeVee as evidenced by the rumor that CNN is changing it's name to "The Sniper Channel", we forget that there are other stories of international importance. Such as the previously reported piece about Mrs. Barbara Hewson, who was squashed by a fat person on her last airline flight.
Today alert reader Ben Youmans of Tampa Florida, sends the following breaking news. This story will be "glossed" over by the media, so we are proud to be able to relate the facts to you....

Man Dies After Fish Sauce Rescue

HANOI (Reuters) - A Vietnamese man died and three of his co-workers nearly suffered the same fate after trying to rescue a colleague who fell into a vat of fish sauce. The state-run Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said the accident happened Monday in southern beachside Phan Thiet town when a man at a fish sauce factory fell into a 2.2 meter (7.2 foot) sauce tank.

Four other workers, including the man's wife, who came to his aid also fell in, and all lost consciousness after inhaling the gas from the fish being fermented to make the sauce, the article said. A doctor at the emergency unit at Binh Thuan provincial hospital told Reuters Tuesday one of the rescuers, a 34-year-old man, died after being taken to the hospital. The cause of death has not been established, he said.

"The fish sauce tank is very tall and the victims had been lying in the sauce for a while before being rushed here," said the doctor who declined to be identified. "When they came, the man (who died) was already in critical condition."

Phan Thiet, the capital town of Binh Thuan, lies 190 km (118 miles) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. Besides being a center for fish sauce manufacturing, it is known for beachside resorts. Fish sauce is ferociously pungent and commonly used in southeast Asia to spice up dishes.

If this article has made you hungry go to Ginger Nuoc Mam for a great recipe [no humans were harmed in this recipe].

Sit on it!
And this just in.....

LONDON, England -- A woman injured while squeezed next to an obese passenger on a trans-Atlantic flight has been given £13,000 ($20,000) by the airline.

Apparently Mrs. Barbara Hewson, of Swansea, Wales had a rather unpleasant flight from London to Los Angeles, as she was sat upon by a fat woman for most of the trip. Mrs. Swanson has been under a doctor's care for injuries suffered while being squashed in flight. Virgin Atlantic said in a statement: "This was an unprecedented set of extremely unfortunate circumstances". I hope so, and when I choose my seat for my next flight I suppose I'm going to ask for a seat next to the window and not next to an obese person. My medical coverage is not that good.

Get out of jail free!
Well I have to give credit where credit is due. For once Dictator Elect Saddam Hussein has a great idea and one that I suspect may catch on. Vote for me, and you might get out of prison. If I get 100% of the vote then Everyone Goes Free! Yeeehaw! With minor variations this just might work in the US of A. The trouble here is that convicted felons, which most people in prison tend to be, can't vote. But this glitch could be overcome. Just make it a proxy vote by the convicted felon's family.
Due to our Federal form of government, this campaign strategy would work most effectively in the race for states governor. I'm already formulating my run for the Governorship of the great State of Texas. I can see, Monopoly "Get out of Jail Free" cards as my main printed material. And, of course, my theme song will be "I'll be home for Christmas". I will recommend, however, that the freed felons be deported to Iraq. This will keep the law and order voters happy.

Strangely curious......
The case of the D.C. sniper gets more curiouser all the time. The basic fact of oddity to me is how someone, anyone, no matter how well trained [if at all] can get away with shooting down 9 people with a high powered weapon in heavily populated areas without more witnesses and clues. Add to that...while being hunted by probably 1000's of law enforcement officers from agencies of all variety. The odds just seem against it.
The series of events has, of course, become a media feeding frenzy, with CNN and other media seemingly ignoring most other major stories. One wonders what the coverage might be if 9 people were gunned down in say, Montana. But, not wanting to be left out of the story, I flipped to CNN this morning on the TeeVee just in time to see a Very Extra Special "Live Special Alert" story covering the massive show of force at the Exxon service station in Richmond, where officers had surrounded a white van with a rack on top. Aha! Now we're getting somewhere I and the expert talking heads thought. After the cryptic messages from Chief Bullwinkle J. Moose about mystery phone calls, and communication with the perpetrator, we sensed the end was near, suspects were in hand.

What are the odds that two illegal aliens in a white van with a luggage rack on top, would stop to use the phone [ordering Burritos to go?]. Well, that apparently [at this hour anyway] is exactly what happened. At least they made an arrest. But I still have a theory, a conspiracy theory. This is a Federal coverup to take the heat off Dubya and the campaign against Iraq. And what do you bet that the "note" left behind the steakhouse turns out to be from some slimeball not connected to anything, trying to cash in for some dough.

Jackass....well no MORON
I read where a young woman is suing MTV for injuries she incurred while appearing on their TeeVee thriller...."Jackass". Since I personally know many Jackasses, I'm not inclined to watch such exciting TeeVee fare, so I'm commenting on third hand information. But my conclusion is.."What the xxxx is the matter with people"?
Jackass seemed to be popular with our upcoming generation because "Jackass" pushed the envelope for absurd behavior. This is good, this is what we need, more adsurd behavior produced on TeeVee for teenagers. The injured woman also claimed that "cast members, including star Johnny Knoxville, were given alcohol by the producers, which led to a "hostile, volatile and out-of-control" environment". Great, we need more out of control drunk teenagers portrayed on TeeVee.

We also need more teenagers setting themselves on fire to emulate what they see on TeeVee.

"In 2001, Jackass star, Knoxville donned a fireproof suit covered in steaks and was set on fire to become a human barbecue. A teenager who saw the stunt tried the same thing and landed in the hospital with severely burned hands, legs and back."

But this wasn't MTV's fault, they had included the ever popular warning. "Don't try this at home". Apparently MTV has learned it's lesson about Jackass, which was, "we'd better cancel this show, we're getting sued."
They've learned their lesson about using amateur actors so now they are in production of "Jackass, the Movie". All this will be included in my future upcoming book entitled, "The TeeVee factor, why we have more morons than ever".

Gooooooood Morning Afghanistan!
I was confronted by an article on Woody Harleson yesterday in The NZ Pundit wherein, blowhard hypocrite Woody explains why the United States is at fault for the situation in the Mid-East. And for good measure he condemns all large US corporation for whatever else ails the world. This from a guy who started his road to "stardom" playing a dimwitted moron in a bar. Digressing slightly, may I remind Woody that it's the United States and in large part the large corporations who pay his inflated salary and made him a "star". I used to follow Woody's career as he is a hometown Midland, Texas boy. But I have had to give up as I was getting ill. Here's a scuzbag pontificating with high moral indignation, on his liberal high horse about the evils perpetrated by the US while he's home making such socially redeeming films as "Natural Born Killers". Perhaps it runs in his genetic makeup. Maybe he got the idea for this film from his father, of equally high moral character. The senior Mr. Harrelson is lanquishing in a Federal Prison for the assasination of a US Federal Judge.

With this as the backdrop I would like to think that there is hope for the Hollywood crowd. And there is. As Woody was running his moron mouth, Robin Williams was in Afghanistan doing what he could for the troops stationed there. Way to go MORK!

Bomb in Burgerland
I took note today that "Bomb Blasts McDonald's in Moscow. Thank God, no one was killed, but several were injured including a child. Now one would think, and probably rightly first assume that this is another act of fundamental Islamic terrorism aimed at the capitalist system. Not me. My first thought is that this is the work of a food critic, vegetarian or just an ordinary citizen making a statement against eating junk food. I can just image this......some whacko, blood sugar dangerously out of kilter, driving around in a white panel truck setting off explosive charges to make a statement.
Or perhaps it was just an accident. The grease trap having built up dangerously high levels of gas.....blasting those "new" good for you French Fries around as shrapnel.

International Opinions
The Internet was started to share information. In the preceeding years it has become, for many, pure and simple entertainment. But with the advent of the "Blog" community [for the uninitiated, this is a Blog.....however pathetic] there is now a great opportunity to get almost real time snapshots of what ordinary people throughout the world are thinking. Especially now.

I have started reading more Blogs of a serious tone, and have recently come across two from about as far away as one cares to get from Texas. Thru Gordon's NZ Pundit in New Zealand and Tim Blair in Australia and all their associated links, it's interesting to read about how those two countries are now thinking about terrorism. Both lost a realitively high number of their citizens in the attack in Bali, that took the life of one of our hometown young men. There definetly appears to be a better understanding of the terrorist problem and certainly more open discussion.
And Gordon in NZ Pundit reminded me today of one of my favorite quotes, quite appropos today......

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

Check these guys, and others, out.

Bulletin from Baghdad
As you may have noticed on the International newswires, in a surprising turn of events, Saddam Hussein has been re-elected as dictator, father, and leader of the children of Iraq!! This is a stunning development. Although there were no other entries in the race for Iraqi Dictator, the word on the street in Baghdad, was that the write in vote would be significant and that two candidates, Bishop Desmond Tutu and former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter, had a fair chance of success to oust the long serving Hussein.
What is truly surprising is that election officials announced that the turnout was nearly 100% of those eligible to vote [those still with at least one hand], and that the vote was 100% in favor of Saddam remaining as dictator for another 7 year term. This has to give pause to the coalition building against Saddam. Perhaps he truly is the loved benevolent leader he claims to be. And the fact that his term as dictator is only for 7 years gives some credence to the idea of a "democratic dictatorship". Something common in the Arab world. Also a sign that Iraq is moving forward in the world of modern nations is the online voting form seen below. It was reported that all 9 people with Internet access used this means to vote "Yes" for Saddam.

Referendum to have your benevolent ruler Saddam Hussein remain as your Dictator

Please choose one

Yes Torture Death

Please include your name and where you sleep at night. This information will be used for Iraqi census data only.

Too close, once again
Once again terrorism has struck very close at hand. We have learned that a fine young man from Midland is missing in Bali. Jake Young was an All American football player at the University of Nebraska, but more importantly by all accounts, just a fine young man with a young son and wife. He is listed as missing......but honestly it doesn't look good. Julie's parents are very good friends of the Youngs.
This comes just a little more than one year after another person with just one degree of separation from me, was killed at the WTC. Rick Rescorla was close friends of most of my "We Were Soldiers" friends, and I would have met Rick last November at their reunion if he had not been struck down while saving most of the employees of his brokerage firm. I have met Rick's widow.......she misses him greatly, as will the Young's miss Jake if indeed his is gone.
Perhaps all those around the world who pre-comdemn the US for thinking of demasculating Iraq would have some small degree of understanding of our motives if they would start to lose people near to them to the maniacs who perpetrate these acts. Perhaps they'll get that chance for the terror organizations cannot stand free people, anywhere, speaking out against their beliefs.

Well, the Air Show is over, fini, kaput and done. I'm always sad at that but also a little thankful. It is a tiring experience spanning 5 days if one is working on it, as I do. But mostly sad. Every year we lose several of the "old regulars"....the guys who flew these planes when they were 18, 19 or 20 years old, but who are now approaching 78, 79 and 80. Brave young guys who really didn't want to go to war, but went and did their duty to the best of their ability. Many never made it back, and now the ones who did are "Going West" at a rapidly rising rate. That's the main reason I love the Air Show....to hear their amazing stories in the little time they have left.
And not all from the American side. I have become good friends with General Arika Inoue, retired vice-commander of the Japanese Air Force. He comes from Japan with his buddies every year, in a spirit of friendship, to see the planes and for the comradeship that most people who have never been in the miltitary don't understand. He comes to honor all those who gave their lives, even those who tried to shot him down all those years ago. And what stories he has. He started off his flying career as a Kamikaze pilot......need I say more.

With the King Ranch stunt plane

Air Show!
If it's the first week in October it must be Air Show time. The Commemorative Air Force Air Show is the second largest [in terms of aircraft] aviation show in the US of A, and in terms of historic flyable aircraft.....the largest in the world. It's a thrill to be up close and personal with so many rare and in some cases, one of a kind planes. But, just as big a thrill is meeting people who come from all over the world, many of whom actually flew these birds, and unfortunately are rapidly aging and won't be around much longer. The stories I've heard from these folks! We get many visitors from France, Germany..a growing number from Japan. But our largest visitor group comes from Switzerland, where a group charters the own commercial airliner to attend.

The photo below taken today, is Me [center] with my crack aircrew, standing before a Bell P-39 Air Cobra. An interesting piece of technology in that the engine is located behind the pilot, with a drive shaft going between his feet to turn the propeller.

Good news from Ft. Bend
One of the triad of strange news events yesterday was the mysterious fire at the Ft. Bend County Fair and Arson Museum, where the last mention was of counting the Rotary Club Turkey Leg business Kaput! Well in the true spirit of American Rotarianism, we are proud to announce that the Phoenix has risen from the ashes. The "unnamed arsonist" sends this updated report on the status. Fat, poor, fair going people of America are rejoicing

"You will be happy to know that although I did my darndest to burn that mutha down on Sunday night, that our Turkey Leg Booth was back in production on Monday by noon... All we (Gary and I) did was prove that our cooker was a 'self-cleaning' model... with a little help from Ed and a certain power washer. The legs do taste a little like dry chemical fire extinguisher residue, but at least we don't have to throw out those 120 or so cases of frozen turkey legs. And at $4 a pop that is some pretty serious missed revenue.
The incident did prove beneficial in a few ways. The local paper did mention the incident on the front page on Monday, but better yet on Tuesday we got redemption on the front page again, this time above the fold... so our publicity stunt may cause us to search high and low for more turkey legs. The other issue was the need for training in the cleaning of the contraption... lastly the Fair Association is appreciative of our "fire drill", noting that they were somewhat unprepared for such an incident - and now they will change their policy for booths that have 'fire in the hole'."

Strange News...
[names of actual persons withheld to protect the innocent.....mainly ME from retribution for mentioning these incidents]
A strange day of breaking personal new. Starting early when an unnamed blonde who I am very fond of arrived at my house in a "state". She reported that she had just run into her Father's large vehicle with her small Yellow Bug [see no names mentioned...]. I wondered aloud how she could have done this and was told "well he was parked right behind me". Oh, I see.
Then I got a cable [actually email...cable sounds more exciting] from my Mother who resides five blocks away that a certain un-named only sister of mine had been in the hospital hooked up to intravenous antibiotics. Shocked, I imagined a wreck, illness, or some other major event. I read on to find that, no, she actually had been bitten by a cat...her own cat. It seems that cats have bacteria infested oral cavities [dogs have clean mouths] and infections are usually the result of their bites. She's fine now, and hopefully treating her cat with more kindness and respect.
And when I get to the office another shocking cable [email] is waiting from the aforementioned unnamed blonde whom I'm fond of. It seems that her only unnamed brother has just nearly burned down an entire county fair. Being a good cook and model citizen he was manning the Rotary Club's Turkey Leg booth at the Ft. Bend [Houston] County Fair, when apparently the cooking fervor got out of hand and a small fire started, and then became a rather large one. Portions of the fair were evacuated and five fire units had to be dispatched to quell the blaze. There was no loss of life, but the Ft. Bend Rotary Club is out of the turkey leg business this year.
It's supposed to rain tomorrow, I hope that's all the excitement there is.

The personally known demished Mr. K[G]rugger...
Two of my pet peaves about Internet activity are, Number 1, SPAM, for all the time wasted and the inability to stop most of the cretins who do it. Number 2 is AOL, just for general principals, at AOL it's "my way or the highway". But the one good thing that AOL does have is competant SPAM filters. Which brings me to today's subject. Entertainment SPAM, no not SPAM about entertainment, but spam that entertains. And the only real example of that is "Nigerian 419 SPAM".

For the unitiated, or AOL users who probably don't see it, Nigerian Spam, is from friends you don't know you have in Africa who want to do you a favor and send you $5 million, and the only thing you have to do, is to send them $50,000 first. What a deal. The 419 stands for the Nigerian penal code that outlaws this. The letters are the entertainment in themselves. Some are in fairly good English, some are just plain bad, but all are hugely comical. And they all have several things in common. Among them is some really wild story purporting to have gotten your name and email address from some high citizen of Africa who has met you somewhere along life's way. [Gee, I don't remember being in Ghana, but if they know me...I guess I was]. The other commonality is the twisted convuluted trail of how so much money came available and just how you were selected out of the world's billions to help them get it.
I received one just today that was on the low end of quality English but was high on entertainment value. Among my favorite parts is:

I AM WRITING IN RESPECT OF A FOREIGN CUSTOMER OF MY BANK, OPERATING A
DOLLAR /DOMICILLIARY ACCOUNT NO. 00-14-255-018 UTB WHO INCIDENTALLY DIED
IN A PLANE CRASH PANAM-AIR FLIGHT OVER LOCKERBIER IN 1988.
FOLLOWING THE DEMISH OF THIS PERSONALLY KNOWN CUSTOMER MR LAMBART
KRUGGER, I HAVE MADE SEVERAL EFFORTS TO TRACE THE NEXT OF KIN OF MR GRUGGER
WITHOUT SUCCESS.

I am truly sorry about the demish of this personally known customer, but I'm even sorrier that they can't seem to get his personally known name right. Which is it, Krugger of Grugger. I'm not sending $50K unless I know!

These personal pleas, are entertaining and so insane that you wonder why they take the time to send them out. Who would ever believe these. Well, I'll tell you. Morons, and apparently boatloads of them. Never count morons out. The US Secret Service says that hundreds [yes hundreds] of millions [yes millions] of dollars have been lost in these schemes and the number is growing. What was even more interesting about the Scam Mail I received today was that the problem is so bad, that the senders ISP tacked a message warning of Nigerian 419 SPAM right onto the bottom of this actual Scam mail!

I find this sector of the Internet world interesting and entertaining. So much so that I am in the process of compiling Nigerian SPAM Scam emails for a new website dedicated to the morons who fall for this. In fact here's a complete copy of today's mail from Mr. Kwesi Boateng, Froreign Bills Dept. and don't forget to visit the Secret Service webpage linked at the bottom.

Invited Guests...
The plain unvarnished truth is this. President George W. Bush and wife Laura call Midland, Texas home. As do Secretary of Commerce, Don Evans and General Tommy Franks of Afghanistan and mid-east fame.
Now the city fathers like to take advantage of these connections and rightly so. But I think they're pushing it now. Just this last Sunday night a big patriotic assemblage was organized. Rejoice! it was called. Held at our new public stadium with a private name, brochures, fliers and TeeVee ads were in abundance touting the event and the all star guest speakers list. Pictured prominently on the ads were George W., Laura, Gen. Franks and Commerce Don among other motivational and patriotic people of lesser ilk. The kicker to all this was the smallish print which read
......"Invited Guests".
Now I believe Gen. Franks and Commerce Don probably did RSVP in the positive and in fact, did attend, but the chasm between "hey I'll be there" and "Invited Guest" is huge. I really don't think George W. et ux, ever planned to attend. But there they were smack dab, big as life, on the poster as "Invited Guests". Maybe the city fathers thought that even though they hadn't commited to come, maybe, just maybe they'd be sitting around the White House on Sunday afternoon with nothing to do, and just pop on down.
George W. to Laura.

"Honey, there's not much going on in the world today, and the war with Iraq appears to be on hold, let's go on down to that Rejoice deal in the old hometown...what say baby? And maybe after we can call my old admin assistant Julie and we can go out for Baskin-Robbins"

I think truth in advertising slips fast and loose with the city fathers. But I like their marketing savvy. It has me thinking. This is bad.
So with the Rejoice! campaign as a model, I've decided to host my own event. I've prepared my brochure and flier material below.

And as a postscript to the city fathers and their fast and loose advertising I'd like to relay the following letter from a distraught reader and mother. Shame on you city fathers, you have destroyed a child's trust!

"Amanda was apparently the only person in Midland who thought that the Bush Family was going to come out to El Rancho Grande. The first thing she said when she walked in the door last night "I'm so mad! George and Laura didn't come tonight and the paper said they were." I wonder if you have to have a particular size of hair net to work fast food for the rest of your life... If I hadn't personally brought her home from the hospital, I'd swear she wasn't mine"!

Ms. J.B
[mother of little Amanda]

Train of thought....
I've recently become infatuated with shooting images of trains. I have always been intrigued with them, perhaps because my grandfather had been a vice-president with the Frisco Railroad and we were brought up with them. I used to ride the train for free as a child, and even remember the railroad tracks by the grandparents house in St. Louis, where occasionally a steam powered locomotive still ran. Probably one of the last, it was magic to listen to it go by late at night in their grand house near the tracks.
The new interest arose one night when Julie, her kids and I where out and happened to get stopped at a rail crossing. I had my camera and on a whim jumped out and positioned myself about 10 feet from the tracks as the train went by at high speed. The shots really didn't come out, but it was a real experience having the train go by so close at 50 m.p.h. So much power, the wind will almost blow you down and it shakes the ground. I was disappointed but went back to that same spot the next week and took some daylight shots one of which is seen at The Tracks East of Town.

So tonight with Julie and Jack, we tried once again, but were faced with the same darkness. Although tonight I did turn on the flash, which yielded some interesting results such as capturing individual cars and their colors. Unfortunately with digital photography I don't have the good option of slowing the shutter speed to capture the movement. The photo below is taken of a train going at least 50 m.p.h. with the lights of the city to the right.

RR "X"ing, can you spell that without any "R"s?

Money for schools...forget it!
Well the results are in on our big school facilities improvement bond election. The voters say resoundingly, "hell no, we don't want to fix our schools up!" The bond package was, admittedly large [up to $160 million], and somewhat convoluted in it's wording, but at it's core was the need to fix up our school infrastructure. Many of the schools are basically the same as when I attended them some years, OK, decades ago. The voters were asked to approve several different levels of work to be done, and if my addition is correct, they approved.......none. These are the same voters who just 3 short years ago had no problem in saying, "hell yes" to a brand new state of the art Sports Complex costing $48 million. What does this tell you?
It confirms my belief that most people are morons and the world is going to sports hell. My bumper sticker which goes into production soon follows.

Open Air Dreams
We have had several days of thunder storms surrounding our area, but alas only a modicum of actual rain on the estate. But the real beauty is that it has cooled dramatically. Summer is much too long in West Texas, sometimes starting in April and running thru September. But now it is changing. Today the high was only in the mid 70's and tonight, well tonight I sleep with the windows open for the first time in five months. It is going to be near 60° for a low.
Sleeping with the windows open is a treat as the house, which was built in the mid last century, has lots of windows that all open. And a large glass door in my bedroom that opens to the patio. And the beauty of this in Midland is that it is Quiet! In Dallas, or any big city, with the windows open there is a constant hum of traffic. Here the only sounds I hear are the crickets and in the morning blue jays and cardinals at the feeder.

And the trains. I love trains. Although the tracks are one mile away, I hear the trains as they come into town, blowing their whistles at major road intersections. And if the light wind is right, I can even faintly here the "click-clack" of the wheels on the track. Distracting to some, such as the famous author I had as a guest last year. He awoke and said, "did you hear those trains..they sounded right next door". Well not really, but coming from a railroad family I don't care, I love to hear the trains on a cool night with the windows open.

Waxing Nostalgic
I was watching Austin City Limits tonight and the featured performer was David Byrne, of the old Talking Heads fame. Now as I grow older I like the more "quirky" performers and David is that. Or maybe eclectic. And he's about my age. So I started walking down memory lane, thinking of the time several years ago I was asked to tour as a backup with several other quirky performers.

Merle and Me

Merle Haggard is a kind and soft spoken man who has seen it all and been thru some tough times. And like me has come out the other side a better man. I enjoyed playing this gig with him.

The Cocker!

Joe and I hit it off from the very beginning and I love his music, and being part of it. Strange since he wasn't one of my real favorites in the 60's when he was hot stuff. And like me he's over his "indulgences" in exotic beverages and has become a better performer for it. I love his moves. I was thrilled to hit these licks with him for the several dates we played.

Obsession.......Fore!
Being a fan of Minature Golf in real life, I have become somewhat attracted to this well put together cyber version. Well OK, obsessed. This Putt-Putt version is by some genius at Harvard so you know it's good. Not perfect, but good. I take exception to the ball action on hole #18. It doesn't seem to go where it, by the laws of physics, should. Coincidentally it's the hole that keeps giving me the most trouble and keeps me from beating my best all time score of 32. I'm aiming to get under 30, but this stupid poorly designed [by the laws of physics] hole is keeping me from it. So much for writing here.....I have to get back to playing, and so should you. Check it out. That's Harvard Putt-Putt Golf.

Google Cooking!
If you are like me [and I know that you are], you may be at that stage in your life where you have an ample supply of groceries in your pantry but nothing sounds good. You've used every recipe you have till your bored stiff with food. And even just throwing things together doesn't yield results. Well I have the answer for you. It's Google Cooking. Simply make a short inventory of several of the food items in your kitchen that have been there the longest, then go to search engine Google and enter these to retrieve an assortment of recipes from around the world. Say I have old cans of corn, beans, and a moldy squash. I would enter recipe* corn, beans, squash [the recipe entry keeps you from getting articles on corn and bean blight etc.]. And Voila...I find an enchanting recipe for Cranberry Beans with Corn and Squash , the perfect healthy dinner for me. Tomorrow I think I'll enter recipe*, bread, miracle whip, peanut butter. The gourmet world at your fingertips!

The demise of Pedro
Alas poor Pedro is gone, long live Pancho. These are referring to the change of my main email address. So for all readers, remember that it is now Pancho -at- this domain.com. I had Pedro for many years, so long in fact that many real world friends and some other worldly friends, had taken to calling me this. So I will miss Pedro, but the change was necessary thanks to all the criminal spamming scum of the world who wanted to sell me herbs, lower my mortgage or my Nigerian friends whom I didn't know I had but wanted me to send them $50,000 so they could give me $10 Million. In tribute to these fine Africans I, sometime soon, will post all the great letters they sent me........and possibly start a contest to create the best Nigerian criminal spam letter. The prize being a trip to Lagos.

Electronic Malfeasance
Well now, just when I am used to the DVD and the stereophonic magnificence of my surround sound speakers, my tuner which controls the whole system goes on the Fritz! It seems that some piece of digital minutia has gone haywire resulting in only one stereo channel working properly. This gets my goat! I like things to work properly the way they're designed to do. And this tuner is only 10 years old.....tuners ought to last for......well I'd say 50 years. And to get one fixed is almost as much as a new one. But I'm letting it rest in the hopes that it can cure itself. You laugh. I have had my computer do this, I have had this very BLOG do the same thing as documented here months ago [*archives:7/30/2002 10:18:23 PM] . Sometimes electronic things just get tired. Give them a break and in a week or two of good rest, they're as good as new.
But the real digital revelation today was that I saw the electronic device of my dreams. A 57" rectangular flat-screen HDTV. I gotta' have one. I think I could hang it on the wall, or maybe over the fireplace. That's almost five [5] feet of screen!! And if every person who reads this journal would send a mere $5US...I could come up with the $2300 for it very quickly. You would be invited to watch, of course.**

**Reservation necessary, bring your own popcorn.

DVD's and Me...
And now I wax poetic about DVD's. Being a digital guy it's no surprise that DVD's have finally caught up with me. But unlike some, I can wait a little while for most new technology.....not too long, just long enough that every teenager has it. I really hadn't been itching to get one....and in fact don't have a player, but Julie does. I hadn't checked in to pricing, but was astounded that they are so reasonable now. Julie got her's mainly so that we could watch We Were Soldiers, the true story of my pal Joe Galloway's book. And I know many of the real life characters. Some such as, Hal and Julie Moore, and Bruce Crandall, very well...they are good friends.
What was great about this DVD is that besides the movie, there are many hours of interviews with my friends, and with producer/director Randy Wallace who I've met and respect greatly. And then there is the sound......we have the player hooked into my stereo TV and thence into my home sound system. SoundSound combat action....it's truly amazing...and somewhat scary!