Urgent..........Must see

     Are you paying attention.   Are you ready for whats coming.   If this was a threat from another country we would be arresting them.   This is from the country that bred them.   Watch this and be prepared.   Don't let it happen.   Please,  don't sit there and let this happen.   Read this here.   The Blaze.

Saturday

           It's early in the morning and I am sipping coffee and thinking about hitting the shower.   For the next 2 days I will be staying at my son's watching the kids while he goes out of town for a family emergency of his fiance's     We decided staying there would be better for the kids so they have all their toys and can sleep in their own beds.   Rick will stay here with the furry critters.


           The kids are fun but a 5 year old can really wear you out.   I need the exercise though as I have not been working out lately as I have to let my wrist heal.   But the weather is nice out finally.  I had been planning some bike riding.   Plenty of time for that.


            My son still has not found work.  I am getting nervous that the lot will be forced to move in here.   I wish my house was slightly larger.   But after what happened in Japan I am just glad I have a home.


          I am still so shocked at what they must be going through over there.   The magnitude of the disaster is almost beyond comprehension.   And the respect I feel for the way the people are handling it is raising daily.   No looting,  no riots,  no murders.   The people seem to be showing the way to make the best out of the most horrific situation.    No Katrina type mob violence.   Many lessons will be learned from this tragedy.    I have very little to complain about in the face of this,  everything seems trivial.


         Last night I had the dog out and a cat came running up to us.    We put Zoey on the short leash and I went to pet the cat.   It seems distressed and petting it I could feel every bone.  Poor thing.   I keep cat food around as we get strays every once in awhile.   We must have soft touch written on our house because all the strays find their way here.  And for this kitty to risk coming up when we had a big dog,  anyway.   I gave it a big meal and some water.  I am glad the nights are nicer.    We haven't had as many cat strays as we used to get.  I hope it is well.


         Well, time to hit the shower and be on my way.  Lord give me the strength to keep up with active kids and personally,  I am going to have a blast.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

How to Start a Fight

  HOW TO START A FIGHT
  One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift...
 The next year, I didn't buy her a gift.
  When she asked me why, I replied,
  "Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!"
  And that's how the fight started.....
    ______________________________
 HOW TO START A FIGHT
  I took my wife to a restaurant.
  The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
 "I'll have the rump steak, rare, please."
 He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?"
 "Nah, she can order for herself."
  And that's when the fight started.....
 ________________________________
 HOW TO START A FIGHT
My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school reunion, and she
  kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.
  I asked her, "Do you know him?"
"Yes", she sighed,
    "He's my old boyfriend.... I understand he took to drinking right after we
  split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn't been sober since."
 "My God!" I said, "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?"
  And then the fight started...
________________________________
   HOW TO START A FIGHT
 When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me
 that I should get it fixed.  But, somehow I always had something else to take
 care of first, the shed, the boat, making beer.. Always something more
 important to me. Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point.
 When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily
  snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for
a short time and then went into the house.. I was gone only a minute, and
when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish
 cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway."
 The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.
  ________________________________
 HOW TO START A FIGHT
My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, "What's on TV?"
 I said, "Dust."
  And then the fight started...
  ________________________________
HOW TO START A FIGHT
  Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, and
slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the  van, and
  proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing
  50 mph, so I   pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the
  weather would be bad all day. I went back into the house, quietly
 undressed, and slipped back into bed.. I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a
  different anticipation, and whispered, "The weather out there is terrible."
  My loving wife of 5 years replied, "And, can you believe my stupid husband
  is out fishing in that?"
 And that's how the fight started...
   ________________________________
 HOW TO START A FIGHT
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
 She said, "I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds."
 I bought her a bathroom scale.
  And then the fight started......
   ________________________________
 HOW TO START A FIGHT
 After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security.
  The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's License to verify my age.
   I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home.
I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home
 and come back later.
The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'.
So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair.
  She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she
 processed my Social Security application..
When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the
 Social Security office...
 She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten
   disability, too.'
  And then the fight started...
   ________________________________
HOW TO START A FIGHT

    My wife was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
 She was not happy with what she saw and said to me,
  "I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly.
 I really need you to pay me a compliment.'
  I replied, "Your eyesight's damn near perfect."
And then the fight started........

Prayers

  My prayers and heartfelt sympathy go out to the people of New Zealand and Japan in the face of this terrible terrible disaster.  

The Vulgarity of Speech these days

     I remember a fews ago we were out eating dinner.    At the other table was a young woman with her co-workers.    She was very pretty,  wore a nice business type suit,  her make-up was well done and every hair in place.   She looked classy.   Then she opened her mouth.   And a drunken sailor popped out.


  Every other work was F this and F that.   She was loud and crass.   All of a sudden instead of a classy business woman she started looking like a back room hooker.   I wondered why the language.   She obviously had gone to great length to try and look good.   Showered, brushed her teeth, clean clothes.    Why not clean up the language.    Which I feel is a beautiful thing and done properly a joy to read and listen to.   Just read Indigo's blog to see how beautiful language can be.   Why in the world would you want peoples image of you to be that image.    

     Again the other night we ate out at a nice restaurant.    A table of young people,  to me they looked like children but they were in their early 20's.   They worked for a local TV station here.   I assume they must have some education under their belts.   One of the guys was loudly comparing his assets to every F'ing person he worked for.   His boss was a f'ing moron with no f'ing computer skills, and a f'ing fat a%$.   And the a%% hole F&& in production had no F'ing idea how to do their job.  They had no F'ng lanquage skills, and couldn't fng write fng copy if their fng life depended on it.   He is the only fng one of them who knows what the f is going on and he deserved his job because he was such a fng better interviewer the any fng one of them.


     I really wish I had been the boss they were talking about loudly in this very public and classy restaurant.   I would have quietly and with class and good language skills informed the group that he was fired on the spot.


      Now I suppose to some people I seem old fashioned and prudish.   Maybe it's true.   I miss a less vulgar time when no one would talk trash especially in public with women and children around.   But actually I don't like the entire way things seem to be going.   More and more kids graduating from school who can't read and have no language skills.  What do they learn in school?   How to be green and what their sign is.   Manners do matter.   I am always reminding my young staff when I am charge not to swear at work.   It lowers you in many of my patients,  who are even older then myself and is offensive.


     Do I swear,  Yes.  Rarely but I do.  Smash my finger with a hammer and I can belt out a few.   Find out a friend passed away and I can utter a swear word.   It seems appropriate occasionally.    But every other word!    Unless you respect yourself how can you expect others to respect you.   And some of that is how you portray yourself to others.   A really classy person doesn't need gutter talk.   They just need language.


    So that's my rant for today.   I just hate watching us go backwards and not forwards.  From the beautiful language and writing of our ancestors to the trash talking of today.  We are going backward for sure.

Are all Companies and Water heaters crap these days.

  Our water heater went out.   It had a 6 year warranty.   It was 6 years and 10 days before it crapped out.    Doing the research it seems they all break down right on the 6 year mark.   Which means they are made to do that.   Because you can't tell me in this day and age they don't have the technology to to make something that lasts.   

   It reminds me of my old Zenith TV.   I had it for years.  It used to be my Mom's before we got it.   When after more then 20 years it bit the dust.   So we went out and bought another one.   In 6 months the picture tube went out.   What!    Took it to our TV repair guy and he says not to bother fixing it.   They are pieces of crap these days and the company won't stand behind them.   They took a great product and turned it to crap.

    So we knew the water heater was getting bad.  It's leaking.   Time to research what to put in.   Of course putting in a waterless tank sound wonderful.   If your building a new house I recommend it.   But to put it in an existing house would cost you a 1000 for the unit and close to a thousand for the labor.   Sorry,  don't want to spend that much.   Electric ones cost a fortune so don't want that.   Has to be a gas tank heater.   So you look at warranties next.


       All the experts said the 12 year warranty one was actually made much better then the 6 and the 9.   They showed them cut in 2 and you could see the difference in the thickness and material.   And on material we found for sure we didn't want the brand that uses aluminum as it could taint your water and make it sick.  And since there are 2 of us we only needed a 40 gallon tank but had decided on 50 because you never know when someone will move back in.   So armed with knowing what type we wanted it was time to look at brands.


        Here is where the huge problem comes in.   GE from Home Depot sounded great.   But the complaints we found on line about the GE and their lack of fixing any of your problems with the tank were pages long.   And it sounded like there are a ton of problems with the tank.   Their warranty it seems isn't worth the paper it's written on.   Course these are the people who are cramming those dangerous light bulbs down our throats keep in mind, which are being produced in China.   And Home Depot won't help you out either, but will offer you 150 store credit!  At least that is what the complaints that have been filed say.  Say what.  I spend close to a 1000 for the water heater and to have it installed,  because they hard plumb them in so you can't replace your own,  and that is all you can offer me.


      But it isn't just GE or Home Depot.   Seems like the inside of the tanks are made of glass.    You have to handle them very carefully.   We all know or have seen them unpacking things from trucks with forklifts.   Many of the heater crack and start to leak from the get go.   Many of them have been designed so you can't light the pilot yourself.   It is enclosed for your safety.   But it doesn't work.   And plumbers, design engineers, you name it can't seem to get it fixed. 


     There are really only 3 main companies that make them.  Different names but sames companies.   And they are all pretty much made the same.   Which is were the nightmare comes in.    I need a water heater.   Which piece of crap do I buy with my hard earned money?   Knowing full well that it will probably crap out way before its warranty implies and that the companies will probably not do squat about it.


     Even if every single person in the country complained and refused to buy their products the government would probably just bail them out again.   I really don't know what to do.   Buy the cheapest thing I can find and just be resigned to replacing it every 6 years.   And definitely don't buy the extended warranty.


      Rick was up all night researching them and when he finally fell asleep he had nightmares about this.   Why can't companies make good products anymore and why are we letting them get away with it?   Now more then ever in this terrible economy where your dollar goes less and less we have to demand better products.   Aren't there any companies anywhere anymore that cares about how well their product is made?

Scandinavians, Ole and Clarence

         Ole lived across the Minnesota River from Clarence Bunson, whom he didn't like at all. They were yelling across the river at each other all the time.

         Ole would yell to Clarence, "If I had a vay to cross dis river, I'd come ofver dere an beat you up good, yeah sure ya betcha by golly!"

         This went on for years. Finally, the state built a bridge across the river right there by their houses.

         Ole's wife, Lena , says, "Now iss yer chance, Ole. Vhy doncha go over dere and beat up dat Clarence like you said you vud?"

         Ole replied, "OK, by yimminy, I tink I vill do yust dat!"

         Ole started for the bridge, but he saw a sign on the bridge and stopped to read it, then turned around and came back home.

         Lena asked, "Vhy did you come back?"

         Ole said, " Lena , I tink I changed my mind 'bout beatin' up dat Clarence. You know, vhen I yell at him from across da river he don't look so big. But dey put a sign on da bridge dat says "Clarence is 13 ft. 6 In."