Here I am, again ...

My previous post, 1/24/2011, End Of An Era, about my(not mine any more) tool box brought a tear to my wife’s eye.  She didn’t think she would see that happen until I was at least 70.

 This time I’m trying to figure out how to add/imbed pictures and/or videos in my blog posts to make them more interesting.

Near as I can tell, Blogger doesn’t host media files for free.  I guess I need to find an online file host.

Can I put them on my Facebook page and link to that?

Maybe use my laptop as a dedicated server just for that purpose?

More research needed.

Does anyone have suggestions?

Maybe some trial and error … which always seems to end with mostly errors.<G>

With trial and error, usually the last thing you try is what works, unless you commit another error.

Of course, that’s somewhat like losing something and finding it in the last place you look.

I watched the ‘State of the Union Address’ and ‘Congressional Date Night’ Tuesday evening.  Good speech, but, as they say:  “The proof is in the pudding”.  I liked the part about vetoing any bill with “pork” (ear-mark spending) attached.  Also, getting rid of frivilous lawsuits to help lower healthcare costs.

            Think about this:  The word politician is derived from the word politics (or alternately – polyticks).

Poly, meaning “many” and ticks, which are “blood sucking insects”.  It doesn’t take much to make that connection.  Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Tea Party, Independent, etc., they’re all the same.

            Old Political Axiom:  It’s not how you play the game … it’s where you lay the blame.

            Maybe write some more this Sunday.

They say your memory is the second thing to go

and I can’t remember what the first is.

I’m not sure where I’m going to go with this.  I may wax philosophical or it may just degenerate into a rant.  It’ll probably end up somewhere in between.  I guess we’ll find out together.

Please don’t hesitate to comment – whether you agree or disagree.

            I believe that earth is the insane asylum of the universe and the inmates are running it.  Not just the politicians, but most of humanity.  Is that a “The Glass Is Half Empty” statement?  No, I think that’s a “The Glass Is Bone Dry” statement!

If vegetarians eat vegetables ………………………… what do humanitarians eat?

I don’t remember who said this (in a movie) but it fits.  “In my 63 years of life, I have come to the conclusion there are only two absolute truths:  #1 – There is a God, #2 – I’m not him.”

            There must be a God.  This much ignorance, stupidity and paranoia can’t be just by chance.  Even “Chaos Theory” can’t account for all of it.

            God … why are there so many rude, arrogant people in this world?  I suppose I can be rude sometimes … just ask people who know me.  I can probably be included in the arrogant category, too … I’m writing this blog expecting other people to be interested in what I think.

I spent most of Saturday before last recovering from a virus (computer, that is).  It was one of those “buy our anti-virus software” viruses.  I used advice one of my sons had given me months ago for dealing with it initially, but still had to do some clean-up.  My previous dealings with this nasty had been on my dad’s computer.  We ended up doing a format and reinstall that time.  This time I just lost a bunch of hours doing JIC back-ups and correcting the IE and McAfee issues it generated.  I had to completely disable Windows Firewall.  I’m still not sure I got all of it.  My MS Outlook seems to be having a hard time downloading mail from my ISP.  I tried the same process from my laptop and it worked just fine, so I don’t think it’s the Provider.

            I like pineapple, but it doesn’t belong on a pizza.  I like barbecue chicken, but it doesn’t belong on pizza, either.  However, I am one of those strange people who likes anchovies on the side.

            I keep entering to win a house in Vermont.  The house has a lower level with a built-in “bunk house for 8”, multiple shower bathroom, large laundry room, a “gathering area” and an outdoor hot tub & fireplace.  In the winter we could use that for a Bed & Breakfast for skiers.  The rest of the year it could be the same for hiking & fishing parties.  We could “reserve” a week here and there to go on vacation ourselves or have a family reunion.  Not a bad setup for retirement.

            The worst day fishing is better than the best day working.

When the files on your hard drive get corrupted, is that e-alzheimers?

This one was kind of scattered, wasn’t it?  I had to end it with a couple of YUKS.

On that note I’ll say TTFN.

END OF AN ERA

Well ... it feels like the end of an era, anyway.

Saturday our second-born son came over and I gave him my tool box and tools.

35 years as an auto mechanic … fixing cars every day, 6 days a week.

I stopped turning wrenches about 5 years ago and since then that box full of tools has been in a shed in the back yard.  The only time any of the tools came out was when Eric needed to work on one of his cars in our driveway.

The box, with side cabs and all the other attachments, had become a condo.  It was so heavy and hard to handle, we had to disassemble it and remove all the drawers to get it in his truck.

I never realized how hard letting go was going to be.  I went through the drawers, picking out tools I wanted to keep here at the house and discovered I was holding on to things I didn’t really need.  It was like saying good-bye to old friends.

I’m going to go drown my sorrows in a bowl of ice cream.

Under Construction

Please excuse the "Simple Template" I'm using.  I haven't had time to fancy-it-up, yet.  I'm working on it a little at a time.

Red

My First Post.

This is really just an expansion on the “About Me” in my profile.  These are solely my opinions and they should not be “interpreted”, but accepted at face value.

I'm a sexagenarian.  Although my wife says I put too much emphasis on the first three letters.

I love dogs of all kinds.  I am especially fond of hounds and retrievers (with the odd teacup Chihuahua, named Sandy, thrown into the mix).

I love to tell jokes.  Love may make the world go round, but laughter makes the ride more fun.  Laughter makes tragedy easier to accept.

In the past, occasionally, I’ve been told I’m a Reactionary and a Redneck.  I’ll accept both titles.

Being a Gemini is probably why I’m usually a logical person … subject to emotional outbursts.

I had a cancerous tumor removed from the side of my head in January, 2008.  I had a squamous cell cancer removed from my forehead in December 2009.  No cancer since then.

I got a new piece of hardware implanted in my chest in May, 2010.  It  keeps my heart going pitter-pat.  Just looking at my wife makes it go pitter – pitter – pitter – pat.

Sometimes my writing may seem a little scattered.  I think that’s usually because my fingers can’t keep up with my thoughts.

Our three boys, their mates and our three grandchildren are a great source of love, pride and joy.  Our granddaughter is the first girl born in my blood line in four generations.

Most of the time I like computers.  Sometimes I get frustrated when they do something I don’t like or are unwilling to do something the way I want.  I’m the user … I’m the boss, so I build my own spreadsheets.

I will probably catch some flack for this … I detest the people(read scum) who write viruses.  I think they should have their fingers removed, one-finger-at-a-time.

            I’ve always been a Sci-Fi buff since reading the “Time Trader” series as a child.  I like to think about the future and how it can be better than the present.  I was scared by George Orwel’s “1984”, Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” when I first read them and I am still scared by  the prospect of them becoming fact instead of fiction.

I like living in San Diego.  Can’t beat the weather.

I love going to Palm Springs, riding the Tram up the 8,600 feet to Mt San Jacinto.  We hike for a couple of hours on the mountain and come down to have lunch at Hamburger Mary’s.  Can’t beat a Proud Mary and a 22oz Fat Tire after the thin air and exercise.  Maybe it’s just the exhiliration of still being able to do it at our age.  It’s an accomplishment worth bragging about.

My wife likes Las Vegas.  Walking along The Strip is a different kind of hiking and lunch or dinner at Margaritaville is the tradition there.

We both enjoy going to Temecula and visiting the winerys, especially Ponte.  We met Joanne and some other new friends there.  We only see these people every couple of months, but sometimes that’s best for friendship.

If you read the comic “Plugger” by Gary Brookins, I would have to say: “I resemble that”.

This is my first attempt at this and I think I’ll close it out before I start getting maudlin or too verbose and ruin things.