A Page From Ragged

I need to take a page from Raggeds book and point out all that I am thankful for. Thanks Ragged for helping me understand what I need to do.

Here is the list:
1. A healthy family- a year ago we did not have this and for this I am unending grateful, optimistic and keeping my fingers crossed just in case the sunny outlook don't quite cut it.
2. A wonderful wife and kids- they are who they are no better or worse but always in my eyes wonderful to whom with my heart and soul is dedicated and will NEVER deviate. Love ya Brando, Yuri & Yin.
3. A wonder wealth of family and friends that I can rely on.- I can't think of anyone in my family or friends that wouldn't take the shirt off their back to help us if we needed help and if the tables are turned and I put in the same situation I hope I am held to this regard also.
4. A home- Not just a shelter that covers my head and not a 40 room mansion but a true home that I can't wait to get to after work or any other travels that we may take. I think Love can even make a cardboard box a home.
5. A job- Not the best job in the world but definitely not the least and I have been blessed with the wisdom to know that even on my worst of worst days that there is worst out there and to stick out the hard times swallow my pride to support my family. These days you are truly blessed if you have a job.

I would like to thank all my family and friends for there work and effort through the Holiday Season. I know that it is not easy to take time from your busy schedules to spend time with us and I am truly blessed to have the family and friends that we do.

I have heard several at my work say that they dread getting together with family or in-laws or what not and I can't really say that I have ever dreaded this and that is something to be thankful for also.



On a religious note I also would like to say that I am so thankful that God loved a sinner like me enough to sacrifice His one and only Son so that I have a choice to one day make it to heaven. I know that I am not perfect and I know I have a long way to go and all of us is sinners from the very get go but for someone to give His life to give me a chance........ I am truly blessed.

What Now???

While I was running up town to take my tire to get patched, I noticed that the city had the road blocked. When I returned home, I went inside to notice that we had no water. Holy crap what else can stop working. The only thing that has not been disrupted around here is the natural gas. Knock on wood. I am sure that it will crap out sometime this week.

Out of the Dark Ages

For the last 2 days we have been with out a phone. We have resorted to using our cell phones for everything. Also this early morning around 3:45 am some yaahoos slammed their car into a utility pole at Kings Hill Road near us knocking out power to 2 small towns. Ours (Poe Dunk) and the one to the East.... We will call it BFEville. The power was supposed to be restored around 8 am but didn't get back on until till about noon. Someone said it was a couple of girls that stole a car for a joy ride. You know women drivers.../cringe for the slap from Brando.

It was hell without power. I mean like we couldn't sleep because the fans wasn't running, the alarm clock didn't give me that warm glow to check the time every 10 minutes or so, we couldn't get online to check email and blogs, Brando couldn't harvest her farm on Face book, the chickens couldn't lay and the toilet wouldn't flush. Damn those electric toilets!... and whats with those chickens??? Oh well we got home with a dial tone in the phone and some spark in the wires and we are back in the 21st century.

Now if I can figure out how to get my stupid alarm clock to quit blinking 12:00 I will be set.

Have a Happy New Year!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

On my Christmas break, I have enjoyed a great many things. First we went to Kentucky to visit my folks and also spent some time with Pilot, Needles, Ragged and Kdense. Thanks for all the gifts. They were very thoughtful and nice. It was really nice to catch up with family.

While visiting my folks I made sure to take along my Christmas movies that are a must for this time of year. I took Snow Day, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story and Christmas with the Kranks. I think I finally got my fill for Christmas Movies this year.

Christmas morning was a big hit for the kids. I think that Santa was right on the mark with all of his gifts. Yuri asked us how Santa knew he wanted a castle when he didn't even tell anyone he wanted one. I told him that Santa has been in this business for a long time and is good at his work.

Yin got a Leapster and has had her head buried in it since we turned it on this morning. Yuri also got a computer game that he has been playing for a while today.

We didn't leave the house all day and our friends down the road dropped off our gift which was a custom made calendar of my yard haunt and a big plate of homemade candy. I'm gonna be as fat as a cow when I go back to work.

I was really good this year because I got a nice hooded coat, sleeping pants, clothes, a drill and light set, money and season 7 of Scrubs on DVD. I must have been very good to get this stuff. Brando will post what she got for being a good girl this year.

Ho Ho must have done a really good job this year because both kids have basically vanished into their rooms toys in hand and haven't been heard from since. Brando not being one to let the tree set there with nothing under it yelled, "TIMBER!" after the tree was robbed of its ornaments and promptly shoved back in the box for next year.

Merry Christmas everyone.

READY OH SO READY!

I am ready for vacation. I am suppose to get out of here at 3:30 pm but the way things go you just never really know. I don't mind working over if I have to but I hate hate hate the call-outs. Officially my vacation does not start until 11:00 pm Sunday night so they can call as much as they want to until then. However I have been called out on vacation before and was stupid enough to come in thinking they would be thankful and greatful for me giving up a couple of hours to help them out. That will never happen again.

I am ready to head South the my folks house. I hope we get Yin well enough to travel. She has been suffering from a very colorful stomach bug. She showed us her digestive pyrotechnics last night twice in the van, once in the hallway and a couple of times on the couch. Brando called and said she seems to be doing better.

We have cleaned all the stomach paint that was so artfully displayed all over the house with towels. I think we are out of clean towels now. Lets hope the onslaught is over. If she has the same thing as a fellow co-workers child had we are in for a second wave from the other end.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This is a very stressful time for most but I know I put a lot of stress on myself from stuff I can not control and in retro spec really don't matter too much. I have been trying to remind my self to ask myself a question when I find myself obsessing over something. I ask myself will it really matter a year from now? If the answer is yes then continue with the obsession but if not try to drop it from your thoughts. I know....Easier said then done.

Laughed Out Loud

My wife Brando watches a slew of TV show that I would just normally flip right by. She watches The Big Bang, Two & A Half Men and How I Met Your Mom. Since she watches these shows sometimes I am forced to watch them also and most of the time I am glad. They have some really talented writers and actors on these shows. And what I mean by talented is that they have the same F#$%ed up since of humor that I have. Therefor I was rendered laughing most of the night out loud.

On How I Met Your Mom a Character named Barney made up these songs about his friends sister while looking at her picture in a Christmas Card.

2005 (to the tune of "Jingle Bells"): "Pulling down her pants, yanking off my own, underneath the mistletoe I'll make your sister moan..."

2006 (to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"): "I wish I could see her naked, I wish I could see her naked, I wish I could see her naked and down on all fours."

2007 (to the tune of The Dradle Song): Ted has a little sister, gets hotter every day. And if I ever I meet her, with her boobies I will play. Everybody! Sister, sister, sister..."

There were a few more that I can not remember but unfortunately for my wife I can't get these out of my head. So now when I am around her I can't help but sing them.

My marriage is just strong enough to manage The Christmas Story but this jumps it to another level.

Finally

I finally watched A Christmas Story for the first time this year. Yes...I know it is hard to believe but it is true. I gave specific orders for it not to be removed from the DVD play for subsiquent veiwing. I threated to watch it everyday from now till Christmas but I dont think my marriage is that strong. So for everyone who likes A Christmas Story and drinking games make sure and watch it and take a shot everytime them say or make a reference to the Red Rider BB Gun......Holidays are cool!

Christmas Times a Comin

I am ready for vacation. I want so much to get away from work. I just really cant wait. Wish I could take about a month or two off. But I am sure that I would not want to go back.

Christmas Party

Tonight we had our Christmas Party for work. Last year I was unable to make it due to turnaround but we made it this year. We got our normal pewter work logo ornament and set down to a nice salad placed at the table. We arrive with some good friends so we got to choose a seat at the table with them.

This years party was a murder mystery Christmas party so while chatting the night away we polish off the salad in about 5 minutes and they came to usher the dishes from out table. We waited patiently for them to release us from the table to go through the buffet line for the meal. 20 minute rolled by and nothing but pleasant conversations with our table mates and rumbling tummies. Then 40 minutes passes still nothing.

Then about an hour into the party the two actors for the murder mystery part started their opening act and all I and anyone at the table can think is when are these two yahoos gonna be quite and let everyone eat. I mean the actors were entertaining and funny but rather hard to hear over everyone elses growling stomachs.

Finally an hour and a half after the salad was scarfed they realeased us table by ever so slow table to make our way to the feed troff. It was really really good but I know my hunger played a part in how good it tasted. I also like to mention that the women folk at our table asked me to steal the salads off the vacant tables so they wouldnt starve to death. Being a total gentleman I only had to punch out a lonely couple at one table for the salads.

We left early before even knowing who dunnit. I feel bad for the actors because they were really good but just a victim to bad planning and or timing.

(Insert radom thought here: They had a dish of butter on the table with absolutely no butter knife to spread in on the nice warm rolls except for everyones salad fork that was dirtied from eating except for one that didnt eat the salad. Go figure.)

I WON I WON I WON!!!!!

Yesterday was the feed put on by a contractor as a thanks for my works business. They had noodles, mashed potatoes, smoked pork chops, seven layer salad, rolls, green beans and desert. It was pretty good.

After we all set around beltching our lunch, they had a drawing for about 10 brown sugar hams that they gave away. If you know me then you know that my luck is crap. I have about a 1 in a 100 chance in a drawing with 10 other people and every ticket but 1 with my name on it. That is just how my luck goes. So when they called my number for a ham I nearly shit a brick. I mean I felt like I had just picked out the million dollar suit case on Lets Make A Deal.

I walked up to claim my million dollar ham and tried to walk back to my fellow co-workers without much ado. I felt like pumping my fist in the air and thrusting my pelvas in the faces of all the pain in the butts around me and screaming YAHOO!! CAN YA FEEL IT? HUH? CAN YA? but I walked quietly to the fridge to put away my brown sugar beauty.

Far being it of me to gloat, I sneaked the ham into my car and took it home. When Brando or someone in the family prepairs it I am sure I will stand over it and watch the whole time. It is because for me, it is my leg shaped lamp. A wonderful prize that I WON I WON I WON! Not like the bowling alley that Shawfenhoffer won over in Terra Haute. Yep you might as well have sent it in the mail with FRAGIELEE (thats french) spray painted on the side of the box. I just hope that it dont get broken while Brando is watering the plants.

Yeah the neighbors might think I am a bit strange having a 7 pound ham wrapped in lights displayed in the front window for all the passer-byers to see but to my friends they all know that is pretty much normal. I mean it is a MAJOR AWARD.

Bummed

I am already bummed about next Christmas and this one isnt here yet. My work is completely stupid when it comes to trying to get your vacation in. We have a quota and several people in the shop have 5 or more weeks of vacation to get in. Well you black out 7 full weeks for turnaround and volia, you have a headache trying to get you weeks in when you want them.

Our shop accepted a shop policy that states that if your vacation, when first issued for the year, lands in the first three months then you get first pick. These three month rotate to be fair some everyone eventually will get first pick. Well this worked well with about 15 to 20 people in the shop but now we have about 36 people in the shop and I must admit a bunch of crybaby whiners than want to throw a monkey wrench into this policy if they dont get the weeks they want.

The problem is that corporate policy states first come first serve and if there are more people than weeks available then draw names from a hat. But in the hope to guarentee people the week they want every once in a while we adopted the shop policy.

This year I get first pick and if memory serves then this is the first year I have had first pick since hired back in 1999. So everyone in the first 3 months submit there vacation and then after that is locked down then everyone else can jockey for theirs.

Haveing bad luck really sucks and getting screwed all the time when trying to play by the rules really blows too. Some people slipped in their vacation changes in to where instead of only about 6 people putting in for the 6 person quota there was about 12 so the office drew names and guess who got screwed out of next years christmas when it was guarenteed to be mine by shop policy. I also got screwed out of Thanksgiving week too.

The bad thing about this now is that there is nothing I can do and if the Shop forman tries to do anything it will prove that we are going against corporate policy and get his ass in trouble so his hands are tied. The other thing that pisses me off is that one of my so called friends screwed me by getting the Christmas week and when I told him that he screwed me he said, "Too bad for your luck!"

The good thing is that one of the people who also screwed me for Chirstmas week and honestly didnt mean to do it said that when all this crap is over and everyone is settled that he would give me his week but still I am really mad at my so called friend. If he would have offered to make it right I would not have even let him do it but his comment really went through me like a knife. I hope in the near future he does not need me to do anything for him. I will eventually forgive but I WILL NEVER FORGET!!!!

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!

Christmas Light Show - Amazing Grace Techno

This is what I hope to have next year. Ha ha ha.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I was in the festive mood set by the season so I decided to do a little decorating. Brando was responsible for inside while I worked on an outside display. I hope you like the pictures. I hope it helps get you in the mood.

(Brandos Christmas Tree)

(Brandos Snowman Street Lamp)

(My House Decorations)

(My Lightshow)

Gettin Ready 4 Turkey N Tucky

I am gettin ready for turkey n Tucky. I cant wait to get down there and fill my guts till I feel like a sploded opossum on the side of the road. (What did you say? I spelled opossum correctly?... Of coarse what do you think I am?...A barbarian?) I usually stop just before my jeans button is about to pop. Who knows this year I could be convicted of wreckless homicide if the rivet was to let go and someone is in the line of fire.

When I get down there I will be in full on consume mode and the women and children best just skinny on out the back if they know whats good for them. I luvs me some turkey and fixins like a fat kid luvs cake. Anyone caught in the onslaught should just drag their wounded bodies to the side of the room and assume the tornado position just in case a fork goes flyin.

Yeah you don't get this manly physique overnight. It takes years of commitment and dedication and a pinch of gluttony. We are packing the hand truck with us and taking the seats out of the van so Brando will have a place to stick me and wont have to roll me out to the van like a butterball turkey. Mmmmm turkey..... Sorry I digest...

I hope that everyone can have a belly busting and relaxing turkey day.

NEW EGG LAYING CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!

Yesterday my little girls set a new world....er aahh yard record for our house but still an impressive feat none the less. I got 8 eggs out of 8 chickens. Did I hear someone yell bullshit? No I promise you that is what happened because the night before I forgot to get the eggs at the normal time and it was waaaaay after dark and when I got them they were all nice and cold from not being sat on for a while. So I am sure there were no eggs left from the day before. I am proud of the girls for stepping up to get this achievement that is something to crow about. So far the lights have seemed to work. I have a 40 watt light in the coop and Christmas lights strung around the bottom so were ever they are bombarded by some light to help them lay. I have the lights on a timer so they do get dark for sleepy time but with the days getting short and the nights getting long every little bit helps. It causes havoc on the egg laying. Scientist have even tested the effects of light on blind chickens and it will even improve egg laying with them also. It is said that the light rays, specifically the red spectrum, is absorbed through their skull to their brain to stimulate egg production. WHOD A THUNK IT???

Busy weekend

This weekend we worked harder than we have for months. Here is a list of the stuff we did:

1. Changed oil in work car
2. Changed oil in Brandos van
3. Winterized the camper
4. Blew the leaves in the front ditch
5. Burned said leaves
6. Cleaned garage
7. Took stuff to storage bay
8. Cleaned Chicken house
9. Moved rabbits
10. Built nesting boxes for rabbits
11. Sealed up vents under the house for winter
12. Used bail of hay for wind brake for dog house
13. Put hay in dogs house.

I had to get back to work for a rest. We got allot done. I cleaned the gutters and pruned and netted the pond earlier in the week for winter also. My lawn mower needs a battery but I think that I will wait till spring. Also after mulching up about a ton of leaves I notices grass sticking out of the mower deck. Upon closer inspection I see that there is rust holes in the deck. As I clean out the deck a bit I realize that there are several large holes in the deck. I guess that I will have to get someone to weld some plate over the holes cause Brando already said that I aint getting a new mower.

OIY!!!

Today I came out of the house to a flat tire. I screamed, "DAMN YOU OBAMA!!" Next I went to the gas station to fill up and had to wait for a pump. Once again I yelled, "DAMN YOU OBAMA!!" Then, on the way to work, I almost hit a deer crossing the rode. "DAMN YOU OBAMA!!!" After finally arriving at work from all this, I find out that half the parking lot in closed and the other half is full. What did I say you might ask yourself? You guessed it. "DAMN YOU OBAMA!!!!"

I don't really blame him for all of this. I don't think he had anything to do with the deer. Its just kinda fun to say and I will thoroughly enjoy saying it for the next 4 years......Who knows?...Maybe 8.

ALL DONE

We finally got everything cleared out of the yard about 6:30 last night and man were we pooped. The only brake we took was when we made a run to Taco Bell about 1 oclock to get re-energized. The brake helped because we were really dragging. My brother-in-law picked a bad time to visit because while I hooked up the horse trailer he helped Brando take down the mausoleum. After pulling in the drive way we had it loaded in record time and my bro-in-law even followed us out to the storage bay to unload all the decorations. Thanks to anyone and everyone who helped get everything put up and tore down. Hope to have the energy to get it put all back up next year. I have 363 days to recoop. Wish me luck.

That Was Halloween

Halloween once again has come and gone. All their is left is the putting all the stuff away. Some people might call it crap but I call it......well at this point, crap. I am not looking forward to getting all this stuff crammed in the garage. Oh well it has to be done might as well grin and bare it.

We had 90 TOTS last night which was a bit low but il take it. The highest we have had was 126 in the past but as Pilot said the two neighboring towns had TOT on the same night. We had a few new faces this year and a few we expected to come didnt show. Halloween in a busy time when you have a child and all the family expects you to make the rounds to their house.

All in all I think the night turned out pretty well. Mort only made one person jump in the ditch this year so he did his job. I only had one kid cry slightly and most came up to the porch. Kids are either getting braver or dumber. I hope not the latter. I hope everyone had a good time last night in whatever you did. And to all..........

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

This IS HALLOWEEN!!

Halloween is just a few days away and as much as I am looking forward to it, I am also ready for it to be over. I feel like I havent done near enough this year for Halloween and feel like I am cheating the people who will come and check out the house. I dont see too much different with the house and afraid it is getting ho hum for the kids. Do I have a valid concern or am I just being dumb. I hope the latter because that would seem fit for me.

Halloween is on its way......Hurry Up and Get Here!!!!

Wolf Creek Cemetery Is HERE!!!

Check out the new site : http://www.wolfcreekcemetery.com/ I had to move it because the Geocities site had a bandwidth hourly cap and would shut it down for an hour when exceeded. ( Site was shut down 50 times in 6 days) Finally I got the site moved and been fine tuning on it a bit. I hope you enjoy it. Looks like the old one but different. Check out the 2008 photos and projects.

Hope to see everyone soon.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Wolf Creek Cemetery Coming Soon

Yesterday my DW, kids and bubby went out to the storage bay and grabbed some of our over sized props for this years haunt. We got them in the yard and went back for the Mausoleum and monster in the box.

Today I am hoping to at least get the cemetery arch way and fencing up. Anything else is a bonus. Maybe the thunder columns will be hooked up with the lightening a thunder generator too. Here's keeping my fingers crossed.

We have piano lessons tonight, and tumbling practice Wednesday and Thursday so I hope to get a few things up before this weekend went we get to go visit my cuzes new house. I can't wait. I also hope to get the opportunity to visit a couple of Halloween stores down in that area too.

We went to Eville this weekend and I was thoroughly disappointed in what all the stores have down there. Alot of the same crap you see every year.

Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary

Today I have been married to my wonderful, marvelous and I must admit sexy wife for 15 years. Whats that??? Did I hear someone yell bullshit in the crowd. Yes, I can understand why everyone may think that I am telling a fib but it is true. There is someone on Gods green Earth that can stand my ugly ass this long. It came as quite a surprise to me also.

If you are reading this I would like for you to stand up..... Go ahead stand up.

Now lets put our hands together and give Brando a round of applause. (Go ahead Brando take a bow.) Ok, thats enough... Now everyone please bow your heads in prayer and pray to give Brando the strength to endure my worthless hiney hole for a few more years. (A few more years is about all I can reasonable ask for. I mean she is a wonderful person but shes no saint. Lets get real here.)

Brando, all kidding aside, I want you to know that you are the light of my life, the sun of my day and the stars of my night. I couldn't begin to think of living this life without you. You are the central hub of the family and a wonderful Mom and wife. I surely was blessed to have been given the chance to be a part of your life. I love you and will always love you until time itself doesn't exist. You are truly my one and only love..... You might say, my SOUL MATE. But who really believes in that stuff anyway?

HAPPY 15th ANNIVERSARY BABY!!!!

I LOVE YA!!!

Hell Why Not Bail Me Out???

( And here is a picture of the assholes that caused it all)

Once again the public tax payer is forced to bail out some big company who's executives lived high on the hog and cooked the book to ride their pony until it dropped. WTF? If I take my money to a casino in Vegas and put it all on one roll of the dice and bust is the federal government gonna bail me out. Hell NO! Id be out on the street as fast as you could bat an eye. What a crock of shit. I know why we are forced to do so not because of all the people who were insured with AIG would be uninsured and there polices would be worth what I flush down the toilet. I feel bad for them but they can get a new policy with a new company unless they are mid claim. However I think that I would be pissed if my retirement was through that company and it when belly up. What a kick in the crotch. I hope they parade the executives that caused this flop out in the middle of the street and give everyone a pair of clippers and as they walk by them clip a piece of them off and then throw and bit of salt where they clipped. I know where I would start first. We are in the mids of a war that is costing us a ton, business that cook the books and fall on there faces and an election year. WTF else could go wrong??? Heaven help us because no one else on this planet seems to have a clue. Maybe we can come up with a bunch of government programs to help deadbeats get mansions to live in. HELL WHY NOT!!! Might as well take all of my check. Its not like I worked for it or anything. This shit really chaffs my cherries.

Wet Rabbits

Yesterday was the day that what was left of Ike blew threw. I was standing at dinning room winds when the house creeked. I don't think I have ever heard that noise before. The wind gust must have been considerable. Brando looked outside and the rabbits cage lid was blown up and the little bunnies were getting soaked. I put on a shirt and braved the elements to save the little long eared fuz balls. Then about 10 minutes later another gust blew threw and low and behold the rabbit lid was up again. Once again I went to their rescue. I will have to build a latch for the cage. Poor little bunnies.

Match-o-matic II

One of my friends at sent me a test to take to see which candidate I agree with. I must admit that both were very similar to some extent. After taking the test I had picked 10 or of 13 total quotes for McCain. What does this mean? Absolutely nothing. I really was suprised and now I would like to offer this test and have everyone post in the comments how they done. Please post honestly as I have. I am sure I could take the test again and the results might change a bit but I thought that I would offer it to anyone willing to take the test.

Here is the link: http://abcnews.go.com/politics/MatchoMatic/fullpage?id=5542139

Safe at Home

We got back from Houston last night around 8:30 pm. We were on the fence about leaving early until we heard about mandatory evacuations of the Galveston area. We got our airplane tickets bumped up a day and checked out on Thursday morning. While checking out, we over heard the hotel workers turning down someone wanting to stay for the night. They asked if they had rooms empty and the hotel said yes but they could not rent them out with the evacuation. I guess the hotel will be emptied sometime soon. We got the heck out of Dodge or Houston as the case may be and headed to the airport to turn in our rental car.

We looked for gas stations to fill up the tank before turning it in and all the stations were packed with cars. Some on the news showed NO GAS signs out front from all the people filling up to evacuate. We finally found an empty station close to the airport. Traffic was not too bad since we were heading South to Hobby and everyone else was heading North to safety. We got the car turned in and got to a jammed packed airport. The ticket lines was passed the cattle stalls and out to the main walking area. I stood in line while Brando got our ticket at a ticket only window to help move our transaction at the counted with luggage check in a little quicker. The guy behind us said he that he flies out every week and never seen it like this. I told him that if they are anything like Phoenix that they will have us at the counter soon. The line at Phoenix was twice as long and I was checking bags in about 20 minutes. 10 minutes later we had our bags checked and on our way to security. 5 minutes later I was tieing my shoes and headed to the gate.

We ate at Papacitoes and sat to wait for the plane. While waiting we heard that by 9 am Friday the airport would be closed. We were suppose to fly out of there at 1:30 pm. This would have put a crimp in our plans. Our plane was about 20 minutes late and after boarding and getting all the standbys on the plane we took off about 30 minutes late. So we also arrived at St. Louis 30 minutes late. We ate at Hooters and headed home to our wonder little chillin. Mom and Dad had taken very good care of them. The first thing out of their mouth was MOMMY & DADDY! Then came the inevitable, What did you bring us? Kids......

Oh yeah all this happene on 9-11..... We fly to stick it to the terrorists!..... and to flee the oncoming hurricane. Take that you stinking terrorist!!!!

A House Full Of Pizza.....

.... and I can't eat any of it. Tonight Yin and Yuri are doing some of their gymnastic moves in the living room floor called a pizza. It is what I call a back bend but they also call it a bridge but the little kids class call it the pizza. I have a couple of pieces in the fridge and a couple of goofballs in the livingroom floor and being that I am taking my Bros advice about trying to go gluten free to maybe help cure some of my recent symptoms a can't have any pizza. Funny how you don't really want something until you can't have it.

The chickens are doing well but we only got 3 eggs today. Maybe it is just the cycle of things and not a sign of being unhappy with me. We have 2 dozen in the fridge and when Mammer Jammer comes up this weekend, we hope to have enought to keep everyone filled to the brim with eggs.

We are gearing up for our venture South. We leave for Houston Monday morning and the kiddos will stay with my Mom and Dad. Heaven help them. I know them miss the kids when they are gone but I am sure they will have their fill by time we get back on Friday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Looks like we are in for a bit cooler weather.

The Truth???

Look at these poor Caribou obviously upset about the oil rig encroaching on there territory. I bet the Caribou would like something more aesthetically pleasing like a Starbucks Coffee House on there block. I bet property values would soar then.

This is what you see in the media about the drill site in the Arctic National Refugee.

This is what is really there.

What??? You can't see anything??? That's because at there proposed drill site there is nothing to see. Nothing but a few Caribou. Don't get me wrong, I think that we do need to reduce our use of oil both foreign and domestic but unfortunately the technology to do so isn't there yet. It is on the horizon but until then we need a plan to help everyone out. I personally don't gripe about what I pay at the pump. I pay the same price as everyone else out there and I along with everyone else that has and operates a gasoline or diesel combustion engine are part of the problem.

I think that the money I pay at the pump is a fine for being part of this global problem. If the fine gets big enough then I personally will find ways to reduce my use of it. The reason big oil hasn't been charge with any wrong doing is because they haven't really done anything wrong. I hate to see people making billions of dollars in profit but in the right context this is not outrageous profits. These companies in prospective are making roughly 10% profit. They have to spend 100 billion a year to make 10 billion profit. They do it because they have the deep pockets to do it.


I wonder what Wal-Marts profit margin is??? I can assure you it is several times over 10%. But they only make several million a year in profit and the public outcry goes unnoticed because of the big oil profit. Most companies couldn't stay in business with only a 10% profit margin when the federal regulations are changed for day to day. Everyday the EPA, OSHA and federal government change the rules on what is legal to do. Can you play a game where the rules change from second to second. How would you feel if you made 10% on your 401k with inflation at 5 to 6%???


Try building a multi million dollar unit as big as a city block in a refinery that will not make you a dime because the EPA mandated that you must have that unit only to say that in 4 years that it is illegal to run that unit. Try opening up a refinery today to help relieve our refining capacity shortfall and see how the EPA will help you. NO NEW REFINERIES HAVE BEEN BUILT SINCE THE 80s AND SINCE THEN SEVERAL HAVE SHUT DOWN DUE TO THE EPA. I wonder why gas is 4 dollars a gallon? Just something to think about.


OK I am off my little soapbox. I am not really pro anything. I would like things to be good for everyone on GODS green Earth, however I don't think we are going to get there by posting information to support my own agenda either. Lets just see how hard we can spin this. The people that need elected will spin this issue which ever way the public opinion needs them to spin it to get elected or reelected. The TRUTH is there really is NO TRUTH just the way it is. There is no politician that is not biased and to think there is you are a fool. If we could spin this hard enough maybe we can spin the Earth fast enough to get rid of this problem, which is all of us. Who is the enemy here? Look in the mirror. I shave the enemies face every day.

My advice for the reader is to not to believe the HYPE of everything you see and hear in the media. Look at several sources of information and make an educated opinion about the subject. The majority of the population seems to make there opinion on what the headlines read in there politically ran daily newspaper. I challenge you to look beyond your own agenda and beyond what people are PAYED to print.

STRIKE AVERTED!!!!!

STRIKE AVERTED!

I think The Girls and I have come to an agreement. They will lay the eggs and I will continue to feed and water them. Clause 3 paragraph 2 states that the care giver will make sure the workers of The Girls & Double U Egg Factory, (they get top billing), will provide ample food and water at all times. There was a jocking for position at the signing and they threw in a last minute amendment for an occasional romp around the yard.

Feeling particularly bad about the horrible conditions that The Girls had to endure, I was caught in a weak moment and agreed to all demands. Now I check on there amenities every day when I get home and check on them, of the evening, to see if there are any problems with their accommodations. So far egg production has increased to 4 eggs a day. Now we are seeing white eggs so the offenders are now starting back to work.

What they don't know is that they are working for chicken feed and their union rep. didn't mention anything about a health care or pension plan. I hope they don't get wind of that or I may be hiring scabs. Oh well, they signed a 2 year contract so after the contract is up and they strike again there maybe some jobs on the chopping block. Literally!

(Oh yeah it is also written in the contract that when referring to them in writing, I must capitalize The Girls. What can you say? There only chickens.)

Chickens on STRIKE!!!!

Well they gone and done it...... They done went and struck on me. After all I have done for them, they do this. For the past few days we have only gotten 2 eggs out of 8 chickens. I know which ones are holding out.

It's the White Pearls because for about a week now we have only been getting brown eggs and those are layed by the Black Star hens. I think I have figured out the major malfunction..... I haven't been squeezing them hard enough...He he he. NO I am just kidding.

I think I haven't been feeding them enough and it took a while to show and now since I have purchased a new feeder, and there is corn and laying mash a plenty, it will take a while before I see any more production from the hens.

I hope to see some production increases in the next week or so. Not sure how long it takes to get their little systems cranked back up. I may have to concede to their contract demands but, I think daily foot massages and heated roosts are a bit much.

Uh-Oh I've been had!

(The only picture I got of their super secret union meeting before being spotted and flogged back up to the house. I barely made it with the camera intact.)

Wolf Creek Cemetery

Not the site.....The place. Today my sweetie Brando took me to a place I have wanted to go for a while. It wasn't Disney by no means but pretty neat all the same. It was a little known cemetery called Wolf Creek Cemetery. We got the coords off Google and headed on our way. It doesn't have any signage to speak of but it is the only cemetery anywhere close to the original coords which were pretty close. Here is a pic of the small cemetery.

We also ventured a bit further North and went to Wolf Creek State Park. The rangers were really nice and I told them I was sorry they were on the list to be closed down November 1st and our little park was on the block a few years ago and we rose such a stink we pulled it back from the brink of destruction. Ok a bit over dramatic but still it was a good accomplishment. Here is a pic of the state park sign.

Brando and Yuri went on a small hike while I stayed with sleeping Yin in the car. When they came back they had little mites all over there socks and we had to douse them with insect repellent just in case they were biting nasties. Here is a pic of their adventures of Lake Shelbyville.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. It went way too fast.

I'm shaven the chickens and pluckin the hogs!

As you can see I added a egg ticker to the blog for a running total. Today we had 5 white and 1 brown. 1 ckicken was confused and layed her egg on the ground. Not sure if the bin was occupied or what. It seems that they prefer the corner nest for laying for that is the only nest we find eggs in. I finally took some pictures with the chicken tractor to full capacity. I built it for 6 chicken comfortably but now I am wondering if it is a bit cramped. In a week or so I plan on letting them out during the day to see how it all works out. I had to modify the bottom to be fitted with a door for access to the bottom for the lazy chickens that dont wanna wait for the corner nest to open up. Like there isn't 2 other nest right beside it. Oh well they are just chickens.

(Here are the girls all up to mischeif)

(This is a shot of the door I added for easy access)

(He is the money shot of the corner nest complete with egg)

Chicken Tractor

What is a chicken tractor you might say. Well, a chicken tractor is a portable chicken coop so as they scratch and mess in one area you can move it to another area. These devices usually have handles an wheels to facilitate the moving of these portable pens. We were showing rabbits for 4-H and told some people that we were interested in chickens so they asked how many. We said, "Oh....about six." They said we needed about a dozen. I didn't want to feed the neighborhood with eggs just enough for ourselves and a few for the neighbors so we ended up with 8 chickens. I also failed to mention that we have already had 1 egg. Yeah baby and thats when the big bucks start rollin in.

Here are there fancy digs that though the help of the world wide webs helped me come up with a plan. I hope you like and I hope the chickens don't mind them either.

This is my chicken tractor.

Here is the back hatch to collect the eggs.

Here is the inside. It has 3 bins for the hens to lay there eggs to the left. There is a vent on each side for cross ventilation and a hatch to go below into the bottom where they can eat grass and bugs and enjoy the sun and air. There is also a 5 foot roost up top that is not shown in this picture.

If you are interested in seeing other chicken tractors click here.

So Far So Good

No more fishes have died and all is well in the pond.

Yesterday Yuri was puking but today seems to be on the mend.

Brando and I purchased a Wii and Wii Fit and have been Wii Wiing it up at the house. I think I will need a day or two for my shoulder and back to recover from Boxing, Golf and Bowling. It is alot of fun but easily overdone.

Yuri sold his rabbit at the 4-H fair. You would not believe what rabbits are going for at this day and age but if I could I would have a rabbit farm. He also did very well at the Horse Show including a first place trophy for his first show. We are really proud of our little Yuri.

Turnaround at work is over until spring of next year which will be the worst one of all, from what everyone is saying. Normal Turnarounds last 3 to 5 weeks this one is scheduled for 8 weeks.

Getting my car worked on to help save gas but I have a feeling that it will cost a mint to get the shitbox out of the shop. I have my fingers crossed.

Cant wait for the Cache Slash Event and even more amped about Halloween. Wish I could get moving on my projects for this year. Maybe this weekend I will get off my but.

Dead Fishes

Well the final count for dead fish is 13. Ooooooooooo what a scarey number. Most of the fish that died were the smaller ones and only a couple of mid size but it looks like all of the bigger fish made it though. I was starting to wonder because one of the bigger koi quit eating for a couple of days and started breaching out of the water on occation which is unusual. He calmed back down and started eating and acting normal. The water pump has been running ever since I installed it to help get the O2 level back up. All seems well now in the pond.

I mowed the yard a couple of days ago and while doing so mulched up the 13 dried fish bodies that laid in the yard. They were all dried and pale. I picked one up and it was as light as a feather and the texture of paper. He chipped up nicely into dust. Probably with the kill I wound up losing about 50 or so dollars in fish.

We have been working on 4H projects for this week and the kids and wife have been at a dead run for the past few weeks. First it was bible school, then swim lessons, then 4H. The kids havent had much of a break since school and nether has Brando.

We had some drama down the road and found out that someone came home and found someone sleeping in there bed.........with there spouse. Maybe they were tired. I get tired through the day but I think I would think twice before napping when the hired help is around just incase they get tired and decide to take a nap too. That would be hard to explain. I mean who would sleep on the job anyway. (I am really not that clueless but like to act like I am.)

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. I will be spending it at work.

Well CRAP!!!

Brando is outta town and everything is going to hell in a handbasket. It started yesterday when the pump in my pond quit working. This is the major filter/aireator pump for the pond. I tried to fix it but to no avail so sometime before 6 pm Monday my pump stoped. I got up Tuesday morning and yanked the pump to take to work and get replaced but it would have to wait till after work. I get the pump replaced a race home to put it in and when I did I noticed the pond was really warm and have a smell to it. While installing the pump I seen the first dead fish. I scooped it up and tossed him in the yard. With the pump running I thought well maybe stressed and heat and all. What I had forgot about was that I had added a chemical to the pond the day before the pump went down and when you add this chemical to the water it kills algea but in doing so you need to keep up the aireation and good circulation to keep the oxygen level up in the pond. Also the warm water does not hold oxygen very well. So with the pump down for longer than 24 hours and the chemical that totally kicked the O2 in the ass my total kill count this morning so far is 6 dead fish. I hope when I get home this evening the numbers dont increase. When seeing the dead fish this morning I quickly turned on the pump that normally only runs 12 hours a day to help get oxygen back in the pond and did a quick dip test to see what the water was doing. The only thing it showed was the the Nitrites where high indicating and elevated stress level for the fish. I hope all is well when I get home. The pump is a 3600 gal an hour pump in a 2k gal pond so it should get the water circulated and O2 plenty in a hurry but with the pump shutting down at midnight last night and the kill of the algea really hurt the fish. I should have known better. I have a spare pump but didnt think I would need it. I guess you cant fix stupid.

BIG THANKS

This is a big

THANK YOU

to all who wished me a happy birthday.

Love you all.

Officially OLD

Yesterday I finally turned old. Yep I have one foot in the grave and the other in an old folks home. I bet those wrinkly women are HOTTT. Eeew!

The only difference is maybe that I wake up with more aches and pains than I remember when I was younger but my mind is slipping so I cant even rely on my memories.

I also notice that I have trouble staying on subject when I am blogging so I tend to ramble a bit I hate my work.

I also tend to repeat my self more often than I used to. I also repeat myself more from time to time and also did I mention that I repeat myself?

I am also experiencing trouble getting it up......on outta bed. Yeah if given a chance I would sleep forever and never get up. Sometimes my beloved Brando has to put her foot in my back and give me a shove.

I would type more but I don't have the energy and I forgot what I was gonna type anyway.....OH by the way did I mention that I like to repeat myself?

Flip this Pin

Well, I thought since I have been a posting fool here lately, I would make a post, count them, TWO months in a row. WOW!

We made it back from Gods Country on Monday and surveyed the damage done by the wind. It is really strange. If so much as a duck farts in our direction the patio furniture will flip and move and the grill will get shoved off the patio. However, these are untouched but Waylon's dog pin was picked up and lifted over a 5 foot fence and placed on its roof about 25 to 30 feet in the field. Most of all the dog is perfectly fine. Mind you this is a 10 X 10 chain link pin with about a 3 hundred pound wood frame and metal panel roof attached to it. Nothing else was touched. It was weird. We got the pin put back but the roof is where the wind left it. Hopefully we will get a bunch of us together and get it put back on.

Being the religion the I am I know the God tests us in many ways to keep our faith in check as well as others that like to toy with us but so far here is a our grade card for the semester.

Earthquakes A
Flood A
Power Outages A
Water Outage A
Dog Pin Flip A-

We have also received information that one of Brando's relatives has some serious health issues. Please keep this person in your thoughts a prayers. I know we will.

Nice visit with the folks.

My folks was up this last week and we tried to spend as much time as possible with them. But, with the warm weather of spring, all the cookouts, birthday partys and ect came outta the woodwork and took some of our time away. I always miss my mommy and daddy when they go.

I was on vacation last week and my honey put me on a honey do list. I had a bunch of stuff I planned on getting done but didnt have the energy to do much of it. Here is a list of things I wanted to do with a asteroid beside what I got done.

1. Clean wash camper for camping
2. Change oil in car
3. Change oil in van *
4. Change oil in truck
5. Vacuum out pond
6. Finish mulching landscaping
7. Wash Brandos Van*
8. Clean garage

These are things that got added from Brando that got completed.

1. Hard wood floor the hallway
2. Rip up carpeting and tack track from hallway and dining room
3. Hardwood floor the kitchen

These are the things she wanted to do but didn't get done.

1. Hardwood floor the dining room

She wants to try to get the dining room done this weekend if the supplies come it. I am not sure if I am looking forward to battling the easy to snap in floor planks. The little 3 inch sections at the store are easy to snap in but the 20 foot section you have to put together and fight in all at once is a bear. Dont believe the hype with these easy to install floors.

Gotta Gun?

Done anyone have a gun I could rent and a bullet I can buy? I am on vacation next week and they have done nothing but call, call, call today. I wish someone up there would grow a brain. I cant stand my these call-outs. I am about to go out of my mind. Calgone take me away or something like that.

If Ya Wanna Get The Gooduns Ya Gotta Dig Deep

Well my bro and his girlfriend is on vacation. I wanted to help so we are house sitting while they are away. The work isnt too taxing. We just have to bring in the mail and watch over the kitties. It has been a while since I have had cats so I forgot what it was like.

When I stepped into the door today there was something that resembled a turd in the floor. Knowing that cats dont crap in the floor I investigated further. It was a glob of dried up hair aka a hairball about this side of my small finger. I felt bad for the furry fella that it came out of. I checked on the two housemates of my bros and they were just fine.

Then I had to go check on their food. It was bone dry. It went from two heaping bowls to licked clean in two days. Mind you these are not small bowls. The water was fine but I gave them fresh water. I thought to myself where did all that food go to......then I looked in the litter box. HOLY COW does my brother have cats or cows. They were as big as the scooper. I started doing the nasty and when I thought the chore was done I did a cursary scoop then I hit the muther load. I had to put my back into it. I swear it was the size of a small saucer.

It heaved and grunted and thought about figuring out a way to use the cat litter box side as a fulcrum to haul up the stinky mass. Finally the big fella relented and I had just enough strength to dump it in the bag. THUD!!! Double bagging and double knotting was pretty tough when the bag just fits around it. Like the title says, if you wanna get the gooduns ya gotta dig deep. What a whopper. Hurry home bro, I dont think my back can take it.

Rain Rain Rain

Today was.....well you guessed it, rainy. It has flooded the yard, field and roads around the house. I stepped outside briefly to unclog the downspouts on the gutters so they wouldnt get ripped off the side of the house from the weight. I was a bit cold after doing this and so I had to take a nice hot shower and a warm cup of coffee topped off the evening.

I have not been sleeping well. I have had 3 restless nights in a row and I fear another on the way. It does not help when you work for someone who dont think you need sleep either. They called at 2 am last night and have been keeping us working steadily for the past three days on stuff that I think could wait till the next work day. I am getting tired, stressed and angry about the whole situation. Last night I called my bosses boss to let him know how we are being treated like robots, working on mindless stuff that can wait till the next day just because someone out there said they didn't want to wait and wanted it fixed tonight. This mentality has got to stop. Working an 8 hour day and coming home to catch up on the stuff you got behind on around the house from working the 5 of the last 7 month 12 hour days 7 days a week. You are lucky to get in the house before dark which is about 8 o'clock. You start to wind down for bed and around 9:30 pm the phone rings wanting you to come in and work 8 to 10 more hours with no sleep. This is very very dangerous and the physical stress is starting to show in our shop. I wish someone at my work would please grow a brain and save us from this situation.

The pond is as full as I have ever seen it from the rain. If it keeps this up the fish will have to swim. (Chalk that one up to fatigue and stress) Have a nice week everyone and hope you get to enjoy the weekend. Don't look like I will. There is no end in sight.

Back to Normal

Well as back to normal as it gets for me. I am back on a normal 8 hours shift and loving it. I have had time to get so much done after work. It has taken a while to get used to having time and also feeling like doing anything. I finally had a good nights sleep last night after 4 nights of restlessness. I hope it one of many to come. I am not sure what all we are doing this weekend but next weekend me a the DW (dear wife) are going to go on vacation overnight by ourselves. This is a much needed vacation away from the kids. We are not sure exactly where we are going yet because the hotel we were going to go to is booked. I am hoping we can find someplace else that will have a relaxing room and amenities we need. Here's to wishful thinking.

Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God All Mighty Free At Last

Tonight is suppose to be my last night on turnaround. I feel like a prisoner that is getting ready for a favorable parole hearing. I can't wait to get away from this place for a while, even if it is only for a day or two.

Since turnaround, here is a list of things I have missed:

1. Being able to console my family from the death of a family member.
2. Being able to console my family from the death of a family pet.
3. Being home to make sure my family was safe due to a earthquake.
4. My boys last 2 basketball games where I was told he did quite well.
5. Countless tumbling practices for my daughter.
6. Countless piano practices for my son.
7. Mowing my yard the first few times. My wife and kids had to pick up my slack.

These are just a few that I can come up with recently that happened. I am sure there are a ton more that I missed out on closer to the beginning.

I would just like to take this time to say thank you to all my family members and especially my wonderful wife and kids for putting up with me though the duration of this turnaround.

Shaken but yet to be stirred

This morning we are still a rockin and rollin from the recent earthquakes. We had a few people thought they felt something this morining about 12:30 amish an after a bit of wondering and checking the usgs.org site found that our feeling was legit. We had another sizable aftershock Monday, April 21, 2008 at 12:38:30 AM of a magnitude of 4.5 pretty close to where we have had the other aftershocks. Hope everyone slept through it.

Seepy Time

It is seepy time round here. It is past 4 in the morning and people on the night shift is falling out about the place. It looks like Jonestown the day after around here after they had the Kool-aid party. Yeah we are all felling a little draggy. I am really missing my bed right now. We have watched AVPR and Hot Rod tonight. AVPR is ***1/2 stars and Hot Rod is ** stars for its querky humor. I really liked the Footloose cutaway to an endless fall part. I giggled like a school girl. Well I think one of my fellow nights person has made it back to the shop and we are gonna watch a couple of episodes of Scubs so...... Have a good night night.

Whats this?! Another Post?!

Yep, I am having a hot streak of posting activity at the Rudy's Mems Blog. I am not sure where I found this abundance of energy to enter my name and password and make a difference in the world of blogging.

What is the most difficult part of blogging? Well that would be the topic of today's post. Some people will say it is coming up with a topic. Some will say that getting up the nerve to type what you are thinking on a somewhat public forum. While others will say that it is finding a relevant thought that conveys the feeling between blogger and reader.

However, I think the hardest part is to get a screwdriver under the G and H keys to pop them out of the keyboard. Why, you may ask? Because I need to make a space for my nose to fit while I am rolling my face back and forth across the keyboard. And THAT is what make an a award winning blog. I would categorize about 98% of my posts fall into this prestigious category. But what do I know. It is clinically proven that 11/10ths of the population have trouble with fractions.

Ramblings of a tired mind

If you dont know.....I am officially tired. I have been tired for a while..... Not sure exactly when it struck me but I do know that it has. What is the symptoms of a tired mind? Well lets list the ones that have entered my overworked pea size melon.

1. The improper us of common punctuation@
2, The inability to edit tipos>
4. Unable to figure out numeral order
1.5 Not able to have a coherent thought in said melon
E. What are nuumber?
Green: You add a pound of sugar to your cup of coffee to stay awake.
There you have it the official way to figure out the worlds most official way to figure out the worlds most official way to get the right things you need to survive sleepfullnessly.

Thanks for tuning in to find out the mental state of the person taping his fingers on the keyboard. There maybe hope one day for some rest.

HELLO EVERYBODY!!!!

Hows everyone out there in blogger land???? Just wanted to drop a few lines to all those that tune in every six months or so to see if Rudy has gotten off his lazy A$$ to post. Well I have and it will be a dooooozy of a post.

What am I gonna post about you may ask? Well what else have I been doing for the last 6 months of my life.....working......and endless amount of work due to back to back, pushed back due to gas crack spreads (yes I said it.....CRACK SPREAD! he he he) Turnarounds. And we have yet another one in July through to August. How do I cope you may ask? Well the first thing you do is take all the photos of your life outside of work and shove them in a locker so you can see how happy you were when you had a family and a life.

The pictures that remind you that you had a life just depresses you anyway. I mean, who really needs a loving wife and two wonderful kids. By now I bet they don't even know who I am any more. All I need to do is send my money home and pull up a cot and stay here 24/7. I have everything a person could need right here......like conversing with idiots......frustration with simple tasks.........and a wall to bang my head against.....what more could a man want.

Is it selfish of me to want a normal life? For my kids to not look at me as a stranger as I drag myself through the house on the way to the bed? Yeah I bet it is. If I really needed it, my work would have provided it for me. Sorry for all the complaining but this post comes after working 30-12hr days straight and then being swung to 12 hr nights with about another week or so to go. All this while trying to deal with the death of a family member, a death of a family pet and an earthquake. When does the fun ever stop???? Please go outside and take a deep breath for me. I will be a bit before I will have the luxury.

(crack spread is money spent per brl of oil vrs money made per brl of product recently 70 cents)

Shirk Happens!

To all my blogger fans, I must admit that I have shirked my responsibilities in blogging. And with that I apologize. Around the first of December my work sent out an email to everyone that there was a huge dip in bandwidth in there company that was affecting performance of the business communication with Findlay, Ohio. One of the problems that could have caused this dip is the fact that there has been abnormal traffic to youtube.com and personal blogs. Therefore you are not to go to those sites or suffer the consequences. So there in a nutshell is why I haven't blogged because I use to do most of it while I was at work and on breaks. This will cool down in a bit and the majority of the employees will start slowly going back to those sites but until the cool down period has expired I will have to blog from home. Sorry it took me so long. Maybe I will set a record and post 2 posts in January. Everyone hold your breath........