WHAT YOU MAY FIND HERE

RANTS, RAVINGS and RUMINATIONS along with
RAUCOUS RIBALDRY and RAMBLING REFLECTIONS

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

NOT MUCH div

Ya gotta love that Mittster. Three homes, wife with two Cadillacs (and untold horses), low taxes and so on. But suppose Mitt was charged for things based on what he earned as compared to you ??

Click here and see how Mitt measures up to your earnings (and what it costs).

Monday, February 27, 2012

Listening to the words div

Get thru the "D' tuning and give a listen  - -  great guitar, great harmony, great lyrics ....... and still relavant


".... when everyone's talking and no one is listening, how can we decide ?"

' Bout Time div ....

Well, seems Gordon Gekko has changed sides.
Took long enough; now that the damage has been done (and continues).
Too bad the bankers that broke the law haven't been jailed (or at least indicted).
When are folks gonna wake up and understand where their self-interest lies ??

LOUSY div ...

My last two week "pay period" of Driving4$$ was the worst I've had in four years.
At least the customers were (for the most part) pleasant  - - just clueless. I was stiffed four times, but I've only been treated like this a couple of times  - - and only once with the snark.

Worst one I can remember is the couple I picked up at BWI going to Dulles. $99 fare (flat rate, no gratuity included). Throughout the whole trip (60 miles) I was told about the wonderful four week vacation, how much it cost and how well his business (something to do with religion lawsuits and passing out bibles) in California was doing. Gave me a Benjamin and said "keep the change." I gave him back the buck and asked him to donate it to a charity. Another jerk berated and penalized me for the traffic on the beltway at rush hour (even though he and his wife arrived at the airport on time). Oh well, it takes all kinds.

People don't seem to understand our current economy. Pretty much everyone that works in a "service" industry (wait staff, busboys, cab drivers, pizza/food delivery) receive less than the legal minimum wage. I'm lucky in that my company's owner pays at the top of the scale, but my income still depends on the "kindness of others," based on the service I deliver  - - hustling the bags, holding doors, asking whether or not they've forgotten anything, driving smoothly and safely, offering tips on sight-seeing and restaurants (or just knowing when to shut up) and so on  - -  it really is an art and some of my brother and sister drivers are clueless also.

So, in response to Mr. Banker above, ..........well you know the words (and rude gestures).
I just wonder what he contributes to our soceity ??  (and yes, the tip was less than 1%).

Friday, February 24, 2012

Showin' Up div

 ........ and they made a big deal about nominee Obama booking a stadium .........

Hey Mitt, guess what's going to be remembered about this speech ??

Monday, February 20, 2012

SEA KAYAKING div

One of the problems with any hobby is all the ancillary "gear" accompanying it.
This greatly simplifies the process:


GOOD IDEA div

Makes sense to me ..............

                                           Wiley Miller's  Non Sequitur  2/20/12

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Friday, February 17, 2012

Which Side Are You On (?) div

I get the feeling that a huge majority of Al Queda "sympathizers" in the DC Metro region (and possibly nation-wide) are FBI agents (or informers).

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

FUN (?) div

Yep ! He actually said it.

I'm sorry friends and neighbors, but when I see this:

the only image that comes to mind is someone that has "shit his pants" and doesn't know how to come up with a polite excuse to leave the room  - -  certainly not FUN !!!

Eternity div


Having come close to making this trip, I obviously have some feelings and opinions. Ones beliefs are as personal as your attendance to bodily functions  - - better to take care of them yourself (and believe me, I have the requisite experience). Once you start to applying or attributing them to someone else (whether individually or as a group) you are going to get into trouble.  Funny, never thought that bears might not consider this.

Naturally, one of the occupants of the "clown car" was offended. Fortunately, the judge (via Rude Pundit) is a bit more civil and possessed of reason.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Issues, div

While driving4$$ yesterday (had a good day and even foreigners tipped- better than the 'Mericans) the news, news, weather and sports seemed to revolve around a) Whitney Houston - dead at 48, and b) birth control.
The talking heads all seem concerned with what a bunch of supposedly celibate men worry about because they hear voices in their heads (or listen to someone else who does). Sure takes some thinkin' to figure out what they mean. It isn't like there are problems in this nation and the world that DON'T involve a woman's reproductive parts - like the economy, war in Afghanistan, dead turtles, poverty or whatever. And still no one seems to be asking women.
Nope. We gotta concern ourselves with zygotes. It's amazing that once they turn into "babies", the fault goes back to the women what birthed 'em. ("You should have thought about what you were doing").

Guess there's a lot of truth here:


Ya know, so far none of the chattering class has said that if we had "single payer," universal healthcare  in this country, this wouldn't be an issue. Just sayin'.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

CELEBRATION (!!!) div


The Oncologist has moved me to Yearly follow-ups !!!
WooHoo !!!



(go full screen and have the speakers on)

Friday, February 10, 2012

Music (cold weather) div

The Franklin expedition was lost in 1845 trying to find the Northwest Passage.
Interesting tidbits  - -  HMS Terror was one of the ships that bombarded Ft McHenry during the War of 1812. Along with HMS Erebus, both ships were with James Clark Ross in the exploration of Antarctica.
Petty Officer John Torrington was the inspiration for James Taylor's composition


Thursday, February 9, 2012

Hobby div

Everyone should have a hobby or two. It makes even more sense to combine them when possible.

Cartography div

Dammit !! I just bought a new atlas.

Well, like they say in Alabama, at least there's Mississippi.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Other voices div .....

I guess two grandmothers from Texas and Maine don't really matter much in the great scheme of things, but Margaret and Helen really do have some great insights and commentary. Enjoy. (the mini-bears have expressed a desire to be adopted by these gals - naturally, I've denied the request).

Shiny Thing div ....

Well, what a difference a day (or a week ) makes. Lil' Ricky wins in three states ...... and the Mittster ??? ..... Anyone who's had more positions than the Kama Sutra certainly has to worry about the fickleness of the average Republican voter.

Alas, sooner or later, they'll come back to that ol' "electability" issue and nominate Mittens (since he's been a businessman, governor, family man, job creator, whatever etc) - -  [and that other guy - the Democrat - is a Muslim, Socialist, Kenyan, Saul Alinsky trained Community Organizer - and has a better tan than any of the Republican candidates] and is therefore more more electable. It matters not that he doesn't have an original idea or thought past pandering to as many interests possible to get elected.

Bask in the spotlight of the moment Lil' Ricky, the celebrity will be short-lived -







Tuesday, February 7, 2012

You (not me) Voted for him div

Not only that, but they get elected.
Like I said earlier, why do men (especially the clueless) even bother to get involved in this matter.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Ah,,,,, well ..... maybe we should ........ div

Well, the folks at the Susan G Komen Foundation really stepped on their collective dicks (pardon the mixed metaphor).  First they defund Planned Parenthood, pissing off a whole group of folks concerned with a woman's health; and then they reverse and piss off the half that cheered the original decision.    Wow !! Talk about covering all the bases.

Goes to show what can happen when ya let ideology get in the way of what it is you do. First you hire an ex-Bushie to "interview" prospective candidates for your Public Policy VP, but then you actually go and hire someone whose focus is on vaginal politics and not curing breast cancer.
WTF do breasts (and the cancer thereof) have to do with vaginas and the conjugation of those lil' wiggly things with ovarian output ??? And why are there so many MEN pontificating on it ???

I don't recall hearing one ad for the SGKF Walk for the Cure on the local news, traffic and weather station for my last three shifts behind the wheel (before last week, they ran at about one every two hours).
Maybe the upcoming walks will be dedicated to saving the SGKF, eh ???

Hold the Presses div  - -  Karen Handel has resigned.   (update 2-07)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Been There div ...

Having lived in a foreign country for nearly six years,  I have a little trouble identifying with the current Republican candidate fear of that there "European Socialism" bogey-man.

It's funny, that the idea of "American Exceptionalism"  should extend to everything. But, then again, Will Rogers probably summed it up best:

It always will seem funny to us United Staters that we are about the only ones that really know how to do everything right. I don't know how a lot of these other nations have existed as long as they have till we could get some of our people around and show 'em really how to be pure and good like us.

Today's WaPo has a pretty good analysis (of course the guy's a German, and we all know about them, eh ?)

Nudge, Nudge, etc div

Steven Pearlstein's  column from this morning's WaPo brought this to mind :


The idea that the birds involved in these PACs have no "coordination" with the respective campaigns is laughable to say the least. But then again, "a nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat."

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Lot like that Bain Thingee div

Mittens (and those wanting to get rid of that  **** in the White House) make a big deal of the business experience he possesses. Remember, just what was the business strategy of Bain Capital ??
Summed up in a few words, it was  ****    Get In , Get Rich, Get Out   ****
Seems the same applies to the campaign, and anyone taking any credit other than the man himself.
Still haven't figured out what any "businessman" can bring to the political table.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Music (St Anne's Reel) div ......

The mini-bears wanted something "up"
Here's my favorite (among many) Atlantic Canada fiddle tune (the Fiddler is from the Shetlands, but, no matter - -  hell Jerry Douglas is from Nashville) .......  Turn it up and tap yer toes.

Shiny Thing div ....

Well, now we're in Nevada (and the Rat Pack is gone .....)
Mitt want's it worst , but can't keep his mouth shut and we still don't know what he's for.
Newt is bloodied, but unbowed.
Neither one can come up with much beyond tax cuts, less regulation and job creators (how's that workin' out for ya) ???
Lil Ricky keeps up with his godliness with sayin' that rape babies are a gift from god (punctuation mine).
What kind of God would allow this ????? I'll take my Great Spirit or the Flying Spaghetti Monster any day.
Ron still wants everyone to die and now Roseanne Barr wants to supplant Ralph Nader in the Green Party.
I don't think I'll keep my sanity 'til November. (but, by then, any self-respecting Bear will have found a nice cave, hollow tree or other safe secure place to while away the winter 'til it's time to come out to hunt for dead moose and bear girls).
Speaking of girls, Helen has been posting again ......... catch up here. Not every senior (or Texan) is crazy.