Welcome to my site

I

agree. need to say. state my opinion. confess. have the right to speak.

am not quiet. say it. disagree. voice a comment. talk out loud and proud.

Freedom of Speech.

You can’t take that away from me.

What I need to be doing

Of all the things I’ve never done, not working harder to expand my business has cost me the most in all the ways that matter. And if I live to reach retirement and find I have regrets, not having worked harder to expand my business will probably be right up-top of my list.

My biggest hold back? Getting too comfortable with my current position and being a chicken shit. It takes a bigger responsibility and more hard work. More leadership. More $$ investment. More organazation. More paperwork. More phone calls. More meetings. More, more, more. But the pay-off is grand.

So no excuses. I have to do this now because if I think it is difficult now, how hard will it be in 10 or 20 years?

So what have you been putting off?

Going Green.

I wouldn’t call myself a pothead by any means but after reading at Norml-reforming marijuana laws I am convinced this cause needs our attention. I believe pot remains illegal only as a form of social control and a way of making millions of $$ due to our judicial system’s purposeful shortcomings. And I hate that. It isn’t fair.

But our government doesn’t care when the general population cries about unfairness. It isn’t much different from the fact of having cures available for certain medical conditions that our leaders would rather not divulge because likewise, it makes money from these avenues also. Having lost faith in our system long ago, I tend to question things that make little sense to me. Where there is smoke there is fire and this time, it may well be the cherry on the tip of a big fat joint.

All I ask is please visit the site NormL with an open mind.

Thanks.

Dear Mr. PreZ … I want to stop smoking cigarettes. Won’t you help me? please?

Money really talks but actions still speak louder than words, Mr PreZ.
You say you want a healthier nation so you raise taxes on cigarettes to keep us, the po’ folk, from affording that which is killing us. We ruin the health care system, don’t we? We show up at the hospital, often unable to pay. We can’t breath, we cough and gag and hack. We stink like cigarettes, too. But you’re a liar, Mr. preZ.

I’m just a peon but even peons wonder what ever happened to logic?

Why is it the cost of stop smoking aids continue to rise to ridiculous levels? Mr Prez, why won’t you consider capping off things that might help us the most, instead of raising the cost of cigarettes?

I’m quitting my smoking just so I can blow the president a giant raspberry without hacking until I turn blue. But I’d still rather stink than be a liar.

Update:

I just found this article. Wow. Another reason to quit. But for you smoking diehards, it still isn’t fair.  Check out the MSN article at: Could smoking cost you a job?

Also, I found nicotine patches for less at Walmart. My comparison shopping includes buying brand name patches a couple years ago. (I can’t remember where I bought them. Walgreens?) I paid upwards of $60 for the brand name patches and only $24 for Wally’s patches.  And while Wally’s patches work, I remember the brand name brand patches as far superior. This proved to be true when I wore a patch from the two-years expired box and felt less jittery and irritable than with the new Wally patches. Sometimes ya get what ya pay for. And for me, this wasn’t a good time to go cheap.

Passions

When you pick apart the bones of life you are left with only a few things that truly matter. Hopefully one of those things is love and another, passion. We all have something we are passionate about, no need to go huntin’ for it. It’s already there, born inside us at birth. Passion is a fire lit long ago and chances are good you don’t need formal schooling in the real sense to explore your opportunities. And here I am knowing this while my passions just lay there rotting away.

I think, if nothing else, middle age was made for chasing those things we always meant to chase but never have for some silly reason that is never good enough. “Can’t live on won’t street.” as my bestest friend Dee always says …

So why wait? Go do it now because for someone somewhere today is all there is …

Flu Season and Vaccines

When I made it to work yesterday, they had a nurse come to give seasonal flu shots for both the employees and the public. She comes every year about this time.

Our little lab closes up at 5:30 and she was scheduled to stay until 6:00. So her and I sat and jawed for a half hour. It was pretty cool to talk with her. She is very knowledgeable about the flu, including H1N1 (Swine) and the seasonal flu as well.

I thought I would share a little bit of that with you.

Sometimes when I ask friends if they plan on getting a flu shot, they say “No, I never puke. I never get the flu.”

That isn’t what the seasonal flu vaccination is for. This flu isn’t the puking/diarrhea thing that goes around every year in its various 24 hour -3 days of glory. This is respiratory. It is sore throat, coughing, hacking, fever, body aches can’t get out of bed for days kind. And there are always new types surfacing so our immune systems can’t always keep up. Let me tell ya, I had the seasonal flu a few years ago and it took me a full 6 weeks to completely recover. I expected to die from it. That’s how bad I felt. I skipped my flu shot that year. And I’ll never willingly let that happen again.

Sometimes people won’t get a flu shot because they say they had it once before and it made them sick. It CAN’T make you sick. The stuff used in the vaccination is dead. If you get sick, you were already getting sick when you got the shot. Or, if you got mildly ill, that is your body building immunity and that can sometimes make you feel a little off. The nurse told me that is actually a good sign. It means your shot is doing it’s job. When your shot arm gets sore, that’s what that is too.

She told me that working out after getting your shot can help insure it gets circulated good. Maybe not a trip to the gym is required but being active helps.

The H1N1 shot isn’t expected out until sometime next month and is recommended for pregnant women, young children and health care workers. It will be a two part series. If, after that, the Center For Disease Control decides the virus is wide spread enough, it will also be offered to those with compromised immunity, such as myself.

I’ve researched this vaccine for a while now and felt like I was getting conflicting information until now. I wasn’t feeling so sure about getting it if it’s offered to me but now I think I will.

I want to encourage everyone to ask their doctors about getting the flu shot. If your doctor agrees, do it. It sure beats getting as sick as I was.

~Have a great flu season folks …

Update

There isn’t anything new going on and nothing good in today’s news, either. Summer break is almost over, it’s down to the “hurry up and cram it in if your gonna do it” phase. Registration for the new year begins tomorrow.

Noteworthy items of the week- Dogs seized from Warren County. And this totally made me mad and disgusted. Also the 69th Sturgis Rally is in full swing. Hundreds of bikers passed by this weekend and I always enjoy seeing them. Sometimes I wish I was there but I’d probably hate the crowd. I think I’m turning into both of my parents at the same time.

And just as Michael Jackson news is beginning to die down, his autopsy report is almost due. This ought to be good. I predict something scandalous…

If your looking for pissed off …

… there is plenty in today’s news to accomplish that. Donate To the MJ Memorial Fund is a great place to start. Like I said in my last post, I feel for his cause but why on earth would I want to donate my hard earned cash to L.A. County??? I think it’s preposterous they are asking. And during a recession? I didn’t read the full article, maybe I should do that before posting a counter article but by the third sentence I was completely outraged. I understand Jackson’s memorial was a costly event. Closing off main streets and bringing in all the forces to help with security. Jackson’s family needs protection when in public. Okay. I get that.

Let them pay for it. Did they request free security? From an already strapped for cash city?

3.8 million is a lot of cash. I’ve been reading about Jackson’s debts. It’s in the millions already, pre-death. Does anyone tell him/them no? Apparently not.

Michael Jackson’s Final Circus

When I opened my usual virtual news page this morning, I saw the Mj circus in full swing. Sooo many choices, what to read first? A tribute to his life? No thanks. A dedication to his causes? Nah, I’ll pass. How about secret pics of his casket being delivered to The Staples? Nope. Why him and Momma Jackson were sooo very close? No. Elephants parading down his final path? Not that either.

I can’t imagine what it would be like in LA today, especially since reading today’s news feels like a confusing circus that I got lost in. How does today’s media manage to do that?

So we have two sides, those that can’t stop bawling his praises and those saying “com’on he is just a guy, get over it.” I fall into the latter but now I’m writing about it too so sink me down a notch further, I’ve caved under the Mj pressure.

I just purchased a burial plot but doubt I use it now. After the Mj burial show I just want to be cremated. The spectacle is almost too morbid for my taste.

And I’ve always liked Jackson. Because he was very talented. Do I think he was a pediamonster? Not really. I think his wealth allowed him to cater to his flamboyant, eccentric side. I think he was stuck in a dreamy childhood state previously forbidden, the same state which brought him to riches in the first place. I wonder how surprised he would be to learn thousands of children are denied their childhood for reasons much less desirable than his? And without any wealth. Or Netherland Ranches. But most grow up with a certain strength Michael never experienced or possessed. It wasn’t Peter Pannish or worthy of the self indulgent lifestyle Michael enjoyed. What a pity he couldn’t see past his own nose long enough to find a way to help these kids on a grander scale than having a few kids  sleeping over in his big round bed watching movies all night. Oh wait. Michael Jackson doesn’t have a nose.

Maybe he found a way and I just don’t know it yet. And if I find this is true I’ll happily take back all the bad stuff I said.

I read Mj was so exhausted from all the insomnia that he required a special prohibited drug to induce deep sleep. I guess he got that, too.

Still, I feel badly for his kids and family. I hope he rests in peace.

Hello?

Today the headlines on my homepage read as follows; US Team overwhelms world, The truth about Uncle Sam isn’t so simple, Three new dinosaur species unearthed in Australia. Down at the bottom in smaller print it says; S Korea says North fires seven missiles of the east coast. Shouldn’t this headline be screaming across every page and every mind in every country? What the heck is wrong with us?

North Korea is being treated like a spoiled brat step child and the rest of the world is inconsistent, passive parents. Why isn’t anything being done? And what can be done? I don’t know. But then I’m not being paid a fortune to live in a big white house and host parties whenever I feel like it, either.

Dating Site Yikes!

A while back, I worked on a profile at a dating site. I kept it as low key because love comes way to easy to some folks and rejection ain’t so fun either. I’d rather keep working on me, making myself a better candidate for a relationship I hope to be half of someday. Not so sure I’m as good a catch as I once was on the outside; but far better on the inside.

You know what intrigues me about dating site profiles? Profiles without face pics. Why would someone do that? If you are browsing, you want to know who your looking at. The first thought is okay this guy is either married or is a high profile citizen with something to lose by being on a dating site. OR, he thinks he is high profile. That kind of thing has zilch interest for me.

What does interest me though, is when guys w/o prof pics offer lots of extra info about himself (because he has to do something to get your attention, right?) It’s kinda like a opening a Christmas present backwards. You know what’s inside but haven’t got a clue what the wrapping might be.

If you like what ya read, would you really care what this person looks like??? And what if you waited your entire life for this this one -in-a-million person to come along? You just don’t know what he looks like on the outside until one of you makes a move. Yep methinks that is very intrigu