Wow, this school stuff sure takes a lot of time ... and other random stuff

I'm on my 4th class in 16 weeks and while I'm doing good (3 A's so far) the work itself is really taking a lot of time. And of course no two teachers can do anything the same way so there is constant changing to the scheduled deliverables and the days on which I have to do homework, etc.

On the home front the Moose continues her assault on the food bag. My Lord that animal can eat. She's going through 10 lbs. of food per week. We recently had her spayed and even with that dorky cone they put on them she still eats a ton. The vet said that she probably wouldn't want to eat the day after the surgery (after having NOT eaten the day of).

RIGHT. We're lucky we still have walls for crissakes. I gave a her a piece of ham and it went down her gullet like Jonah down the whale ... no chewing nothing, just gone. I'm not sure it even touched anything until it hit her stomach. Inhaled.

She's also figured out to use the cone to her advantage ... she uses it for everything from digging and picking things up to wielding it like a prod to get our attention. The Little B.

We've gotten her a fence now and she seems very happy about it. Goes out a lot and just rolls or digs in the dirt and other piggish undertakings. She's in her glory.

On another note, a friend of mine from high school was back in town this past week from Texas (C.Donley) and we were able to pull together a mini-high school reunion at a place called Peanuts in Naperville last Friday night.

It was a blast ... many of the old Shades were in attendance and I got to see people I quite literally had not seen since high school.

As many of you know I'm not a fan of high school reunions since I didn't like most of the assholes I met there anyway. This was different though ... if I could have a high school reunion with JUST the people I wanted to see again, it would have been with this group. Quite a lot of fun. Daughter #1 was kind enough to come along and meet everyone, as well as make sure my drunken ass got home in one piece.

Anyway the end result was that we have decided to have a Shades 30 Year Reunion next year for the team and it's many fans. We've even found out where Walsh lives though he'll probably move now that we know. :-)

Moose

So Moose is the winner and the dog has been being called that for at least 4 days now. She even acts like a moose ... kind of plodding and clumsy. But she's pretty cool. She already sits ... for something called cranberry liver treats. Who knew cranberries had livers? Huh.

One last thing ... be it hereby known that even though Gumbo was not chosen, the curse of the Gumbo label has been lifted from Mom. During a ceremony at Outback Steak house and conducted with, what else, a butter knife.

To his everlasting credit, young Master Quilty, upon viewing the lifting of the curse, suggested ANOTHER curse. I don't think Mom heard him or he may well have been run through with the ceremonial prop.

The New Dog

G & I both love the name Gumbo. The animal is a mix of God only knows what breeds and is 10 weeks old, weighing 20 pounds. Besides nothing says mutt like Gumbo, a large mix of meat and thickener (and this dog is nothing if not thick). Below is a pic of the puppy next to Rex. It's a pretty funny contrast since Rex is now about a year and a half old.

Sadly, passing anything through committee around here can be likened to the daily Washingtonian comedy Americans refer to as Congress. So we still have to get it past The Girls. Since two of them don't really live here anymore, Bird not at all and Minnie Moo just in the summer, we really only have to swing two votes, Samwise & Squintz.

Further, since those two still depend on us for their daily bread I'm thinking that will be pretty easy to achieve. I suppose a hunger strike isn't out of the question. They are Lents however and I really can't recall any tales of hunger strikes being passed down through the ages. Maybe a hunger surge ... where they threaten to eat until they explode?

And finally, I REALLY don't understand MY Mother's opposition to this name. After all, if we call the dog Gumbo, we're certainly not going to continue to call HER Gumbo. That would be silly. So, Happy Mother's Day Mom, we're probably going to name our new dog after the nickname you claim to hate so much. AND, as an added Mother's Day bonus, we're transferring the rights from you to the dog. I'll just waive my magic butter knife and POOF! you're no longer Gumbo.

In any case you'll see a poll in this page. You can see some of the names that have "only" been vetoed once. Your vote may even count, as long as it turns out to match mine. :-)

Happy Birthday, Marty the Bat!

Twenty years old. Wow ... I can't even begin to tell you how proud your Mother & I are of you. Seriously (because I know you just said something like what the hell for, or rr-ii-gg-hh-tt when you read that).

You've turned out to be a very intelligent, thoughtful (go figure) person, albeit one who curses way too much but I'm sure that's my fault as are all of your other negative traits, or so I'm told by your Mother anyway. She's probably right as you are a Lent in every respect. Your Grandfather could see it early on ... you share the same wise-ass smirk that he gave myself and Uncle Gary. A kind of bemused look that says about the world around you ... are these people for reals?

As a caution I must add that being a Lent can break a couple of different ways for you so keep trying to the right thing at least. The odds are stacked against you. We are definitely in the shallow end of the gene pool.

As Uncle Gary has mentioned on his website everyone has somebody they think is the funniest person they know. You're mine. There are very few people who can make me laugh as quickly and easily as you. When I think back on some of the things you've said, even as a toddler, I literally LOL (for once that stupid acronym actually fits).

You know what else? I really enjoy our talks about baseball too. Other than George you know more about baseball, my favorite topic, than anybody I know. I really enjoy going to the games with you because you UNDERSTAND what's going on. You don't sit there and say, as so many people do who don't know the game within the game, how "boring" baseball is. It's really cool and it's something I'll always treasure as your Father. The fact that you call a homerun for ARod almost every other at bat is pretty amusing too.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Minnie Moo ...

LOVE

DAD

Hidden Talent

Seems that daughter number 4 has another hidden talent, in addition to her singing voice. This week the child made the following dinners:

Monday - Pork tenderloin
Tuesday - A particularly succulent Ribeye and homemade (not boxed) mashed potatoes
Wednesday - Chicken fajitas
Thursday - Chicken Caesar Salad

And it was ALL excellent. I know what you're thinking ... just what that fat bastard needs, more good food. And I was thinking that myself, but not for long because you shouldn't think with your mouth full (or something like that). The Kid can flat cook. And I can flat eat. This was the culinary equivalent of the Perfect Storm.

And I say here and now, if #4 isn't a participant in next Christmas' Ironic Chef competition it would be as though Mickey Mantle never got to play for the Yankees. She could even win with a pair of kitchen cretins like the Brothers Grimm as her partners. It might be Ryan's only serious chance to win something beside the Ptomain Poisoning award for Human Suffering.

So there ... the gauntlet has been thrown down. Challenge if you will. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Sick of the Media? Me too ... and the endless campaign as well

Let me see if I have this straight with regard to the media's view of this (ENDLESS) election process we have here in the good old USA: The candidates will not discuss the issues nor say what the really think. OK so far so good, I agree with that.

They all want to be elected and are terrified to piss off even lunatics like "Reverend" Hagee. (You know, the guy who linked the Catholic Church and Adolph Hitler in a conspiracy to eliminate all Jews? A real deep thinker that one). Or Obama's "Reverend" Wright and his simpleton comments. So yeah they'll say or do anything to keep from losing one of these character's supporters. (speaking of which ... who says these guys are "revered" anyway?)

On the other hand every time a politician actually says something that strays from neutrality the candidate is battered from pillar to post for what are termed "news cycles". WTF is a news cycle? And who do these people think they are? News cycles? Shove it, you're not so important and you do not represent me with your news cycles horseshit.

They are using the American political process as a revenue generator for their "news" organizations. I'm convinced that's the reason for this ridiculous 2 year election. I'm half expecting Al Gore or Jeb Bush to announce his candidacy any day now ... for 2012. I mean this is really silly.

And the MONEY! Wow ... Obama has raised almost $200 MILLION. For crissakes, cut the campaign in half and force them to give at least half to charity. Where does all that ca$h go for God's sake?

And why, given such indecent sums does anyone expect these people (ANY of these people, Obama, Clinton or McBush) to change anything? They are obviously deeply in the pocket of people with serious cash to throw around. Abraham Lincoln wouldn't stand a chance today with his 1860 grassroots campaign ... they'd laugh his ass off the stage.

And yet, we continue to be told through each of their bloody news cycles how WE, the American people feel about everything. Bite me. Until you talk to me you have no idea what I think. And I suspect most Americans feel that way. The political process in this country has been hijacked by some serious economic forces. Until that changes we will continue to get a steady stream of go alongs.

"A Brilliant Achievement in American History"

Direct quote. Bush. Iraq. And, for once, he wasn't misspeaking. Wow.

You know even IF you agree that the war must continue as a means of keeping America safe (or whatever Kool-Aid is being mixed with the meds today), I defy ANYBODY (other than the Idiot in Chief) to declare 6 years of war in Iraq "a brilliant achievement in American history".

- The Declaration of Independence was a a brilliant achievement in American history.
- Recognizing the criticality of the Writ of Habeus Corpus during the formation of a government theretofore unknown in civilization ... yet another a brilliant achievement in American history.
- Outlawing slavery ... gotta say, a brilliant achievement in American history

Lying us into a war AND spending 600 Billion to produce (at best) a stalemate? 600B that incidentally eclipses the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of many large countries ... Sweden and Turkey among them. It's very close to Australia's as well. Estimates of continuing involvement are that it will eclipse the GDPs of India, Russia, & Brazil individually. Brilliant achievement indeed.

Over 4000 American servicemen dead. God knows how many Iraqis but conservative estimates indicate 100,000. Is this what America has become?

I read something the other day (as yet unverified) that the total amount we've spent in Afghanistan (you know, where the assholes who attacked us really live) ... is matched by our spending in Iraq. Our spending in Iraq for the last 3 weeks. Think about that for a minute. We're closing in on our SEVENTH year of war in Afghanistan (October, 2001). And we've spent as much in Iraq just since the 2008 NCAA tournament started? WTF?

Later .... if McBush wins I'm moving to Canada for crissakes.