Sleeping Lawyer - too bad it's TRUE.

Wrote this in 2002 and the San Antonio Current published it. Somewhat scary:

http://www.sacurrent.com/columns/story.asp?id=55666

Ian Hunter - 70 and still rockin'.

Ianspirational - he is that.

I was fooling around on Rhapsody and uncovered a gem of an album that I used to listen to alla time: "Short Back n Sides" by the one and only Ian Hunter. Been listening to it all over again along with some of his work with Mott The Hoople.

Little did I know that he is still at it - in fact he JUST released a new album last month, and the Young Dude is now 70! The new album is "Man Overboard" - if you liked Ian back when we were all a little younger....then you will probably enjoy the new one. A couple of my faves from the new one are "Babylon Blues" and "Great Escape".

Way to go Ian. The picture below was taken in 2007 at a festival in England. Looking good.

Riffing on the War(s) - things to think about.

Random thoughts to ponder about the war(s) in Iraq/Afghanistan/Pakistan:

4,359 miltary people have died in Iraq and over 31,000 have been wounded.
The number of civilian deaths range from 87,000 to over 100,000.

Cost of the war since 2001: 929 billion and climbing. (http://www.costofwar.com/)

Blackwater (now Xe) corporation has made over one trillion dollars since 2004 in Iraq.
Charges the gubment $900 a day for mercenaries - pays them $350 a day (example taken from mercenaries hired after Hurrican Katrina - maybe they pay them more overseas).
A corporal with 3 years service in the Army makes 19,980 a year.
Blackwater/Xe charges that much in 22.2 days for a mercenary.
A Blackwater/Xe mercenary makes that much for working approximately 57 days.

I met a lady in our store who made thousands of dollars a week to drive a truck in Iraq.
I have read stories where families of our troops need to collect food stamps to eat.
Eric Prince and Blackwater/Xe are making millions and millions.
Our troops cannot feed their families and people in the richest nation in the world cannot afford healthcare, but the private army receives millions and millions.

According to Wall St Journal and others we have sent 11 Billion dollars to Pakistan since 9/11 in order for that country to drive out terrorists - including the Taliban.
New York Times reporter David Rohde was kidnapped and held prisoner by the Taliban for seven months. They kept him in Pakistan where he found "a Taliban mini-state that flourished openly and with impunity...even had superior roads, electricity, and infrastructure."
Rohde was held prisoner in a building the Pakistani government built to serve as a "health clinic."

I find it interesting that Glenn Beck never served in the military.
Rush Limbaugh never served in the military.
Neither did Dick Cheney.

If you have not seen it yet, you need to watch the movie "War, Inc."

The best support we can give to our troops is to bombard Washington with demands that the wars be stopped. If we cannot afford healthcare for people who need it, then we surely cannot afford these wars.

Okay, so I am a little late to the White Stripes party.

Better late than never sez I. In my defense I gotta say that I bought "7 Nation Army" from Rhapsody a couple years ago. Happened to catch Jack n Meg on some old Jules Holland show (gotta love that On Demand stuff you can find when you look on Comcast) and I really liked watching/listening to 2 people make all that noisy music so I started listening to more of them on Rhapsody. I'm in!

now if I can only get them to appear with The Hard Lessons somewhere next summer.....heaven!

The Little Things Help.

Had a great day. Fixed a leaky shower faucet AND my Yamaha - all in the same day.

I get such a feeling of victory when I can complete a plumbing repair. I get frustrated and cuss like a sailor, but when things work I feel like I got one over on The Man (who ever that is!).

Been fiddling with this Moen single handled faucet over the past two weeks. Moen sent me a new cartridge FREE in the mail - they mean it about their lifetime warranty.

Put it in this morning. Trouble. Slow dribble instead of a leak and the water didn't run much at all. Talked to a nice lady on their 800# help line. She told me what to do, I did and it worked!

On a roll now - My winter motorcyle, a 1982 Yamaha XT550, has been having electrical problems. Like the light doesn't work. Took off the seat and side covers and the battery was corroded at both terminals. AND the water was way down. Topped it off with distilled water and cleaned the terminals.Was it going to be that easy? Fired Newt up and ........ NOPEY, no lights except the brake light.

Based on all the directions/suggestions given I decided to try finding a loose connection - specifically a loose ground. (black wire, right?!) well after 45 minutes or so, I found the problem area up front. The ground wire in this pigtail was not connecting well, I could shake it and the light would come on. Newt and I took a spill on the ice last winter and I am pretty sure this is when things got screwed up. The fall did some damage to the LR turn signal and broke the cover that was over the offending pigtail.

In looking around I also found a nut missing off of a bolt that holds the LF turn signal onto the headlight assembly. Ran up to the hardware, got a new bolt AND 2 new 6mm screws for attaching the side covers and some 3M electrical tape. Opened the pigtail up, pushed the loose ground part back into position - gave all the connections a light spritz with WD-40 and then carefully taped the pigtail to the little area where the cover broke off. Taped it over with several layers and sealed top and bottom with liquid tape. Replaced the missing nut and .................. BINGO.Took Newt for a spin and he is back to normal. The lights on the speedo and tach both work (haven't had that for quite some time) ALL the turn signals work, running light, brake light and hi AND low beam on the headlight all work. Whooo-hooooo!

Leni Truong - The Cheerleader who isn't one.

Leni (pronounced “lie-knee”) Truong hit the nail directly on the head when she described herself as “the biggest cheerleader who isn’t a cheerleader”. While the Kellogsville senior may not be an official member of the Rockets cheerleading squad per se, the positive attitude Leni brings to her school in general and the volleyball team specifically has garnered the attention and appreciation of coach Mindy Wert.
“She is so positive,” Wert commented. “She cheers herself hoarse when she is not in the game.”
Wert has coached Truong for three years; one on the JV team and two on varsity. While Leni is not a starter, she is still considered a team leader by the coach because of her helpful, dependable day to day performance. Her teammates must share the coach’s opinion about leadership, because they elected Leni to be one of the captains this season.
“Leni is basically like an assistant to me,” Wert continued. “She is right there telling the other players exactly what I would say.”
Truong started playing volleyball her freshman year when a friend talked her into trying out. It was her first experience with a team sport competing against other teams and she loves it. Her favorite part of volleyball is working together toward a common goal: winning. Coach Wert assured us that Leni is a great example of good sportsmanship, but there is no doubt that she is competitive.
“I love to win,” Leni said with conviction. “I am all for the win, because when the team wins – we all win!”
Truong carries that same degree of enthusiasm into the rest of her school life. As a member of the K-Crew she travels with the football team wearing school colors and supporting the Rockets with both lungs. She has been involved in TAP (Teens Against Poverty) since the inception of the group three years ago. TAP members raise money for local ministries and conduct food drives to benefit people in need locally and as far away as Darfur. Leni loves science classes, her current fave is anatomy, and she studies hard which has paid off with a GPA of 4.327. She plans to attend the U of M to study pre-med.
When asked where she felt her studies would lead in terms of a career, Leni told us that she has debated between being a pediatrician and a plastic surgeon with plastic surgery being the current leader. Before we could comment on our perception of a big difference between the two she went on to explain that the type of plastic surgery she wants to specialize in would be reconstructive. Her goal would be to help those recovering from accidents or burns – with an emphasis on children.
Leni was elected President of the senior class after serving in a similar capacity as a junior. She presides over the 20 member student Congress which has helped her hone her diplomatic and leadership skills as she listens to the various ideas from members and tries to create a consensus. The Congress meets four to five times a month, more often around Homecoming and Prom, so she has plenty of opportunity to perfect the art of working with and leading a group.
As we were talking, Leni wanted to make sure she mentioned the most important people in her life. She is very proud of her mom, Helene, who is raising Leni and her brother Richard as a single parent. “I just love her for that,” Leni declared.
She also mentioned her “amazing best friend Aubrie Jarema”. She and Aubrie have been best friends since the third grade, but it has not always been smooth sailing.
“We fight all the time, but in the end we are always there for each other,” Leni explained.
In addition to coaching volleyball, Mindy Wert is the secretary for the Rocket athletic department which brings her into contact with most of the staff members at the High School. She reported that they all have positive things to say about Leni.
“The first thing I hear about her from staff members is usually, ‘Oh, I love Leni,’” Wert said. “I have never heard anything bad about her from anyone. She will definitely do well in life.”
We couldn’t agree more.

On Healthcare: "Yes we can" becomes "No, I guess not."

Sent this message (or a slight variation) to the Prez and my two Senators:

A Democratic president was put in office under the banners of "change" and "Yes we can". The Democrats control both the House and Senate and yet the current legislation on healthcare sends a clear message to me - "We cannot change the current mess that is our healthcare system."
Obviously the effect of lobbying millions from Pharma et al mean more to you and your fellow members of Congress than effecting any real change. No public option on the table? No move toward a single payor easily transported plan?
What a joke.
What a disappointment.