The start of Wyoming....cool

I need to post a lot tonight due to the lack of wireless I suspect inside of Yellowstone.  

On our way to Yellowstone we stopped at Devils Tower  This was really kind cool.

An interesting fact:

This was made underground by volcanic/magma movement.  It however was brought to it's present state due to erosion.  The ground around this monument was washed away over millions of years.

We saw prairie dogs at the park too.  Chris was not interested in anything that would make holes in your yard.  He said they must be related to Moles....he never took his eyes off his DS lite.

We then started the very long trip to Yellowstone.

We had to go over the Big Horn Mountain range...

we started at 3,500 elevation and drove up to 8,500 and back down to 3,500 all in a matter of 2 hours.  It was one of the most amazing roads.  It was so cool.  Unfortunately as we got to the peak...bad weather hit the range.  It started to Thunder and lightning....and I mean BIG lightning.  It then started to hail and rain...ad since the tops of the mountains were in the clouds...IT WAS DARK.  I was a little cautious and I needed aspirin for the cramps in my hands as I gripped the steering wheel in the 10 and 2 death grip.

We also spotted 4 moose...that lead to interesting questions we had on this funny looking creature:

Do people eat moose meat?

Do Moose loose their antlers every year?  The ones we saw had no or very small ones.

Do Moose run in packs?   the ones we saw were all alone....poor moose

BTW for all you Brian Regan fans...we saw moosen in the woodsen

I will write more on our Wyoming adventures.

Thanks for all the comments

OK...really the end of SD

The Donkey attack you say??????

If I can figure out how to post some video, you will be able to see and hear this vicious attack.

I will leave it at that.

This morning we get up early and drive the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer.  It is a great ride.  We saw Pronghorns , Turkeys, Deer, and the best of all Bison.  We caught up with the herd as they crossed the road.  There must of been a couple hundred.  They were with in 25 feet of us.  It was great.

We then hightailed it back to Rushmore and saw this great monument.  It was vary cool.  Very Big too.  Coolest thing was Teddy's glasses!

We then started out 10 hour journey through Wyoming!

South Dakota was great.  

The End Of South Dakota

Rushmore was a bust so we go off to Custer State Park.  We get there by the Iron Mountain Road....Absolutely Fantastic....Double Black Diamonds though.  We went straight down a mountain twisting and turning over and under these crazy bridges.  It pops out right at the entrance of Custer.  We tell the ranger that we are staying at Slyvan Lake.  She maps it out for us and tells us it's on the other side of the park.  It's about 5:30 pm.  Ho far can this be?   Well by 9:30 we finally hit a site!!

We take this road called the Needle Highway, suppose to be very very cool......At first it was nothing new, just a lot of trees and curvy roads....up hill of course.  Then we have to go through a few tunnels.  Now these are not tunnels like you may think.  They are chiseled out of the granite.  The first one was OK...seemed small at first, but I drove right through it.  Next one  9 feet 2 inches wide...OK....you may think, go back and go another way....Can't, only way to Slyvan Lake. So Denise gets out and guides me through.  We clear the tunnel by 2-4 inches!  We keep going up...time is going by...now we have need going fr 2-2 1/2 hours or so...we are about 1 mile from the camp.  It was only 13-15 miles from the ranger station!  Of course there is another tunnel....8 feet 4 inches wide.  There is no way that this pig is getting through that hole.  

We have almost everybody out of the HOW and help turn this rig around on a very narrow road.  Then we have to traverse the entire mountain down again.  We finally pulled over...cooked up some hot dogs.  Then we continued on and found an empty site in the valley of the park.

BTW...it was raining the whole time

I have not even told you about the donkeys that attacked us!....next post

Finishing Up South Dakota....Very Cool

Well, it's been an interesting few days...I will try to break up the Posts.

We left the Badlands from the Badlands Ranch and Resort...otherwise known as the dump on the end of a dirt road with a guy who barely speaks to you...not the brightest guy.  Interesting trying to get out of the place after it rained all night.  The 3-4 mile road was a mud patch.  I got the beast up to 45 and just drove like I was back in CT in the snow.  The beast was slippin and slidin...We made it through...even though we were driving side ways at times.  Thankfully I remembered one lesson from driving school...Never take your foot off the gas.  Made it...But the H.O.W is a huge mess.  Of course I have not and will not be washing the beast anytime soon.  The Hoosier extravaganza continues .

From there, we went to Wall Drug.  It's worth the time.  It's a little rundown town, but their main street is full of little shops and Wall Drug.  BTW Interior SD...818 people.

From Wall Drug we went to Mount Rushmore.  It would of been great except the fog was so heavy that we could not see the monument!

More to follow...... 

Gas Station Rip Offs NOT COOL

OK ...I am sensative to gas prices right now!!  We are averaging 9.8 Miles to the gallon.  Not Bad!

Well check out these crooks....

I see that the price of gas is $3.65.  Wow I think, that's the cheapest I have seen in 100 miles...So I go in and buy some gas.  The beast takes 87 Octane, thank God, So I grab the 87 and fill the pig.

Hey wait a minute...I thought it was $3.65 not $3.75?????  Get this....they put $3.65 on the big sign for Super Unleaded....the 89 Octane.  Most people...or maybe just me, just assume that the cheapest price is the lowest Octane.  It happened again at the next station.  I know, what am I stupid?  But it's a habit.  

So be careful out there.....

South Dakota

We spent the last day or so in South Dakota.  We started by driving into Sioux Falls.  We went to Church and stopped by Falls City Park.  These are the Falls that the town is named after.  The park was revitalized about 10 years ago.  It was really nice.  It didn't however hide the broken down neighborhoods of this once thriving community.  From there we wen on to drive to Badlands National Park.  We stopped t the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD.   I guess  they thought of themselves as the Manhattan of SD.  It was a tourist trap and really not worth the 1/2 hour it took to tour the place.  We also stopped by an Indian settlement.  I dreaded this from the second Tayor asked to go......I had forgotten how my kids loved this stuff.  They are such little tourists.  So we went...we read about the settlement, looked at how they lived, washed fossils and threw spears....that was actually cool.

South Dakota is amazingly FLAT....not much different from Iowa.  Many people had told us that the first two days would be really tough.  It may of been hours of small farms and flat lands...but it was a nice drive.  The sky was bright blue with tons of white fluffy clouds.

The Badlands.....was one the top destinations for me.....and it didn't disappoint!  We took the day to drive and hike the park today.  It's a crazy place.....right in the middle of this flat farm land ....the Badlands pops up.  Taylor said it best.... It looks like a giant little boy made sandcastles.  Saw a few animals...a rattlesnake....The day took a turn for the worst...it got cold and started to rain.  I am looking forward to going to bed tonight.  I had forgotten how nice it is to hear the rain on the roof of a trailer.

We are on to see the rest of SD tomorrow.  We will see Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore and then stay at Slyvan Lake in Custer State Park.  I hope we see some Bison tomorrow......they tasted good for lunch!

Pictures Are Up.....Cool

There is a link to the right that will take you to our smug mug account.  Enjoy the pictures.

Off to explore the Badlands!

Water Hook Up ...not so cool!

Just a quick story......We pull into our first official RV campsite.  I then go to work hooking up the electric and water....not a good combo if you think about it.

Electric goes great....really not to hard....JUST PLUG IT IN

The water on the other hand.  Hook one end to the RV and the other to the hose connection on the post in the lot.  All the kids are watching....they have seen Robin Williams in RV and want to see Dad screw up.  I hook it all up...tell them that they should stand back, it may squirt a little.  I put on the water and of course it squirts....can it squirt anywhere in the 360 degree range and not hit me...oh no...right in the chest...a pretty good squirt..so I jump up and back up...of course at the same time it's squirting from the RV...yup you guessed it....right in the back.  Kids and Denise thought it was great....

Tomorrow I take on the Septic Flush!

2nd Day and all is cool

OK sleeping at a Walmart can be convenient....but sleeping is not the word we should use. The motor cycle at midnight racing down the road was a joy!  Overall it was not that bad.

Yesterday we stopped at a place called Grinders in Kansas City.  It was featured on Dives and Drive Ins on the food network.  This place was a dump.  Food was good and the kids liked it....but for you Central Grads....it was dirtier then Mike Tastees in New Britian.  There was more bikers and tattoos in the place.....and here we are the Griswolds, in our matching shirts....

The other thing I noticed about yesterday was the mount of Casinos there are.  We must have past 50-60 casinos over the 12 hours.  It was weird!

Tonight we are staying right outside Badlands National Park.  I will blog later on today's journey. 

12 hour day.... pretty cool!

Just stopped in Sioux Falls South Dakota.  We drove straight from St Louis....We left at 9:15 and stopped here at about 9:30.  We are staying at the luxurious Walmart parking lot.  We have planned to stay at the Walmarts a few times during the tour.  It's usually when we are getting in late and leaving early.

OK...so lets give you the run down for the day.

The kids were great, got along fine, a few squabbles...but nothing that lasted more then a few seconds.  In fact we had planned to stop in Sioux City Iowa, 2 hours earlier, and Shelby and Jess said let's keep going.

First big adventure was the toilet....Denise uses it first and lets me know that the toilet paper....yes the special toilet paper did no go down.  Then Chris uses it and when I asked did he flush "there is no flush dad"  OK Chris like we are just going to keep going till it over flows...

It dawns on me that they both don't know how the toilet works....you need to have the water pump on and then also hold the flusher....which is under the toilet down until the pump gives it enough water to flush.  BTW...At every stop I used someones facilities....until just before bed...I am lucky I didn't fall in.  The bathroom is about 2 foot by 2 foot.  About as small as an airplane's bathroom.

The rest of the day was filled with looking at small farms...cows...hills...more small farms...then smelling the cows...it was so bad when we entered SD that I was dry heaving.  It rained about 1/2 the trip.

We did however see a spectacular sunset in South Dakota...the sky was a bright orange and pink.  It was beautiful.  Hope we get some rest tonight...24 hour Walmart....who needs 24 hour wall mart in South Dakota!!

Me and The Misses COOL

We are about to get under way!!

Here is a quicken pic of the misses and me with our RV

Blast Off

It's 7 am here and the house is quiet.  Last peace and quiet for 5 weeks. We expect to leave 9 am.  Denise has basically packed the whole H.O.W. herself.  She has lists everywhere.  I am pretty sure we are set for toilet paper.  She only bought about 1,000 rolls.  It's special paper she tells me....RV Toilet paper.  I will be thanking her later when I don't have to stick my arm p the sewer drain after we plug the thing up.  She did get it at Walmart....how hard o find can it be?

You should see the box of cables I am bringing with me.  No I am not going to sell them to try to offset gas prices....Cables for chargers....Holy cow!  There must be 10-15 different connections cables, car chargers......yeah we are really getting away!

Well, I gotta pack!

Driving the H.O.W. pretty cool!

I picked up the RV last night. Lots of instructions.....I am not sure if I will remember to kill the battery before filling up....but I will remember the tip to keep your foot on the waste hose when you empty it....they say it sometimes acts like a snake and pops out of the sewer hole. You can guess what that would be like!!

Drove it about 1o miles....that cost me $4!! The I had top back the beast into my driveway. Move over Mario Andretti....first try...no problem.

Denise and the kids are busy packing the thing. I took my 2' x 3' box Denise has allotted me and put my clothes in it. I didn't even fill it....I am going basic. I am bring 3 pairs of shorts, 2 jeans ...a dozen of my favorite gray t-shirts and plenty of underwear. A few other misc. items and I am done. I will be styling!

Picking up the H.O.W...Cool

Today is the day! We pick up the H.O.W. at 2:30 today.

We were able to pick up the beast a couple of days early to pack it up. It helped the rental agency out also. Friday is the busiest day foe them, so it helped them by giving it to us early.

The H.O.W. is a 31 foot RV. It's brand new...2008 model with one of those slide outs....wow, it gives you about 4 extra feet....go wild!

Denise and I have been dreaming about this trip for over a decade. Our kids are the perfect age...the timing is right. Except for that gas is $4 a gallon throughout the US....ouch. We will be leaving on Saturday morning....bright and early I hope., The first 2 days are a bear. We have to drive out to the Badlands of South Dakota....Remember New Englanders....it takes 4-4 1/2 hours just to cross Missouri.

I have yet to pack one item....away for 5 weeks and now 2 days before blast off, I will go into overdrive to prepare for the trip!

There is always VISA.

American Idol is it really cool?

OK...I am embarrassed to say I have been watching this dribble.  Before this season if I had watched 2 hours max of a reality show it was a lot.  Denise got me hooked on American Idol this season.  She also watches almost no reality TV.  In fact, this is the first season that we watched this show.

OK...the last show just ended before they cut the last person....Archuleta vs Cook...

Can Cook pick any more obscure songs to sing???? Can Archuleta stop acting like a 10 year old girl who has been scolded?  

My Pick...Archuleta wins....Cook is the real artist!

OK In am done blogging....I am off to read People Magazine....yeah right!

Mulch #3 still not cool

Ok I am getting tired of this story...so I will cut to the high speed version ....

I order the two pallets included in the price is $300 delivery....2 bucks a bag
The trucker comes and wants $2,500 for delivery???
2 days later they straighten it out and it gets delivered.
I start to spread the stuff......what????this is not the right color it's really red!!
Oh Boy....it also has mold on it.......
Maybe I can get the right color....I won't stand for the mold
I call up the rep...she is horrified and tells me they will replace it
Sends me samples of the new type.....it's red too
OK I will go Red.
Sends me two more pallets BTW can you get rid of the first two pallets...too much cost to get them back. Sure!!
Driver drops off 1 pallet....they lost the other one.
Spread the old stuff...it's red and moldy but the mold looks to rinse off?
Break open a bag of the 2nd pallet of the old stuff.....different color...the original color I wanted
2nd pallet of the new stuff arrives.

At the end I get 352 bags...about 11 yards for $1,100...retail is 9.99 a bag..or $3,500 plus that does not include humping 350 bags from home depot. Wood Mulch would of cost me $600 or so.

It was a hassle but it all ended well.

All this while we try to get ready for the HOW tour.

Enough ever said on Mulch ever again

Pets???? Cool they leave on Wednesday!

Well Oliver was lonely so we had top get penny. I could see how this pet thing could get out of control. It's OK though.....they are off to the farm...or sandwich on Wednesday. % days before the HOW tour officially takes off and THEY CANNOT COME WITH US!

Here is you last chance at peaking at the chicks!

Dog walkers and KFC....not cool

I am amazed how stupid people are in regards to walking their dog.  Here ya go.....your on a street thagt has no traffice and sidewalks on both sides of the street.  As you approah a house from about 50 yards away...you spy two dogs....acting like ....dogs...they start barking when they see you....

What do you do?...keep walking your dog on the sidewalk that is next to the dogs.......or cross over to the other side.  2 times this week people have tried to go by Lizzie and Luke, and both times all the dogs go mental L and L are trying to get through the electronic fence....and the walking dog is being held back by the "thoughtful" owner.....idiots!

Next gripe....KFC....  I love KFC, where can a heart attack taste so good!  But their new commercials drive me crazy.  They have some shmoe finding 99 cents in change and griping how he can't buy anything with that....KFC to the rescue with their 99 cent snacker!!!  OK the name is right...have you seen one of these things??? they are a one bite...maybe two at the most.  Now watch the commercial....they have adults eating them with TWO hands.....like we are going to think this is a double whopper.

Watch it, it's funny.

Website Review Site

Hey gang-

In the world of blogging there are a lot of sites that will give you advice on how to make money blogging and how to manage your site. The issue is finding the right site that gives out the correct information. I have run across a site that does just that.... it will review site for different types of blogs. The site also discusses different issues that pertain to websites.

I have been trying to run my Google PR up for the past year. Yeah it's a PR3 This site now gives me the advice I need to make money from the different sites that are out there on blogging revenue. It is still pretty hard ....or should I say pretty time consuming to find all the right sites. But this site will at least save you a bunch of keystrokes.

Good place to check out if you want to learn about a lot of sites.

Mulch 2

OK...it's a nail biter right?????

So after a few weeks I return to HD to get more mulch.....yup you ot it...They are out for the season.  I figure no problem...I will get it in the spring.

Spring arrives and I go down to HD to get the same mulch....no can do says the little HD man.  We don't carry it anymore.  So I spend the time to find the company on the web (I can remember the brand).  I call them and they tell me that they just bag it under another name...and is still being sold by HD.  Problem solved!!!!?????  After picking up a sample, (jees that looks red I think) at HD, I compare it to the mulch that is already there....yup you guessed it ...it does not match.  It's too red.  I call back the manufacturer and find out that thy have changed the color.  I ask if thy have any left over from last year and sure enough they do.  

Jackie tells me that she will give me a deal on the stuff....thy can't do anything with it either.  She's gonna sell their stuff to me for $5 a bag plus shipping.  I agree and finally figure that I should ask how much is 5-6 yards.......160 bags.....2 pallets....no wonder it was costing me $300 a year to mulch with wood.

More of the saga later.

The Mulch Story

As many of you are aware, Denise and I have some very unusual stories.  Another cluster happened over the past few weeks that I thought I would share.

I may need to tell this over a few posts....

It all starts last fall. I decide that I am sick of mulching every year and that I am going to bite the bullet and buy the rubber mulch.  This way, I do not have to mulch every year.  I go to my favorite store....Home Depot. The mulch is $9.99 per bag.  Of course I do not measure....or have any idea how much I need....so I buy 20 bags.  ....Whoaaaa your saying $9.99 a bag?  Yeah but I use somewhere between 6-8 yards to do most of my yard every year and it takes me ALL WEEK to spread the stuff. How many bags make up 6-8 yards maybe 30 or 40 right??? Anyway...I get to the register and to my surprise it's on sales for $4.99....it's the end of the season and they are unloading it.  So I double down and take 40 bags.  

I get home and I start spreading it.  Easy as pie.  2 cubic feet per bag...they are light and I am done with in a few hours tops.........oops this didn't go too far....Denise comes out and loves how it looks.  She, being as cheap as me, hears about the closeout special...she tells me to go right back and buy the rest....seeing it only covered about 1/3 of what I needed.  Nice planning.  Of course I am too lazy and tired to return to HD for the 8th time that weekend..."I will get it next weekend Denise"..... off to the couch

I will continue later....

Being Organized is cool... GoalEnforcer

Many of you know that Denise and I have been planning for the HOW tour for a long time. I also know that many of you believe that my strong suit is not planning. I like to just go with the flow and "let it all work out". This one was different however! 5 weeks is a long time and planning was essential.
In business I am just the opposite. I love process flow charts and building plans to ensure that we meet the targets for the business. I have used many different programs to help make the planning easier. I have found two things over the years, they are too complex or they are not goal driven. I just downloaded a free demo of this new software GoalEnforcer. This software is a graphics software that helps you not only visualize your goals and strategies to achieve those goals, but also is easy to use. I ran a small project on the software and it quickly became apparent that this tool could be used by anyone that wanted to organize their thoughts and help them graphically build a plan to accomplish goals.

If you do not have a plan and know where you are going.....you will never reach your goal. GoalEnforcer should definitely be on your list of software to review.

Chuck Berry is cool

81......81.....this guy is 81????

I saw Chuck Berry last night. It was GREAT! He played for about 1 1/2 hours hitting all of his hits. You would never believe this man was 81 years old. When he strutted/hopped across the stage on Johnny Be Good.....the crowd went nuts. He plays once a month at the Duck Room. The place holds about 200 people.....it was jammed.

The coolest part of the night was who the band was and how he treated them. His daughter and son both play in the band along with a buddy that has been playing bass with him for 35 years. Although Chuck knew the people were there to see him, he consistently would move to the back of the stage and let the others shine.

I saw a legend last night....he did not disappoint me!

John Edwards....not cool

Hey John Edwards.....that was really sticking your neck out backing Obama yesterday. This guy is a real risk taker isn't he? I watch come of the democratic debates and was amazed how Edwards went after Obama. It was like ganging up on the new kid. Fun for me!!

He is such a politician, waiting for it to be safe before sticking his neck out. Why didn't he wait for the convention to close? This Bandwagon Billy knows that Hillary is down for the count....99% sure that she will not be the nominee. When he skulked out of the race he should of picked his horse and been a man.

No surprise.

The Duck Room is a cool place

We are going to see Chuck Berry Tonight at The Duck Room This venue is a basement inside a local bar in the loop of St Louis. The last time I was there, I saw Marshall Crenshaw That was a few years ago. That was one of the best shows I have ever seen.......I have been to about 300-400 concerts... It was just Marshall, his guitar and a stool. That's it.....oh and about 150 people. The Duck room can only handle about 150 people....and that's standing. There are less then 20 chairs...

The one crazy thing about this place is that it's in the basement. The whole time I am thinking....what happens in a fire...how do I get out of this place. There are two little stairwells to the exits....better be no pyro technics at this show!

Chuck Berry is a local hero around here..A Native St Louisian ....he is now 81 years old and still touring....come on...how cool is that. I cannot wait for the concert tonight.......

Smorty....interestingly cool

I have opened an account on Smorty.com  It's a place where bloggers and advertisers are matched up.  I am both an advertiser and a blogger...no duh right?  To build some credibility on the site we are asked to exchange links with other bloggers.  This site is kinda interesting working online   I give him credit.  His grammar is far from good, but he finding a way to make some money doing something he likes.  He says that his blog is there to show his experiences about earning dollars on the web.  Unfortunately, his site is cluttered with so mush advertising and blogvertises, you kiss his tips.

Having others do things for you....not cool

I broke down and started having a young guy cut my lawn.  I am trying to help him start his own business.  I am not sure if anyone could do a job that I would be happy with....I'm have been cutting my own lawn...forever.  My neighbor's back in CT use to call me the lawn guy.   I like having him  do it, I just like how I do it better.  Not a clipping seen after I'm finished, none in the pool....but it does save me an hour or so....

Speaking about the pool......we opened yesterday.  The pool is dirty and gross....I hope it clears out in the next few days.  I will be running the pump 24/7 until it clears. If the pool guys put in one bag of salt, I would be amazed....

Yup one of those nights for complaining.....

I will need to close the Hot tub this weekend....water needs a change anyway.  I m going to leave it empty when we are on tour.

Speaking of the tour.  Denis and I made up T shirts for the family....we will look like the Griswolds...  

The HOW....close and close.....cool

Here is the layout for our home for the next 5 weeks.....blast off is May 24th

Welocme happy travelers....COOL

I hear my wife blasted out my site address site for all of our hitchhikers of life..... Welcome!

As many of you know my clan will be leaving for a 5 week tour across the west. 6 People in a 31 foot RV....this will be interesting. My wife nicknamed the thing HOW....Hell On Wheels. If you check out the site that is listed in my favorites....on the top right, newbies...."On the Road Again"...you will be able to visit my daughters chronicles of this adventure through the eyes of a 15 year old.
She is a great writer and as my brother tells me " she is going to give you a run for your money against your blog"....Thanks for the vote of confidence Mike!

New visitors...I warn you....my blog will not only start to contain my blogs on the trip across this great land....but my daily rants on politics and my tips...if you want to call them that... on technology.


Enjoy and please feel free to make comments.

Big Oil

Let's start by saying Happy Mother's day Big Lou!  I guess I started calling my mom Big Lou when I was a smart ass teenager.  My mom's a great lady.  Has a great sense of humor....she enjoyed her kids and has enjoyed seeing them grow into adults????  OK... my siblings are adults.  

Great Job Mom we all love you.

OK....what am I here on Sunday morning pulling out the soapbox......Big Oil.

I am a capitalist through and through....

So in bullet format here is my list of gripes...

Don't spend millions on the newly announced marketing campaign to have America understand you.  They will understand either lower prices at the pump or new technology that gets the US out of the stranglehold of the Middle East.  Getterdone ....

Congress...we do not need to give them tax breaks....cut the crap...I barely can get the Government to answer a tax question right!  Let them stand on their own.  The strong survive....and trust me they are strong.

On that note....wind fall profit tax....well that's just stupid.  GM is now losing it's shirt...what do we now prop them up....ooops forgot about Bear Sterns...OK maybe we will.  If you want to squeeze them....don't in the first place give them huge tax breaks....recall the tax breaks and let them "payback" the tax break when times are now...... not just good....but ridiculously great in profits.  If we had not given them tax breaks then I would be in the camp of....it's their profit...get your greedy little hands off of it.

We now have $4 a gallon prices.....it's finally starting to catch people's attention.  The poor Hummer dealer......what was he thinking.....I m sure they cannot give those monsters away.  With pricing at this level, things will change....good, bad or indifferent...they will change. I read public transportation is now up 50-60%.

So go call your mom...tell her She's the Best....

A Young Me.....cool

Doing my optimization thing and ran across a young me! His site is called tech blog....rants and raves of a college student. He just babbles on about tech stuff and his life. Sounds familiar...... I will need to get him to start expressing his politics....it would be interesting to hear from that generation. I am not even sure what the hell they call them.....their was the baby boomers, the tweeners, the generation X...the Y's...who can keep abreast of that stuff.

Anyway today he explains how to Download Songs From Multiply
He really does a nice job of taking a simpleton like me through a step by step process. BTW what is Multiply!!! Right....and I am suppose to be a tech guy! I love the generational divide!!!

Myanmar's Junta NOT COOL

What is with this country....

First the basics....where is this country???? Oh yeah its right on the Gulf o Mottama....???? Squeezed in between the Adaman Sea and Thailand...still no clue...don't feel bad...

Anyway....They have this Cyclone...it devastates 100,000+ They say bodies are floating in the rivers...this is an unbelievable tragedy....and these dumb knuckleheads won't accept help. Here the US is dieing to spend more of our money and wipe off the tarnish we have on ourselves throughout the world by trying to send help....they say no way.....The UN....of course they are allowed....but this morning they suspend shipments because the Junta is confiscating the booty.

Look around and thank the Lord you live in a GREAT country.

Gender Confusion in Children....not so sure

I fit NPR into my 9 minute commute ones in awhile. Over the past few days there has been a series regarding gender confusion in children. I am really at a loss for .....an opinion.....I know that's hard for all of you to believe...but I am just not sure.

The stories have come from two sides. They both, however, start with a little kid who thinks that he is a girl or that she is a boy. I am not sure how this happens...but what a mess. These poor kids. Anyway, one side is the stance that this Dr. is taking. He puts them in therapy and tries to get therm to understand their real gender. He put it quite simply....if a black child came into your office and said that he wanted to be white, there would be no question as to what you would do, (I am not sure if this guy has seen Michael Jackson) He has a bunch of dissenters. No matter where you stand on this issue...you will have those. I don't think anyone has the answers. The other side was a story about a family taking on a very risky treatment for their son....who tells them that he is really a girl. They are giving this 10 year old drugs to hold off puberty. Not sure where this leads...

I know we can all agree on one thing.....what a mess...these poor kids.

Chicks are cool???? depends

Mr "no pets" has been railroaded into accepting a "pet" Mel brought home a baby chick yesterday. I in fact had to drive her to school early one day last week so she could be first in line to "adopt" one of the 20 chicks available. It was worse then trying to get Hannah Montana tickets.... Anyway.....Oliver has been with us for less the 24 hours....he chirps likes crazy...and unlike a bunny that gives you pellet surprise...chick s#@t is just that.......he needs some fiber if you know what I mean. He/She (they can't tell yet..they tell me) has flown the coop twice already and has done his duty on the floor...... We are only keeping the chick for 3 weeks. I am sure by then she will be a Chicken and will be pecking us pretty good. The cuteness will wear off and we will move back to our "no pet" domicile! Take a look!

Clinton staying in the race...Operation Chaos Continues...Cool

OK Hillary....she is tougher then Bill, that's for sure. She has no way of winning the delegate count....neither does Obama. They say she is counting on the super delegates....but 4 more defected today to Obama.
Come on Hillary....get tough and shred this guy to pieces...we are depending on it. McCain has vowed to run a "nice" campaign....he better not or he will get slaughtered. How about Hillary pandering to the voters over lifting the federal tax on gas....whats that going to save 6 pack billy????....about 20 bucks...Do the math...average mileage 12k per year ....18 cent savings on an average 23MPG for months......Obama was smart enough not to get on that bandwagon.

Stimulus Check...better word...still not cool

I have been seeing tax Rebate being used less and stimulus check being used more in the news. I wonder why that change happened. I am sure it wasn't to stop aggravating people who were not getting them and who had mostly paid for it! Who cares about the people who pay 75% of all taxes.....Either way, I am glad they changed the vernacular. The smartest thing I have seen around this stimulus check....from a consumer side is Shop and Save. They will cash the check and then give you 110% in Shop and Save gift card. A lot of vendors are doing this....but with Shop and Save....already a discount grocery store...you use the money for things you will consume quickly....food.

Credit is going to get tighter, Bad Credit Credit Cards will make many more fall into hard times. My suggestion....use the stimulus check for paying down your debt...

Summer is almost here....COOL

I love the summer...the hotter the better. One of my favorite things in the summer is to kick back in the backyard, have a cold beer with some friends and listen to great music. I found this little device many years ago.
Back then it was called a SliMP3. It was a device that sat on your network and controlled your digital music on your PC. This allowed me to have this little device anywhere in my house and all the equipment in the basement. No more running back and forth to the computer to change songs. The copmpany now makes a wireless version.....bad Slim Devices....we like cable.... I have two of the older units.
Check out their site Slim Devices This is by far the best electronic "toy" I have ever bought.

You know it's a winner when the wife likes it!

The Socialists are banging on our door...not cool

Clinton and Obama are very scary....never mind the tallest midget in the group...McCain. At least with McCain we are getting some fiscal conservativeness.

I read this info this morning:

Much of the exchange Monday centered on proposals Clinton has embraced to give drivers some relief from soaring gas prices. Clinton pushed her plan for a summer suspension of the gasoline tax, which she would pay for with a windfall profit tax on oil companies.

I am not so upset about reducing the TAX on gasoline....OK the price is crazy high and most Americans are now really feeling the squeeze....but to say you are going to take it from private enterprise through a windfall tax is CRAZY. I also think giving huge tax breaks to very profitable markets is also crazy. Government....get out of both. I don't see us giving money to GM this week because their profits were non existent!! Why should we take from the companies making money? because they can?

How about anew concept......stop spending so much ....It's not your money and ....it's the people's money. Tax less and then spend less. PERIOD.


Windfall tax....that's like smacking your dog because it waited to pee outside instead of in your house.

Write your congressman and tell them to cut out the pork and lower spending.

Idiots.....funny to see....cool

I am here late tonight. We are running a special that starts at Midnight on www.woot.com A bunch of us are coming in to see if the phones ring....We are hoping to sell a bunch of patch cables.

Anyway, while sitting around I read this article...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/odd_check_for_billions

The guy forges his girlfriend's mothers check for 360 BILLION......can there be a more stupid criminal on the earth??

This made me crack up.

Obama taking to the boards....cool

Good video of Obama playing hoops with the guys in Indiana. The commentator is a kiss up, but it's good footage. Obama is not shy in taking his shots. Great 3 pointer to close it up....or was his foot on the line.....!!???