IT'S CAPPED - FOR NOW

As of 3:25pm EDT* the oil leak 5,000 feet below the water surface of the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana's coast has ceased. At least for now, according to the experts of BP. That's right, I, and even some in the MSM (Mainstream Media), give the credit to he evildoers, British Petroleum, and NOT the BHO regime. Daddy did NOT plug the leak today. BP did! After all it was under BP's watch that the leak-causing explosion took place in the first place. We must wait and see as more needs to be done to permanently stop the oil flowing, but this is a cautiously optimistic occurrence. I'm ecstatic that I don't have to thank the President for saving us!

* per The Associated Press - Photo per Drudge Report

CENSUS VISIT

Today, during sweltering heat (before the cool front breezed through), a stimulus job worker (Census Bureau temp) came to the door. She had a form showing my address, but the remainder blank and stated that the Bureau had not received anything from out household (see earlier post regarding the Census). She asked if anyone - or we - lived here on April 15. I failed to ask her why that particular date was the one the Bureau used for the form, but I digress.

She gave me some schtick about her not being able to legitimize the form unless I answered the questions. I told her there were three people living in the home and that's all the Bureau needed. She said she understood, but needed more info. I reluctantly gave her my name and phone number and expected a call from a supervisor. She spent a little too much time on my porch and left dejected. I remained indignant to the end that the only information the bureau needed was the amount of people at the residence. I asked her if she had enough information, but she actually said "no" and showed me the uncompleted five-page form. During this entire tete-a-tete she said "that is your prerogative as a citizen, but I'm here to get the information". I politely refused to complete the form and told her that I would fill out the entire form when the President brought it to me.

AN UNEMPLOYED DAY

What does one do when one is unemployed and his wife has a weekday off? Take a bike ride on a recreation trail. Military Ridge State Recreation Trail is a 30+ mile (48.3 km - this is important later) trail in south central Wisconsin from southeast of Madison to the west - Verona to Dodgeville. It follows a former railroad bed as do most recreation trails in this state, so the grade is very manageable and the scenery varied from bucolic to urban.

Anyway, this particular trip began with a pause as just as I prepared to load the bike rack and its occupants onto the 12-year-old Ford Wagon, a cloudburst erupted. I was not about to get soaked for the sake of loading bikes. So we waited. After attaching the rack and bikes, I removed the seats (to prevent our seats from getting wet, just in case) and we left for Verona. We are map people, especially with me being a geography major, so we headed for the nearest trail head to help save money on the gas. No GPS for us!



We arrived in due course without difficulty and proceeded with a picnic lunch
under a threatening sky and on top of a picnic table to attempt to fool the bugs. This actually worked! We proceeded on the dampened gravel trail westward hoping to avoid being rained on. There isn't much more unpleasant than riding a bike in rain-soaked clothing. We were going to be wet enough from the inside with the humidity as high as it was this day.


As we progressed down the trail we experienced thunder, dark thick clouds and even a brief shower where we shielded ourselves under the canopy of trees covering stretches of the trail. While we avoided getting soaked, the trail itself, of course, did not as evidenced by this photo:




We dried and we were able to eventually brush off a good portion of the mud. And as we continued to our goal destination of Blue Mounds, the skies cleared, at least in this general area and the trail was drier as well. The humidity was still high, but the temperature dropped slightly and a breeze was evident, so the ride was far more pleasant. As we proceeded, the trail was marked every mile - we began at mile three - and my riding and life partner kept track on her odometer, though it is stuck on kilometers, so we are able to do some quick mental math by rounding. It turns out that one mile equals 1.609 kilometers, so we use 1.5 for easier mental conversion.

We arrived in Blue mounds, mile twenty-one (about 30 km) and took a rest. Here at a city park we observed some guys playing horseshoes and I thought that I should start an unemployed guys' horseshoe tournament in Watertown. Sherri told me that that might be too restrictive and that I would most likely have to include working men who worked other shifts. I shrugged, but agreed. We began our return trek to Verona's east side.

We stopped in Mt. Horeb to buy snacks and planned to buy a second soda where we bought one from the same machine at the same park shelter no more than two hours previously. It was at the very park where Sherri took what was almost a shower in what she calls a wonderful restroom. The park facilities hard marvelous accoutrements and we recommend them should you ever take this same trail. This is in Waltz Park on Mt. Horeb's east end. Anyway, as we arrived to Waltz Park, I inserted my dollar bill and the machine took it, but did not allow me to retrieve my Diet Dr. Pepper as it had before. Being tired and sweaty, I was slightly perturbed, but we ate most of our salty treats anyway. We continued to Verona without incident, but with several rests as 34.5 km is about our limit.

All-in-all it was a good day and another bicycling tail to tell, but, boy are my legs sore (as well as my posterior).

INDEPENDENCE DAY - 2010

We are approaching another Independence Day, or, as many refer to it as merely "The 4th of July". Our founders declared our independence from England on this date in 1776 when they felt that the exorbitant taxes assessed by the Monarchy was the last straw in the bale. These brave men pledged their time, talent, treasures and, if needed and in many cases, their very lives to ensure that those wanting freedom from an oppressive government, present and future, got it.

We could be nearing a similar crossroads on this Independence Day, though not as bloody a battle, by just as serious. We have an oppressive elite minority governing the majority (us). They are spending our future incomes at a rate so quickly that children being born today will have great-grandchildren who will not be able to pay off the current debt, let alone accumulated yet unforeseen debt for which their great-grandchildren will responsible.

We have an administration that takes fifty-one days to meet with the CEO of a company responsible for a huge oil leak and seventy-two days to agree to allow foreign governments to help clean up this deep water oil leak, but still hampers the coastal state governors with red tape, environmental handcuffs and drilling moratoriums and still won't suspend the Jones Act (not the one that makes Puerto Rico a U.S. territory, the other one that deals with foreign shipping vs American shipping and their legal entanglements).

This same administration demeans more than half of its citizens because we dare protest its decisions. Some of these protesters even voted this same administration into office! Maybe this Independence Day will be the beginning of another rebellion.


As we celebrate this truly American holiday, the absolute fave of my late friend and father-in-law, let us remember, not only mentally but verbally, the reason we celebrate. It is our duty and responsibility to pass this information on to the next generations. Happy Independence Day fellow patriots! Independence indeed.

FATHER'S DAY - 2010

"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it" - Psalm 118:23-25

I rejoice every day at fatherhood. It is one of my joys in life - along with "sonhood" and "husbandhood". Life itself is a miracle, and to have been allowed to assist in this miracle is a true blessing from God. Fatherhood is actually easy, that is, the actual act. Being a Dad (or Papa in a the case of a son-in-law) is NOT for sissies. It is very hard work. It demands sacrifices of time and treasure. This is stuff no one teaches us to do. We have only examples shown us by our fathers or uncles or neighbors. We do, however, have an instruction book entitled "The Holy Bible", though fewer Dads and even fewer "fathers (baby daddies)" today, I fear, follow it. The Author is on our side and we dads can take advantage of His guidance as often as we need to - all we merely need do is ask.

As difficult as it is being a Dad, it is made easier with a great Mom (Mama) doing much of the heavy lifting, so to speak. you Dads know what I mean. We are all lost, floundering in quicksand, without Mom. But even with that, our children deserve to have us in their lives. And so do their mothers.

I thank God every day for my partner in this world and for all the other blessings, large and small he bestows. Happy Father's Day, Heavenly Father, and thank you for these many blessings, in your Son's name.

THANKS & ALL FIXED (I GUESS)

First, a thank you to all my fans for the positive feedback regarding the new look. All right, both readers. Still, thanks.

Second, This technician took a nice jab at previous technicians for shoddy work while doing nothing inside the the house except a power supply test - or so I was told. Anyway, this one said the outdoor splitter was not weather proofed properly. Hmmm, I put this addition on in 2004 (?) and this splitter lasted until this month to go on the fritz? Oh well. I told this guy that if it fails again, I'll be calling again. That's what I pay for. Our President should be fixing this problem of the Internet rather than demanding a "kill switch" from the FTC. Get your tool belt, Barry, and git bizzy!

LOOK! NEW LOOK, BUT SAME OLD CRAP

This new group of templates popped up, and I thought the blog could use a change, so...

As for content, sorry, no change there. So, here we go! The internet router/modem we're using here at the Madj Hosienda is getting to be hit and miss. We have another technician (I like using the entire word as I have spent more than half my life as one) scheduled to service us tomorrow. This is the third scheduled and the second to show in a month as our service was down briefly again this evening. My better half is always very concerned in this regard, though, because I am baffled by the technology, tend to be more lesai faire. Anyway, the last time the technician said the router/modem was bad but changed his diagnosis and merely changed the power supply chord. Since then, we've lost service at least twice, calling the provider each time, setting service times. This time I am insisting on a new router/modem, I mean it!

As proven to be a good (and the only) plan of attack for setting blame by our leader ,The One, I blame George W. Bush, Dick Chaney, Republicans, Sarah Palin, conservatism, free market capitalism, Evangelical Christians and our God and global warming for this service necessity.