Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, GO KU!

I stand amazed at the results of the 2007 football season so far. I like many of my brethren were simply tolerating the football season as it soon would end and Basketball would start. Now in the anticipated time of round ball start, I find myself watching an 8-0 football team win another game. To win against A&M is a feat but to win there where the 12th man is a big part of the game is truly amazing. It has to be in a big part to the coaching. Imagine you are in a place where you can't hear yourself think let alone call plays so everyone else can hear. The KU team went into that stadium well prepared and they executed what they planned. In years past, the KU football team would find a way to lose the game in the closing moments and now they are able to hold off other teams when the minutes are ticking off. The TV announcers talked about the Colorado altitude killing the hawks and then the momentum in Waco swinging to the A&M team. KU WON!
KU will host Nebraska and Oklahoma State and play at Iowa State. Then the big game against Missouri in Kaufman Stadium in KC. I hope the game there is as big as the OU/Texas game is and keeps growing.
Man this crow pie is killing me about Boston. The Rockies won 7 straight games to get into the playoffs and now they can make their bats work. No more bad words about the Red Sox. They are for real and playing well.
MUD

Eat'n Crow

Man was I ever wrong about the first game of the World Series. The Rockies were rusty and red sox were on fire. They brought their "A" game, "B" game and silenced the bats from Colorado. I stand corrected. It should be a good series and not another Colorado Sweep.
The new house is about complete on the inside. I cleaned out my tools and brought a truck load of stuff home. We will have Dave's birthday p[arty there tomorrow night. I have some killer steak and chicken for fajitas and I'm sure that between Barb and me there will be good stuff to go with the good stuff. I'm pretty sure there will be some rice, black beans and chips. I'm not sure about the dessert but can assume it will be a cake decorated by Barb.
Pictures will be posted tomorrow or the house in all it's trim. I need to figure out how to clean the terrazzo where the kids got paint on the living room floor. There is a good tree wax sealer that I think is little more than a liquid wax. I'll take the buffer tomorrow and see what that does.
Tonight I got to sample tomorrow's steak as a preview and man was it great.
MUD

It's a lie!

Don't let anyone tell you that there aren't enough Guardsmen or equipment to do State duty because of the War in Iraq. The equipment issued to Guard units is based on the Federal mission. If they can use it in a State status, bonus. Just how many fire engines do you thin there in the guard? There are some but a lot of it is State issued equipment or located at remote training sites.
California is one of the places most Emergency Planners go to learn how to do emergency preparedness planning and operations. The school at San Louis Obispo is the best. They spend several days work shopping the roles of all the players in an emergency and then have a big CPX where it is all put into action. I swear they are the best.
California has a system where Guardsmen can go on State Active Duty in small stages or full time.They are used to reinforce the civlian agencies. back to the fire engines and dump trucks. I will bet that the State of California has more fire engines and dump trucks than the entire Guard.
I am fully confident that California can and will respond to this emergency the best they can. The Guard there will do their best and in the long run they will recover.
As for the President going there to visit, I have never found that a visitor hurts anything we were doing and in fact the soldiers, firemen, paramedics and policemen will appreciate that he cared enough to come there. The Lt Governor of California is an idiot and needs to sit down and shut up.

World Series

Last night I went to the store to pick up some snacks. Ice cream, potato chips and some Little Debbie snack cakes. When I got home I searched the channels for the series and found that I was a day early. Dang, I hate it when I am out of the loop on something and get it all wrong. Oh well, the German Chocolate ice cream with the caramel goo was soo good. Perhaps tonight I will get it correct.
The Boston red Socks had better show up with their "A" game or it will be a continuation of the Rockies straight sweep of their series. They won two of three games this year at Fenway and outscored the red hose big time.
This is the one time of the year that I watch baseball. Kind of like my flirtations with the NBA after the college round ball season ends. I will watch the championships but the regular pro season just doesn't inspire me much. I really liked the San Antonio Spurs and actually attended a couple of games while there in Texas. They haven't shown me much lately and they are a great team without a lo of spirit. When Dennis Rodman played for them it was unpredictable. The admiral Dave Robinson and Dennis Rodman had spirit and you could see the joy in their eyes. (Perhaps it was the gleam off all his gold and tattoo's in Rodman's case)
Better run and get some trim nails to finish the bead board in the kitchen. We need to get that done and the final trim installed today. Clean up tomorrow and party Friday.
MUD

My Idea of a Good Time!

What are some of the things I enjoy in life:

• I really enjoy spending time with a dog. I haven't done enough of it lately and I am not a better person. I really love puppies and watching them learn.
• Ice Cream. In my dessert column there is a yes where Ice Cream is listed. Add chocolate and nuts and Oh My! Vanilla is for cake, strawberries and/or apple pie.
  
• Old cars. I really like Chevy's but mostly because I have some limited knowledge of them.
  
• Being tired if there is a good reason like I worked hard. I have never liked doing nothing and I think it is good that I can still do a few hours of work. Yes, I do get tired but hey, for a 60 year young person I do OK.
• People in general. I find it invigorating to have a group of people and to find a solution to a problem. Can we spell EXTROVERT boys and girls.
• Grilled steak. I will eat chicken but given free access and it is a big ole' hunk of cow for me. If you add a salad and a baked potato, you can skip dessert. Might want some ice cream a couple of hours later but I would want ice cream if I ate green beans, soy beans or any beans
• Singing along with any kind of music. This drives some people crazy but I don't care.
• Potato Chips. Not those baked imitation kind, the kind you have to go wash your hands and wipe the salt off your face when you finish. I will eat corn chips if there is a great salsa for a dip. A local restaurant puts fresh Cilantro in theirs and I love it.
  
• Beer! I now drink non-alcohol beer but after a hot day of work there is just nothing better than a cold beer.
  
• In this order, My wife, my son and his wife. Mostly this based on the length of time I have known them. I have grown to really like my brother-in-law and his dog, Grissy. The rest of the family is generally liked in no specific order. Well, perhaps Mom is a little higher on the list than some.
  
• Positive things! I hate, hate! is that a double negative?

MUD

Hillary for President?

On a trip ( a couple of years ago) to the KC airport one of the passengers was an obnoxious New Yorker and she was obviously trying to stir up an argument. She praised Al Franken and then launched into how good Hillary was as a US Senator. After letting her expound I simple asked her, "What has she done?" The response was that she was a good Senator for New York and everyone there loves her. I said that is fine but Hillary is a US Senator from New York and she should be doing her best for the US not just New York. The woman's husband said that I made a good point and he had never thought about it before. If she is so good for New York why isn't she in the Governor's mansion in Albany or serving in the New York Senate?
Hillary's only move (as the First Lady) into something that would have a national impact was her Socialized Medicine move and the US Congress told her that we could not afford to kill our golden goose.
Hillary has never run anything larger than the staff of the White house and to run the country would be OJT. Can we afford to let her OJT that job? Read some of Bill's Campaign staff's opinions of Hillary and her legendary temper. The staff would rather fall on their swords than tell her bad news. Ask the people who lost their life savings when "White Water" caused a Savings and Loan to collapse. She was a Lawyer that set up most of that effort and no one holds her responsible.
Can you trust the judgment of a woman that let her husband cheat (over and over) and not haul his ashes to the divorce wood shed? Is her political ambition more important than what is accepted in the Heartland?
I personally want the steadiness of a Fred Thompson, the get it done of a Mitt Romney or the experience of a Rudy . (Oh hell, I can't spell his last name and get it past spell checker) I don't want to vote for a side of party that is moving towards the Christian Conservative side of the house but I sure as hell don't want to throw out the bathwater and the baby.
The following are some of the issues I support:

• Abortion - I think abortion is a horrible way to have birth control on a personal level but I sure as hell don't want my Government interjecting its self into what is a thing between a woman and her doctor.
  
• US Projection of Power - If the other countries of the World would stand up and do things right through the UN, I would feel a damn site safer. Then I would probably complain about the UN doing too much. Sheesh, there is no clear winner in this dog fight.
  
• The US/Mexican Border war - I am not sure how to get it done but the combination of the America's would solve this. Europe has put it all together and made it work. We need to realize that this is a Global problem and solve it. A damn fence just gives us a warm feeling but it is a lot like wetting our pants in a dark suit. "It gives us a warm feeling but no one will really notice".
  
• Government Intrusion into our lives - When everything goes to hell, it is a good thing. When everything is running up and normal, it needs to be reduced. I would sunset almost every law and make the Congress/State/local Governments decide what to keep not come up with fancy dancy ways to add more. I would cause things to be run and paid for at the lowest possible level. Need I point out anything more bad than "No Child Left Behind"? National Dictates without the funding.
  
• Capital Punishment - I believe in the "Mad Dog" rule. If what you have done is so bad that only a mad dog would do such a thing they should put in an express lane to have you put to death. Rape and kill a child, Kill a mother and cut her baby out of her womb, kill multiple times and you go to the front of the line.
  
• Military Spending - This is one of the few things we are making for ourselves and if we stop doing this, what the hell will we do for jobs? If you want to transfer, say 5%, of the Military spending, do it in stages. If you gave the schools an extra 5% this year they could not spend it. Do it next year at 1% then 2% the next and then 3% and they will have a chance to get there and re-build infrastructure they need.
  
• Not In MY Backyard - Some day we will go to our electrical switch and when we turn it on nothing will happen. Gas will eventually reach $8.00 a gallon and we will be at the mercy of the world for energy. We must build some either Nuclear (Yes, I almost spelled it nukler) or coal plants and get hauling on alternatives damn soon or we will be in a hurt. I don't care if the environmentalists think wind mills are ugly. I don't care if Hydrogen stored in bulk is an explosive. Find a way to overcome the problems and do it damn fast. If our Government can't solve this problem, what the hell do they have to do that is more important. At least give us some slogans to make us feel warm and fuzzy. (See the dark suit analogy in Mexican/US war part of this post)
  
• Stem Cell Research - I believe that modern science can and will find ways to fix some of our problems. How and where are details I want them to figure out. Again why is the Federal Government involved in this? Because they don't have enough tough things to keep them damn busy. This is personal to me because my father died of Parkinson's and not a day doesn't go by that I don't look for tell tale signs of it in me. I we are going to live to 100, I want to live strong as I can. (Without falling down a lot)
  

Crap, I spent way too long on this. I feel confident that most people will see the heading and by pass it. Oh well, (Dark Suit) I feel better.
MUD

Trim, Trim and more trim!

As I near the end of the house project, there is more trim to do than I can get done in a day. Today I installed a door on a closet in the bathroom and put a door on the hot water heater enclosure. I managed to trim out a window or two and tomorrow is the big day.
I convinced Da Barbs that the kitchen wall that was not detailed the bottom couple of feet would be best covered with bead board. Tomorrow I will start that project. I have a stud finder with a built in level. I will start with a good reference point and carry that throughout the kitchen. With a three inch bottom trim I should be able to make it all come together and not look like a carnival fun house. I'll try to get some good pictures and get them on the net soon. Barb sent pictures before and after of the kitchen. Scary.
I need about three days outside and the weather here is flat crappy. It rained hard and stayed cloudy the rest of the day. In spite of the hard work and the heater running I just got a chill this afternoon. A couple of bowls of good hot soup fixed that.
See ya all later. MUD

One More Thing!

I was listening to a discussion of pain and an interesting thing was said. Most people can feel pain from one place only. If your back hurts and you crack some ribs, the rib pain will cancel the back pain for a while. Seems that some pain clinics will deliberately cause short term pain to cancel out chronic pain. Seems like the mind and body can be fooled into paying attention to the new pain and when it stops the chronic or old pain just isn't there.
This sounded a lot like mumbo jumbo until I started thinking about my pain. As long as my ribs hurt, the back just didn't. Now that the ribs are on the heal the back is much better. Who Knew?

MUD

Thoughts From The Field

I don't know where to attribute all these thoughts so I will just report them and let you sort out ownership:

• An article in the paper said that old men should fight all our wars for the following reasons; Old men don't think about sex every ten seconds so they would have an extra 28,000 seconds a week to think about the enemy. Old men actually like guns and would take a lot better care of them. Old men are used to having someone nag and yell at them so Basic Training would be easier. No one ever outran a bullet so running is overrated. There is a lot to be said about the wisdom of the aged vs the strength of the young. It would be easier for the Drill Sergeant to yell, "Drop and give me one". Other than the PT tests, I never saw a push up in the Army. Many old men would love to have an excuse to get away from home. (That works both ways) Grumpy old men would make for a better soldier to hate the enemy. Besides all this, old men wake up early (Bladder Control Problems) and can sleep anywhere.
  
• Our Niece Jennifer had one of her young crews chosen to go back east to row in a big prestigious regatta. (Read Big, Big Honor) It is the "Head of the Charles" river near Boston. I am watching the results but it is a little too early for the race results to be posted even unofficially. Their boat was put on the KU boat trailer and on the way there someone crashed into the trailer and broke the ass end off their boat. (Yes, I know it is probably called the stern or bow but hey, this is my story) The good news is that the boat building company that they bought it from is there and loaned them a new boat. Boy talk about planned obsolescence. I wish them well today. It is truly an honor to have someone as pretty, bright and talented in the family. But hey, there are nieces that I would have loved to have for our daughter all over Barb's family and mine.
• Don't let anyone tell you that retirement means a life of ease and glory. I didn't work this hard or as long when I worked full time. I have a list that is about three pages long of "Honey Do's" that I am avoiding. Actually I am just a little late starting today but will get there eventually.
• Who would have thought the KU Football team would be 7-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12. It was a hoot when the TV broadcasters started talking about how the altitude would wear out the KU team (The game was in Boulder, CO) and they would pull an Oklahoma and lose it in the last half of the second half. (yes the 4th Quarter) Didn't happen ! KU won 19 to 13. GO Hawks! Bonus was they put that game on ESPN and I didn't nap all the way through it. The first half was a little slow so I did get in a little nap.
  
• In today's paper there was an ad for sweat pants with cargo pockets, a billfold pocket and a zipper in the front. The only draw back was they don't come in Dress Green or Tulip Yellow. Can we say Christmas present for Kenny, boys and girls? Now to find something worthy of Grissy.
• Our outside Tom Cat showed back up yesterday. Tiger the cat wasn't here when we got home from our trip. I guess he was out some where begging/hunting for food. Barb was out planting some flowers and that cat actually took a swipe at Barb for ignoring him when he mewed for food. I think it was a love swipe for our being gone but I'll promise you that it is just no way to win your way into her heart.
  
• When Barb and I were both working it was always easy to have money left at the end of the month. It was a bonus to have the drill check coming in and to have a slush fund. Now with the income not equal to or greater than outgo, it is a challenge. Not a big challenge, but one that a lot of last minute purchases on the new house and a trip to Idaho didn't complicate.
  
• Did you ever notice that the amount of stuff you have is always equal to or greater than the space to store it? Right now I am approaching either some serious organizing or the old pile in on top of the old pile routine. It is great to have a lot of new tools to help do the work but I smell a conspiracy to do more brewing. Oh well, what the hell, it is only the rest of my life.
  
• I saw a clock in that special stuff catalog on the plane coming home that was about my speed. It has the days of the week only on the dial. Kind of like the time my dad talked me out of my new Timex watch. He later told me that it told him three things more than he needed to know. I won that deal as he left me his Gold "25 year" Hamilton watch from Beech Aircraft. I don't wear it much but I do on special occasions.
• I stopped wearing my fancy Seiko watch when the band broke. I figured that I had been too rough. The replacement band was almost $80 to replace. I found out that if I didn't wear it during the day while working, the battery just didn't get charged up enough. I guess it is a lot like a metaphor for life; "If you don't use it you lose it." I have always said that a man should not own anything he doesn't use. Fancy China plates, antique cars and tools.
  

Oh well, I can wax eloquently here all day and in the end of the day the only thing I will have accomplished is to reach the end of the day. Better get my act together.
MUD

I love it When a Plan comes Together

For what seems like an eternity I have been restoring the new house from a wreck to what is a solid pretty house. There are things about the house that I would do different with enough time and $ but mostly it is a solid really redone place. I am not sure when Dave and his wife will move in but I hear rumblings about using the dish washer in the new place.
Today was to be curtain shopping but Da Barb's couldn't get together for whatever reason. I spent the day doing trim work. Coming together well and if I can hide the nails from the brad nailer should look pretty good.
I am waiting for the KU vs Colorado game at 4:30. Should be a good game. I hope they can get it done and KU on a plane before the snow gets there. I would think it would be great if they would come out of there with a win but hey they are 6-0 and I don't think they will win all their games.
My real challenge is to get the game on and stay awake for the entire game. Seems like the down time just cries out for a nap. More to come tomorrow. MUD

Places in Idaho By Barb

This is a nice little lake along the snake river. It looks like a staging area for ducks headed south,


















This is the Snake River By Twin Falls












Another View of the River by Twin Falls











This is the bathroom in Balanced Rock Park


















This is Balanced Rock



















All these Pictures were taken and edited by Barb.
MUD

Took the Day Off

Yesterday I spent the first day back putting a new 40 gallon water heater in the big rental house.
I decided that a day off would be in order so I started with the soldier's delight, a haircut. Shaggy just isn't my style.
I spent some time at the hardware store and made a trip to Harbor Freight. Bought some things to get my tools and stuff organized. I have a goal to have all my plumbing tools in one bucket (with an organizer) and my mechanic tools in a tool box. As it is it is spread from pillar to post and then some. I'll bet it takes me a week or two just to get re-organized after we finish Dave's house. I don't think I will gt quite as anal as my dad was and build plywood boxes for the saw, drill and tile cutter. Never say never.
During the last month there were a couple of things that broke and I just didn't get fixed. One was the bar stool in the kitchen. One leg of the four broke and I had it in the garage out of sight. The other was the towel/robe hook by the shower that kept falling off. I bought a used chair and put the legs from that one on the seat of the old one. The towel hook just got replaced for $3.99. Both jobs took a little time but no big deal. I think my plumbers bucket turned out nice but the real test will be when I need something and can't find it. I know there is some plumbers putty and some PVC cement still not in the bucket.
My barber was about to leave when I got there as hs wife was going to the hospital to pick up their new baby. I guess the baby's heart didn't seal the hole that bypasses the lungs and they had to go in and sew it up. Great young couple I wish them well. Two little boys and the desire to have at least one girl.
Better run. Have a great weekend. MUD

More Random Thoughts

I met Barbara through a blind date when I was stationed at Fort Irwin, California. (now known as the National Desert Training Center) I had been on post for about 6 weeks and a friend of mine was talking to his girlfriend on the phone there in the day room. I asked him if he was talking to his girl in Barstow or Bath, Maine. He said Barstow. To shut me up he agreed to ask Jane if she had a friend I could date. That blind date led to what will be in February 40 years of married life.
My favorite car in the whole wide world is almost always the one I am driving. Sadly, the 53 pickup has so many issues it just doesn't make the list. I need to spend some time and $ on the 57 to get it back into shape for it to be fun to drive. An air-conditioner, better steering, disk brakes on the front and a good radio will make it one hell of a car. I am not crazy about the carburetor on the engine, and I have been reading about a lot of after market stuff to make it run better. I really had a fun time driving Volvo's over the years. Dollar per mile they have been a pretty good investment and almost always fun to drive.
Today was put in a new water heater day. I had to work in a little closet that was about 4 feet wide and the heater was about three feet of that. It really wasn't all that hard to do and everything hooked up and worked. I could have used a little help to get the old heater out and the new heater inside. At least I was smart enough to drain the old heater before I tried to muscle it out. Lets see, 40 gallons of water at 8lbs per. 300 Lbs/+ that I couldn't have done myself. I wonder how long it will take me to empty out the dead heater out of the bed of the truck. Can't say there is much of a market for old leaky one's.
It must be the Monsoon season here in Kansas. Everything is soggy and it rained all day today. The humidity and the cold air makes it seem more damp and cold to me than I like. Don't mind working up a sweat if the air is hot. Cold and sweaty is clammy to me
Oh well, will go over to the the create site and see If I can load some people and places pictures.
MUD

Idaho, Places and People

Where do you think they are going to jump from?
Snake River Bridge in Twin Falls
My favorite Girls at the party. From left to rightAllison, Kay-Kay and Grissy. They were eating grapes and giggling as the dog also ate them.

Did Ya notice?

When I am tired, I am a lot less apt to smile and tend to be a lot more negative in my comments.
I am an early riser and after a quick cup of coffee am ready to go
I always try to take tests early in the AM. Back in school it was better for me to get a good nights sleep than cram for a test.
Someone said your subconscious mind never forgets. For me I can play solitaire on the computer and answer questions on Jeopardy. Wonder if my subconscious is listening and feeding me answers?
The first nights sleep in your own bed after traveling is always a treat.
The damn water heater at the rental house can last for 20 years but take a short one week trip and it leaks? I will go over and see if they got it fixed and how much it cost. Good thing I have a little of the travel $ stuck in the back of a suitcase.
Do you dream a lot or do you just not remember them. I dream vivid dreams.
That little "Bladder Warning Alarm" goes "PEE,PEE,PEE" until you get up and pee.
MUD

We're Back!

It is nearing midnight on 16 October and I had to test drive this computer after setting it up. I did realize that the battery in this laptop is toast and without a power plug in this is a 20lb anchor.
A fun time was had by all. Good Night. More to follow... MUD

Why we are here

Almost 40 years ago I met a wonderful young woman when I was stationed in Southern California. Now her family has figured out that they just have to live with me as I am not going away. We celebrated her Dad's birthday in the park. Picture one is the group together and laughing. They had a ball.
Picture two is the Johnny Appleseed of Recumbent bike riding. He rides, manufactures and plants the idea to ride one everywhere he goes. He's my bud and my brother-in-law.
Picture three is me doing what I can do. Two soups, ham and hot dogs. If they went home hungry, they were on a diet.
The last picture is Barb and I. I cooked and she took pictures. A good time was had by all.
MUD 10.14.07

Much Better

Man is this vacation thing a lot of fun. My ribs are a lot better and my system seems to be working well otherwise. I'll try to get some pictures of the scenery here Going to spend the day getting ready for the party in the park tomorrow. Scoped out the site tonight and things look pretty good.

The first picture is Balancing Rock Park. It a Twin Falls County, Idaho park and is beautiful.

The second picture is the famous balancing rock that looks like a head done by an impressionist to me. Magnificent scenery after driving miles of what looked like Kansas crossed with a desert.

The third picture is a pond and was covered with ducks preparing for their migration south. It was fairly early and the Snake river had a lot of fog. this is right along US 30 west of Twin Falls.
More tomorrow night after the party in the park. BYE MUD

Ribs

It should seem odd that someone that is so fond of BBQ ribs would break some. I will tell you that after a week and a half I only moan when I pick up things and lean to the right. Most of the time it is ony a minor side pain and the good news is it is just enough to help me not notice my feet and my back hurt. Gotta run, Barb's awake and has plans. MUD

How did this simple Job get so Hard?

Somewhere between sure I can do that and oh my, this is hard is about three days of looking at something so simple but so hard to do. I'm not sure what I could have done to simplify the process but there must be a way. Oh well, a little grout and it will all be done.
Things are moving to a close but nothing is easy.
Thanks for reading. MUD

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