Nudity on TV

Last night I watched a new show on TNT Network called "Saved". One scene in the show consisted of a man running around in a hospital gown with his rear end completely exposed. I'm not complaining because I don't really care; I'm not as uptight about sex and nudity as some people in this country are, but I wonder when they are going to start showing womens bare rear-ends (or other parts)....maybe next week?


So Sayeth The Shack

Teen Neanderthals

My teen-age son (LittleShack2) seems to have taken to speaking like a neanderthal, or cave-man (my apologies to the Geico commercial cave-men). By this, I mean he makes unintelligible grunting sounds rather than speaking plain English words. Example: I say "hi son!" and he replies "ugh" or some such thing. "How are you today?" I ask. "Ugh", he replies. "How was school?". "Ugh" he says. Some of his male friends sound pretty much the same. Must be a teen thing. Or maybe they're teaching Neandertalese as a new foreign language.


So Sayeth The Shack

Regular Driver Testing Needed

" Accused driver legally blind" screamed the headline in the local newspaper on June 10, 2006. The driver referred to had struck and killed a cyclist earlier this year. He had, according to the article, been declared legally blind some two decades ago, yet he was still driving! How does this happen? All too easily. Here in Pennsylvania, all vehicles must pass a yearly safety inspection. The same is not true of their operators. Once someone obtains a driver's license, usually at the age of 16 or 17, he or she essentially has that license for the rest of their life, so long as they stop in every five years to get a new picture taken. No regard is given as to whether or not these people remain physically or mentally fit to be operating a vehicle. No tests are administered, no questions asked. Just a new picture and a new card. Yet every year, they are required to spend tens or sometimes hundreds of dollars to be sure that the vehicle being driven is in safe condition. Unfortunately, no matter how safe a vehicle is, if the driver cannot see well enough, or cannot react quickly enough to a situation, it is an accident waiting to happen. The time has come, in fact it is long past, for regular testing of our drivers. Instead of just a new picture and new card every five years, tests of eyesight, hearing, reaction time and even the rules of the road should be administered. Those who cannot pass these tests should no longer be behind the wheel. Just as in the case of DUI, one death or injury caused by a driver who can no longer see or otherwise safely operate a vehicle is one death or injury too many. So Sayeth The Shack

Our President, the Fisherman

<>....

<<"I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7 1/2-pound largemouth bass on my lake," he said eventually>>

Read the full story here

So what does fishing have to do with being the president? Guess he just couldn't come up with anything great that he has done for the nation! Or, guess you could say that he has us all reeled in!



So Sayeth The Shack

Hunting Dems

Cheney: " I think I hear a democrat over there in the bushes!"

BANG!! BANG!!

Cheney: "Got him!!"


So Sayeth The Shack

Alarm Clock Saves My Life

I was having a dream last night. I was at a gas station. There was a gas tanker truck there and a woman was loading gasoline from the tanker truck into the station's underground storage tanks. While she was doing this, she took out a cigarette lighter and lit it, then dropped it into the underground storage tank. Just before the whole place blew up and we all died, the alarm clock went off. Wonder what would have happened if the alarm had not sounded at that very moment?


So Sayeth The Shack

Our Christmas Presents

One full day...to set up the new computer; a few hours of which were spent on the phone to tech support.

Several hours...to read the instruction manual, about the same length as the Bible, that came with the new digital camera

Getting a present with no cords, cables, batteries, memory chips or any other kinds of gizmos.....PRICELESS!!!!!!!


NOTE: The above is most fictional and is just intended to make a point.



So Sayeth The Shack

Should Rigoberto Alpizar Have Been Shot?

For those not following the news, Rigoberto Alpizar is the man who was shot and killed by air marshalls in Miami yesterday after claiming he had a bomb aboard an airplane. Turns out there was no bomb, he was unarmed, and he actually suffered from mental illness and had not taken his medication. His death is an unfortunate byproduct of the "war on terror". I am sure there will be a big outcry aabout this. Unfortunately, given the exact circumstances, there likely could have been no other outcome. The air marshalls could not tell whether or not the man was bluffing about the bomb. They had no idea about his mental illness. They had no other way of subdoing him without shooting. Perhaps the air marshalls should have some other means of rendering someone unconcious without having to kill them. Shack's opinion: In this particular case, there appeared to be no other choice, especially since he started reaching into the bag that contained the supposed bomb. Nevertheless, it was unfortunate.

More Dangerous Than Iraq?

I received the following via e-mail. It is not my own work and I do not know who to credit it to, but thought it was worth sharing.

Thought for the day:

If you consider that there have been an average of 160,000 troops in
the Iraq theater of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of
2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.

The rate in Washington D.C. (among others) is 80.6 per 100,000. That
means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in our
Nation's Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in
the nation, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington D.C

Honor Our Veterans

Friday November 11 is Veterans' Day. While many of us do not agree with our nation's foreign policy or with the military operations of the past 4 or 5 decades as well as current military operations, the soldiers and veterans deserve our honor and respect. They have made and continue to make huge sacrifices. In the past they have fought for our freedom and the freedom of other people around the world. More recently, many of us do not know what they are fighting for. While we may disagree with the reasons that they are in battle, they still deserve our support, honor and respect. Our disagreement with policy and military operation should be directed at our political leaders and not at our veterans and current soldiers. It is sad that this day will be no different than any other day of the majority of people in this country. Some government and bank employees will have the day off; the rest will go to work our school as usual and probably think nothing of it. So let's all do something special on Friday. If you know a veteran, thinak him or her for the sacrifices that he or she has made. If you know a family of a currently deployed soldier, do something special for them. And if you disagree with out current military operations, send some letters to out political leaders expressing your displeasure.

Where Are The Grownups?

In the two weeks since a recent football game, there have been letters to the editor in the local newspaper, articles in the same paper, and a thread on the newspaper discussion board, all bemoaning the conduct of the fans both inside and outside of the stadium. Virtually all of the letters and posts indicate that the problem is coming from "not just the college students", but from alumni and other adults as well. The phrase "not just the college students" is itself problematic, because it implies that the majority of the college students spend most of their time drunk off their asses. While this may not be true, it certainly seems as though it is, especially if one spends many evenings downtown. But that is not the subject I wish to address. I instead wish to address that the problem extends to people who should know better. People in their 20s, 30s, even 40s, who are supposed to be responsible, example-setting adults instead acting like overgrown and overage teenagers. This is a trend that I have noticed ever since I came to this town many years ago. Perhaps I had a sheltered childhood, but I recall that when I was a child, children acted like children, and adults were mature, considerate and responsible. Sure they had a good time now and then, but not at the expense of the rights of others. When I came to the university, I was astonished at how the other students acted; vandalizing dorms and apartments, partying noisily with no regard for neighbors, and getting drunk off their asses. After graduation, I noticed that the other "adults" in the area acted pretty much like the students. People who were perhaps students once, then graduated, but never really grew up. So we have a town where a lot of "adults" still act like teenagers. In fact, I think that my own teenagers are more mature and responsible than a lot of adults. I am sure that this is true not only locally, but throughout our nation. We are a "society of immaturity", and today's children have no one to look to for an example because their parents are still children. A week from now, we will see the ultimate display of this adult childishness...Halloween. Once a holiday for children to dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating, it has now become a holiday for adults to dress up in stupid costumes and go out and get drunk off their asses, violating the law as well as other people's rights. Halloween now rivals New Year's as the top drinking holiday; a potentially highly dangerous situation...children trick-or-treating sharing the road with drunk "adult" drivers out partying. Please bring back the grownups. Our society needs some mature leadership.

Capitalists Everywhere

As Hurricane Rita headed toward Texas and hundreds of thousands of evacuees jammed the freeways, A few people on foot plied the freeways filled with nearly-stationary vehicles. They were apparently selling drinks to the motorists stuck in the traffic in the 90-degree weather. I'll bet they were charging a pretty penny for those drinks too, like maybe 10 bucks each? I wonder....
There's always someone around to take advantage of a bad situation and to profit from it.

A Letter To Mom

Dear Mom,

There has been something that I have wanted to tell you for a while now, but have not been able to find the right time or manner in which to do it. On the phone? No. By e-mail? No. Even in person… Well, not with the wife or the kids present. So, this is the best way I can figure out to do it; a good old-fashioned letter. What is it that I want to say? I want to say:

I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!

I'’m sorry for everything that I have done that has upset, disappointed and otherwise annoyed you. I know that you have not approved of some of my decisions and actions in life and that some of them have totally upset you to this very day. Please understand that I have never intended to upset or disappoint you. Most of the things that I have done, including joining the (mormon) church, were my attempts to find my place in life. I know maybe you don't understand this, because you have always had a lot of friends and such, but I have never felt that I fit in anywhere. I have had very few friends throughout my life and I have no close friends at the current time. Mostly, people have either ignored me or seemingly downright hated me (going all the way back to grade school). I never did anything to anyone so I don't know why I was treated the way I was. I finally realized after having some nephews and a son of my own that some of the problem was the way I responded to them, (the other boys my age) but I didn'’t know any better at the time. But even now, in any kind of social situation, people, even those that I know, don'’t usually bother associating with me other than a quick "“hi, how ya doin'’?" I even feel like you would rather spend time with your old cousins and such than with you son and grandchildren (not saying this to make you feel bad or anything; just trying to express my feelings).

I joined the mormon church in an attempt to find a place where I would fit in. Turns out I don'’t fit in there either, but it'’s fine with me if the wife and the kids go. Our daughter, in particular, is active and happy in the youth program and seems to have several good friends. Our son seems to be not so keen on church stuff but at least has a few friends, mostly from school.

I became a meteorologist because it is something that I really enjoy doing. It is certainly not the best paying career one could have after getting a college education, but I think I am better off doing something I enjoy than having more money and doing something that I dislike. Sometimes I feel happier when I am at work than at any other time.

As far as my selection of a mate is concerned; I know that this has been another disappointment from your perspective. It seems that the only girls/women that were ever interested in me were either fat, ugly, stupid, lazy or some combination of these. No pretty, smart girl was ever interested in me to this very day. My first fiancee was smart but not all that good looking, and was more interested in her career and how much money she could make than in our relationship. My wife is neither pretty nor exceptionally smart but she does love me very much.

So I have ended up with a job that I enjoy and a wife and kids that love me. That is what I wanted out of life . Am I happy? Sometimes. Other times I get very depressed and feel like everything I have ever done and every decision I have ever made was wrong. In fact, you almost lost me a few months ago. I was so depressed in early June that if I had had a revolver in the house I might very well have blown my brains out. Instead I drank three-quarters of a bottle of whiskey and pretty much passed out. (Again, there are no intentions here to make you feel bad; this is no fault of yours!!) Note: I am not an alcoholic; I hardly ever drink. My wife keeps urging me to see a psych, but I don'’t have a very high opinion of those guys and I don't want to depend on drugs or some kind of weird therapy to make me feel good. I am much happier again now, especially since we have moved to a place where there are more opportunities for me in the way of physical activity and where I don'’t have to do much driving. (I hate driving). Had to break a lease to do it, but I don'’t think I could have survived another year where we were.

I think that I have written everything that was on my mind that I wanted to tell you. Again, I'’m sorry that I have upset you or been a disappointment; that was not my intention. I love you very much and appreciate everything you have done for me and for us.

Love, Your Son

Great Gas Mileage!!

One of my co-workers rides a bike to work.

He gets great gas mileage: 6 miles to the fart!!

If I Were Single

Today is the seventeenth anniversary of my wedding. Some married men wonder what things would be like if they had remained single. I can tell you, almost definitely, that if I had remained single, I would either be in prison or dead. Why? Because I have always harbored a great deal of hate and rage within me, as you might be able to tell by reading some earlier posts in this blog. Being married and especially being a parent has blunted some of the hate and rage, but make no mistake, it is still in there. If it were not for being married, the hate and rage would probably have led to me kill one or more people, or to commit some other horrible crime, for which I would likely be in prison...or perhaps I would have been killed by one of my intended victims. So, thinks to my wife (luv ya, honey) and kids (luv ya too), and the responsibility that I feel toward them, I am not in prison, and I am still alive.

Who Stole The Ruby Slippers?

It has been noted that Dorothy's (Wizard of Oz) ruby slippers were recently stolen from a museum. I'll bet the Wicked Witch of the West's cousin took them. This sould be investigated immediately!!

What A Bargain

Wow! Gas is down to $2.99/gallon!! What a bargain!

Something I'd never thought I'd say about that price just a couple of weeks ago... :)

It Doesn't Affect THEM

Despite the incredible rise in gas prices over the past week and the shortages in various parts of the country...

...plenty of people still drove their gas-sucking RV's to the local my local university to attend the football game at the local university. These are rich alumni and the like with an endless supply of money. I am sure the same thing happened at the other football games over the weekend. These are some of the THEM...the rich people who are not affected by the price of gas.

...Nascar races went on. Another incredible waste of fuel, not only for the cars participating, but also for the spectators traveling to get there.

What will it take for us as a country to change our wasteful ways when it comes to oil? Ten dollar per gallon gas? Twenty dollar per gallon gas?? Or maybe just no gas at all, period. What happened this past week is just a preview of what will eventually happen when the world does run out of oil or when a large-scale war breaks out in the Middle East or with the Arab nations. Let's not wait until it happens. Let's start changing our habits and making preparations now. It is a difficult path, but one that must be taken if we are to survive in the long term. And we need leaders who are courageous enough to help us and guide us along that path.

Send The Refugees To.....

Here are ideas for what we can do with some of the refugees from Hurricane Katrina:

1) Send them to D.C. They could stay at the White House with the First Family and share in some of the niceties.

2) Send them to Crawford, Texas. I hear there is a ranch there with plenty of room!!

Mother Nature-Terrorist

Hurricane Katrina has caused more death, destruction, misery and economic impact in this country than any terrorist attack. I doubt if the terrorists themselves have the means to duplicate such a mess. Nevertheless I am sure that some radical Islamists and Al Quieda people have been laughing and dancing gleefully for the past week.

So Sayeth The Shack