June 30, 2010

What I did on my Summer vacation.

Our yearly vacation consists of visiting my in-laws up in Canada. We usually have a mix of activities that include going to the beach, shopping, dining and visiting touristy places.

Connor looks forward to this trip, partially out of consistency. He has been ready to go a few months now and when the day arrived he was anxious for us to get in the van and get going. We had a few issues that prevented us from having a defined time to leave. This further played havoc with Connors sense of the universe. As with any Autistic, he has angst when things change.

When we did hit the road things went well. We stopped at the hotel in Kelso he preferred and went swimming. T and D went to the movies. We had waffles in the morning and made the rest of the journey. Connor was next interested in the water park (H2O centre), going to the beach and eating French fries at Jax. Sadly Jax had closed.

My running in the AM was a nice way to start the day. There is a number of foothills that made for a challenging run. I added a bit more to the beginning of my run and was soon just over 4-1/2 miles a day. I also got to run up mission hill. Something I had been wanting to do for quite some time. The plan was to make it a six mile run ending with the uphill portion. Sadly I forgot that odometers are in Kilometers and so I ran 3 miles (6k).

Around my mom-in-laws home there were some tasks that needed doing. I was able to hang up some plants extending the chains, replaced a handle on the sliding doors, re-ran the string to close the upstairs bedroom curtains and replaced the flapper on the up stairs bathroom toilet.

We got to see my nephew's martial arts classes and enjoy life in BC for awhile.

The concept of moving up there reared its head on a couple of occasions. There is a lot to like about the people and the area.

‘Cheering in the Pressbox’ - Jay Nordlinger - The Corner on National Review Online

‘Cheering in the Pressbox’ - Jay Nordlinger - The Corner on National Review Online

Morning Bell: Obama’s Oil Spill To-Do List | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

Morning Bell: Obama’s Oil Spill To-Do List | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

Much more then talking points.

June 29, 2010

David Mitchell decries the use of the Phrase 'Rape and Pillage'

The Catholicism Project - NEW TRAILER

The Fowrider at H20 in Kelowna

I wish I had footage of Connor using the boogie board on this very slide (I googled this vid). We had spent a good amount of the day going down the three water slides. After some fun in the wave pool Connor asked to "go surfing". Last year I was unable to go up to Canada so Tina and the kids went a few times to this facility.

Connor got into line and when his turn came he dove in and did some spins and had a pretty good ride. Unlike the video, he was belly first. He went on this over and over, getting a bit more control every time.

It was not until I got back to Omi's that I found out he had never been on it before.

June 28, 2010

U.S. agency's action may kill Bucyrus deal, cost 1,000 jobs - JSOnline

U.S. agency's action may kill Bucyrus deal, cost 1,000 jobs - JSOnline

A Short History of Medicine

"Doctor, I have an earache."

2000 B.C. -- "Here, eat this root."

1000 A.D. -- "That root is heathen; say this prayer."

1850 A.D. -- "That prayer is superstition; drink this potion."

1940 A.D. -- "That potion is snake oil; swallow this pill."

1985 A.D. -- "That pill is ineffective; take this antibiotic."

2000 A.D. -- "That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root!"
Thanks to Marc Shea

June 12, 2010

National Anthem Fail

I can fully understand someone who is an amateur performer choking during the performance of the National Anthem at a major sporting event. If I was in charge of said event I would have a back up ready.

What I do not get is when a professional entertainer fails at this venue.

Twirling

The question came up as to my being conservative or not. To which I say "sure, why not". Liberal, to me, is derogatory anyways...

The question becomes what is a Conservative, who defines the term and how tightly do you have to follow that definition?

June 10, 2010

David Mitchell Writes - Dear America...


Of course I Couldn't care less.

Last day of school

I admit I am feeling a bit left out. Today was Tina's last day at work (School District). Diana and Trevor are now done with this segment of schooling and it is Connors last day at Jr. High.

Which means everyone is on summer break, except for me.

Although, I would like to be pondering acceptance of a new job, but alas...

No call yet. All prayers and intercessions accepted...

June 09, 2010

Luncheon Ladies

The lunch ladies are enamored of Connor. Monday, I had to drop off a check for meals at school. Connor gets breakfast there. The, rather dour, lunch lady seemed a bit annoyed at having to stop her conversation to deal with the issue (myself) who had appeared.

Until, I mentioned I was Connors father. Then the sun started shining and summer came full bloom and all was wonderful in the world! Assurance of how delightful it he was, along with the strengths of his personality. "French toast sticks, NO sausage!"

They like the fact he is "up" and happy. He does enjoy his breakfasts..

June 05, 2010

Walk on water (Liquid Mountaineering)

I'm joining up with a club here in Oregon. What a blast :P!

Figuring

So I have an interview on Monday and I am leaving on Vacation next weekend. It is the visit-in-laws, trip\vacation. Tina has a hurt shoulder that is in need of a treatment.

However, because it was a work injury she cannot get it treated or diagnosed. Not until the worker insurance collective says yes or no. Here is my rule, unless your hurt on the job in front of witnesses and need immediate assistance NEVER go with the workman's claim. It just delays and delays and delays treatment and jacks you up on pain meds.

If only Obamacare was working we would have gotten free fast quality healthcare! *cough*

So now we have a trip planned that may or may not interfere with my getting a job. Or Tina getting some treatment.

So here is what my fondest hope: Monday, Tina gets an up or down vote from SAIF, they get her in the MRI that day and interpret the results on Tuesday. Wednesday they figure out some treatment that helps. I nail the interview and get a job offer and they want me to start on July 5th.

Too optimistic?

June 04, 2010

D.I. Gene Hunt Quotables

Gene Hunt, the Detective Chief Inspector from Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes is, to put it bluntly, the best cop in the history of television. Yes, he’s better than Joe Friday. Better than Kojak. Better than Steve McGarrett. Better than Andy Sipowicz. Better than Columbo. Better than Tony Baretta. Better than the entire cast of The Wire. To paraphrase Lady Caroline Lamb, he’s mad, bad and dangerous to know. But he’s also really funny, too.

Here are bunch of his one-liners, starting with the first thing he ever said to Sam Tyler, the protagonist from Life On Mars:

Gene Hunt: They reckon you’ve got concussion – I couldn’t give a tart’s furry cup if ‘alf your brains are falling out. Don’t ever waltz into my kingdom acting king of the jungle.
Sam Tyler: Who the hell are you?
Gene Hunt: Gene Hunt. Your DCI. And it’s 1973. Almost dinner time. I’m ‘aving ‘oops.

“You are surrounded by armed bastards!”

“You great… soft… sissy… girlie… nancy… French… bender… Man United supporting POOF!”

“He’s got fingers in more pies than a leper on a cookery course.”

“I think she’s as fake as a tranny’s fanny.”

“She’s as nervous as a very small nun at a penguin shoot.”

“Drugs, eh? What’s the point? They make you forget, make you talk funny, make you see things that aren’t there. My old grandma got all of that for free when she had a stroke.”

“What I call a dream involves Diana Dors and a bottle of chip oil! That’s what you call a guilty conscience, my friend.”

“Now. Yesterday’s shooting. The dealers are all so scared we’re more likely to get Helen Keller to talk. The Paki in a coma’s about as lively as Liberace’s dick when he’s looking at a naked woman… all in all this investigation’s going at the speed of a spastic in a magnet factory.”

“There will never be a woman prime minister as long as I have a hole in my arse.”

“I don’t like this. Gene Hunt smashes doors down. He does not pick dirty locks. I’m gonna be the laughingstock of the Lancashire Constabulary Dinner and Dance Meet.”

Sam Tyler: “I need a drink.”
Gene Hunt: “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said since you got here.”

“Anything happens to this motor, I’ll come ’round your houses and stamp on all your toys. Got it? Good kids.”

Gene Hunt: “I’m not a Catholic me’self Mr Warren, but isn’t there something in the Bible about ‘Thou shalt not suck off rent boys’?”
Warren: “How dare you come in here!”
Gene Hunt: “You could have said that to the boy.”

[Gene and Sam need to get a pub landlord out of the way so that they can go undercover]
Gene Hunt: “Ray! Go and arrest the landlord of the Trafford Arms!”
Ray Carling: “What for?”
Gene Hunt: “Think of something on the way!”
[Later]
Gene Hunt: “In a bizarre twist of fate, the landlord was arrested this afternoon…. on suspicion of cattle rustling.”
[Ray takes a bow and receives a round of applause]

“Now is not the time to have a one night stand with your conscience.”

“You so much as belch out of line and I’ll have your scrotum on a barbed wire plate.”

Gene Hunt: “I think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.”
Sam Tyler: “An overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline-alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding?”
Gene Hunt: “You make that sound like a bad thing.”

“I once punched a bloke for speaking French.”

Gene Hunt: “This is my city. And it will be a safe place for my wife and my mum to walk around in. Is that understood?”
Detectives: “Yes, guv.”
Gene Hunt: [Sternly] “Right. Find out who the dead woman was, find out who killed her. Do it now.”
[He checks his watch]
Gene Hunt: “Hold up, hold up. Do it tomorrow morning, first thing.[Brightly] Beer o’clock, gentlemen.”

Annie Cartwright: “Boss, there’s a viscous yellow liquid in his ear…”
Gene Hunt: “No, that’s the drip from my fried egg butty, love. Well done Miss Marple, that’s why we need women detectives…”

Chris Skelton: “I wonder what killed him?”
Gene Hunt: “That would be the bloody enormous hole in his chest where the bullet went in!”

“I’ve come at this from more angles than Linda Lovelace.”

“You’re not the one who is going to have to knit himself a new arsehole after 25 years of aggressive male love in prison”

[After being shot in the chest and saved by the bullet hitting his whiskey flask]
Sam Tyler: “What are the odds?”
[Hunt pulls out 5 flasks from various pockets]
Gene Hunt: “Pretty good actually.”

“It doesn’t take a degree in applied bollocks to know whats going on!”

“A criminal farts in this city and our snouts should be able to name the arse responsible!”

“If I worried as much as you, I wouldn’t fart through fear of shitting meself!”

“Your son, Mrs Bathurst, was a cold-hearted killer. And if there is a hell, he’s going there to be poked up the arse with sharp fiery sticks, forever and ever, Amen!”

Sam Tyler: “If it was to do with football, he’d have serious injuries”
Gene Hunt: “He’s dead. That’s quite serious.”

Sam Tyler: “I still think we need to entertain the possibility that this could be a racial killing.”
Gene Hunt: “Oh well, let’s entertain it, let’s take it out for a prawn cocktail, a steak and a bottle of Liebfraumilch, then kick it into the gutter where it belongs!”

“One second. Two seconds. Go on, then… try me. You know, I’ve had harder shites than you, Friday nights, after a curry. And when I’m done, I don’t sit and ruminate about the individual’s role in society, my son. I flush ‘em away.”

Ryan Burns: “I am the vine! You are the branches! John, Chapter 15, Verse 5!”
Gene Hunt: “You’re nicked for the murder of Delphine Parks, the rape and attempted murder of Nina Akiboa. Anything you say will be taken down, ripped up and shoved down your scrawny little throat until you’re choked to death. Gene Hunt, Chapter 1, Verse 2.”

“All right then Debbie, I’m a police officer and I’m going to give you a bit of advice. You never, ever do what scumbags like him tell you to… understood? Life is too precious – keep it that way. Right… piss off back to Liverpool and have a lovely life stealing hubcaps and being over sentimental, OK?”

Alex Drake: “I’m 90% certain he was on something…”
Gene Hunt: “Only 90%? How frightfully modest! The whole camp looks cheery this mornin’… is there a musical called ‘Paint Your Wagon Shit-Colored’?”

Doctor: “He’s dead!”
Gene Hunt: “So… five years of medical school paid off, then?”

“Excuse my colleague… education of a toff, manners of a sewer rat.”

“Take that seatbelt off! You’re a police officer, not a bloody vicar.”

“Right! How many birds does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two! One to run around screaming ‘What do I do?’ and one to shag the electrician!”

“Oh dear Lord, if this is a test, I fear I may fail. And I thought it would be the booze or the fags but oh no! I’m gonna die in an underground vault, in the company of a posh, mouthy tart with a head full of brains and the common sense of a grain weevil.”

Alex Drake: “The mind’s an amazing organ…”
Gene Hunt: “I’ve got an amazing organ.”
Alex Drake: “…capable of much more than you could imagine.”
Gene Hunt: “Right again.”

“I am not going to die in a trattoria!”

“Kebab? Looks like a pasty with its arse hanging out!

“Fire up the Quattro!”

“You’ve been Quattroed!”

Gene Hunt: “Yeah, and time’s running out for moi.”
Alex Drake: [surprised] “That’s French.”
Gene Hunt: “Sorry, I’m under pressure.”

One of my favorite Hunt\Drake exchanges:

Gene Hunt: “There is no conspiracy. Contrary to what commie nutters believe and what you’ve seem to have forgotten is that this is the home of bloody democracy, Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia, roast beef and Yorkshire pud and a square deal for all. If the government are keeping secrets, it’s probably for our own bloody good.”
Alex Drake: “You are so naive.”
Gene Hunt: “And you are really pissing me off. The British government does not go around throwing people off the tops of buildings…”
Alex Drake: “Kennedy worked part time at a top secret weapons research center, joined a left-wing group… suddenly he’s murdered and his body goes missing…”
Gene Hunt: “Spies do not wear camo and keep girlie mags under their beds. They’re too busy sipping claret and touching each other’s posh todges. You probably know some of them. This is amurder inquiry.”
Alex Drake: “One that could already be compromised. They could be watching us right now!”
Gene Hunt: “And when they come, they’ll be wearing white coats and carrying a straightjacket and it won’t be my bloody size!”

And lastly, not a “funny” quote, but a kick-ass one:

“Once upon a time, in this room, a man drew a line. He said that police corruption was going to become a thing of the past. Well, that man was a liar and that man is now dead. I’m going to redraw that line. I am not a liar. We are police officers and we will behave like police officers. We will fight, slap, knock down, beat up and intimidate to hold back the wave of scum. That is our right, and that is our duty. But if I find one man feathering his own nest by so much as one bent penny, I will destroy him. Any questions?”

June 03, 2010

Political Theater.

Freedom Eden has a great Ann Coulter write up.

Every-time I hear the equivalent someone shouting, "there ought to be law!" I ponder, isn't there already a law?

When was the last time you the term "Knee Jerk Reaction" was commonly used? BP has an oil spill and Barry says "there ought to be a law!" Yet, this was an inspected platform that received high marks.

"Oh you got to understand that the inspectors were all corrupt!" So we learn that government employees are corruptible... So the laws they want to enact will rely upon corruptible government peoples? How stupid is that?

Exactly what responsibility does the Government have, if they approve some oil rig? If you want to get life insurance (and really who doesn't??) There is a process in which they send out a doctor to take gobs of blood and give you a basic checkup. Next they get your medical records and go through them carefully to see how much risk you are at for what reason.

If you fall over dead later that year, they have to pay out and absorb the revenue loss for some time to come. In other words, they have a vested interest in making sure your health is vetted.

Does BP have Oil Spill insurance?

Geebus!

Q: Who's idea was it to drill for oil six miles down?

A: Environmentalists.