Harken, the son awaketh...

...and me thinks he feels somewhat better. Maybe a father/son trip to the range afterall! If not, well then I am off to catch me a big fish, or to be eaten by sharks. Only time will tell!

Later for you.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Warning from A U.S. Citizen In Venezuela

The following quote comes from a Rita at The Jungle Hut. She is a Christian Missionary who has spent the last "20 years in Venezuela", and she just wrote a piece by that name. Here is a really important quote from that blog:

"I remember being told that Venezuela had the strongest democracy in South America! I hope people in the USA will realize how quickly a democracy can be lost." (emphasis added by me)

Read those words, and be forewarned, it could happen anywhere. Venezuela is about as far from a strong republic/democracy as any nation could be. It could happen here in the United States of America too, if we let the ultra leftists, I think of Danny Glover and others like him who support Chavez, have their way with how things work in the USA! People wonder why I believe so whole heartedly in the Right to Keep And Bear Arms. Well, prevention of such happening in this country is one of the main reasons; and I thank the Founding Fathers for having the foresight to realize that such a right shall not be infringed. No wonder the ultra leftists hate that right so much, it prevents them from usurping power and totally destroying our way of life.

All the best,
Glenn B

Whoopee, it's Saturday...

...and I am going to have fun somehow. I spent most of yesterday morning waiting for the oil company man to come over and fix my hot water heater. Then I spent almost the rest of the day online window shopping, so to speak, for a new washing machine. Looks like a new decent one will cost right about what I had expected at about $449, that is unless we decide on the one other model that seemed decent, and that was $600 (both prices before taxes, and before extended warranty plan). I hope whatever we buy lasts longer than 10 years this time around. Last night I went to the laundromat to do the family wash. That wasn't bad but I wish someone in the place besides me, and one other customer, would have been speaking English.

So my oil burner broke but is now fixed. My washing machine broke, but will soon be either fixed by me (yeah right) or replaced (much more likely). Since bad things come in threes, something else is broke now too, or is about to be broke - that would be me! Still though, before I shell out the bucks for that washing machine, I am going to have some fun this weekend. I was planning to go to the range with Brendan today. He badly wanted to go because we have not been there together in months. The thing is it looks as if I may have to go alone, he has a bit of a sore throat strep throat and mononucleosis, and his throat really got raw again last night, so off to the doctor my wife will drag him screaming take him today. As a matter of fact I think he wants to go because his throat is bothering him so much. He knows that means he will miss the range day, so that also means I know he is really feeling poorly.

Egads, I just added stuff up. It is now 4 things that are proverbially broke if I include Brendan's tonsils. If that is right, and if it is true that bad things come in threes, that means that there are still two more things to go wrong this weekend for me! I had best be careful in whatever I do lest I break from the strain of all this and bring something nasty upon myself. To heck with worrying, I am going to have a good time this weekend even if it kills me it means there is a chance of something else going wrong. What is life without a little risk now and then. Heck life is full of risks, so why worry overly about them; I am going to have a good time.

As a matter of fact, I plan to go to the range where I will shoot up a storm. I'll bring at least two rifles, a shotgun, and a few pistols (I love variety while shooting). After that I will drive out to my sister's house for a visit with here, my brother-in-law, my nephew and my mom. Then on the way back, I may stop somewhere and wet a line to see if I can catch a striped bass. Now the way my luck has been going these past few days, I sort of half expect that I'll get all the way out there and my car will explode and strand me there (of course while at the range, who knows, maybe someone will shoot my car).

Well if that happens (my car exploding once I make it to my sisters, let alone it being shot at the range), so what! I can go fishing just a few blocks from their house, and chances are a striper will be lurking in those waters. I suppose though, if my car does explode, thereby becoming bad thing number 5 to have befallen me, that would mean that number 6 (the number that would complete the second set of three things going awry) would be looming over my head; but I wonder what could go wrong fishing. Sure I could hook myself in the eye (second highest cause of eye injuries in the USA is a fish hook to the eye or eyelid, or so I recently heard), or in the behind as I cast, but I usually get off some good casts, so I am none too worried about that. Now, I just bought some new lures yesterday, while I was returning home from a visit to a radiologist for an x-ray of a lump in my chest (and believe me I am very hopeful to get GOOD news back about that), and I figure I could lose all of the lures on snags. However, I think it is more likely that a really nice fish will grab hold of one of them; and that might be good. Thinking about worst possible scenarios though, hooking a fish could be number 6 in the line of bad things to have befallen me. Picture it: I cast into a surfacing school of bait fish, chased to the surface by a big fish, I get a strike, I set the hook hoping it to be a 30 pound striped bass. The way my luck has been going though it is more likely to be Jaws' mother (at about 2,500 pounds), and it pulls me into the briny deep only to become fish food. Oh well, maybe I'll go freshwater fishing.

I always could stay home and enjoy the weekend from the safety of my own home and yard. I could always have fun pulling weeds, cleaning the basement, doing some pointing work on the cracks in the mortar on my front stoop (but this could cause the whole house to collapse upon me), going shopping for the wife... Hell no - I am going to have fun! So I guess I will be taking some everyday risks, risks that maybe a bit enhanced with the rule of threes hanging over my head much like Damocles sword - but what the heck - you only live once. We were not put here for a long time, so it must have been for a good time; and I am going to have at least one good time this weekend. If I am still alive later today, I'll let you know how things turned out. Enjoy the weekend.

All the best,
Glenn B

PS: Thanks Jen for giving me the incentive (in a comment to one of my previous posts) to write this!

Unexpected Expenses and Thoughts of Internet Begging...

...have been subjects on my mind today. What with the washing machine breaking down and most likely needing replacement (see previous post), I got to thinking wouldn't it be nice to have a million bucks stashed away for such things.

I had been sort of hoping to stash away some money to buy a new gun sometime in the next couple of months; but now there is no chance of that with the expense of a new washing machine looming on the near horizon. I got pretty bummed out by this because I recently had some other unexpected expenses that had the same effect on my gun buying hopes. I was so frustrated that I almost decided to put a begging post up with a PayPal icon begging for donations.

I did a lot of thinking about this subject today, I even went so far as to write up a whole begging post. No not for inclusion on this blog, but actually under a whole new blog. In thinking about how I would do it, and why I would do it, I decided that if I was going to be an Internet beggar of some sort, I would do it not just so that I could buy new toys and show them off on my site even though I would like to buy some new toys; but rather I would want to also achieve some sort goal. I have always wanted to be a munificent millionaire, ever since the days of the show "The Millionaire". I guess almost everyone would kind of like to have a million bucks, I certainly would. If I was going to beg for it on the web, I would beg for it with that goal, of becoming a millionaire, as my driving force. If I actually were to gain that much money from begging, I would probably give most of it away to charity. Of course I guess I would spend some on myself and my family, pay the taxes on the million with some of it, but then I'd probably give the rest of it away.

Then I thought about how I feel when I see others begging, and I felt almost ashamed of myself for even having given it some thought, let alone actually writing up a whole blog on the subject. While begging to get money is not necessarily a bad thing, it often gets me riled up when I see someone begging, but who has a good paying job, and plenty of money, a nice house, plenty of toys like guns and cars and boats and power tools and electronics and cameras and other goodies. When people who have it to excess stoop to begging so they can have more to excess I see it as the height of boorishness. So, I decided against the begging thing, though I will say I was sorely tempted.

I was oh so tempted that I took it this far: http://TheHumbleBeggar.blogspot.com. As you will see though, the PayPal link is not on the page. When I think about it, it would be fun to say that I was able to get one buck from each of a million people so that I was able to become a millionaire. It would be very nice to have about $50,000 to spend to close out my mortgage and college loans, and to have some to stash away for my sons college expenses; with some left over for a car and a vacation; and then with plenty more left over to donate to a charity.

It probably would not have worked, but who can tell? I leave it to someone else to try. As for me I just don't have it in me to beg when I don't need to beg, even if it means actually missing out on luxuries and toys. Oh well, it was a fun fantasy project - The Humble Beggar blog site that I created this afternoon - and it will remain just that for me, a fantasy project and nothing more.

All the best,
Glenn B

When Something Breaks, Something is More Like Somethings

First my hot water heater went on the fritz. Then, right after that broke down, so too did my washing machine. Oh joy, now I wonder what will make it the magic three. Isn't that how it works when bad things happen, they come in threes? Well the hot water heater got fixed pretty quickly by my oil company man; that is it was almost fixed, then it broke down again. The oil guy came back and fixed it again, and gave the oil jets and electronics a good cleaning. Seems they were coated with lint from the dryer and animal hairs. I wonder where all those hairs came from? Were they from the now deceased cat, the three dogs, or the 50 or so mice I have down in the basement (in tanks). I guess it doesn't matter now that it is clean and working well. This was not so bad especially since the repairs were done free of charge; heck we pay enough for the oil to cover the repairs.

As for the washing machine, it does not drain. There was no warning or anything to indicate the pump was about to fail, but I guess it has. The machine was only about 10 years old - certainly not made to last as they used to be. I remember washing machines lasting well over 20 years. This one certainly will not be worth having it repaired. A few years ago, last time we had repairs done to it, it was under the extended warranty. As I recall the repairman told us that the repair he made would have cost about $225, which was more than we had paid for 5 years of extended warranty service. Back then, just having the repairman come to our house had a minimum charge of about $125.00. I think it is time to buy a new one for about $450 - $500. Of course, I'll pull this one out of its nook this weekend, and maybe I'll even try to check to see if I can find and fix the problem. If not, then out it goes, and in with a new one. Hmm, that made me realize the third thing that will be broke - me!

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to tighten the purse strings for a month or two.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Joys of the Garden...

...are to be found anew throughout the growing season. As the evening was born tonight I walked among the growing things in the garden and saw the garden was a place of goodness. Then I got down to the labor of the evening, and I watered the lawn front and back. I put out the sprinklers and let the sprinklers work over the back and front yards, and I fed my tortoises and saw they were content. When the lawns were overflowing with wet goodness I turned the hose with a spray head onto the vegetable and flower beds, the potted flowers, the shrubs and trees. While amidst the weed plot that is my back lawn, I noticed that the Honeysuckle was starting to bloom; and that it pleased mine eye to behold that their was an abundance of flowers on the vine. The vine itself grows from out of a crack in a cement/cinder block wall that divides my property from one of my neighbor's. It took root some time back, and surprised us all when the floating fragrance of its flowers filled the late spring and summertime nights. Each year now for the past several years I await the heady perfume like fragrance of its blooms. Tonight was the first night that I was treated to the absolutely wonderful aromatic air that they throw forth as they bloom. In my garden, there is nothing better than to see those white flowers and the yellow flowers in bloom on the Honeysuckle vine and to have them whisper to me with their alluring Siren's song in fragrant form.

All the best,
Glenn B

The AWARD Program and Legal Immigration Bill

The following is a proposal that I will be sending to my elected officials regarding revision of our nation's current immigration policies, and with regard to the status of illegal aliens currently within the United States. As you all are probably aware by now, I loathe illegal aliens coming into our country, I think them a scourge on the welfare of the USA, but don't think for a minute that I am inflexible when it comes to saving our nation, and to fixing immigration problems. I do realize that something needs to be done to fix things, and I am going to be pragmatic about it. Read on if you want, but be warned it is a long one.

If you do read it, please let me know what you think. Please don't bother to argue, or call me an asshole, or otherwise be rude and or obnoxious. Please do just let me know do you see it as positive or negative as compared to the bill currently before the Congress, and as currently favored by President Bush. Thanks.

All the best,
Glenn B (see below)

********************

Dear Mr. President,

or Dear Senator Whomever,

or Dear Representative Whomever,

I am a native born U.S. citizen; yet I like the fact that the United States of America is made up of immigrants, from the very first people who later became known as Native Americans all the way to present day people such as my own wife. Immigrants, that is legal immigrants, have been a very good thing for the USA. They for the great majority abide by our laws from day one, and come here to better themselves while at the same time hoping to become U.S. Citizens through legal means. On the other hand there are millions of illegal aliens within our borders. No I did not call them Undocumented immigrants, nor did I call them migrant workers, nor did I call them Illegal immigrants – they are in fact alien to our country and our laws because they came from abroad into the USA either through illegal means of entry, or by legal entry and then overstayed their visas. They have for decades of them flocking here illegally and have been a great burden on our economy.

Despite my beliefs along the lines that illegal aliens are currently a scourge on the well being of our nation, I will admit to being a pragmatist in many regards, and I will therefore say that both the removal idea (as much as it appeals to me on a gut level), and the so called amnesty proposal or Immigration bill (that repulses me on a gut level) now before congress and liked by President Bush, are both losing propositions. Now that I have said that, let me tell you of a plan that I almost cannot believe the politicians have tried to push, then again maybe you have thought of this already - but maybe not. It is something I thought of today that absolutely popped into my mind out of the blue. I guess my almost 28 years as a federal agent, first with the Border Patrol, then with U.S. Customs, and now with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have had me thinking lately about how to solve the problem. My draft plan, at about 5 pages, is somewhat lengthy, but I am sure nowhere nearly as long as the current bill before the Congress.

Please take a good look at it, and if you think it has merit, I urge you to formulate a new bill, based upon this framework, to place before the President, the Congress, and the People of the United States of America, for their consideration.

I would propose a plan/immigration bill that would:

1) Require immediate construction of a secure border barrier along our southern border’s entire length.

2) Require all illegal aliens, who were within our country prior to enactment of the bill to register with Citizenship and Immigration Services, and require the government to hire contractors to augment CIS employees to complete the registrations (with no use of ICE agents to do so, because ICE agents should be doing criminal investigations and not doing administrative work). The illegal aliens who do not register within a 6 month period would be removed without appeal or hearing if encountered after that time (remember this is an administrative removal, and they have no rights regarding criminal law under the civil removal proceedings).

3) CIS would register all the illegal aliens with tamper proof documentation to include photo, fingerprints, and the cards would contain individually numbered computer chips.

4) The government would then implement a mandatory workforce program consisting entirely of illegal aliens who have registered as above. Each registered illegal alien would be required to work in this program, full time, 40 hours per week, for a period of 2 years. A registered illegal alien would be required to become engaged in gainful employment under the program within 3 months of registration. Employment would be assigned by program administrators, and it would be the responsibility of the program administrators to ascertain that each registered alien becomes so employed.

5) The program would be named The AWARD Program; AWARD being an acronym for Alien Workforce for American Reconstruction and Development. The goal of this program would be to have the registered illegal aliens perform public service works. They would be utilized in non-skilled and semi-skilled labor jobs throughout the country. Jobs they would perform would consist of things like: street sweepers, pothole fillers, manual laborers of all sorts, janitors, cleaning crews, border fence builders, border tunnel fillers, road crews, parks maintenance crews, federal monument maintenance crews, prison workers, and on and on and on. They would then truly get a chance to do many of the jobs we U.S. Citizens and legal resident aliens supposedly do not want to do.

6) Pay for these positions would be equivalent to the federal government’s General Schedule pay rate at the GS-4 level: or $22,902.00 per year, with no locality considerations. That works out to an hourly rate of $10.97 per hour. There would be no pay step or pay grade increase(s) over the mandatory 2 year workforce period; however the pay would be equivalent to GS-4 step 1 for the current period of employment at the commencement of the 2 year period. The 2 year period of workforce labor must be completed without any breaks in service, except for 2 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of sick leave, each year. Should a registered illegal alien become unable to work for any reason (beyond 2 weeks of sick leave) the alien would be removed from the program and removed from the country (remember these are people who already broke the law, we are giving them a chance, albeit a tough chance at that). All income taxes would be the responsibility of the registered illegal aliens who are in the AWARD Program.

7) The AWARD Program could be completely run by the federal government, or could be completely run by private business/industry while monitored by the government, or could be run by a combination of both. In other words, the registered illegal aliens could work directly for the government as public servants, or they could work in the private sector.

8) Any private sector business found to knowingly hire, or hire with a blind eye, illegal aliens who are not registered as above and eligible to be in the AWARD Program, would be fined $10,000.00 per illegal alien so hired for the first 5 offenses, and then $25,000 per illegal alien for any subsequent offense. The burden of proof for this administrative violation would be on the employer of the illegal alien(s).

9) A registered illegal alien who has completed a 2 year stint working in the AWARD program would be required to appear in person at a CIS office, to document his/her successful participation in the program. At the immediate time the registered illegal alien presented this evidence to CIS, his/her name, and alien registration number, would be entered into a computerized lottery, and the alien would receive an immediate decision as to whether or not he would be allowed to remain within the USA as an alien temporarily admitted for residence, or if he/she would be required to immediately be placed into incarceration for removal from the country. A set percentage, let us say 50% or as decided upon by the government but no higher than 50%, would be allowed to remain within the USA after completing the AWARD Program, and after passing a background investigation. (Much more likely to work than telling them they have to register, leave the USA, pay a fine, and then come back later as is the current plan in Congress. You see they now have an incentive, a guaranteed job, at a guaranteed salary, and a good percentage of remaining here after that program has been completed. This also has them actually working to the good of the USA.) Others who complete the AWARD Program employment, but then do not win residence, and then who voluntarily depart the USA, may immediately apply for legal entry without penalty.

10) Immediate family members (meaning spouse, sons and daughters) of the registered Award Program illegal aliens would be allowed to remain with the USA if already here at the time the bill is enacted. If not already within this country, they may join the registrant upon completion of that registrant’s successful completion of the AWARD program. If the spouse is already here, the spouse would also have to complete the AWARD Program, but this could be deferred until such time as the primary breadwinner completes the program. If the person selected as the primary breadwinner does not successfully complete the program, the other spouse (if also an illegal alien) would be removed with chance to participate.

11) Citizen spouses or children would not be required to depart with removed aliens relatives, however no status, or consideration, will be granted to an illegal alien, who does no register and then successfully complete the AWARD Program, based upon citizenship or legal resident alien status of immediate, or other, family members.

12) All aliens participating within the AWARD Program would be required to have 10% of their pay placed into a secure government account. The funds collected in these accounts would be used to fund, in part or in whole, removal of the alien should he/she not successfully complete the AWARD Program. Should the alien successfully complete the program, the money would be returned to the alien without interest, but only after the alien has become an alien legally admitted for permanent residence.

13) Registered illegal Alien AWARD Program status would be given to those who registered and then became employed as above (a temporary legal status); Lawful Permanent Alien Status would be granted to registered illegal aliens who had successfully completed the AWARD Program, and who have not been convicted of any misdemeanor of felony (and who would not at the time of application or during the process be charged with the same), and who have remained within the United States gainfully employed for a period of 2 years subsequent to his/her successful completion of the AWARD Program. Thereby a registered illegal alien could conceivably become a lawful permanent resident alien of the United States within 4 years from the date of commencing the AWARD Program. After 2 years of remaining gainfully employed in the USA as a legal permanent resident alien, these AWARD Program Aliens would be required to apply for U.S. Citizenship or depart the USA forever.

14) Upon enactment of the bill, the size of the U.S. Border Patrol would increase by 50%, and the Border Patrol would be given strict enforcement authority on an administrative level to immediately remove any illegal aliens they encounter at or within 50 miles of the border. Congress would write the law to give them authority to do so.

15) Re-create the position of Immigration Enforcement Agent - not a criminal investigator like an ICE agent, but rather a round-up agent whose main duty is to round up illegal aliens in our country away from the land borders. Same authority as a border patrol Agent, but within the interior of the country.

16) Allow for Border Patrol Agents, Immigration Enforcement Agent, and any federal or state law enforcement officers to share Immigration authorities, so that they could be used interchangeably when situations would require.

17) Any alien, once determined to be an illegal alien, encountered within the USA subsequent to completion of the illegal alien registration program would be immediately removed from the USA, no appeals, no deportation or removal hearings, no exceptions. The burden of proof to establish whether or not an alien is within the USA legally would be placed upon the alien; and this would be written into the bill.

18) All aliens within the USA would be required to carry at all times on their persons their alien registration card. Failure to do so would be prima facie evidence of illegal alien status for the purpose of arrest; but could be overcome for purpose of removal, by proof that the alien was actually here legally. The entire burden of proof as to legal alien status or registered illegal alien AWARD Program status, would be that of the alien – and this shall be written into the bill.

19) A reasonable amount of legal Immigration into the United States by aliens from abroad would be permissible each year. Immigrant status would be granted to those based upon needed skills. (I would suggest mostly unskilled, or semi skilled, laborers as opposed to highly skilled workers or highly educated professionals. The reason behind this would be that unskilled workers would continues to take truly undesired jobs. They would also have the highest degree of ambition to better themselves, and to better the lives of their children. This would then mean that those already immigrated here, and U.S. citizens would continues to reap the benefits of legal residence and citizenship, while those newly arrived would work their way up the ladder. Therefore U.S. schools would have more openings for U.S. Citizens with less competition from well to do foreigners who come here and start out at the top of the workforce heap.)

20) All new immigrants into the USA would be required to become gainfully employed within 3 months of arrival within the USA, or face removal. Failure to provide proof of gainful employment would be prima facie evidence of illegal alien status, and removal would commence.

21) There would be no temporary worker program. All aliens admitted into the USA would be admitted as Temporary legal Resident Aliens. Each would be required to actually become permanent legal resident aliens with 1 years of entering the USA. This status would be granted once they have been gainfully employed full time (for the primary breadwinner) for a period of 1 year (thereby they could achieve lawful permanent resident status after only 1 year as opposed to AWARD program Illegal Aliens who would need 4 years to accomplish the same, this would be the reward for having done it legally from day one). After 3 years of Permanent Legal Resident Status (a total of 4 years here, 1 as temporary resident and 3 as a permanent resident) each alien so admitted would be required to apply for U.S. Citizenship or depart the USA forever.

22) All applicants for U.S. Citizenship would be required to read, write, and speak English on a 5th grade level in order to be granted citizenship. Any alien failing to become proficient in the English language at the 5th grade level would be immediately incarcerated and then removed from the country no appeals.

23) English would be enacted in the bill, as the official language of the United States of America.

24) By registering as an illegal aliens, or by applying for the AWARD program, or by applying for legal resident alien status, and alien agrees to be voluntarily removed should he or she violate any part of the bill..

This is a plan that will allow illegal aliens to make amends and give something to the USA through the AWARDS Program, while at the same time getting something good out of it for them selves.

It is also a plan that would reward they who apply legally from step one, because they would get a fast track to legal permanent residence and to citizenship.

It is a plan to benefit the economy because preference would be given to unskilled and semi-skilled laborers, thereby keeping up a flow of legal residents who would accept less than desirable jobs, and afford business/industry with low cost labor.

It is a plan that would then protect the sovereignty of the USA and her borders because of increased law enforcement authority and enforcement; and because of the secure border.

It is a plan that would encourage legal immigration because those who immigrate here legally would be on the fast track to citizenship, and those arrested would face either removal or incarceration.

It is a plan that could work if given a real push.

Of course I realize it would need a lot of work in Washington, DC, but my plan is a basic framework, one I think to benefit us all.

I hope to garner support for such a plan by sending this proposal to my representatives within the U.S. Senate, to my representatives within the House of Representatives, to the Vice President, and to President Bush. In addition I will be sending copies to as many news media outlets as I can such as Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, local news papers and radio stations, and so forth. It is truly my hope that the bill currently before the congress that effectively grants virtual amnesty for illegal aliens will be replaced with something that would be of more benefit to the Citizens of our great nation.

With the greatest of respect for you and your office,

Glenn R. Bartley
(contact info)

The Fine Print: Did I forget to mention above, that if you think my plan will not work, then deport/remove all of the slime balls illegal aliens, and open the doors to those who have waited to immigrate legally!

A Missed Tribute...

...by me yesterday was the result of me having to be awake by now to go to work today. In other words I had little time after getting home last night to do anything before I hit the hay.

Of course the missed tribute that I am writing about is the fact that it was the anniversary of D-Day yesterday, and I did not pay tribute as I should have. It was another of those lest we forget days (see my blog of two days ago about The Battle of Midway), and one of the most important ones at that for we as a nation. Thousands of allied forces gave their lives on June 6, 1944, and in all with wounded and missing there were about 10,000 allied casualties. The German casualty count was estimated to be between 4,000 to 9,000. Despite the fewer losses, the Germans were beaten decisively, and the way was paved for the allied take over of Nazi occupied Europe. If you do not know which battle I am writing about, maybe you have seen the opening battle in Saving Private Ryan. We owe those brave souls an awful lot, without their bravery and dedication we may have been goose stepping today, and their would have been very few if any of the Jewish faith left amongst us. Life would have been very different indeed, had the Germans won WWII; and not for the better.

Now off to work for me. Maybe another blog later tonight.

All the best,
Glenn B

How Do You Match Up To Star Trek

Well, thanks to The Anarchangel, I had some fun with the below:

Your results:
You are James T. Kirk (Captain)

James T. Kirk (Captain) 95% Spock 75% Chekov 75% Worf 75% Jean-Luc Picard 70% Will Riker 70% Deanna Troi 70% Mr. Sulu 55% Geordi LaForge 55% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 55% Mr. Scott 50% Beverly Crusher 40% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 35% Uhura 35% Data 34%

You are often exaggerated and over-the-top in your speech and expressions. You are a romantic at heart and a natural leader.

Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character are you?" quiz...

Lest We Forget: A Reminder About June 4, 1942

June 4, 1942 was the commencement day of quite possibly the most important naval/air, battle of WWII, that of the Battle of Midway. This battle came about 6 months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and it lasted about 4 days (June 3-6). In brief, much of the Japanese naval fleet was headed toward Midway Atoll to launch an attack by which the Japanese hoped to destroy the U.S. fleet's capital ships (basically its aircraft carriers), destroy the U.S. air bases on Midway, and then to occupy Midway and establish their own air base their. This would have effectively allowed Japan free reign in the Pacific, and they could very well have carried out their plans to conquer all of the Pacific island nations, and then possibly would have attacked Hawaii with a similar plan as at Midway.

The thing was though that the U.S, had figured out what the Japanese had planned, and U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Nimitz sent a large naval force to counterattack the Japanese fleet. With the naval air power of the U.S. fleet, combined with the U.S. air power on Midway, the U.S. forces inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese fleet. There are different statistics in different reference materials, but all seem to agree that the Japanese lost at least 4 carriers, and a heavy cruiser. Here are the statistics from one source that also tells how many aircraft and men were lost:

"The Japanese lost 4 carriers, a heavy cruiser, 3 destroyers, some 275 planes, at least 4,800 men, and suffered heavy damage among the remaining vessels of their fleet. American losses included on(e) carrier, the Yorktown, a destroyer, about 150 planes, and 307 men." ( Reference source: http://www.worldwar2history.info/Midway/)

The effect of this battle was that the U.S. naval forces in the Pacific were now about equal in strength to those of the Japanese. This was therefore one of the most pivotal naval/air battles of the war.

I guess you have seen I keep saying naval/air battles of the war, as opposed to simply saying it was a naval battle. The reason for this is, as best I can decipher and recollect from my history lessons, that the naval ships of each navy never once fired upon one another in this battle. All of the fighting against the ships was done from airplanes, either carrier based or land based (those from Midway). Of course there was some other fighting done against the Japanese aircraft as from ground fire from Midway onto those Japanese aircraft that tried to wipe out the land based air bases; but as it stood and still does, this was one heck of a major naval/air battle in which the ships never fired upon one another.

Never forget our enemies nor our protectors, and here is why: We should never forget they who tried to conquer us, lest they or others like them may succeed in the future; and we should never forget they who protected us, lest they or others like them fail to do so in the future. We owe those brave Americans of the past, and the present, the fact that we are Americans today.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Apologies...

...for the lack of blogging over the weekend. I was busy with other things and did not get the chance. I probably will not have much of a chance today either, that is until later tonight.

All the best,
Glenn B

Prom Night...

...sounds like lots of fun, well for the kids. From what I can see from a parent's perspective it can be a somewhat worrisome night, followed by the same for the weekend. Brendan and his girlfriend Julia are attending her prom tonight. They seem to be looking forward to a great time, and I cannot blame them, it does promise to be fun with the prom, a nice dinner, then a weekend in the Hamptons with a bunch of prom goers. Yes it will be chaperoned, but I imagine other parents are still concerned like me. I met Julia's family tonight for the first time, and her dad seemed as concerned as am I. We have good kids though, so I am pretty confident all will work out well. Of course neither of the moms seemed worried at all. My wife, to the right with Brendan, was all smiles. Sadly I did not get a good shot of Julia's parents facing the camera, but I hope to get a copy of one their other daughter took of Brendan, Julia, her parents, and Linda and I all together.

The next pic is Brendan, Julia and Angelo (Julia's dad) trying to figure out on which side should Brendan wear his flower. I was no help there, heck you can always take me out, but you cannot dress me up. They wound up placing it on the left lapel, and we figured if it was wrong, Brendan could move it later.

If you look closely you can see a Yellow Rose wristlet in the box in Brendan's hand. No he was not going to wear that too, that one was for his sweetheart Julia.

I think she looks pretty in her pretty gown, prettier still with those roses in place, and most beautiful of all with Brendan by her side. So, of course, I saved the best pic from the bunch for last. I am betting they will have a great time on this prom weekend. Who knows, maybe they wills till be together next year, and then they can both attend Brendan's prom.

All the best,

Glenn B

It Was A Good Story...

...to explain a lot of things in the world to ignorant early civilizations, and to give people a good outline for how they should act with respect to morality; but the truth is the Bible, or any other religious book as far as I am aware, never addressed subjects going back more than several thousand years from the present time, and probably not more than a few thousand or so years before it was written. I believe that now though, the time has come and long since passed, that people need to realize that the Bible and other religious books were written by people, and then later transcribed by other people in the languages of the world. These people could have had no to extremely little knowledge of the world when it began, and how it developed over the eons, so to explain anything these books say, and still say, religious people attribute the words of such books to God.

I am not really a believer in God as most people understand God. I believe in spirituality but not a God Almighty per se, yet I do believe in one overwhelming spiritual power - that of the universe itself. Without going further into my spiritual beliefs though, I want to further address the beliefs of they who believe in the truth of such religious books, and who do not give any credence to the science that states the world is millions or billions of years old, to people who will not accept the truth in front of their own faces because they refuse to give up a claim they have made for years - that the Bible or other religious books such as the Quran explain everything. They simply do not, despite the fact that people believe them to be the word of God.

If these religious books were the fonts of all knowledge as they seemingly claim to be, then why is there no mention of so many things, that we have proof of having existed. The religious books make many mentions of animals throughout there texts. Animals of all types, especially domestic animals, and wild animals that caused a threat to ancient people, seemed to be mentioned often in these books. For example sheep, lions, goats, serpents, locusts, birds, are all mentioned in religious books, as are others. These animals are also mentioned in lay historical accounts of the ancient times. Something the religious books make no mention of, nor are they mentioned in historical accounts, are living dinosaurs; well that is unless you ant to give credence to a few tales of the Loch Ness Monster and to the knights fighting fire breathing Dragons (but then again dragons that breathe fire are a bit much).

Now, all of a sudden, some Christians who are strict creationists have developed a museum wherein they display dinosaurs and other prehistoric life and try to explain that all of these creatures lived within about the past few thousand years or so, and that they have proof of this in religious texts, and the word of God. They are apparently trying to make their argument, which is a religious argument, seem to be based upon science with the creation of a 'Creation Museum'. I am sorry but I just cannot buy into it. If that makes me a heathen, then so be it; but I would rather be what I believe to be a fairly intelligent heathen than a person who insists in believing that the world is only a few to several thousand years old, and that all of the dinosaurs walked the earth within that time frame. Believe what you want, teach it in public schools if you want (along with science), but don't ram it down my throat as being gospel and therefore the truth. There is just too much evidence out there to suggest otherwise than it being true, and too little evidence to suggest likewise in support of its so called truth.

Still the Bible and other books may be the word of God to man, but then again who is anyone among mankind to think that God told us all there was to tell, or even that God told us the truth. Pretty assuming on the part of anyone who believes in the word of God to believe that mankind was worthy enough to hear it all. I guess that has always been one of my biggest gripes with organized religions, each faith seemingly preaches about God, and the word of God, as if their religion was the final word on everything. Science can get that way sometimes too, but the thing about science is that it is constantly challenged, constantly rewritten, and always evolving because of more and more evidence about, and therefore more and more understanding of the universe. Just my opinion, but I believe it to be somewhat pompous and overbearing on the part of religious zealots to claim that they were special enough to have heard it all from the mouth of God as if mankind was His confidant.

An Addendum 9added at 1705 hours 05/31/2007: I fully grant there may be a God, even though I believe otherwise than conventional religious wisdom. If you prefer to believe in God over science, or science over God okay by me. I think there is a lot of truth in the Bible, and other religious tomes, but do not agree that any of them are all explicative of the universe, and that stands even if they truly are the words of God in those books. It just amazes me how a person could even for a moment believe that mankind is so special that God revealed all there is to reveal to us; and that is exactly how the curators of this museum seem to be coming off.

All the best,

Glenn B

Just A Thought

"I've decided what I want to do with my life, I wanna be a cleaner."

Great line from a great, albeit very violent, movie. I just heard it from over my shoulder as I sat here reading blogs; my son is watching The Professional. As I heard it I thought, 'that may just be the answer to getting rid of the filth'. Then again it wouldn't be right - would it?

All the best,
Glenn

Flag Burning, Patriotism, and Dog Snot - yes they have something in common!

Have you ever wanted to beat the dog snot out of someone, and wanted to do it really, really badly? I am not usually a physically violent guy; I try to avoid violent confrontations, but yet I find myself wanting to beat someone badly right now. Maybe that is because I just read this Vandals Burn Dozens of American Flags Decorating Veterans' Graves, Replace With Swastikas @ FoxNews.com. It is a brief, but very disturbing story about some damage done at a cemetery by whom I believe to be the kind of filthy minded little twits who are running around our country nowadays mouthing off their brand of anti-patriotism and disrespect for our nation and its citizens in general. What these bastards need, I think, is not a psychological review, nor a stint in a jail cell, what I think they need is a good ass whooping 'from here to Carnarsie' (its a NY thing), one in which someone knocks the dog snot out of them (since there is no dog snot in a human head, this beating could take awhile). No I am not advocating, or even hinting, that someone really should go out to find these guys and beat them up because that would not be legal; however if it was legal I would be the first in line because that is how pissed off they have gotten me.

Here is why it pisses me off so much:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

and to the Republic for which it stands,

one nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

You see, whenever I recite the pledge I mean it.

Go here to see what someone else had to say about the meaning of each word in the Pledge of Allegiance. If the link does not work here is the address: http://patriotfiles.org/Pledge.htm). You will need to turn on the sound on your PC. By the way, if you remember the guy who is doing the talking, then you are dating yourself as a dinosaur like me!

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Memorial Day - Make A Difference

Here is to remembering that we are a country that has been kept safe throughout history by men and women in uniform, many of whom have lost there lives in wars and other conflicts.

Respect they who are gone, and respect and support those who still struggle to keep us free. Go out of your way to do a little something for them. Send an email, letter, or care package to a soldier, a Marine, an airman or a sailor.

If you don't know someone to whom you can send emails, letters, and care packages you can go to this site to 'adopt' a soldier: http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=adopt-a-soldier. As I understand, you sign up, they then verify your info, then they assign a soldier to you so you can start communicating with him/her. There was no cost to sign up, but they do accept donations. More infor here: http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=adopting-a-soldier. By the way, I am not sure if this is just for the army, or if it encompasses personnel in all branches of the military service. I believe they also suggest ways to help the families of soldiers too.

Ihave sent care packages and emails before, to soldiers I did not know, but not on a very regular basis. This sounds like a truly easy way to make a good difference, on a recurring basis, in the life of a soldier who is risking his or her life protecting you, me, and our freedoms.

Here is another link to a site that will enable you to contact the troops via email: http://www.usafns.com/email.shtml#AA

And yet another: http://emailourmilitary.com/

All the best,
Glenn B

Weekend Projects

Besides having a nice family get together yesterday; I kept myself busy this weekend - so far - with a few small projects.

On Friday evening I picked up a pair of Fire bellied Newts from a young lady who was having some trouble caring for them. While one was plump and healthy, the other was on the skinny side and was not eating properly. The young gal who gave them up for adoption figured that this was due to heat stress, her apartment being too warm for them. I took them home and put them in the basement where the temp remains below 72 degree Fahrenheit almost all the time. The skinny one has been eating black worms (live fish food) like a champ, and I am hopeful he will put on weight right away.

While these newts may not look like much from above, but they do live up to their names when you see their undersides. Sorry the pic of the belly came out so blurry but the little booger was squirming wildly as I held it for the photo. Still though you can see why they have their name. Now one of my projects will be setting up a suitable tank for these guys, which is not all that much work, if I keep it simple, which is one of the easiest ways to keep these guys. A tank, some dechlorinated clean water,, a rock or two on which to climb out, and a tight fitting screen lid. I may also add a power filter, but I think not because these guys are not the most powerful swimmers; so that will require frequent water changes. No big deal. They will get fed whatever they will eat, from black worms to tubifex worms, to freshwater shrimp (which I will have to collect locally), to brine shrimp, to chopped up red worms. Bear in mind the food has to be on the smaller side for these newts since they are only about 3 inches long. I also have to do some in depth checking to see if I can determine which is the exact type of newt I now have. There are a few species with the same common name, and all look similar.

On Saturday, I took a drive up to Sleepy Hollow, of Headless Horseman fame, and I picked up a Ball Python from a couple who were moving and would no longer be able to care for it. Ball pythons are fairly easy to keep snakes, but not the best for the beginner snake fancier. This one was in the process of shedding and had patches of dried out skin stuck all over its back. Once I got it home, I gave it a soaking bath inside a large plastic jar (top screwed on tightly) for about an hour. All that dried on skin sloughed off nicely. It should have come off in one piece, but apparently this python was kept too dry before this shed. Last night I got around to setting up a tank for it, and I kept it simple as I almost always do for my snakes. A tank, some substrate, two hide boxes, a water bowl. a heat pad, a screen top, a branch for climbing, and a light (also for heat) these snakes are tropical need it warm (low to mid-eighties ambient temps with the heating pad spot up to 100 degree Fahrenheit). The light is hooked up to a timer, but the heat pad stays on 24/7. As you can see, I need to get some clips to secure the top, but tape will work for now.

The folks from whom I got the ball python told me it was sometimes a fussy eater, but it would eat thawed out rat pups. I fed it a mouse last night, and it took it immediately - no problems feeding this guy at all - so far. I imagine it will eat the rat pups they gave me along with the snake, but I wanted to see if it would eat mice too since I have a large supply of feeder mice on hand. It took the mouse as soon as it got close to it. Now it has a nice bulge in its midsection, and will be spending a lot of time under the hide that sits over the heat pad as it digests its weekly meal.

These animals will be used throughout the summer in exhibitions put on by the Long Island Herpetological Society. I may keep them beyond the summer, but if not I will adopt them out to another society member or someone else whom I know will take care of them properly. Chances are I will keep them though, I have, or had, a little extra space in the herp room.

All the best,

Glenn B

Ammo Guess Contest Update

The winner was Jeffery Huong. of Atlanta, GA. He selected the holster for the semi-auto, and received it this weekend. Jeff, I hope you get a lot of good use out of it.

I still have one extra holster left over, so maybe I'll have to come up with another contest in the not too distant future.

All the best,
Glenn B

Summertime Not Quite...

...having set upon us yet, but nonetheless yesterday was a day to enjoy while sitting under the shade of a good tree, drinking a tasty beverage of your choice, and eating a good meal cooked over an open fire. The birds were singing in the trees and flocking to the backyard bird feeders, the squirrels were scampering about looking for a treat, the dogs were under the tables in the shade also hoping for a treat, as a good number of my family sat around those same tables to enjoy our first barbecue of the year. As luck would have it, my daughter's boyfriend decided to fire up the grill, and in no time the aroma of hamburgers and franks filled the air, and made tails wag. How I got that lucky, not to have to cook, is beyond me - but why question good luck!

The talk was light, and festive, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood with one possible exception, but I really should not go there, so that is all I will say about the one possible lone dissenter. Everyone except for me was enjoying a non-alcohol beverage like iced tea, root beer, diet Pepsi (yech) and the like. I instead decided to let the back lawn have a drink, lest I forget later in the day, so that it wouldn't turn yellow as we sat and watched it wither in the heat. In almost no time, as if by the same magic that had turned it into such a nice day, the food arrived at table and was served. I hastened the self assigned chore of watering the grass, then rushed inside and grabbed a beverage, and when I came back outside I was surprised to see my neighbor Jim manning the grill. Keven was already feasting and had abandoned chef duties. I sat down with the small assemblage and had a dripping red centered burger and a couple of Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Biers; E. Coli be damned! The stoneware stein kept my biers cold as I drank, and I hoped the higher than usual alcohol content for a beer would kill any E. coli in by blood dripping burger. Despite the temps in the high 80's, maybe even into the low 90's, those biers kept me chilled.

Everyone but me feasted on burgers, franks, homemade bean salad, homemade German potato salad, pickles, and whatever else my wife had put out. I kept it to a burger ad a hot dog, saving some room for dessert. Suddenly I realized the main course was finished, and the table was cleared, more or less; and the talk went on. Just family and neighborly chit chat, as I relaxed and watched the Purple House finches eat from the bird feeders. Bold little creatures indeed they are to come to feed while within mere feet of a throng of festive party goers. On and off I would take my nephew Daniel to look at a tortoise, or see a snake, or the hamsters - all to keep him from getting too bored what with no other young ones around. Then we dug for worms to feed the turtles, and instead of a worm he found an old beer bottle buried in the soil. I wonder how that got there??? By the way, I don't mean old as in yesterday either, I mean really old from a long defunct brewery in New York; my guess would be from at least 75 years ago. It had a light aquamarine sheen to it, funny color for a beer bottle nowadays, but I guess more common back then. It was as if treasure had been uncovered; you see the little one's dad (who sadly had to work and did not attend) has an old bottle collection. I hope he remembered to take it home to add to dad's collection, I'll have to take a look around later this morning.

In almost no time it was time for dessert. Out came a cheese cake of multiple flavors, a homemade chocolate layer cake frosted in white icing, a couple of boxes of Dunkin Donuts, and some other goodies. All of these good treats were accompanied by a pot of coffee from which the aroma was heavenly. No it was not Chock-Full-Of-Nuts that heavenly coffee of years ago, this was coffee I had picked up at the Porto Rico Importing Company a few days before, a Guatemalan Maragogipe. I had mine black, others as they please, and then we dove right into dessert. Mmmm, mmmmmm goooood!

All too soon after dessert it was time to do the dessert dishes, which I gladly got out of the way since my wife Linda had done so much already. Luckily there were no dishes from diner, since we had used paper plates for the main course. Once finished it was back out to the gang, for a bit more talk. Then suddenly it was as if the clock had struck midnight, and everyone was heading for the door in a mad dash of gotta get out of here to beat traffic home. That left me, the wife, my son Brendan (who had spent the whole time in the basement trying to get over tonsillitis), and my mother-in-law at home. Even my daughter Celina, and her beau Kevin had beat feet. Well, I was left with a bit of tidying up, and once done, I had plenty of time to relax or so I thought. My next door neighbor Nick, as me to give him a hand putting up the tented portion of a sort of tented gazebo he had just erected. I helped him out, and in about an hour or so we had it finished. I am only hoping my wife does not ask him where he got it, because if she does I anticipate putting one up at our house. Rest came after that.

All in all it was a great day. Hopefully you all are having a great weekend too. Lest we forget, one of the reasons it was a great day, and one of the reasons we were all there to enjoy it in safety and comfort, was that we have had, and have, a strong military protecting us. The men and woman of the U.S. Armed forces who have given there lives, or been injured, or who have served, protecting our nation and all of its people should never be forgotten, especially on Memorial Day weekend. My thanks to them for the good time we had. I hope they know at least, that they are in our thoughts, and in our prayers too; and we support them and there efforts 100 percent.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Guests Are In...

...and soon the barbecue will begin.
But before I started to cook,
I went to take a look,
to see what beer was on tap,
when I realized holy cr-p;
I forgot to buy some brew
So right now it's - later for you.
I am off to buy some tasty ale
before I wither and turn pale.

All the best,
Glenn B

'An Inconvenient Truth' - You Bet! This is a must read...

...for anyone who is truly concerned with the environment, and for anyone who gives any credence or credit (carbon or otherwise) to Al Gore. Take a look at: Two Houses over at Cap'n Bob & The Damsel. If the link doesn't work, then use this address for said post:

http://capnbob.us/blog/2007/05/24/two-houses/.

Yes you already know, the real inconvenient truth, all about Al Gore's house and how much energy it uses compared to the average American home; but I am willing to bet the great majority of you do not know about the other house and how inconvenient the truth about it would be to Al Gore should the media ever put it in the limelight!

All I can say is that: after reading that small piece, and then checking to verify the claims by way of other sources, I have a whole new respect for George W. Bush who actually lives in a 'Green (ecologically-friendly) House'. My contempt for Al Gore has not changed in the least; I already believed him to be a contemptuous lying scoundrel; and now I am simply all the more satisfied that my belief is correct. For all I could care, Al Gore could choke on his carbon credits, and I think it would be doing all of us a favor. He is, in my opinion, nothing more than a rotten bullshitter and pompous asshole. Shame on anyone who gives him any credit for trying to protect the environment when all he is apparently doing is making money selling a book and a movie while he riles up the wackos..

One note before I close. I am none too sure those houses in the pictures are actually Gore's and Bush's houses, although the facts stated about them seem to be supported by other sources, and the one pictured next to the paragraph about Bush's house, in general fits a description of it that I found elsewhere. It is not important if the pictures portray the actual houses, what is important is the stated facts about each house regarding energy efficiency or lack thereof.

All the best,
Glenn B

Weekend Plans Anyone?

I was just wondering what some of you are doing for the Memorial Day weekend. Anyone going to a parade or anything to honor our military personnel? I am hopeful to be back to my village by parade time tomorrow, but I may miss it because of a prior commitment. You know by now that I am an avid herp keeper (keeping reptiles and amphibians, not herpes); and tomorrow I will be heading up to Sleepy Hollow, NY to pick up a Ball Python that someone has up for adoption. I can't wait to face the traffic northbound out of NYC and Long Island of all the happy campers getting away for the weekend. I am guessing an hour ride may take as many as two hours.

Once I pick up the snake (which will probably wind up being another story this weekend), it will be back home for me; and I have to get back reasonably soon because we are having a barbecue. The wife expects me to cook, and I told her I would, so I have to get to Sleepy Hollow, and turn right around to head back home. I think I may stop for a case of cold ones, maybe a nice German Hefe Weiss Bier. That stuff goes great with any barbecued food of which I can think, and if the food comes out burned, after a few of them - I won't care. Along those lines I love Paulauner Hefe Weiss, but there are many others. The cloudier with yeast, the better as far as I am concerned.

On Sunday, we are heading to my brother-in-law Han's house for another barbecue. He makes one heck of a steak marinade, and I am looking forward to some really good eats at his place. Of course, I'll have to bring along some of the Weiss Biers to his place. He loves them as much or more than me. Then again, who knows, maybe I'll pick up some Ommegang Abbey Ale, also great stuff - good with heavier foods - especially meat dishes, so also great for a barbecue beverage.

On Monday I will be looking for the real deal parade. I may go into NYC to see some of the ships that are here for fleet week. If I do, I'll be sure to stop and thank as many servicemen and women as I can find. I have already done that a bit over the past couple of days. They deserve our thanks and more.

Enjoy your weekend.

All the best,
Glenn B

Retirement Party Planning...

...apparently can be a bit of a pain in the behind, even for a pretty informal get together. I am finding this out first hand as I am in the process of trying to put together a party for a co-worker/friend who retired a few months back. As was usual, when he retired, I figured someone else would arrange for his retirement party. I guess most of those someone else types have all retired by now because despite this guy being well liked around the office, no one put anything together for him. Well, it could also be that moral on my job being at an all time low also had something to do with it. So as it turned out, i figured I would try to arrange a party for him - just something where those who want to attend will meet at a local restaurant/watering hole, and we will split the bill for dinner and drinks. Actually this is not as much a pain in the backside as it is a daunting task for me because I am not that self confident that I am going about it right, but since no one else stepped forward to do it - so what. I know some folks are interested in attending, I already checked on that; and so too is the honoree looking forward to it.

Forging right ahead today, I went to one of a few places I had in mind for the party here in Manhattan. I took a co-worker along and we had lunch there this afternoon. The place is called Giggles and is a restaurant/bar combo. It has a pub like atmosphere, is pretty big with lots of seating, has a lot of variety on the menu, has lots of variety behind the bar, and has fairly reasonable prices for Manhattan, especially in midtown. For lunch I had an everything burger, a huge burger covered with fried onions, mushrooms, bacon and cheddar cheese. It sat on a likewise huge bun. It was accompanied by tomato, raw onion, lettuce, pickle and fries. My pal Bob had a Cesar Salad. We both had sodas for our beverages (no booze because it was lunch on a work day, and booze and my job do not mix).

The waitress who served us was a pretty young lass, and not only that but she was a good waitress too. She was quite attentive. Once our order was in, we were served bread and butter, and our drinks arrived quickly. After a decent wait, pretty much just a short time later, our meals were brought out. I could not believe the size of the burger, it had to be 1/2 pound of beef. besides that, it was cooked just how I had asked for it to be - medium rare. It was a tasty burger indeed, and I washed it down with a tasty beverage too. Bob enjoyed the salad, and he noted that the service had been great. The waitress stopped by a few times to check on us, and was quite pleasant. Before leaving we asked to speak to the manager about arranging for a party, but the manager was not available. I'll have to give them a call early next week after the holiday. I am hopeful I can work some sort of discount out if I can assure them 25 or more people at the retirement dinner, hopefully they will be able to accommodate us on the nights I have in mind. Once I find that out, I will put out the word that the party date and place has been set, and wait to see who responds by or before whatever date Giggles gives to me as the cut off date for making a reservation.

Once that is all set I can only hope those who will have told me they will attend, will actually show up. I guess I can also hope that parking will be none too hard to find, but that is almost always a problem in Manhattan. Of course, I will have to also hope that the retiree shows up! If this comes off nicely, who knows, I may be elected as the office's Grand Poobah of retirement party planning.

If you are ever in NYC, and need a place to have a decent lunch in midtown Manhattan (very close to Times Square (2 blocks away) I recommend this place. Good food, good drink, and great service. I hope it is likewise for you if you ever get the chance to check it out.

All the best,
Glenn B

Some People Are Crazy, Some Are Criminal, Some Are Stupid...

...and if you read this article: Man Sentenced to Life for Killing Teen Who Walked on His Lawn you will see an examples of a man who was probably crazy and criminal as it now stands, and a number of other people (quite likely 12) who were, in my opinion, just outright stupid. Read the article for yourselves and it will, or should, be readily apparent why I believe the convicted man was both crazy (note I did not say legally insane) and criminal. It should also be readily apparent why I think the members of the jury who convicted him were stupid. If is not apparent you can always come back and ask me, in the comments section, why I thought they were stupid; and no I will not think you stupid for asking.

What a legal system!

All the best,
Glenn B

I wonder - So Who Cares...

about these things so much:

Pop Tarts: Paris Hilton Turns to God

Baby Is Born to Mary Cheney, Daughter of Vice President

Reality Check: Jordin Sparks Wins Sixth Season of 'American Idol'

Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck Engage in Raucous On-Air Feud on 'The View'

Angelina Jolie Tears Up Over Late Mom in TV Interview, Says She's 'Holding on to My Family Really Tight'

As to have made them among the 'most read' stories at FoxNews.com this morning? Is Fox for real, are these really among the stories most read by people who have visited the FoxNews site recently? It makes me feel sorry for my fellow citizens. There are, I think, just so many other more important things to think about, to read about, and to act on, than what I believe is this fantasy land crap. I guess though I must be in some sort of a minority because as Fox points out, these are among the "most read" stories.

I would have thought though that Americans would have been much more interested in reading about:

Military IDs Murdered GI

Is There a Hero in Your Family Tree?

Bush to Hold 11:00 a.m. ET Presser on Iraq

Islamic Militants Defy Lebanese Ultimatum

Jobless Claims Post Slight Increase

Iran President: We Will Grow Nuke Program

Corzine in Buckle-Up Ad: 'I Should Be Dead'

Guest Worker Plan Slashed in Senate

Or to have watched this video:

Taliban spring offensive MIA?

These things seem so much more important to me than do those in the first list I gave above. There isn't, I would guess, much more for me to say about this, except maybe that the lack of interest in really important things amazes me. No wonder terrorists can attack us unimpeded, no wonder our borders are over run by tides of the dregs of humanity, no wonder violent crime can soar so high in our nation's capital, no wonder our rights can be trampled upon on a daily basis - we (on the whole) are mostly too busy with our heads buried up the asses of fantasy land celebrities while life in the real world goes only checked on by those few who would face reality. What a shame.

All the best,
Glenn B