rednecks

Ok, so now I live in the country, however, living in the country does not a redneck make. Being a redneck is a choice and a way of life.

I went to a bbq this past weekend. The 'guy talk' in the garage while the fish was being fried was vulgar to put it mildly. Hey...if you really don't think you'll enjoy being married and sleeping with the same woman for the rest of your life...why bother getting married???

We left EARLY, Melissa was bored. The wives turned on NASCAR and were glued to it. puke.

By the time THEY ended the bbq, someone's car frame had been stolen, along with a political sign, a raccoon and a cat were mercilessly ran down and killed for entertainment, along with one coon escaping, but wounded badly I would assume. The car frame, sign and dead animals found their way to someone's walk leading to their front door....all in the name of 'humor'.

Glad I left early.

How is this legal???

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D971964O1&show_article=1

So Dodd and Geitner screwed up and let those AIG contracts "slip by them" that allowed for the exhorbidant bonuses AIG recently paid out...and now they think it's OK to impose a NINETY PERCENT TAX on those bonuses?

What's to keep them from imposing a 90% tax on MY bonus?

This is incompetence at its finest.

UPDATE: It's NOT!!! This is what is called a Bill of Attainder and is EXPRESSLY prohibited in Article 1 Section 8 of the constitution.

Nice...Congress gets to ignore the constitution. This will go all the way up to the Supreme Court who will rule it unconstitutional and strike down the law. More taxpayer money wasted! Lovely!

Ever wonder what a TRILLION dollars looks like?

Yes, a TRILLION, as in $1,000,000,000,000

http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fed-to-buy-up-to-300B-apf-14679757.html

another one bites the dust!

http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1090140.html

approximately 7 (seven) .40 caliber shells .... $5
money saved from having no trial/incarceration...$20,000
one less dirtbag off the streets....priceless.

Good job KCPD!!

Winner, Winner...chicken dinner!

woohoo! I won a (free) bar-poker tournament last night. My spoils of war?....
500pts toward the quarterly cash-prize tournament...
and a $.50 knock-off swiss army knife key chain.

This sums up how I feel...

about this porkulus spending bill and mortgage 'rescue'...
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853

Hunt with it, or learn to graze....

I don't know of any boy who hasn't pretended to be an indian at one point and made a bow from a tree branch and attempted to shoot an arrow from it. For a looooooooong time, I had wanted to get into archery, but specifically bow hunting and recently I had the opportunity to do just that.

Now, my wife will interject here and predict that this (as with MOST of my hobbies) they come and go; a year or two in and I'll lose interest. I disagree. I LOVE hunting. I love to eat what I kill (so does my family and friends) and it's a great way to connect with the outdoor world, not to mention my boys. My oldest son shot his first deer this fall (gun hunting) and is hooked.

But shooting a bow and a gun are two very different things, indeed. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE makes perfect.

I can't wait for April 20! Turkey season starts and I'm looking forward to taking down a big ol' gobbler with my Ross Cardiac!

CONGRATS!!!

To my BEAUTIFUL wife who just passed her licensing inspection with the State of Missouri for her preschool!!!!!!!!!! :) :)

WAY TO GO honey!!!!!! I'm SOOOO proud of you for your dedication in doing things on the UP and UP. :)

Murphy stopped by to pay a visit...

So I'm getting my first GOOD bonus from work, ever, this coming Friday.

Yesterday, the tennants of our rental property called to say the furnace wouldn't shut off.

I called the repair company, they come out and tell me that to fix the problem it is going to be HALF of what a new furnace would be. We opted for a new furnace.

Ughhhhh.....

Thank you Lord for the blessing.
Hey Murphy...i've paid my dues for a while, now go away!

HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!

Ok, so this is 3 years old now, but damn funny!

2006:
Ted Nugent, a heavy metal guitar legend and devoted (bow) hunter, was being interviewed by a French journalist. Eventually, the conversation turned to his love of outdoor pursuits. The journalist asked, "What do you think the last thought is in the head of a deer before you shoot it? Is it, "Are you my friend?" or maybe "Are you the one who killed my brother?"

Nugent replied, "They aren't capable of that kind of thinking. All they care about is, What am I going to eat next? Who am I going to screw next? and, Can I run fast enough to get away? They are very much like the French in that."

VIVA LA NUGE!

Reading is so passe...

Hmmmmmm.......
So over the past few years, a bunch of people got mortgages that now they can't pay because they didn't READ the fine print about adjustable ARM's.

Now...the same Dem's who fought for the fair housing act (see above) just passed an almost 1 TRILLION dollar spending bill that Obummer is expected to sign tomorrow. Admittedly, Reid has said that he doubts if ANYONE had time to READ THE BILL.

Remember how "URGENT" it was to pass this thing? So URGENT that no one had time to read it? URGENT...just like it was URGENT that we go after WMD's in Iraq? I hope you obamaphiles realize that the more things CHANGE the more they stayed the same...or got worse.

Give this guy a medal!

http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1036050.html

I think for every scumbag a law abiding citizen takes out and saves the taxpayers money should be given a medal AND a $1000 gift card to Denny's Guns in KCMO for an automatic firearm. :)

Flu shots

I got one back in October. No one else in my family did.
Steven was the first victim a week ago.
Isaac caught it two days later.
Melissa just got it this morning.

I've had to clean up the messes from the first two and have been in the same house....I haven't got it yet. It's either due to the mostly preserved state my body is in from all the coca-cola and junk food I've had over the years OR..............

*gasp*.....

That darned ol' nasty flu shot I got back in Oct. :)

$13/week + an $800 credit

Obummer, Reid, Pelosi....you are all idiots. Bona-fide, can't find your ass with both hands, don't know poop from apple butter, dumber than a screen door on a submarine, idiots.

This spending bill (NOT stimulus) is a joke. If you do the math, that means I will see IN TOTAL about $1400 more descresionary income PER YEAR. WHOOPTEE FREEKIN DOO-DAH. Where was the bi-partisan love fest Mr. President? Where was your reaching across the aisle to draft a bill that suited everyone? The republicans were SHUT OUT from the negotiations. God forbid anyone cast suspicion or a jaundiced eye on this mega SPENDING BILL and hold the socialist dem's accountable.

Furthermore, there is a provision in this bill to create a FEDERAL medical oversight committee that will begin "suggesting" treatments that are the best/lowest cost (that's an oxymoron) to hospitals and doctors REGARDLESS of if your insurance is private or government funded. Wait a minute...what in THE HELL gives politico's the right to choose what my doctor prescribes as a means of treatment for ME? This provision goes on to say that there will be PENALTIES for doctors and hospitals who are not "ACTIVE USERS" of this system. So basically, there is nothing to prevent them from ratcheting up the penalties (FINES) on doctors and hospitals who choose NOT to use this system until they've the choice to give into the collective socialist/marxist dictated treatments or to go out of business. Folks, the USA is becoming more and more the Peoples Republik of the Western Hemispher everyday. HELLLLLOOOOOOOO!!! SOCIALIZED MEDICINE DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!! On average, you have to wait TWO MONTHS to see a specialist in the UK for ANYTHING. With my PPO I could go tomorrow or even TODAY if they could work me in. And just who is the leader in pushing the agenda for the electronic health record? You guessed it...Daschle. The disgraced "oh golly gee, I didn't know I owed $150 GRAND in back taxes" Tom Daschle...socialist healthcare nazi. And who is the technology leader who has been lobbying for this crap forever? CERNER. That's right, here in good ol' KC. If this bill gets signed, expect to see a BOOM in cerner's stock AND growth. That will be a tale tell sign of what's to come. That's just what our screwed up medical system needs. Those jerks Patterson, Illig, and Gorrup's crap-code vapor ware (which is a disgrace AND is about to get kicked out of the UK by the way) telling my doctor to prescribe xanax when I need ibuprofen.

An interesting thought to ponder....those on THE HILL get a taxpayer funded medical insurance as part of their compensation...HOWEVER, I can assure you it's not medicaid. It would be really, really interesting to know if THEIR plans are affected by this bill. I would be willing to wager a whole lot of money that I don't have that it won't. Folks, George Orwell's Animal Farm is unfolding before your eyes!!! The pigs have risen to power and have already started walking on two legs, wearing monicles and drinking martini's in the farmers house!!!

You want to suckle from the nanny government's teet, then fine. You can have the 'always save' version of healthcare and gob'mint cheese. Good luck with that. But by God, I will NOT for ONE MINUTE let uncle same tell me my wife or kids (or me) cannot have an experimental treatment or procedure that may be the ONLY way to save our lives. I will NEVER go on assistance or public health care. I will work TWENTY jobs if I have to. Why? Because THAT IS THE WAY I WAS RAISED and it's the RIGHT WAY. If we'd fix the freaking CRIMINAL ALIEN problem in this country, there would be no choice for the unemployed....go pick fruit, become a roofer, et al. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I see we've also had some traitors in the GOP. Two senators from Maine and one from PA. The weakest of the heard singled themselves out and I hope NO ONE from the GOP gives them a single minute of time or an ounce of support THE NEXT TIME a "STIMULUS" bill (or any bill they sponsor for that matter) gets floated by. Oh, and there will be more...and more....and more. But I DO thank these traitors for outing themselves as the RNC has already said they will support WHOEVER runs against them in the next primary. You jokes for the people's representatives are TOAST. Live it up while you can.

You CANNOT spend your way out of debt!!!! It DOES NOT WORK! Think about it. We have the most consumer debt per captia in the world. If the spending your way out of debt theory actually worked....wouldn't we all be filthy rich by now and have NO debt?

I swear, I'm going to move to India before Chinese becomes our national language.

An udpate...from the country...

Life is sure different when you live in the boonies!
I have a 2 hr round trip commute every day...ugh.
A trip to Walmart is about 25 minutes ONE WAY.
We have ONE grocery store.
Your dining out options (close by) include Subway and Godfather's Pizza (both in a gas station) and a Gambino's pizzeria (not my favorite).

Anonymous Commenters - read this

Hey, I've seen a couple of anonymous posts. Let me know who you are by signing up for an account OR just putting your name in your comment.

Christmas is over...

Isaac got a fully automatic NERF machine gun, for which, he has already made a 'nest' for in the doorway of his room; brother beware!

Steven's big gift was an electric scooter. Drivers in Lathrop, beware!

Having already spoiled my cigar-present, and getting my wedding ring early, I got a great marble cigar ashtray, a lot of gift cards; most of which will go to build a ground blind where I hunt and season 4 of THE OFFICE; the best show on TV (next to The Unit that is).

My folks also got me THE OFFICE board game; RABIES AWARENESS!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow Melissa gets to see her beloved Blues play at the staples center in St. Louis. :)

My wife is awesome!

I bought us new matching wedding rings on my last trip to India, then lost mine this summer on a canoe trip. Melissa searched the web and found one that matches!!

You're the best honey! Thank you for doing this for me.

The beginnings of a MAN

OK, I'm biased. I only have sons. I do not know what it is like to have a daughter or "daddy's girl".

I have the honor of having TWO boys. My oldest son, with whom I've had many headbutts with over things in the past, is 11. We recently went hunting and I helped him take his first deer. BUT...this weekend, I saw the change in him to where he is now entering the realm of masculinity on his own terms.

My dad is good dad. He was a great provider, but we didn't 'play'. He worked A LOT and most of his free time at home was him being absorbed into a book, TV or his shop/hobbies of growing things. Occassionally, we would go fishing and I relished those times, however, we never did much together outside of that.

Now that I'm a dad, I'm making it more of a point to get out of the house and do things with my boys (hunting, yes fishing, etc.) I played football in highschool for 1/2 of my freshman year when I broke my tailbone. I wasn't really encouraged to 'get back on the horse' so I quit after that incident.

Steven is the exact opposite. He's done Karate, Tball, soccer, basketball, football and now wrestling; something I wouldn't have ever expected. All of the other sports are 'team' sports to where we always heard the following "they didn't give me the ball", "that team cheated", "they have a better coach". He's never known the pressure of it "all being up to him" before this weekend.

The first wrestling tournament of the season rolls around and he's nervous. I know he's been working hard as he's dripping with sweat when we pick him up from practice. Steven's never been too physical and has really approached sports from a 'fun' perspective, not ever really that hungry to win. This tournament was different.

When he got on the mat for his first match this weekend, Melissa and I were nervous. We really didn't know what to expect. Would he get hurt? Would he cry and embarrass himself? Would he want to quit if he got beat? I don't think anyone was more nervous than Steven. His coach asked him, right before his match "are you nervous?" and Steve says "YES!" His coach smacks him on top of the head with his clipboard and said "WELL DON'T BE!!" :D

The whistle blows and it's on! They immediately lock horns and go to the mat. His opponent scores 2 points off the cuff and Steven is face down on the matt. THEN...all of a sudden...I think a lightbulb came on in Steven's head. I saw him flex his muscles and the brute determination of knowing that it was ALL up to him manifested. He rolled over and got this kid PINNED!

WHISTLE!!! The first match was over and Steven was VICTORIOUS!!

The third match was the best (he lost #2). He was paired with the kid in his division that had lost all of his other matches. I cautioned Steven to NOT get cocky and that this kid was MAD and looking for a win. His opponent was leading 5-4 in the third round of their match and Steven was face down on the mat with this kid and all of his weight on his back. Steven's coach was about 6 ft away and said in a calm, but loud voice "STEVEN, USE YOUR LEGS!"

I swear the little bugger smiled, tucked his legs underhimself, PICKED THIS KID UP, grabbed his knee and TOOK HIM DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN. The pin was about 5 seconds later and my little boy, my sweet little wide-eyed, silent in amazement of this new world after he was born, diddle bug.....HAD DEFEATED HIS OPPONENT AND KNEW, KNEW, that it was HE who was responsible for that win, and HE ALONE! Not a team victory. Not the 'star' player who he helpled get the touchdown, it was .............. MY SON! I swear to all things holy he walked off that mat an INCH taller and PROUD of what his hard work and determination had done. He won and at his own hand.

I am fully aware of most of the things I've done wrong as a Dad. I recognize (usually too late) when I'm too hard on him. But I CANNOT be more proud of him than I am right now.

He IS, has ALWAYS BEEN, and WILL ALWAYS be a champion and a MAN in my eyes.

I love you, son and I am SO proud of you..

-Dad.

It's the most wonderful time...of the year!

Not Christmas.
Not Turkey day.
Not even my bday.
DEER SEASON! Here is my first deer of this season. A little doe. YUMMO!

Here is my father-in-law's 8pt buck. Both of these deer were taken on the same day.

I have two more tags to fill, plus Steven's and my nephew.

Disgruntled

I truly believed with the polls as close as they were, that the election would've been much closer than it was. I cannot believe the AP called the race at 10pm(ish).

For me, this election was a single issue - abortion.

I cannot cast my vote for a party or president that believes in the right to choose between life or death of the innocent unborn.

NO amount of tax cuts, economic aid, government reform etc is worth the life of a child. NONE.

I wonder how many brilliant scientists, war hero's, nobel winners, entreprenuers, and average good people have been murdered over a percieved 'inconvenience' over the years. And here's the real shocker...every one of those aborted innocent children could've been taxpayers!!!! My God, what would our economy be like today if only Roe V Wade would've gone the other way. Think about that.

Am I glad Obama won...yes. And here's why.
I am honored to see that this country has matured to the point that it can finally accept someone other than an old rich crusty white man into the highest office in the last. I am sad that I couldn't share this moment with Anthony. But I am moved to tears that he will grow up in a better world, if for nothing else, that America is truly becoming the melting pot our forefathers intended.
I am overwhelmingly proud that the civil rights movement blossomed into a beautiful and fruitful victory over hate.

Why I'm disgruntled that Obama won...
The kool-aid. My own interpretation of the sound bites and news clips of the downtrodden obamabots expecting MIRACLES to happen from this administration astounds me. Stupidity at its finest. People who are honestly expecting that the stock market will reverse course, we will become a super power once again, our economy will shadow all others in the world, that you won't have to worry about gas in your tank or your mortgage, that he will bring peace to the middle east, end hunger and famine, cure aids, cancer diabetes...even the common cold??? Ok, so I exaggerated, but honestly. People are in for a rude awakening.

Yes, I fully expect CHANGE to occur, but it will not be to the satisfaction of every one. I think Abe Lincoln called that one a loooooong time ago. There will be kool-aid drinkers who will say they were lied to. There will be the opposition who said "I told ya so"...and on the world will turn.

Foreclosures will continue to happen, people will get sick, there will be more wars. That's reality.

So here's my parting comments on this subject...
Obama, Pelosi, Reed....here's your chance. You better treat the sacred votes of this country as precious and work for the good of the people, ALL people in this land; not just the dem's....because if you don't....I guarantee you will see a republican whitehouse, senate and house in four years.

The upnote in all of this? At least I won't have to listen to 4 more years of democrats bitching and whining about Bush.

I'm voting for Chuck Norris

nah...I'll vote for McCain, but wouldnt' Chuck Norris be more fun???

Stay AWAY from KC this weekend...

Obamalamadingdong is coming into town Saturday...traffic will be screwed!
Don't even think about going to the plaza/brookside area...there's a marathon going on down there...closed streets!

Glad I have NOTHING to do south of the river this weekend!

Vote for change...

Yes, go ahead. Vote for change...because if you're upper-middle class, that's all you'll have left in your paycheck if obamalamadingdong becomes president.

Make no mistake...

McCAIN / PALIN '08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wine time!

Ok, I haven't blogged about my winemaking hobby before, so it's about time.

I love wine. I love making wine. It's a great science hobby plus, you get to consume what you produce! :) :)

I've made about 16 gallons in the last two years and I've poured out some real crap, but I've made some stuff recently that was just fantastic!

Niagra / apple white blend - "Summer White"
Blackberry 07 - only ONE bottle left!!! AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Luna Rossa - Italian amarone style - YUMO!!! (This is Melissa's favorite) - Let's put it this way...I've only TWELVE bottles left out of THIRTY!!
Orange Mead - pretty good but WAY too sweet for me.
Mango citrus symphony - it's good, but I'm just not into sweet white wines anymore.
Port - this one is going to sit for a year before I crack the first bottle. It's already bulk aged in the carboy since April 08 so (three months down, 8 to go).

Wines I'll be making this fall and winter...
6 gallons of blackberry
3 gallons of niagra
6 gallons of apple (3 gal will be blended with the niagra, the other 3 will be back sweetened and sparkled)
6 gallons of blueberry
6 gallon white merlot/strawberry kit I have left over
6 gallons of orange mead for my friends (yes, Harvey's...that's YOU!)
6 gallons of chambourcin
6 gallons of luna rossa

Why so much? Well, the blackberry, blueberry, chambourcin and luna rossa need to sit for at least a year before drinking. This way, I can make different wines the next year and have a nice collection of ready to drink wines and lots of stuff to share!