Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Oh man, what a great National Championship game, a classic people will talk about forever!. Vince Young is awesome, a one man wrecking crew!
Despite what I said in the previous post, 1/2 way through the 1st quarter I resented the cocky, too-sure Trojans and became a Texas fan.
I was sooo into the game my hands were shaking like a leaf when Texas was facing a 4th down with ~30 seconds left . .
Congrats to the players and fans of the Longhorns!
Hey, maybe it's just because I don't follow college football much outside the Big Ten, but I really don't have anything against the Trojans of Southern Cal. So I'm not sure what all the fuss is about in Norman Chad's new column.
Who cares? On a weak day he's one of the funniest writers I follow, and with a burr under his saddle he's over the top . . .maybe a little too over the top to be the 'ideal' column to introduce you to him, but what the heck . .
A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and asks, "Wanna hear a USC joke?"
The guy next to him replies, "Well, before you tell that joke, you should know something. I'm 6 feet tall, 200 pounds and I'm a USC graduate. The guy sitting next to me is 6-2, 225 and he's a USC graduate. The fella next to him is 6-5, 250 and he went to USC. Now, you still wanna tell that joke?"
The first guy replies, "Naw, not if I'm gonna have to explain it three times."
This time last year, along with most of the universe, I posted list of New Years Resolutions. Unlinke most of the universe, mine occasionally crossed the line into 'bawdy', for which I humbly apologize.
Before I go about lising what I'll fail to accomplish in 2006, I'd like to revisit the unfufilled dreams of 2005.
I will lose weight by exercising more and practicing self-control of my eating habits. I will go to the gym on a regular basis. I will also quit smoking.
Uh, yeah. I think I'll finish the year ten pounds heavier, and while I quit smoking (about a dozen times) it remains a monkey on my back.
I will learn to braid my daughter's hair. Nope.
I will figure out how to transfer my home videos to DVD's using my computer Nope. Sensing a trend here?
I will attend church more often Yup, 'tho in fairness the bar was set pretty low in '04.
I will help my wife catch up on our children's scrapbooks. No, well, sorta . . I consider this blog a scrapbook of sorts.
I will no longer invest hope, excitement, or expectations in my Milwaukee Brewers Well, be proud, I accomplished this - and in return they posted the first non-losing season in 12 years.
I will make every effort to secure publication of my writing, and will accept rejection with renewed determination No, and no.
I will read a hundred books. Try twenty or fewer - I was behind the pace but still a'tryin' in June, but after getting that promotion I managed only one the rest of the year.
I will take the extra time to relearn my parenting skills to benefit my son. I don't know - ask my wife.
I will not lose any more teeth in the coming year What a depressing list of failures. I lost an abcessed tooth on the 5th of July.
I will attend an out-of-state baseball game with my Dad Sigh.
I will make some effort at mental improvement Well, I did watch a lot of the National Geographic Channel.
I will successfully find a better paying, safer, more challenging day job. Done. Good thing it was probably the most important thing on the list, or this whole thing would be a wash.
Ok, enough of the past. May I present Slapinions Rambling List of Likely Unattainable but certainly Doable New Years Resolutions (Had I Only a Smidgen of Ambition And Personal Will Power) 2006 Edition.
Except for the Brewers' thingy, ditto 2005's resolutions. Yay for me. In additon
Repair the videocamera/christmas tree stand
Finish my dang book
Boost revenue at my business 10% (minimum), with an overall goal of a 33% increase
Move into a better neighborhood, with more room for the kids.
Take my first real vacation in years; hopefully, a 10th anniversary cruise
Pick up XM radio so I can binge on MLB games this summer
Okay, that's enough rope to hang myself. To everyone out there, a safe and happy 2006!
Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
— Ernest Hemingway
Look, I hate to fall into the blogging trap where all you do is post link after link to stuff that catches your eye - we have the Drudge Report for that, thank you - but I'm going to do it anyway.
First, there's the Milwaukee connection to the Bermuda Triangle debates. I've lived here all my life and had never heard of this, even with some pretty steady dealings over the years with the Air Force group in question.
On a more conterversial note, here's a scathing investigation into Tom Cruise's 'religious' life.
In Britain, there's a study that says girls routinely mutilate their Barbie dolls for giggles. They needed to fund a study to prove this? Socialized countries are the bomb.
And here's a neat little bit of karma - the same day I read about Racine WI's wooly mammoth controversy, I came across a link that says scientists are keen on resurrecting the species.
With thousands of intact carcasses frozen in Russia's soil, researchers may be able to inject mammoth sperm into elephants, eventually creating an animal 88% mammoth. They're also working on decoding the genetic code of mammoths.
Sure, it's very Jurassic Park, but this doesn't trip my ethical meter too much. a) mammoth's were around until at least 10,000 years ago (and some anecdotal reports indicate as late as a few centuries ago) and were eliminated primarily by man, not nature b) a reasonable facsimile of mammoths still exist (elephants) and thus, it isn't such a giant stretch of our world's natural order and c) mammoths are pretty darn cool.
How's that for a convoluted, hypocritical ethical position?
Later :)
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I hate to think of what this means for Mankind . . .a fun little article, courtesy (in a roundabout way) of Tom at Tomsastroblog.
Well, some Blockbusters anyways . . . here's the link. Consider this a public service announcement, as they've allegedly been ambushing customers with the new fees.
You know, of all the alleged Evil Empires I frequent - WalMart, AOL, etc - the only one that lives up to its horrid reputation is Blockbuster. Though I'm a Gold member and consider it one of my favorite stores, I've been screwed many a time - and I've lost track of how many coupons/discounts I've received as part of one lawsuit settlement or another.
I do agree the no late fee's policy had one drawback. Since it started, you had to play hooky from work if you wanted any chance of getting a new movie off the shelves. By 5'oclock they were all gone, not to be seen again for the better part of a week or more.
Oh, btw I have indeed updated the Amazon Wish List, as I discovered Dead Like Me's second (and final) season is now on DVD . . . naturally my Blockbuster doesn't carry it as a rental.
In other news, William Proxmire, a former Wisconsin senator voted one of the 20 most influential WI politiicans of the 20th century, passed away at 90. I disagree with much of his work, from his assault on NASA to his ridiculous 'Golden Fleece' awards (a publicity stunt to its core). Still, the guy had the knack for making his constituents love him, and he's a part of WI history that can't be ignored.
If you're planning on getting me a gift this year - oh, and I know you are - here's some ideas for you.
You'll note that despite the sarcastic comment my Mrs. left on a previous post , there are very few books on the list.
I don't want to own more books, I just want my library card paid off so I can get them for free.
I'm sure I'll add more to the list in the days to come. ;)
Look, I don't know if this woman is just plain lonely, desires her 15 minutes of fame, or is looney tunes . . . decide for yourself.
Suzy Walker found the love of her life in her husband, D.B. The only problem: He makes his living deep below the waves on a submarine.
So to help her endure the separation, Suzy Walker found a temporary companion -- a 40-pound mannequin who, with a mustache slapped on, looks just like her husband.
While it's nice to see Hollywood doing their normal 'kumbaya' dance around Tookie Williams, I hold that Gov. Schwarzenegger's statement cuts the arguement to its core.
"Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not apologize or otherwise atone for the murders of the four victims in this case, Wthout an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption."
"Based on the cumulative weight of the evidence, there is no reason to second guess the jury's decision of guilt or raise significant doubts or serious reservations about Williams' convictions and death sentence."
Williams also dedicated a 1998 book to a black militant, casting doubt on his rejection of violence as a social tool; he may have lied about founding the notorius Crips to claim credit for their bloody resume, and is reported to have laughed hysterically over the memory of how one of his victims sounded as he died.
The folks in Hollywood should have found a better use for their time and energy - Williams didn't deserve it.
Not that I begrudge my kids, but as of this past weekend my four year old's been to six states. Not driven through six states, mind you, but spent a decent amount of time in each.
I was twenty-one before I spent the night outside of Wisconsin. Anyway, we decided to venture 7hrs east and visit my wife's brother, a long time member of the Air Force, in Ohio. We left in the middle of the night, loading the kids up while they were half asleep. 
Here's a pic proving that 10 years of dental work can erase any memory of how to smile - I swear, when I try to grin I look as natural as a toupee. 
Alas, while we were prompt enough I didn't have the proper paperwork - insurance card, vehicle registration, yada yada - to get past the guards.
So, we scrapped that and headed back to my in-law's house. The ladies took the kids to the mall to see Santa, while my brother-in-law and I hunkered down to watch some action movies.
In the evening the ten of us had a great dinner at Carraba's, passing the hour wait for a table by perusing the Goodwill next door - and picking up a Reds helmet for Parker.
All the kids got along like great friends rather than relatives that see each other once a year at best. They certainly have a fascination with Princesses in common .. .
One neat thing was that my nieces, who've lived only in Texas and Georgia before moving to Ohio this year, had never experienced a real winter.
- and the grown-ups got into the act too. 
And just for kicks, here's a pic of the just completed Christmas tree from the day after Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I successfully avoided having to do anything to decorate it by leaving it to the ladies.
Now I know the student in question was subject to the ethical obligations of his future profession, but this seems a little on the Stalinist side to me (then again, I do hate Marquette - Go UWM!)
My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people.
- Orson Wells, as quoted on The Mad Perseid
I know it seems like I talk a lot about my oldest here, and I do - but in fairness, the baby's pretty darn boring and Middle Child's only now producing good copy .. . I'll update on those two soon :)
Last month was YaYa's 4th birthday. It was a bit of a bust, as of the nine kids invited the only two who showed up were my own. Everyone else came down with a cold, got scooped up by their father for the weekend, or had a death in the family. So at the last minute (literally with an hour to spare) we called some kids from her class, and darned if some didn't show - and during a Packer game no less!
Neatest of all was the fact that my brother in law drove his girls 5 hours to Milwaukee to surprise their cousin on her birthday. That goes above and beyond the call of duty.
Anywho, the main reason for this post is to show off the grand cake my wife baked for her:
My wife also conducted a treasure hunt (a well written quest courtesy of my brother in law) . .
and read the Princess and the Pea ('twas a Princess party, don't ya know).
She followed that up by playing a game where the kids reenacted the story, with the winner being the one who felt the prize beneath the pillow they were sitting on.
Wouldn't you know it though, midway through the party my birthday girl sucummbed to the flu, getting sick midway through dinner. Didn't stop her from enjoying her gifts though.
As I said, more on the other munchkins soon. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
I've kept mum on the whole banner-ad controversy because I didn't want to offend anyone involved. Like the saying goes - as far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with everyone. Still, since everyone else has sounded off . . .
For those of you not on AOL, here's the problem: the powers-that-be have decided to add banner ads across the top of AOL Journals. This has caused a major upheal in J-Land, as journal after journal has defected to other services or screamed bloody murder over the deed.
My opinion? Really, I could care less.
If you hate the ads and feel it violates your personal 'space', I sympathize.
But I don't notice the ads any more than I notice those littering a hundred pages more interesting and well-known than mine across the web. I certainly don't assume the writer condones or promotes the advertisers. And while I think AOL could have come up with something prettier, it conveniently blends into the color scheme of my journal.
Let me hedge my bets by saying this: I am a bit of a writing whore, which is, I believe, the whole point of writing. What did Mark Twain say? Something about how only a fool writes for free. . .
Or maybe that was my wife . . .
Put it this way: If the Democratic National Committee - for me, a mere step below the Chicago Bears/Minnestota Vikings on the 'hate 'em' meter for this Wisconsinite - wants to throw me a thin dime in exchange for an ad on my page, I'll be happy to send them my paypal address.
To sum it up, I don't really feel offended/hurt/violated/annoyed/betrayed/happy/sad about this issue. I'll keep reading those folks who've migrated off to other lands, not because they're banner-free, but because they're worth reading.
Which is, I would assume, the main reason advertisers thought it was worth their $ to slap an ad on their page in the first place.
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BTW - here's a shout out to Vortexgirl, who put together a nice little ditty that mentioned me back on the 14th. I'd like to add more url's to my favorites here, but it appears I've plum run out of room . . . maybe AOL can use some of that ad money to buy some more space for my favorite places :)
Kind of a random post today . . .
Tonight was my parent's 35th wedding anniversary, a shinding my sister Katie put together pretty much on her lonesome. It was held at the Safehouse/Milwaukee Press Club. Despite a very crowded venue, and the fact that my wife had three kids under 5 to keep quiet for three hours, it was a lot of fun.
I say 'my wife' had to keep them quiet because more and more it seems I'm either busy with work or trying to unwind. It's become a sore spot between us. Be careful what you wish for I guess . . .
The food was great, and for the first time in memory, my Dad's side of the family joined the festivites. I've never been quite sure of the reason for the attendance gulf between my Mom and Dad's families, but it was nice to get reaquainted.
Maybe I'll post pics of the event later. Maybe not.
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I'm surprised my Pearl Harbor post didn't garner more comments. Guess I did lose my audience over the summer. Sh**ty.
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Also over the summer, some of the links on my favorites fell prey to the temporary nature of the net. The 'No One's Child' link now jumps to a dumpy little sex site, and Tom's Astronomy Blog - one of my everyday reads - has experienced hosting problems and will be moving on to another site.
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Speaking of unintended side effects, I'm woefully behind on my reading. Part of it is the time crunch, part is because of a nasty $35 fine I owe the library for some children's books that were overdue. Nazi's.
Anyhow, here's a list of what I'd like to read, if/when I get the chance. Oh, and some big ticket items I'd like to own sometime before I'm fifty:
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Laptop
telescope
Electric Guitar
one of them fancy memory sticks that carry info from computer to computer
Amazon.com: School Days (Spenser): Books: Robert B. Parker
Amazon.com: Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, Book 11): Books: Robert Jordan
Amazon.com: Fiddlers : A Novel of the 87th Precinct (87th Precinct Mysteries (Hardcover)): Books
Amazon.com: The Closers: Books
Amazon.com: Drive to the East (Settling Accounts Trilogy, Book 2): Books
Amazon.com: Return Engagement (Settling Accounts Trilogy, Book 1): Books: Harry Turtledove
Click here: Amazon.com: I Am Legend: Books
Click here: Amazon.com: Private Wars: Books: Greg Rucka .
Amazon.com: Creepers: Books: David Morrell
Amazon.com: The Pale Horseman: Books
Amazon.com: The Planets: Books
Amazon.com: Sea Change (Jesse Stone Novels (Hardcover)): Books: Robert B. Parker
Amazon.com: Sharpe's Escape: Books: Bernard Cornwell
Amazon.com: The Fallen Angels: Books: Bernard Cornwell
Amazon.com: Never Have Your Dog Stuffed : And Other Things I've Learned: Books: Alan Alda
Click here: Amazon.com: The Historian: Books: Elizabeth Kostova Click here: Amazon.com: Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries): Books
Click here: Amazon.com: One Shot (Jack Reacher Novels (Hardcover)): Books
My family has a strong military tradition - no career soldiers (except for my brother-in-law), but vets of Guadacannal, D-Day, Korea, Vietnam,WWI, etc. On this Veteran's Day, I extend a thank-you to all the members of our military, past and present.
When I was 17 I interviewed my Great Uncle Leo, a Navy vet that was present at Pearl Harbor. I was a shy, nervous kid, and if I had a time machine I'd go back and ask a hundred different questions. Still, at least his memories are on record. The complete transcript is on file with the local historical society.
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My Uncle Leo was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1920. A Machinist’s Mate 1st Class in the Navy, he was a survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and served his country for five years aboard the USS Vestal - a vessel moored alongside the Arizona that fateful morning. His 49 year marriage to produced three daughters and an equal number of grandchildren. A retired employee of General Electric Medical Systems, he died in 1999 from complications of a stroke.
At the time of this interview he was 70 years old, and the interviewer 17.
A: [I was a] machinist I would run lathes, mills, repaired, went and repaired ships that were sunk or brought up. If we had to repair ships we had to go on ships and repair them.. . .
Q What was wrong with the Arizona, that you were moored alongside?
A: Well, we were doing a routine…a routine overhaul on it. Supposed to. That day we pulled alongside of them.
Q: You pulled alongside on the seventh?
A: No, the sixth.
Q And that was supposed to start Monday or something?
A: Yeah. We pulled over Saturday. So we pulled over Saturday night over to the Arizona, ‘cause I was gonna see a bunch of buddies of mine aboard the Arizona that I went through training with.
Q: Did they make it through?
A: I didn’t see….[sad]
Q: Now that morning [12-7-41] you were heading to church right?
A: Yeah, we were going to church. There was, well all together there was about 13 of us. And..
Q: Were you already on land?
A: Oh yeah. We were going to church and then they started their bombing..that’s when these two airplanes started dive-bombing us and shooting machine gun bullets at us. The guy next to me got killed, from my department. His name was Kerrigan. He was, I think, the first guy that died.
Q: Did you know what was going on right away?
A: No, no. We thought, I looked up there and I saw them and I said "Jesus, [unintelligible; perhaps ‘mock warfare’] dressed as Japanese". ‘Til they turned around and started machine gunning. We were going [into the] church, we tried to get into the church. Now they had a round concrete thing [gesturing] that went over like that. It went from one end open to the other. Well this guy would shoot these machine gun bullets through there and we . ..but we were running to get out of the way when he got killed, when he got killed we were alongside of a fence. And . . the bullets went all in between, you could see the cars behind us all had holes in ‘em, and out of thirteen guys he was the only one killed. One guy out of thirteen of us. And we were all close, one alongside of each other. How them bullets got between us and hit him only, I don’t know. Because the cars in the back with all holes [in] ‘em.
Q: What’d you do after that?
A: Well, then we ran. They told us to get back to the ships.
Q: Did you make it back to the ship?
A: No. Couldn’t get it. We couldn’t get..they wouldn’t let ya, they were gunning, machine gunning. So then I had … we went to the dock, and we were supposed to go aboard [a] submarine, ‘cause they didn’t have enough crewmen. Then somebody said to us to go man a machine gun on a beach, so that’s where I went. And then about half of the day, at night I delivered camels, these big wooden squares they call it. They put between ships so they don’t collide [with] each other. I delivered them between these ships, at night, so they could maneuver around, the ships. So, we had that duty at night, and after we got back we machine gun…the ship got sunk, our ship. We rammed it into the beach. Then I went back there and we manned machine guns, the whole ship.
Q: Is that how you spent the day, just at a machine gun?
A: Yeah, spent the whole day. It only took a few minutes. I mean the attack was [laughs] aboard the Vestal and there it didn’t take long. [The Japanese] dropped two bombs aboard our ship, one was in the back and it didn’t explode. One was forward, it hit the deck, went through the mez deck [sp?], killed I don’t know, 3 or 4 people aboard there, the mez deck . . . and then went into what they call a metal locker, where we kept billets for machining like for, and material for machining, like brass, copper, menal [sp?], stainless steel for repairing ships. Well, the bomb hit that and exploded see, otherwise maybe it would have gone right through the ship too.
Q: Shrapnel everywhere, eh?
A: Oh God, yeah.
Q: Is there anything else you remember about that, about Pearl Harbor?
A: No, just that [laughs] I was scared like hell.[laughs] We all were running, you know, trying to get away from him. And there were two of ‘em, and they coming, one would come this way and the other one would come this way. Everybody was running around. Then we, they sent us to eat. And then we got into the line then they stopped all the lines and said all the food was poisoned, nobody could eat. Yeah, we didn’t have nothin’ to eat. I didn’t have anything to eat from Sunday morning ‘til Monday morning. I went aboard my ship, on deck, and we had the cook made eggs.
Q: So there were rumors going around …
A: Yeah. Blood was splattered all over the mez deck. But that was the first meal I had in say, 24 hours.
Q: Were you worried, like, there were rumors, like, Hawaii was going [to be invaded]. . .
A: Yes! Well, that’s why we were manning the machine guns on the beach, to, for an attack. And I don’t know how many of our planes, they wouldn’t even let our own planes come in to Hawaii, they were knocking them down. Because they didn’t know…
Q: Everyone was jumpy and everything. . .
A: Yeah. And we, they killed dogs, and cows. Yeah! Anything that moved they shot at, I mean everybody was afraid, you know?
Q: Afterwards what did you do?
A: Well, we would…after Pearl Harbor?
Q: Yeah.
A: Then we were all sent out to repair ships.
Q: I mean right after Pearl Harbor. In the book it said you went to the Oklahoma and cut it open, or you went and repaired your own ship . . .
A: Yeah.
Q: What did you do? Did you go to another ship, or. ..
A: No. I was aboard my ship, making parts for the ships, like the ones that needed repair, especially the Enterprise, carriers or that, that had to go out. And we worked like that for two weeks, then we went into dry-dock. And repaired ourselves. They had a big hole in our rear end. So what we did, they made a wooden box and he took a big piece of canvas, put it underneath the hole, brought the cranes up, pulled the box up, and we poured concrete for a whole…I think it was fifteen hours they poured concrete down in that hole to plug that hole up. Then they kept air in it, as they were pouring, then we took it and pumped out all the water right?
Q Yeah.
A: Then we got the ship [to] come up. We righted the ship up. Then we went and repaired all these other ships. We sent crews here, and crews there. Well I was in the machine shop, so we needed parts, so I was working on lathes and stuff. And, after we got done repairing as much of these ships as we could, ones that were so bad that they had just patch ‘em up so they could go to a repair base where they could put ‘em in a big dry-dock and repair them. Because you had to cut big holes in it. That’s what we had to do. We had to go into a dry-dock. But we repaired our own ship. We cut the plate out and we welded a new one up in there, and fixed our ship so it could go on the way.
Well, a year and a week, as I really started on November 3rd of '04, but who's counting.
No big brouhaha for the anniversary, just wanted to thank everyone who's tuned in to this site over the past 12 months. I appreciate it.
Here's a rehash of the first half of the year, and a link to my nephew's site. It gets mighty lonely here in blogdom; why don't you stop by and shout hello to encourage the guy. :)
I don't remember Halloween being all that big of a deal when I was a kid, but as a parent it's morphed into a marathon of festivities. First there was the Halloween party at work, which I'll pass on describing due to my "you don't . . where you eat rule"
Then came a dance at YaYa's school that the Mrs. described as "better than most of the college parties I went to" (which, I might add, is saying a lot j/k).
YaYa went as Dorothy, as the Wizard of Oz remains one of her favorite movies year after year. She almost won for best costume, but someone not nearly as smart/pretty/cool got the prize. Meanwhile Middle Child and I sat home and watched Hocus Pocus - a movie, in retrospect, that's a wee harsh for a two year old to see.
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Next on the list was nighttime Trick or Treat. Long illegal in Milwaukee, there's a few neighborhoods that close off the streets and (for a per child fee) allow you to trick or treat after dark. We've gone for three years now, and it's great - a far cry from the feeble daytime trick or treat I grew up with. YaYa had to ditch Dorothy in favor of the warmer Barney costume, but she didn't seem to mind. Middle Child was a pro, chugging along house after house and only pooping out after 4 or 5 blocks - and garnering comments on her "Toto" costume at every stop!
Next up: the standard daytime trick or treating. 
Gandhi moment of the day: when we ran out of candy with an hour left to go,YaYa volunteered to give away her own stock rather than just close up shop.
Anti-Gandhi's of the day: any number of folks from 'other' neighborhoods who drove their kids - sans costume, makeup, and in most cases EVEN A BAG - to plunder other areas of town.
Trick or Treat where you like, but if the parents can afford a car, they could show they care - or pretend to - by spending a few dollars on their kids.
Argh, I sound like Scrooge. But it gets old after a few years, ya know?
Anyhow, another Happy Halloween is in the books. Next up: Thanksgiving. Comment on this Post (non AOL) View Comments
