Ensuring the tank is empty will prevent gallons of 140 degree water from gushing out all over your basement floor.  And your bare hands and feet.

Thatisall.

Brae made it all the way to midnight to watch the ball drop on TV.  He got to watch Jonas Brothers perform on ABC and saw all the people wearing those silly looking 2009 glasses.  It was nice and relaxed and warm, considering it’s well below freezing outside.  He even sipped on the sparkling apple cider even after he told us he didn’t like and tried it before and didn’t like it…  haha.  Christy got some pictures of us all clinking our glasses together at midnight.  I’m sure she’ll post them sometime soon.

I’m glad I have a day off tomorrow even though I know I’ll pay for it in full on Friday.  Work has been increasingly stressful lately and it is a trend I don’t see reversing at all.  Ever.  Then after that, it’s the weekend again.  Short work weeks would be wonderful if it weren’t for the double work load we have to accommodate on the days we are in the office.  It isn’t like most jobs where if your office is closed for a day, the work just gets pushed on to the next business day.  In an infusion center you have to jam the days you’re in the office with 2 - 3 times as many patients to keep everything up to date.  Oh well.

Well, time for my usual nightly ritual of playing WoW for a bit before going to sleep.

Happy New Year everyone!

I know that Christy and I did our best to give Brae the best Christmas and there’s not much of a better feeling than that.  Watching his face light up this morning as he opened gift after gift was priceless.  Seeing him go flying down the stairs at 7:30 this morning wanting to see what Santa brought him was priceless.  It’s such a wonderful feeling to experience and I don’t know that there is anything comparable.  

Seeing both families today was just as wonderful.  I’m thankful to have married in to such a great family and it was good to see everyone today and hear everyone laughing and having a good time.  And the food…man, let me tell you an Italian family knows how to throw a feast on Christmas.  =o)  Chad was there, we haven’t seen him in a while.  He’s sporting a mop-top now.  He looked like he is doing well.  Uncle Larry wasn’t there though.  I wish I would have gotten the chance to see him and see how he’s doing.  

Brae spent 12-6 with his father and his family today.  In the meantime Christy and I went to see my family.  My sister and Ben came in last night from Michigan and it was very good to see both of them.  I miss my sister since she’s moved away but I know that she’s happy up in Michigan and that makes me happy for her.  I know that she knows she’s missed here so it was very nice to see her today.  My uncle David was in from New York with his girlfriend Sheridan who is very, very nice and sweet.  She’s Australian and it was so fun hearing her accent when she spoke.  She seemed to fit right in with us and I know sometimes that can be difficult because my family is loud and raucous.  She didn’t seem intimidated by us at all, which is very good.

I think we had a very very good Christmas.  I’m very happy =o) 

Merry Christmas everyone!

I grew bored and dissatisfied with running a multiple subject blog and decided to just have an easier layout.  I tend to have my desk cluttered and usually you can find a coffee mug or two somewhere.  So I kinda took a liking to this theme.  Pending the elimination of the unicorn, orange-in-a-cup, Eiffel Tower and the stars and denim.  So.  Just kinda ignore that stuff for now.  =D

You gotta see this…and I think you’ll be surprised.

We know she didn’t use tax money, that’s not what most are in an uproar about.  The problem also isn’t that she used Republican donor money for her clothes.  I mean, if the donors themselves aren’t ticked at such frivolous use of their money then in my opinion, they can afford to have their donations spent on clothes.

The problem, I believe, lies in Palin purporting herself to be just like “the rest of us” middle class Americans.  Now, I’m not sure about you, but $150,000 is about five times what I make in a year.  It’s about twice as much as my wife and I make in a year combined.  As I understand it, our combined incomes place us in the “middle class” along with millions of other Americans.  So my question and I think most everyone’s complaint is this: what person, claiming to be a Jane “Hockey Mom” Sixpack, Middle Class American, just like the rest of us, goes to Neiman Marcus and spends $75,000 a month on clothes?  That’s my question, and that is the problem we have with Palin spending $150,000 on clothes and I think it goes directly to her qualifications.  If she is so passionate about being just like us and knowing the struggles we go through on a day to day basis and wanting to reform government to be more in touch with said stuggles, instead of an obscene $150,000 at Neiman-Marcus, make it $1500 at Walmart, or $3000 at Target.

Oh, Ms. Brown?  I understand there is a double standard in this country when it comes to how men and women look when in the public eye and I don’t like it either.  Perhaps instead of complaining about how many emails you get if you have a bad hair day on TV, maybe you should reply to your emailers and tell them that how your hair looks has no impact on how well you do your job.  Maybe draw attention to the double standard and openly criticize it, instead of telling everyone “it’s just part of the job.”   Unless you think the Federal budget should have a section for “Vice-presidential Wardrobe”.

“Rock n Roll Train” the already hit single has been blowing up radios across the country for the last few weeks.  It’s vintage AC/DC at their best, hard riffs, solid drumming and blazing solos from Mr. Angus Young himself.  I’ve yet to pick up my own copy of the album but plan to do so in the next few days.

AC/DC’s first new release in eight years hit WalMart store shelves exclusively this Monday, October 20th.  It’s not being made available in any digital format (no iTunes, Amazon download, or anything) as has been the trend with AC/DC’s entire catalog.  The standard edition of the album is available with 3 unique cover designs plus a deluxe edition with it’s own artwork and expanded CD booklet.

Walmart has the standard edition listed at $11.88 and the deluxe edition at $13.88.  I’ll be sure to write a review of the album when I pick it up!

For now, here’s the tracklist:

1. Rock N Roll Train
2. Skies On Fire
3. Big Jack
4. Anything Goes
5. War Machine
6. Smash N Grab
7. Spoilin’ For A Fight
8. Wheels
9. Decibel
10. Stormy May Day
11. She Likes Rock N Roll
12. Money Made
13. Rock N Roll Dream
14. Rocking All The Way
15. Black Ice

It doesn’t use any of those silly unique single cup coffee packs, it just uses regular ground coffee!  It comes with 2 mugs too so you can keep the caffeine going all day long.  I can just imagine it now, no having to get up and go to the break room to get my fix all I have to do is flip the switch and wait a minute.  Plus you get the added bonus of the lovely aroma filling your office.  

It could even bring a few inquiries your way from fellow coworkers.  =o)  So what if you have to hit up the bathroom a little more often?  

At $34 for the coffee maker and two black cups you can’t go wrong.  Personal desktop coffee maker?  Yes please.

First, the email that started it:

Lets all ask ourselves these simple yet profound questions before making our decision on who to vote for to become the next president of the United States of America:
What is America?
It should not take long to realize the answer to that question is Freedom. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I’m sure that many of you know men and women who have fought or who serve in our military. No matter what war, or what cause our American troops have fought for, they all fight for America and her freedoms. They do not sacrifice there lives, nor do they leave their families for months or years at a time to get better tax cuts or better health care plans. They are fighting for America! And they fight for the people who do and do not understand what America represents. At this time in our world we can not look selfishly at our own lives and look to what we will gain from this election. We cannot pick a president based on asking ourselves whether or not we will be better off financially in the next four years. We need to open our eyes and see the big picture. We are electing and individual who represents America and who will represent and uphold those Freedoms.
What principles was America founded upon?
America was founded upon Christian principles. Do not confuse this with trying to convert people to Christianity … hear me out! It also doesn’t matter at this point whether you believe in freedom from religion or freedom of religion, the bottom line is that America was founded on Christian principles meaning that its foundations are rooted in such a way that has help to make America what it has become. There is religion based in every couture and country and there is no country for free state in the world that has ever come close to being an equal with the United States.
So finally ask yourself this… Are you willing to allow someone who from birth was brought up in a Muslim home and taken out of this country to study in a Muslin school, who’s mother married two Muslim men… Are you willing to allow your one vote go to someone who does not understand what America is? America is the big picture my friends. Take a minute if it takes you that long and ask yourself one final question…What does America represent and mean to you?
In 27 days I will be voting for the bigger picture. I will be voting for the individual who understands what America really represents. We will get back on our feet. We will all get out there and work, and some of us will help create jobs… WE THE PEOPLE will do that… that’s why WE THE PEOPLE need to think about who we want to represent America, and that is why I am voting for John McCain for President.
America.
Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.
Be Brave America, and Lets All Stay Free!

Priscilla Godsoe

And then my thoughts on Ms. Godsoe’s interpretation of what America “represents”:

It is interesting that the author of the original email states that it is not an attempt to convert anyone to Christianity and that’s correct, it isn’t.  It should say it is an attempt to bias people against those who are NOT Christian.  This is the type of fear mongering and bigotry that is pervading a large part of the Republican party is counting on to help them win the presidency.  The ironic thing is that if you really examine the central tenets of Islam and Christianity you’ll find more similarities than differences.  Do not confuse the extremists involved with Al Qaeda with the general Islamic (Muslim) faith.  Muslim does not equal terrorist.  That is like saying “Christians” who bomb abortion clinics are representative of the Christian faith in general, as there are extremists in every religion.  Ignorance is not bliss and it should not be desirable.  Please take a few minutes and do some research on your own.  Recognize that ignorance and intolerance are not founding principles of America.  Now more than ever, Americans need to be unified to turn this country around.

Freedom of religion and freedom from religion should be interchangeable in this country, and they DO matter.  America was founded by people fleeing persecution and execution because of the way they chose to practice their faith.  Our founding fathers believed that no matter how you worshipped you should be able to do it freely without bias.  That also holds true if you choose not to practice a faith.

Contrary to the original author, we should be picking a president based on whether we’ll be better off in four years or not.  We do need to examine our own lives and the lives of our neighbors and ask ourselves, “Is this what America is?”  Waging war on people whose beliefs are divergent from our own?  Abandoning diplomacy in favor of gunfire and bombs?  Spending billions in other countries while ours falls apart?  I agree that we should not ever forget those who fought and are fighting for our country but we need to ask ourselves right now what about America are our soldiers fighting for?  A recurrent theme of John McCain has been the need to WIN WIN WIN in Iraq.  Win what?  What do we want to win there?  Why are we putting our soldiers in danger there?  For what purpose?  Ask questions.  Demand specific answers not generalities.

Yes open your eyes and see the big picture.  America the fear mongering superpower?  America the intellectual diplomatic peacemaker?  America the isolationist?

Finally, the original author states that in 27 days she will be voting for an individual who, like herself, understands what America represents and that we will get back on our feet and we will get out there and work and some of us will help create jobs.  For someone who began their statement claiming that we should not selfishly look at our own lives, pick a president based on whether we will be better off financially in four years or worry what we will gain from this presidential election, I find her closing statement one of blatant hypocrisy and total inadequacy.  The same hypocrisy and inadequacy that you will find littering this presidential election season.

You and I need to remember that Congress is the body that is to hold the office of the president and the judicial system in check.  Something it has failed to do for eight years.  Specifically during the last four years when approval ratings for the president have hovered in the low 20s, Congress has done little to change the direction our country has headed and as a result their own approval rating has sunk even lower.

We as American citizens need to remember that the policy makers, the people who will craft and implement new laws (for example, new health care policy, new tax laws) and regulations or modify or repeal existing laws work in Congress.  The job of the president of the United States is not to propose legislation or policy change.  That is not how our federal government is set up and that is not how it is designed to run efficiently and effectively.  The job of our president is to sign into law or veto legislation Congress has written for the benefit of the American people.  CONGRESS is the policy maker, not the president.  I think that is a critical point that has been covered up and shoved to the side this election year.  John McCain alone cannot change our health care system.  Barack Obama alone cannot change our tax system.  Congress can, with the president’s approval.  Both presidential candidates have made a multitude of proposals about what they want to do if elected and both will be powerless to do any of what they talk about unless they have congress on their side.  Congress is, after all, supposed to be representative of the American public.  They are the voice of Americans in the government.  If you don’t feel that you are being adequately represented then it is time for someone else to represent you.

Not only are we choosing a new president this year, we are choosing some new members of congress and I URGE you to examine your congressional representatives and senators.  Look at what they stand for, look at how they’ve voted during their past term(s).  See if their voting records meet your standards and beliefs on what America should be.  If they don’t, it’s time to vote for someone else to do their job.

Open your eyes and see the bigger picture.  What does America mean to you?  Do we force others to live as we do?  Or do we set the example and teach how it can be done so that others may learn how to do it?  The most important thing you can do from now until November 4th is think.  Think.  Think about who represents your voice right now.  Think about what matters most to you.  Think about what America has done in the recent past.  Think about what America stood for and what it stands for now.  Is it the same?  Think about what America should stand for.  Are you happy with the way things are?  Or is it time for a change?

As I said, feel free to leave comments and thoughts if you’d like.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting the deal, with the original figure of $700 billion, was reached this weekend but the language still has not been released to the other members of congress or the general public.  Both presidential candidates have said they are likely to support whatever the plan entails but that they’d both like to review the language first.  

I’m very uneasy about this.  Very.  I can’t see how spending this amount of money is going to help our financial situation in the long run.  I’m absolutely against the idea of a Wall Street bailout with taxpayer money.  If I ran a business and managed it so badly that it collapsed, the government wouldn’t come running to bail me out.  I do know that public opinion on the bailout is not so good which then begs the question, why are they going through with it?  The only thing I can think of is, congress hasn’t listened to us yet so why start now?

Should be an interesting next few days.