Yes, I feel totally bleah today. It's a combination of playing soccer and drinking.
Yesterday, Sunday, I attended soccer practice. I played with a bunch of people, most of whom will not be on my team, and most of whom were very much younger than me. We played against a team made up mostly of people who will be on my team and are of various ages.
The league I play on is an adult league which of course means that everyone should be an adult. I refuse to believe that adulthood is something one merely progresses to by virtue of reaching a particular age. That isn't the point of course, not here, and the point is that the teams are made of people of various ages, from the possibility of 18 to, well, I don't know. I do know that I play with people over fifty.
Rather than let age discussion sidetrack me further, I must now turn back to my bleahness. I ache over a vast percentage of my body. My knee was threatening trouble from a slight twist, but it either was lying to me or the rest of my body hurts too much for me to hear the whine from the knee. My toe problem seems to have disappeared, the problem being that I had a couple of toenails that were overly long. I fortunately still have all the nails, though whatever I did to my poor toes yesterday took me off the field.
After practice and some frantic running around and taking the boys to Grandma's house, Momma and I were, late, on our way to the west side of town for her employer's company party. It was actually the Christmas party from last year, but that didn't make any difference. Following a lovely dinner at a French restaurant, we headed to the south side to a manager's house, a keg of beer and the swimming pool. I didn't swim, but I'd like to think I looked cool in my flip flops, swimming shorts and shirt, unbuttoned to show off the scrawny, tanless body.
What followed was a good bit more beer than this body needed. I drank myself stupider as I like to say. Momma also had a fair share of the drink. We fortunately ended up ready for sleep at the same time and retreated to a tent. The manager had apparently told the staff they should bring tents. He has a huge backyard, and having worked in the restaurant biz, he knows full well how we tend to party. Sadly, the rest of the staff either didn't hear about bringing tents or just didn't bother. They were all gone when we awoke, so I don't know what they did.
There's a whole other topic that I could probably get several posts out of, the drinking habits of restaurant people. On average, I would estimate that any one typical restaurant employee, on an average night, could drink enough for two or three normal people. Give us a party, or any excuse reasonable or otherwise, and we tend to try to set records for drinking stupidly.
So, having combined more exercise than I am in shape for and more drinking than I should do, regardless of shape, I have tormented my poor body unmercifully to the point where life is torment today. If I could sleep the day away and wake up tomorrow from this, I'd be ever so slightly less unhappy. But that isn't the case. Those boys are not going to watch themselves while I nurse myself.
Part of me would like to think I learned a lesson, but the drunks of the world never learn this lesson, no matter how often we puke it up. I'm not even taking a day off as I might once have pretended to do. I'm a firm believer in the hair of the dog treatment, and there's a beer in the refrigerator now calling my name.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Saturday, September 02, 2006
surrounded by dishonesty
The subject of dishonesty has been on my mind for some time. I will mention the big pack of lies that we all face currently from Bushco and any number of right wing people married to a disturbing fantasy. Our nation is mired in responsibility for a living hell that our president has caused to arise in Iraq having forced our soldiers to create the catalyst for an ever worsening civil war.
So many of the rank and file of the right wing have said it for so long, but one of Bush's inner circle has finally given voice to an amazing piece of dishonesty. The suggestion is that the average American is a terrorist enabler merely by seeing the lies and the war for what they are. If we disagree with their point of view, if we disbelieve that warrantless war is a fine way to wage diplomacy, we are causing physical aid to those who are our true enemies.
Those true enemies, those terrorists that would actually dare to attack our nation, even they are further vilified by a fog of dishonesty. Would that anyone with the knowledge would tell us exactly why we find ourselves so often in the cross hairs of so much of the world and do so with the painful honesty we deserve.
Some among us, those believers in the longest running superstition, create daily their own dishonesty, creating a web of lies before retreating behind their rule book which, oddly enough, demands honesty of its followers. And this rule book is one that says within it that it applies most to those who would follow its doctrine, and this book has truthfulness as one of its main tenets. The followers of this book would name themselves referees in a game they want so to force us all to play. I ask again why the followers of this book don't actually follow it most of the time, but I know that my answer will not be one of truth or even of faith, another of this books main requirements.
Address the followers of this book and ask him some questions. Ask them the ratio of mentions by their lord and saviour of kindness and generosity to homosexuality; ask them which god mentions more and if that indicates his or her preference as to how they spend their time. Ask them if they are followers in a true sense of the book and its commands.
This post has been in my head for some time, but the final inspiration came tonight while I was watching television. I finally turned it off when I saw the newest anti-drug commercial. It, like all that I've ever seen, was created in a way to create yet more dishonesty around the issue of drug use. I find it interesting to watch the alcohol based commercial in which the danger is that one will perhaps imbibe to a point that they couldn't successfully drive a car. The ad shows various drivers driving poorly, their cars and trucks filled with alcohol in what I see as a fairly comical interpretation of drunk driving.
Certain drugs are deemed evil and are therefore illegal. One must admit that not all drugs are safe, yet what drug, whether legal or illegal can be said to be completely safe. Some drugs are designed in labs to treat specific human illnesses. Some drugs are created to deal with other human issues. Certainly certain drugs can be said to hold some blame when users make bad decisions. The problem lies in the fact that we are so often given complete dishonesty when drugs are discussed in that we never seem to approach certain aspects of the drugs.
If drugs are illegal because some have a tendency to addict their users, then why don't we approach the nature of addiction instead of jailing people involved in drug sales and use? Why in the case of marijuana are we never even given an honest study of the plant? It's use is perhaps not as old as that of alcohol. Much like many things that man has discovered though, we are certain that it has been in use as long as most other things we still use.
I have another ratio that I'd be interested in, the number of people who have smoked pot to those who have not. It would be an interesting survey if one could do a census, assuming that one would get complete honesty from all involved.
Like gay sex, those uninterested in marijuana should be the last people getting to make suggestions about how the rest of us go about our lives, but too often, the commercials show up to show how bad life is for people who smoke pot. The commercials mention drugs in a sense of the evil, the lives destroyed and the potential wasted, but we don't get to discuss how little Johnny came to be a pill head. We don't talk about what cocaine is really like and why some people get sucked into the hell of addiction. We don't ever hear of the numerous true and proven therapeutic uses of marijuana.
We get discussions of lots of things, and it always seems there's a certain element driving the focus. We don't get real issues, and sadly we too often don't realize it because we can't see through the fog of dishonesty. It comes at us from so many directions, and we've become a nation driven by fears that are spoon fed to us from various sources.
So many of the rank and file of the right wing have said it for so long, but one of Bush's inner circle has finally given voice to an amazing piece of dishonesty. The suggestion is that the average American is a terrorist enabler merely by seeing the lies and the war for what they are. If we disagree with their point of view, if we disbelieve that warrantless war is a fine way to wage diplomacy, we are causing physical aid to those who are our true enemies.
Those true enemies, those terrorists that would actually dare to attack our nation, even they are further vilified by a fog of dishonesty. Would that anyone with the knowledge would tell us exactly why we find ourselves so often in the cross hairs of so much of the world and do so with the painful honesty we deserve.
Some among us, those believers in the longest running superstition, create daily their own dishonesty, creating a web of lies before retreating behind their rule book which, oddly enough, demands honesty of its followers. And this rule book is one that says within it that it applies most to those who would follow its doctrine, and this book has truthfulness as one of its main tenets. The followers of this book would name themselves referees in a game they want so to force us all to play. I ask again why the followers of this book don't actually follow it most of the time, but I know that my answer will not be one of truth or even of faith, another of this books main requirements.
Address the followers of this book and ask him some questions. Ask them the ratio of mentions by their lord and saviour of kindness and generosity to homosexuality; ask them which god mentions more and if that indicates his or her preference as to how they spend their time. Ask them if they are followers in a true sense of the book and its commands.
This post has been in my head for some time, but the final inspiration came tonight while I was watching television. I finally turned it off when I saw the newest anti-drug commercial. It, like all that I've ever seen, was created in a way to create yet more dishonesty around the issue of drug use. I find it interesting to watch the alcohol based commercial in which the danger is that one will perhaps imbibe to a point that they couldn't successfully drive a car. The ad shows various drivers driving poorly, their cars and trucks filled with alcohol in what I see as a fairly comical interpretation of drunk driving.
Certain drugs are deemed evil and are therefore illegal. One must admit that not all drugs are safe, yet what drug, whether legal or illegal can be said to be completely safe. Some drugs are designed in labs to treat specific human illnesses. Some drugs are created to deal with other human issues. Certainly certain drugs can be said to hold some blame when users make bad decisions. The problem lies in the fact that we are so often given complete dishonesty when drugs are discussed in that we never seem to approach certain aspects of the drugs.
If drugs are illegal because some have a tendency to addict their users, then why don't we approach the nature of addiction instead of jailing people involved in drug sales and use? Why in the case of marijuana are we never even given an honest study of the plant? It's use is perhaps not as old as that of alcohol. Much like many things that man has discovered though, we are certain that it has been in use as long as most other things we still use.
I have another ratio that I'd be interested in, the number of people who have smoked pot to those who have not. It would be an interesting survey if one could do a census, assuming that one would get complete honesty from all involved.
Like gay sex, those uninterested in marijuana should be the last people getting to make suggestions about how the rest of us go about our lives, but too often, the commercials show up to show how bad life is for people who smoke pot. The commercials mention drugs in a sense of the evil, the lives destroyed and the potential wasted, but we don't get to discuss how little Johnny came to be a pill head. We don't talk about what cocaine is really like and why some people get sucked into the hell of addiction. We don't ever hear of the numerous true and proven therapeutic uses of marijuana.
We get discussions of lots of things, and it always seems there's a certain element driving the focus. We don't get real issues, and sadly we too often don't realize it because we can't see through the fog of dishonesty. It comes at us from so many directions, and we've become a nation driven by fears that are spoon fed to us from various sources.
my seal
No, not the clubbing kind, the look at me being cool kind. Hat tip to several posters at Science Blogs. I didn't notice whose blog there I first saw this on, but that's where I learned of the seal generator. Go here and make your own seal. Apparently it's what all the cool sciencey types are doing, though I'm sure theirs are all intelligenty and stuff while mine displays my own true nature.
If you are not familiar with Science Blogs, go check them out. They seem like a smart bunch of folks over there, the thinky kind of smart. I like to think that I'm not not smart, but my smart is more of a quickly thinking of something rudely funny to say at your expense kind of smart. Yes, I know that smart ass doesn't necessarily mean smart, but I dances with the one what brung me.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
pile o' questions
Shannon over at Phat Mommy, after answering some homeschooling questions posed her own list of unschooling questions. I'm taking her up on her offer to answer her questions here at my own little home on the nets. So pop yourself a beer and lets hop on in.
1) ONE FIELD TRIP YOUR CHILD LEARNED A LOT FROM
What counts as a field trip? I'm going to use the trip to Birmingham for Momma's roller derby bout. We arrived in town over an hour before the caravan of other teammembers and had some time to roam around. We had a list of restaurants to perhaps visit, but we didn't get around to doing any real planning. Discovering Kelly Ingram Park and the civil rights exhibit was really interesting. We haven't really approached civil rights and America's dirty past before that. I don't know really that he learned a lot, and The Boy, at three, was much more interested on what he could climb, but it is a door that we've opened to something we'll eventually cover.
3) ORDINARY HOUSEHOLD ITEM THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE
The kitchen? The computer would probably be a more accurate answer.
1) ONE FIELD TRIP YOUR CHILD LEARNED A LOT FROM
What counts as a field trip? I'm going to use the trip to Birmingham for Momma's roller derby bout. We arrived in town over an hour before the caravan of other teammembers and had some time to roam around. We had a list of restaurants to perhaps visit, but we didn't get around to doing any real planning. Discovering Kelly Ingram Park and the civil rights exhibit was really interesting. We haven't really approached civil rights and America's dirty past before that. I don't know really that he learned a lot, and The Boy, at three, was much more interested on what he could climb, but it is a door that we've opened to something we'll eventually cover.
2) THE GAME/TOY THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE
The Medal of Honor games that we have for the Gamecube have opened up discussion of World War II. These weren't intended as educational, but that's the beauty of the unschooling life. While most of Big Brother's interest in the historical aspect involves the weaponry, we have discussed some of the causes of the war, and it's a beginning.3) ORDINARY HOUSEHOLD ITEM THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE
The kitchen? The computer would probably be a more accurate answer.
4) NAME THREE MAGAZINES/BOOKS ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE
Seed is a science magazine that we had never heard of till recieving a gift subscription. I would recomend this magazine to every person that is literate. We also get Popular Science and National Geographic.
5) ONE SKILL YOUR CHILD LEARNED FROM GROCERY SHOPPING
Picking produce, which may be the single most valuabe skill one can take away from the grocery store. All the other things one can learn from grocery shopping pales, in my opinion, to knowing to smell the blossom end of a cantaloupe to check for ripeness.
6) ONE RESOURCE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING, BUT THEN REALIZED YOUR CHILD COULD LEARN THAT INFORMATION JUST BY LIVING LIFE
I can't really think of anything. We've seen things that, on first look may have looked interesting but proved to be more crap than not. But I don't know of anything that we didn't buy for this specific reason. More than what we can learn from something we will look at the use we or the boys could get out of it, and as often as not we would pass on something because it wasn't likely to be of lasting quality. I'm more likely to pass on something for being too simple or because it seems like crap.
7) AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU’VE SAVED BY NOT PURCHASING CURRICULUM
I have no way of knowing. I've never really considered any curriculum as the freedom from that sort of mentality is one of the bright lights of not schooling for me.Wednesday, August 30, 2006
some chit for your ears and eyes
One of my favorite ways to use You Tube is not so much as a video site. Of all the albums I own, there are plenty more that I don't. Lately I've been finding songs on You Tube that I like but don't own, and instead of watching the video, I'll do my other interneting while listening to the song. This isn't to say that I don't get sucked into a string of videos sometimes. It's way to easy to stay up late link jumping at You Tube. So here are a few of the things that kept me up late last night.
First is some O-U-T Kast, so get up off your ass.
This one is a bit older, but no one but Pharcyde tells us about yo Momma like you need to hear.
Finally is a song with which I wasn't familiar before last night. It's a great song and a great video.
First is some O-U-T Kast, so get up off your ass.
This one is a bit older, but no one but Pharcyde tells us about yo Momma like you need to hear.
Finally is a song with which I wasn't familiar before last night. It's a great song and a great video.
Monday, August 28, 2006
hard part of soccer season
For me, the hardest part of coaching soccer is the initial phone call. We play in the local AYSO league, and I've been coaching Big Brother since his second U6 season. Prior to each season beginning, the coaches all meet at a local church where we get our packet of team info, the info on each player and our practice field and time.
I really enjoy coaching the kids, and I love getting the chance to play even when it is with a rowdy bunch of 6-8 year olds. What I don't like is calling the families. I can call people I know, but I hate that cold call feeling you get when you have to introduce yourself to people you've never met to inform them that you are their child's new coach and when you've scheduled the weekly practice.
I don't know why I so dislike that first call, but I do. Once that first call is out of the way, we meet in person at that first practice. After that I don't have any problem calling them if I need to.
The final parent just called me. I made all the calls last night, but I was unable to actually talk to this family, leaving a message on the mother's voicemail. I don't trust the voicemail in a situation like this, so I've been expecting to call again at some point to be sure I talk to a real person. She called me just minutes ago ending the wait. Now all my team members have been contacted, and everyone knows what they need to know. The weight of the initial call is finally off my shoulders. It's a mild WooHoo moment.
So now that the hard part is over I can look forward to the fun part. One of the mothers even mentioned her willingness to coordinate the snacks as well as the end of season party, two more of my least favorite chores. I can't wait to meet my new kids and get on the field. Practice starts tomorrow night.
I also attended my own first practice yesterday only to learn with some dread that our first game is two weeks away. I didn't run that much, yet I have the sore calves today to suggest either I did run more than I think or that I'm in much worse shape than even I thought. I guess them's the breaks.
I really enjoy coaching the kids, and I love getting the chance to play even when it is with a rowdy bunch of 6-8 year olds. What I don't like is calling the families. I can call people I know, but I hate that cold call feeling you get when you have to introduce yourself to people you've never met to inform them that you are their child's new coach and when you've scheduled the weekly practice.
I don't know why I so dislike that first call, but I do. Once that first call is out of the way, we meet in person at that first practice. After that I don't have any problem calling them if I need to.
The final parent just called me. I made all the calls last night, but I was unable to actually talk to this family, leaving a message on the mother's voicemail. I don't trust the voicemail in a situation like this, so I've been expecting to call again at some point to be sure I talk to a real person. She called me just minutes ago ending the wait. Now all my team members have been contacted, and everyone knows what they need to know. The weight of the initial call is finally off my shoulders. It's a mild WooHoo moment.
So now that the hard part is over I can look forward to the fun part. One of the mothers even mentioned her willingness to coordinate the snacks as well as the end of season party, two more of my least favorite chores. I can't wait to meet my new kids and get on the field. Practice starts tomorrow night.
I also attended my own first practice yesterday only to learn with some dread that our first game is two weeks away. I didn't run that much, yet I have the sore calves today to suggest either I did run more than I think or that I'm in much worse shape than even I thought. I guess them's the breaks.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
mindless violence meets mindless politicians
Many of my favorite video games are violent, and many of Big Brother's favorite video games are violent. I do practice restraint with regards to certain games that are not at all fitting for my children, and as a parent, that is both my duty as well as my prerogative. Thankfully, many states are willing to accept that it isn't their place to dictate to me what games I and my family may purchase and play.
I'm amazed and a little disgusted that people can actually take this issue all the way to the courts in trying to outlaw the sale of violent video games. Louisiana is the most recent state to send the fools packing, one of the fools being their very own governor, Kathleen Blanco. According to the Gov. it is the job of the state to protect kids, and since the state won't do it, parents are going to have to.
Well no fucking shit ya dumbass sack of stupid. They are my kids, not in an ownership kind of way but in a parent-knows-best kind of way. This is an easy link back to homeschooling, but beyond that mention, I won't take it there.
One year after Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and the city still isn't even close to welcoming back all the refugees that had to flee the city. Given the debacle that was the aftermath of the storm, given the inability of the city or the state to respectfully deal with the citizens hurt and displaced by the storm and their governor can't think of any better way to spend taxpayer dollars than to try convincing the court that our childrens' mental health is being destroyed by pretending to shoot bad guys. Um, Ms. Blanco, kids grow up pretending to kill bad guys. I grew up watching John Wayne shoot bad guys like it was cool. My brother and I as Captain Kirk and Lt. Spock phasered many a bad guy.
Here's the actual quote from Gov. Blanco as I lift it directly from Wired dot com, to whom goes the hat tip.
This is basically what I was thinking, except that I don't want to rely on the court as the arbiter of what is or is not good for my children. The courts are not our parents, and as a parent, parenting is what you do. Certainly there are instances in which the court should step in and protect children as well as adults. But believe me, censorship is never going to be okay. We are in the land of the free no matter how many sheeple want like hell for someone to tell them what is good and bad.
I'm amazed and a little disgusted that people can actually take this issue all the way to the courts in trying to outlaw the sale of violent video games. Louisiana is the most recent state to send the fools packing, one of the fools being their very own governor, Kathleen Blanco. According to the Gov. it is the job of the state to protect kids, and since the state won't do it, parents are going to have to.
Well no fucking shit ya dumbass sack of stupid. They are my kids, not in an ownership kind of way but in a parent-knows-best kind of way. This is an easy link back to homeschooling, but beyond that mention, I won't take it there.
One year after Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and the city still isn't even close to welcoming back all the refugees that had to flee the city. Given the debacle that was the aftermath of the storm, given the inability of the city or the state to respectfully deal with the citizens hurt and displaced by the storm and their governor can't think of any better way to spend taxpayer dollars than to try convincing the court that our childrens' mental health is being destroyed by pretending to shoot bad guys. Um, Ms. Blanco, kids grow up pretending to kill bad guys. I grew up watching John Wayne shoot bad guys like it was cool. My brother and I as Captain Kirk and Lt. Spock phasered many a bad guy.
Here's the actual quote from Gov. Blanco as I lift it directly from Wired dot com, to whom goes the hat tip.
I'm calling on all parents to diligently monitor the video games that their children are allowed to play. If the courts can not protect our children, then we need to do it by rejecting the merchant of violence.
This is basically what I was thinking, except that I don't want to rely on the court as the arbiter of what is or is not good for my children. The courts are not our parents, and as a parent, parenting is what you do. Certainly there are instances in which the court should step in and protect children as well as adults. But believe me, censorship is never going to be okay. We are in the land of the free no matter how many sheeple want like hell for someone to tell them what is good and bad.
neato linko
Hat tip to Lynn Point at KnoxViews for this one. This link will take you to a page at Lynn Point Records' website. In 1929 and 1930, Knoxville's St. James Hotel, home at the time to WNOX radio, hosted Brunswick Recording Company. As they did in other cities, Brunswick recorded songs by a number of local musicians. These songs are being made available via Lynn Point Records at the above link. I have yet to fully explore the songs, but I certainly plan to.
Friday, August 25, 2006
attempting the mild derby rant
As any regular reader here will/should know, my wife is a member of our local roller derby league, Hard Knox Rollergirls, who are members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. These girls have been working hard to get themselves in shape, strengthen their bodies, better their skating abilities, and they've been working at this for several months now. It's really gratifying, even to me as an (what I'll call) associated observer to see the amount of work these girls are doing. It is work, and it is hard, and I can see so much improvement in their abilities. I know there are some new and strong friendships growing, and I would even wager that many of these girls have developed strength other than physical.
By the way, roller derby is in fact a sport, and I suggest that anyone who disagrees should lace up their skates, put on their pads and try any one of these girls on the rink. Even the smallest of these girls will happily point out the error in the idea that this isn't a real sport.
The Tragic City Rollers put together an amazing team. One of their jammers in particular seemed to have rockets installed in her skates as she zipped around. I do not want to detract at all from the work they've done to prepare themselves or from the spirit they showed, and I respect their efforts no less than the effort of our own local league. They fought just as hard as our girls.
Before I'm completely done I want to reiterate the pride I have for the Hard Knox Rollergirls. There is so much dedication in our league. These girls push themselves so hard at every practice, and I know that every match they play is going to be good. Regardless of the score, they can all hold their heads high. They fought hard. They fought beautifully. They kick motherfucking ass, hard as hell!
Updated to add: I have removed some content from this post. The Tragic City Rollers were gracious hosts and were tough competitors. I regret having made any suggestion that they were unfair in the match described above, which is the content I removed. Both cities were well represented in this bout, and all the girls and staff should be proud of themselves. To all Tragic City Rollers, I am sorry I posted what I did. Thank you to those who commented, and if you'd like, see this post to see some explanation for my change of heart.
By the way, roller derby is in fact a sport, and I suggest that anyone who disagrees should lace up their skates, put on their pads and try any one of these girls on the rink. Even the smallest of these girls will happily point out the error in the idea that this isn't a real sport.
The Tragic City Rollers put together an amazing team. One of their jammers in particular seemed to have rockets installed in her skates as she zipped around. I do not want to detract at all from the work they've done to prepare themselves or from the spirit they showed, and I respect their efforts no less than the effort of our own local league. They fought just as hard as our girls.
Before I'm completely done I want to reiterate the pride I have for the Hard Knox Rollergirls. There is so much dedication in our league. These girls push themselves so hard at every practice, and I know that every match they play is going to be good. Regardless of the score, they can all hold their heads high. They fought hard. They fought beautifully. They kick motherfucking ass, hard as hell!
Updated to add: I have removed some content from this post. The Tragic City Rollers were gracious hosts and were tough competitors. I regret having made any suggestion that they were unfair in the match described above, which is the content I removed. Both cities were well represented in this bout, and all the girls and staff should be proud of themselves. To all Tragic City Rollers, I am sorry I posted what I did. Thank you to those who commented, and if you'd like, see this post to see some explanation for my change of heart.
money grubbing finks at Amsouth bank
Banks are shitty places to have your money stolen from you. They can set their practices/procedures any way they want, and you can't do much but walk away if you are unhappy. Once they've stolen a pile of your money though, it's a little late and walking away is basically a Pyrrhic victory.
Before we left town this past weekend we deposited Momma's check. We made a few purchases using our debit card over the weekend knowing that we had plenty of money, that along with the check, the sales would clear on Monday night. That was not the case.
Apparently, because the check is not drawn on Amsouth, soon not to be our bank anymore, they deposited only one hundred dollars of it on Monday. They also let all the purchases go through before the check, though the check was deposited at least a day before any of the purchases were made.
So the bank decided that they should charge us almost three hundred dollars for going slightly over, which if the business was transacted in the order it happened would never happen. And when Momma called them today, they decided to be smug assholes about it and offer us a third of the money back as they are content to steal only a small amount.
So Amsouth basically told us to go to hell because they were keeping the stolen money. Momma has had this job over two years, during which time her paychecks have never once bounced. We've had this account for over eight years, and the only other time this has happened to us, completely the fault of the bank, a much smaller amount of money stolen then, we were able to work the problem out. We have never been anything but good customers, maintaining a balance and never bouncing anything. Because Amsouth doesn't give a shit about their customers, they would rather lose good customers than not steal money.
So, thank you Amsouth. I hope you enjoy our money and the knowledge that your greed could really have hurt my children. My family will be fine without that two hundred dollars, but your greed is making my next week really difficult. And as soon as our different bills are through the bank, we will be taking our money and our business to a different bank.
Before we left town this past weekend we deposited Momma's check. We made a few purchases using our debit card over the weekend knowing that we had plenty of money, that along with the check, the sales would clear on Monday night. That was not the case.
Apparently, because the check is not drawn on Amsouth, soon not to be our bank anymore, they deposited only one hundred dollars of it on Monday. They also let all the purchases go through before the check, though the check was deposited at least a day before any of the purchases were made.
So the bank decided that they should charge us almost three hundred dollars for going slightly over, which if the business was transacted in the order it happened would never happen. And when Momma called them today, they decided to be smug assholes about it and offer us a third of the money back as they are content to steal only a small amount.
So Amsouth basically told us to go to hell because they were keeping the stolen money. Momma has had this job over two years, during which time her paychecks have never once bounced. We've had this account for over eight years, and the only other time this has happened to us, completely the fault of the bank, a much smaller amount of money stolen then, we were able to work the problem out. We have never been anything but good customers, maintaining a balance and never bouncing anything. Because Amsouth doesn't give a shit about their customers, they would rather lose good customers than not steal money.
So, thank you Amsouth. I hope you enjoy our money and the knowledge that your greed could really have hurt my children. My family will be fine without that two hundred dollars, but your greed is making my next week really difficult. And as soon as our different bills are through the bank, we will be taking our money and our business to a different bank.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
derby pics
This is a picture taken by the mother of one of our Hard Knox Rollergirls as they prepare for their match against the Tragic City Rollers. Momma is down in the right hand corner. More pictures can be found here. I'm still rolling the post around my head concerning the actual match, and as much as I want to write about it, I'm still not sure of my approach. I may just let the idea go, but I kind of doubt it. So enjoy the pictures, and if you care, keep looking for the post. I'm sure it's coming, but you are going to have to wait for my brain to stop spinning ideas.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
my car might be done and the newest rental
According to the collision center, my car is done. Of course they told me this same thing last week, but that changed to "we didn't get the alignment done, but we'll pay for you to do it." So at my earliest convenience, I took the car to have the alignment fixed only to find that the collision center was not done. They did a beautiful job with the body work, but they didn't look far enough. We needed some more work done, work that was the responsibility of the collision center.
So we rented another car for the couple of days that it took to get our car fixed. It was nice driving the rental to Alabama, not putting the miles on our own car, and I've almost fallen in love with the rental.
I wanted a decent car with space and a cd player. We got a Mazda 6, shiny black and quicker than a swipe from a cat's paw. The trunk, considering the size of the car, is huge. Momma's derby bag fit, the bag that holds two pairs of skates, helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist/hand guards, all with room to spare. It also held the two suitcases for our clothes, a small cooler, four large beach towels, two blankets, the pillows from the sofa, and all that still only took up about two thirds of the available trunk space. As pretty as a shiny black car can be, I would personally not pay good money to own the fingerprint magnet.
We are hopefully done with other people's cars. I want my Honda back, and I want it to be completely fixed this time. I hate driving to the west side of our town, even if it's only halfway west. Once I get past Bearden, the darkness starts to take over, and I hate the west side of our town. The collision center is only a couple of miles past Bearden, but it's far enough that I'll be so happy to be done with this car crap.
So, one poopy butt to wipe as soon as The Boy finishes filling the diaper, and we get to get our car.
So we rented another car for the couple of days that it took to get our car fixed. It was nice driving the rental to Alabama, not putting the miles on our own car, and I've almost fallen in love with the rental.
I wanted a decent car with space and a cd player. We got a Mazda 6, shiny black and quicker than a swipe from a cat's paw. The trunk, considering the size of the car, is huge. Momma's derby bag fit, the bag that holds two pairs of skates, helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist/hand guards, all with room to spare. It also held the two suitcases for our clothes, a small cooler, four large beach towels, two blankets, the pillows from the sofa, and all that still only took up about two thirds of the available trunk space. As pretty as a shiny black car can be, I would personally not pay good money to own the fingerprint magnet.
We are hopefully done with other people's cars. I want my Honda back, and I want it to be completely fixed this time. I hate driving to the west side of our town, even if it's only halfway west. Once I get past Bearden, the darkness starts to take over, and I hate the west side of our town. The collision center is only a couple of miles past Bearden, but it's far enough that I'll be so happy to be done with this car crap.
So, one poopy butt to wipe as soon as The Boy finishes filling the diaper, and we get to get our car.
nerdlinger
I'm not entirely concerned that I'm not nerdy, but the suggestion that I'm also not hip kind of hurts a little. I first saw this test at COD's place, but I didn't take the test till I saw that Doc had also taken it. Since apparently it's the new thing to do, I had to try and get in early so that I can one day proclaim, "Nerd test? Dude, I was taking the nerd test back when it was cool."
Monday, August 21, 2006
things you may not have imagined
We all know that christians don't all adopt their kids. Some christians even have giant piles of kids. One could debate the concept of producing more offspring in a world of diminishing resources, a world where many children live their lives in want of parents.
I'm not debating those issues. I'm not debating anything here. The point here is that, for all their self righteous, goofy, and too often abusive and wrong minded ideas about sex, especially sex of others in which they hold no stake or share, christians have sex. They get their groove on.
While one might imagine christian sex existing in a lights off world of lifted skirts and not looking, it may not always be this way. And if you are a christian that wants that bootay, and if you are a chrisitan that might want that bootay when you are alone, and if you are a christian that wants that bootay in a way other than lying flat on each other with as little thrusting as possible, then this site might be for you.
Hat tip to Wired dot com up in here.
I'm not debating those issues. I'm not debating anything here. The point here is that, for all their self righteous, goofy, and too often abusive and wrong minded ideas about sex, especially sex of others in which they hold no stake or share, christians have sex. They get their groove on.
While one might imagine christian sex existing in a lights off world of lifted skirts and not looking, it may not always be this way. And if you are a christian that wants that bootay, and if you are a chrisitan that might want that bootay when you are alone, and if you are a christian that wants that bootay in a way other than lying flat on each other with as little thrusting as possible, then this site might be for you.
Hat tip to Wired dot com up in here.
getting off a quick one
Yet again, and possibly unnoticed by all, I have returned from a short absence. We drove Friday afternoon southwest to Birmingham Alabama. I can't say much for Birmingham. That city, the downtown part at least, irritated the living hell out of me. If you are ever there and on any avenue North and are looking for any avenue South, drive the streets in descending order until you reach First Avenue North, cross the bridge to find First Avenue South, then proceed in ascending order to your street. Whoever Momma talked to on the phone from Sol y Luna was extremely friendly and helpful in getting us to their eatery, and the food was great. Maybe if I lived there, the city would eventually make sense, but it really does seem like more of a driving through kind of state as opposed to a living in kind.
Momma and her Hard Knox Rollergirls teammates had their very first match Sunday night. I'm going to devote a post to that, but I'm not sure how I want to go about it. There is a lot of anger and disappointment over the debacle. My voice is shot from screaming encouragement to some awesome girls that fought a hard battle. I'm proud of everyone of them, and I oddly feel a little more personally invested in the Hard Knox girls.
We missed visiting the Civil Rights Institute because they are closed on Monday. We didn't hit more than one of the restaurants on our list of places to try. We drank from the gas station, so instead of good beer I floated myself in Miller High Life. We, not my family personally but some of the girls, got a warning or several from the hotel management. We left about a metric shit ton of trash.
I got two phone calls while we were driving down Friday having to do with Big Brother's soccer team and my own soccer team. Big Brother and I can start practice as soon as I can get the team info and our practice field. That means that our season shouldn't be much more than a month away. My own team had a practice on Sunday night, so I can pay my fee and get to work hurting myself. Speaking of hurts, Momma has a doozy of a hematoma on her thigh and another on her elbow. There are probably some smaller ones that she has yet to notice.
Momma has driven to her momma's house to pick up our dog. Here's my big thanks to Maw-n-law for dog sitting. I'm really not a dog person in any sense of the word, so travelling with a beast in the car is a no go in my world. As soon as she is back, I'm going to run somewhere and get us some food. I'm ending here, but I've got at least two posts stewing in my head.
Momma and her Hard Knox Rollergirls teammates had their very first match Sunday night. I'm going to devote a post to that, but I'm not sure how I want to go about it. There is a lot of anger and disappointment over the debacle. My voice is shot from screaming encouragement to some awesome girls that fought a hard battle. I'm proud of everyone of them, and I oddly feel a little more personally invested in the Hard Knox girls.
We missed visiting the Civil Rights Institute because they are closed on Monday. We didn't hit more than one of the restaurants on our list of places to try. We drank from the gas station, so instead of good beer I floated myself in Miller High Life. We, not my family personally but some of the girls, got a warning or several from the hotel management. We left about a metric shit ton of trash.
I got two phone calls while we were driving down Friday having to do with Big Brother's soccer team and my own soccer team. Big Brother and I can start practice as soon as I can get the team info and our practice field. That means that our season shouldn't be much more than a month away. My own team had a practice on Sunday night, so I can pay my fee and get to work hurting myself. Speaking of hurts, Momma has a doozy of a hematoma on her thigh and another on her elbow. There are probably some smaller ones that she has yet to notice.
Momma has driven to her momma's house to pick up our dog. Here's my big thanks to Maw-n-law for dog sitting. I'm really not a dog person in any sense of the word, so travelling with a beast in the car is a no go in my world. As soon as she is back, I'm going to run somewhere and get us some food. I'm ending here, but I've got at least two posts stewing in my head.
Friday, August 18, 2006
tastes like . . .
As many families do, we like to eat the yogurt. I prefer Brown Cow brand with the layer of cream on top. Sometimes, I actually stir the yogurt and fruit together under the cream so that the cream stays mostly whole. Then I can stir it in at the end leaving it in pieces instead of having it become one with the fruit from the bottom and the yogurt itself. It's nice to get a largish chunk of the cream layer in a spoon full.
At the store, I generally let the boys choose flavors. Big Brother tends to like the same flavors as I. Recently, The Boy chose Yo Baby yogurt in a little six pack of banana and vanilla flavored yogurt. The package sports pictures of babies, most likely babies that eat yogurt. Either way, that's what The Boy noticed, and he asked specifically for the "baby yogurt." That's fine. Baby yogurt for him and Brown Cow for the rest of us.
As we turned and walked away from the dairy case, I thought I heard The Boy saying something about the yogurt. I leaned in a little to be sure I heard and asked him to repeat himself. What had he said? "The yogurt tastes like babies."
At the store, I generally let the boys choose flavors. Big Brother tends to like the same flavors as I. Recently, The Boy chose Yo Baby yogurt in a little six pack of banana and vanilla flavored yogurt. The package sports pictures of babies, most likely babies that eat yogurt. Either way, that's what The Boy noticed, and he asked specifically for the "baby yogurt." That's fine. Baby yogurt for him and Brown Cow for the rest of us.
As we turned and walked away from the dairy case, I thought I heard The Boy saying something about the yogurt. I leaned in a little to be sure I heard and asked him to repeat himself. What had he said? "The yogurt tastes like babies."
Thursday, August 17, 2006
howzabout that?
Lucky me, I'm all signed in and posting random crap. I've got a new template to make my goofy ass blog look cool. I think it's cool, and that's all that counts. I have made a couple of other changes that are newly available through the new and improved version. I don't have time at the moment to sit and play too much with this, but I've only dipped my toe into the water of available features. I plan on talking The Boy out of derby practice tonight so that I can sit here and figure it out. I've got errands to run, some sort of supper to plan and purchase and cook, and the possibility that I'll have to tag along to derby tonight as my current plans.
Tonight is Momma's last derby practice before the debut match in Birmingham. I'm sure I've explained this, but I don't greatly relish attending practices. Big Brother goes along, but he mostly stays out of trouble. Plus, if he does get in trouble, Momma can deal with it with no great theft to her efforts on the track. If The Boy decides to go, I must also. She can't very well attend to the crap he can get into, and as is his want, he gets into anything he can, doesn't listen to any idea or talk of limits (stay inside, no playing in the parking lot, no climbing on top of the arcade games, especially no climbing whatsoever while wearing roller skates.) So regardless of my desire not to be stuck for two to three hours wandering dumbly around the roller rink, I go with what The Boy wants most of the time. I'm not above offering a movie as a trap to keep him and me home, but if he really wants to go, I'll suck it up and go.
Anyway, that's the deal. I don't now know what I'll do tonight. I'd love to stay at home and be a philosophyless slacker or figure out how to label all my posts or perhaps write about the new funny/outrageous thing I will have unearthed (read via bloglines) using my amazing web finding things power.
Tonight is Momma's last derby practice before the debut match in Birmingham. I'm sure I've explained this, but I don't greatly relish attending practices. Big Brother goes along, but he mostly stays out of trouble. Plus, if he does get in trouble, Momma can deal with it with no great theft to her efforts on the track. If The Boy decides to go, I must also. She can't very well attend to the crap he can get into, and as is his want, he gets into anything he can, doesn't listen to any idea or talk of limits (stay inside, no playing in the parking lot, no climbing on top of the arcade games, especially no climbing whatsoever while wearing roller skates.) So regardless of my desire not to be stuck for two to three hours wandering dumbly around the roller rink, I go with what The Boy wants most of the time. I'm not above offering a movie as a trap to keep him and me home, but if he really wants to go, I'll suck it up and go.
Anyway, that's the deal. I don't now know what I'll do tonight. I'd love to stay at home and be a philosophyless slacker or figure out how to label all my posts or perhaps write about the new funny/outrageous thing I will have unearthed (read via bloglines) using my amazing web finding things power.
let him die if he wants
From Science Blogs, we get an updated story on the dumb ass hippy family that doesn't accept the accepted medicine. We got this story hot not so long ago, the story of the sixteen year old with lymphoma who prefers drinking root tea as opposed to medicine with actual evidence as to its efficacy.
Seems this fellow was really unhappy with his original round of chemotherapy. He didn't enjoy it, but I don't know that I've ever heard of anyone enjoying chemo. Apparently it was so bad, and he's so smart, that the family has decided to he will undergo an alternative treatment.
When I first heard this story, I was a little unsure of my exact opinion in the matter. On the one hand, sixteen isn't an adult unless you murdered someone. Even then you don't get to vote or buy cigarettes or drink alcohol. Sixteen year old kids make bad and ill informed decisions constantly while at the same time being certain that they are the fountains of all the world's knowledge. There's no indignation like youthful certainty. On the other hand, where does the state get off trying to force medical treatment on anyone ever? I seem to remember having certain inalienable rights.
I feel for this idiot kid and his idiot parents. They don't care much for evidence apparently, but when you choose to forego proof in favor of faith and hope and wishing in one hand, you get what you deserve. And I have no doubt that this kid will be dead soon. But along with our other rights, I believe that we have a right to seek the medical care that we choose. We may not like it, but we have no right to insert our desires into this family's life, whether or not we are 100% certain that they are signing the child's death sentence. Besides, none of us make it out alive; some of us just don't make it out alive quicker.
I dread these situations. No family has ever expected the sicknesses that some of our children must face, and there are so many sick children around the world facing unimaginable sickness and disease. I can only imagine what I would do if either of my children were faced with something so awful as cancer. I would expect that I would seek out doctors that were respected by their peers (not that that is indicative of anything) and I would seek out proven treatments. I don't know that I would drive to Tijuana for a "natural remedy" cocktail of roots and leaves and horse's ass. If I had actually used up every single other avenue, and if I were certain that the "natural remedy" were my last and only glimmer of hope . . . I'd think that the ends of the earth would be mere speed bumps in my drive to save my children. But I'd start out with the doctors and scientists whose life work is proving techniques.
Finally, as I stated in my last post about this hippy family. If the alternative treatment works, then why do they have to go to that most medically advanced of countries, Mexico? Don't get me wrong, I love Mexico, the food, the people. I don't see them having advanced their medicine more than we in the US. But if this therapy works, why aren't we upset that it's being kept away from us?
Seems this fellow was really unhappy with his original round of chemotherapy. He didn't enjoy it, but I don't know that I've ever heard of anyone enjoying chemo. Apparently it was so bad, and he's so smart, that the family has decided to he will undergo an alternative treatment.
When I first heard this story, I was a little unsure of my exact opinion in the matter. On the one hand, sixteen isn't an adult unless you murdered someone. Even then you don't get to vote or buy cigarettes or drink alcohol. Sixteen year old kids make bad and ill informed decisions constantly while at the same time being certain that they are the fountains of all the world's knowledge. There's no indignation like youthful certainty. On the other hand, where does the state get off trying to force medical treatment on anyone ever? I seem to remember having certain inalienable rights.
I feel for this idiot kid and his idiot parents. They don't care much for evidence apparently, but when you choose to forego proof in favor of faith and hope and wishing in one hand, you get what you deserve. And I have no doubt that this kid will be dead soon. But along with our other rights, I believe that we have a right to seek the medical care that we choose. We may not like it, but we have no right to insert our desires into this family's life, whether or not we are 100% certain that they are signing the child's death sentence. Besides, none of us make it out alive; some of us just don't make it out alive quicker.
I dread these situations. No family has ever expected the sicknesses that some of our children must face, and there are so many sick children around the world facing unimaginable sickness and disease. I can only imagine what I would do if either of my children were faced with something so awful as cancer. I would expect that I would seek out doctors that were respected by their peers (not that that is indicative of anything) and I would seek out proven treatments. I don't know that I would drive to Tijuana for a "natural remedy" cocktail of roots and leaves and horse's ass. If I had actually used up every single other avenue, and if I were certain that the "natural remedy" were my last and only glimmer of hope . . . I'd think that the ends of the earth would be mere speed bumps in my drive to save my children. But I'd start out with the doctors and scientists whose life work is proving techniques.
Finally, as I stated in my last post about this hippy family. If the alternative treatment works, then why do they have to go to that most medically advanced of countries, Mexico? Don't get me wrong, I love Mexico, the food, the people. I don't see them having advanced their medicine more than we in the US. But if this therapy works, why aren't we upset that it's being kept away from us?
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
crazy durn blogger
I had some trouble the last few days trying to get in here and post. And now I've forgotten everything I thought I might blab about. Not to worry though, I have tabs full of crazy stuff up my sleeve, and I'm sure to share them with you all soon.
As far as my troubles, I haven't been able to log in here, and I have wracked my brain, small help there, trying to figure out which link will take me to the solution. I even tried the email that lets me change my password, as it all stemmed from something seeming to do with the password, or possibly my user name.
I don't know what the hell it means when I see "beta" attached to anything. But apparently this blogging site did something with the word "beta" attached, and it all happened around the time I had my issues. I don't know what this all means, nor do I know what to expect. I'm tired of the help area. I'm sure it means all sorts of new bells and whistles. Maybe they'll retire my polka dot background.
As you may have noticed, I'm back, though it's likely that no one noticed my absence. I don't know when or how it got fixed, but when I tried to get on just now, it went straight where it was supposed to, and I was still signed in from whenever I'd actually last been able to log in, two or three days ago. There's not likely a lesson or a laugh in this poor thing.
So there you go. Another of my painfully boring personal anecdotes.
As far as my troubles, I haven't been able to log in here, and I have wracked my brain, small help there, trying to figure out which link will take me to the solution. I even tried the email that lets me change my password, as it all stemmed from something seeming to do with the password, or possibly my user name.
I don't know what the hell it means when I see "beta" attached to anything. But apparently this blogging site did something with the word "beta" attached, and it all happened around the time I had my issues. I don't know what this all means, nor do I know what to expect. I'm tired of the help area. I'm sure it means all sorts of new bells and whistles. Maybe they'll retire my polka dot background.
As you may have noticed, I'm back, though it's likely that no one noticed my absence. I don't know when or how it got fixed, but when I tried to get on just now, it went straight where it was supposed to, and I was still signed in from whenever I'd actually last been able to log in, two or three days ago. There's not likely a lesson or a laugh in this poor thing.
So there you go. Another of my painfully boring personal anecdotes.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
train of thought in links
I have a window open with several tabs, each of which is a different video. It's a funny little story how I came upon these videos. It won't be the kind of funny that makes you laugh, the story part at least, but the videos themselves are all funny in their own way.
This little trail starts at Science Blogs with a funny video. In it, Ricky Gervais reads from the book of Genesis in the Bible. If your only reading of the Bible is in a context that is accepting of it as true, this might be a little unpleasant to watch, but you really should anyway.
Our next stop is more Ricky Gervais. He's the actor that starred in the British show The Office, a remake of which was done here in the US. I've not seen the original, but Gervais is funny in what I have seen him do, and Steve whatsit from the American version was mostly painful to watch. That's why we should import the real show instead of the idea.
Anyway, that being said, I went on with the You Tube experience and watched another Ricky Gervais video, this one featuring the soccer talents of a certain pair of English stars being interviewed by Mr. Gervais. Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney show us why they are the pride of England.
That damned video site being what it is, I found myself watching a delightful music video cheering on England's boys, an easy jump from the previous video and perfectly representative of the curse that is You Tube. I'd have loved to find this before or during the World Cup as it just would have played better then, but it's still pretty damn funny. I love how they so perfectly captured Rooney's monkey face.
So, there you have it. I've managed a post based entirely on videos, showing you all how easily I can get sucked from something seemingly intelligent into some dark and humorous time wasting cesspool of goofiness. Honestly, there were more videos mixed in with these few, but I cull the worst out, personally sacraficing myself to provide you every so often with something of passing humorous interest.
This little trail starts at Science Blogs with a funny video. In it, Ricky Gervais reads from the book of Genesis in the Bible. If your only reading of the Bible is in a context that is accepting of it as true, this might be a little unpleasant to watch, but you really should anyway.
Our next stop is more Ricky Gervais. He's the actor that starred in the British show The Office, a remake of which was done here in the US. I've not seen the original, but Gervais is funny in what I have seen him do, and Steve whatsit from the American version was mostly painful to watch. That's why we should import the real show instead of the idea.
Anyway, that being said, I went on with the You Tube experience and watched another Ricky Gervais video, this one featuring the soccer talents of a certain pair of English stars being interviewed by Mr. Gervais. Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney show us why they are the pride of England.
That damned video site being what it is, I found myself watching a delightful music video cheering on England's boys, an easy jump from the previous video and perfectly representative of the curse that is You Tube. I'd have loved to find this before or during the World Cup as it just would have played better then, but it's still pretty damn funny. I love how they so perfectly captured Rooney's monkey face.
So, there you have it. I've managed a post based entirely on videos, showing you all how easily I can get sucked from something seemingly intelligent into some dark and humorous time wasting cesspool of goofiness. Honestly, there were more videos mixed in with these few, but I cull the worst out, personally sacraficing myself to provide you every so often with something of passing humorous interest.
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