The O Word

I am dealing with two learning curves.

Actually, one of them is just a reminder of things I already knew, but at a higher rate of speed.

The first one is Wordpress. It is a wonderfully adaptable and ownable blog software. Finding just what you want and being able to use it is a nice change from blogger. Of course, if you happen to hit this blog while I am trying things out, the appearance may change while you are off reading the comments on another post…

The second one is raising a child. Again. In my first marriage, there were two girls that came with the first wife. I raised them both as my own. (the older one has issues, and I will not be talking about her.) The younger one was six months old when I married her mother, and she only knows me as “daddy” - which is really, really cool. She is 22 now and married, living in Idaho with her husband and dog and cat in a house they just bought.

Now, I have this sixteen month old information sponge that I am raising. I have learned that chores go a lot quicker when a toddler is helping. No, really - they have to. At least, the chores that you can accomplish while watching a small person with eighteen arms and forty two hands. For example, emptying the dishwasher. MEG has figured out how to unlock and open the dishwasher (and also how to lock it and start it, whether it’s ready to go or not) so when the dishes are clean, they need to be put away. I have found that it takes about 3.5 seconds to empty and store the dishes. (when I was a teenager, it would take me about 3.5 days to do the dishes when asked. told. commanded. ordered. threatened.) Otherwise, most of them get to be reloaded and rewashed after MEG shares the flatware with the dogs and the plates with the cats.

While I was in the Marine Corps, two minute showers were the rule. We lived in squad bays from the Korean War era (interesting sidenote - my Dad helped build most of them on Camp Pendleton. he was a Marine Corps meteorologist, which is a perfect MOS for building squad bays, right?) (they are all replaced by BEQ dorms now, two Marines to a room, no comradarie…) Anyway - sixty guys, ten shower heads, reveille was called at 0500, assembly at 0600 and chow at 0630, so there was not a lot of time for you to relax in a long hot shower. That’s history. Now, two minutes to a toddler is forever. My shower lasts ninety seconds on a slow day, so MEG doesn’t start getting upset because I’m out of sight. Unless, of course, I’m up before she is, then I grab a longer shower and get shaved and dressed rather leisurely. On those days, I even get to enjoy shaving with the straight razor, taking my time and having deep thoughts.

Everything else is in a hurry - her hurry. Somethings don’t get done - the floor has little piles in the corner (I’m not going to tell you piles of what, so don’t even bother asking.) and the entertainment center needs to be dusted - again. But, I am not going to take time away from MEG’s learning curve to satisfy someone else’s idea of clean. The house is not going to fall apart, and we can still tell what color the tile is.

Make sure you wish your mother a Happy Mother’s Day tomorrow.

I may even break my own rule about not allowing bitterness to creep into my life and call my own mother. Maybe. Long story for another post.

Have a good weekend.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I’m wearin’ red today - how about you? You want to let the fine Men and Women of the Armed Forces know that you support them? Wear red on Friday!

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

OK - so this guy I know (you might know him too - he goes by Bushwack, and blogs on American and Proud) is very code-savvy and has been helping out a little bit here and there with this upgrade to Wordpress 2.5.1. One thing he pointed me to was a comment reply plug-in that he pointed to here, and the directions were deceptively simple. In fact, I messed up the install because I didn’t read the “readme” file first. Yeah, I know. Bullheaded old Leatherneck, right? Right.

The other thing - and you may or may not have noticed this - is up on the tab where this window is open. I have an icon on the tab! That is so cool! Like I mentioned in a comment to an earlier post - having this much control over your site is a pretty cool little power trip!

So - I’m going to keep looking for some of the really cool plug-ins out there, and really get this thing working for me.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Snagged this from Doug Gibbs’ place over at Political Pistachio.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I normally (well, most of the time) (OK, when I have time…) have a link fest and list my blog reads here along with their latest posts; since tomorrow’s show is going to feature my regular reads, I figured I would just chat a bit today. (Be sure to call in and let me know YOUR regular reads at (347) 838-9573. Or, drop in the chatroom to - uhm, chat - or just sit back and lurk as a listener. that’s fine. don’t participate. i’ll just drone on and on and on by myself. no, really, it’s fine.)

Sorry, forgot to mention the show is at 0700 Mountain Standard Time. No, we don’t do Daylight Savings. Yes, I’m on the same time as Pacific right now. No, I don’t know when it changes back. I don’t care. Remember? we don’t do it, so why keep track of it? Just go and sign up as a member of blogtalkradio, add me as a favorite, and you will get customized notice of when the show is, with YOUR time on it. Now, back to the regular column, which I so rudely interrupted:

Today TMBWitW was going to take the day off. Yesterday MEG started to run a slight fever and recycle everything that went in. Sure wish I had know about the recycling decision BEFORE I gave her the fruit snacks, but there you have it. In light of the recycling effort and TMBWitW’s quick trip to the urgent care center last night while I was at church, she decided to take today as a sick day instead.

(They are both napping right now, which is the only reason I am posting. Shhh. Don’t wake them up.)

Since it’s Thursday, I need to go out and bring the cans back in from the curb. I also need to sweep up the latest conglomeration of pet hair that is gathering in the corners. Oh, and if you all happen to see my black cat, Captain Midnight (he’s got tags and a chip) out and about, please tell him to stay out of the street and go home. No, he doesn’t normally go out. He’s an inside cat, like all the rest. While I was helping Logan get out this morning, Captain slipped out the door and was up and over the wall before I could get Logan situated and chase after Captain. What a stupid cat. I love him dearly, but if he runs off, I will never know what happened to him.

Remember to tune in tomorrow. I’ll talk to you then.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I am sorry.

Very, very sorry.

It’s all our fault, you know. That is, it’s the fault of the State of Arizona that John McCain is in front of the nation pulling off crap like this.

From the article:

Sen. John McCain said yesterday that Republicans have shed support among Hispanic voters because of the party’s get-tough approach to illegal immigration, but he predicted that his enforcement-then- legalization approach will rebuild those bridges.

Well, John, any kind of talk about legalizing those who have broken INTERNATIONAL LAW to illegally enter this country will cause quite a few citizens (remember those, John? the ones who pay your salary? the ones who legally vote for you?) to shed THEIR support for the Republican party.

Using a Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo, as a launching point, Mr. McCain’s presidential campaign announced … the senator from Arizona will speak to this year’s National Council of La Raza convention in San Diego in July to try to court Hispanic voters.

Correct me if I’m wrong. La Raza is in existence, in part, to reinstate their idea of what territory the country of Mexico should encompass. Why is a candidate for the office of President of the United States courting a group of people that wants to make the office non-existent?

“I believe the majority of the Hispanics share our view that the border must be secured, and the border must be secured first. But they also want us to have an attitude, which I think most Americans do, that these are God’s children, and they must be taken care of, and the issue must be addressed in a humane and compassionate fashion,” Mr. McCain told reporters at an Arizona news conference yesterday.

Gawfer has hit the nail on the head here. While they are, indeed, God’s children, God also wants each one of us to exercise some responsibility in the circumstances we find ourselves in. Don’t go blaming God for people not “taking care of” another people when “The Race” wants to remove you from your sovereignty. Render unto Ceaser, and all that - and one of Ceaser’s laws, in this matter, is that people are to follow procedures for moving from one country to another.

This election cycle is not looking very promising. Should I fire my campaign back up and try to shake up the idiots who are giving away my country?

see also Texas Fred’s

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

This Friday on The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, I will be running down a Blog Roll “Call”, talking about the blogs that I follow on a fairly regular basis. Do you have favorites? Call in, let me know: (347) 838-9573, Friday morning at 0700 Mountain Standard Time (I live in Arizona, we don’t “do” Daylight Savings Time).

I have got to get this off my chest. There are certain people who are either totally oblivious or really, really cocky - and they cross the streets of Phoenix as pedestrians. There was a lady this morning who crossed in front of me as I approached a green light. No, she wasn’t in the cross walk - my goodness, that was another ten feet down the street! She was crossing AGAINST THE LIGHT outside of the crosswalk. I should have hit her, just to challenge the stupid law that says ALL pedestrians have the right of way. I think it should be RESPONSIBLY ACTING pedestrians have the right of way - the ones who use the crosswalk, cross with the light, wait for traffic to clear, etc. This stepping off in the middle of the street in front of traffic might fly where you come from, but around here you might not make it to the center line next time. There are certain laws that you cannot get away with breaking - and the Law of Common Sense is one of them.

TMBWitW sent me this news article - and, since she works at the paper, I have no reason to have to “research” it for it’s veracity - after all, it came from someone who works at the paper!

Dog Pack Attacks Gator In Florida
At times nature can be cruel, but there is also
a raw beauty, and even a certain justice
manifested within that cruelty.

The alligator, one of the oldest and ultimate
predators, normally considered the ‘apex
predator’, can still fall victim to implemented
‘team work’ strategy, made possible due to
the tight knit social structure and ’survival
of the pack mentality’ bred into the canines.
(See the remarkable photograph below
courtesy of Nature Magazine.)

Note that the Alpha dog has a muzzle hold
on the gator preventing it from breathing,
while another dog has a hold on the tail to
keep it from thrashing. The third dog
attacks the soft underbelly of the gator.

This is not for the squeamish, so please
take care when viewing the image.

So - how is your week going?

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Today is our anniversary.

Thank you, to The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, for putting up with me for this long.

I’ll say it again: I would marry you again, and again, and again.

I have been messing around with computers since about 1982. That was the year the Marine Corps got digitized in it’s maintenance records, and being the MIMMS clerk for the Communications Platoon (along with being the parts guy, and a line company operator, and the Comm Chief’s driver…) I got to make the weekly trek down to S-1 with the disks under one arm. Yes, the disks were large enough to carry under your arm. They were about the size of dinner plates. Huge, really. And they only carried about 256k of stuff on them.

Anyway - I’ve been doing this for a while.

During the late eighties, I was involved in the running of several Bulletin Boards (BBS) while I was living in California. One of the highlights of running a BBS was providing “door” games for your callers. One of the best, in my opinion, was TradeWars, from martech software.

Now comes the blast from the past: The game is still out there. Not as popular as it once was, since everyone is doing the ‘net these days instead of telneting or dialing up their favorite BBS, but it’s still there. I have found a place that has a couple of games going, and I’ve been fooling around on there. you have to telnet “cavebbs.homeip.net 23″ (without the quotes) to get there. It’s called the Cave BBS, run by Red Wolf. Registration is free, the board is text-based, and if you have the same memories I do the only thing missing is the handshaking of two modems at the blazing fast speed of 300 bpm.

If you remember the game, pop on in. If you are interested in learning the game, I’m sure I can help out with tips and advice.

If all this is Greek to you, then move along you young whippersnapper you - there’s nothing to see here.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the “Toughest Sheriff” located here in Maricopa County, has his problems. Liberal journalists (yes, EJ Montini, I’m talking about YOU) don’t like him because he is forward, straight talking and decidedly not PC.

Oh, and he’s tough on crime. That really ticks off the left.

His latest exploits have included painting the jail buses with murals that include a hotline for suspected illegals. Yeah, another thing the libs hate. People who don’t want illegals to invade this country.

Sheriff Joe has recently targeted some known illegals’ areas in a crime sweep - that is, the Sheriff’s office will blanket an area and stop all traffic and ask for ID. That ID will be run through a quickie background check. Wants and warrants will result in detention, as will the inability to produce legal ID. Self-declared illegals will get a ticket on the fast bus south; those who are snagged for wants and warrants who turn out to be here illegally will also ride south, but after serving time in some of Joe’s tents.

The liberal media has been warning of a “backlash” to all this activity, coupled with the voters’ wish of actually enforcing immigration and employment laws, and it has started to show itself.

First, there was the dropping unemployment rate. Arizona as a whole is enjoying the shrinking line at the jobless office.

Second was the traffic situation. With fewer illegals in the area, traffic has been reduced.

Third was evident yesterday. You know, the day “all” illegals were going to “protest” their “lack” of “rights” in a country they have illegally invaded?

(uh, yeah - about that. if you aren’t here legally, you have no rights under the constitution of The United States. become a citizen, and enjoy all the rights and privileges thereunto pertained.)

well, other cities enjoyed the sight of all those illegals gathering in one place, making them a prime target for a roundup. Here in Arizona, the “leaders” of the pro-illegals (they actually call themselves “Immigrants Without Borders. huh. if there are no borders, then there is no such thing as an immigrant, right? morons.) did not organize a protest rally, given the demonstrations that have erupted both in support of and against the recent sweeps by law enforcement. Well, wah. They don’t seem to have any problem with their demonstrations when they are disrupting the lives of everyone else, but people show they are serious about not wanting illegals invading this country, and the criminal leaders - er, uhm - “organizers” wimp out.

I was looking forward to Joe rounding them all up and running them all through the wants and warrants system…

Instead, the “organizers” of this non-event have opted for a different way to show they are serious about this subject. You guessed it - they are going to perform a protest march from Tucson to Phoenix, ending at the state capital on May 11. (Joe - there’s a hot tip for ya, bud)

This is a very smart move on the part of the “organizers” as it will demonstrate what these illegals had to go through in order to get here. No, wait, they think it will highlight the inhumane treatment of immigrants. Really? The immigrants I see are in good shape, what with coming here through legal means and all. The only ones I see struggling are the ones who snuck in here under the wire. And, just for your information, “Immigrants Without Brains,” marching in the desert as a public protest is kinda stupid, what with no roads and no media coverage, don’t ya think? But please, be sure to file your route with the appropriate law enforcement offices - they’ll take good care of you.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!