Fundraisers

Tonight I am going to a "Parent" meeting for my son's scout troop. The chairperson of the parent committee called last night to setup the meeting, and said that they wanted to put the final touches on a fundraiser they will be doing for the troop to raise money for summer camp. He explained that they were doing a hoagie (sub) sale, where the boys take orders, then the committee either buys the hoagies, or has the boys make the hoaiges, and then they are delivered to the customers. They usuaully have a couple different types of sandwiches such as Italian, Ham, Turkey and/or Roast Beef. In the past these hoagies have been a huge 18" in length, and sell for around $6.00. Where I work we have about 35-40 people who are in and out of the office throughout the day. Of these people a good portion of them have young people, so there is usually always some fundraiser form in the employee "kitchen" and of those fundraisers most of them are either candy or hoagies. To be honest, I am just a little tired of eating hoagies. Isn't there any other fundraisers any longer? Is that all groups can sell or do now a days is hoagies or candy? And why is it that the "kids" assume that the parents will take the order forms into work for their co-workers to buy... What ever happened to door to door in the neighborhood? Oh yeah, I forgot, we don't live in a safe society any longer... So I need a good idea for a fundraiser... Something other than selling something, or at least not selling the same old same old... Ideas?

Out of it...

To the few readers of this Blog, I must apologize for the lack of anything new since Feb. 22nd. I got a few new toys, and I was way too wrapped up in playing with them than just about anything else. As you know I got the new 30" Widescreen HDTV and the DVR to go with it. Well I also got a new DVD burner, and a new DVD player. I have been spending all my free time burning DVD's. I have already used just about 1/3 of the blanks I bought, and they came in a tube of 100 blanks! I am spending so much time creating the DVD's I don't have time to use them, so I decided I need to slow down a little bit. :-) Well believe it or not, but I did do a few other things this past week. My mom was in the hospital for a "near heart attack". She went in Saturday and got out on Thursday. She has had a kidney problem most of her life, so this heart thing was pretty serious. The good news is she appears to be doing much better. When she got out on Thursday I stopped over to her place, and helped her get her groceries. I haven't been shopping with my mom in years. I also visited my great-aunt Mary Thompson, who is in a local nursing home. She isn't doing as well as my mom, but she is keeping her spirits up. I was supposed to go see her again with my brother this past weekend, but I was out on a date with my girlfriend. I hope she is still hanging in there. My girlfriend took me out to see the show "Wicked". I don't get to go to the theater very often, so I was really looking forward to the show. We got there, and our seats were at the very back of the theater, but we could still see everything pretty good. The show was very, very good. I highly recommend it! It creates a whole new way to look at the classic movie "Wizard of Oz." Hopefully I brought you up to speed of the things going on in my world... Maybe the next post I will update you on the rest of western PA! :-)

Vannoy / Bronco Shirt update

Mr. Josh Vannoy has once again appeared in our local paper, Beaver County Times. This is the second time in the the last 3 days, and again with a new photograph. Mr. Vannoy has had at many different photos of himself published within the last 30 days, along with at least 16 separate articles in the local paper alone. Some of those articles are "letters to the editor", both supporting and not supporting Mr. Vannoy. Most of the "staff" articles have done their best to show the school and the teacher in a bad light, and Mr. Vannoy the victim. Who is Mr. Josh Vannoy? Let me refresh your memory. He is the student that was "humiliated" when he wore a Bronco's jersey to a "Steeler Country" school, right before the AFC Championship game at the end of January between the Steelers and the Broncos. Mr. Vannoy and his family have, according to this latest article, moved to a different school district. They left because he still felt harassed, and because he was getting the silent treatment at school. I suppose that's what a person would expect to happen when the school officials threatened the entire student body with expulsion if they were physical with him, spoke inappropriately to him, or even "gave him dirty looks". Yes that's right, not detention, not suspension... Kicked out of school forever! Heck, I would have been afraid to talk with him let alone look his way, if I was threatened to be kicked out of school against my will. Of course, regardless of the school's good intentions by attempting to protect Mr. Vannoy from being hurt or further harassed, and to prevent possible litigation, it only made matters worse. Mr. Vannoy was now being "treated differently", and he didn't like it. Personally, I think Mr. Vannoy missed the attention, and since he couldn't get it at school, he decided to use the newspaper! So maybe the family moving to another school district is for the best for everyone. He has placed our school on the national map in a negative light. He has created the perception that Beaver Falls High School is a school that will not "discipline" an obviously bad teachers, that it condones teachers to harass and humiliate students, and what may be worse, that it can't prevent students from harassing other students. Of course, that's not reality, only perception, but reality apparently doesn't matter when it comes to selling newspapers. Of those all of those local articles and countless other articles across the country (not including the opinion articles), only a few articles I saw actually gave the real story, and even then those articles were given negative headlines like: "BF teacher won't be disciplined". There doesn't appear to be a single journalist who is willing to spend the time to check the facts, ask the questions, or "search for the truth" before publishing... Instead they all seem to want to get the story to press as quickly as possible and make it sound as good or bad (depending on your point of view) as possible, regardless of facts. (Yeah, I know this is my perception, but it works for them, why not me?) The reason the teacher was not disciplined is because the teacher actually did not do anything wrong, except decide to allow Mr. Vannoy to attend his class. The class is an elective class, which requires parental approval before taking the class, because students in the class will be intentionally placed in situations that make them feel outcast, excluded, or segregated. The teacher states up front that he will use various activities, both planned and unplanned to teach the effects of discrimination in our culture. Is that not what happened to Mr. Vannoy? If you sign up for a class knowing you are going to be put in a situation that makes you feel uncomfortable, why would you scream "foul" when it does? Mr. Vannoy apparently didn't learn the lesson being taught in that class. Instead he turned the tables, and taught the rest of us that if you are discriminated against, you should take your issue to the press, discretly forget a few facts, take a picture of yourself looking sad, and if you are white and have a little "influence"... You can get all kinds of public support... You can make a good teacher look like a moron. And if you are really lucky, you can even get national attention and a massage chair from a football legend. I am sure there are people facing daily discrimination in this world, my town, and even Mr. Vannoy's old and new schools, but they aren't getting the publicity he is. Why? Because, in my opinion, Mr. Vannoy and his family enjoy the publicity. Why else would you allow your "sad looking" face to be photographed and published in the newspaper so many times. What did he gain? Notoriety? Fame? Money? I don't know but he is still milking this as long as possible. I wonder if he is working on a book deal? Oh no... I just had a horrible thought... My son could be expelled because of my opinions, and apparent "harassment" of this glory seeking, media savvy family. Maybe I should move?

St. Valentine's Day

Today is the day "us guys" are expected to buy the flowers, give the chocolate, take her out to dinner, or buy her some jewelry. Of course being guys we need a holiday in order to remind us to do this at least once a year! So, if you haven't gotten the flowers, the chocolate, the jewelry or reservations for dinner out... You better hurry... The good news if you don't get it done by the end of the day, you have an entire year to apologize... Just don't do it again next year!

Addicted

I am addicted. I am addicted to my new DVR. I have spent way too much time watching TV this past week. One of my favorite television shows is Star Trek. Yeah, I know that’s geeky, but that’s me. Well it’s not on in the evenings so for years I haven’t been able to see it. Yeah, could have used my VCR to record the shows, but making sure that both the cable box, and the VCR were on the same channel was a pain in the rear. The good news is that I can watch a 60 minute show in less than 45 minutes when I bypass the commercials, but the bad news is I am watching 5 times more TV than before.

New TV

Before the Superbowl I ordered a Digital Video Recorder, or "DVR" from my cable company, Comcast. I was hoping it would be installed before the big game so I could pause the game if I had to go to the bathroom, or instant replay any wardrobe malfunctions that occurred when they panned across the Seahawk's cheerleaders. I was excited, and I couldn't wait. My income tax refund came in the Friday before the game, so I decided to splurge on myself and by that new TV set I have been wanting to get for the last 2 or 3 years. I had it all picked out I just needed a good deal. Circuit City near the Beaver Valley Mall was running a sale on TVs and the 30" Widescreen Sony HDTV that I wanted was reduced. I ordered it online, and picked it up that evening! As you have read (or at least I hope you have), I promised to help my girlfriend with her bathroom refinishing, so I decided I would set the TV up Sunday morning before the cable guy came to hook up my DVR.... However, my girlfriend came over to visit Friday evening, and seeing the big box in my living room, she suggested we postpone the bathroom and check out the set. So we built the stand, and struggled to get the set on the stand, and after about an hour, I powered it on for the first time... Wow... what a thing of beauty. I couldn't get the HD channels until the cable guy came, but just the change in the size of the screen and the clarity of the picture from what I had before was just awesome. Here's what I had:

Here's what I have now:

I am now addicted to the TV set, and my DVR is already almost full of saved TV programs. I imagine that a year from now, I will have gained about 30 lbs, from the lack of activity other than pressing the buttons on the remote control!

Keys

Here's a story.... But before I start, you must understand a few things.... I really enjoyed the Disney movie about that smart guy that couldn't remember anything..... I have tried really hard to be just like him throughout my life. This past weekend I planned to go over to to my girlfriends house to help her remodel her small bathroom. She had to work in the morning, and I was supposed to go to her house while she was working, and get things started. I started Saturday by sleeping in, and I got to her house in the early afternoon, instead of the early morning. After getting to her place I realized that in order to take the sink and fixtures out of the room, I would some tools that she didn't have at her place. Fortunately, she lives only a short distance from my place, so I drove back home to get what I needed. I went in the back door, turned on the lights in the garage, where I keep the tools. I set down the stuff in my hands (read keys) and started to dig out the appropriate tools . After rooting around a few minutes I decided just to take the entire tool box, and figure it out there. I also grabbed set of special "locking pliers" that I got for a present a few years back. So with my hands full of tools I exited the garage, and closed the door behind me. I have a bad habit (or good depending on your point of view, from my point of view at this point it's bad), of locking doors as I walk through them. So, when I entered the garage, I locked the door, but kept it open slightly so I could get back out. When I left the garage, I pulled the door shut with my foot, as my hands were full. Soooo... When I get to the car to put the tools in the back I fumble around looking for the car keys that should be in my pocket to unlock the trunk of the car. Now the truly bad habit I have is that I don't always put the keys into my pocket when I am not using them, and yet I still expect them to be there when I need them. In this particular case they were definitely not in my pocket. They were lying on the shelf near where the tool box just recently sat, behind a locked door I just pulled shut with my foot. I tried the "credit card" trick on both doors to my apartment. The front door was has a dead-bolt lock, which I had locked earlier, and the backdoor shuts very tight, and there is no room to get the card between the door and the frame. Needless to say, my place is pretty safe against the average criminal with plastic card. Since I am not a professional criminal, I resorted to the next best thing... No, I didn't break a window, but that would have been less humiliating... I called my oldest daughter and beg her to come open the door to her Dad's apartment because he is getting too old to remember to take the keys with him when he leaves the building. She groans, and reluctantly agrees to help. While I am waiting for her to arrive, I find that the car isn't locked. I can sit in the car, and get out of the cold weather and listen to the radio while she takes her time to get to my place. Boredom sets in very, very quickly, and looking around the car I see the keys to my girlfriends place that she loaned me to get into her place while she is gone. Unfortunately, none of those keys open my apartment, but they give me something to focus on for a few minutes. I start wondering what all of these keys are for. A few look like door keys, one looks like a car key, and a few others I couldn't really identify. While I am looking at the keys an unusual thought crosses my mind... I wonder if any of these keys would fit in my ignition and start my car... Yep, you are right, that idea is as dumb as it sounds, but it didn't stop me from trying. You see where as I have mastered the absent-mindedness of that Disney movie I mentioned earlier, I have not mastered the smart "professor" part. So anyways, back to the story... I found a key that actually slid into the ignition, but of course didn't turn. I was surprised, because the key doesn't look anything like my car key and I was amazed at how it went in to the ignition like it was the right type of key. So I decided to see if any other keys went into the ignition like that. Well, the only other one that would go in was the actual key to my girlfriend's place, which was marked with a "pink" ring around the key. That key however only went halfway into the ignition, and.... It wouldn't come back out! No matter want I did: twist, turn, wiggle, jiggle, push, pull, scream, or cry, the key refused to exit the steering column of the car. My daughter was going to arrive any minute which meant I could get my keys, but what good would it do? I would not be able to use the keys to drive back to my girlfriends house to work on the bathroom! More fidgeting, fiddling, or fumbling did not extricate the key. I thought I was humiliated by asking my daughter to help me get into my apartment there was no way I could bear to tell her what I did or anyone else for that matter. So when she got to the house and let me in I found the phone book and called a locksmith that has emergency services. A little over an hour later and $75.00 less the locksmith had removed the key, and the ignition and key suffered no damage. Since the locksmith never asked how the key got stuck, I never told him. I am hoping he doesn't think it was me! :-) So I learned that even though that professor on that Disney movie both forgetful and smart, in the real life being forgetful is a sign of costly stupidity.

Supreme Court Justice appointment

A young lad that I know (no names to protect the innocent), took a social studies test last week, and one of the questions on his test was:

"What qualifications should a President look for when appointing a new justice to the Supreme Court".

His response was very interesting, especially when I found out that he didn't realize that the President had recently appointed two new justices. The teacher didn't accept his answer, but based on what you hear on the news you would think this was the major qualification:

"If the President is Republican, he should pick a Republican. If he is a Democrat, then he should pick a Democrat."

Of course that' s not what the teacher was teaching him, but that's what he thought. I can only assume he "learned" that from listening to news / political commentary.?

Bathroom Upgrade - Progress Report

I have been told by my son that my posts are too long, so I will make this brief. I put the second coat of paint on the "powder room" last night. While it was drying we found a few blemishes in the paint, specifically in the wall underneath the paint... So I am going to attempt to spackle those spots again, and repaint them. I hope I can smooth the blemishes out. The next step is to install the new flooring. We got those 1' x 1' vinyl floor tiles. The existing flooring is just one large piece of vinyl. I have to figure out how to cut the tiles around the toilet without it looking like a "hack job". Any advice?

Politics

If you read through my posts you would see that I have attempted to avoid taking a side or even talking about politics. This topic creates quite a bit of hard feelings, and people get really wound up talking about it. My girlfriend, and her family have a different political view than I do, so when we gather together for a holiday or other special event I am definitely in the minority when politics are discussed, so I am pretty good at avoiding political discussions, however I do have political opinions. I base my opinions of the political events on what the President and other leaders say, and more importantly watch they do. I try to base my opinions on facts, rather than what someone else tells me I should think. When I listen/watch, I take in what is happening at face value, and I try not to add some hidden agenda. I listen to commentators of both sides of the political spectrum, because to be honest, that's the only way to get the "whole picture" of what's going on. I try to not dismiss people just because I don't agree with their point of view. However, from my point of view, people on the other side dismiss me and people like me as "dumb", "stupid", or "not worth listening to" because we disagree with their point of view. So... Often, I just keep my opinion to myself. Anyway, to the meat of the topic... Limpy99 suggested that President Bush was stupid because he stutters, and misspeaks. I commented on his blog and said that people who misspeak aren't necessarily stupid, and there are many eloquent people that are stupid. I said we should judge Bush and leaders based on their words, and actions. I also suggested if you can't stand to "listen" to Bush speak, to read his speeches. I know it pains me to listen to him because of his speech patterns, and the pauses for applause and whatnot. I also don't see how someone can become President of the United States by being stupid as I believe it requires quite a bit of intelligence or at least the smarts enough to surround oneself with people who are! Anyway, Limpy responded to me on my blog, saying that he "didn't trust him [Bush] as far as he could throw him". He said that Bush is "power hungry" and that he is "too confident". He also mentioned the "domestic spying" in his comments. When I hear/read things like this I wonder I live in a different world than everyone else, or if I am just blind. Maybe those on the other side of the political spectrum have are right and I am stupid. Maybe I just need someone to explain to me how Bush is gaining power, other than what he has by being President. President Bush has retaliated against terrorists who attacked our country, and countries that support them. He then helped the people of those countries build their own goverment. He could have taken them over and made them "Bushland", made them part of our country, or instituted a government run by him or by our standards. The facts are he didn't. He pushed two big pieces of ledgislation: "Patriot Act" and "Tax Cuts", however they are both temporary! The tax cuts may have given him slight popularity and given the economy a boost, but no additional power to him. I believe more taxes means more control, or more power, so what does "less taxes" mean? The Patriot Act does grant additional executive branch power but it's temporary and has congressional oversight. It is designed to help us against a real threat of terrorism from both international and national sources. From what I understand from the news recently the Patriot Act isn't (currently) being renewed by the Senate. If he was power hungry, why didn't he make it permanent in the first place? I could name about a dozen more things where Bush could have done things to "gain power", but hasn't. To be honest and frank with you, I think he has lost power, by not speaking more frequently about his policies and ideas. His lack of public speaking has distanced himself from the people that would give him strength and power, and his performance polls reflect this. I don't believe he is "rallying" people to his side, which is power, which is something President Clinton did very well. The comments about the "domestic spying" are exaggerated. Bush did authorize spying, as he should, but against known terrorists, and it was done with full disclosure to those government agencies that oversee that stuff. ''It's amazing that people say to me, 'Well, he's just breaking the law.' If I wanted to break the law, why was I briefing Congress?'' said Bush during an appearance at Kansas State University. It was "secret" so the people we were spying on wouldn't know we were spying on them, and we could continue to get inside information. This is now harder to do since this issue has become public! Who do you think that helps? Us or Them? And what's even more distrubing about people upset about this issue, is that our current President hasn't done anything that any other President before him hasn't done, and some MORE than he did... These previous presidents weren't categorized as "the bad guys" when they did it, and we weren't at war then! The only last comment I will make is, I would rather follow someone that is sure of himself because he will keep going until he gets there, even if he makes mistakes along the way. He doesn't have to apologize for the mistakes because he succeeds... Does Thomas Edison owe us 4,000 apologizes for failing 4,000 times attempting to create a lightbulb? Or do we thank him for having enough confidence for knowing he could do it, and never giving up until he did! I would not want to follow someone that is tentative, and unsure of where to go, because they will never succeed. Edison would have given up and said it's impossible if he didn't have the confidence that he could do it. If we allow our country, and our President give up now, we will lose, and we will have terrorists attacking our country, and many, many more innocent people will die. I choose to follow the confidence that we will prevail!

SuperBowl XL Champions

I have mentioned before that I am not the biggest sports fan of the world. But it’s hard to get away fromt the game here in the “outskirts” of Pittsburgh. Everyone at work was wearing their Championship shirts and hats, and discussing their opinions of the events of the game.

Today when I stopped at the deli to get a little lunch meat, the guy slicing the meat asked me if I watched the game. Of course, being here in Steeler’s country, I had to watch the game. I wouldn’t want to appear in the newspaper the next day like this guy:

The great news is that Pittsburgh Steelers did the unimaginable; they have come from behind, and beat the Seattle Seahawks 21 to 10 to win SuperBowl XL in a game that wasn’t decided until midway through the 4th quarter. This makes the discussion of the game much more enjoyable!

My Soul?

I followed a link I found on SoozieQ's Blog Memes O'Mine where she found she was a "Peacemaker Soul". Well the link (which is at the bottom of this posting) takes you to a site where you answer questions about yourself. I answered the questions and this what 'kind of soul' it determined I have:

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You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

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So here's the question... If you know me, does this sound right?

Bathroom Upgrade

My girlfriend has decided to remodel a small "powder room" in the master bedroom of her town home. It had flowering wallpaper, an old sink that was clogged, and a 60's looking medicine cabinet. She had recently had a new toilet installed because the old one was leaking. Well last weekend we stopped into Home Depot, and after about 3 hours of shopping, we picked out a new paint, a new flooring, a new sink, new medicine cabinet, new lighting, and new towel racks. We picked out everything necessary to remodel the powder room, except the toilet. The only decision left was whether or not to spend the money. Home Depot made this decision easier because they had a 6-month same as cash deal for purchases over $250.00. So this weekend before the "big game" we removed the sink, the medicine cabinet, and pulled off all of the wallpaper. We scraped and picked until all of the wallpaper was off. We then sanded off the remaining little pieces and hardened glue that we could not scrape. The walls had been painted a few times, and wall papered a few times, and so there were a few layers to remove to get back down to the bare walls. After cleaning up the walls, we spackled in the holes, ridges and gouges left from our scraping, and earlier "remodeling" projects. We had to wait until the next day for the spackling, so we decided to stop for the night. The next day, SuperBowl day, we sanded down the spackling, cleaned the walls, and put on the first coat of paint. The look of the room improved 100% just from the first coat. The project is not done yet, we still need to put the second coat of paint, and install the flooring. When that is done, we can put the sink, medicine cabinent, lighting, and towel racks in. We didn't get a picture of the bathroom before we started, but I took a few pictures of the room at the end of the first two days of work. I will upload them here later, if she doesn't mind. :-)

Groundhog Day

Today Phil saw his shadow, and according to legend that means the remaining days of winter will be harsh... in other words, it won't be an early spring. I don't know about you, but I haven't the foggiest clue why there is a "Groundhog's day" or why it's held on February 2nd, so I decided to research it. According to Stormfax® the holiday was brought from Germany and was originally called "Candlemas". It was held on February 2nd, because this is "mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox". Apparently before the groundhog was introduced to the date, it was determined that if the weather was nice (sunny and warm) on February 2nd, then the remaining 6 weeks would be harsh, and if it was bad (cold, cloudy, and yucky) on the 2nd, then the rest of the winter would be mild. When the tradition merged with the native American Indian beliefs of the Punxsutawney area, then all of the components were ready to create Groundhog's day. The celebration of Groundhog's day started in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in 1886, and it's been repeated every year since then. Today many people accross the country tune in to find out whether the groundhog named Phil from Punxsutawney will see his shadow when he comes out of his "home" on February 2nd. Today Phil came out wearing a Steelers Terrible Towel, but after seeing his shadow, he "peed" on the towel, in fright. I am hoping that isn't predicting a bad outcome to the upcoming SuperBowl... But that's another topic!