Strange Cultural Poll

A conversation between two people here at work led to a quick poll of a diverse group of about 50 people.

100% of white people had mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving.
100% of black people did not have mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving.

We have no idea what that means, but it's more proof that some people don't have enough to do.

New Territory

In the Army they have a saying, "Never volunteer for anything". Well, I wasn't in the Army. A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with our minister, who is also a friend of ours. She was sharing that she was struggling with her teenage son because he didn't want to go to Sunday school anymore, and that the other kids weren't exactly thrilled either. It seems that they weren't too fond of the current Sunday school teacher. Now, the current Sunday school teacher really is a nice person, I just think that the relationships never clicked. Since these are the same kids in our youth group, I heard a voice say "If you need me to, I'll do it". I realized too late that it was me saying these words. Actually I had been thinking about this for a while, as I had heard grumblings from the kids about this and that. I just never thought I would have to follow through. So, next week I am officially a Sunday school teacher. Not a title that me or anyone that knows me ever thought would be attached to my name. Strangely I'm not a bit nervous or apprehensive, and I'm really looking forward to the challenge. The kids are excited, and that of course gives me the confidence to move forward. I know that they will teach me much more than I will ever teach them, in so many areas. Without ever knowing it, they will also remind me of some things that have been lost as life builds that crust around your heart. This should be quite an adventure for all of us, kind of a religous Mr. Toad's wild ride. Sometimes confusing and disjointed, but always headed where we need to go.

Birthday Wishes

Well, today is my beautiful bride’s birthday. It will be pretty low key since life continues to get in the way, but I hope she enjoys it anyhow. She deserves at least a few hours of not being a teacher / student / youth minister / cursillo planner / celebration planner / best friend to all, etc etc. I know she enjoys the well wishes from her friends, and maybe being a little spoiled. We can all handle that. And what we all can try to do is give back the tons of love and support we all get from her, and the million random acts of kindness she tirelessly performs for anyone and everyone she meets. There is no gift to give her that could match the one she gives me everyday, her just being her. She is the one person that makes me smile every morning when I wake, just knowing we are together, and gives me comfort when I sleep, knowing she will always be there for me.

Have a Happy Birthday, Nikki, and know I love you more than I ever could have imagined!

Billy

Radar, Part Deux

I finally got the radar, like I talked about doing before. I had it rigged in the truck this morning and it seemed to work so-so. The beam was mostly hitting the backseat as I just had it hung from the headreast on the passenger side. I know it's working, since more than one vehicle seemed to immediately gravitate into the center lane with a rapid deceleration when I hit that little rocker switch. I'll post more later after I've had a chance to play with it. Now it's mounted much better and I should get some really good results.

(Click on the picture for a larger view)

Here's the newest radar stealth vehicle.



Here's the magic eye, a 10.525 Ghz Gunn transceiver.




Here is the main unit and the remote.



Here's what it looks like from the rear.

Longhorns

I was glad to see our Longhorns finally beat OU. Hat's off to the Sooners for a great run. Really, they were as close to a college dynasty as you are going to get, and should be proud. But I'm still glad we stomped them.

One more thing you can get at the State Fair, whoop-ass on a stick. Beats the crap out of funnel cakes any day.

This weekend they play Colorado. My friend D is an alum, so I can't wait to hear the trash talking after this one is over. Too bad it won't be from him. Sorry D, those guys need to stick to skiing.

Highway Fun

I used to drive fast. Not 10mph over the speed limit fast, but pee your pants fast. I wasn't one that weaved through traffic and cut people off, but on an open stretch I ran at a very high rate of fuel consumption, sucking empty beer cans out of the ditch. I drive about 90 miles round trip to work, in a 4-wheel drive truck. With the increase in the prices of gas, I found it was time to slow down. I read that if I went 60 rather than 70, my fuel mileage could increase about 10%. Since my normal speed was well above 70, I figured this might be worth it to slow down. So now, I drive about 60. And I have noticed a few things. One is that I'm never stuck behind someone wondering why the hell they are driving 65 in the left hand lane. My stress level has decreased significantly. Another is that most of my fellow drivers haven't discovered my new Tao of Driving technique. They fly all around me, zipping in and out of the other cars. Now this is mostly in Dallas, and I hate Dallas. I used to travel all around the country, and Dallas is the second worst place to drive, behind New York city. Any New Yorkers offended by this statement are free to bite my ass. But I digress. So I thought, "how can I have fun with these people short of using 3 tons of Ford to put them in the median?" The answer, of course, is to by my very own radar unit. What I have found is that they can be pretty pricey. What I also found, and this will sound familiar to anyone that's ever had a radar detector, is that the automatic doors at every strip mall on the planet sets off your radar detector. Hmmmm, wonder if I can use that? Yes I can! So right now I am looking for one, and have found some on Ebay. The bid is in, and for the cheap. How many other idiots want to by a 20 year old motion detector? Turns out the sending unit is the same one used in old X band police radar units, on the exact same frequency. They are also 12 volt units. I'll just wire it into a cigarette lighter plug, add a switch, and let the good times roll. They used to make a little device to do this, and I found a blog by a guy that had and used one. Per him, it's very entertaining. I can't wait. My friends who think it's a good idea to force merge at the end of the lane are in for a real surprise. Coming up behind me at 80? Be prepared for the adrenaline rush. I know in some way this makes me an asshole, but I really am tired of getting cut off or almost hit from the rear every day. If it keeps people driving sane when they are within 100 feeet of me, that's a good thing. And if it's fun at the same time, that's even better. I'll let you know how it goes. And if your radar detector bottoms out while your jacking with a big, red Ford truck with a Texas flag on the back, give me a wave. But please, use all 5 fingers.

Football

That's us, circa 1978, the Hutcheson Chaparrals. We loved football, and we were the kings of the city. We lost one game in three years, a heartbreaking safety caused by a bad center-quaterback exchange during an ice storm. We had good coaches, we got along like brothers (fights included), and we worked our asses off. And we had a ton of fun, because when it came right down to it, we all loved football and everything about it. Even the wind sprints in the dark, running up and down the bleachers over and over, and we even survived wearing shirts and ties on game days. I have loved football since I can remember. But then again, this is Texas. Growing up we played every day. I was blessed to live in a neighborhood full of kids, so there was never a shortage of players. The yards in our cookie cutter suburb always had the driveways on opposite sides of the yards, so we all had double sized front yards for our field. The end zones were the sidewalks to the front doors, out of bounds was the sidewalk on one side and the front of the house on the other. I still have scars from going out of bounds on the house side. The only time we stopped was to watch the Cowboys play. I still remember the original Hail Mary pass. Cowboys were losing to the Vikings and no where near scoring, with only a few minutes to play. I thought the game was over, so I went and got my shoes. I brought them back into our living room to put them on so I could go to play our tradition after-Cowboys game-football game. Staubach dropped back, the line collapsed, and he just let it rip. Drew Pearson was streaking down the field toward the end zone. Staubach gets planted, and somehow Pearson catches the ball. It was ugly and beautiful all at the same time. I was stunned, and so was everyone at the game. It was great. It was football at it's best. I got away from football in the 80's. The team you see in the picture above was split up when we went to high school, since we straddled two different high school areas. When I got to high school, it just wasn't the same. The coaches didn't seem as good, and neither did the team. It wasn't fun anymore. I decided I would rather earn money and chase girls, so I quit. I don't regret it at all, too many of my former teammates wished they had done the same. It sucks going from undisputed champs to the worst team in the district, but there it was. The Cowboys also decided to take the same route, and were also looking pretty sorry. I worked every Sunday and never had a chance to see a game. I still caught Cosell on Monday's when I could, because you never knew what he would do. Anyone remember him comparing a black kick return specialist to a monkey running down the field? That was an Oh Shit moment for MNF if I ever saw one. But slowly I got back into it, and to this day still I will watch any football game I can. I'm not much on college football, but I will watch it when I have time. I remember the second most famous Hail Mary pass, and I saw it purely by accident. Again, I know nothing about college ball. I was living in a rented house with two roommates. For whatever reason it was one of those rare days when I was there alone. I flipped on the tube and saw there was a game on, just one. It was Boston College (who?) and Miami. I had never heard of Bernie Kosar or Doug Flutie, nor did I care to know. It was one of the best games I've ever seen, pro or college. The whats and whens aren't as clear as the Cowboy-Viking game, but somehow Flutie pulled out a major upset with a long, low percentage pass. Doug Flutie is still one of my favorite players of all times, for a whole bunch of reasons. I still watch as much as I can, and I still think Jerry Jones is Satan. But I still love the Cowboys. I loved them even when Barry Switzer was the coach. (What kind of idiot would hire the coach of OU to coach a Texas team. Oh yeah, it was Satan.) Troy, Emmitt, and Michael were great, no doubt about it. But Roger, Tony, and Drew were even greater to me. I don't know why, but they were. The Longhorns look unstoppable this year, and have ignited in me a new passion for college ball. We may actually beat OU next week. If not, you can read about Mack Brown's lynching, and it WILL happen. To me it's still a game, and it's still fun. I still like to throw the ball around, and would love to actually play again, but I know that would lead to some type of surgery within a few minutes. A few years ago at our Christmas US Mail hub, we played a full contact game on a day off. The injury list was long over the next few days, and we almost had to cancel Christmas. It wasn't the Grinch, it was middle aged men doing something that was better left to younger people. But as we limped, and groaned, and winced, we also smiled. Because for a few hours, we got to play some football, and it was all worth it.

TGIF

Well, this has been a crappy week. And yes, the picture is real, I used to race on this boat. It just seemed appropriate.

First, let me say that it could have been worse. It was a series of minor aggrevations. People deal with stuff a lot worse than this every day. But, this isn't their blog, so you get to hear me bitch.


I work with a guy who was Army Logistics. I don't mean than in a figurative, complimentary way. He was the guy at the Pentagon that ran the whole shebang, period. Great guy, anal as hell, but a great guy. He retired about 5 years ago. He sees the difference in military discipline and what the rest of us deal with every day. The reason I mention him is because he puts it best: people just don't care nor do they have pride in their work. I run 5 distribution centers for a major candy/beverage company. They are third party contractors who handle the other major candy/beverage companies also. Because of the commodity, it is very specialized and not many companies do this. So...sometimes I'm stuck with what I have. Many are truly profession and strive to do their job. Many just don't give a shit. They will spend more time trying to not do something than it takes to actually do it. I don't understand, I really don't. I wasn't raised that way. My Dad always said that if you aren't going to do it right, just don't do it. What he has taught me has served me well my entire life. And he was obviously right. Asking grown people twice a day every day to do something simple is just aggravating. Ok, I'm even boring myself at this point. Just do your job with pride, and strive to be the best at whatever you do. I respect a janitor that keeps the place clean more than a wormy exec playing cover-your-ass. I have no future in politics, and I'm ok with that. Very ok. Next week will be better, I know that. We all have the crappy week every so often, it's just part of life.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I do some touch ups on the house. I've spent almost every waking hour the last 3 weeks replacing wood, caulking, sanding, etc. etc., and finally painting our house. A word of advice, if your house needs painting, find a way to hire people. Rob a liquor store, sell crack, sell your sister, anything except doing it yourself. But it's done and the house looks good. In 2 weeks we'll paint doors and shutters, but for now I've had my fill of This Old House. Normally after a big, difficult project, I feel some sense of accomplishment. Not this time. It went fine, but it was just mind numbing work. I felt better after washing my truck tonight.

I warned you there might be ranting involved.

If I don't talk to you, have a nice weekend.

BT

Beginnings

I guess we all have to start somewhere, so this is my little stutter step into blogging. I won't claim to aspire to literary greatness here or anywhere else. Mostly this will be just a place to post some of the insanity I see happening in every day life. Here and there I may also take out some of my frustrations I have with the world. And I'm pretty sure that no good can come of this, but life is tough, so wear a cup. If you don't like what you read here, it won't hurt my feelings if you don't come back, I understand, really. Truth is that the only other human on the planet that will probably ever read this is my beautiful bride. And maybe the cat. I'll try to link some real reading by people who are good at this sort of stuff. Me, I'm more like the empty calories of the blogging pyramid. Ok, nuff said.

BT