Saturday, November 19, 2011

Bill The Cat In a Window

Bill the Cat as a Window Cling. My Friends and I were on a road trip. It is unfortunate that my scanner is out of commission. This is a picture of a picture.


Attempted close up using the computer. He looks like a skinny Garfield, poor Bill. If I had a digital camera back then, whoo baby!  

Friday, November 11, 2011

Thanks Veterans

I had two Uncle Bob's. Everyone should have at least one at some time.

The oldest Uncle Bob was in World War II, I think. My aunt met him while she worked on a base. I would guess she was in the accounting offices or something, but that could be complete crap. She might of been working on planes for all I know.

By the time I came along and could really remember them from visit to visit they lived in a condo in another state. He was this guy who bought  doughnuts in the morning, knew all the best places to eat out because he was a health inspector and would spoil us rotten by letting us go into a toy store and pick out anything we wanted.

He was also the first time I was around someone who had a heart attack. The kids were eating on the balcony and there was a commotion where the grown ups were. My calm and collected aunt was worried and yelling at her precious poodle. We grabbed the dog and kept it's nervous self out of the fray as my mom and cousins husband gave Uncle Bob CPR. He made it through. Mom and the husband saved his life. Hero's of another sort.

He passed away many years later. He smoked a pipe. He had red hair. Red heads, they're everywhere.

My other Uncle Bob  was from my fathers side. He had a big barrel chest and a bald spot. He was quiet and kept to himself. He liked to go fishing and camping.

I didn't find out until I was much older that he was badly wounded in Korea. They had to redo his gastric piping, as it was put to me. I don't know what that entailed but it gave him a lifetime of trouble afterwards. He never said a thing about it. I had to get it third hand. Only once did he say he was injured and that's why he didn't like hospitals. He wouldn't say anything else beyond that. I didn't find out he served in Korea until I was in my 20's from his brother.

He died on my birthday two years ago. He didn't want a service, he just wanted to be put in the ground. Thank god my cousins had a grave side service and a gathering after wards. I hope he understands it was for us, not him. I can't remember what was said. It was sunny. I cried with my big assed sunglasses on. They gave me a bit of privacy so I could look at others. One of the attending marines had to lower his head to hide his eyes with his hat. My niece told me later that he went to school with her. She was standing across from him. That's heart when some guy you just kind of know is moved by your emotion.

I heard a high school friend was injured during training. I don't know what kind of training it was. What I heard was it some sort of accident with a grenade. One side of his body was burned along with his arm and hand. He saved someone another life when he did whatever it was he had to do.

He was a bass player. I wondered how that would affect him. He still plays. :)

My father-in-law was a reservist. He got a marks man medal. He gave the boys some of his stuff and I still wonder how in the hell a guy who is 6'5" could have possibly worn a hat that was too tight on a nine year old. No wonder it was still in good shape, heh.

My dad was in the navy. They wanted him to be an electrician. He didn't like it, got shocked a few time too many. He went to his commander and said "Hey, I'm going to get killed because I'm not good at this. I'm a musician." He was reassigned to the Navy band.

He told me how he played for Queen Elizabeth, she was sitting near enough for him to clearly see. He told a story about being on a dock in Italy trying to haul his bass from one place to another. I get a feeling that a lot of his stories weren't always fit to tell a little one so I didn't hear most of them. He had a film taken on a deck of a ship. It's a lot of going up and down with the a grey sea on the horizon.

Thank you to all the veterans. I know you come in all shapes and sizes and backgrounds. I know your not all perfect, don't always feel like a hero or brave. Your doing a job that needs doing. That's what counts. Again, thank you.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Tiny Steps

U.S. delays massive oil pipeline from Canada




!!!!


For now that's something. I do wonder if it's an attempt to pass the buck or delay the decision. I wonder if they hope people will forget about it, the issue will cool and they will try to slide something by us all. 


We will see what comes. 

D'OH!

Keystone Pipline Temporarily Shut Down After Power Outage

After I heard this on the radio my culminating thought was "HA! Knew it!"

Again, I am uniquely qualified to reassure Trans Canada that power outages do happen a lot. Having gone through a snow storm that took out our power for a week, having to utilize the Red Cross Shelter so our kids could at least get a hot meal (Raman Noodles) and fleeing the area for a couple of days to an empty rental house of a relative, I am well aware of the limitations of the power grid.

During our run, I didn't have my camera with me. The last two pictures are to show examples of what we saw on the road.

My Picture^


A lot of the towers were bent over like this. The weight of the ice on the line plus the weight on the structure bent them like aluminum foil.

So, yeah, a lot of issues going on. Put that on top of the Sand Hills and your just asking for trouble.



Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Special Session Testimony

Watched the testimony of people against the XL Pipeline or for LB whatever..

Strongest testimony for me was a landowner who has been dealing with Trans Canada since 2007 when she first received notice that they were planning on going through her pasture land. She got two letters. She responded to one letter telling them they could move the route two miles away, off her pasture land, and following Hwy. 283. Their response was a solid no. This was in the planning stage of the pipeline. When they certainly had the time and money to change the route. And still they said "No."

She contacted her federal representatives. They told her they didn't even know what she was talking about because they hadn't heard of the Pipeline. She contacted her local govt. They said it was a federal matter and there was nothing they could do. She was told a lot of crap, actually.

To me, it boils down to Trans Canada never considered the people who live, work and use that land. They wanted to go a certain way and who gives a two bit about anything else. It was going to go that way because you, know, who the hell lives there and cares anyway. It's in the middle of nowhere, right?

With calls to move the route, the company claims that it's too late. All those years of work, they just can't go back and start the re routing process now, it's taken four years! Well, four years ago they had at least one response to please move and even in the beginning they wouldn't. This testimony blew holes through all their excuses.

Trans Canada is being like a petulant, spoiled child who thought the adults weren't paying attention. They found out we ARE paying attention and now they are throwing a fit to still try to get their way. To the executives of Trans Canada I say it's time to grow up. Admit you're wrong. Admit you just wanted to get your way no matter what. Admit you thought it was a done deal before you even informed land owners what you were planning to do. Admit you didn't think it all the way through.

The logic, the facts, the testimony are all there. The more they try to tear apart the logical over whelming evidence, the worse they look.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Bitch and Moan Time

I see an e-mail about iTunes 99 cent gift cards. It says they put out the $.99 gift cards then raised the prices to $1.29.

Don't know if I ever bought a 99 cent gift card. This does, however, highlight the crapulous day I'm having.

I hate everything. I just... hate everything. I'm not deleting this to be Suzy Sunshine. It's the reflection of the day I'm having. The weather is sleety. I got three calls from the youngest before 8:30 a.m. having a heart attack because he thought he had left two different items for school at home. Both of which were his back pack.

I've been informed that there is no money for back to school training with the unemployment agency. It's On The Job Training or nothing. Well, isn't that cute. Because I can't get a freaking job to save my life. Seriously, it's really freaking pissing me off.

Found out that the stupid teller at the bank took out money from the wrong account Friday putting it into the negative. Which we don't understand how she could have made that mistake when A) the card given her has nothing to do with the account and B) taking money out of that account would put the entire thing in the negative in the first place while the other account obviously had money. The lovely thought from the whole ordeal, SHE has a job. Find out how that levels out when I get a call back from the operators manager.

Still one car down. Said sleet means it won't get towed by us like we planned to do today. It's just not the day for it.

I'm sure I'll have more to bitch about later.