Hey Dad....................

I think I broke something.............

Yup, sure enough our 12 year old is now the proud new owner of a fractured elbow. He took a fall while using his Razor board last night. One good thing, at least it was his left elbow so he will still be able to write and do homework......................

Looks like the President got the "Let's conserve" message out. Maybe if we drove more fuel efficient vehicles? I know that some folks actually need 3 ton SUV's to tow horse trailers, travel trailers, etc.

Most folks like myself?

Something smaller usually suffices.

I have mini-van powered by a 3 liter V-6 that gets 20 miles to the gallon. Sure I could get something smaller but it wouldn't seat 7 people and I have the need to transport that many people from time to time.

Bush needs to get a set of balls and set firm mpg standards for the automobile industry. Bigger isn't always better, we should make folks that want to drive 3 ton SUV's that get poor mpg numbers pay through the nose for the privilege.

Wanna get something that big? Make it available with a small turbo-diesel. Need a big honkin' V-8 in there? Pay an extra 10 grand in gas guzzler tax. Or get one of these.

York County is in the news again. Yay. Religion in public schools? Bad, bad idea. Public schools are paid for with taxpayer money so I think religion and government should be seperate.

Ya wanna go to school? Go to a school.

Want to go to church? Yup, you got it-go to a church.

Having said that, my wife and I happen to think that religion should be part of our children's education so that's why we pay for our kids to go to private school. Am I some kind of religious nut? Nope, not even close-the quality of the education at most privately funded schools is quite a bit better then what is available at public schools.

Since my wife and I only made 2 kids, we want them to turn out real good.


Kinda neat cartoon. I stole it from a fellow blogger that lives and rides in Alaska.

Greedy bastards of the day award. And the dumb bastard of the day.

Been riding almost "zero" miles on the old bicycle. Between work, visiting my aunt in the hospital, and doing whatever................I have the grand total of 1 ride in the past week. Kind of disappointing but the aren't peeling up the roads or trails anytime soon, so I know I'll make it out more soon. I certainly hope so as my fitness level fell off a cliff this summer.

I am so damn glad I don't live in the "Bible Belt" I guess if I auger my mountain bike into a tree it's because I pissed God off and he's showing me who's boss ? .........If that's the case-"He" woulda did it a long time ago.

Only one question. Why? His arms are so big, he looks deformed. Whatever, people say that about my forehead too.............

Till later.

Thank you Mr.Smeltzer.............

Only have time for a quick joke a buddy sent me...............

Oh, by the way-if you are a George Bush supporter, this joke is gonna piss you off...............

Moral Dilemma



This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. No one else will know, so you won't be fooling anyone but yourself if you give anything but a truthful answer.



The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Remember, your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Please read slowly and thoughtfully, giving due consideration to each line.



Here's the situation:



You are in Louisiana; New Orleans to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of Biblical proportions. You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster.



The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury. Suddenly you see a man floundering in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris.



You move closer...somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's George W. Bush, President of the United States!! At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under...forever. You have two options - you can save the life of G.W.Bush or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most powerful men.



So here's the question, and please give an honest answer:............





Would you select high-contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

Till later.

I'm slow...........

Had a great ride with a buddy of mine down at Redman on Sunday. We took his 13 year old son and his S.O.'s 13 year old daughter for a nice 2 hour ride.

I love riding with kids and turning them on to how much fun you can have on a bicycle. Adrienne is going to be a really good rider if she sticks with it, she has natural balance and small spills don't faze her a bit.

We did one section with quite a few logs on it and she went back and did it a second time because she fell on a tricky section the first time she tried it. She got it the second time-good stuff.

Reading some of the news this weekend...............

What the hell is wrong with these people? You know it's bad when 35 rockets only "might" threaten the peace talks. How many rockets will it take to seriously threaten the peace talks off? 100?

As bad as Rita was, is could have been much worse. Looking at the huge lines of traffic of folks trying to get out, I thought of one thing...........

Bicycles.

Sure, not everyone could have ridden out the affected areas but at leasty half of those folks could have made better time riding a bike then sitting in traffic.

Not all bicycling advocates like this idea, I think it's better then nothing.

A joke........

A little old lady answered a knock on the door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young man carrying a vacuum cleaner.

Good morning," said the young man. "If I could take a couple of minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners."

"Go away!" said the old lady. "I haven't got any money! I'M BROKE!!!"

And she proceeded to close the door. Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open.

"Don't be too hasty!" He said. "Not until you have at least seen my demonstration.." And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure onto her hallway carpet.

"If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this horse manure from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder."

The old lady stepped back and said, "Well I hope you've got a damned good appetite, because they cut off my electricity this morning.

I sure hope it's gasoline powered or something.

Give me some of what this guy is on. I'm surprised he hasn't lost his job. Yet.

I'm sorry, but I laughed my ass off when I read this. How can someone be so damn stupid?

WHAT? This shit is totally ridiculous.

Anybody watch the Food Channel? This guy is my favorite.

This is cool. If I had a spare hundred bucks, I donate it.

Monty Python. This is one of my favorite scenes from any movie ever made. Not for the squeamish.

This might be one way to get off of mass mailing lists. Seems like a lot of work though..........

Till later.

How cold is too cold?

Been reading a few of my fellow bike bloggers blogs and since quite a few of the blogs I read originate from Minneapolis..............I was wondering, how cold is too cold to ride?

Here is PA, winters aren't usually brutal but we do get some cold snaps down into the teens and twenties.

How cold is too cold for me?

I'd say about 40 degrees is my comfort limit. Even though I use chemical toe warmers and booties- my feet still get cold after more then an hour or two of riding. Yeah, go ahead and call me a nancy-boy but unless I am out on a group ride when everyone one else is suffering as well, riding in the cold just ain't fun.

If you have never met me, just know I am not right in the head. Kinda hard to believe that I'm almost 46 years old, huh?

All the orangutans are gonna be extinct? Nah, just ship Britney's husband over there........it'll work out.

This quiz is amazing.

Japan has cool vending machines.

America has some really stupid TV shows. I just can't help but think that watching some of that shit is gonna automatically lower your IQ by 10 points.

Till later.

Hot donuts.........

I get this customer 2 or 3 times a week that comes in at 2AM looking for hot donuts.

Real nice lady except she is usually drunk off her ass and insists on having donuts right out of the fryer. I always explain to her that when donuts come out of the fryer-they are extremely hot because the oil is right around 375 degrees and she would burn her mouth if she ate them and then I give her some that have been out of the fryer for a few minutes.

I've explained this to her at least 2 dozen times.

Last night she turned up and seemed to be drunker then normal because she was really loud and I could only understand about every 3rd word.

Again, she wanted donuts right out of the fryer. Tonight-she got her wish..........

Since I have few working nerve endings on my fingers from handling hot donuts for 30 years-I handed her a donut right out of the fryer. Amazingly (probably because she was hammered) she didn't drop the donut and managed to stuff about 1/2 of it in her face.

Unbelievable.

She's gonna wonder why the inside of her mouth is one big 3rd degree burn tomorrow when she wakes up from her alcohol stupor....................

Till later.

Bits and pieces.........

I really don't have a solid block of time to sit down and write up very much during the week. So when I see interesting stuff, I'll steal it and post it here..........................

Damn, if only I woulda got that doctorate in astro-physics........things woulda been different.

If I had a "big and tall" chain................I'd call it "Fat Bastards", but that's just me.

My brother-in-law is a very successful trader. I'd better not show this article to him-he might chainsaw my head off.

Not only do I think the pay raise should be repealed.........I think our legislators should work as volunteers with only a modest living allowance while they are in office.

They don't sell alcohol in grocery stores here in PA. If they did, half our overnight crew would be hammered.

Man, don't be picking on Wal-Mart-they just had a whole shitload of good publicity with their hurricane relief efforts. Sure, they are bent on paving over every level spot in America and selling us cheap-ass Chinese made stuff. What's wrong with that?

I suppose with higher gas prices, there is going to be an influx of new riders. I almost killed one this morning around 5 AM on my way home from work. Guy wearing dark clothes, no helmet, no reflectors and no lights...........riding into oncoming traffic..........can anyone say "organ donor"?

I was reading "People" magazine last night at work. I'd have to say that I had no idea who at least 1/2 the people featured in the magazine were. I recognized a couple of movie stars and a few TV stars. I guess it's an okay magazine in you are in the mood for a little mind candy.

What magazines do I read regularly? .............take a guess. Go into a Borders and check out the "cycling" section. I read all of them. My favorite mag is Dirt Rag. They've stayed pretty much the same ever since I started reading them back in 97 or 98. I hate to use the term "They keep it real" but in this case-it fits.

I also read a few trade magazines related to baking and food marketing. Next big thing?

Flaxseed.

Trust me on that.

I'm in a great business, when the economy goes in the tank-the more people eat. The better the economy..........they eat even more.

Let's see.......I wanna see you ride a fixed gear bike backwards on just the rear wheel. Whoa.

My 85 year old aunt got out of the hospital yesterday, the only think she wanted was a beer so my wife took her one of the ones I bought last week. Now I am down to 2.......looks like I will have to go buy more.............

In 2006.

Not much to say......

Except that working for living sucks.

I forgot what it's like to sweat like pig in a bacon factory.

It's not a whole lot of fun.

Ever meet one of those folks that say they would continue working after hitting the lottery?

I am not one of those people.

I'd be calling in from my cell phone from the middle of a mountain bike ride to give my "0" day notice.

No hard feelings.....................

Till later.

Some peoples are assholes, some aren't.

This is only gonna make sense to you if you happen to live in York. So bear with me if you are one of my loyal readers from somewhere else.............

Rutters has terrible customer service.

I went there this morning to get gas and a paper. First thing, I stopped at the row of pumps closest to the store right in view of the cashier. Did he turn my pump on?

Hell no.

Now I understand that everyone has to make a living, but if you are working at a Rutter's............you don't have aspirations of becoming a brain surgeon, it ain't that hard to turn a pump on.

When someone puts the nozzle of a gas pump into their car and turns the pump on, the console inside the store beeps. How hard is it to stop talking to your co-worker for a second and hit a button?

Second thing is they were were almost totally out of coffee. Hmmmm....Sunday morning 7 AM....you would think that they might have it together and be able to keep up with the steady stream of customers coming into the store. Nah, that would be too easy considering there were only 5 or 6 employees shuffling around.

Third thing- The counter at Rutters is so full of crap they wanna sell you, it's hard to sit your purchases down so you can get your wallet out, so I slid all the worthless shit to one side with my forearm so I had room to put my stuff down. The clerk really got cranky with me at that point and asked me not to touch his "display".

Whatever pal, just ring my stuff up and shut up.

I love Sunday mornings............

Now on the other hand...some people are angels.......... We went to visit my great aunt this weekend. She is 85 and in the hospital. We all love her to pieces and so do the nurses at the hospital where she is staying. When someone cares about what they are doing-you can tell. My Aunt Helen is doing a lot better then she was so hopefully she will be out of the hospital soon.

My 89 year old great uncle is also in the hospital with a black eye. He took a fall and was lucky to just bang himself up a little bit. They did take him to Hershey Med just as a precaution though. Getting old is scary.......

When I get old-I wanna either die in my sleep or smack into a tree at high speed on my mountain bike and bite it instantly.

Our club also had it's annual fund raiser this weekend. It was great to see all the folks that help out with trailworks and rides. Even though I didn't win one of the bikes they had up for raffle, my son and I had a great time.

I have some pics of folks getting awards but I didn't get any pics of the poker ride, the clubs membership guy took some pics but his camera jammed. Maybe next year his daughter can be the "official photographer". I've seen some of her work, she won an award this year for her work..she's pretty darn good.

On to other things.............

Sometimes, I can hardly wait until the Middle East runs out of oil. Unfortunately when that happens, they will own most of the U.S.

As much as the major news outlets love to cover all the human suffering going on down in Louisiana and Mississippi........there are still some good folks out there helping out. Amen.

This is a pretty good program but as the father of an 18 year old..............I'd still like to see her have a plan "B" .........things happen.

Here's an article to further reinforce my viewpoint that pets are not like children.

It's back to work tonight so I'll being posting less.......

Till later.

I have no taste.............

A lady walks into a bar and sees a really cute guy sitting at the counter.
She goes over and asks him what he is drinking.

"Magic Beer", he says.

She thinks he's a little crazy, so she walks around the bar, but after
that there is no one else worth talking to,goes back to the man sitting at the
bar and says,

"That isn't really Magic Beer, is it?"

"Yes, I'll show you." He takes a drink of the beer, jumps out the window,
flies around the building 3 times and comes back in the window.

The lady can't believe it: "I bet you can't do that again."

He takes another drink of beer, jumps out the window, flies around the
building three times, and comes back in the window.

She is so amazed that she says she wants a Magic Beer, so the guy says to
the bartender, "Give her one of what I'm having."

She gets her drink, takes a gulp of the beer, jumps out the window,
plummets 30 stories, breaks every bone in her body, and dies.

The bartender looks up at the guy and says,
"You know, Superman, you're a real asshole when you're drunk!"

I love a good joke.

Food art.

Find a human.

You know you live in redneck country when your local Wal-Mart has one of these in their lobby........

Anyone that reads this blog knows how I feel about our current administration. If you are a new reader-lemme fill you in.............George and his cronies are a bunch of dolts.

I can't believe this asshole didn't get shot.

What the hell was this guy thinking? And he's sorry for not sterilizing the pin? I think he is missing the point...........If he did that to one of my kids-I'd teach him what suffering was all about.

This guy is about to become richer then Bill Gates.

This guy should use a bike and a trailer, that way he wouldn't leave pony shit all over the place.

I don't know about you folks, but if I lived 20 feet below sea level...............I'd seriously think about having a roof hatch installed.

Wow, for the price I paid for a 6-pack of good beer last week, I coulda had a whole case of Budweiser. At the rate I drink beer, that woulda been enough for at least 3 years.

Till later.....

I snore...........

My poor wife.

Most of the time, she never has to put up with my snoring because we work different shifts and sleep at different times. This week however, I have been on vacation and evidently-I snore loud enough to wake the dead, so she has been sleeping on the couch.

Only 2 more nights and it's back to the grease ranch for me.

Till later.

I was planning on doing a road ride Thursday evening but the timing really didn't work out so I hopped on the chopper to do a ride around the neighborhood. A friend of mine saw me and pulled over and we were talking and he asked me how much it costs. When I told him 700 bucks I think his eyes popped out of his head.

Hey, it's all where your priorities lie I suppose. I liken it to a pedal powered middle-aged crisis kind of thing. Ain't no way I will be able to afford a sports car, so why not have a few spiffy bikes on hand to ride around?


That's a pic of my friend's son Alex standing in front of a whole different kind of chopper. My buddy is the shop foreman for a large header manufactor and they get to do some wild one-off work from time to time and Alex gets to check out his dad's handiwork.

I'd say he's a lucky kid.

The best I can do is 16 bites.

This is some scary shit. And it's gonna happen.

George needs to download a file


Even Ronald likes a little porn now and then.

Here is why I immediately head for home when I hear thunder when I am out riding. Had 2 close calls over the past 10 years-I don't wanna be 3 times lucky.

Hopefully this dumbass will have a black drill sargent when he gets to Paris Island.

Till later.

Took a little ridey ride...............

Did about 25 miles on Wednesday. I had my Surly out again, I think folks see the fenders and the rack and for some reason-I get way more space on the road then when I am on my C-Dale R-500. It's that or the fact I was weaving all over the place looking at stuff.

I wasn't in a hurry today so it took me 2 hours to ride the route I have linked above-sometimes it kinda fun to stop and just check out the scenery.

One thing that's interesting about riding around my town is that when you go North-South, you are either going up or down a hill. East-West is a little bit better but overall-York County ain't very flat.

Another thing that's a point of interest is the variety of housing you come across in such a small area. 15 minutes on a bike can get you from $10,000 rusty trailers to $50,000 fixer-uppers to $500,000 McMansions. We live about 50 miles from Baltimore so lots of folks are moving into the area to beat the high cost of living in metro Ball-more.

When I got home, my iPod Nano had arrived courtesy of Fed-Ex. I wasn't expecting it until Friday or next Monday................it's way cool and it's way thin. I like the fact that it slips right in your pocket. It's perfect for listening to podcasts and it has lots of room left over for music.

Got my van back from it's annual PA inspection and emission test. It passed everything but it needed a rear wheel cylinder..............I thought the brakes felt kinda funny.

Anyways- if you live in York and you need a good garage- go to Jim's Auto Repair on 11th Ave in North York. His number is (717) 848-2749 Trust me on this, Gary (He bought the garage from Jim) won't steer you wrong. He is one of the good guys.

Our son will be looking forward to this, we have one preordered. I play the "car racer" type of games but I stink at Halo 2. Figures.

I like reading blogs and google just came out with a new blog search engine. I like it.

Here's some exciting new shaving news........... Five blades? I use one of those razors with 4 blades, guess I'll have to upgrade.

I'm having a tough time figuring out how the hell she managed to get famous in the first place. Puffing on a cigarette? Nice. If she didn't have money-there is no doubt in my mind she would be living in a trailer park somewhere.

Mike is in the news again. Looks like he has a stunning list of "B" and "C' level stars to sing with him.

Jimmy may as well give up on saving this. Carter is right there behind Bush in the list of "Worst Presidents Ever". Sure, he's a nice guy and all-but he has accomplished way more since he was voted out of office then when he was President and I totally respect him for that. He is a great man who was at best, an average President.

Can you imagine how Bush would have handled the Iran hostage situation back in 1979? ...............Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick-there probably wouldn't be an Iran right now.

While I like this idea, I don't want a bicycle powered ambulance to come pick me up if I have a heart attack.

The space shuttle has outlived it usefulness. Not that I am against space exploration but it's a damn shame that this is not being funded any longer. It seems to me that it is worthwhile.

What do I know, I make donuts for a living.

Till later.

Drivers license............

Now I don't wanna slam Penndot because they are probably only as efficient as they need to be......



What I mean by that is, if the folks that work there go above and beyond what they are "normally" expected to..........heck, they might be expected to do that all the time.

I went in yesterday morning to get my drivers license renewed. Fairly simple right? It is simple, only the lady that was doing my paper work had a phone call from a fellow employee while she was in the middle of doing my paperwork.

If something like this happened in a "normal" business, what usually happens? That's right-you put the person on hold and finish dealing with your customer and then find out what the co-worker on the phone wants.

At Penndot-you totally ignore the customer for 10 minutes while you chat with your fellow employee.

Nice.

One good thing, I changed my party affiliation, I am no longer a registered Republican.........I am now a member of the Libertarian Party. I don't totally agree with everything the Libertarians are about but I couldn't stomach being in the same party that George Bush is in and they ain't no way I am voting for Hillary in 2008.

Nothing against voting for a woman-I just don't like her politics.

Gonna save about 10 bucks in gas today by running all my errands by bike, I don't normally have the extra time it takes to do that but I'm on vacation this week so I have no excuse not to.

I hooked my mom up with podcasting software on her PC, since she is recently retired-she is getting a whole lot of use from her PC, now she'll be able to listen to podcasts while she does stuff because I gave her one of my old MP3 players.

Bike videos? Oh yeah. Pete is your man. Download a couple of these to play this winter when the trails are under 2 feet of snow.

This guy is dick, the fact that he is black has nothing to do with it -if he was white- he'd still be a dick.

Read this as it doesn't happen very often. Am I bashing Bush? You betcha, he is one of the worst presidents ever. Numbers don't lie.

Interesting article. I think I have been watching less TV the older I get. I have better things to do with my spare time.

Why does a dog lick it's own balls? Because it can.

Till later.

Vacation slacker.......

I am soooo lazy.

My first day of weekday vacation, I rode my chopper around the neighborhood in the morning, took a nap, had some ice cream, played around with the computer and then went on our club's evening social ride.

I had all kinds of stuff planned for Monday but the 4 hour mid-day nap kinda put a kink in those plans. 4 hours is about the perfect length for a nap in my book.

Why are they always touching each other?

This is fun? Ooooookay.

This is interesting, but I usually just hang the phone up.

Time to go-here is my agenda for today.........

-Retrieve my Raleigh from my nephew.

-take the rear wheel from the Raleigh to my LBS and have them put a BMX cog on it to replace the free wheel on there now.

-Clean the inside of my van.

-Take pics of my C-dale so I can put it up for sale.

-Take a nap.

Till later.

About damn time.

Easy like Sunday morning........

Fantastic ride Sunday morning. Not a cloud in the sky and perfect temps to go riding. I think we did about 35 miles before I split off to ride home. Took a 2 hour nap after reading the Sunday papers and having a steak sandwich and a bowl of p-nut butter ice cream.

Couldn't ask for a better Sunday.

I am thinking about selling my Canndale R5oo road bike and my Redline Monocog to free up some money and space for a new bike next year. I'm fairly sure I want to sell the C-dale but I have the Monocog pimped out the way I like it-so that might stay............

Ran across this blog entry this morning. While I wasn't quite that poor growing up, there wasn't a whole lot of extra money floating around either. At any rate-it's a good read.

Here's one of the good guys. I've seen some video footage of him and someone like him oughta be in charge of FEMA.

Looks like George is going to tour some of New Orleans...........note that he waited until all the residents have been evacuated before he showed his face. What a pussy, his old man and Clinton went to evacution centers and spoke with some of the survivors to show some compassion.


I ordered one of these. I can hardly wait to get it.

I bet Wolf Blitzer would like to take that one back. (SFW video on a NSFW website.)

Till later.

Beer.

I drink something like 6 or 7 beers a year. Since I am on vacation and I was out of beer, I splurged on a 6 pack of Troegs...........

Mmmmm yum.

I spent Saturday night in front of the TV watching the Richmond night race and had me a couple. Now I'm not a beer expert by any means but this is one smooooth beer and 2 of them pretty much put me out of commission.

Good stuff and they have bike jerseys as well. Any beer that sells bike jerseys is A-OK in my book.

Going for a ride in a couple hours-nothing like having a couple beers the night before in preparation................ I'm gonna get my ass kicked.

At least I'll be riding in style on my Surly.

This has nothing to do with anything. Pretty cool though, huh?

Somebody sent the following e-mail to my "junk" e mail addy........

FROM:DR.RICHARD DANDI.
THE DIRECTOR AUDIT
AND ACCOUNTS UNIT
IN I/B/A INTERNATIONAL BANK OF AFRICA.
20 REU DE COMMERCE
LOME REPUBLIC OF TOGO.


ATTN,

WITH DUE HONOUR AND RESPECT,I AM DR.RICHARD DANDI,THE DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF AUDIT AND ACCOUNTS UNIT DEPT OF INTERNATIONAL BANK OF AFRICA, LOME-TOGO IN WEST AFRICA.I GOT YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND WORKING WITH TOGOLAISE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND I DECIDED TO CONTACT YOU FOR BENEFICIAL AND A 100% RISK FREE BUSINESS TRANSACTION.DURING OUR AUDITING AND INVESTIGATIONS IN THIS BANK,MY DEPARTMENT CAME ACROSS THE SUM OF ELEVEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS(US$11,500,000)ONLY BELONGING TO OUR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MAN WHO DIED ALONG WITH HIS FAMILY(NEXT OF KIN)IN THE 5TH NOVEMBER,1997 AEROPLANE CRASH IN ABIDJAN. BEFORE OUR DISCOVERY OF THIS DEVELOPMENT,THERE WAS NO
TRACE OF CLAIM FROM ANY PERSON AS THE FUND REMAINS DORMANT IN HIS ACCOUNT WITH THIS BANK. ALTHOUGH,I KEEP THIS INFORMATION SECRET WITHIN MY JURISDICTION TO ENABLE US PUT CLAIMS AND TRANSFER THE SAID AMOUNT
THROUGH A TRUSTWORTHY FRIEND OVERSEAS WHOM WE SHALL PRESENT TO THE BANK AS THE BONAFIDE NEXT-OF-KIN TO THE DECEASED FOR A PROFITABLE AND SUCCESSFUL DEAL.

MEANWHILE,ALL THE ARRANGEMENTS TO PUT CLAIMS AS THE BONAFIDE NEXT-OF-KIN TO THE DECEASED,TO GET THE REQUIRED APPROVAL AND TRANSFER OF THIS MONEY TO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE.THE DIRECTIVES AND THE NEEDED INFORMATION WILL BE RELAYED TO YOU AS SOON AS YOU INDICATE YOUR INTEREST AND WILLINGNESS TO BENEFIT YOURSELF FROM THIS GREAT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.INFACT,WE COULD HAVE DONE THIS DEAL ALONE BUT BECAUSE
AS WE ARE CIVIL SERVANTS WE ARE NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO OPERATE FOREIGN ACCOUNT AND IT WOULD EVENTUALLY RAISE AN EYEBROWS ON OUR SIDE DURING THE TIME OF TRANSFER BECAUSE WE ARE STAFFS IN THE BANK.

THESE ARE THE ACTUAL REASONS WHY IT REQUIRES A SECOND-FELLOW WHO WILL FORWARD APPLICATION OF CLAIMS TO THE BANK AND ALSO PRESENT A FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THE MONEY ON HIS/HER REQUEST WILL BE
RE-TRANSFERED INTO. ON CONCLUSION OF THIS TRANSACTION,YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO 25% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS GRATIFICATION.5% OF THE TOTAL SUM WILL BE USED TO REINBURSE EXPENSES THAT MIGHT ARISE FROM TELEPHONE BILLS AND OTHER EXPENSES DURING THE TRANSACTION,WHILE 70% WILL BE FOR ME AND MY PARTNERS HERE.PLEASE YOU HAVE BEEN ADVICED TO KEEP TOP SECRET AS WE ARE STILL IN SERVICE AND INTEND TO RETIRE FROM SERVICE AFTER WE CONCLUDE THIS DEAL WITH YOU. I WILL BE MONITORING THE WHOLE SITUATION HERE IN THIS BANK UNTIL YOU CONFIRM THE MONEY IN YOUR ACCOUNT.WE
THEN COME DOWN TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR SUBSEQUENT SHARING OF THE FUND ACCORDING TO THE PERCENTAGES PREVIOUSLY INDICATED AND FOR INVESTMENT IN ANY COUNTRY YOU MAY ADVICE US TOO.

ALL OTHER NECESSARY INFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO YOU WHEN I HEAR FROM YOU. I SUGGEST YOU GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE,STATING YOUR WISH IN THIS DEAL

YOURS FAITHFULLY,
DR.RICHARD DANDI.

Gee, ya think I oughta help this poor guy?

I was checking the weather for my week of unalderated week of cycling bliss and it's gonna be hotter then hell later in the week. This might have changed by the time you read this but our local TV station is calling for some very hot weather later in the week. Like 999 degrees.

Okay, here's a radical idea...........let's pull out of Iraq and maybe that will save us a little money. Why are the guys in Washington suddenly concerned about the budget?

This is funny ......................but it's also true so it's not really funny.

Here's a blog from a guy that lives in Alaska and rides. So no complaining from anyone that thinks it's too cold to ride.

Till later.

A rant.............

Thank you Jesus..........................

Some guy on a message board I frequent is riding to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Tour of Hope.

He wants to "show God's love in a small way to those suffering with cancer"

Wonderful.

That's great and everything but somebody oughta tell this guy that Lance is agnostic and I'm pretty sure Lance would be the first person to tell you that God had nothing to do with him beating the odds and living.

Okay, rant over.............

Later.

On vacation..........

I'm taking my last week of vacation next week. Don't have any big plans for the week, I do plan to ride just about everyday.

This year with both our kids in high school, I will have more time in the afternoon to ride, I"ll just have to use lights in a few weeks.

As much as I like summer, fall is becoming my favorite season. I love riding in the chilly morning air with just a hint of your breath turning to condensation to keep you company.

This morning, my father and I are going to help my great aunt and uncle move from one section of the nursing home they live in to another. My aunt is in her late 80's and not in the best of health at the moment and requires more care so they have to move to a different section of the assisted living facility they live at.

I really hate nursing homes, when I was a kid, we visited my great-grandmother at one and I still remember the smell. It was a combination of urine, detergent, old people sweat and mold. That smell was bad but not as bad as watching my grandma take several years to die.

My wife is a nurse and works with folks like this day in and day out. Not sure how she does it, I would think you need a real passion to help people to work in a nursing home.

One thing's for sure-after putting up with me for the last 25 years.........she pretty much has her ticket to heaven pre-stamped.

Now, I ain't the smartest guy in the world, but as I read this news article- I'm wondering why the federal government can't pull something like this off. Which is all the more reason to donate to the Red Cross. Sure, the RC isn't perfect-but it's a whole lot better then whatever FEMA was trying to do in the past week.

Went to our kid's high school last night with our 12 year old to watch a football game. Did that ever bring back memories. If was fun watching all the 14 year olds walking around trying to act cool.........not like I ever tried like that to fit in.

Till later..........

Photo Essay

Found this Katrina photo essay...........pictures speak louder then words sometimes.

Surly Nation...................

This is my favorite bike.

Without a doubt the best bicycle I've ever owned.

When I die, I'm taking it with me.

Someday, I'd like to write this well. Neat story and way cool trip. And I think I want one of those Pugsleys. Thought about a nice new FS bike next year but the thought of all that maintainence with pivots, linkages and shocks is kinda off-putting. Sometimes simple is better.

Note to self; Don't put iced tea in a water bottle and leave what's left for several weeks because you'll have a water bottle with crusty spooge that moves.


This is just plain stupid. Bicycles are traffic.

Go F**k yourself Mr Cheney. My feelings exactly.

Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't begrudge the victims of Katrina anything but how can the government spend money that fast? Wouldn't it be easier (and probably cheaper) just to write all the victims who lost homes, cars, etc a generous check to cover their losses and fill in the below sea level part of New Orleans???

Just a thought...................

Till later.

Sell the Ranch.

Comment Spam.

Along with everyone else on Blogger, it looks like I will be turning the comment verification thingie on so I don't get "comment spam"

What a pain in the ass.

It's been over a week...........

Yup, it's been over a week since the levee broke in NOLA and it looks like the "Blame Game" is starting up despite what our President says.


Cartoon by Steve Bell

From the NY Times...........

September 7, 2005
It's Not a 'Blame Game'

With the size and difficulty of the task of rescuing and rebuilding New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas still unfolding, it seemed early to talk about investigating how this predicted cataclysm had been allowed to occur and why the government's response was so slow and inept. Until yesterday, that is, when President Bush blithely announced at a photo-op cabinet meeting that he, personally, was going to "find out what went right and what went wrong." We can't imagine a worse idea.

No administration could credibly investigate such an immense failure on its own watch. And we have learned through bitter experience - the Abu Ghraib nightmare is just one example - that when this administration begins an internal investigation, it means a whitewash in which no one important is held accountable and no real change occurs.

Mr. Bush signaled yesterday that we are in for more of the same when he sneered and said, "One of the things that people want us to do here is to play a blame game." This is not a game. It is critical to know what "things went wrong," as Mr. Bush put it. But we also need to know which officials failed - not to humiliate them, but to replace them with competent people.

It's obvious, for instance, that Michael Brown has met the expectations of those who warned that he would be a terrible director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This is no time to be engaging in a wholesale change of leadership, but in Mr. Brown's case there seems to be precious little leadership to lose. He should be replaced with someone who can do the huge job that remains to be done.

But the questions go way beyond Mr. Brown - starting with why federal officials ignored predictions of a disastrous flood in New Orleans - and the answers can come only from an independent commission. We agree with the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, Senator Hillary Clinton and others who say that such a panel should follow the successful formula of the 9/11 commission: bipartisan leadership and members chosen by the White House and both parties in Congress on the basis of real expertise. It should have subpoena power and a staff expert enough to find answers and offer remedies.

Mrs. Clinton has also proposed pulling FEMA out of the Homeland Security Department and restoring its cabinet-level status. That is premature. The current setup makes sense, at least in theory. The nation should not have to support two different bureaucracies for dealing with sudden disasters.

Before throwing the system into chaos again, an investigation should determine whether the problem lies in the structure or in execution. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal showed how the Bush administration had systematically stripped power and money from FEMA, which had been painfully rebuilt under President Bill Clinton but had long been a target of Republican "small government" ideologues. The Journal said state officials had been warning Washington - as recently as July 27 - that the homeland secretary, Michael Chertoff, was planning further disastrous cuts.

This page supported the creation of Mr. Chertoff's department. But it was poorly run by the first secretary, Tom Ridge, with his maddening color-wheel alerts.

It is clearly in need of a hard look and perhaps serious reorganization. Senators Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, have plans for hearings, which is fine. But they created the department in the first place and may have more of a stake in the outcome than a panel of impartial experts.

The panel should also look at the shortcomings of local officials and governments. It was chilling, to put it mildly, to read Mayor Ray Nagin's comment in The Journal that New Orleans's hurricane plan was "get people to higher ground and have the feds and the state airlift supplies to them."

But disasters like this are not a city or a state issue. They concern the entire nation and demand a national response - certainly a better one than the White House comments that "tremendous progress" had been made in Louisiana. We're used to that dismissive formula when questions are raised about Iraq. Americans deserve better about a disaster of this magnitude in their own country.

Wonderful.

I just hope nothing else screws up for the next 2 1/2 years, I'd hate to see how GW would handle it.

I listen to quite a few podcasts at work and this guy sums up exactly how I feel about the whole thing. This is a link to his latest podcast-it's about an hour long but it's worth a listen.

Personally the disaster hasn't affected me except for the higher gas prices. I do have a cousin that lost everything but the stuff her and her husband could pack into their car.

They were lucky to escape with that I suppose.............

One final thought..........

As much as everyone likes to bash Wal-Mart- they had their shit together for Katrina victims. Before the storm had even reached land -they had 40 tractor-trailers loaded with supplies sitting ready to go in Michigan.

The government could learn a thing or to from that.

Till later.

Random thoughts............

Since this post is gonna take a couple days to put together, I'm going to timeline when I write stuff in this blog entry.

Sat. Morning-

I am totally burnt out on watching anything to do with Hurricane Katrina on TV. I can only take so much suffering that I am powerless to do anything about. All the talking heads on CNN only seem intent on 2 things...... Looking for a government official to grill on why things are so screwed up or to interview a victim.



First off, most of the government officials the media is trying to crucify have nothing to do with why the levees failed in New Orleans or why it took so long to get food and water to the survivors. They are just trying to save lives. Go interview George Bush and ask him why he cut the funding for the last 3 years to go on holiday in Iraq. Now I know it ain't all Bush's fault but he is the President and while he isn't the greatest President we've ever had-the buck stops at his desk.

Secondly, give it a fuckin' rest already CNN. How many times can you folks show the same footage and show the same interviews?

Sorry for venting, but not everybody that was left in New Orleans was there because they wanted to be there. I'm betting that some of the folks there were there because they couldn't leave. Not everyone one in the USA owns a SUV, 3 credit cards and spare cash.

On to other things.............

Random cycling reference..........these folks make damn fine bicycles. More like art that you can ride. Lord help me if I ever get 3000 bucks I don't know what to do with.

Walked up to the local diner for breakfast with my lovely wife. Ain't nothing beats a turkey and cheese omelet and a little "face time" with my wife. We don't get to spend a lot of time together due to our different work schedules so any time we get to spend together is really nice.

Going to spend some time doing some yard sale shopping this morning- my wife's church has a huge yard sale and I like looking at other peoples junk. Probably won't buy anything but it's still fun to root around.

Saturday evening-


Wow.

I don't go to very many yard sales and now I know why. 90% of the stuff on display was junk. I mean seriously, who the hell wants to buy used drinking glasses? Or used shoes? Maybe it's because I am a guy, but I can only look at so many piles of used clothing and 25 year old VCR's before I lose interest. Now maybe if they had more used bikes there I might be interested..................by the way, that's just some random pic I found on Google.

Sunday morning-

Done makin' donuts for another night.

Here's a couple hours of your life that you'll never get back. Actually, the site is quite funny. Make sure you check out the "weeklies" section.

Since I work by myself, I listen to podcasts in one ear while I am working. NPR has quite a few shows being podcast and I like their coverage of the hurricane diaster way better then CNN, NBC etc. Much less sensational and more factual. Also, here is a link to a NOLA Wiki that has about a bazillion links inside.

You have to register at the Washington Post to read this, but it's an interactive satellite map of before and after of NOLA. Click on the camera icon by New Orleans. Wow, the scope of the flooding is unreal.

Since it's my day/night off..........I think I might break out a bike and go for a ride.............

Till later.

Spare time............

I haven't had much spare time in the past couple days, so if anyone out there reads this blog regularly, don't look for an update for a couple days.................



Send the Red Cross some money.

They can always use it and I know you have a few spare bucks.

Till later.

It appears New Orleans is in serious trouble. Here's a thought...........pump the place full of water and forget about it.

Sure, I know 10's of thousands of homes would have to be abandoned, but would it be cheaper to just rebuild somewhere else where it's not 20 feet below sea level? After all, the sea level is going up, not down.

............just a thought.