Barack Ford Obama Boards Marine One...

Well at least he didn't try to climb in the window...

When The Going Gets Tough...

The Obamas got going.

From AP News My Way dot com...

WASHINGTON (AP) - On the rockiest day of his young administration, President Barack Obama did what surely made him happy for a while.

He left.

With little notice, the president and first lady Michelle Obama bolted the gated compound of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in their tank of a limousine on Tuesday.
They ended up at a Washington public school, [reading "My Pet Goat" to] children who could not care less about the collapse of a Cabinet secretary nomination.

The article doesn't say whether or not President Obama explained to the children that his "Economic Stimulus Plan" (if it passes) will conscript them into indentured servitude for the rest of their lives, and that they will never, ever own their own labor...

Or their own pet goat, for that matter. (Unless their Senator can slip a "Pet Goat for America's Children" earmark into some future Emergency Stimulus Bill...)

People are dying in Kentucky, freezing to death in their homes, using their last fleeting ounce of strength to crawl to the window and peer outside, in vain, for a glimpse of FEMA workers who aren't coming.

The Economy is in a shambles, worst Economy in 250 years or more, the middle class losing their jobs, their very livelyhood, by the tens of thousands every day.

The preconditions which stand in the way of negotiations for America's surrender and the subsequent Peace, set by Terrorists and Rogue Nations all over the World, remain unmet.

Communist Healthcare, long lusted after by the VAST majority of America's Losers - uhm, I mean, by the losers of Life's Lottery has suffered a dramatic setback because of unfair Tax Policies (let's see how they work THAT one out...)

And where is President Barack Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho Obama?

Playing with children.

He could have done that without being President.

It's a great day to be an American!

Believe!

No matter how weird your idea may be, believe in it and sell it, and it will work.

(At least on some level...)

(By the way, the drummer is great! )

Homework...

Hi.

Remember me?

I know it's been a long time since I last posted anything, but I've been kinda busy.

But the truth is that I have actually been much happier these past few weeks just taking care of my own world, and letting the rest of the world continue on it's path into insanity without me. (Since there doesn't seem to be much that I can do about it anyway.)

For those of you who do not already know, I abandoned the Trucking Industry forever in June, and enrolled as a full time student at National Aviation Academy in Clearwater, Fl. I am over a third of the way through my 2000 hours of training, and will soon test for my FAA Airframe and Powerplant Licenses. I also plan to train for and obtain my Avionics License.

When all of this training is complete, I will be qualified to build and maintain any type of aircraft, no matter what size, as well as build and maintain everything from elevators to roller-coasters, or even work in the back shop for a NASCAR team if I want, or maintain any type of industrial machinery that exists in the world.

I'm third in my class (of 52 students). The only people ranked higher than me are two guys who have Helicopter experience from their military service.

I'm working very hard.

I have an incredible Wife who is ridiculously overworked and under-appreciated. Between looking after Caleb, working a full time job, keeping the house, doing her own schoolwork (she's studying for her Master's Degree), and looking after me, she can use my help. She needs me more than the Blogosphere does.

I also have a wonderful little boy who loves to play with his Daddy. He's fourteen months old now, and as busy as three monkeys.

And given my choice, I would much rather show him how the rocking horse works, or how to play with the dog, or get him another Graham Cracker, than argue on the internet with people who think they have already won, and who will not be enlightened, no matter how wrong they are.

And I can actually choose.

So the Blogs have taken a back seat. At least for now.

So (unless I change my mind), while the new President installs Tax Cheats as Treasury Secretary, hideously, sub-humanly ugly morons in charge of dismantling the Energy Industry, unqualified and conflict-of-interest ridden former First Ladies as Secretary of State, and thugs and hoodlums throughout his Staff, you guys will mostly have to sort it all out without me.

Personally, Im busy preparing to take advantage of the up-swing in a couple of years when the Country comes to it's senses again. (It's GOING to happen.)

And in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my life and my family, and not let the stupidity that has taken over my Country draw me down into the depths of depression.

So, I'll see you around. I have homework to do.

Presidential...

I continue to be amazed at the class and statesmanship displayed by President Bush.

Obama Meets With Bush as He Weighs Policy Reversals

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama met with President George W. Bush at the White House as his aides consider ways to undo many of the policies put in place by the U.S. leader during the past eight years...

Obama and his wife, Michelle, also got a tour of their future home hosted by the president and first lady Laura Bush.

If I were President Bush, I would have beaten Obama to a bloody pulp while the cameras whirred.

"Worst Economy in fifty years, huh?"

(KICK!)

"Eight years of failed policies, huh?"

(KICK... KICK!)

"Tax cuts for the Rich, huh?"

(KICK... KICK... STOMP!!)

Then, I would have slipped an un-registered hand gun into his pocket, and had him hauled away for attempting to assasinate me.

And while all this was going on, I would have had Laura slip a bunch of silverware into Michelle's purse, and had her searched on the way out.

And if President Bush was as evil and devious as the Left would have had us believe, he would have done it too.

Think about it...

If President Bush really had been lying on purpose about "WMD's" just to trick the United States into supporting his personal war against Iraq, do you really believe that none would have been found when we got there?

A President who is diabolical enough to mislead a Nation into war for his own purposes is certainly smart enough to have the Special Forces ship a container of Nukular weapons over there just ahead of the first wave of reporters, and put them on display for the whole world to observe and admire.

There is no way in the world that someone crafty enough to decieve all those hyper-intelligent Democrats into supporting the war in Iraq would have handed the Democrats, the Press, and the Lefty Kooks that stick to beat him with, year after year.

It just wouldn't have happened.

And President Bush did not knock Barack Obama down a peg today, either.

He treated Obama with dignity and respect, whether he deserved it or not.

And when Obama's people take their places in the White House in January, they will find that all the computer keyboards still have O's on them, all of the furniture will still be there, and there will be no grafitti on the walls.

And the Presidential Seal will be exactly the same as it has been.

The fact that the Obamas were treated as gracefully as they were today is a testament to the character of President Bush.

He deserves more respect than this country has shown him.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

My little boy Caleb was born one year ago today.

Happy Birthday, buddy!

(I have video that I will post as soon as I have time to edit it.)

The Devil Is In The Details...

Now that Barack Obama has been elected President, I have a couple of questions...

First of all, where do I go to pick up my "Spreading the Wealth Around" check?

I mean, is there a form that I need to fill out, or do they just mail it to me, or do I have to stand in line at the County Courthouse once a month or something?

What is the procedure here? (Obama wasn't real clear on all that during the campaign...)

Can I sign up for Direct Deposit? (That'd be great, wouldn't it?)

Another thing...

After January 9, if I need to go to the doctor, do I just go, and tell him to send the bill to the Government?

What is that address?

Or do I get a card or something?

What about when he raises my boss's taxes? Are they going to make a law that he can't lay me off?

Am I going to have to compete with all the soldiers who are currently serving in Iraq for the job I now have? Illegal Alie... I mean, Undocumented Americans too?

What if my boss just decides to retire and liquidate his business? (He has threatened to do just that...)

Am I guaranteed a job when that happens?

How, exactly, is all of this going to work?

All I know is that Obama had better come up with answers to these questions, and soon.

He made a lot of promises, and a lot of people are counting on him...

Don't let us down, Barack!

Congratulations!

On behalf of Conservatives everywhere, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama.

The Democrats fought a good fight, and with the help of wonderful groups like ACORN, with the endorsement of groups like Hamas, the Weather Underground and Al-Qaeda, they have emerged victorious.

And they only had to spend six times as much money as John McCain did to get it.

So now we can all look forward to better days under the wise, articulate, and clean leadership of the Obama Administration.

We will soon enjoy reasonably priced (and Government run) Healthcare, the Oceans will cease to rise, the Environment will soon heal itself, and our Economy will finally get back on track.

We will all begin to enjoy the benifits of spreading the wealth around very soon, and I will no longer have to worry about putting gas in my pickup, or paying my mortgage, or anything.

Racism and discrimination is finally a thing of the past, and our brave fighting men and women will soon be re-deployed to somewhere safe.

What a great time to be an American!

My sincere hope is that the Media will treat Obama as fairly and report his successes and failures as accurately and objectively as they have those of the Bush Administration, and that now that the Republicans are truly the Minority Party, they will be every bit as cooperative and supportive as the Democrats have been toward President Bush.

Oh, and that everyone who voted for him never forgets ALL of the things that Obama promised to do for them, and that they hold him to those promises.

Congratulations, Barack Obama, and may God have mercy on your soul!

Tonight's Guest Bloggers...

... The Democrat Party!




Despite the fact that they are consistently wrong about everything else, they have somehow gotten this one right.

Let me make this perfectly clear...

Tomorrow is Election Day.

I don't care what your personal ideology may be...

I don't care which candidate you support.

The important thing is that you just get out and cast your vote for John McCain.

The other guy is simply too shady, has too many problems, too many unanswered questions, and hangs with too dirty a crowd to be President of the United States.

You know it's true.

Vote for McCain.

Because, when faced with a choice between a Democrat and a Wealth-Spreading, Tax-increasing,
narcissistic Communist, the choice is clear.

McCain/Palin '08!

Keep the Change.

I Am Joe.

I am Joe The Plumber.

No, I am not a plumber, and my name is not Joe, and I do not make $250,000 per year.

But I am Joe The Plumber, just the same.

In 2006, I quit my job as a company driver at a lumber distribution center where I made a little over $40,000 per year. I took my retirement savings, my personal savings, my grocery and rent money, and whatever I could borrow from family members, and put a down payment on a tractor trailer truck of my own.

Had things stayed the way they were, the payment would have been manageable, and I would have been very successful.

But they didn't.

When fuel prices doubled that year, the freight rates stayed the same, and I did several weeks of work for a man who just decided not to pay me for it. I worked harder and harder, for more and more hours each week, for less and less money, until January of 2008, when the finance company came and took the truck away from me.

I worked 16 hours in the truck the day they took it away.

I wound up right back in a company truck, only without the money that I had saved up, my credit rating shot to death, and still in debt.

I worked as hard as a man can work, and in the end, I would have been better off if I had taken a year off and played video games.

That's how it goes. When you take risks, you sometimes lose.

But - If I had been successful, I would have bought another truck by now, maybe two. I would have employed another driver or two, maybe a part time book keeper. My trucks would have provided work for a local mechanic, business for the local truck parts store, tire dealer, and fuel stop.

THAT'S "spreading the wealth around".

But I failed.

And nobody bailed me out. Nor would I have wanted them to.

You see, I know, because I found out the hard way, how difficult it is to be successful running your own business, and the people who make it work should be celebrated by the whole community.

Not labeled "The Rich", and attacked and expected to hand over ever increasing amounts of the rewards that they earn through their sacrifice, talent, or plain old hard, back-breaking and tedious work.

I will try again. Some day, I will again be self employed, employ other people, and spread the wealth around my community the way it should be done, and I will take the lessons that I learned the first time and build upon them so that I stand a better chance at success next time.

And I get very angry when I see others around me attempting to stack the deck against me before I get there, simply because they themselves are unwilling to take the chances , work the hours, shoulder the responsibility that I do.

I am Joe The Plumber.

And so are you.

Palin Too Naive For Office?

Maybe the Left is right about Sarah Palin...

Maybe she actually is too naive and inexperienced for the office of Vice President of the United States...

I didn't think so until today, when I heard about this...

From The Politico...

Palin: Obama must ‘rein in’ ACORN

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin suggested Tuesday that Barack Obama shares responsibility for recent reports of voter fraud conducted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

“Obama has a responsibility to rein in ACORN,” Palin said during an interview with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Palin said the group is responsible for the “unconscionable situation we are facing now with voter fraud” and attacked the Obama campaign for not addressing the problem after the McCain campaign sent a letter to the Democratic camp urging action against voter fraud in September.

If Sarah Palin actually believes that Barack Obama is going to lift a finger to restrain ACORN, or to counteract Voter Fraud, she is sadly mistaken.

That would not only go against decades of Democrat Party tradition, but would virtually assure Obama's humiliating defeat in November.

She may as well call for him to cut spending, or taxes, or call upon Americans to at least attempt to solve their own problems instead of trying to vote themselves money from one another's pockets.

Obama is not going to "reign in ACORN." He is going to give them a Billion Dollars once he is elected.

No matter how many dead people and cartoon characters vote for him because of them.

And if Sarah Palin believes that he will, then maybe she really is not ready for prime time.

Just like Obama.

Here We Go Again...

"I believe that most Americans would agree on the problems this country faces and which the next administration must solve. They include the need, once again, for an economy that works.

The economy today is in very, very bad shape, the highest unemployment since the Great Depression, 50% higher than when [the current President] took office, raging inflation.

The latest wholesale price index is once again raising the specter of double-digit inflation. The purchasing power of the average American has slipped so much that it's now the equivalent of the purchasing power in 1965.

It's not getting better, it's getting worse.

All the leading indicators now point downward. Stock investors are losing confidence. Over $50 billion of value has disappeared from the stock market in less than a month.

We need a government that works, we need a government that cares, and once again, we have to get back at work on education, on health, on housing, on the environment, on energy. And we need a foreign policy that once again reflects the values and the beliefs of the American people. This will take leadership, and we need leadership, too.

The Republican administration, the Republican Party has had eight years to solve these problems. All of them have gotten worse.

The Republican ticket does not offer new plans for their solution but is engaged in a frantic effort to defend the past.

This nation desperately needs new leadership.

The [Democrat Presidential] ticket would offer a new generation of leadership dedicated to solving the problems I have listed, and that is the basis of our appeal."

Walter Mondale's opening statement from the Vice Presidential Debate against Bob Dole, October 15, 1976.

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. - Alduous Huxley

It's YOUR Money!!

So, how does it feel to be a big-time Wall Street investor?

You are, you know... Whether you know it or not, you (and your children and grand children, and your children's children's great-grand-children) just invested over a Trillion (that's a one with twelve zeros after it) dollars in home loans for people who wouldn't have qualified for a loan of any kind, were it not for government meddling.

And the Left says that this crisis is the product of "The Free Market" running wild.

Well, it's nothing of the sort. As a matter of fact, this is about the furthest thing from what the "Free Market" would have done under any circumstances, save the ones that have been put into place by social engineering Democrats, and Socialist Activists.

We all know that a drowning man will drown you too, if you are not careful when you try to save him, and the American Taxpayer is about to be drowned while saving the drowning Mortgage and Banking Industry. (And it wasn't even the choice of the Taxpayer whether to try to save these entities. The people who made the mess in the first place just decided to use your money for this, whether you like it or not.)

Tomorrow, I will post again on this, and I will lay out the chronology and the process by which the Democrat Party and the Socilalists among us have set up this catastrophe, and how they profited both financially and politically every step of the way, and how they are attempting now to lay the blame for their own corruption and incompetence at the feet of the Republican Party, and President Bush.

Be informed. Do your own research. Make sure that you know the real story.

The only way to solve a problem is to know what actually caused the problem in the first place, and to eliminate any influence those factors may have had.

This is the fault of Democrats, start to finish, and it is going to be the undoing of the American economy at best, and the World economy at worst. But it has happened, and those responsible (some of them) are the Economic Advisory Team of one of the candidates for the Presidency of the United States.

Our country has lurched violently into Leftism and Socialism this week, and I do not know what to do about it.

But SOMETHING HAS to be done about this.

These Taxpayer funded bailouts are the most outrageous thing that has ever been foisted upon the American People by our elected representatives, and we ought not put up with this abuse of power and corruption.

But we probably will...

After all, who has time for Revolution and overthrowing the Government?

We have mortgages to pay for...

Doomed?

From MarketWatch Columnist Jon Friedman at CBS.com...

The Sarah Palin Phenomenon is doomed.

But it's not because of her lack of foreign policy experience or her deer-in-the-headlights look during part of her interview last week with ABC's Charles Gibson.

The primary reason why the Palin bubble will burst is that the media will decide that they are bored with her. They'll need to move to shine a light on a fresh issue or individual.

Is that a fact?

Well, then, Mr. Media Man... Tell us some more about how powerful and influential you are.

Let's take bets as to how many people will remember Sarah Palin's name in 100 years, and how many will not remember your's, Mr.... (wait, let me look again...) Friedman.

"We made her, and we will tear her back down at our leisure."

Well, from the way the big media has acted about Sarah Palin, she looks like about the very LAST thing that those guys wanted, from Charlie Gibson right on down. (By the way... Which interview did you watch, Mr. Friedman?)

Oh, and remember this...

She only has to last for another 49 days, 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 57 seconds.

56, 55, 54, 53...

The War Hero And The Community Organizer...

“America needs more than a brave soldier. America needs a wise leader...” said Mr. Biden.

Really? Where in the world are we going to find one of those?

The Democrats are desperately trying to tie John McCain to George W. Bush. They will tell you that McCain voted with George Bush 90% of the time. (You would think that a lock-step partisan flunkie would have voted with the President 100% of the time, the way the Democrats voted against him...)

They tell us that a McCain Presidency would offer absolutely no change from the horrors of the Bush years, only more of the same...

They call McCain "McBush", and tell us that McCain is running for Bush's third term, and that McCain wants the U.S. to stay engaged in a bloody, hopeless struggle in Iraq for the next hundred years, no matter how many of our babies he has to send to the slaughter.

And they believe that they have a very good reason for telling us all this stuff... They believe that if they can only tie McCain closely enough to President Bush, that there is no way that McCain can possibly win the White House.

Here is the flaw in their logic, however...

Republicans don't hate President Bush.

Not the way that Democrats do.

And the reason that Conservatives were not particularly thrilled with McCain (until Sarah Palin came along), or with President Bush for that matter, was not because they were too much alike, or because they weren't religious enough, or any of that stuff...

It was because neither of them is conservative enough.

So, America needs a wise leader, huh, Mr. Biden?

Well, unfortunately, this time around, there doesn't seem to be one on either ticket. Not at the top, anyway.

So, we have to choose between a War Hero, (a real one, not the kind the Democrats tried to run last time, who threw grenades on himself until he was allowed to come home and wage war against his brothers in arms with the "Winter Soldier " campaign...), and a mealy-mouthed communist.

And, given those two options, I'll take the Hero, thank you very much.

Sarah Palin...

From the Right: "Hooray! Huzzah!! YEEEEE-HAH!!!"

From the Left: "Boo! Hiss!! OH, MY [object of worship of either a religious or non religious nature]!!!"

Who is she?

Well, she looks sort of like the librarian in the video for Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher". She is either a woman of faith, or a Bible-thumping religious nut depending upon which side of her you happen to be looking at. She's a married mother of either four or five children, depending on whether you believe her, or the National Enquirer and Us Weekly. 

Either she is the noble, responsible mother of (at least) one "special needs" child, who made the hard choice, knowing that the child would be afflicted with Down's Syndrome, to nevertheless bring that defective child into the world rather than kill it in-utero, and devote herself to it's care and well-being, or someone who faked a pregnancy to cover up the possibility that her daughter procreates like a herd of rabbits.

She is either a "working mother" who constantly juggles the responsibilities of Governor of a state with the aproximate land mass of any twelve other states you would like to add together, or an incompetent twit who cannot even keep her family in line, and abuses power in order to punish and persecute the ex-husband of her sister.

She is either a strong woman in a man's world, or a Conservative man in a woman's body, depending on whether or not you care about the opinion of the National Organization of Ugly Liberal Women.

She is either the saviour of the Nation, or the focal point of Evil in our time, depending on whether you call yourself a Conservative or a Liberal.

Either way, she is the Republican Nominee for the position of Vice President of the United States.

Personally, I like her. (Big shock.) 

And, at first, it was difficult for me to put my finger on why I liked her. But then it dawned on me... She didn't tell me directly that she believed or stood for what she thought I wanted a candidate to believe or to stand for in order to get my vote.

She stated as obvious, undebatable fact the things that I believe to be true.

"America needs more energy ... our opponent (and his political party) is against producing it.

"Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.

"Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

"Government is too big ...

"Congress spends too much ...

"Taxes are too high ..."

And so on, and so on, and so forth.

And she has proven through the way she lives her life that she understands the fact that if any substantive and worthwhile change is going to take place, someone, somewhere is going to have to do some work, some heavy lifting to bring it about.

No "free" healthcare and subsequent government programs to force you to the grocery store because you are "obese"...

Freedom to manage your own diet, even if you have to hunt it down and kill it yourself.

I was not, and still am not particularly enthused with John McCain...

But I will vote for him now.

I will vote for him because I want Sarah Palin, and a hundred more like her, in Washington, loudly and proudly proclaiming and fighting for the values and priorities that she has lived in her own life, and that represent the vast number of us out here who work every day, and love and support our families and our Country, no matter what their shortcomings may be.

The only thing I regret is the fact that she is on the bottom of the ticket, and not the top.

I, along with the rest of America, am still learning who she is.

But, from what I have seen so far, I can tell you what she is...

Sarah Palin is a strong, assertive, and successful American woman who didn't have to become a bitter, victimized, man-hating shrew to get that way.

She is exactly like millions of strong and successful women all across America that the National Organization of Ugly Angry Women and the Democrat Party not only do not represent, but do not in the least understand.

McCain/Palin will beat the socks off of Obama/what's-his-name in November.

Not because of what they promise us from the national Goody-bag, not because of how they look or how well they read from a teleprompter, not because of what someone in the Media, or on Talk Radio tells us to think...

But because of what Sarah Palin IS, and because of what, and who, she actually represents.

US.

Where's FEMA?

Here we go again!!

Time to find out if anyone learned anything the last time...

You Get'chyer Wife Back, You Get'chyer Dawg Back...

I just got home from Sonny's Barbeque, where I ordered too much, ate too much, paid too much, and brought too much food home.

I like Sonny's okay, although it is (in my opinion) a poor substitute for real barbeque, which can apparently only be found within a 50 mile circle of Lumberton N.C. (I am not a big fan of thick, sticky, tomato or molasses based BBQ sauces, except on ribs. Real BBQ is pulled pork, with a Vinegar based sauce. And don't try to give me that Lexington N.C. stuff either. That's just nasty...)

But once I learned to ignore the fact that it says "Barbeque" on the sign, and none is actually available there, I like the restaurant just fine.

We set the baby up in one of the institutional minimalist wooden high chairs from the restaurant, and fed him ham chunks from the salad bar, a grilled cheese sandwich, a handful or two of pulled BBQ chicken, and Nilla wafers while sad Country music played all around us.

And then something dawned on me...

I realized why eating there is not usually a happy memory for me after I leave.

It's the MUSIC!

Now I love Country music (in limited doses...), and I believe that the best songwriters in the world are writing Country music. There are some REALLY great songs out there.

But the music in Sonny's BBQ is a collection of every song you've ever heard that made you want to sit in the floor and cry!

"She fell down on the kitchen floor as the sig-nal died... And the pilot tried to pu-ull out of the dive... One... Last... Time..."

"Would'ja like som'more sweet tea, Darlin?"

"Boo-hoo-hoo, *sniff* Ah- hoo, hoo, *sniff, sniff*, I guess so..."

"An old man knealing all aloooooone... Plants his flowers in a gar-rarden of sto-one... For seven years now she's been goooone... But his devotion is sti-yill going straw-wong..."

"You wawnt som'more napkins, Honey?"

"*Sniff, sniff, snort*... Sure, thanks..."

"Daince little Jeeeeane, a prayer thatch'ya had... Was ainswered to-day, yore Mama's marryin' yore Dad!"

"Honey, them ribs are all ya can eat... Are ya ready for another slab?"

"No, thank you Ma'am... Could you either bring me an Ipod with some happy music on it, or a gun so that I can blow my brains out? Thanks..."

It's HORRIBLE.

I can't stand it. But then again, maybe my heart is too soft.

I'm sure that there are some people to whom that stuff seems to be the absolute epitome of fan-dadgum-tabulous music, just like there are some people who absolutely love sticky BBQ sauce... But BBQ and music are both very personal things.

I still wonder, though... Would I like Sonny's better if eating there didn't make me cry every time?

We may never know...

"We're Not Gonna Take It!!"

I was watching television a couple of weeks ago, and I saw a very interesting commercial...

It was for the birth control pill called "Yaz!..."

It was interesting because the commercial depicted a bunch of silly looking women running around singing "We're not gonna take it!... NO! We ain't gonna take it!!"

And I thought, "How effective can a birth control pill possibly be if they ain't gonna take it?"

Then tonight, I saw the new commercial for the same product, and I realized that they had addressed the effectiveness problem...

Tonight, they were singing "Good-bye to you!... Good bye to you-ooh, woh wo-oh, goodbye to YOU!"

That's brilliant!

If you run him off, then you don't have to take it!

I want to know, who is the marketing genius who is running this advertizing campaign?

Where can I send my resume? I want his job. (Or her job, as the case may be...)

I mean, all you apparently have to do is pick an up-tempo eighties song, and make sure that you have enough stock footage of young women shopping and eating ice cream so that the fast-talking announcer guy can get the whole disclaimer in...

(The challenge would be finding an eighties song long enough for the disclaimer... "Side effects  may include Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Mood Swings, Weight Gain, Abdominal Swelling, Water Retention, Headaches, Back Ache, Muscle Ache, Heartache, Tooth ache, Temporary Insanity, Fever, Loss of Energy, Loss of Equilibrium, Irritability, Increased Appetite, Unusual Food Cravings, Spotting, Swelling in the extremities, Insomnia, Narcolepsy, Temporary Tourette's Syndrome, more Mood Swings, Loss of Appetite, Ear Ache, Bleeding from the nose and ears, Hair loss, Hair growth in unusual places, Loss of Teeth, Swamp-Ass, Spontaneous Human Combustion, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Short Attention Span, Autism, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Unreasonable Expectations, Poverty, Deafness, Blindness, Paralysis, Stupidity, Uncontrollable Flattulence, Fungus Nails, Shingles, Suicidal Tendencies, Obesity, Bulemia, Anorexia, Bitchiness, Loneliness, and Death.") 

( Except for having a baby or two somewhere in there, aren't those the same symptoms as pregnancy?)

Whoever is doing these commercials is waaaaaay overpaid, and I could probably do their job for half the money, and still be better off than I am now...

And obviously, nobody is checking their work...

Humnn...

Greater Expectations...

My Wife, Caleb and I went to Universal Studios Yesterday along with my brother and his family who are on vacation from North Carolina.

My brother is sixteen months younger than me and has four children, the oldest of which is in college, and the youngest is seven months old.

We loaded up both babies, and all the truck that goes along with little babies, and took them to a theme park in central Florida in August.

And everybody was hot.

Extremely hot.

But surprisingly, the babies got along better than any of the rest of us.

Caleb took a couple of long naps in his stroller, drank one hundred and seventeen sippy cups full of water (before he threw the sippy cup on the ground and we couldn't find it again...) and wet fourteen diapers...

His cousin Rebekah didn't even sweat. All day long, you could not tell that she was not in the living room. She was sweet, happy, and dry. (She didn't even turn red.)

We all had a great time.

I had not seen my brother for several months, and I have missed him a lot. He has been my life-long best friend. Living six hundred miles from him has been hard for me.

But I like it here, and he likes it there, so things are the way they are.

He told me about the first ride that he rode when he got to the park.

"It was AWESOME! First, you get into a little box, about 6x8 feet, and the walls are made of brushed Aluminum and glass, and when you get into the little car, the doors close, and you can't get out!

"Then, without warning, the whole thing suddenly drops like thirty feet!

"And when you get to the bottom, the doors open, and you get out, but when you do, you are in a whole different place than when you started!

"It's called 'THE ELEVATOR!'"

Apparently, it's a very popular ride, because they have signs posted everywhere, directing you to it...

I rode it twice myself, but I wasn't that impressed. Trust me, they have way more exciting rides there than that one.

But that's the thing about hype... If you buy into it, you will always be disappointed.

You see, Caleb doesn't know anything about hype, and his favorite ride at Universal Studios was crawling around on the floor at the Jurassic Park Discovery Center.

He had a great time, and he had no expectations about the experience, one way or the other.

Sometimes, I wish that I could be more like that...

I wish that I could just enjoy what is happening for what it is, rather than building the experience up in my mind before it happens, and then being disappointed when it isn't the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.

But I guess with age, we trade our innocence for experience, one little morsel at a time.

I hope that Caleb never loses the ability to be happy where he is, when he is there, no matter what is going on, or what was supposed to happen...

I hope that I can learn from him how to be more like that myself.