Jamaica Here I Come!

The Ravens have a BYE week and so do I.......hehehehe.

Just me, the wife, and a large portion of those employed by Chesapeake Medical Staffing...........the annual November vacation. This time we are all going to Negril, Jamaica in search of fine rum, excellent beaches, and total relaxation. As I write this, the weather forecast for the week is not very peachy......but.......having had to be subjected to ridiculous weather reports from WJZ's Bob Turk for over twenty-five years now, I have learned to just take a wait and see attitude about the weather. On the other hand, if the weather tries to throw a wrench into this week-long vacation....well.....all will not be lost......we have one big thing to do that cannot be interrupted by any weather system........and that is "nothing". We plan on doing NOTHING......aaaaaahhhhhhh.......excellent!

Needless to say, I will have the camera in tow and you will get to see just about everything that saw there. Good or bad.

Meanwhile, for those of you who celebrate Halloween..........Happy Halloween!

For those of you who do not celebrate Halloween..........Humbug!..........no, wait..........."humbug" is a Christmas related term.......hmmmmm........oh well......."HUMBUG" anyway!

Since I did mention Christmas........it is fast approaching and I cannot think of any better way than to take a vacation to the Carribbean..........hehehe..........(this is the part where you can start being envious...hehehehe).

Now don't go getting too envious......save some of that up for when I go on the cruise in November two weeks after I return from Jamaica......hehehehe.

Damn........life is good! "See y'all next week!"

Hillary Clinton's pumpkin.

(Upon seeing who did the carving, the pumpkin vomited violently.)

Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't it be Good

Every once in a while you hear a song and it stays with you for a long, long time. For me, this is one of those songs.

Baltimore - Food for Thought

If you are not in the Baltimore area, you probably haven't heard about the latest shenanigans that have been put upon the ordinary folk. Lucky you. Lately, there have been alot of reports printed in the Examiner about people complaining about parking tickets. Okay....okay....parking tickets.......no big deal, right?........everybody gets one eventually.

The problem is that it appears that these days you might even get a parking ticket for parking somewhere in the city of Baltimore even though your car hasn't had a working engine in a year and it has been sitting in your garage! Imagine that one! Apparently there has been a problem with some renegade morons under the employ of Baltimore City. They have been writing tickets for imaginary violations..........well...........what other words could describe it?

The problem just gets worse and worse. Let's say you get a bill sent to you in the mail for this alleged ticket.......you dispute it.....call the authorities.....they do nothing.......and then your driving license and registration gets flagged by the Motor Vehicles Association. A whole new can of worms has been put upon you along with more penalty fees. No doubt there is a lack of communication amongst the bureaucratic cesspools.....but it has gone a bit far over and above the acceptable limits of the ingestion of governmental spew.

So now, because of some moron idiot that works for the city, you will not be able to renew your tags. Nice....ain't it?...........maybe it could be easily resolved by showing up for traffic court.......which, of course, will cause you to lose a day's pay from your job and maybe even net you a whole new parking ticket in the process. Let's say you do decide to fight this in court and you prove you were in Wyoming fishing for floating gonads........simple enough......you will most likely win your case.......but.......now you are gonna lose another day's pay arguing with the MVA.

The stories are way to numerous.........local residents, vacationers, visitors, workers.....nobody has been exempt from these renegade morons that write the tickets. You would think that somebody would put an immediate stop to all of this nonsense.........but THAT has not happened. Since the Examiner broke the story the local government is being forced into looking like it cares and Mayor Sheila "I Have A Plan" Dixon has ordered an "investigation"........hehehe.....imagine that.....it is the equivalent of consulting Jehovah's Witnesses about what can be done to avoid destructive cult groups.

You can read all about this fiasco at www.examiner.com/a-1008905~Ticket_recipients_speak_out.htm

I have thought about all of this and here is what I have to say:

1. Regarding the morons on the city payroll that have been writing the bogus tickets........FIRE each and every one of them!......and do it immediately! No excuses!.......Sure....it might be that they were simply following orders.........I could care less. Since when is it acceptable to aid and abet criminal activity?

2. Regarding the department heads involved.......FIRE each and every one of them!.......and do it immediately! The taxpayers are tired of paying these inept morons.

3. Regarding the judges at traffic court.........duh.........we are paying these idiots too.....its about time that they are held accountable. They have known about this problem for a long time now and have done nothing about it. These morons need to be fired. I am tired of paying taxes and assorted fines which pay for their extravagant lives and idiotic attitudes.

4. Regarding the MVA........revamp the system or abolish it altogether. All it is functioning as is a revenue collection agency.

5. Regarding the alleged "investigation" ordered by Mayor Dixon........don't waste the taxpayer's money with this nonsense.....stop it immediately.....we all know what the problem is.

6. Regarding those who recieved bogus tickets..........file lawsuits against each and every person involved.

7. Regarding Mayor Dixon.........was the bogus ticket policy part of your "plan"? You might as well fess up to any other shenanigans that you have running amok.

It would not surprise me if sooner or later somebody tries to say that this was all carried over from the O'Malley administration. Maybe it was.....it would be no shock. But you would think someone would have stepped up to the plate and fixed the problem.

One of the problems may well be the quality of the ticketing agents. No doubt there are more than a few morons being employed. It is time that the city start hiring some people with decent skills and morals. Considering the quality of the employable in Baltimore City......they might want to look outside the box.

This is a major disgrace. Shame on them.

Zucchero - My Love 1996

He is huge in Italy. His music is brilliant. Eric Clapton even likes Zucchero........and now you will like him as well......hehehe.

"You Got A Boy-Child Comin'!"

Sleep is a good thing...............I love a good nap............but in the past two days, naps were hard to come by.

So there I was.............spending my time in the discomfort of a waiting room and the lemming-like herding of family members between rooms at the hospital. The newest addition to the Signtopia Family.........a brand spanking new grandson.........was taking what seemed like an eternity to arrive.

They tell us it will be a couple hours.

The waiting......and waiting.....and nothing happening........you gotta stay awake.......even take a moment for an "action photo".......hehehehe.

Six hours or so later......Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............a nod here and there.

In the room..........it's dark...........wait another two hours.......the doctor will check for any progress. Your eyes and ears become glued to the light and sounds of the monitors.

Two more hours again.......and again.......and more waiting. We are making progress.......but..........our horse can't seem to get out of the starting gate. Wait some more.......give it some time..........more time......."another two hours".........geeshhhh!

Then a decision is made............time is tickin away, the water has been broken for several hours now..........the baby is getting distressed...........it ain't gonna happen the natural way.......surgery is required. A C-section is decided upon and my daughter is whisked away to the operating room.

Needless to say......the rest of us are left behind to suffer the agony of "another two hours"....hehehe.

Baby Alex was delivered at some point between 6 and 6:30 AM on Friday, October 19th, 2007.

Noodle Girl did a great job and is recovering well. Her other half also survived the ordeal....hehehe.

The waiting is now over.

.......now if we could just get about two hours of sleep.

Take a gander at God's artwork.

You wonder what they are thinking.......or maybe they have the pleasure of not needing to.

Now.....now......none of that!........you have plenty of time coming to vomit on your parents!

A whopping 9 lb. 1 oz., 22 and 3/4 inch bundle of Signtopia legacy.......Imagine That!

Any longer in the oven and he would have had the beard!

Knock, knock..........who's there?................I am!

Now THERE is a picture for the scrapbooks!

.......and let's get things off to a good start with a good "action photo".......hehehehe.

And now it's time for Pop Pop to go home and sleep......z.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz

Til next time!

Stay tuned.

The Honeycombs in Pop Gear

Anybody remember this song?

The Uncle Murray Band

Once upon a time, way back in the good ole days............a few neighborhood friends...........best buddies...........participants of that phase where the youthful mind has no clue of that which will take place in the years to come.............they would get together and fantasize about things. Many of those things never became a reality, and perhaps most of those things are better to have remained just a dream.......after all, dreams are a form of escape from all of the problems that you have. Dreams can never be shattered if left in its original state.....right?

We would joke around that we were the "Uncle Murray Band"......hehehe.....imagine that. We formed a band that never existed. Oh yes, we would talk alot about it, yet it never came to fruition. There were many reasons.......no place to play......no room to play.......lack of instruments......lack of encouragement........wasn't drunk enough.........girlfriends distracted us........no money......no wheels......jobs got in the way......not enough time.......and no real vision.........just a fantasy. Just horsing around. Two Murphs and two Steves.......one Murph had a set of drums and one Steve had a guitar. I had no instrument of my own, but I did know a little something about the guitar. The other Murph didn't play any instruments so we figured he could be our singer.......hehehe.....not that he WAS a singer or anything.

Below is a picture of some of the pictures from back in the day. We were young and had nothing better to do. For a moment in time, we were the Uncle Murray Band.........and we never really sat down and performed together.

Looking back, none of us had any idea about how things would be in the year 2007. No clue at all. What would our lives be like? Would we even remember these days from the late 1970's

This is "Murph".........great guy......a singer?.......maybe not.......but what the heck, who else was gonna be the singer?

And Steve........the guitar player.........lot's of hair....hehehe.....the closest thing to having a blood brother without the blood.

.......and Me........no, it's not Jesus........(sorry about the blurry pictures, but pictures of old pictures are what these are)

....and the other Murph.....the drummer.

Damn we were young, skinny, long-haired, crazy, and hilarious. As time went on, our lives changed. Marriages, families, careers, and ....well......life happened. We had all gone our seperate ways, except the two Murphs..........actual brothers. And it has been a long, long time. Amazingly, to this very day, we each are able to look back and think fondly of our times spent together. It is in stone and it can never be taken away from us.

That brings us to today. We are much older now.......our lives have happened. Unfortunately, during our lives, we never seemed to get it all together and have the Uncle Murray Band make some noise loud and proud. What could have been never happened........but............never say never!

What rests in your heart never leaves. That which is deeply rooted in your brain, always exists.

And the Uncle Murray Band got together, once again!

It was fantastic. The old dudes managed to get together and have a little jam session. Who could possibly know how it would work out? Would we sound terrible?........have no clue as to what we were doing?............would we be in synch?......what would we play?.......we never done this before!

Well...............

It was very hot in Murph's attic............but damn!.......old or not old, dust or no dust, heat or no heat.........Murph beat the hell out of his drums........it was unbelieveable! He sounded absolutely fantastic.

The other Murph was there. He didn't sing....hehehe......but he did videotape us. Maybe next time we can get him to sing.....hehehe. There was no way he was gonna miss this get-together.

Me?.........well, I brought along my son's bass guitar and amplifier. Four strings?.......no problem.

And on guitar........the other Steve. His long hair may be gone, but his guitar is still with him.....hehehe.

All of us were actually surprised that we managed to pull it off. Even more surprising is the fact that we actually sounded like something. It was asked "Are you sure you guys haven't been playing together all allong?" Amazing.......it was as if each of us knew what the other would be playing..........as if we had done this before......hehehe......brilliant!

We actually sounded like something and it wasn't bad.

Murph..........it would not have happened if not for you. Let's make sure we knock the rest of that dust off of those drums........and let's do it real soon.

The Uncle Murray Band Lives!

The New Cars on Late Late Night

Baseball Playoffs - Now THAT was Entertainment!

Needless to say, the Baltimore Orioles were once again in the standings cesspool........the only thing left for me to do is to root for anyone that plays against the Yankees. I was rooting for the Cleveland Indians and so I watched the playoff games and actually enjoyed it.

One of these days, it would be nice to be able to see the Orioles contend for a championship........but it appears that will never happen as long as that inept "evil" ownership is in place.

Inept "evil" ownership. I cannot say I have ever seen a picture of Peter Angelos wearing an Orioles hat.......not even a floppy hat. I have never seen him at Camden Yards either. What I have seen is his law firm ads on television. You had to know that after sucking money out of abestos victims he would look to suck even more from those who have been poisoned by lead products and the like. When it comes to sucking, you gotta admit........he sucks pretty good. After all....he has sucked the life out of the Orioles.

Okay....enough of that......back to the playoffs........

The Indians have a pitcher named Rafael Perez and he is a pretty darned good pitcher. Aside from his pitching prowess, you just had to know that the Yankees would not be able to do much against Perez. ..........well..........I knew it.....and I knew it because if I was a batter and had to face this guy Perez......I would be confused. Confused?........yes, confused.

Why would a batter be confused?............just look at Perez........see his face?

And see his hat?

Can you see what I see?

Rafael Perez' own picture is on his hat!

Here's a nice close-up......hehehe.

All kidding aside, the Indians did a great job eliminating the Yankees. I am a happy man.

I must point out a few observations about the Yankees, though...........

Whenever you see the Yankees, you cannot help but see Derek Jeter.........and for me, Derek Jeter looks awfully familiar.......maybe he just simply has one of those familiar faces........but wait a second!............I HAVE seen that face before! TWICE!

In the movies! Remember that movie "The Crying Game"?

No?...........then perhaps you remember "Stargate".

Derek Jeter is a dead ringer for actor Jaye Davidson!

Now you know!

This guy is a darned good ball player but it is difficult to watch him without thinking of someone else...............someone that used to be on television.

Figure it out yet?.........You know him......you love him......and everyone loves........

Balki!

Bronson Pinchot and Jorge Posada.......twins separated at birth?


Oh, I am not done with the Yankees.........

Look at Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera. He has been the closer for the Yankees for what seems to have been an eternity...........he even looks like it. He has that egyptian pharoah kind of thing going............

It's almost like watching the National Geographic Channel while watching baseball.

Can't see the connection?......Here.....have a better look.........

Mariano?.....Is that you?

Mariano.......did you lose your Yankee cap?

I bet he really draws fans to the museum.

I bet he was mummified after the Indians won.


One more thing........

You have all seen Brian Kilmeade on FoxNews...............but wait.......this ain't Brian Kilmeade........it's actor Cole Hauser of the Fox tv program K-Ville.

Here is the real Brian Kilmeade...............but I am not so sure........

What's up with that?.........same guy?

Nahhhhhhhhhhh.