Camel - Long Goodbyes

Another one of my favorite sad songs.
Camel was a fantastic band....if you had never heard of them, then you have missed much.

Enjoy!

Nonsense

In my spare time I have been goofing around..........and since I have alot of spare time........guess what?.............

I ran across this picture while roaming the internet. My daughter is a shoe addict but I don't think she has a pair of these.

I really enjoyed the movie "Dumb & Dumber"........one of the few movies in the last 20 years that made me laugh. Whenever I see Jim Carrey in that movie, I cannot help but also think of.......

.........Ray Shulman of the progressive rock group Gentle Giant. See what I mean?



Remember Moms Mabley? Moms Mabley once said, "He's so ugly, he hurt my feelings"........she also said "he was so ugly, he used to stand outside the doctor's office and make people sick."


I have noticed that whenever that blubbering Barney Frank is in the news......we never get to see his teeth. I searched the internet for images of him and I cannot come up with any picture of Barney Frank that shows his teeth.......
..........except for this one............
..........and now we know.


FOLLOW UP to a previous post:

Regarding recent news of Ted Kennedy's death...........what can I say?........other than "Good Luck, Ted". As you know already, the Democrats want to put the Kennedy name on Obamacare. Instead of Obamacare, it will be KennedyCare. Either way, it is still a bad deal.

Moms Mabley once said: "They say you shouldn't say nothin' about the dead unless it's good. He's dead........Good."

I wouldn't be so harsh and Mabley was a comedian.......then again.....she's dead too.

As to Kennedy's family and grandchildren.....and I am sure they all loved him very much and will miss him......to them I offer my condolences.

Speed Cameras In School Zones

Sometimes you have to just sit back and scratch your head and wonder what the hell is going on? At this point, there is no doubt in my mind that our government officials and law enforcement officials, in reality, do not have the safety of the citizens in mind when they come up with bogus laws and really bogus ways of "enforcing" them.

Consider the "school zones". On the surface, designated school zones are something just about everyone would agree with having. Instead of the school zone being utilized for the safety of our children, the only purpose that I can see for having any such zones at this point is that it is just another disguise as a revenue generator. Think about it.......we have 55mph speed limit signs on the Baltimore Beltway yet the overwhelming majority of vehicles there are maintaining a steady 65-75 mph unless there is a backup. There is no way that police can stop everyone and give them a ticket. No way possible. It is also true that there is no way possible to ticket every vehicle that speeds through a school zone.....regardless of how many signs are posted. The question is......how do we get everyone to slow down for the kids that may be present near a school? The answe is a simple one. No need for a "study"........no need to waste taxpayer money.......especially in these current times. But think about the issue for a moment........how many years now have we had schools and cars on the same streets? For me......I cannot remember any time when cars and trucks and children were not using the same neighborhood.

As long as there have been vehicles on the road, there has been a great number that speed by...... well over the posted limits. Nothing has stopped them and nothing ever really will. There will never be a day when all drivers obey the rules. Out of the blue.......somebody decides that having speed cameras at intersections will discourage drivers from running a red light. Maybe it does discourage a few, but I contend that those few are the decent folks who ordinarily wouldn't run a red light. So instead of the cameras doing what they were initially designed to do, the money grabbers realized that with the slew of habitual drivers with poor driving skills....there is a consistent flow of money being generated via citations that are mailed to each "violator". As I think about it, I cannot recall ever seeing any news reports declaring that traffic light camera fines are decreasing and that the cameras are actually effective. None..........ever.

Holy George Orwell, Batman!.........this camera stuff is getting ridiculous. Our politicians decided that they want cameras also in construction zones.......more money. Of course the reason they give for wanting them is always an honorable excuse............we don't want highway workers being run over. I agree with that.........but I also am smart enough to know that a vehicle that hits a highway worker at 40 mph isn't something I would consider being a benefit for the worker as opposed to being hit by a vehicle cruising at 55 mph............duh!...........but we have those cameras anyway..........more money spent.....more money made.

So now we are going to have speed cameras in school zones. There's gonna be alot of cameras......there are schools just about everywhere...........and there is no telling how many "school zones" that will be expanded into larger surrounding areas.........more money........more money. This is nothing but a money grab. Once again, the cause is a good one.....we want our kids to be safe...........but don't we also want our kids to be safe EVERYWHERE and not just in a school zone?................uh oh......I may have jumped the gun here.......if we say that kind of stuff then the politicians will just cut to the chase and put these cameras everywhere.....once and for all! It seems already that this is the ultimate target......to have cameras everywhere. Big Brother.....Orwell......1984...........this ain't no science fiction anymore.

I just do not believe that these politicians, that enact such laws and mechanisms, really, really have our best interests at heart. Think about it..........school zones are all considered "Drug Free" zones as well. The idea was that our kids would be safer if school zones were declared drug free.......yeah right...........you gotta be kidding me. The only result of the "drug free" designation is that when anyone caught with illegal drugs in a designated "drug free area", they would have an extra charge against them and a heavier fine and penalty. Sounds all well and good, but the reality is....it hasn't stopped the illegal activity and our kids are still very much at risk while at or near a school. Somebody, though, makes alot of money out of the deal. Let's face it.......the gun laws are the same deal. Thugs, thieves, , murderers, drug dealers, speeders.......all sorts of criminals.......none of these people ever just stop dead in their tracks and say....."Uh oh......I guess I won't be doing this anymore because they have a new law." Good people are having laws thrown at them left and right and they already are not breaking any laws. Lawbreakers could care less about the law or the rules.

If our leaders were really serious about getting vehicles to slow down in school zones, they would order some signs similar to the following:

I noticed that they had them in Mexico............we were in a bus that was traveling down a highway to get us to some Mayan ruins, and the bus would have to almost come to a complete stop at various points along the road.......even though I could see no apparent reason for them to stop.....they surely did because they had some effective "speed bumps" unlike any that I had ever seen.

You run over these babies at any speed over 5 mph and it gets your attention.

I had not seen them in use here at home.......we have those asphalt humps......as they call them
"traffic calming devices"...........which really doesn't do very much to slow anyone down. My son tells me that the federal government uses the metal one in front of government facilities......imagine that.......they must want to be safer than the rest of us.

These bumps are effective. They do the job. Who cares what it costs? The objective is to make our kids safer?.........right? Forget those speed cameras.......they won't benefit the kids at all.
Let's put some people to work....other than illegals......and do it right.

I personally will not vote to re-elect any boneheaded political candidate that has approved or intends to approve speed cameras.

The money grabbers need to go......its about time we make things right.

Related articles by Zemanta

• CEO of speed camera firm caught at 100mph (dvorak.org)
• Motorists to get fines refunded because of sign blunder (telegraph.co.uk)
• Speed camera makes £1 million in five months (telegraph.co.uk)
• Speed camera catches 23500 drivers in two weeks (telegraph.co.uk)
• Photo radar results inconsistent: Radio-Canada investigation (cbc.ca)
• Drivers face photo-enforced school zones and more red light cameras in Federal Way (pnwlocalnews.com)

Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1 Update

Me and Supernurse recently spent a week visiting our daughter Noodle in Leander, Texas. It was a getaway, yet it wasn't a getaway. When we arrived, Princess Fartknocker and her brother, the former Mayor Of Simpleton, were already there waiting for us.........go figure........sometimes you just can't escape.....hehehe.

Princess Fartknocker and her brother were there to visit with their Aunt Noodle for a week and they were also going to spend a week with their other two grandparents.....who just so conveniently happen to live just outside of Austin as well. (They visit them each summer.)
We see Princess Fartknocker and her brother all of the time and therefore we do not notice so much how fast they have grown. But because we do not really get to see Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1 in person and up close.....except via the internet......it was stunning to see just how much he has grown. I must say that I was amazed when I saw him shaving.......hehehe....just kidding.....but dang!....he ain't so much a baby anymore. Time flies.

I know.......I know.........looks like a big attitude.....right?
Pictures can be decieving...........he is as sweet as can be......and he is a thinker. I don't know that I have ever seen a small child like him play with such concentration.......he is very serious about everything he does.

In Leander it was hot.............hot as a torch. They had triple digit temperatures for something like 40 days straight. It wasn't humid though like back in Baltimore. The air quality in Leander is very good and we weren't sweating at all................it was just that when you sat outside, you could feel your skin burning away.....hehehe. Me and Supernurse sat outside frequently. Supernurse had to wear shades........Me?......I have so much hair I am already in the shade....hehehe.

Expansion Pack 2.1 loves playing in his pool.........Me?.....nahhhh, I have an aversion to being boiled alive.

He seems to love it though.

When he wasn't in his own pool, we took him to the community pool next door. He likes that pool alot and has a great time.


Aside from the opportunity to see Signtopia Expansion Pack 2.1, I got to spend some time with my daughter Noodle. I love my Noodle Girl and I miss her so much. It was extremely difficult for me when they moved away to Texas but I had to accept and deal with that. I wouldn't pass on any opportunity to go visit her.

That's my Noodle.........and I am very proud of her. She is smart......feisty......just like her mother.......a very good mother.........and she, just like her siblings, is an important part of my existence........without them I am worth nothing. Even though she may not fully realize it, I enjoyed every minute spent with her.

What can I say?...........Princess Fartknocker! One day in the future, when she has her own grandchildren.....I hope she can say "I had the greatest Pop Pop."

Meanwhile..........Expansion Pack 2.1 is all about his trains...........Thomas the Tank Engine trains.

He spends most of his time playing with them....he knows them by name and number and color, too. He isn't destructive with his toys. He certainly isn't Little Gomez Addams......hehehe.

While there, Noodle wanted me to paint some canvas squares to hang on the wall in Expansion Pack's bedroom. She was redecorating the room and changing everything to a Thomas the Tank Engine theme.

Toot! Toot!

We had a great time and look forward to returning there again in October.
By then........Expansion Pack 2.1 might have a beard

A Little Humor For The Weekend

I thought that it would be a good idea to lighten up for the weekend. Things are getting a bit over-intense and a nice diversion from the stuff that makes me angry, upset, and livid, would be exactly what I need to end the week and be able to start fresh here on the blog on Monday. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of this post as much as I do:

Three nurses died and went to the Pearly Gates. St. Peter asked the first one, "What did you do on Earth that would deserve getting in here?
The first nurse replied, "I was an intensive care nurse and I saved hundreds of lives." "Welcome," said St. Peter, "come right in.
And what did you do?" he asked the second one.
The second nurse replied, "I was an emergency room nurse and I saved hundreds of lives." "Welcome," said St. Peter, "come right in.
And what did you do?" he asked the third one. The third nurse replied, "I was a managed care nurse and I saved the insurance companies hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"Welcome," said St. Peter, "come right in...but only for three days."

Interns think of God, residents pray to God, doctors talk to God, nurses ARE God.

Four nurses all decided to play a joke on the doctor they worked for, whom they all felt was an arrogant jerk. Later in the day, they all got together on break and discussed what they had done to the doctor. The first nurse said, "I stuffed cotton in his stethoscope so he couldn't hear." The second nurse said, "I let the mercury out of his thermometers and painted them all to read 106 degrees." The third nurse said, "Well, I did worse than that. I poked holes in all of the condoms that he keeps in his desk drawer." The fourth nurse fainted.

What's the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer? The taste.

Why did the nurse always insist on using the rectal thermometer to obtain temperatures?
She was taught in nursing school to always look for her patient's best side

A nursing assistant, floor nurse, and charge nurse from a small nursing home
were taking a lunch break in the break room. In walks a lady dressed in silk scarfs and wearing large polished stoned jewlery. "I am 'Gina the Great'," stated the lady.
"I am so pleased with the way you have taken care of my aunt
that I will now grant the next three wishes!"
With a wave of her hand and a puff of smoke,
the room was filled with flowers, fruit and bottles of drink, proving that she did have the power to grant wishes
before any of the nurses could think otherwise. The nurses quickly argued among themselves as to which one would ask for the first wish. Speaking up, the nursing assistant wished first. "I wish I were on a tropical island beach, with single, well-built men
feeding me fruit and tending to my every need." With a puff of smoke, the nursing assistant was gone. The floor nurse went next.
"I wish I were rich and retired and spending my days in my own warm cabin at a ski resort with well groomed men feeding me cocoa and doughnuts."
With a puff of smoke, she too was gone. "Now, what is the last wish?" asked the lady. The charge nurse said," I want those two back on the floor at the end of the lunch break."

How do you save a doctor from drowning? Take your foot off his head.

You know you're a nurse if...

You believe every patient needs TLC: Thorazine, Lorazepam and Compazine.
You would like to meet the inventor of the call light in a dark alley one night.
You believe not all patients are annoying ... some are unconscious.
Your sense of humor seems to get more "warped" each year.
You know the phone numbers of every late night food delivery place in town by heart.
You can only tell time with a 24 hour clock.
Almost everything can seem humorous ... eventually.
When asked, "What color is the patient's diarrhea?", you show them your shoes.
Every time you walk, you make a rattling noise because of all the scissors and clamps in your pockets.
You can tell the pharmacist more about the medicines he is dispensing than he can.
You carry "spare" meds in your pocket rather than wait for pharmacy to deliver.
You refuse to watch ER because it's too much like the real thing and triggers "flash backs."
You check the caller ID when the phone rings on your day off to see if someone from the hospital is trying to call to ask you to work.
You've been telling stories in a restaurant and had someone at another table throw up.
You notice that you use more four letter words now than before you became a nurse.
Every time someone asks you for a pen, you can find at least three of them on you.
You can intubate your friends at parties.
You don't get excited about blood loss ... unless it's your own.
You live by the motto, "To be right is only half the battle, to convince the physician is more difficult." You've basted your Thanksgiving turkey with a Toomey syringe.
You've told a confused patient your name was that of your coworker
and to HOLLER if they need help.
Eating microwave popcorn out a clean bedpan is perfectly natural.
Your bladder can expand to the same size as a Winnebago's water tank.
When checking the level of orientation of a patient, you aren't sure of the answer.
You find yourself checking out other customer's arm veins in grocery waiting lines.
You can sleep soundly at the hospital cafeteria table during dinner break,
sitting up and not be embarrassed when you wake up.
You avoid unhealthy looking shoppers in the mall for fear that they'll drop
near you and you'll have to do CPR on your day off.
You've sworn you're going to have "NO CODE" tattooed on your chest.

Two doctors were in a hospital hallway one day complaining about Nurse Nancy.
"She's incredibly mixed up," said one doctor.
"She does everything absolutely backwards."
"Just last week, I told her to give a patient 2 milligrams of morphine every 10 hours. She gave him 10 milligrams every 2 hours. He damn near died on us!"
The second doctor said, "That's nothing." "Earlier this week, I told her to give a patient an enema every 24 hours. She tries to give him 24 enemas in one hour! The guy damn near exploded!" Suddenly, they hear this blood-curdling scream from down the hall.
"Oh my God!" said the first doctor, "I just realized I told Nurse Nancy to prick Mr. Smith's boil!"

A man goes to visit his 85-year-old grandpa in hospital.
"How are you grandpa? he asks. "Feeling fine," says the old man. "What's the food like?" "Terrific, wonderful menus." "And the nursing?" "Just couldn't be better. These young nurses really take care of you." "What about sleeping? Do you sleep OK?" "No problem, nine hours solid every night. At 10 o'clock they bring me a cup of hot chocolate and a Viagra tablet ... and that's it. I go out like a light." The grandson is puzzled and a little alarmed by this,
so he rushes off to question the nurse in charge.
"What are you people doing?," he says, "I'm told you're giving an 85-year-old Viagra on a daily basis. Surely that can't be true?" "Oh, yes," replied the nurse.
"Every night at 10 o'clock we give him a cup of hot chocolate and a Viagra tablet.
It works wonderfully well.
The chocolate makes him sleep, and the Viagra stops him from rolling out of bed."

A big shot attorney had to spend a couple of days in the hospital.
He was a royal pain to the nurses because he bossed them around just like he did his staff.
None of the hospital staff wanted to have anything to do with him. The head nurse was the only one who could stand up to him.
She came into his room and announced, "I have to take your temperature." After complaining for several minutes, he finally settled down,
crossed his arms and opened his mouth. 'No, I'm sorry,' the nurse stated, 'but for this reading, I can't use an oral thermometer." This started another round of complaining but eventually he rolled over and bared his behind. After feeling the nurse insert the thermometer, he heard her announce,
"I have to get something. Now you stay JUST LIKE THAT until I get back!" She left the door to his room open on her way out.
He cursed under his breath as he heard people walking past his door, laughing. After a half hour, the man's doctor came into the room. "What's going on here?" asked the doctor. Angrily, the man answered, "What's the matter, Doc?"
"Haven't you ever seen someone having their temperature taken?" After a pause, the doctor confessed ... "Not with a carnation!"

Nurse: Doctor, there is a man in the waiting room with a glass eye named Brown.
Doctor: What does he call his other eye?

Patient: "Tell me, is it true that alcohol decreases blood pressure?" Doctor: "Yes, that is true." Patient: "And, is it true that coffee increases blood pressure?" Doctor: "Yes, that is also true." Patient: "So, in average, I live normally." Did you hear about the nurse who died and went straight to hell? It took her two weeks to realize that she wasn’t at work anymore!

Another Piece Of My Mind

I had taken notice of a few things in recent months and I had planned on writing about it here on the blog. In particular, the recent news items regarding the Kennedy family.

As usual, I procrastinated and waited until today.........except I woke up this morning to some more Kennedy news.........and that took me out of a funk and prompted me to write on the blog.

As you may know, it was big news when it was revealed that Senator Ted Kennedy has cancer of the brain. I do not wish anyone to have to deal with such a disease.....it is terrible.........but somehow this news was something like a cruel, vengeful punishment. It has been said that for almost 47 years in "public service", Kennedy was at the forefront pushing for "Healthcare........Healthcare.........Healthcare!"..........it is kinda ironic.......isn't it?

Politicians are mobsters and regarding the Mob, it has been said that there is "no honorable way out". Think about that..................stuff tends to come back and haunt you and you cannot cheat the hangman.

Ted wasn't a very good driver...........and his behavior and actions at the time of this particular incident was very telling about the man. Rather than try to pull his passenger from the car, he swam to safety and went home without bothering to report the accident to anyone until the next day. Self-preservation has always been at the top of his modus operandi. If you were one of those that voted for him all these years, you might try to tell me that Ole Teddy did alot on your behalf. But I would tell you this.........NOTHING he has ever done throughout his career negates his behavior and actions at Chapaquiddick. Eventually, his self-preservating arrogance would have no effect. That Kennedy name would have no pull in what he faces today.

I noticed that Ole Ted didn't show up to recieve his Freedom Medal and sent his daughter to accept it from Obama instead. Ted also didn't show up at Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral. Yet, on the news this morning, it was reported that Ole Ted, even though he is struggling with his illness and hasn't been able to be around on the Senate floors, is scheming and dealing to change a Massachusetts law so that "if" he is unable to fulfill his duties as a Senator the state would have someone fill his seat in the Senate instead of leaving it vacant until the people have say in who replaces him................His arrogance continues.

It's time to let go, Teddy. Theres a ghost that is tired of haunting you. Maybe she cannot rest in peace until you meet your maker. Not even that letter to the Pope will cease your suffering.

Then again.........maybe your suffering should be relentless...........no......I cannot wish that upon anyone..............maybe Ted, you should just go for a nice drive again.

Meanwhile..........you need to step down now and let the people of Massachusetts have their say in the matter.

Thought Of The Day: ObamaCare

H.L. Mencken once said:

"That erroneous assumption is to the effort that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence ... Nothing could be further from the
truth. The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues and other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else. "

Mencken was correct.

So now.......how could anyone believe in this ObamaCare crap?............the answer is above.

The B-52s Baltimore Concert

I've never bought a B-52s record or CD. Sure......I had heard their music everywhere......on the radio, at parties, on vacation, on MTV...........heck, I have even cued up "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack" on the turntables when I was a deejay in the 80s in Florida. I also never had "attending a B-52s concert" on my list of things to do. As it happened, my friend Dean Martin-Frampton had two tickets to the B-52s show at the Ram's Head Live! in Baltimore and he asked if I would go with him. He had seen them before at the Pier Six Pavilion at the Inner Harbor and said he really enjoyed the show. I figured "Why Not?"

The house was packed. THIS time, I brought my camera.............which I should have done for the Rundgren concert...............lessons learned. Instead of planting ourselves up against the stage, as we did for the Rundgren show, we found a nice spot on the second level at the side of the stage. I do not think there is a bad spot to be in Ram's Head Live!, and this one was pretty decent as far as being able to see everything.

Kate Pierson did her thang onstage..........flourescent pink stockings?.......

I must say that the entire band was excellent and spot on. The crowd was really into it, singing along for the most part, and the performers fed off of the vibe from the crowd. The supporting musicians that completed the band were the unsung heroes of the night. Fantastic drumming and bass playing, keyboards........and still........I could not tell you who they were...........there is no mention of them on the B-52s website.

Every time I see Fred Schneider I cannot help but think of Huntz Hall from the old Bowery Boys.

The B-52 gals have aged..........but in a way that somehow is fitting for the group to this day.





Fred Schneider..........I just don't think there ever has been anyone quite like him. He is one of a kind.
Fred has that kind of face as if you know him from somewhere........

.........same goes for Cindy Wilson.





"Love Shack.....Baby!"

It was a very good show and I was pleasantly surprised. After the show, me and Dino knew what to do..........we headed for the back door and waited with a fairly decent size group of people. We knew we would get a photo op and some autographs.

Keith Strickland is a very talented musician. He was first to exit the venue and if Kasim Sulton is, as I said before "the nicest dude", then Keith has to come in second place. He was very cordial and willingly posed and signed for everyone that was waiting. It did not bother him to have a conversation with you.

Keith Strickland and my buddy Dean Martin-Hendrix.

Cindy Wilson then followed........now just what do you think I am gonna say?

I don't know who this dude was but I had to take his picture as he stood there holding the purses. I assume he was part of their entourage.

As this was happening, the fans simply showed their affection and from what I could see, Cindy and Keith.....and Kate......made everyone feel that they had affection for them as well.

Ahhhhh........my self-portrait with Cindy. I still say that she looks like you know her from somewhere.

My buddy Dean Martin-Springsteen posed with Cindy...............maybe she thought HE looked like somebody she knew from somewhere too. I cannot say enough about how very nice and sweet Cindy Wilson was.

Kate Pierson........hmmmm.......while Cindy Wilson is "down to earth friendly".........Kate Pierson is.......well........."space cadet friendly". As I handed her a pen to sign an autograph, she couldn't do it until I handed her the pen in the opposite direction than what I originally offered her............hmmmm.........oh well.........she was still nice though. Here she is with my buddy Dean Martin-Clapton.

Fred Schneider never came out to greet anyone.

It was a good time and I am glad I went. I would recommend it. The B-52 gals had no clue that they had been in the presence of the Uncle Murray Band.......hehehe.......and if they happen to ever read this...........THANKS!