memorial day

today, i hope all take the time to remember the sacrifices of our fallen service members and their families. because of them we continue to be the most prosperous and free nation in the world. i leave you with a most eloquent quote, from a soldier's soldier.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
George S. Patton

lawdy, lawdy, look who's ------41

no pics of the birthday boy, jus' some luv, for my brother from a different mother, as he turns 41 today. to the most talented guy i know, i extend a heart felt happy birthday- to the truest friend i have ever had, my buddy ski. happy birthday, fucker!!!!!!

make sure you clean up all the icing, ant bites can leave scars. enjoy.

who discriminates, felipe?

so felipe caldaron comes to town, and bemoans arizona's immigration status/enforcement law. well, thanks to mark levin and factreal, we can see who the true oppressors are. it is very interesting reading, and i propose we implement the exact same laws/rules here immediately. how would you like them apples felipe?

Mexico vs. U.S.: Mexican Immigration Laws Are Tougher

the real farmville, or, why the frau is on my shit list

okay, it's official. until further notice, the old girl is on my shit list. the other night we return home to half a rabbit convention on the side yard. 20 minutes later, i'm sure it would have been a full blown orgy.

normally, like during hunting season, i wouldn't mind, but i just busted my ass a couple weeks ago putting in the garden. that shit ain't easy, and i'm just starting to see the beans and corn come up nice. beets and carrots are looking good as well. the other day whilst depositing the hound in her kennel, i amble over to to examine the fruits o' my labor, and their sits peter, chewing on a bean plant. that and the fact that they put their nest in the damnedest places, like the middle of the front lawn, really pisses me off.

art fucking imitating my fucked up reality

i sort of lost it, and began to chase the little shit, until it can find a way out of the yard. i promptly go in, find the slingshot, and begin practicing. no sweat, i leave the trusty harbinger of death where i can quickly employ it to maximum effect, and wait for fate to open opportunity's door.

well that was the other night and guess what? somebody relocated the varmint slayer, without authorization. that person, who shall remain nameless, has yet to re-materialize said implement of destruction.

i know this because tonight, as i was roasting bovine, i got reconned by a cottontail. encumbered by a lack of a slingshot, i was reduced to throwing rocks at his ass. i can't even say i truly scared him, as when i went back inside he followed me. i had to send the kids out to run him off as i searched for the slingshot myself.

i understand on that fucking farmville, which the wife has taken to playing, you people trade all types of shit, including domestic live stock and pets. well let me tell you, when i catch that rabbit, he won't be fit for fertilizer.

It's on, Bitches!!

turn out the lights, the party's over

depends on what your definition of no limits is, i guess. as i predicted, the wings didn't go very deep in the playoffs this year. san jose knocked the boys out on saturday 2-1, ending the 5 game series, and earning themselves a rest before facing their conference final opponent, chicago. i say go hawks.

many reasons can be listed for the wings early exit (they lasted longer than i felt they would), the primary would be injuries. this is a false claim however, as all the injured players participated in the second season. while they all may not have been up to snuff, they all skated and many played in the olympics. more on that later.

next, the dreaded travel schedule. detroit, located in the eastern time zone, plays in the western conference, and as a result travels probably more than any other nhl team. add to that the compressed season due to the olympics, and you have tired guys playing more frequently, and on the road a great deal of the time.

another reason, i think, is the physical as well as psychological make up of the team. most of the players are of smaller stature (average size on detroit's roster figures up at 72.22 inches and 199.18 lbs.), and almost half are european, who are known to play a less physical style of hockey than their north american counterparts.

compare this to san jose's stable average of 73.14 inches and 206.23lbs. big deal right, an inch taller and 7 pounds heavier. okay, maybe. except when those inches and pounds slamming you into the end boards for 60 minutes are guys like thornton, clowe, blake,murray, heatley, and marleau. only 4 guys by my count are euro's, which means a tight checking, physical brand of hockey. these figures do not include goalies.

while detroit may control the puck better, teams like san jose are willing and able to go through you to get it, and keep it. also, have you ever seen a team miss the net more than the wings?

my pet peeve about the entire season has been the olympics. detroit sent at least 8 players from their active roster to vancouver. many were coming off injuries or nursing them along. that combined with winning the cup in 7 games in '08, losing the cup in 7 in '09, and the factors already mentioned i feel helped chase the wings from the playoffs. helping make my point is pittsburgh, who just got run in 7 by montreal. that is who detroit played 2 years in a row in those 7 game cup finals.

what does the league get out of the olympics? advertising? exposure? i doubt it. the league should mandate that no team can send more than 4 players TOTAL to the olympics. but they're playing for their country. big deal. the owners are paying you to play and win for them. olympic games were supposed to be the best amateur's in the world playing against each other.
but that all changed when we sent the basketball "dream team" out to wipe the floor with the world.

i don't want to hear any crying about 'the russians did it', either. remember the miracle on ice?

so what do i think the wings need to do? 1) not blow megabucks on nick lidstrom for multiple years. if he will come back for about 5.5 to 6 mil a year, for 2 years, fine. if not, thanks for the memories. 2) let bertuzzi walk. in his 15 years in the league he has only broken the 50 point mark 6 times. in two stints with detroit, his point total is 48---------for the 2 seasons. that's points, not goals. see ya. 3) re-sign jason williams. he is a right hand shot and he can play the point. 4) lilja, lebda,draper and maltby can all go.5) keep miller, eaves, helm, meech and abdelkader.6) look to trade zetterberg, seriously. get somebody younger with a better back that will cost you less, and can score when the goaltender is actually in the net. maybe a guy like pavalski or byfuglien, with another player and pick thrown in.

so long, cindy, i mean sidney....and good luck hawks.

a sad goodbye to a detroit icon

i'm no baseball fan. takes forever for a game to be played with nowhere near the action of hockey or football.

that being said, today is a sad day for anyone who grew up in michigan before or after 1960 and had a radio. it was in 1960 that the voice of the tigers went on the air and became the perhaps the most recognizable symbol of baseball in michigan for the next 42 years.

i used to listen to his broadcast while at grandma and grandpas house, and all the guys emulated his "that ball is loooong gone", while playing ball in our backyard. pine tree was first, somebody's glove was second, corner of the garden was third and the past the fence was a homer.



many years have passed since those backyard ballgames, but the memories are still alive of sitting in the front room with gramps and hearing ERNIE HARWELL give the call on bottom of the 8th, 2 outs, full count.........and here's the pitch.

thanks for the memories and GOD speed.

is it conceited to say i won, again?

twice in the same day that is.


this top picture is"the big mango", located in queensland, australia. we were supposed to guess the what and where. cambridge lady wondered how i got the where before the what. it's a trade secret.



the second one she gave extra clues to, namely that it was taken in oregon when she lived there and it appeared in a famous movie. i was thinking "the shining" all the way and a lady named denise confirmed it, and that the peak in the background was mt. hood, so i just had to come up with timberline lodge.

as a side note that i only find interesting, my first enlistment was for military intelligence, an oxymoron i know, but when the green machine voided that contract, i joined the military police instead. paths not taken are okay too, cause if i had done the MI thing, i probably would never have met my wife and had our kids.