Category: Just my opinion

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The 2008 Olympics are here

So many topics to talk about concerning the events that are taking place in China, while hosting the 2008 Olympics this year. I usually enjoy watching the Olympics and have had opportunities to attend some of the games in the past, but never have actually made it to any of them.

This particular location that they picked for hosting the games, in China, has had it’s ups and downs, and it is the first time that I haven’t kicked myself in the rear for not making more of an effort to personally attend this most exciting and interesting event.

The air quality in China is a major issue and I can really feel for the participants that are having to deal with such a problem as not being able to breath properly while trying to perform the best that they have ever had to, in order to take home a medal. It has been a real eye opener for the rest of the world, and maybe now something will be done to make China a better place to live and breath in the future.

I wish them all the luck in the world, and I hope that the US can kick some butt and bring home a good amount of medals for us to rant and rave about, until the next Olympic games are held.

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The visiting of family grave sites

Yesterday was such a nice day for a change, the heat has been most unpleasant as of late, keeping most people inside and in the air conditioning of their homes or businesses, so having a nice for a change was a pleasant change of pace, and required some time of outdoor activity to enjoy it all in.

The wife has been wanting to visit the cemetery that most of her people are laid to rest in, I can’t blame her, it is good to go and pay your respects from time to time, good for the soul. So we went ahead and spent a good portion of yesterday’s afternoon doing just that.

We were pleasantly surprised to see how well maintained the graves were, last time the place was a mess and my wife was very upset about it, enough to call and complain upon her return home from her last visit. Upon our arrival we noticed a man on one of the John Deere lawnmowers, was busy mowing the grass to a bristly green stubble that tickled our kneecaps when we knelt at each grave site.

The granite markers all looked good, their blue-gray color still as peaceful and strong as the day they were placed in the earth. The stones feeling cool and smooth as you trace your fingers over them and feeling each letter and number that is etched in each person’s headstone, telling the names and dates of the deceased.

I’m glad to say that the wife held up pretty good through out the whole time, as we wondered from grave site to grave site, after grave site, her only regret was not bringing enough flowers to put on each and every grave of all of her relatives that we found. I promised that we would be more prepared at out next visit, which hopefully won’t be for another year or two, or three…..

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Gone Fishing

I’ve been out fishing for the past week with an old friend from my high school days. We packed up our camping gear and went deep into the hills of Cherokee Canyon in southern Virginia, to our old fishing hole, which to our surprise looks pretty much the same as it did some thirty years ago when we used to go there as kids. Needless to say, for a mans vacation geared towards relaxation it was a huge success.

Although the fishing itself was not as big a boom for our collective freezers, we did manage to come away with some forty or fifty good sized fish. We caught a few trout, some spot, sunfish and both small mouth and bigmouth bass.  Nothing of record breaking size, but we were pleased just the same. We had our best luck on the fourth day there when the bass starting biting. We got rained on quite a bit but it was more fun than a hindrance of any sort. As a matter of fact, except for the one time the tent fell in during a downpour and soaked us to the bone, it was a very relaxing experience.

We spent most the evenings dining on our days catch and reminiscing about the old days. On my return home my wonderful wife told me I smelled like a fish market on a hot day! But she was happy that I’d had a good time. She herself had a wonderful week as well from what she’d told me and mentioned that next time she would like to accompany us along with a couple of her friends she Iearned also enjoy fishing, although they prefer fly fishing above other styles. One of her friends even offered to teach me how to tie flies. Looks like the next fishing trip is going to be a real hoot, I just hope the girls don’t show us fellows up to bad when it comes to fly rod fishing.

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Independent aging Grandmother being sent to nursing home

Received a disturbing phone call from my sister today informing me that they have placed my grandmother, of 98 years of age, into a nursing home. There is no doubt in mind that she absolutely hates being kept there. She has always been very independent and does not like for people to have to fuss over her. I’m much like her in feeling the same way, I do not like people to fuss over me unless I’m sick then it is OK.

The whole family has been like that since I can remember. From the top to the bottom a feisty very belligerent bunch to say the least. I will go out to Oklahoma to see grandmother at some point soon, something that I have been putting off for too long and now the time has come where I must, and I will.  I need to see why she was placed in a nursing home and if it is a permanent thing or just until she gets better.  She did have a bit of a fall but I thought she was fine.  Guess I better start making plans to check into this and soon.

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Solar power news

According to an article I read on a Reuters web-site, a study was written by the Clean Edge and environmental nonprofit Co-op America that has declared that solar power will be cost competitive with fossil fuels like natural gas and coal by the year of 2015.  I think that this is the best news I’ve heard of concerning this issue in a while; I’d certainly like to see a whole hell of a lot more alternative energy sources developed and expanded as well!

Wouldn’t it be great to see solar energy, wind energy, and gasoline made from algae to be our every-day energy sources!  I’m sick and tired of the constant price increases of gasoline, and being held hostage by the companies and countries that are raking in obscenely record profits from their oil.

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Please stop wasting my time!

How irritating is it to get all of these spammed messages that state “I didn’t agree with you first, but last paragraph makes sense for me…” especially when the post is absolutely not about anything that could be agreed or disagreed upon! These folks need to at least put some thought into their comments!  At least take the time to actually read my postings and then make your comment relate to it, it is not that difficult.

Computers and the Internet have made things so much easier for us and it is has become for us all a huge time saver, what a drag to get bogged down with such trivial nonsense.

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The price of stamps are rising once again

The cost of a postage stamp is once again going up on price. I don’t really mind that the stamps are going up again because I honestly don’t use the regular mail much anymore anyways. I pay almost all my bills online using my bank’s free bill pay and I stay in touch with friends and relatives online. There’s not much need for me to even buy stamps to keep them on hand – I’m better off taking the occasional piece of mail to the 24 hour post office and just pay them at the counter when the need arises.

I find most of the time if I need to know the current price of a postage stamp that I haven’t got a clue and need to ask some one, the prices keep changing so often I lost count years ago, right around the time of the 32 cent stamp. It has been down hill ever since.

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April Fool’s Day

One holiday that has always puzzled me is explained so well in the following definition:

April Fool’s Day, although not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools’ errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon. If you play a trick on someone after this time you are the April Fool. Elsewhere, for example in France, the jokes may last all day.

Taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  It came in handy.